A Fake Holy Mother in the Zombie Apocalypse

Don't panic, don't panic, Bei Nuan told herself.

If I panic in front of him, I'm doomed.

Bei Nuan tried her best to keep her expression neutral. She chuckled lightly. "Streaking? What are you thinking about?"

"Just a random thought." Lu Xingchi's fingers moved again, gently combing her hair in the warm air from the hairdryer.

Bei Nuan sat there nervously for a while, finally waiting for him to finish drying her hair.

When she changed clothes and went to the next room, Du Ruo was frantic, lying pitifully on the bed. Seeing Bei Nuan finally arrive, she looked like she'd seen her savior.

There were three-delicacy dumplings in the space, made by Jiang Fei and the others a couple of days ago at the base when they had some free time. They were quick and easy to cook.

Bei Nuan quickly took out the portable stove and pot and went to wash her hands to prepare the dumplings.

As she came out of the bathroom, she heard Du Ruo complaining, "Lu Xingchi, did you go to call Bei Nuan, or did you fish her out of the sea? You took forty minutes to call someone, you know?"

Lu Xingchi curled his lips, but didn't say anything.

Tang Tang seemed to want to say something, biting her lower lip hard, looking like she was struggling to hold back.

Jiang Fei, fiddling with the portable stove and adjusting the flame, suddenly blurted out, "That performance was just average."

Lu Xingchi couldn't laugh anymore.

Tang Tang finally found someone who was on the same wavelength as her and quickly said, "Actually, it was pretty good. Brother Lu is definitely better than average."

Jiang Fei smiled and said slowly, "Taking off the highest and lowest scores, how much is left?"

Du Ruo was so hungry she couldn't move, lying on the bed and staring dejectedly at the sheets. "You're overthinking it. I bet a dumpling Lu Xingchi hasn't succeeded yet."

Bei Nuan deliberately closed the bathroom door.

They immediately stopped their nonsense.

Just as the dumplings were about to be put into the pot, there was a knock on the door. It was a staff member from the passenger cabins, unexpectedly delivering dinner.

Everyone received a vegetable salad, mushroom soup, lamb chops, and mousse cake. For the apocalypse, this meal was quite luxurious.

Bei Nuan was puzzled. Before boarding, hadn't it been agreed, just like in the book, that the team would provide their own food?

The staff member smiled. "It was Mr. Sheng who sent it over, saying it was to entertain guests."

According to the book, Sheng Yi was a generous person. He probably changed his mind on the spur of the moment.

Their cooking skills weren't bad. Just as Bei Nuan pulled over a chair and sat down, Du Ruo had almost finished her portion.

After dinner, Du Ruo occupied the bathroom for a shower and didn't come out for a long time.

Lu Xingchi asked Bei Nuan, "Want to go out on deck for some fresh air?"

Bei Nuan wasn't sleepy either, so she followed him to the deck.

The passengers on the ship had also finished dinner. Many people were on the deck, adults chatting, children running around, quite lively.

Sheng Yi and Nie Beian managed things well. Although it was the apocalypse, life on the ship seemed normal.

People were still strolling, jogging, couples were being affectionate, and parents were educating their children.

A mother was saying to her son, "Stop overthinking things all the time. What's the point of thinking so much? Yuan Yuan, go play with those brothers."

Her son was a seven or eight-year-old boy, with dark eyes, deep double eyelids, and silkworm pouches under his eyes. However, his expression was melancholic. He stood next to his mother, clutching her clothes tightly, and didn't move.

This child is beautiful. When he grows up, he'll probably be a heartbreaker like Lu Xingchi.

Lu, the heartbreaker, Xingchi didn't know what Bei Nuan was thinking. He was greeting someone.

It was Nie Beian.

He was also enjoying the breeze on the deck. Seeing Lu Xingchi and Bei Nuan, he smiled and walked over, leaning against the railing with them and chatting casually.

Nie Beian said that besides the cargo, there were two to three hundred people on this ship.

Most of them were passengers in the cabins, with families, old and young. In addition, there were dozens of crew members on board.

This ship had its own energy source and freshwater filtration system, so water and electricity were not a problem. What they lacked most now was food.

They had already opened dozens of containers that were originally meant to be transported and found some useful supplies inside, but it wasn't enough.

No one knew how long the zombie outbreak would last. The ship couldn't cultivate crops, so the more supplies the better. Feeding the people on board was a daunting task.

Nie Beian leaned on the railing, looking at the sea, seemingly worried.

As the captain, he was probably under a lot of pressure.

The moon gradually rose. The sea under the moonlight was calm, and the number of people enjoying the breeze on the deck gradually decreased. Most people returned to their cabins to sleep.

However, Bei Nuan knew that this calm wouldn't last long.

Xiao San's voice suddenly appeared.

