A Fake Holy Mother in the Zombie Apocalypse

In the formal and serious setting of the military camp, doing such things secretly felt a little shameful. Bei Nuan quickly released Lu Xingchi.

However, she couldn't escape his grasp.

"Bei Nuan…"

His voice was low, as if he was whining, expressing his dissatisfaction.

Bei Nuan struggled to get off him. "Du Ruo and the others will be back soon."

Lu Xingchi lingered, taking another sip of her lips, then suddenly narrowed his eyes.

His tight embrace around her suddenly loosened.

Bei Nuan was startled and quickly hugged him.

He was already tall, and he had lifted her so high. How could he just let go without warning?

Now, the situation was reversed. She was firmly holding his neck with her arms, her legs wrapped around his waist, clinging tightly, like a koala hanging on him.

Although this posture was a little embarrassing, it was secure and safe.

Lu Xingchi revealed a small, triumphant smile and reached out to support her again.

Bei Nuan reached back and patted his hand. "Where are you putting your hand? This is so ungentlemanly."

Lu Xingchi smiled slightly. "Because I'm not a gentleman. Just realizing that now?"

He held her, leaned back slightly, and bounced her in his hands before smoothly letting her settle back against him.

He kissed her again before saying, "What's the benefit of being a gentleman? I'm a big bad wolf, and I'm going to eat you up in one bite."

This position was good; it was very convenient for kissing, extremely handy.

The big bad wolf was becoming more and more skilled at kissing, and Bei Nuan gradually lost track of time.

After an unknown amount of time, Bei Nuan struggled free from the wolf's mouth and asked, "Since I let you kiss me, can you also promise me one thing?"

Lu Xingchi answered directly without even asking what it was, "Okay."

Bei Nuan quickly said, "Then can you give me a piggyback ride again?"

Lu Xingchi was stunned, completely unexpected that her request would be this. "Of course."

"Don't move."

Bei Nuan, still clinging to him without touching the ground, hugged his neck and climbed from his front to his back.

He was strong enough, and she was small and agile, so climbing around on him presented no technical difficulty.

She successfully shifted her position, settled down on his broad back, buried her head near the back of his neck, and sighed contentedly.

"Where do you want me to carry you?" Lu Xingchi asked, carrying her.

There were people outside, so they couldn't leave the tent. Bei Nuan directed, "Just walk around inside the tent. Show me around the new environment."

"Okay, as you wish. Familiarize yourself with the environment."

Lu Xingchi carried her on his back, pointing out the items in the tent one by one.

There weren't many things in the tent, but Lu Xingchi's introduction was very serious.

"This thing is called a sleeping bag. This is yours, and this is mine. They're too far apart; they can't be zipped together. I'm not very satisfied."

"These few belong to some random people. You can ignore them."

Lu Xingchi carried her to the entrance.

"This big hole is called a door. You can go out from here. It's usually made of wood, but this one is made of cloth. This smaller hole next to it is called a window. If you don't mind, you can also go out from here. It's all the same."

He patiently explained as he carried Bei Nuan, making her giggle.

Suddenly, the voices of Du Ruo and Jiang Fei came from outside the tent. Before Bei Nuan could jump off Lu Xingchi's back, the three of them lifted the curtain and entered.

Du Ruo saw Bei Nuan on Lu Xingchi's back and looked a little confused.

"I knew you two would be up to something sneaky while we were gone, but I didn't expect you to be doing this. Is this some new kind of fun?"

"None of your business," Bei Nuan said, jumping down from Lu Xingchi's back, blushing.

"Did you check it out? How's their food?" Lu Xingchi diverted Du Ruo's attention with the question of food.

As soon as food was mentioned, Du Ruo's attention was indeed diverted, and he immediately started talking non-stop.

In his words, to sum it up, it was – "terrible."

Jiang Fei helped him explain, "There are steamed buns made of mixed grains, boiled potatoes, and beans. It's actually okay. It's definitely filling, and being able to eat your fill at a time like this is already pretty good."

After all, not everyone had Bei Nuan's space.

