The Zombie I Flirted With After Losing My Memory, Who Was Pretending to be an Alpha, Is Actually My Ex - Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Virus Outbreak Again

Teng Xi slumped in her chair, completely relaxed as she watched the hall gradually descend into chaos.

The islanders were split into two factions: the majority firmly believed in Qi Yin’s rhetoric, while a minority felt the island could not tolerate a single Alpha resident.

Ding~

The staff member rang the bell again, instantly silencing the noisy hall.

Qi Yin clapped her hands, drawing everyone’s attention back to her. “Since there are objections, we will follow custom and put it to a vote. The minority will defer to the majority.”

With that, people in black uniforms brought out two buckets of long wooden voting slips. Two transparent boxes were placed in the center of the hall—one labeled “Yes,” the other “No.” Simple and direct.

“According to the rules, one slip per household. Think carefully before you vote. ‘Yes’ means you agree to let Teng Xi stay; ‘No’ means you disagree. You have one hour.”

Having said her piece, Qi Yin sat down, her hands interlaced on the table.

Islanders stepped forward one after another to take a slip, but none voted immediately. Teng Xi noticed keenly that many of them were glancing at Qi Yin, consciously or not. She frowned; a bad premonition stirred in her gut.

Time ticked away. It wasn’t until the final ten minutes that people began dropping slips into the boxes. But things didn’t seem to be going the way Teng Xi had expected.

She had assumed that after Qi Yin’s speech, the islanders—who treated Qi Yin’s words like holy decrees—would put their slips in the “Yes” box. Instead, it was going the opposite way.

Teng Xi finally sat up straighter, her eyes scanning Qi Yin’s face, a smirk surfacing on her lips. She seemed to understand Qi Yin’s intent now.

And what about Shi Yun? What was she thinking when she said she would help her stay?

Teng Xi’s gaze swept across the hall and suddenly collided with another pair of eyes. The corners of those eyes were slightly upturned, radiating an innate arrogance. The owner of those eyes was “Miss Xi,” whom she had seen once this morning outside Xie Jinbing’s ward.

Xi Youjun was watching her like she was watching a play. Finding herself caught staring, she didn’t show a hint of embarrassment. Instead, she raised a hand in a small wave to Teng Xi and pointed toward the voting boxes in the center of the hall, gesturing for her to look at the results.

On the other end of the monitor, Xie Jinbing’s grip on the tablet tightened, her eyes cold as she glared at Qi Yin.

Qi Yin, right on cue, put on an expression of shock. She frowned deeply as she looked at the box labeled “No,” which was getting fuller by the second, while the “Yes” box held only a few scattered slips. Her entire face was a mask of displeasure, as if things weren’t going according to her wishes.

Ten minutes passed. The one-hour limit was up. The islanders who had voted stood to the side. The results were plain to see; there was no need for a formal count.

While everyone’s eyes were on the boxes, no one noticed a figure in the corner. She had witnessed everything, her face now a picture of “as expected.” With a mocking curl of her lip, she walked slowly toward a side door of the villa hall.

“Cough,” Qi Yin cleared her throat and stood up under the burning gaze of the islanders. “Evidently, the results of the vote are very clear…”

As she reached the end of her sentence, she looked up at the ceiling camera and shrugged with an air of regret, as if saying to the person behind the lens: “See? I tried my best.”

“It appears this is the final decision of the people. However, the Red House was founded not only to provide a fair world for non-Alphas but also to heal and save lives. Therefore, we will arrange for Teng Xi to recover her health at the hospital before sending her off the island. During this time, we will ensure she has no contact with the outside world. Please rest easy.”

As she finished, whispers broke out again.

Teng Xi let out a cold laugh. She leaned back, crossing her legs and folding her arms in a display of indifferent lethargy. She was no longer concerned about leaving a good impression on this flock of “Alpha-fearing white rabbits.”

By now, if she didn’t understand Qi Yin’s plan, she had lived her life for nothing. Qi Yin had never intended to let her stay. Her anti-Alpha nature wouldn’t allow it. But a direct refusal would have been hard to explain to Xie Jinbing, so she staged this play. By shifting the responsibility to the public, she kept her hands clean and could now offer a “compromise” to Xie Jinbing: Teng Xi stays temporarily, but her future depends on your cooperation.

Both women knew that in a confrontation, the more fatal the leverage one held, the smaller the opponent’s chances of winning. And Teng Xi was Xie Jinbing’s Achilles’ heel.

“The results of the trial will be announced via broadcast. If there are objections to the outcome, please…” The staff member began the final bureaucratic formalities.

Suddenly, the crowd began to push and shove. By the time Teng Xi and the others in the center realized something was wrong, the first scream had already pierced the ceiling.

“Ah—Save—Save—Help me—!”

Screams erupted from the crowd, but through the noise, Teng Xi heard the familiar, low growl of a beast.

“What’s happening?” Qi Yin frowned. Her subordinates stepped toward the crowd to investigate.

