A Delicate Beauty Holding a Villain’s Script - Chapter 14

Heavy, ragged gasps echoed in the air. His cranial nerves trembled in pain with every rise and fall of his chest; every breath felt as though it would cough up blood from deep within his trachea.

Shen Yiqing swallowed a mouthful of bloody foam, maintaining a half-kneeling posture. Only after a long silence did his hand, trembling and weak, finally let go of the tree branch he had been gripping.

It was a long, jagged branch. Its sharp tip had forcibly pierced through an Alpha’s chest. As it was pulled out, it brought with it small fragments of shredded flesh, accompanied by the thick drip of still-warm blood.

The usually gentle and elegant Omega had lost his composure. Darkened blood stained his face as he looked down at the carnage scattered across the ground.

He had killed someone. His mind was a void hesitation and panic flashed through him for a fleeting second, but there was no fear.

Blood soaked the ground, seeping into the deep layers of the soil, making the metallic scent of gore even more pungent.

His downward gaze touched a corpse, and he was suddenly jolted by a shock. His blank mind instantly resumed its functions.

The corpse, which had been full and intact a moment ago, suddenly shriveled up like a leaking balloon. The rustling sound of something crawling hissed in his ears.

“…!” Shen Yiqing recoiled, falling back onto the ground. He braced his arms behind him, ready to spring up at any second.

“Guji, guji…” The clear sound of chewing flesh rang out. A tentacle poked out from the large hole the branch had torn in the chest. It was grayish-white, its oval tip splitting open to reveal a maw filled with rows of fine, sharp teeth.

The tentacle slithered across the surface of the corpse’s chest, found a spot, and latched on tightly. Soon, countless tentacles swarmed out of the hole, finally revealing a body shaped like a human brain.

It waved its myriad tentacles ostentatiously, scurrying across the corpse as it followed the scent of fresh blood and flesh.

Witnessing this horrifying scene, Shen Yiqing’s eyes widened, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.

It was an Xenomorph larva!

Xenomorphs hatch from eggs. Their initial form after breaking the shell possesses tentacles. This is followed by three molting stages where they secrete large amounts of mucus; dozens of larvae will merge their bodies together, their tentacles fusing to form a giant arthropod-like creature.

Adult Xenomorphs are massive. The shell formed by their solidified mucus is incredibly hard, and their mouthparts are essentially magnified meat grinders capable of devouring steel machinery in an instant.

Shen Yiqing’s hands and feet went cold. His heart pounded violently with panic, accelerating until it felt like it would leap out of his chest.

Fortunately, he remained perfectly still. The newly hatched Xenomorph was clearly more interested in the corpses emitting a strong scent of blood. It dug into the flesh and soon tunneled into a new body to feast.

He subconsciously held his breath, backing away cautiously while recalling everything that had just happened.

Over the past few days, he had been alone in the forest. Perhaps it was luck, but he hadn’t encountered any large animals, and he could handle the smaller ones.

Until today. Shen Yiqing had keenly sensed someone following him before his path was blocked.

Several Alphas had been staking out the area for a long time. Deeming him a weak target, they intercepted him and demanded he hand over his supplies.

Shen Yiqing naturally refused. The group launched an attack, and during the fight, he used the terrain to his advantage, leading them into the depths of the labyrinthine jungle a blind spot for the cameras.

But he soon realized something was wrong with the surroundings. Thick vines were tightly entwined around the trees, covered in strands of sticky, transparent liquid. Large, droplet-shaped eggs hung precariously in the air.

A nauseating, fishy stench one that felt vaguely familiar lingered in his nostrils. He spoke up to warn them, but the others were relentless. One grabbed a vine and whipped it toward him; he couldn’t dodge in time, and a long gash appeared on his arm.

As blood slowly seeped out, the handsome Omega’s expression turned cold, his eyes sharpened with killing intent.

During the years he spent repairing mechas on the black market, he had trained extensively. His physical constitution was equivalent to that of a normal Alpha.