Du Ruo consulted with Bei Nuan, "We still have the dumplings we made back at the base, right? I think you can cook them in your space with the portable stove and bring them out for us to eat. No one will know, it'll be like magic."

He hadn't had any dumplings on the boat and had been thinking about them.

There was nothing wrong with his idea. Bei Nuan set up the portable stove in the lower level of her space and boiled a pot of water to cook the dumplings.

However, before the dumplings were cooked, Shao Bai came again.

He was making so many trips here that Bei Nuan felt he must have something to discuss.

Sure enough, after some small talk, Shao Bai finally revealed his purpose.

"I know you may not agree to join the special forces, but… I still really want to ask you for a favor," he said.

His eyes were looking not at Lu Xingchi, but at Bei Nuan.

Bei Nuan immediately experienced the feeling of being treated like a boss.

It felt pretty good.

"What kind of favor?" Bei Nuan asked.

Shao Bai pulled a piece of paper from his combat uniform pocket.

"We're looking for this person nearby, but there are too many zombies. There are some suspicious places we can't break into with just our assault team. If you could come with us, it would be much easier."

Bei Nuan thought, No way? Shao Bai and his team want to go looking for someone in a horde of zombies?

Who else could safely hide themselves within a horde of zombies, other than that mysterious person, Song Ce?

Could it be that the Alliance had also received the news about the mysterious person carrying the zombie virus vaccine and were looking for him?

Bei Nuan quickly leaned in to see what was on the paper, feeling deep down that she was about to see Song Ce's dark eyes again.

Everyone in the small team had the same thought.

They exchanged glances and all leaned in to look at the paper.

It was indeed a photo of a person, and it was even a rare color printout, very clear.

But it wasn't the mysterious Song Ce.

It was an ordinary boy who looked to be only eleven or twelve years old.

The photo seemed to have been taken secretly at a school gate. The boy was wearing a school uniform and looking coldly and warily in the direction of the camera.

The boy was slightly thin, with a pointed chin and single eyelids. He was unremarkable, but for some reason, the expression on his face made Bei Nuan feel a chill.

"Who is this? Your family? Your younger brother?" Bei Nuan asked.

Shao Bai didn't look that old; he shouldn't have a son this age, right?

"Neither," Shao Bai replied. "This is the target of our mission this time. His name is Li Rui."

Shao Bai simply handed the photo to Bei Nuan. "We've been looking for him. This photo is from almost two years ago. He should look a bit older now than he does in the picture."

Bei Nuan took the photo, glanced at it, and then looked up at Shao Bai.

This boy was only thirteen or fourteen years old now. What did Shao Bai and the Alliance special forces want with a minor?

"He's a zombie now," Shao Bai explained. "We received reliable information that the zombie activity in this area is showing signs of becoming organized and intelligent, possibly related to this boy. It's said that there were originally two human settlements nearby, and both were overrun by them. Quite a few people died."

Du Ruo looked closely at the photo in Bei Nuan's hand.

"This photo… why does it look so familiar? Like I've seen it somewhere before," he said. "Lu Xingchi, have you seen him before?"

Lu Xingchi looked carefully and shook his head.

"I remember!" Du Ruo suddenly realized, asking Lu Xingchi, "Don't you watch the news here when you're abroad? This is the one from a couple of years ago who…"

Tang Tang also remembered and immediately chimed in, "I know! Isn't this the elementary school student who kidnapped and then casually killed a two-year-old girl?"

Du Ruo nodded. "That's right, it's him! This photo was all over the internet two years ago."

Lu Xingchi said, "I know about that case, the elementary school student who abused and killed a little girl."

Shao Bai then said, "You're right. The person we're looking for is him."

Bei Nuan was completely confused, having no idea what they were talking about. Jiang Fei also remained silent.

Du Ruo glanced at them. "Wow, you guys don't go online at all, do you?"

Despite his sarcastic tone, he patiently explained.

Two years ago, there was a sensational case.

An eleven-year-old boy skipped school to play in the park. He abducted a completely unrelated, strange two-year-old girl from her grandmother and took her to a construction site.