Teng Xi’s eyelids twitched. Abandoning all decorum, she stood on her chair to look over the heads of the crowd toward the back. What she saw made her whole body shudder. A curse escaped her lips instinctively.

“F*ck!”

The only thing capable of seeing the entire situation clearly was the surveillance camera overhead.

In the ward, Xie Jinbing sat up abruptly. She yanked the IV needle from the back of her hand, ignoring the beads of blood, and rushed out the door.

“Hey, wait! Where are you going? You haven’t recovered yet! Do you want to die?” The doctor who had been coming to change her fluids was nearly knocked over, shouting in alarm once she realized who it was.

“What is this?”

“Dad, what’s wrong with you? Dad… it’s… it’s eating people!”

“D*mn it! Why are you biting me? Are you sick—sick—aaaaagh—!”

“Help—!”

“Don’t come over here—you—”

The subordinates who had gone to check returned in a panic. Before they could speak, Qi Yin understood what had happened.

“Qi… Director Qi… Zom… Zombies…”

The subordinate struggled to move, his head wobbling, his eyes unable to focus. Within seconds, his head twisted painfully, his hands scratching at his own arms until he drew blood. His eyes turned crimson. With a roar, he lunged at Qi Yin.

Before his sharp fangs could touch her, he was sent flying several meters by a massive force from the side. The wooden chair that struck him let out a light cracking sound, instantly drowned out by the sea of screams.

Teng Xi looked at the still-intact chair in her hands and clicked her tongue. “The quality is actually pretty good.”

Qi Yin fell back into her chair, her face remaining surprisingly composed. It made Teng Xi wonder if the flash of panic she had seen in the woman’s eyes a moment ago had been real.

“What is going on?” Teng Xi demanded. “I don’t know.” “You don’t know?!” Teng Xi’s voice rose as she slammed the chair onto the ground. Qi Yin only blinked.

“As to why the zombie virus broke out on the island, I cannot give you an accurate answer right now. Furthermore, I don’t think this is the time to discuss it.”

The hall was a scene of total chaos. People were fleeing in every direction, but strangely, Teng Xi didn’t feel the number of people in the villa decreasing. That meant the villa doors couldn’t be opened, or they had been intentionally locked.

“What are your emergency measures?” Teng Xi swung the chair, smashing it into a zombie lunging at her. Once it hit the floor, she slammed it again and again against its head.

On one strike, the chair finally shattered, leaving only two short pieces of wood in her hands. The zombie on the ground was a mess of brain matter and didn’t move. In the distance, the screaming continued.

“Ah—Help me—!”

The scene was completely out of control. Seeing the zombies chasing and tearing into the crowd, Teng Xi cursed and whirled toward Qi Yin. “What are you still standing there for? Waiting to be their dinner?”

Without waiting for a reply, Teng Xi charged into the crowd. Her toes nipped the ground as she delivered a side-kick that sent a zombie flying. She watched as it struggled for a moment before standing up in a bizarre, non-human posture, rushing back at her with incredible speed.

Teng Xi bent down to scoop up a child who was paralyzed on the floor, wailing. She ducked under a zombie’s attack and ran right into Qi Yin, who was surrounded by several bodyguards in black uniforms.

The black-clad men held guns, but they didn’t fire bullets; they fired small needles. The zombies hit by them slowed down visibly, and their roars quieted. Behind the guards, several zombies were already slumped on the ground—the injections were working, though the onset time was clearly a bit slow.

“My study is a panic room. You can come with me.” Before Qi Yin could finish, she was caught off guard as Teng Xi shoved the child into her arms.

“What are you doing?” Qi Yin grabbed her.

Teng Xi looked back. “Director Qi, I might not be a good person, but I can’t just watch innocent people die.”

“Go, now.” Teng Xi took Qi Yin’s hand and placed it over the child’s eyes to shield them from the carnage.

“No, you can’t die.” Qi Yin gripped Teng Xi firmly. She can’t die. If she dies, how am I supposed to answer to Xie Jinbing?

But the strength of a woman who held a scalpel was no match for Teng Xi, who had spent years wielding a Miaodao. Teng Xi brushed her off easily; she couldn’t be stopped.

“Director, we’re running low on the drug,” a subordinate called out.

Qi Yin grit her teeth, shoved the child into the subordinate’s arms, and snatched the gun from him, preparing to run after Teng Xi.

“Director!” The old man who had spoken earlier blocked her path, disapproval written all over his face. “Leaving her is a liability anyway. Why not take this chance to…”

“No! I promised Xie Jinbing. Nothing can happen to her.”

Seeing Qi Yin’s persistence, the old man shot a look at the subordinates behind her. Qi Yin never expected that one day she would be knocked unconscious by her own men.

Just before the world went black, she looked toward Teng Xi. A flash of dark green arched through the hall, accompanied by a familiar voice.

“Teng Xi, catch!”