A Fake Holy Mother in the Zombie Apocalypse

She tilted her head back, earnestly wiping the sweat from his forehead bit by bit.

The soft towel slid across his cheek, brushed his chin and Adam's apple, and grazed his collarbone. For a moment, Bei Nuan thought Lu Xingchi narrowed his eyes, as if he wanted to push her back onto the bed.

However, he didn't actually move, but quietly waited for her to finish her "collection work" before straightening up.

The strange scent in the room had dissipated. He closed the window, drew the curtains, and had Bei Nuan take out his sleeping bag from her space. He then spread it out on the floor beside the small bed.

They turned off the camping lamp and went back to sleep.

The aftereffects of the drug in the candle were quite strong and hadn't completely worn off. Bei Nuan felt her heart racing. She drank another half glass of water, but she was still too agitated to sleep.

In the darkness, Bei Nuan heard rustling sounds from his side, as if he wasn't asleep either.

"Lu Xingchi, what are you doing?" Bei Nuan turned over and looked towards his blurry shadow on the floor in front of the bed.

His voice, as cold and clear as water, came from the darkness, "Doing it myself. Like you said."

"Huh?"

The sentence was out of the blue, and Bei Nuan didn't understand.

Lu Xingchi chuckled softly. "Nothing. Just kidding. Go to sleep."

It became quiet on his side, and Bei Nuan closed her eyes, gradually drifting off to sleep.

She had a night of chaotic dreams, all filled with Lu Xingchi.

A grown-up Lu Xingchi, a small Lu Xingchi, and even a chibi version, soft and cuddly, being lifted by Bei Nuan's fingertips, waving its little hands and kicking its little feet in the air, looking pitiful.

The next morning, Lu Xingchi discussed with everyone and decided to rest for another day before continuing their journey.

For breakfast, they ate small wontons made by Jiang Fei.

Jiang Fei was generous with the ingredients, adding shrimp and dried scallops to the meat filling. The soup was sprinkled with dried shrimp, finely chopped seaweed, egg shreds, minced preserved mustard greens, and crushed peanuts.

The small wontons were smooth, with thin skin and flavorful broth, so delicious it made one sigh with contentment.

Bei Nuan was eating her second bowl when she heard someone knocking on the door.

It definitely wasn't Bei Nuan's father because the person outside was knocking and calling, "Brother Lu? Brother Lu, are you staying here?"

It was the skinny young man from yesterday who had readily acknowledged him as his "brother."

Tang Tang silently played rock-paper-scissors with Du Ruo. Her "paper" was cut by Du Ruo's "scissors," so she had to put down her bowl and go open the door.

Sure enough, it was the skinny young man. He peered into the room and first exclaimed, "Wow, the room you guys got is really nice. Compared to this, the one I'm staying in is a slum."

Then he finally located Lu Xingchi with his eyes. "Brother Lu, Captain Zheng has something he'd like to ask you about. He's waiting for you at the main gate."

Bei Nuan didn't know why Captain Zheng was suddenly looking for Lu Xingchi.

Lu Xingchi had finished eating. He nodded and stood up, patting Bei Nuan's head. "Let's go."

The rabbit mama didn't want to go out alone, leaving the little rabbit in this strange house.

The little rabbit hurriedly finished her last wonton, and in one gulp, drank all the soup before standing up to follow him.

It was already getting hot outside. Red dust flew all over the road as the skinny young man led them towards the main gate.

Bei Nuan suddenly noticed that the skinny young man was clutching a tiny porcelain bottle in his hand, only the size of a bottle of nitroglycerin pills, and was playing with it as he walked.

"What's that?" Bei Nuan asked.

The skinny young man now held the "young masters and misses" in high regard, so he quickly replied, "It's the snake venom Captain Zheng wanted. I forgot to give it to him, so I'm bringing it over now."

Snake venom? Snake venom?

Was it the venom of the poisonous snake required for the "Obedience" mission?

Bei Nuan thought, This is practically delivery to my doorstep.

She had just collected the sweat, and the snake venom came by itself.

This was originally the part of the mission Bei Nuan dreaded the most. She thought she would be forced to deal with poisonous snakes, but unexpectedly, there was some readily available.

This series of missions was really easy to do.

She heard the skinny young man boast, "My family used to raise snakes, and we know how to extract venom. There's a kind of poisonous snake in this area, hiding under the rocks in the wasteland. Captain Zheng wanted some, so I've been collecting it for a long time, and I only managed to get this much."

This skinny young man was so afraid of zombies, but not afraid of poisonous snakes. It was quite strange.

Bei Nuan suddenly remembered him mentioning "Willow Deity" when he was scared half to death yesterday, and realized that the Willow Deity seemed to refer to a snake.