His mental energy boiled like scalding water. The long knife in his hand performed a clean, decisive flourish, and in the next second, it blocked the whipping vine with a sharp “ding.”

The sharp blade sliced through skin, carrying warm blood with it. However, the Alpha who had been stabbed in the arm seemed unable to feel pain, continuing his mindless assault.

“Do you want to die?!” Seeing that persuasion was useless against their ceaseless harassment, Shen Yiqing struck with lethal force.

Yet, an Alpha who could have easily dodged instead lunged straight into the cross-cutting blade, pressing forward as if life meant nothing.

The moment blood splattered, Shen Yiqing noticed the man’s eyes, they were dull, having clearly lost the spark of life long ago.

…The corpses suddenly began to twitch. The tentacles inside were gnawing away wantonly, quickly hollowing out one of the bodies.

Shen Yiqing noiselessly picked up the long knife from the ground. Holding his breath, he gathered all his strength and stabbed downward.

“Zhi, zhi, zhi!”

The Xenomorph let out a piercing shriek. Its tentacles, stimulated by the pain, flailed frantically into a blur of shadows. The mouthpart at the tip clamped onto the blade, creaking and grinding.

A violent vibration traveled up his arm. Shen Yiqing wheezed, gripping the hilt with both hands to pin the Xenomorph firmly to the ground.

“Zhi, zhi, zhi!” His attention was entirely focused on his hands, leaving the Omega completely unaware of a writhing black shadow pouncing toward him from behind.

Suddenly, a sharp knife was hurled from the woods, precisely piercing the Xenomorph’s brain. The massive impact knocked the creature back several steps before it slumped down, limp.

“Truly weak to the core.” An Alpha wearing black combat boots emerged unhurriedly, his face wearing a look of mockery.

Cold sweat dripped from Shen Yiqing’s forehead. Only when the Xenomorph was completely dead did he withdraw his knife and turn to look: “Likewise.”

Qin Yuan’s gaze swept over the disheveled Omega before turning to the corpses strewn across the ground. His expression was indifferent, his tone tinged with a feigned melancholy. “While I’m disappointed you didn’t die, I’m more interested in figuring out what happened here.”

Shen Yiqing quickly recounted the struggle, emphasizing the environment: “…I saw transparent eggs hanging from the vines, but I didn’t have time for a close look. Thinking back, those must have been the Xenomorphs.”

“This is a serious matter; notify the school first.” Qin Yuan’s brow went cold as he said seriously, “We need to ensure whether all the eggs have hatched. Do you remember the location?”

“I do. It’s to the southeast.” Shen Yiqing pressed the distress signal, gave a brief report over the intercom, and then instructed the Alpha: “I’ll wait here for rescue. You go there first to investigate.”

Qin Yuan subconsciously glanced back toward the way he had come. Though it was only for a split second, Shen Yiqing noticed it keenly: “What? Afraid to go?”

“Prodding won’t work on me.” The Alpha gave him a cold sidelong glance and turned to leave, but not before tossing back: “You’d better think about how to explain to the Academy why you’re out here.”

“I won’t trouble you to worry.”

Watching the other’s figure disappear, Shen Yiqing did not hesitate. He began moving in the direction the Alpha had just come from.

Most of what he said was the truth, but there was one detail he had deliberately omitted: the eggs there had already hatched; what remained were only empty shells. If Qin Yuan went there, he would be greeted by nothing but Xenomorph larvae.

And the only person Qin Yuan was concerned about was Little Li.

The wound on his cheek had stopped bleeding, leaving a shallow scab that added a touch of grimness to his handsome, gentle face. The bloodstain on his eyelid was still slowly oozing; a drop accumulated and rolled into his eye socket. In the blink of an eye, it spread across the entire eyeball, covering the surface with a thin mist of blood, making him look terrifyingly eerie.

With every step, a piercing pain radiated from his arm, as if something was threading its way into his body, slithering beneath his skin and slicing through the connected flesh. Between breaths, the heavy scent of blood filled his throat. His brain was controlled by a single thought.

He wanted to see Little Li.