"Bei Nuan, check your mission panel."

There was a new mission.

Bei Nuan opened the mission panel and saw the newly released Saintess mission, titled "The Saintess's Forgiveness."

Bei Nuan felt a little melancholy. "Xiao San, why wasn't I told about this after the mission was completed this time?"

Xiao San chuckled. "In your dreams. How could you have that kind of good fortune every time?"

Bei Nuan paused. "Xiao San, you said before that you are a program, but why do I feel like you're quite like a living person?"

Xiao San replied, "Heh. Living person. Show me the evidence, or stop your nonsense."

Bei Nuan: "…"

Whether Xiao San was a living person or not was unknown, but he seemed to have been spending a lot of time online recently.

The mission description was another long string of text. Bei Nuan, feeling lazy, asked Xiao San directly, "What is the Saintess's Forgiveness mission?"

When it came to the mission, Xiao San's patience returned. "This mission is to demonstrate the Saintess's forgiving heart, showing compassion, tolerance, and understanding for evil souls. What you need to do is find extremely wicked people and help them five times."

Help bad people.

Bei Nuan understood. This was another foolish, brain-dead task.

Xiao San continued, "Besides Saintess points, the additional rewards for this mission are also quite good. They'll be revealed after completion, and you'll be happy."

Bei Nuan had encountered quite a few wicked people along the way, but except for Huo Ren, they were all dead.

However, there was no shortage of bad people in the apocalypse. Bei Nuan knew that, according to the book's timeline, many would soon come knocking to give her a chance to complete the mission.

Sure enough, the people enjoying the sea breeze on the deck suddenly pointed in one direction.

"Look, is that a ship?"

Bei Nuan saw it too.

On the distant sea, there really was a ship. It looked like a fishing boat, not small, with a tall radar mast and a raised pilothouse.

The ship was completely dark, like a ghost floating on the night sea.

However, there were people on the ghost ship.

Before it got close, people could be seen on the deck of the ship, seemingly waving desperately towards them.

Nie Beian asked someone to bring binoculars and looked carefully. "It seems like they're asking for help."

Lu Xingchi glanced over there, but didn't say anything.

Nie Beian asked a crew member to report to Sheng Yi.

The crew member returned shortly and said, "Mr. Sheng said not to approach, to send a small boat over to inquire about the situation first."

Although Bei Nuan had a mission to do, she couldn't help but advise Nie Beian, "In these times, people's hearts are unpredictable. Be careful when saving people."

Her earnest, motherly tone made Nie Beian laugh. He actually agreed, "Okay, let's send someone to check it out first."

Bei Nuan knew, without looking, that it was the same as in the book.

This was a black ship that exploited laborers, only one-third the size of the Vali. There were originally thirty-eight crew members on board, intending to go fishing in the open sea. Unexpectedly, as soon as they set sail, they received news of the zombie outbreak on shore.

The fishing boat didn't dare go further out to sea, but they also didn't dare approach the shore, so they just drifted in the Gulf of Thailand.

The fishing company's heartless boss had long since turned into a zombie and was completely unreachable. The ship had been drifting like this until now.

The ship had several months' worth of food for fishing, so they weren't short of food. However, the crew split into factions, suspicious of each other over food distribution. This infighting escalated into a bloody free-for-all.

The final result was that out of thirty-eight crew members, only twenty-one remained.

This was a group of desperate criminals who had killed each other.

Recently, their ship had developed a problem and started to list. But now, with the zombie infestation, there was no rescue at sea. They managed to repair it themselves, but could only slow down the sinking speed. Just as they were despairing, they encountered Nie Beian's ship.

According to the plot in the book, Sheng Yi and Captain Nie Beian didn't know what had happened on the fishing boat. Seeing that their ship was sinking, they treated them like they had treated Lu Xingchi and his team, rescuing them and bringing them aboard.

Nie Beian simply regarded them as ordinary fishermen and arranged accommodations for them.

Unexpectedly, after this group figured out that the ship had an energy system that could last for decades, they had wicked thoughts. Taking advantage of the darkness, they attacked the crew.

The crew was caught completely off guard and was successfully subdued.

Although there were many passengers in the cabins, they were families, without much fighting capacity, and no match for this group of desperate criminals.

After controlling the crew, they felt the passengers in the cabins were completely useless, a waste of food, so they took them out cabin by cabin and threw them directly into the sea.

Many cabins housed entire families, old and young, who were thrown overboard together, a truly tragic scene.

At that time, Lu Xingchi's team was also locked in their cabin. They found an opportunity to fight their way out and, cooperating with Nie Beian, finally retook the ship.

However, many people on the ship had already died, including their boss, Sheng Yi, who succumbed to his serious injuries.

Bei Nuan stared at the dark ship on the sea. It looked like a monster.