The skinny young man shook the small bottle. "Don't underestimate this little bit. It's more expensive than gold. If this were before, it could be sold for a lot of money."

Bei Nuan immediately asked, "Then can you sell me a drop?"

Lu Xingchi turned to look at her when he heard that.

Ignoring his disapproving look, Bei Nuan persisted, "One drop, just one drop will do."

The skinny young man generously said, "One drop? No need to buy it, I'll give it to you. But what do you want snake venom for? To poison someone? You won't be able to pour out just one drop, no matter where you put it."

Bei Nuan took out the small towel from her space. "No. It's just that I've never seen snake venom with my own eyes, and I want to see what it looks like."

The skinny young man opened the bottle cap and carefully dripped a drop onto Bei Nuan's towel.

While dripping, he warned, "This snake is really poisonous. Don't let it touch any wounds. It'll poison you if it comes into contact with blood. Even if you don't have any wounds on your hands, be careful. If you touch it, wash it off with soap immediately."

A small drop of liquid dripped onto the towel, slightly yellowish and a bit viscous, like sap secreted from tree bark.

Lu Xingchi's gaze fell on the familiar small white towel, then back to Bei Nuan.

"What kind of witchcraft are you playing with again?" he asked.

Bei Nuan's heart skipped a beat at his words.

He said "again."

Last time, during the "Sincerity" mission, she collected Dan Sui's tears, and the whole process was quite covert. He shouldn't have noticed, right?

Could it be the time before that, when she collected his fingernails, hair, and eyelashes, that made him suspicious?

"I'm not. You've been reading too many novels. Witchcraft, really."

Bei Nuan pretended to be nonchalant as she put the small towel into her space.

Then she took out a box of antibiotics from her backpack and handed it to the skinny young man. "I can't take your things for free."

It was obvious that extracting snake venom came with the risk of being bitten, and it probably wasn't easy, so she couldn't just take it from him for nothing.

The skinny young man tried to refuse politely, but couldn't resist accepting it in the end.

Antibiotics were extremely precious in the apocalypse. Such a small box could sometimes determine a person's life or death.

Bei Nuan still had quite a bit of antibiotics in her space, so she didn't mind much. She smoothly took out a small mirror from the lower level of her space and used the towel mixed with sweat and snake venom to wipe a small circle on it.

The "Obedience" mission immediately showed as completed, and a small text explanation popped up: Look into his eyes with your eyes, silently chant "Good boy, be obedient," and your voice will leave a mark on his heart.

The countdown timer also started ticking, twenty-four hours.

The mission instructions were vague. Bei Nuan pondered, judging by the meaning, she needed to chant the spell and stare into the other person's eyes while speaking?

In a blink of an eye, they arrived at the main gate.

Captain Zheng was indeed waiting where the search team had gathered yesterday, leaning against an SUV, wiping a small, dagger-like throwing knife in his hand. He wasn't too surprised to see the two of them arrive together.

"I have a private job, and I want to ask if you're willing to take it."

So it wasn't a search team job.

Captain Zheng said that someone in the city was recruiting people to help him retrieve something from his home. Because the place was swarming with zombies, it wouldn't be easy, so the reward was generous.

"The reward is a month's worth of meal tickets, or you can spend a night at Taiping Gate."

"A month's worth of meal tickets!" The skinny young man's tone was filled with envy.

A month's worth of meal tickets was equivalent to joining the search team and collecting supplies ten times.

"What is Taiping Gate?" Bei Nuan's focus was different from the skinny young man's.

Bei Nuan felt as if the gloom in Captain Zheng's eyes flickered for a moment.

"A place for the rich and powerful to eat, drink, and have fun," he said flatly, without any emotion.

Even in the apocalypse, people were divided into classes.

The book mentioned that several factions from neighboring countries jointly controlled this base, and some of them had unclear and complex backgrounds.

Once chaos descended, these people who were originally hidden in the shadows all emerged.

Although they were also in the base, they lived in places Bei Nuan couldn't see and didn't have to worry about meal tickets for their daily meals.

Bei Nuan knew that Lu Xingchi wouldn't be interested in either a month's worth of meal tickets or the Taiping Gate, a place for entertainment.

An idea popped into Bei Nuan's head.

"Lu Xingchi," Bei Nuan looked up, silently chanting "Good boy, be obedient," and gazed intently into Lu Xingchi's eyes, "Let's go?"

Lu Xingchi looked down at her, his eyes seeming to fixate for a second before he suddenly nodded. "Okay, since you want to go, let's go."

Bei Nuan wondered, so did this count as a success?

She wasn't entirely sure.

Bei Nuan knew in her heart that even without using the "Obedience" ability on him, he would probably agree to any request she made, no matter how unreasonable.

