The Beautiful, Strong, and Tragic Female Lead is Mine [Transmigration Into a Novel] - Chapter 11

Late at night, the wind picked up.

Before long, rain began to fall as well.

Lightning, like a sharp blade slicing through the sky, illuminated a corner of the leaden-gray clouds with its brilliant white light.

Outside the window, the wind howled, and thunder and rain poured down. Raindrops pattered against the glass, and streaks of water blurred the view outside.

Inside, however, it was a scene of tranquility. A small, warm yellow candlelight flickered on the table, casting a deep glow in Xie Zhitian’s narrow eyes.

In the apocalypse, electricity was a precious resource and incredibly expensive. So, even though the original owner’s residence had power, Xie Zhitian still chose to use an oil lamp for light.

She rested her chin on her arm, looking down.

Spread out on the table was a map of the district, which she had specifically gotten from Xiang Nan earlier that day. The district was divided into 26 zones, from A to Z. Each zone varied in size and had different primary industries and functions.

For example, Zone A, where Xie Zhitian was, was the center of the district, where the leadership and many administrators lived. Zone Z, on the other hand, was on the outermost edge, the least safe area, primarily used for housing prisoners.

The straight-line distance between Zone A and Zone Z was about 50 kilometers, with three high walls separating them. The entrance to each wall was guarded by special personnel, and entry and exit required registration according to regulations.

Xie Zhitian was deep in thought, her slender finger tracing lines on the map as she roughly calculated. The closest route to Jasmine’s location was about 75 kilometers. If she drove, it would only take about an hour.

When she returned to her residence today, she went straight to the garage and, as expected, found a cream-colored sedan inside.

The car was an older model with a manual transmission, said to be over ten years old. The body had several noticeable scratches, and the front bumper was dented, suggesting it had gone through its share of struggles in the apocalypse.

Xie Zhitian had newer, high-performance cars in her spatial pocket, but taking one out so brazenly would be too conspicuous, so she chose to use this old car instead.

She inspected it carefully and found that despite its unpolished exterior, the car was in decent condition and could probably be driven for another five or six years without a problem.

At the time, Xiang Nan had kindly reminded her, “Miss, how about I take you and Miss Luo yang in my tricycle? Gasoline is very expensive now; you’ll spend a lot of money on a round trip.”

Xie Zhitian refused immediately, “No, I’ll drive.”

Just thinking about the image of Xiang Nan riding a tricycle with her and Luo yang, all of them windswept, made her want to spit blood. Xiang Nan was a good person, and she didn’t want to exploit him like that.

Besides, a 70-plus-kilometer ride would take about three or four hours. Not only would it waste time, but Luo yang’s wound hadn’t healed yet and couldn’t handle such a bumpy ride.

Xiang Nan still tried to insist, “Miss, it’s too expensive. I’m a fast rider, and I don’t get tired easily…”

Xie Zhitian replied, “Don’t worry, I still have a lot of money.”

Her spatial pocket was stocked with a huge amount of fuel, including gasoline, diesel, and coal. Although they weren’t renewable, they were enough to last her for several lifetimes. Moreover, according to the plot in the book, this world would completely emerge from the apocalypse in a few years, with rapid economic development and the resumption of resource extraction, so there was no need to be so frugal.

Seeing that she had made up her mind, Xiang Nan said no more.

Xie Zhitian filled the car with gas, planning to leave first thing in the morning.

She spent the afternoon visiting several of Jasmine’s neighbors.

She first found the person who discovered Zhao Jie’s death. According to them, they heard a scream from Jasmine’s house, and being worried, they went to check. After knocking for a long time with no answer, they broke the door down and saw Zhao Jie lying in a pool of blood and Jasmine, who had already fainted, beside him.

Xie Zhitian asked if the couple had any conflicts that could have led to a fight. But to her surprise, the neighbors all said that Zhao Jie was a gentle and refined person, and they didn’t know much about Jasmine.

After all, Jasmine’s participation in the cyborg program was a decade ago, before this district was even established. So, the neighbors only knew Zhao Jie and were still somewhat unfamiliar with Jasmine, who had just returned from her service.