The twenty-one people left on the ship after killing their companions all had blood on their hands. None of them were innocent.

However, there was one difference now: Lu Xingchi.

Lu Xingchi, with his abilities, had a combat power that was not on the same level as before. Dealing with those people would be a piece of cake.

With him around, this ship was quite safe.

Bei Nuan turned to look at Lu Xingchi and saw that he was also looking at the ship. If Bei Nuan wasn't mistaken, his thin lips were pursed in what looked like a contemptuous smile.

The small boat that went to inquire about the situation stopped beside the fishing boat and shouted to the people on board. It returned shortly.

It was indeed a fishing boat. They said their ship was damaged and listing, that they were making emergency repairs, and that there were twenty-one crew members on board. They asked if they could come over.

Of course, Nie Beian wouldn't make the decision on his own. He immediately sent someone to ask Sheng Yi.

After a long while, the crew member who went to relay the message returned.

"Mr. Sheng said he is resting and needs to think about it carefully. There's no rush, he'll decide tomorrow morning."

Nie Beian nodded in agreement.

Bei Nuan thought, You can think all you want, but in the end, you'll still let those people on board.

Nie Beian listened to his boss and didn't seem to have any intention of going to the fishing boat to take another look.

The fishing boat looked a little tilted, but it didn't seem to be sinking. It could probably hold on for another night.

The sea breeze was a little chilly. Bei Nuan zipped up her jacket, and Lu Xingchi reached out and put his arm around her shoulders.

He asked softly, "Shall we go back to sleep?"

Since there didn't seem to be any new developments, Bei Nuan decided to go back to her cabin and sleep.

Lu Xingchi escorted her back to her room, carefully checked everything, and told Bei Nuan, "I'm right next door. Knock on the wall if you need anything," before locking the door and leaving.

After he left, Bei Nuan started to feel restless.

This time, she had finally drawn the interesting invisibility skill, and it would be a waste not to use it a few times.

Even if it was just for fun alone in her room.

Anyway, Lu Xingchi had gone to sleep and no one would come looking for her again. Even if he did come back, it didn't matter. She had experience now. As long as she didn't make a sound and stayed put, it would be fine.

Bei Nuan silently chanted: Invisible, formless.

Then she took a deep breath, waiting to witness the spectacle of her clothes suspended in mid-air.

However, nothing happened.

The clothes on Bei Nuan's body, along with her, gradually faded into a faint shadow, finally disappearing into thin air.

Bei Nuan: ?

Why is it like this??

Completely different from the last time she turned invisible, Bei Nuan's clothes, shoes, and even the belly button ring she wore all disappeared.

However, the bed she was sitting on was completely unaffected.

The invisibility was very precise.

Bei Nuan stared blankly at the empty space for a moment, opened the mission panel, and saw a two-hour countdown, followed by a small "A."

So it turned out that each time she turned invisible, the duration and method were different.

Bei Nuan suddenly understood. This was the "fancy invisibility" mentioned in the mission description.

Last time, it was hiding her body, leaving the clothes, marked with a "B." This time, everything from her body to her clothes and accessories disappeared, marked with an "A."

The marking was very appropriate. "A" was better, much better than "B."

Bei Nuan stood up and turned around.

Turning invisible while wearing clothes gave her a sense of security. Even if the invisibility suddenly wore off, she wouldn't be afraid. Moreover, her space was still with her. With the space, she felt at ease.

Then a new idea popped up.

Since she was wearing clothes, why not go out for a stroll?

It would definitely be fun.

Bei Nuan quietly opened the cabin door.

The corridor outside was silent. Everyone was asleep, and there was no one around.

Bei Nuan lightened her steps and quietly slipped out.

Turning a corner in the corridor, she saw a crew member on duty coming down the corridor, walking quite quickly, almost bumping into Bei Nuan.

Bei Nuan quickly flattened herself against the wall to avoid a collision and scaring him to death.

Outside was the upper deck. Even though it was night, the deck was still brightly lit, but there were only a few people left. On the sea, the fishing boat was still parked far away, dark and motionless.

Bei Nuan glanced at it and ignored it, starting to amuse herself.

A young couple huddled together, whispering.

Bei Nuan quietly walked next to them, wanting to hear what they were saying.

They really couldn't see Bei Nuan and continued their conversation.

The boy was holding the girl's hand and saying, "Don't worry, worst case scenario, we'll get married on the ship, have the captain officiate our wedding, then have a baby, and let our baby run around on the deck. When they grow up, they can be a sailor, which wouldn't be bad either."

The girl hummed in agreement. "We'll just treat this ship as our home."

Bei Nuan thought, In your dreams. Bad guys are coming to steal your "home" soon.

The girl was about to say something else when she suddenly frowned and turned to look in Bei Nuan's direction. "I feel like… there's someone next to me."

