The Beautiful, Strong, and Tragic Female Lead is Mine [Transmigration Into a Novel] - Chapter 73

The air was fresh and biting, seeping in through the car window cracks, bringing with it a subtle chill.

Xie Zhitian frowned, slowly opening her eyes to see a sliver of white, like a fish’s belly, on the horizon.

It was a heavy dew in late autumn, and a damp mist hung over the barren fields on either side of the road, diluting the faint morning light. The branches of the trees were bare, the dark trunks standing alone like silent sculptures.

At this time, their group was on their way to District 33. Xie Zhitian and Luo Yang drove the first half of the journey, and it was now Xia Fufeng and Tang Zhuoran’s turn.

Xie Zhitian rubbed her sleepy eyes, struggling to sit up straight. The coat draped over her slid down, but was immediately caught by a slender hand and placed back on her shoulders.

“Tiantiān, go back to sleep. It’ll be about two more hours before we get there.”

The person next to her lowered her voice, as if afraid to disturb her. Then, she reached out and clasped her hand.

A familiar warmth spread through her palm, and Xie Zhitian instinctively leaned closer to Luo Yang. The two of them nestled quietly together.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tang Zhuoran in the front seat concentrating on her driving. Beside her, Xia Fufeng was sound asleep, breathing steadily, with a few strands of long hair slipping down the back of the seat. Luo Yang had her eyes closed, leaning back against the seat, her delicate chin slightly raised, taking a nap.

Xie Zhitian didn’t want to wake them, so she closed her eyes again. She had already slept enough, but being with Luo Yang like this, even without saying or doing anything, filled her with joy.

She hooked her fingers around Luo Yang’s, their fingers intertwined, intimate and inseparable.

Unable to fall back asleep, Xie Zhitian began to mentally review the existing information about District 33.

The first piece of intelligence they received was that for over a month, District 33 had been experiencing an abnormally high frequency of attacks from (Yìxíng – ‘monsters’ or ‘aliens,’ a term for the mutated creatures). The attacks were far more frequent than in other districts. While there were some known reasons for this—District 33 was located on the border next to a desolate, uninhabited area, so it was expected to have more Yìxíng due to a lack of regular clean-up—the frequency was still several, sometimes even more than a dozen, times higher than in other border districts. The residents were living in constant fear, and the guards were struggling to cope, frequently requesting reinforcements from neighboring districts.

However, a month passed, and the situation did not improve; it worsened, with attacks happening daily. Other districts had to send more personnel to help. This also caught the attention of the central government, so the Queen asked the four of them to disguise themselves as supporting guards to investigate what was truly happening in District 33.

When Xie Zhitian first heard about this, her immediate thought was that someone might be deploying a large amount of attractant, causing the Yìxíng to come endlessly. But she quickly dismissed the idea. With so many guards from other districts present, it would be impossible for them not to notice if an attractant was being used for an extended period.

Furthermore, a soldier who had tried to investigate the matter more deeply had been noticed by District 33 staff. Fortunately, she was skilled enough to escape before they could take further action.

Since District 33 had already discovered an investigation was underway, they would undoubtedly heighten security. They needed to be extra careful.

However, the person who assigned the mission also said that other personnel from different districts would be sent soon. Everyone would investigate separately and then gather later to cooperate. When Luo Yang asked how to identify these people or if there were any secret signals, the person said signals were unreliable and told them to focus on their part of the mission. Someone would find them, and they should be prepared to adapt.

As Xie Zhitian’s thoughts drifted, drowsiness began to creep in. When she opened her eyes again, the sky was completely bright.

She heard Tang Zhuoran say softly, “Everyone, wake up. We’re almost there.”

At the end of the road, they could vaguely see the towering, majestic city wall, like a black-armored giant, getting closer and closer.

Xia Fufeng turned her head to the person beside her, “Thank you for driving. You should get some good rest once we get to the district.”

Driving at night was tough, especially in the early morning hours, so Tang Zhuoran had, as usual, taken on that shift.

Tang Zhuoran smiled, “It’s fine, I’m not tired.”

They didn’t enter the district immediately. Instead, they stopped the car and used special tools to alter their appearances. They had already completed one mission in District 7, which had drawn some attention from the higher-ups. So, to make the mission smoother, it was better to impersonate others at first, even if they might be recognized later.

After confirming that everyone had a new face, Tang Zhuoran started the car again and soon pulled up to the entrance of the district. The heavy metal gate on the city wall was shut. Due to the wall’s immense height, looking up from the ground gave them a slight sense of vertigo.

Tang Zhuoran rolled down the window, leaned out, and pressed the call button next to the gate.

Soon, a small opening appeared above the gate, revealing the face of a duty guard, a young man.

He asked, “Who are you?”

Tang Zhuoran pointed to the epaulets on her uniform and replied, “We are guards from District 26. We heard the Yìxíng have been causing trouble here and came to help.”

To conceal their true identities, they had lied about their home district. According to the intelligence from the Queen, District 26 was the only nearby one that hadn’t yet sent modified human reinforcements. So, they had agreed to say this and had even notified District 26 beforehand to prevent their cover from being blown.