The beauty being pined for let out a small “achoo,” rubbing his nose with teary eyes.

I feel like there’s a chill behind my back.jpg

The Alpha’s lingering pressure was still present, so no mindless animals had come to bother him yet. Li Rangnian was gathering wood near the clearing, tossing it into the campfire. The jumping flames surged upward.

[Aahhh, holy crap!]

051 shrieked in his head, startling Li Rangnian so much he nearly jumped. “What’s wrong?”

[Ugh, scared me to death! Look to the left it’s the protagonist Omega!] The system was initially pleasantly surprised, but its tone quickly turned bewildered. [Strange, the protagonist Omega’s Luck Points have dropped…]

Li Rangnian looked over and locked eyes with a pair of orbs filled with terrifying bloodlust. He instinctively took a step back. “…Shen Yiqing?”

The crisp voice traveled all the way to his eardrums, vibrating through the chaos and awakening his dazed, blurred self. The semiconscious Omega looked toward the sound, moving with heavy, swaying steps.

He murmured incoherently: “Little Li… Little Li…”

After the initial shock, realizing the protagonist Omega was in a terrible state, Li Rangnian ran over to support him. In the next second, he was caught in a full embrace.

Shen Yiqing had fainted.

Even unconscious, his body twitched involuntarily. The veins on his neck bulged as if he were enduring immense agony.

“System, scan him.” Li Rangnian rolled up his sleeve and saw protrusions moving under the pale skin like slithering snakes.

One scan was all it took for 051 to discover the horror. [Aahhh!!! The protagonist Omega has been infected by a Xenomorph!]

“Infected? Is Shen Yiqing dead?” Li Rangnian was also shocked. If so, wouldn’t his mission be ruined?

[No!] Despite being a silicon-based lifeform, 051 swallowed a virtual mouthful of saliva. [The protagonist Omega… he absorbed the Xenomorph. He’s now in a state of symbiosis!] This sounded absolutely terrifying!

Host and system fell into a profound silence.

The plot had collapsed to such an extent, yet the panel showed no warning. Li Rangnian rubbed his chin. “Could it be a bug? Maybe the World Consciousness is automatically generating a new plot to fill the gap and save the protagonist Omega?”

[Highly likely. I’ll report this immediately.] 051’s voice vanished, and the surroundings became eerily quiet.

Knowing Shen Yiqing was still alive, Li Rangnian felt relieved. He struggled to drag the man closer to the fire and boredly poked at the wood with a small stick.

The warm firelight was sleep-inducing. Li Rangnian grew drowsy, his eyelids closing as his head nodded. Just as he was about to fall over, an arm reached out, gently catching his fluffy head and letting it rest on a shoulder.

The Omega who had woken up appeared unchanged, yet his aura had undergone a world-shaking transformation. Deep in his pupils, a crimson hue swirled with an inexplicable, predatory malice.

He pulled the beauty into his arms, gazing down at the peaceful, sleeping face. A flash of madness crossed his eyes.

With a rustling sound, several tentacles quietly emerged. They were no longer grayish-white but had turned a fleshy pink. There were no mouthparts at the tips; instead, the undersides were covered in suction cups that wriggled incessantly.

Influenced by their master’s state of mind, they noiselessly coiled around the beauty.

Like paintbrushes on a pristine white canvas, they began to stroke wantonly, splashing ink across the surface.

Shen Yiqing’s breathing suddenly became heavy. The tentacles shared a sensory link with him; everything they touched felt as though he were experiencing it firsthand.

He clearly felt the changes in his body. The extra tentacles were incredibly flexible, moving entirely by his will, they could transform into lethal weapons to kill in an instant, or be used to pleasure the one he loved.

Was he afraid? He didn’t seem to be. There was only excitement.

Current him felt exceptionally powerful.

His downward gaze remained glued to the beauty’s cheek. Shen Yiqing smiled with an ambiguous meaning. He raised a hand to press against the full lips beneath him. With a slight application of force, his fingertip became wet.

“You can’t escape, Little Li.”