Bei Nuan was startled.

That's not very nice.

The boy put his arm around the girl. Bei Nuan thought he would say something like "Don't be silly, there's no one there," but unexpectedly, the boy said, "No matter what it is, I'll beat it up for you."

A fist swung towards her.

Luckily, Bei Nuan dodged quickly, narrowly avoiding being punched in the nose.

Okay, manly enough, qualified to protect his girlfriend.

Bei Nuan couldn't deal with that, so she quickly left and continued to bother other people.

A young man in a crew uniform was mopping the deck, pausing every now and then to stare blankly into space.

Men should be braver. Bei Nuan couldn't resist poking his mop handle.

The young man jolted, snapping out of his daze, and looked down at the mop in his hand curiously.

Bei Nuan found it amusing and lightly kicked the bucket at his feet.

The water in the bucket rippled under the moonlight.

The young man froze, then asked softly, "Is that the Sea Goddess?"

Bei, the Sea Goddess, Nuan: ?

The young man suddenly clasped his hands together and bowed. "Sea Goddess, can you protect my parents? I can't go home now. Please protect my mom and dad, and my sister and brother-in-law, and keep them safe."

He thought for a moment and added, "Can you also protect our ship? Keep everyone safe. If you can, please shake the bucket again."

Looking at his devout and hopeful face, Bei Nuan finally couldn't bear it and gently kicked the bucket again with her foot.

Then she quickly slipped away.

People gradually dispersed, and the deck became quiet. Bei Nuan strolled around alone, feeling bored, and decided to head back when she suddenly saw someone at the stern of the ship.

It was a man in a wheelchair, looking at the distant sea.

The moonlight shone on his forehead, outlining his calm and gentle features.

Bei Nuan knew who he was.

The book mentioned that the owner of this shipping company was named Sheng Yi. He had been in a car accident as a child and was disabled, often using a wheelchair.

He was probably the only person in a wheelchair on this ship.

Hadn't he said he was going to rest? He was actually sitting here enjoying the sea breeze.

Bei Nuan quietly walked over to observe the man up close.

Someone else happened to come over, a middle-aged man wearing glasses, probably his secretary or assistant.

The middle-aged man brushed past Bei Nuan, clearly unable to see her.

He came to the wheelchair and leaned over to ask, "Mr. Sheng, Captain Nie asked, that fishing boat seems to be listing even more severely. Are we really going to wait until tomorrow morning?"

Sheng Yi didn't even move, still looking at the dark sea. After a long while, he spoke, his voice clear and steady.

"Tell the people on the fishing boat that our ship's capacity and supplies are very limited, and we can only accept ten people on board at most. Before tomorrow morning, let them choose ten people, and a small boat will go over to pick them up."

This wasn't right.

That's not how it was written in the book.

Bei Nuan was sure she remembered correctly. The book said that Sheng Yi directly sent a boat to pick up all twenty-one crew members from the fishing boat.

Some butterfly must have flapped its wings, causing him to only accept ten people now.

Perhaps it was because the supplies on the ship were really tight?

Bei Nuan was tired of standing, so she squatted down beside Sheng Yi's wheelchair, lost in thought. Since she was invisible, no one could see her, so she could do whatever she wanted.

She suddenly realized what would happen on the fishing boat when they were told only ten people would be accepted.

Under these circumstances, a normal person's thought would be to draw lots, leaving their fate to chance.

Those who were chosen would board Sheng Yi's ship, and those who weren't would stay behind. Their fishing boat must have life rafts. When the ship sank, they would drift on the sea on the life rafts, hoping for a miracle to survive.

However, the twenty-one people on the fishing boat were not normal people.

Once the news of only accepting ten people was relayed, it was predictable that tonight would be a night of terror on that fishing boat.

It was like raising Gu insects. The weaker, poisonous insects would die first, and the ones that survived would definitely be the most venomous Gu kings.

Note: The sentence "It was like raising 蠱 insects" refers to an ancient Chinese practice known as "gu" (蠱), a concept rooted in folklore and witchcraft. The term "蠱" describes a method of trapping multiple poisonous creatures—such as snakes, centipedes, and insects—inside a sealed container to create a toxic, malicious entity. Over time, the strongest or most toxic creature survives, which practitioners believed could be used for curses or magical purposes.

The middle-aged man agreed and turned to go down and relay the message. Sheng Yi, who came up with this idea, still looked calmly at the sea.

After a while, he turned his head, no longer looking at the sea.

Bei Nuan thought he was going to maneuver his wheelchair and leave, but unexpectedly, he reached out and placed his hand on Bei Nuan's head.

Bei Nuan: ?

"Who are you?" Sheng Yi asked. "You've been squatting here for a long time."

ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ

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