“Thank you, thank you,” the man said with a warm smile. “But because there are so many Yìxíng in this area, we’ve just made a new rule to protect our residents. This entrance is only open for three hours each day, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. It’s not time yet, so you’ll have to wait a bit.”

Tang Zhuoran glanced at her wristwatch. It was 7:30 AM, an hour and a half before the gate would open.

According to the map, it would take more than an hour to get to any other entrance.

She frowned. “What if someone arrives after 12:00 PM?”

The man replied, “Then they have to wait outside the district and come in the next morning. It’s for the greater good, you understand.”

“But that rule doesn’t seem very reasonable,” Xia Fufeng said, rolling down her window. “Yìxíng can appear outside the wall at any time. A modified soldier can hold their own, but an ordinary person would die. Besides, with so many unpredictable things on the road, it’s hard to control arrival times, even if people know about the rule.”

The man’s expression was helpless. “It’s a rule from the top; we just have to follow it. Besides, we’re in the middle of nowhere, and it’s been a long time since we’ve had any ordinary people visit.”

Xia Fufeng was frustrated. “But that doesn’t mean…”

Before she could finish, the person beside her gently tugged on her sleeve. Xia Fufeng realized she was getting too emotional and immediately fell silent.

Tang Zhuoran calmly replied, “Okay, we’ll wait here. Please open the gate for us at nine.”

The small opening in the gate closed. Tang Zhuoran sat back in the car and said to the others, “Let’s wash up and have a quick breakfast. We can discuss other things once we’re inside.”

Xie Zhitian found the rule strange. It didn’t seem to offer much protection against Yìxíng from outside the district. Yìxíng invasions typically happened when there was damage to the city wall or if a creature was an evolved form with the ability to fly. The gate was only open for a brief moment, so it was rare for a Yìxíng to suddenly appear and burst in.

Moreover, multiple guards would be on duty at the gate when it opened. Even if a Yìxíng appeared, it would be eliminated on the spot. She didn’t know the purpose of District 33’s new rule, but since they were, on the surface, just outside reinforcements, they would have to investigate it covertly once they were inside.

Xie Zhitian took bread, milk, and fruit from her portable storage and handed them out to her companions for a simple breakfast. With an hour and a half to go before they could enter, it was a good idea to eat something to replenish their energy.

Luo Yang tore open a bag of bread and took a bite, but suddenly stopped.

She put down her food, gripped the long sword next to her, and asked the others, “Do you hear something?”

Xia Fufeng looked dazed for a moment and shook her head. “No, why? What’s wrong?”

Tang Zhuoran strapped her arm-mounted dart pouch and picked up her long blade. “I hear it too. Something is running toward us.”

She cautioned Xia Fufeng, “No matter what happens, don’t get out of the car.”

Xia Fufeng was a bit nervous but obediently replied, “Got it.”

Seeing this, Xie Zhitian also took out her crossbow. Her senses weren’t as sharp as the modified humans, but about half a minute later, she heard a faint sound, like claws scraping on the ground, getting closer and closer.

Her eyes darkened. She planned to play it by ear. If it was a regular Yìxíng, they would get out and eliminate it. If it was some kind of formidable monster, they would drive away immediately.

A cloud of dust rose on the distant horizon, getting closer to them.

As it drew nearer, something emerged from the dust. Xie Zhitian squinted and saw they were a few wild deer. The tension in her chest immediately eased.

With the decrease in Yìxíng, animal populations were recovering, and agile, fast-running creatures like deer were now quite common in the wild.

Seeing this, the group lowered their weapons, not wanting to interfere with the deer’s daily lives.

The deer weren’t interested in their car and ran past them a few meters away, without even a glance.

Then, Xie Zhitian saw a ball of fluffy white fur in the middle of the herd. She was stunned for a moment, almost thinking that Xiao Xiao had crossed over and joined them.

The little white ball ran past the side of the car, then suddenly braked and darted back, stopping by the passenger side window.

Xia Fufeng, who thought everything was fine, had resumed her breakfast. In the blink of an eye, she was met with a pair of watery, brown eyes.

Outside the window was a small, snowy-white fox. It looked very well-behaved, squatting outside the car like a little dog, looking at her expectantly.

More accurately, it was looking at the half-eaten bread in her hand.

Xia Fufeng looked at the fox, then at the bread, and asked her companions with a bewildered expression, “Do foxes eat bread?”

Xie Zhitian wasn’t sure, but the intense longing in the little fox’s eyes made her hesitate. “Maybe we should feed it a bit?”

Xia Fufeng rolled down the window. The little fox’s eyes lit up, and it leaped gracefully through the window, curling up on her lap.

The little thing was quite cheeky. Finding it adorable, Xia Fufeng couldn’t resist stroking its white fur a couple of times before offering it the bread in her hand. The little fox immediately leaned in and began to eat it ravenously.

Afraid it would choke, Xia Fufeng also cut open the half-empty carton of milk and fed it to the fox.

After finishing its meal, the little fox let out a contented purr from its throat. It had no intention of leaving; it simply lay down on Xia Fufeng’s lap, looking ready for a nap.

Xia Fufeng poked the little fox, but it didn’t react, not even lifting an eyelid.

She looked up at the other three in the car. “It’s so cute. Maybe we should keep it for now.”

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