A Fake Holy Mother in the Zombie Apocalypse

“It’s just a cellar. What’s so interesting about it? Have you seen enough?” Lu Xingchi asked from behind.

Bei Nuan nodded and walked out of the courtyard.

Lu Xingchi followed her. Before leaving, he glanced back at the deserted courtyard.

Lu Xingchi's purpose in coming here was to find the person hiding in the cellar, but unfortunately, he didn't find anyone.

According to the system's requirements, Lu Xingchi had to follow the route of his previous life again.

The method wasn't to strictly retrace his steps, but to check in at a series of key locations provided by the system.

Moreover, he had to stay at each location for a sufficient amount of time, no shorter than in his previous life.

Therefore, even if he didn't have to take Xiao Ji home, Lu Xingchi had to come to Yao Town to check in and stay on the mountain for a few days.

In his previous life in Yao Town, Bei Nuan had pounced on Luo Er, injuring her waist and taking two days to recover before leaving.

This time, Lu Xingchi carefully calculated and found that the time of going up the mountain was the same as in his previous life.

The infected Luo Da had already entered the town, and something was about to happen.

The first thing Lu Xingchi did after going up the mountain was to go to the abandoned old house to find Luo Da, who was supposed to be hiding in the cellar.

However, the cellar, which should have been occupied, was empty. There was no one there.

The time was right, but the person in the cellar had miraculously disappeared.

Unwilling to give up, Lu Xingchi searched all the unoccupied old houses nearby, but still couldn't find a single person.

When Lu Xingchi returned to the old house and searched it inside and out again, Bei Nuan happened to arrive.

In such a large Yao Town, it was an incredible coincidence.

Bei Nuan knew nothing about Lu Xingchi's intricate thoughts. She reported what had happened at the summit meeting to him.

“Should we leave now?” Bei Nuan asked Lu Xingchi.

Without finding the infected person, the risk was too high.

Yao Town was densely populated. The key issue was that there was only one narrow and steep road leading up and down the mountain. If something went wrong, even with Lu Xingchi there, it would take a lot of effort to fight their way out.

If they were careless, someone might get hurt again.

Bei Nuan looked up at Lu Xingchi and earnestly suggested, “Let's go back to the summit now, call Du Ruo, and then go find Jiang Fei and Tang Tang together.”

Bei Nuan paused, thought for a moment, and added, “Let’s also bring Xiao Ji’s family. We’ll leave the mountain first.”

As for the people in the other towns, they could fend for themselves.

This was not a very saintly thing to say.

Bei Nuan wasn't concerned about increasing her saintly points in front of Lu Xingchi at the moment; she just wanted to take her people down the mountain.

Lu Xingchi looked down at her and suddenly smiled.

He reached out and rubbed her head. “Don’t be so scared. Let’s go back to the summit and see what’s going on.”

Since he said so, Bei Nuan could only follow, her heart full of worry.

Bei Nuan thought that, according to the book, while they were interrogating Luo Er, the group searching the town would discover Luo Da hiding in the cellar.

But now Luo Da was missing, and they had nowhere to find him.

Perhaps the plot would twist and turn and return to its original track, and the people in the town would still find Luo Da, just in a different place.

She hoped so.

Fortunately, everything was normal at the summit. The crowd was still in the meeting, and there was nothing unusual.

Du Ruo was enjoying the meeting immensely, as if he wished he had some sunflower seeds to snack on.

Luckily, Jiang Fei and Tang Tang had also arrived.

The team was reunited, and with the big boss Lu Xingchi present, Bei Nuan felt much more at ease.

Bei Nuan took out the crossbow and spikes from her space and quietly handed them to Lu Xingchi. “Take these, just in case.”

Although she knew he could shoot the spikes without the crossbow, he was used to using it as a cover.

Lu Xingchi smiled and took them.

Jiang Fei's dagger was always hidden on him, so Bei Nuan didn't have to worry about it.

Du Ruo opened his mouth, but Bei Nuan quickly interrupted, “I'm not giving you that knife. You don't want everyone to stop the meeting just to stare at you, do you?”

The knife's exaggerated, edgy design was simply too much.

The people in the town continued their meeting, and soon there was new progress.

They were now filled with righteous indignation, because the culprit who had let the infected person in—Luo Er—had been brought up.

Luo Er had been on guard duty with two other people last night when he happened to encounter his older brother returning.

During the routine inspection, his older brother acted suspiciously, and a bite wound was found on his wrist.

As per the rules, they politely asked him to leave.

At the time, they had made it very clear to the injured Luo Da that he should recuperate outside and return in a couple of days if he truly recovered.

However, the Luo brothers were known for their close bond.

