The Beautiful, Strong, and Tragic Female Lead is Mine [Transmigration Into a Novel] - Chapter 47

The mountains were quiet at night. Moonlight cascaded from the sky, cloaking the towering peaks in a veil of silver.

Tang Zhuoran lay hidden in a thicket, observing the outside world through the gaps in the leaves. The scent of plants and the smell of soil mingled in the air around her.

She had followed the signal from Xie Zhitian all the way here, keeping a distance of about two kilometers to avoid arousing suspicion.

When she received Xie Zhitian’s signal to stop, she parked the car in a nearby woods, leaving Xia Fufeng and the other two reformed people behind while she went into the mountains to investigate.

Tang Zhuoran spotted the car carrying Xie Zhitian and her companions at the foot of the mountain and followed the trail up. The path was covered with withered grass, the footprints not yet completely recovered.

Shortly after becoming a reformed person, she discovered her specialty. She was as light as a swallow, able to move with almost no sound or scent. Her comrades used to joke that she was like a female warrior from a wuxia novel, scaling walls and leaving no trace.

Tang Zhuoran moved with great speed, following the tracks up the mountain and quickly catching up to the group ahead.

A man and a woman were carrying Xie Zhitian and Luo Yang, respectively, and they stopped in a dense part of the forest. The leader entered a password, and with a soft metallic click, a section of the ground and grass lifted, revealing a hidden entrance.

The group entered one by one, and the lid closed behind them.

Tang Zhuoran felt a small sense of relief. At least the location of the two was now confirmed, and everything seemed to be going smoothly.

She knew she couldn’t rush in, but she didn’t want to leave in case something went wrong. She waited motionless in the bushes for over an hour until her communicator finally chimed again.

It was a message from Xie Zhitian: “Safe.”

Tang Zhuoran breathed a sigh of relief, replied with “Stay in touch,” and then got up.

She glided swiftly through the mountains, her feet barely touching the treetops, like a gentle breeze, making no sound.

Her comrades’ car was still parked where she left it. Tang Zhuoran opened the door, slipped inside, and said, “Found the place.”

“That’s great, it’s good you found it.”

Inside the car, bathed in darkness, Xia Fufeng’s voice was soft but exceptionally clear. “So what do we do now?”

“We wait,” Tang Zhuoran replied, looking out the window. “Find a few hidden spots within five kilometers—no, three kilometers—and rotate our lodging for the next few days.”

The communicator’s reception range was five kilometers, but to be safe, she shortened the distance. District 14 had already been covertly sending some reformed people into District 7, with more arriving every day, including reinforcements from other districts.

After careful consideration, Tang Zhuoran decided to take two reformed soldiers with her to set up an ambush nearby, while the rest would remain on standby within the district. This approach was more discreet and would prevent them from being easily discovered.

She initially wanted Xia Fufeng to stay on standby as well, but after some investigation, the team heard that wild beasts frequently roamed the mountains in District 7. While reformed people could handle aliens and weren’t afraid of wild animals, killing too many beasts would create a commotion and leave behind corpses that might raise suspicion.

Xia Fufeng volunteered to come along, offering to use her talent for taming beasts to minimize conflict with animals. Tang Zhuoran couldn’t think of a better solution and reluctantly agreed.

A companion spoke softly, “Captain Tang, I got out and took a look earlier. There’s a well-hidden cave in the woods ahead. We could stay there for now. That area has a lot of trees and plants, and the weeds are waist-high, so the car won’t be easily seen.”

Tang Zhuoran said, “Okay, let’s go.”

Then she glanced at the young girl beside her. Xia Fufeng had been busy all day, and the exhaustion was clear on her face, yet she was still trying to sit up straight and stay awake.

Her heart softened. “We can rest soon. Just hold on a little longer.”

She paused, then added, “It’s going to be very hard these next few days, so be prepared.”

“I know. You’ve told me so many times.”

Xia Fufeng rubbed her eyes and gave a big smile. “I’m ready. I’m not afraid of hard work.”

“Splash.”

A basin of cold water was suddenly thrown over her, and Xie Zhitian’s body shivered slightly.

She controlled her expression and slowly opened her eyes, her face full of confusion. “How did I fall asleep? …Where is this place?”

Cold water dripped down from her hair, blurring her vision. She could vaguely make out a row of sturdy metal bars.

Her hands and feet were still bound, and she couldn’t move. Xie Zhitian shook the water from her face, turned to look at Luo Yang, who was also pretending to wake up, and asked, “Are you okay, Qiao Yu?”

She remembered their fake names and said them as naturally as possible to avoid raising suspicion.

“I’m fine. Where is this?” Luo Yang’s expression was just as bewildered. Her gaze went over Xie Zhitian’s shoulder, toward the back, and her voice immediately became tense. “Who are you?”

Xie Zhitian turned around, pretending to have just noticed someone behind her. “Someone’s there?”

