Transmigrated as the Villainous Love Rival of the Abusive Novel's Heroine [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 43.1

Chapter 43.1: Nightmare

After a night of rest, Yun Qianxue’s overworked legs began to feel incredibly sore and achy. She thumped her thighs; the consequence of climbing two mountains felt like doing five hundred squats in a row—her legs pained her so much she couldn’t even bend down.

“I’ll carry you,” Yin Shaoqing said for the third time. She was holding An An in her arms, carrying their backpacks, and had a crude sled made of tied branches fastened to her waist, which held over forty rifles.

Yun Qianxue took one look and rejected the offer with an equally firm voice: “No need.” Setting aside how much gear this person was already lugging, the mere thought of being carried by her made Yun Qianxue feel too embarrassed. “And isn’t all that heavy? Give me the backpacks.”

Yun Qianxue only carried her own bow; everything else was on Yin Shaoqing. She couldn’t quite bear to watch it. This person had practically become a pack mule, being worked to a pitiable degree. Yin Shaoqing shook her head; she was strong, and dragging this much was a trivial matter.

Inside Yin Shaoqing’s soul, the Fat Calico Cat watched the two of them pushing back and forth and closed its eyes in disgust. Unbelievable. Even coming down a mountain, you two can be this mushy.

Unlike the two who were entirely focused on each other, Zhe Yu’s focus was more practical. “Xiao Yin, did you see our cars when you came?” Zhe Yu asked while carrying Qi Ming, worried that their supplies might have been destroyed. Food was one thing, but medicine was vital. Supplies were becoming increasingly scarce, and the stock in most pharmacies and hospitals had already been scavenged. As the number of ability users grew and the weak organized into groups, teams exploring dangerous areas increased. It wasn’t easy to find “leavings” anymore. They would either have to search more dangerous locations or search individual homes.

“The cars are unusable, but the supplies are still there,” Yin Shaoqing said, her features cold. “Their goal was very clear: they came to capture people.”

“But since no survivors were left, we can’t ask them anything.” After a night’s rest, a recovered Yun Qianxue suddenly realized she had forgotten to tell Yin Shaoqing to leave someone alive yesterday. Now that everyone was slaughtered, the leads were cut.

“No need.” Yin Shaoqing had only rushed back after finishing the task the girl had given her. She had slipped into the Kanya Tower and discovered many newly manufactured experimental instruments inside. “There are quite a few people inside manufacturing equipment,” Yin Shaoqing recounted everything she saw. Those people all wore crosses and seemed to be believers; they constantly muttered about a “Young Mistress” who was described like a god. A god descending in the Noah Era.

“How ridiculous. In an era called the ‘God-Abandoned Era,’ a god appears?” Yun Qianxue let out a cold sneer. At the beginning of the apocalypse in her previous life, she had met an old woman who was a loyal believer. She believed God had not abandoned His people, so she helped others with total sincerity and to the best of her ability. Her house became the first refuge for many; it had decent defenses, and she kept several dogs to help her hunt to feed the human-skinned demons she had rescued.

However, when food became severely scarce one day, her beloved dogs were slaughtered and eaten by those people. Later, when Yun Qianxue was preparing to leave, she wanted to take the old woman with her.

“God will not abandon me. I must wait here for Him to take me away.”

Unfortunately, a year later in another location, Yun Qianxue heard a story from a bearded man. A foolish old lady had taken in a gang of bandits. The bandits ate her guard dogs, snatched her house, and turned the former survival point into a death pit. They used the sturdy house to attract many exploration teams; they let the strong ones go to build “goodwill,” but killed the weak ones and threw them into a pot to be cooked. The bandits forced the foolish old woman to eat with them because she was a believer. What could make those villains happier than destroying a person’s lifelong faith?

“And in the end?” Zhe Yu was horrified and angry. “How could people be such ungrateful wolves?! They’re simply a pack of beasts!”

“The result was that she was eaten too.” Yun Qianxue’s apricot eyes were indifferent. At that time, food was extremely scarce; although they knew a crazed old lady wouldn’t taste good, she could still stave off hunger.