Since childhood, their parents had worked away from home, and the elder brother had acted as a father figure. Luo Er was practically raised by his brother. They shared food when they had it and went hungry together when they didn't, relying on each other for survival.

Later, when his brother went out to work, he continuously sent money back, helping his younger brother build a new house and marry a wife.

This time, his brother had been injured on his way home.

Luo Er couldn't bear the thought of his brother facing the dangers of the zombies outside, so while the other two guards weren't paying attention, he secretly let his brother back in.

His actions in opening the gate weren't smooth, and the other two guards noticed.

After their shift, they quietly followed Luo Er home and, as expected, found Luo Da, who had sneaked in, wolfing down food.

The two immediately tried to apprehend him. Luo Er struggled with them, and by the time they subdued him and went after Luo Da, he had already vanished.

Luo Er was now tied up, standing in the open space at the front, being scolded by the head of the Luo clan.

The clan head patiently persuaded him for a long time, assuring Luo Er that even if they found his brother, even if he had turned into a zombie, they wouldn't kill him, but just expel him from the town.

Unfortunately, it was useless.

Luo Er was stubborn and refused to speak. He didn't say he didn't know; he simply refused to utter a word.

His silence only convinced everyone that he actually knew where his brother was hiding.

This matter was far too serious; no one could cover for him.

Xie Yuanqing, who had been standing by the side, suddenly spoke.

His voice was as gentle and calm as ever.

“Normally, with the clan heads present, it’s not my place to speak, but if we don’t find Luo Da, we’ll all die. Now, apart from torture, there’s no other way.”

Several clan heads deeply agreed and, after a brief discussion, brought out a heavy iron rod, almost as tall as a person.

The iron rod was dark and had a palm-wide flat end. It seemed quite old.

The Luo clan head said earnestly to Luo Er, “Tell us honestly where your brother is hiding, and you’ll suffer less.”

Luo Er shook his head, still refusing to speak.

Having no other choice, the clan head raised his hand.

The person holding the iron rod lifted it and brought it down hard on Luo Er’s back.

Luo Er screamed miserably and fell to his knees.

His screams were so agonizing that Bei Nuan's heart trembled.

Luo Er refused to budge, and the iron rod continued to fall.

The summit was now eerily quiet.

Bei Nuan could hear the thud of the iron rod hitting flesh. Luo Er's screams gradually weakened, and blood seeped through his clothes, staining a large area.

Bei Nuan in the book had endured one blow and couldn't get up for a long time. Luo Er had endured so many blows; she didn't know what state he was in.

Bei Nuan in the book had rushed forward at this point.

She had pushed through the crowd, yelling for them to stop, but no one listened.

So she had thrown herself onto Luo Er.

The person wielding the rod couldn't stop in time, and Bei Nuan took a heavy blow to her waist.

She was small and weak, and the blow almost broke her waist.

The result was that Jiang Fei stepped forward and stabbed the person with the rod, and the team clashed with Xie Yuanqing and his men, starting a conflict.

From the perspective of gaining saintly points, Bei Nuan, as a standard saint, should have rushed forward to protect Luo Er, just like in the book.

Of course, Bei Nuan wouldn't be foolish enough to let herself be hit for no reason.

But should she intervene?

Bei Nuan hesitated.

Her original plan was to find Luo Da, hand him over, and let this matter pass peacefully.

Unfortunately, the plot had deviated, and Luo Da wasn't in the cellar at all. They couldn't find him.

This matter was of great importance. If they didn't find him, the entire town might suffer the consequences.

In her heart, Bei Nuan completely understood Xie Yuanqing's actions.

Furthermore, Bei Nuan also felt that Luo Er deserved what he got.

For the sake of his brotherly affection, he had disregarded the safety of the entire town. He really deserved a beating.

However, the iron rod beating was too brutal.

Even though Bei Nuan was mentally prepared and knew he would be beaten, the scene was far more gruesome than she had anticipated.

Right and wrong, Bei Nuan couldn't figure it out for a while; her mind was a mess.

While she was hesitating, she suddenly realized that Lu Xingchi was looking down at her.

Immediately afterward, Bei Nuan realized that, at some point, Lu Xingchi had tightly grasped her hand.

His hand was like an iron clamp, firmly controlling her, as if he was afraid she would impulsively run forward.

Over there, Luo Er was lying on the ground, but he still refused to talk.

Xie Yuanqing told the men to stop for a moment and squatted down to ask him, his voice still gentle, as if an elder was talking to a mischievous child who had made a mistake.

“Where is your brother hiding? As long as you tell us, no one will hit you again.”

Luo Er continued to shake his head.

Du Ruo suddenly spoke from the side: “This is an ethical dilemma called the ticking time bomb scenario.”