He kicked and beat her, using an iron pipe and rocks to repeatedly abuse her to death. His methods were brutally cruel.

At the time, some people online touted him as a high-IQ killer. In reality, the crime wasn't cleverly executed; it was even quite stupid. The entire process was recorded by surveillance cameras, and the evidence was conclusive.

The victim's family was devastated.

A lively and lovely two-year-old was just gone, and her mother, unable to bear the trauma, jumped from a building.

That little devil casually ruined an innocent family, with two lives on his hands.

However, at the time, he was under fourteen years old and bore no criminal responsibility.

Like father, like son. During the investigation, the boy's parents showed no sympathy for the victims and helped their son deny and evade responsibility in every possible way.

In the end, nothing happened to them. The whole family changed their names and moved to another city.

This case had aroused public anger at the time.

To protect minors, all media outlets withheld the boy's name and photo in their reports.

However, a female reporter dug up the boy's name and school and released a photo taken secretly at the school gate. She was suspended from her job for this.

When the female reporter released the photo, she added a sentence: This devil is still two years away from turning fourteen. For the sake of our children, remember this face. If you see him, stay as far away as possible.

Even though Du Ruo didn't have children, he remembered the boy's face.

That boy's name was Li Rui.

"Is this antisocial personality disorder?" Bei Nuan asked.

Lu Xingchi replied, "An evaluation would be needed to know for sure."

Du Ruo added, "At the time, some people online spoke up for the boy, saying that his parents were going through a divorce during that period."

Tang Tang scoffed. "Millions of families go through divorces every year. He's the only one who did something like this. Who doesn't have some problems in their life? There's no excuse for this."

Jiang Fei sneered. "If it were me, I wouldn't care if he was a minor or not. I would chase him to the ends of the earth and make him pay with blood."

Shao Bai had been listening quietly and finally spoke, "We're going to another place where he might appear tomorrow. We'd like to ask you to come with us."

Bei Nuan looked up at Lu Xingchi, waiting for his response.

Lu Xingchi smiled at her. "He's asking you. It's up to you."

Bei Nuan hesitated, unsure whether to get involved in this.

She looked up and saw Du Ruo nodding vigorously across from her, silently mouthing: Dump—lings!

He was afraid Bei Nuan wouldn't agree, and knowing Shao Bai's personality, if he continued to stall, the dumplings in the space would be overcooked.

Bei Nuan looked at Jiang Fei and the others. None of them seemed to object, so she nodded. "Okay. We'll go with you."

Shao Bai finally got his wish and let out a big sigh of relief. He thanked them and left.

Bei Nuan quickly brought out the cooked dumplings.

There were two kinds of dumplings: one with a three-delicacies filling and the other with shepherd's purse and pork filling.

The dumpling wrappers were hand-kneaded and rolled out by Jiang Fei, thin and chewy. He also mixed the fillings. The shrimp in the three-delicacies filling were clearly visible, and the shepherd's purse filling was fresh and substantial. Both were delicious.

Bei Nuan and Du Ruo were both intently picking through the dumplings.

Because when they were making them last time, Lu Xingchi had specially made a gold coin from the remaining gold bar and wrapped it in one of the dumplings.

Bei Nuan and Du Ruo were both determined to find it.

Bei Nuan had secretly marked the dumpling by pinching the edge, but with Du Ruo watching, she had been hurried and pinched it too lightly. Now, after cooking, it seemed to have disappeared.

However, no matter how well-hidden the gold coin was, it couldn't escape Lu Xingchi's notice.

Bei Nuan looked at Lu Xingchi pitifully.

Lu Xingchi smiled and was about to pick up the dumpling for Bei Nuan when Du Ruo quickly cursed, "Lu Xingchi, if you dare help Bei Nuan cheat, you'll never get a wife!"

Lu Xingchi: "…"

However, having observed the direction Lu Xingchi's chopsticks had just moved, Du Ruo and Bei Nuan reached out at the same time.

They picked up different dumplings.

Bei Nuan carefully took a small bite. There was no obstruction. She looked up at Du Ruo and saw him pull a gleaming gold coin from his half-eaten dumpling.