Bei Nuan sighed inwardly.

She still needed to experiment on others to see the true effect.

Hearing Lu Xingchi's words, the usually stern Captain Zheng showed a rare smile and said, "Good. Then wait for me."

He walked towards the guardhouse and returned shortly, bringing someone with him.

It was a man with a full beard, wearing a tight black tank top, revealing a body full of muscles. Bei Nuan hadn't seen him in the search team yesterday.

The man held a cigarette in one hand and a large machete in the other.

"This is Da Hei," Captain Zheng introduced.

Bei Nuan quietly asked the skinny young man, "I didn't see him in the search team yesterday."

The skinny young man replied in an envious whisper, "Brother Hei's knife skills are exceptional. His family probably has a mountain of meal tickets, so he doesn't bother earning them anymore. He's probably going this time because he wants to go to Taiping Gate."

Captain Zheng then found a crowbar and handed it to Bei Nuan.

He said, "The place we're going to is just south of here. It's not too far. We'll set off now and be able to return in the afternoon."

With that, he turned and opened the door of the SUV behind him.

Bei Nuan was startled. Was this a spontaneous trip?

"Just the few of us? No one else?" Bei Nuan asked.

Captain Zheng replied, "The four of us are enough."

The skinny young man quickly pleaded, "Captain…"

The skinny young man looked at Captain Zheng longingly, clearly wanting to go along as well. Each time he went out with the search team, he could only earn three days' worth of meal tickets. A month's worth was too tempting for him.

This was definitely a heaven-sent opportunity to test the ability, and she couldn't miss it.

Without hesitation, Bei Nuan immediately chanted "Good boy, be obedient" in her heart, stared into Captain Zheng's eyes, and suggested, "Captain Zheng, why don't we take him with us too?"

Captain Zheng looked back at Bei Nuan, his eyes glazed over for a moment, his expression slightly dull.

He actually nodded and gestured to the skinny young man. "Get in the car."

This time, the ability really worked.

Bei Nuan was overjoyed.

This ability was even stronger than the previous ones.

Lu Xingchi had said that last time in Yao City, Xie Yuanqing also had a similar ability. He used his pleasant voice to hypnotize people, gradually controlling their thoughts and actions.

Bei Nuan's was clearly much, much stronger than Xie Yuanqing's.

It didn't take any effort at all. Just chant the spell and stare into the other person's eyes while stating the request.

The five of them got into Captain Zheng's seven-seater SUV. Bei Nuan discreetly sat next to Lu Xingchi, cheering and twirling around in her heart.

After the car had driven for a while, Lu Xingchi suddenly spoke, "Bei Nuan, why are we in the car?"

Bei Nuan: ?

She looked up at Lu Xingchi in surprise and found him frowning slightly, his eyes confused.

He seemed to have a headache, rubbing his temples with his hand. He asked again, "Where are we going? What's going on?"

Captain Zheng, who was driving in the front seat, glanced at Lu Xingchi through the rearview mirror, a little puzzled. "Didn't we agree to go fetch something?"

Bei Nuan looked at Lu Xingchi for a second and suddenly understood.

This ability actually had a strange additional function - he completely forgot what he had just promised her under its influence.

Not only could she command others to do things, but she could also make them forget about giving the command.

Could this ability be any more considerate?

Bei Nuan cheered inwardly, "Lu Xingchi, you forgot? You just agreed to help them fetch something."

A hint of confusion appeared on Lu Xingchi's calm face. "I don't seem to remember."

Bei Nuan said solemnly, "Maybe last night's candle affected our brains. I feel a bit dizzy today too."

Captain Zheng glanced at Lu Xingchi through the rearview mirror, his gaze drifting to the skinny young man sitting in the last row, and suddenly asked, "Shouhou, why are you in the car?"

The skinny young man looked aggrieved. "Captain, you just agreed to let me get in the car and come along! You forgot after such a short time?"

Bei Nuan saw through the rearview mirror that Captain Zheng furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Did that happen? Why don't I remember? Regardless of how you got in the car, let me tell you first, if you get scared by zombies and wet yourself, I'll kick you out."

Da Hei chimed in, "Shouhou can't wet himself. He faints directly when he's scared."

Bei Nuan thought, You really know him well.

The skinny young man hurriedly agreed, "Captain, don't worry, I'll follow obediently and definitely not cause you any trouble."

Captain Zheng grunted, still seeming puzzled, muttering to himself, "Why would I let him get in the car?"

Bei Nuan remained silent, pursing her lips, secretly amused.

Captain Zheng had also forgotten about her persuading him to bring the skinny young man along.

They were all like amnesiacs.