Perhaps because Zhao Jie had left a good impression, several people were openly and secretly blaming Jasmine, saying she must have gone crazy or lost her mind to have done such a thing.

One man even speculated indignantly that Jasmine had only returned to the district two days ago,

But Xie Zhitian didn’t want to just believe the one-sided stories of bystanders; these were, after all, just outside guesses. Only Jasmine and Zhao Jie knew what really happened that night. It’s hard to say what people who seem respectable in front of others are like behind closed doors. Now that Zhao Jie was dead, Jasmine’s testimony was crucial.

However, from the neighbors’ descriptions, it seemed Jasmine didn’t have much affection for Zhao Jie; otherwise, she wouldn’t have stayed out all night on her first day back home.

She wondered how Jasmine was doing now and if the medical examination results showed anything abnormal.

And what about that box she couldn’t open? What could be inside…

Thinking about it gave Xie Zhitian a headache. She sighed lightly and casually folded the map, putting it into her spatial pocket.

She took out the original book and wrote the four numbers “1551” on the flyleaf.

Xie Zhitian didn’t have much hope, and as expected, Little One was nowhere to be found.

She gritted her molars, feeling a surge of helplessness.

Little One’s perfunctoriness was more serious than she had imagined. She didn’t know when she would see this great entity again. She thought about it and decided not to rush it anymore. What if Little One was using a queuing system and repeatedly summoning would put her back at the end of the line?

Xie Zhitian had been busy all day and only ate a quick dinner, so she was a bit hungry now. She got up, intending to make herself a late-night snack in the kitchen.

There was leftover rice from dinner, so Xie Zhitian decided to make a simple fried rice with green peppers and egg.

The vegetable knife danced in her hand, and the washed green peppers were quickly diced. Xie Zhitian skillfully cracked two eggs into a bowl with one hand and whisked them with chopsticks. After a moment’s thought, she took out a piece of braised beef from her spatial pocket to add to the fried rice.

The knife blade flew, and the beef was quickly sliced into thin pieces, forming a small mound on a plate.

The ingredients went into the wok one by one, and the aroma of the food quickly filled the air. Xie Zhitian was carrying a large bowl of fried rice toward the bedroom when she suddenly heard a subtle sound as she passed Luo yang’s room.

“Zzz-la.”

“Zzz-la, zzz-la.”

Xie Zhitian’s footsteps halted. Two more cat meows came from inside the room.

“Meow, meow.”

It was Xiaoxiao scratching at the door.

A chill ran down Xie Zhitian’s spine.

Could something have happened to Luo yang?

Xiaoxiao was smart and empathetic; it was well-behaved most of the time. Even if it were to act up, with Luoyang’s personality, she would definitely control it.

But now, Luo yang was letting Xiaoxiao cause such a commotion…

Xie Zhitian’s eyes darkened, and she quickly walked to Luo yang’s door. With one hand holding the tray with the fried rice and cutlery, she knocked on the door with the other.

Perhaps the thunderstorm outside was too loud, as the knocking sound was quickly swallowed up and became inaudible.

There was no response from the room.

Xie Zhitian steeled herself and pushed the door open directly. A white blur darted out and circled her legs, seeming very anxious.

Xie Zhitian didn’t have time to deal with Xiaoxiao. She fumbled in the dark to place the tray on the table and then lit the oil lamp nearby.

Holding the lamp, she called out urgently, “Luo yang!”

A soft response came from the room.

The voice was very light and a little muffled.

Xie Zhitian quickly found her target. In the corner by the window, a thin figure was curled up.

Luo yang was leaning against the wall, her hands wrapped around her knees. A pillow was clutched in her arms, burying most of her face, leaving only a pair of glistening eyes visible.

A bolt of lightning tore through the clouds at that moment, casting a pale light on her face.

“Why are you here? Aren’t you cold?”

Xie Zhitian reached out to pull her up, her voice anxious. “Are you feeling unwell? Or did something happen?”

Luo yang seemed to be in a very poor state, completely unlike her composure from earlier in the day. She was like a soulless puppet, obediently getting up with Xie Zhitian’s help and allowing herself to be moved.

