I Transmigrated as the Protagonist and Was Kidnapped by the Villainous Omega - Chapter 20

Being alive is so damn great.

That was the very first thought that crossed her mind the moment she breathed in the air outside.

Even though the little fenced yard was overrun with weeds and looked eerily strange in the dark, silent night, to Su Cheng—who had just escaped the claws of the demon queen—it felt unexpectedly familiar and warm.

These weren’t weeds. They were brave little lives, blooming stubbornly in adversity!

Su Cheng didn’t dare linger. Clutching her chest, still shaken, she hurried toward the exit.

The moment she stepped out of the yard, she suddenly felt something and turned around, glancing back—

The cold moon was hung in the sky with clouds drifting like lonely souls. Deep within the forest, the small wooden house stood quietly, bullet holes on its walls leaking faint strands of dim yellow light.

“Scattered moonlight pierces the clouds, hides from the crowd, and lays itself out like scales across the sea.”

Her nose tingled. Su Cheng didn’t know why, but that lyric from Under the Sea suddenly popped into her head. Her chest tightened like a heavy stone that had been dropped on it, suffocating her.

The world was so big, and yet… not a single soul truly understood Ling Yuexi.

A chilly breeze lifted a few strands of her hair. The cold pricked her skin, making her shiver. Su Cheng snapped back to her senses.

Was this *Stockholm syndrome?

*feelings of trust or affection felt by a victim toward a captor.

Why the hell was she feeling sorry for Ling Yuexi?

She sniffled hard and forced down the swirl of emotions in her chest, steeling herself as she stepped out of the yard.

“Too late, too late, no one will come to save you. Too late, too late, and you’ve always hated suffocating.”

…

Su Cheng didn’t sleep well last night.

That song kept playing over and over in her head, making her toss and turn. She was still groggy the next morning, barely energized enough to get out of bed.

The peach she had used to prop up her head was still sitting on the table.

She had eaten quite a few peaches from Hongxiu Inn already and loved them. They were fragrant, sweet, and bursting with juice—far better than anything she’d ever had in her old world.

These things would’ve been ultra-rare in the apocalypse, probably not even available in Longyu.

Ling Yuexi must really hate peaches to just chuck them around for fun.

*****

Outside, the sun was bright and the sky crisp and clear. A gentle breeze rustled through the forest, helping Su Cheng wake up a bit more.

It was almost noon when she finally got up. After thinking for a while, she decided to cook a few dishes for Ling Yuexi herself. After all, keeping their relationship smooth would make things easier down the road.

Yes, that’s all it was. Purely a strategic move. No personal feelings involved whatsoever.

“Cheng Su, what tasty stuff are you cooking this time?” Elder Zhen’s voice came from a distance, trailing behind the fragrant aroma as he strolled over with a grin.

“Good day, Elder.” Su Cheng looked up and greeted him, flipping the stir-fry in the pan. “Just throwing together something simple. I was going to bring it to the big boss.”

“She’s not here.” Elder Zhen took a swig from a bottle of peach blossom wine—where he got it from, who knows—and looked absolutely delighted.

Su Cheng poured the dish into a small plate. “Not here? Where’d she go?”

“Left early this morning,” the old man replied, squinting into the sun. “Went to the infected zone with the third boss and Yunqi. She brought a few people too.” He chuckled. “You must’ve drunk a lot last night to sleep in this late.”

“…”

I didn’t drink Granpa—I just went to bed late!

Su Cheng picked up her chopsticks, tasted a bite, and frowned in thought.

She hadn’t expected Ling Yuexi to head to the infected zone this soon. As far as she knew, Hong Xiu Zhao had plenty of supplies and no urgent needs. Could they be lacking something else?

The infected zone’s areas 15 through 18 were still unexplored and increasingly dangerous. In the original book, even Longyu had a tough time clearing those, and they lost plenty of people there—despite having an S-rank protagonist.

Hong Xiu Zhao current strength clearly wasn’t enough. Judging by last night’s drinking party, there weren’t even any strong Alpha types hanging around.