It felt incredibly satisfying to be able to get away scot-free after doing something mischievous, with no one remembering and no one able to trace it back to her.

Bei Nuan said, "What's wrong with you guys today? You've all forgotten what you did. The Amnesia League?"

Lu Xingchi narrowed his eyes at Bei Nuan and suddenly said, "Wasn't it your idea to bring him along?"

Bei Nuan's heart skipped a beat.

Captain Zheng didn't remember her persuading him to bring the skinny young man along, but Lu Xingchi did.

It seemed that the amnesia only affected the person being controlled.

It was better not to be too talkative and get carried away. She needed to be more discreet.

Bei Nuan sat properly in her seat, behaving herself for a few minutes.

And it was only for a few minutes.

With such a potent and powerful ability, and the timer ticking away second by second, not using it felt unbearably itchy.

Bei Nuan stealthily glanced at Lu Xingchi beside her.

He was looking at the road ahead, his eyes sharp and alert, like a predator at the top of the food chain, licking its paws, looking down on the world, appearing very unapproachable.

It made her want to provoke him.

"Lu Xingchi," Bei Nuan tugged his clothes lightly.

Lu Xingchi turned to look at her, his cold eyes instantly softening with warmth. "What's wrong?"

Bei Nuan silently chanted the spell in her heart, looked into the big boss's eyes, and said, "Can you sing me a song? Just sing softly."

Lu Xingchi's voice was very pleasant to listen to, so his singing must be very moving. It was a pity that she had never heard him sing after all this time.

Even though there were other people in the car, Lu Xingchi agreed without hesitation.

He cleared his throat, and even the sound of him clearing his throat was pleasant, refined, and elegant.

He politely said, "Actually, I'm not very good at singing."

Then he turned sideways, leaned closer to Bei Nuan, lowered his voice, and actually began to sing a cappella.

Bei Nuan listened silently.

She immediately realized that his statement, "Actually, I'm not very good at singing," was incorrect.

He was being far too modest.

The word "very" should be removed, changing it to "Actually, I can't sing."

He sang a children's song, "Oh, oh, go to sleep, the wolf is coming, the dog is coming…"

Even if Bei Nuan had never heard it before, she knew he was completely off-key.

It wasn't just off-key.

When other people were off-key, it was like running a marathon on the wrong route, constantly trying to find their way back. Big Boss Lu's singing was like having no road in sight, no road in mind, not knowing where he was going, just sprinting wildly.

What a waste of his beautiful voice.

After Big Boss Lu finished singing according to her instructions, a hint of shyness appeared in his eyes as he asked, "It wasn't very good, was it?"

Bei Nuan shook her head and calmly said, "No, it was very, very good."

With his voice, even noise would sound pleasant.

"Really?" Lu Xingchi's eyes curved, as if he hadn't expected her to say that.

He reached out and held Bei Nuan's hand in his palm.

Holding hands like this, Bei Nuan felt a little embarrassed. She bit her lip and thought of a new way to tease him.

Bei Nuan chanted the spell in her heart and quietly asked, "Lu Xingchi, can you make a funny face? Make a funny face for me, okay?"

Big Boss Lu had a calm and reserved personality, with few expressions. His face was always composed, and she didn't know what he would look like making a funny face.

Under the influence of the ability, Lu Xingchi didn't seem to find the request strange at all. He readily agreed, as if seriously considering how to make a funny face.

He faced Bei Nuan, bit his lip, and winked with one eye.

Bei Nuan: "…"

Was this a funny face? Did his family call this a funny face?

This was clearly flirting, like those who deliberately made cute expressions when taking funny face photos.

Bei Nuan simply directed him, "Pull down the corners of your eyes."

He seriously pulled the corners of his long eyes downwards.

"Stick out your tongue."

He obediently stuck out his tongue.

Bei Nuan stared at him, thinking, Forget it.

Perhaps because he was too handsome, he looked good no matter what.

Unwilling to give up, Bei Nuan silently chanted "Good boy, be obedient" in her heart and then made another excessive request, "Can you bark like a puppy for me?"

Bei Nuan glanced at Captain Zheng and Da Hei in the front seats and added, "Quietly, so only I can hear."

Hearing the big boss bark like a puppy was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She couldn't miss it.

Besides, he would forget everything that happened anyway.

Lu Xingchi replied without hesitation, "Okay."

As if pondering how to fulfill her command of "only let me hear," he suddenly leaned over, his lips brushing against her ear.

"Woof. Woof," he said.

His lips moved slightly, gently rubbing against her ear, his warm breath tickling her.

"Satisfied?"

He even whispered in her ear.

The side of Bei Nuan's face that was close to him suddenly flushed.

She had originally wanted to tease him, but it had completely backfired, and she didn't know who was being teased in the end.

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