Du Ruo squinted at the coin. "There's actually Bei Nuan's head on it? Lu Xingchi, aren't you bored?"

Bei Nuan quickly leaned in for a closer look.

The small gold coin really did have a bas-relief profile portrait of the girl, smiling slightly, even with eyelashes. It was exquisitely made and clearly Bei Nuan.

Bei Nuan felt wronged. "Du Ruo, this coin is clearly mine. Why are you snatching it from me?"

"Yours? Does it answer to you if you call it?" Du Ruo triumphantly held onto the coin. "Besides, who says that whosever head is on the money, the money belongs to them?"

He had a point. Bei Nuan was speechless.

Lu Xingchi picked up a dumpling for Bei Nuan. "I'll make you a bigger and more beautiful gold coin later. Eat quickly, they'll get cold soon."

Bei Nuan poked at the dumpling with her chopsticks, showing no intention of eating it.

Jiang Fei asked, "Don't you like the dumplings?"

Bei Nuan didn't answer. Biting her lip, she looked at the gold coin in Du Ruo's hand with a wronged expression. Suddenly, she stood up and walked to the tent entrance, lifting the curtain.

The sentry at the entrance of the temporary camp was still standing guard, just as before, motionless and looking straight ahead towards the forest.

Bei Nuan located the sentry with her eyes, establishing her "witness," and rewound time.

Having done this three times already, Bei Nuan was extremely proficient and did it in one go.

Everything around her began to rewind rapidly, time returning to ten minutes prior.

The vinegar dishes were ready, the dumplings freshly cooked, thin-skinned and plump with filling, steaming hot and fragrant.

But Bei Nuan wanted to cry.

Now she knew exactly where the dumpling with the gold coin was hidden in the plate.

But…

During the rapid rewind of time, Bei Nuan had witnessed dumplings being regurgitated, one by one, from everyone's mouths, piecing themselves back together before returning to the plate.

Even knowing that some of them had come from her own mouth, it was unbearable.

Bei Nuan, heartbroken, reached out with her chopsticks, fished out the dumpling containing the gold coin, picked it open with her chopsticks, and took out the beautiful little gold coin, holding it in her hand.

Du Ruo was extremely dissatisfied.

"How is that possible? The first dumpling I ate had the gold coin. Bei Nuan, you cheated, didn't you?"

Du Ruo looked suspiciously at Lu Xingchi. "Lu Xingchi, you helped her cheat, didn't you?"

Bei Nuan scoffed and showed the gold coin to Du Ruo. "Cheat? Look! This was originally my gold coin. It has my head on it!"

Du Ruo glanced at the portrait and sneered. "Yours? Does it answer to you if you call it? Besides, who says that whosever head is on the money, the money belongs to them?"

He said exactly the same thing as before.

However, this time, the gold coin was in Bei Nuan's hand.

Bei Nuan's attitude was different, carrying the arrogance and indifference of a victor, not caring about the sour words of the loser.

Lu Xingchi, seeing Bei Nuan unhesitatingly choose the dumpling with the gold coin, looked at her thoughtfully for a moment and then picked up a dumpling for her. "Eat quickly, they'll get cold soon."

Bei Nuan silently stared at the dumplings on the plate.

To get this gold coin, Bei Nuan had also paid a rather heavy price.

She couldn't bring herself to eat these delicious dumplings anymore.

Bei Nuan silently pulled out a cup of instant noodles from her space.

Jiang Fei, just like before, asked her, "Don't you like the dumplings?"

"No," Bei Nuan said, her voice choked with emotion. "I made a wish that if I could find the gold coin before Du Ruo, I wouldn't eat any more dumplings—who knew the first dumpling would have it?"

This lie was perfectly reasonable.

Du Ruo laughed gloatingly and happily picked up a shepherd's purse dumpling, taking a big bite.

Bei Nuan looked at him with a silent, sympathetic gaze, wanting to tell him: What are you laughing about? The dumpling you're eating now is the one that just came out of Tang Tang's mouth…

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