A Fake Holy Mother in the Zombie Apocalypse

Du Ruo, hearing Lu Xingchi's words, turned and asked, "Bei Nuan, what does Qiu Ji look like? Compared to Lu Xingchi, who is more handsome?"

Bei Nuan replied objectively, "Of course Lu Xingchi is more handsome."

Her answer was immediate, with the added emphasis of "of course," greatly pleasing Lu Xingchi.

Du Ruo then asked, "Then how about me compared to Lu Xingchi?"

Bei Nuan answered even faster and more definitively than before, "It's definitely you, the Zombie King."

Lu Xingchi: "…"

Having found the source of the markers, there was no need to stay on the island any longer.

Early the next morning, the group woke up and, after a discussion, decided to mimic the tattooed man's method, scaling the wall and escaping during the morning guard change.

Before leaving, they wanted to visit Xiao Shao one last time.

After breakfast, they walked through the quiet morning market towards Xiao Shao's home.

Xiao Shao was still in bed, but her fever had subsided.

She ate the porridge Jiang Fei made, sat up, and looked much better.

Du Ruo told Xiao Shao directly that they were leaving and asked if she wanted to come with them.

There might be better places ahead.

Xiao Shao thought carefully and declined.

"This island is on the lake, which is even better than the fortress for defense against zombies. I'm settled here, I've saved some money, and I have a place to live. I might not be better off elsewhere."

Du Ruo insisted, but Lu Xingchi glanced at him. "She doesn't want to go. You don't have to force her."

Du Ruo finally gave up.

Once they left the island, the money Bei Nuan earned from cage fighting would be useless. Bei Nuan wanted to give the money to Xiao Shao, hoping to boost her Saintly Value.

But Xiao Shao firmly refused.

She said, "I have enough savings. Besides, I can't rely on others for everything."

She was young but full of spirit.

When they left Xiao Shao's house, the market was bustling with people setting up stalls, chatting, and shopping.

It turned out that Bei Nuan was right last night.

The market was abuzz with fresh gossip—the new "Young Master Qiu" had declared that no one on the island needed to wear markers anymore. Newcomers wouldn't receive markers, and old markers were to be returned to Old Hu.

This new rule caused a strong backlash.

Because no one wanted to return their markers.

Many people were panicked.

"If no one wears markers, how will we know what rank others are?"

"What if I accidentally stay with an A and I'm in danger?"

"I hate those Fs who drag people down. If no one wears markers, how will we know who is an F?"

Not only were they reluctant to return their markers, but they also initiated a spontaneous movement, forcing everyone to display their markers on their clothing.

In the market, many people acted like vigilantes, catching anyone without a visible marker and forcing them to show it. Those who didn't comply were beaten.

Bei Nuan's marker had been thrown away by Lu Xingchi last night, but she didn't encounter any trouble.

Because her face was her marker.

Everyone who saw her would first pause, then exclaim like they were seeing a celebrity, "That's the F!" "Yes, that's the F who won so many cage fights!"

It made Bei Nuan very embarrassed.

Lu Xingchi didn't have a marker either.

He strode through the market without any trouble. His broad shoulders, narrow waist, icy gaze, and the lines of his muscles visible beneath his shirt were his markers.

No one dared to ask him to show his marker; otherwise, they wouldn't know who would be beating whom.

Bei Nuan didn't care about their marker drama. She was preoccupied with her money, walking absentmindedly, causing Lu Xingchi to pull her back occasionally to prevent her from bumping into walls.

She was worried about her money.

The money she had painstakingly earned by fighting zombies in the cage would become worthless once they left the island.

Bei Nuan was reluctant to let it go.

Lu Xingchi saw through her thoughts. "Worried about what to do with your money?"

Bei Nuan nodded, pondering, "Should I just give it to someone?"

It could also increase her Saintly Value.

Lu Xingchi rejected her idea. "We're leaving soon. Don't create any more trouble. Besides, don't you want to buy something for yourself?"

The problem was there was nothing on the island.

Du Ruo spotted the man selling roasted cassava chips and suggested, "Why don't you buy cassava? You can store it in your space."

Bei Nuan imagined a mountain of cassava. "With this much money, how much cassava can I buy? Besides, it's not that tasty. What would I do with so much?"