The skin she touched was soft and delicate but had no warmth.

Mindful of her wound, Xie Zhitian first led her to the bed and covered her with a blanket. Then she sat down by the bed and felt Luo yang’s forehead.

Fortunately, she didn’t have a fever anymore.

Looking closely in the lamplight, there was no blood on her nightgown, and the bandaged wound showed no signs of reopening.

It seemed that the cyborg’s physical constitution was quite good.

Xie Zhitian breathed a sigh of relief. She saw that Luoyang was looking down, not saying a word, seemingly lost in some memory.

Another flash of lightning struck, and the room suddenly lit up as if a flashbulb had gone off, then quickly dimmed.

Xie Zhitian’s heart skipped a beat, and she asked tentatively, “Are you afraid of thunder?”

In the dim yellow light of the bedside lamp, she saw Luo yang’s long eyelashes tremble slightly.

Xie Zhitian felt her guess was correct. She reached out and patted the other woman’s thin shoulder, saying softly, “Or is the sound of thunder bothering you, making it hard to sleep?”

Outside the window, tree shadows swayed like grotesque claws.

The wind whimpered, and the raindrops patted against the glass, patter-patter-pat.

After a long time, Luo yang finally spoke, “I hate stormy nights.”

Many years ago, one night, the weather was just like this.

After several battles, her squad was ambushed by xenomorphs on their way back. Normally, these xenomorphs would be no match, but at that moment, the soldiers were exhausted and covered in wounds. In the end, there were heavy casualties, and only a handful of people survived.

Luo yang would forever remember the scene from that night.

The rain was pouring, and the large raindrops hitting her face made it almost impossible to open her eyes. Luo yang stumbled forward, dragging her wounded body. Bits of shattered flesh mixed with mud under her feet, a disgusting and sticky sensation.

The cold light of lightning flashed, revealing broken, young bodies all around, their faces frozen in fear and stiffness, forever captured in that moment.

Those images were like poison-tipped tentacles lurking in the dark corners of her memory, ready to drag her into the abyss at any time.

Luo yang closed her eyes.

She guessed that the young miss would ask her “why she hated it” or “what happened before,” just like every curious person she had met.

But she didn’t want to talk about it and had already prepared her excuse to refuse.

“You hate stormy nights…”

Xie Zhitian’s voice was very soft, like a gentle feather brushing against her ear.

“What if someone stays with you? Would that make it a little better?”

Luo yang’s breathing paused slightly, and she looked up.

Xie Zhitian was sitting sideways on the edge of the bed. In the flickering lamplight, her beautiful eyes had a magnificent warm yellow glow. For some reason, for a moment, the warmth in the young miss’s eyes was so gentle that it made her want to cry.

Luo yang was silent for a moment, then lowered her head and said, “It would.”

After she said it, she was momentarily stunned, as if she herself found it unbelievable.

But her subconscious reaction couldn’t lie; this was the expectation deeply hidden within her. When she encountered a soft touch, this expectation transformed into a desire to depend on someone.

She had walked alone for too long. She really wanted someone to be with her.

Sometimes, Luo yang could be so candid, which made her seem especially endearing.

Xie Zhitian smiled, reaching out to tuck the corner of the blanket around Luo yang. With her movement, a few strands of hair slipped from behind her ear, landing gently on her straight collarbone.

She said, “Then in the future, if it rains at night, I’ll come and stay with you, okay?”

Xie Zhitian didn’t want to pry into Luo yang’s past, as that would be like reopening wounds that had not yet healed. But she was willing to stay with Luoyang and let time slowly heal everything. A heart that had collapsed into ruins would one day bloom again.

After another long silence, she heard Luo yang ask softly, “Young miss, do you mean it?”

In the dim light, those clear eyes were as bright as stars, holding a thin layer of hope. It was like a stray kitten cautiously extending its paw, both wary and yearning as it touched the traveler’s palm.

“Of course, I mean it.”

Xie Zhitian looked into her eyes and smiled gently.

She held out her hand and hooked her finger with Luo yang’s. “Come on, let’s pinky swear.”

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