“Sister, did those people get punished?” An An, lying in Yin Shaoqing’s arms, suddenly opened her clear eyes and asked.

The child’s innocent question made Yun Qianxue pause. In this hopeless apocalypse, perhaps she should protect this soft white innocence for now.

“Of course.” Yun Qianxue rubbed An An’s hair; it was soft and nice to touch. She said gently, “The old lady’s God sent down a blizzard and froze those bad people, and the old lady was eventually taken away by her God.”

“Is that so~” An An squinted her eyes, happily nuzzling Yun Qianxue’s palm. Her innocent, happy look made everyone feel better.

But in reality, the adults present knew that the so-called “God” was a fiction. And the blizzard Yun Qianxue mentioned was merely another disaster of the apocalypse.

“Alright, let’s talk about something happy.” Unwilling to let the atmosphere stay heavy, Zhe Yu changed the subject. “Think on the bright side—our supplies weren’t lost, which means we can have hot pot later.”

Hot pot was something none of them could resist even before the apocalypse. Especially Zhe Yu, who used to cry about dieting while being unable to stop herself from sneaking out for hot pot. (Of course, the two “infuriating” people beside her who never got fat regardless of how much they ate didn’t count.) After the apocalypse, hot pot became even more alluring. Almost every time they entered a town, Yin Shaoqing would search for a large amount of hot pot base.

Unlike others who struggled to hunt, Yin Shaoqing wasn’t afraid of the zombies hiding and popping out everywhere. Her powerful abilities and the “cheats” the Fat Calico Cat gave her allowed her to keep her group well-fed. Even the two children had put on some weight. However, Qi Ming would likely lose weight again this time; his ability was strong, but the burden it placed on him was equally immense.

“Not only that, but if we follow that group outside A6 City, we will almost certainly find this ‘Young Mistress.'” Yin Shaoqing had seen that the vehicles of those stationed outside the city were loaded with experimental equipment. Within three days, they would likely transport the gear away.

“Could that ‘Young Mistress’ be Na Anxue?” Not knowing exactly how familiar her ungrateful cousin was with Yin Shaoqing or how much of the Yin family’s wealth she controlled, Yun Qianxue could only speculate.

Yin Shaoqing shook her head decisively. “Impossible. Even if she can predict the future like Qi Ming, or even if she’s like you… with her capabilities, she couldn’t possibly command that many people.”

Being mindful of Zhe Yu’s presence, Yin Shaoqing didn’t mention Yun Qianxue’s rebirth. However, she had searched the original body’s memories and learned that while the Yin family recognized Na Anxue as her friend, the high-level executives held an innate arrogance and looked down on her. They hadn’t given her much power—at most, access permissions to the Kanya Tower. Therefore, it was highly likely she had sided with the “Young Mistress” and, in order to claim credit, suggested using Kanya as a production site for experimental equipment. After all, it had advanced production facilities that Yin’s father had stuffed in there to give his daughter the best of everything.

“Unfortunately, the garden is gone.” Yin Shaoqing was a bit unhappy; she couldn’t take the girl to see the flowers anymore.

“It’s fine.” Where couldn’t one see flowers? Yun Qianxue smiled, her eyes curving as she pointed at the wild flowers blooming brilliantly on the mountain. “Aren’t these just as beautiful?” In this foul and lifeless world, the resilient and stubborn wild flowers still bloomed unconquered, releasing their passion and striving to live.

“Look at them while we can.” Yun Qianxue brushed against a small pale blue flower. In another year, after the plants mutated, this forest wouldn’t be a place they could enter at will.

“True,” Zhe Yu lamented. She used to be busy running for her life with her children, dodging zombies and worrying about every bite of food. She had neither the time nor the energy to look at flowers and grass. When you can barely keep your life, how can you care about such things? But now, with a guarantee of safety and being protected, she could stop to look at the scenery. Scenery she might never have the chance to see again.