Could they be hiding some kind of next-level secret weapon?

“Oh right,” Su Cheng blinked, rethinking the old man’s words, “Second-in-command didn’t go with them?” She finally remembered Hu Ziyuan.

Seeing the look on her face,  Elder Zhen Yuan coughed awkwardly and tried to sound serious. “She went down the mountain early this morning. Otherwise, no way I’d dare crack a bottle.”

“Oh…” Su Cheng glanced out the window. “It’s almost noon and she’s still not back?” She still had an account to settle, after all.

“They walked down. Should be back any time now.” At that, the old man’s expression suddenly turned nervous. “Aiyo, I better get going!” He glanced around cautiously, then picked up his wine jug and dashed off like a rabbit.

“…Wow.”

That old guy’s legs were something else.

Since Ling Yuexi wasn’t around, Su Cheng gave up on the thought of delivering food to Yuexi. Instead, she scooped herself a small bowl of rice and started eating right there in the kitchen.

She had only taken two bites when a familiar, infuriating voice came from outside.

“I’m exhausted!” Hu Ziyuan staggered in, soaked in sweat.  The medical box was still on her back. “Finally made it back!”

*****

Hu Ziyuan POV:

She’d still been half-asleep when Ling Yuexi yanked her out of bed that morning, claiming someone had collapsed in the farmland at the foot of the mountain and she needed to go check it out immediately.

Hungover and dazed from drinking too much the night before, Hu Ziyuan hadn’t thought to question why the Boss had shown up to deliver the news in person. Her face had looked serious enough, so Hu Ziyuan assumed it was urgent and forced herself to get up.

Ling Yuexi had calmly walked over to the table and said, “You get ready. I’m heading out with Pupu and Yun Qi.”

“When are you coming back?” Hu Ziyuan hadn’t even looked up as she threw on her coat.

“Not sure yet,” Ling Yuexi replied casually. She even waved at her with a cheerful tone. “See you.”

“Okay.”

It wasn’t until she’d finished packing up and was ready to leave that Hu Ziyuan noticed her car keys were missing.

“Huh? I swear I left them on the table yesterday…”

The cabin wasn’t big. She searched it three times and still couldn’t find them. Left with no other choice, she decided to borrow another car from the compound to drive down.

But to her surprise, there wasn’t a single vehicle left.

“The Boss and the others took them all. Said they were heading to the infected zone. Looks like they’ll be gone for a few days.”

???

That urgent? And they didn’t even give her a lift?

“Ugh, fine. I’ll just walk.” Hu Ziyuan sighed and didn’t think too much about it. She strapped on her medical kit and jogged off.

“Second Commander, want some breakfast first?”

“No time, gotta hurry.”

…

Hu Ziyuan’s stamina wasn’t great. She had to stop frequently to catch her breath. Her foot must’ve gotten banged up last night too—it was bruised and sore. Still, she didn’t dare waste her time. Once her energy returned, she picked up the pace again.

By the time she reached the fields, she collapsed straight to the ground, panting, “Where’s the patient… bring them over…”

Her clothes were soaked with sweat. She was beyond uncomfortable.

The people working in the fields looked at each other in confusion.

“Second Commander, who are you talking about?”

“The one who fainted… hurry…”

“No one fainted though? Who told you that?”

“It was the Boss—” Hu Ziyuan suddenly froze, realizing something was off. She looked toward the fields and saw everyone standing there and looking perfectly fine.

In that instant, it was like she’d been doused in cold water.

Everything she’d overlooked earlier came rushing back at once.

Ling Yuexi turning from the table… waving casually… voice light and breezy, saying: “I’m heading out first.”

Rewind. Zoom in. Enhance…

What was in her hand?

Wasn’t that the exact car key she’d spent half the morning looking for?!

She hadn’t even noticed at the time!

Thinking back—how blatant! How smug!

She didn’t even try to hide it!

Ha. Haha. This woman…

She’d lied with a straight face and smiled while stealing her car key. And not only that, she’d taken every car in the place. Not a single one left behind.