What?

Bei Nuan looked up at Du Ruo in confusion.

Du Ruo explained: “This dilemma describes a situation where a time bomb is about to explode, and if it does, countless people will be killed or injured. The criminal refuses to reveal the bomb’s location. In this case, should torture be used?”

Bei Nuan didn’t speak.

Lu Xingchi replied, “Utilitarians would think that it’s okay to do so to save so many people. Opponents would argue that torture itself is wrong.”

Du Ruo said, “And once this kind of precedent is set, who will decide in the future under what circumstances torture can be used? It can easily lead to abuse of power.”

Bei Nuan thought, you two really have the leisure to discuss this now.

Regardless of the dilemma, let's solve the immediate problem first.

According to the original plot, someone should have discovered Luo Da by now and brought him up, as he was about to transform.

Had the plot really deviated beyond repair?

Over there, seeing that Luo Er resolutely refused to confess, Xie Yuanqing gestured to his men.

His men didn't bring Luo Da, but they brought up two other people.

One was a young woman, and the other was a three or four-year-old little girl.

Luo Er, who had been motionless, suddenly struggled when he saw them being brought up.

Xie Yuanqing still spoke in the same calm and gentle tone, but now with a hint of reproach, “You refuse to talk, so we can only target your wife and child. Don't you even care about them?”

Xie Yuanqing made a gesture, and the man with the iron rod raised it again.

The woman screamed in terror, hugging the little girl tightly. The little girl, who had been sobbing, now burst into tears.

The next blow was about to fall on the mother and daughter.

Bei Nuan was startled.

She knew how brutal the iron rod was; the little girl probably couldn't withstand even one blow.

Du Ruo, who was standing beside them, had already spoken up to stop them: “Wait a minute!”

Du Ruo pushed through the crowd and squeezed to the front.

Xie Yuanqing raised his hand to stop his men before Du Ruo could approach.

He stopped them so quickly that Bei Nuan strongly suspected that he hadn't actually intended to hit them in the first place.

“Wait for what? Do you have a better solution?” Xie Yuanqing glanced at Du Ruo.

Du Ruo played dumb, “I’m still thinking.”

Xie Yuanqing was a bit speechless and calmly asked, “No?” He waved his hand, and the man with the iron rod raised it again.

Lu Xingchi had already brought Bei Nuan to the front.

“Give me some time,” Lu Xingchi said. “All of you stay on the summit. I’ll go to the town to find him myself.”

Du Ruo also said, “I’ll go too.”

He wasn't afraid of zombies, so he was indeed suitable for searching.

Xie Yuanqing said slowly, “You’ll search? Where will you search? The town is so big. How long will it take you few to find him?”

The clan head beside him also said, “If we listen to you, what if something happens and you turn into zombies too? There are so many people in Yao Town. Can you bear the responsibility?”

Bei Nuan squeezed forward with them, her mind racing. Suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind.

“Xie Yuanqing, I know where he might be hiding. Give us ten minutes!”

Her voice was sweet and clear. Xie Yuanqing glanced at her impassively and raised his wrist to look at his watch.

“Ten minutes,” he said.

He agreed so readily that Bei Nuan immediately regretted saying such a short time and bargained with him, “Twenty minutes. How about twenty minutes?”

Xie Yuanqing replied, “Fifteen minutes. The situation is urgent; we can’t spare even a minute more.”

Bei Nuan grabbed Lu Xingchi’s arm and pulled him away, running.

“Where are we going?” Lu Xingchi followed her.

“I think I know where he might be hiding,” Bei Nuan said as she ran. “Let’s go and see. It’s okay, if we can’t find him, we’ll think of something else.”

Bei Nuan pulled Lu Xingchi and ran straight to Xie Yuanqing’s house.

Fortunately, his house was also on the summit, not far away.

As Bei Nuan approached, she saw that the courtyard gate was locked, but there were people guarding the entrance, several of Xie Yuanqing’s men.

Bei Nuan was beautiful, and she had just been there, so they recognized her at a glance.

“Our Brother Xie is at the square for the meeting.” They thought Bei Nuan had come to find Xie Yuanqing.

“I know. Your Brother Xie sent us here for something,” Bei Nuan falsely claimed, then added, “We’ll just go into the courtyard, not the house.”

Knowing that Xie Yuanqing treated Bei Nuan differently, they only discussed it briefly before unlocking the gate with a key and letting her and Lu Xingchi in.

Bei Nuan unhesitatingly led Lu Xingchi inside and stopped in front of a cluster of blooming dahlias.

Next to the flower bed was a large, wooden, well-cover-like object.

Every household here had a cellar in their courtyard for storing sweet potatoes, and the clan head’s cellar was here.