Tang Tang hesitantly suggested, "Keep it to throw at people?"

They had all heard of Bei Nuan's glorious deeds.

For the first time in her life, Bei Nuan experienced the pain of having too much money and nowhere to spend it.

Jiang Fei made a good suggestion. "If you don't like cassava, doesn't this island have a ruby mine? I guess you're not the only one who's found ruby stones. Maybe you can buy some."

At a time like this, there might be people willing to trade rubies for food.

Although rubies were useless, they would look pretty in her space, much more pleasing than a pile of cassava.

The question was who had rubies.

"That's easy," Tang Tang said. "I'll go ask around."

Tang Tang was lively and clever, with a naturally likable face. Everyone was willing to chat with him, and he returned shortly.

"A man selling groceries has a small raw stone. He's been wanting to sell it for money, but at a time like this, no one wants to buy it. Bei Nuan, do you want to take a look?"

Bei Nuan went with him excitedly, but was a little disappointed.

The grocery seller mysteriously pulled out a stone smaller than the one Bei Nuan gave to Du Ruo. It was only the size of Bei Nuan's fingernail and not as bright in color.

However, the grocery seller wasn't greedy, asking for only 2,500.

2,500 was enough to buy countless cassavas.

Although not ideal, it was better than nothing. They went to the island's "bank"—the casino—to withdraw money and make the transaction.

It was convenient and safe to have the casino transfer the money directly from Bei Nuan's account to the grocery seller's.

Just after the transfer was completed, someone behind them asked, "You're here?"

Bei Nuan knew who it was just by hearing the lazy tone.

Qiu Ji was standing behind them with two other people.

His status was different now, but he didn't seem to have changed at all. The buttons on his chest were still undone, and his posture was relaxed.

He was much more pleasant to look at than his brother.

"What are you busy with?" He raised an eyebrow, glancing at the small red stone in Bei Nuan's hand.

Bei Nuan quickly weighed her options and decided to tell the truth.

"I want to trade my cage fighting earnings for some ruby stones."

Qiu Ji understood but advised her, "Save your money. You might need it urgently later."

"I don't really want to keep this money," Bei Nuan made up a story. "My grandma said money won from gambling is unlucky."

Qiu Ji laughed. "You're young, but quite superstitious. But you're right. It's a rare opportunity to buy rubies so cheaply. If you sell them after the zombie apocalypse is over, you might make a fortune."

This was a novel idea.

Since the zombie outbreak, Bei Nuan had traveled so far and seen everyone desperately struggling to survive. This was the first time she heard someone talk about the future.

And it was a casino owner, no less.

Even Du Ruo, who had been silent, couldn't help but ask, "Do you think the zombie virus will disappear one day?"

Tang Tang also said, "More and more people are getting infected, and the infected zones are getting larger. There seems to be no hope now."

Qiu Ji had his hands in his pockets, not looking like the new island leader at all, still acting like a casual casino owner.

He smiled at them. "I said last time, I believe in probability, and I believe in miracles. Sometimes miracles really do happen. Look, the miracle I believe in is standing right in front of me."

Bei Nuan knew he was talking about her and felt a little embarrassed.

Qiu Ji smiled. "Maybe others think you're a bit silly to trade money for gems instead of food now, but I think it's a good gamble. The returns might be great in the future."

Bei Nuan hadn't thought that much about it; she just liked the way the gems looked.

Besides, the future they talked about had nothing to do with Bei Nuan.

Qiu Ji continued, "I know someone who has some good quality ruby stones stored in the casino. I think they might be willing to sell if the price is right."

It seemed the casino not only stored money but also rented out safety deposit boxes.

Qiu Ji sent his men to find the person, and they returned shortly with a middle-aged woman and her child, both beaming with joy.

The woman had been holding onto the stone, wanting to sell it for a long time. In these times, everyone wanted food; no one wanted gems.

She retrieved it from the casino and showed it to Bei Nuan.

This one was much better. Simply polished, it sat in Bei Nuan's palm, a large, translucent stone with almost no flaws. The color was a beautiful red, very pleasing to the eye.

She asked for 30,000.

Qiu Ji examined it carefully and smiled. "Very good."