Behind them was a row of silvery-gray metal bars, and a tall figure stood behind them. The dim, yellowish light illuminated her expressionless face.

It was a young woman in her twenties, with short hair and a cold, striking appearance. She wore a sharp uniform and held a wooden bucket that was still dripping, leaving a small trail of water on the concrete floor.

Xie Zhitian’s eyes widened in fear, and she struggled to move back. “Who are you? Why have you locked us up?”

A quick glance to the sides made her realize that she and Luo Yang were in a place similar to a prison cell. The room was about twenty square meters, with a separate small square room in the corner, likely a restroom.

A few thin straw mats were laid on the floor, covered with some simple bedding that had a musty smell from the dampness. Near the pillows were some dusty utensils and a water cup.

The woman looked at her and said calmly, “If you don’t want to die, save your strength.”

Upon hearing this, Xie Zhitian lowered her head as if in fear. “W-what do you want? We haven’t done anything wrong! We just came here for work!”

Her eyes fell on the black boots the woman was wearing. She was the one who had been called “Sister Ximing” earlier. Judging by Gao Hua’s attitude toward her, she had some authority here.

The woman didn’t reply and turned to walk away.

Xie Zhitian looked out past the bars. She saw that this area was divided into many cells like theirs, with several intersecting walkways in between.

The woman stopped at a cell and said, “District 14 has new people. Does anyone want to volunteer to show them the ropes?”

Her voice was flat but carried a strong sense of pressure.

Luo Yang leaned close to Xie Zhitian’s ear and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, “She’s a reformed person, and she must be very strong.”

Xie Zhitian nodded in agreement. “Be careful.”

After a long silence, a timid female voice spoke up. “Then… I’ll do it.”

The woman said, “Fine, come here.”

Footsteps sounded again, and then a cell door was opened. A slender girl was pushed inside.

The woman locked the door and said in a cold tone, “Follow her and learn well. You’ll suffer less.”

Before Xie Zhitian could say anything, the girl quickly said, “Don’t worry, Sister Ximing, I’ll teach them well and won’t cause you any trouble.”

The woman ignored her and left without another word.

The moment her figure disappeared at the end of the walkway, the girl let out a small sigh of relief and mumbled, “Oh my goodness, you scared me to death.”

Xie Zhitian reminded her, “Why don’t you help us with these restraints first?”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I’m a little nervous.”

The girl immediately bent down and began to untie the restraints for both of them.

Her movements were nimble, and she quickly untied the tight knots and threw the straps aside.

“Thank you,” Xie Zhitian said, rubbing her sore wrists. “What’s your name?”

The girl replied, “He Yuzhu.”

Xie Zhitian and Luo Yang were both taken aback.

He Yuzhu? Isn’t this the person who sent the letter to Tang Zhuoran?

The letter had seemed harmless on the surface but contained hidden clues, alerting them that something was wrong in District 7.

Luo Yang whispered, “Is it safe to talk here?”

“Yes, it’s safe. There aren’t enough people here, so the guards are near the exit. As long as you stay quiet when you hear the patrol’s footsteps, you can talk softly at other times, and no one will hear you.”

He Yuzhu was also smart. Seeing their reaction, she immediately realized the situation.

She glanced around and lowered her voice. “You saw my letter?”

“We did,” Luo Yang replied softly and concisely. “We’re here to rescue you.”

She thought for a moment and introduced herself and Xie Zhitian to He Yuzhu using their aliases, “Qiao Yu” and “Su Qing.” She had heard from Tang Zhuoran that the first batch of reformed people from District 14 had no prior work contact with these two reformed people, and their assigned positions were far apart, so they didn’t know each other.

The fewer people who knew their true identities, the better. There was no need to tell the reformed people here. It was better to let them think they were just Tang Zhuoran’s subordinates.

He Yuzhu’s eyes turned red with excitement, and she spoke more quickly. “That’s great. They said that if I went in and there was no news, it would raise suspicion, so they forced me to write a letter to my old district to say I was safe. I thought long and hard and wrote that letter, and luckily, the person who delivered it wasn’t very smart and didn’t notice anything. Captain Tang sent you, right? I knew she wouldn’t abandon us…”

Xie Zhitian replied, “Yes, as soon as Captain Tang saw your letter, she realized something was wrong. It just took some time to plan and assemble the team.”

She looked into He Yuzhu’s eyes. “Now, tell us what’s really going on here?”

At the mention of this, He Yuzhu’s eyes darkened, and she sighed softly.

She seemed to not know where to begin and was silent for a while before finally speaking. “Do you remember the process of becoming a reformed person?”

Luo Yang nodded. “Of course.”

Using various methods to forcibly induce mutations, a person’s potential is unleashed, pushing them past their limits to become a warrior with extraordinary comprehensive abilities. It was a painful path full of blood and tears, one she didn’t want to recall.

“They’ve started doing it again.”

He Yuzhu sighed again. “But this time, they’re reforming aliens.”

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