Last time, when Little Princess passed by these flowers, she had suddenly bristled. Bei Nuan had seen from afar that there was a cover on the slope next to the mountain.

But at that time, Bei Nuan had no idea what it was.

Now it was clear. It was a cellar cover, much newer than the one in the abandoned courtyard, but identical in design.

Dahlia’s unusual reaction might have been because there was a stranger hiding inside.

Yao Town was so small. If one were to find a place to hide, the clan head’s house would be the best hiding place.

No one was using the cellar now anyway, and even if others wanted to search, they wouldn't think of searching the clan head’s house, the least likely place to hide someone.

Moreover, Luo Da might already know that the wealthy and influential Xie Yuanqing was now living in the clan head's house, making it even more untouchable.

It was a classic case of hiding in plain sight.

Getting in wasn't difficult. The courtyard wall was so low that one could easily climb over it. Luo Da was a local and knew the area well.

However, Bei Nuan was only guessing and wasn't entirely certain.

Seeing the cellar, Lu Xingchi, holding the crossbow, pulled Bei Nuan behind him.

He kicked the wooden cover open.

Sure enough, there was a person huddled in the cellar, looking up in terror as the cover was suddenly removed.

It was still a person, not a zombie.

“I’ll count to three. Come out.” Lu Xingchi pointed the crossbow at his head.

The person came out. Only in the sunlight could they see clearly. He was a man in his thirties, his clothes filthy from hiding, and his hair covered in dirt.

Most noticeable was a fresh, bleeding wound on his right wrist, clearly a bite.

This person must have been infected, because Bei Nuan saw that the whites of his eyes, like Du Ruo’s before, were covered in red veins.

Lu Xingchi had Bei Nuan step back and escorted the young man out.

The young man had probably been hiding for too long; his legs were weak, his movements very slow. Every few steps, he seemed about to collapse, shuffling forward under the threat of the crossbow.

The three of them slowly made their way back to the spring.

This man was indeed Luo Da.

As soon as they appeared, the entire place was filled with curses.

The Luo clan head was furious. He snatched the iron rod from someone nearby and was about to bring it down on Luo Da’s head.

Lu Xingchi intercepted the iron rod. “Don’t hit him. He seems to be infected. There’s a virus in his blood.”

His meaning was clear: if anyone had a wound and came into contact with Luo Da’s blood, they risked infection.

As soon as he said this, a large empty space immediately formed around Luo Da.

Luo Er, lying on the ground, opened his eyes. Seeing his brother, he struggled to get up and hug his brother's leg.

“Don’t hit my brother…”

The change happened in an instant.

Luo Da, who had been cowering on the ground, his head in his hands, suddenly convulsed a few times and raised his head.

His eyes were blood red.

The others were far away and couldn't reach him. The closest to him was his younger brother, and he bit down on Luo Er’s neck.

Xie Yuanqing raised his gun, Jiang Fei drew his knife, and Du Ruo reached out to grab him.

But no one was faster than Lu Xingchi.

A spike instantly went where it should go.

Luo Da's movements froze, as if paused. After several seconds, he slowly fell backward.

Luo Er saw his brother’s transformation clearly and was both shocked and terrified.

It seemed he hadn't expected his brother to actually turn into a zombie, and after transforming, the first person he attacked was him.

The scene was silent.

Many people from Yao Town had come up the mountain as soon as they heard something was wrong. For many, this was the first time they had witnessed someone transforming, and the first time they had seen a zombie attack a person.

After a long while, Xie Yuanqing spoke, his voice still calm and gentle.

He pointed to the motionless Luo Da and instructed his men, “Take him outside the town and bury him. Be careful when handling him.”

They found a plastic sheet, wrapped Luo Da in it, and carried him through the crowd.

The crowd silently parted to make way for them.

“Clan Head,” Xie Yuanqing said politely, “Everyone has seen how terrifying zombies are. I think our current method of guarding the gate isn’t very effective.”

He was right. If this happened again, Yao Town might not be so lucky.

A clan head said, “We can assign more people every day and supervise each other…”

Xie Yuanqing interrupted him, “Everyone in Yao Town are fellow villagers. They might be reluctant to turn people away. While it’s unforgivable, it’s understandable.”

He glanced around. “My brothers are not from Yao Town. They have no relatives or friends here, and they don’t know anyone. If they also help guard the gate, it might be better.”

His words made sense, and the people below expressed their agreement.

Several clan heads discussed it among themselves and agreed that it was indeed a good solution.

Bei Nuan and Lu Xingchi exchanged glances.

Both understood that Xie Yuanqing was using this opportunity to subtly shift the actual control of Yao Town into his own hands.

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