Lu Xingchi also took a look, examining it for Bei Nuan. "Really good," he concluded.

Since they both approved, Bei Nuan didn't haggle and happily bought it.

"Do you want to store the gem in the casino?" Qiu Ji asked.

Of course not. They were leaving.

Bei Nuan declined. "I want to play with it for a couple of days."

Qiu Ji glanced at Lu Xingchi and smiled. "No one would dare to rob you, but be careful of thieves."

At Du Ruo's strong suggestion, Bei Nuan went back to the market and used the remaining money to buy a lot of raw cassava and roasted cassava chips before they set off.

The time was right. The sentry on the tower went down for a shift change, and Bei Nuan quickly took out the ladder at the wall.

They all climbed the wall, and Lu Xingchi and Du Ruo lifted the ladder and placed it on the other side.

Perched on the high wall, while they were moving the ladder, Bei Nuan looked back at the island one last time.

She didn't know that for many years after she left, not only on this island, but across this vast land of Country N, legends of "that F" would continue to circulate.

"That F" was a totem, a belief, inspiring countless desperate people to regain their courage, crawl out of the mire, and move forward.

The object of this faith was enjoying the breeze, sitting on the wall, and looking at the scenery on the lake.

Xiao San's voice suddenly appeared, calling, "Bei Nuan…"

Bei Nuan preemptively confronted him. "Xiao San, you sent me to that place with the zombies last time, causing me to be captured and forced to fight in the cage. Was that fun?"

"You chose to use Du Ruo for the mission yourself. The idea of feeding the zombies was also Du Ruo's, not mine."

Xiao San sounded a little aggrieved.

"I'm just a system, not a god. How could I have foreseen what you would say or do?"

Xiao San added, "At that time, Tang Tang had just discovered a butterfly trapped in a spiderweb. If you had used him for the mission, maybe his act of mercy would have been to release the butterfly, which wouldn't have been solved in ten seconds?"

That was true.

"So, you're looking for me for something?" Bei Nuan asked. "Is there a new mission?"

Xiao San was elated. "There is a new mission! This time, it's a series called 'Fun Mini-Missions'."

Bei Nuan was now very wary of his missions, especially those that seemed insignificant.

The words "Fun Mini-Missions" sounded ominous.

Xiao San explained, "This series of missions is not part of the Saintly Missions. It's designed to help the host relax in various worlds."

Bei Nuan picked up on something else. "You mean there are many such worlds? And many people transmigrating?"

"That's right," Xiao San didn't hide it from her. "You're doing Saintly Missions in this world, and others are doing other missions in other worlds. Saintly Missions are just part of our experiment."

"Experiment?"

"Yes, it's a set of experiments we're conducting. It's something related to our dimension; you don't need to worry about it."

Xiao San's tone was light.

"So Bei Nuan, do you want to do the Fun Mini-Missions? This set of missions is unrelated to the Saintly Missions. Not only are there no penalties, but there are also rewards for completion!"

This time, Bei Nuan was a little interested. "Is the reward Saintly Value?"

"I said it's unrelated to the Saintly Missions," Xiao San sighed. "Of course, it doesn't increase Saintly Value. The rewards are various temporary special abilities."

He meant rewarding her with superpowers? That sounded good.

"Although they're temporary, like usable only once or twice, or for a few hours, they're all pretty good special abilities."

Xiao San elaborated.

"For example, briefly controlling fire or water, or gaining a speed boost. For a few hours, your movements can be incredibly fast. If you want to do something mischievous, you'll have done it before anyone can blink."

That sounded fun.

Xiao San said excitedly, "They're all fantastic! You can draw them randomly from the prize pool!"

Bei Nuan was immediately tempted.

The key was that there was no penalty for not completing them, and it was unrelated to the Saintly Missions, so she wouldn't have to pretend to be saintly and do all sorts of strange things.

She had nothing better to do anyway.

"Okay, I accept!" Bei Nuan said.

Then she opened the mission panel.

And immediately discovered something terrifying.

Du Ruo and the others had already placed the ladder and were going down one by one.

Bei Nuan was still sitting on the wall, motionless.