“Mama…” Qi Ming, who had been on Zhe Yu’s back, suddenly murmured, tears sliding down quietly. No one knew what nightmare he was having. Zhe Yu reached back and patted him gently, coaxing him to sleep. It was a pity for the two children, born in such unstable times, destined to suffer…

“Their cars are decent, but the smell inside, tsk…” After coming down the mountain, Zhe Yu sent the two girls to rest while she began cleaning the vehicles of the pursuers. She was utterly disgusted. They chose two cars as their new “nests,” but when she opened the doors, the lingering stench of stale smoke was nauseating. There were also trash bags under the seats with rotting food—no wonder there was a strange smell.

“I can’t stand it. How can they be so messy?” After pulling a smelly sock from under another seat, Zhe Yu reached a breaking point. Heavens, if her husband lived like this in the apocalypse, throwing socks everywhere, she would… forget it; whether her husband even had socks to wear in the apocalypse was another matter. Zhe Yu sighed, truly hoping he was doing well, because she and the children worried about him.

“Don’t worry, my helicopter should still be there.” Yin Shaoqing saw Zhe Yu’s concern and comforted her. “From what the Kanya people said, their person in charge uses my helicopter to travel between A6 City and other cities.” Actually, in every peripheral city around A6, Yin’s father had established a Kanya branch, which the original body had very wastefully used to grow flowers.

“Damned capitalists,” Yun Qianxue ground her teeth.

Yin Shaoqing shrugged, feeling wronged: “Don’t say that. We are just honest, tax-paying merchants.” Except for the original body, of course. The original body was just a parasite, waiting to die while acting arrogant and domineering—judging by the insane things she did in the previous life, her death in this life wasn’t unearned.

In fact, before Yin Shaoqing transmigrated, the original body had contracted the zombie virus and died during the high fever. Just as the body was about to turn, Yin Shaoqing arrived, withstood the invasion of the virus, and triggered her abilities. Furthermore, the original body hadn’t been protected and taken to Base S as Yun Qianxue remembered from her past life. When Yin Shaoqing arrived, she was locked in an empty mansion, and everyone else had vanished. It was likely the “butterfly effect” from Yun Qianxue’s rebirth was so strong it blew away everyone around Yin Shaoqing. There truly wasn’t a single living person left. This forced her, who had zero cooking talent, to gnaw on stale crackers. Those days made her want to cry.

Fortunately, she had the girl now, and Zhe Yu, a meticulous mother. The faint smile on Yin Shaoqing’s lips made Yun Qianxue smile secretly as well. Well, it was a good day today; no dark clouds, which made one feel joyful.

“By the way, time to change your dressing.” Sitting downwind, Yin Shaoqing easily caught the odor from the wound on Yun Qianxue’s face. It didn’t smell good, and the wound was truly ugly and hideous. Yun Qianxue herself didn’t dare to look. But… she allowed the tall woman to remove her bandages. Even Zhe Yu, who was cleaning nearby, didn’t turn away, and the two children didn’t care about the ugly wound, showing neither fear nor disgust. Ah, though they would always ask: “Ah-Xue, does it hurt?” or “Sister, does the wound hurt?”

The adorable children were most pleasing, and the hardworking young mother made one want to protect her. And then there was the ever-changing Shaoqing…

Yun Qianxue closed her eyes slightly. Her luck this life was quite good; everyone she met was a good person. After sorting everything out, the group had different ideas regarding their future itinerary. For Yin Shaoqing and Yun Qianxue, they naturally wanted to follow the experimental equipment to find this “Young Mistress” and drag out the bastard behind the scenes. But for Zhe Yu and the children, they hoped to reach N8 City as soon as possible to find the children’s father.

“How about this: I’ll teach you to fly a helicopter first,” Yin Shaoqing came up with a plan. In the apocalypse, it was hard to trust anyone except themselves.

Zhe Yu was stunned, failing to react, but Yun Qianxue took over and asked back, “We can’t get to a plane; how will you teach?”

Right now, A6 City was heavily guarded; losing a helicopter would definitely be noticed. If they couldn’t touch a helicopter, were they just going to talk theory on paper? That wouldn’t do; it wasn’t stable enough.

“Then we’ll just steal one,” Yin Shaoqing shrugged. As if that were a big deal.

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