Lu Xingchi was waiting to go down last. Seeing her frozen, he asked, "What's wrong? Are you afraid of heights? Turn around and face the wall; don't look down."

Bei Nuan finally came back to her senses.

What was there to be afraid of climbing a wall? There were far more terrifying things.

Bei Nuan grabbed Lu Xingchi's arm.

"Lu Xingchi," she said anxiously, "what's your third wish? Tell me quickly!"

Lu Xingchi was stunned.

He looked at Bei Nuan, then down at the ladder and Du Ruo and the others waiting below.

His voice was full of disbelief.

"You want me to, right now, sitting on this wall, kiss you?"

They were both perched high on the wall, not far from each other, but the posture and location were awkward. If they kissed, it would be quite a scene.

Bei Nuan was almost in tears. "Whether it's a kiss or something else, just say it quickly! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

Bei Nuan had been so preoccupied with how to spend her money that she completely forgot that the Saintly Wish countdown was almost over.

She had just opened the mission panel and saw that there was less than a minute left.

After saying those few words, another few dozen seconds passed.

The countdown was about to reach zero, and Lu Xingchi's name was still followed by (2/3).

If his last wish wasn't fulfilled before the countdown ended, her portable space would be halved.

Bei Nuan was going crazy.

Lu Xingchi looked deeply into her eyes and suddenly said, "My wish is for you to give me something."

This was too easy. Bei Nuan immediately grabbed something from her space and shoved it into his hand.

Just as the countdown hit zero, the number after Lu Xingchi's name changed to (3/3).

The Saintly Wish was shown as completed, and her Saintly Value soared.

Bei Nuan breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Fortunately, he made a super easy and quick wish, completed in a second.

"Let's go down?" Bei Nuan, incredibly relieved, leaned against the wall and climbed onto the ladder.

Lu Xingchi didn't move.

Bei Nuan thought he looked a little embarrassed. His expression hadn't changed, as usual, but his ears were red.

Bei Nuan's gaze drifted downwards, landing on the item in his hand, and she let out a startled scream.

In his hand, besides the clean shirt Bei Nuan thought she had given him, he had also pulled out something else.

Pure white, sporty, wireless, and padded.

Without a word, Bei Nuan lunged for her bra, but she missed her footing on the wooden ladder, which tipped backward.

Lu Xingchi reacted quickly, grabbing the ladder and preventing her from falling from such a height.

Du Ruo, waiting impatiently below, called out, "You two! It's just climbing a wall, why so much drama?"

With a desperate grab, Bei Nuan managed to touch her bra with her fingertips and instantly retrieved it into her space.

Even after they climbed down the wall and boarded Bei Nuan's luxurious speedboat, leaving the island, Lu Xingchi was still stifling laughter as he steered.

Bei Nuan, thick-skinned, pretended not to notice.

"Bei Nuan," Lu Xingchi found a moment to say softly, "Were you so anxious because the time to fulfill my wish was running out?"

Bei Nuan's heart skipped a beat, and she hummed in agreement.

Lu Xingchi chuckled. "Setting deadlines for yourself and making things difficult for yourself?"

He was steering the boat, his tone relaxed, his eyes looking ahead, not seeming to observe Bei Nuan's expression.

Bei Nuan composed herself, arguing, "I made a wish, of course I have to fulfill it on time."

Lu Xingchi nodded. "I saw how anxious you were, so I just made a random wish. Bei Nuan, my third wish can't just be brushed aside like that."

She knew he would bring this up. Bei Nuan raised an eyebrow.

Lu Xingchi glanced at her and changed the subject. "So, in your space, are your clothes stored with mine?"

Everyone's clothes were arranged on shelves, and Bei Nuan's were indeed next to Lu Xingchi's.

Even with her thick skin, Bei Nuan couldn't help but blush a little. "No way. They're just close by."

Lu Xingchi lowered his voice, amusement in his tone. "So you wear children's sizes?"

"What children's sizes?" Bei Nuan was indignant. "Don't you have any common sense? Mine are sports bras! For ease of movement! They're the most practical!"

Her voice was too loud and Du Ruo overheard.

Du Ruo asked curiously, "What are you talking about that's sporty?"

Bei Nuan and Lu Xingchi answered in unison, "Shoes."

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