“Ling. Yue. Xi!!” Hu Ziyuan stood frozen for a second, then with a furious jolt sprang to her feet. Her purple hair flared out like static—each strand standing on end.

What did she ever do to offend that crazy woman?! Just messing with her for no reason?! When she got back, she was going to get to the bottom of this!

But after cursing Ling Yuexi a thousand times in her head, a new, more miserable reality set in—she still had to walk back.

It had been downhill earlier, but now… it was uphill.

Sob sob sob… Ling Yuexi, just you wait…

“Hey, is the Second Commander okay? Why’d she suddenly start crying?”

“No clue. Why’d she show up with her medical kit anyway?”

******

By the time Hu Ziyuan finally stumbled back to the compound near noon, she was already drenched in sweat, she shouted, “I’m dying! Finally made it back!” She didn’t even know who was cooking earlier, but the smell had her mouth watering, and she followed it straight to the kitchen.

At that moment, Su Cheng was in the middle of chewing, cheeks puffed like a hamster, when she heard the voice and instantly felt a fire ignite in her gut.

Great. The culprit’s here.

“Oh, it was you who’s cooking?” Hu Ziyuan casually tied back her damp hair, grabbed a pair of chopsticks from the cabinet, and helped herself to a huge bite. “Mmm~ delicious! You made this just for me?”

For you, my ass! How is your face that thick?!

Su Cheng nearly choked on her rice. She spit out a few grains in rage and shouted, “Hu Ziyuan!”

“What!?” Hu Ziyuan gave her a flick on the forehead, annoyed. “Swallow before you talk!”

The f***?!

Rubbing her head, Su Cheng chewed quickly and swallowed like a hamster in distress, then looked up, furious. “Do you even know what I went through last night?!”

“What?” Hu Ziyuan scooped herself a bowl of rice, then piled on a generous helping of food. “You have also no idea what I went through this morning.”

“As if that could be worse than what I went through! I was basically a human punching bag for Ling Yuexi last night!”

“But you’re not dead, are you? And it’s not like standing there doing nothing is tiring. I was the one she made run up and down the mountain all morning.”

…???

Did she hear herself? What the hell did she mean, “not dead”?

Su Cheng rolled her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, taking a few calming breaths. “Hu Ziyuan, our alliance is officially over.”

“Hey hey hey, you can’t just burn the bridge like that!” Ziyuan immediately put down her chopsticks and said anxiously, “I just helped you, okay? Even a half-assed A still has to keep her word!”

“Help, my ass! You almost got me killed!” Su Cheng slammed her bowl down on the stove and launched into an exaggerated reenactment. “It was a dark, windy night… no one expected you to show up out of nowhere and go straight for the Tiger Claw to the chest—”

She acted out the entire ordeal vividly, switching characters mid-story. By the end, she added dramatically, “So now you get it. She’s pissed.”

Hu Ziyuan frowned, clearly unconvinced: Seriously? Could Ling Yuexi really be that petty? And was it really just because she touched Su Cheng?

Then again, knowing that woman… yeah, she totally would be.

Still, whether or not it was really because of Su Cheng… that needed some further investigation.

“Exactly! So you totally made things worse for me!” Su Cheng picked her bowl back up and sulkily took a bite of plain rice. “Now she’s not even taking me to the quarantine zone anymore…”

Ziyuan rolled her eyes. “Your leg’s not even fully healed yet. Why would she take you?” Though she had to admit, the speed at which Su Cheng was recovering was freakishly fast.

“We agreed, okay? She said from now on, wherever she goes, she takes me with her.” Su Cheng lied through her teeth with a straight face, then sighed dramatically. “We were supposed to go to the Water Curtain Cave next, but now that I’ve pissed her off, that’s probably off the table too.”

“This is all your fault, so you better make it up to me!” Su Cheng said.

“Alright, alright.” Hu Ziyuan, feeling guilty, shoveled another bite of food into her mouth. After all, she had meant to help Su Cheng—it just backfired spectacularly. So she nodded and said quickly, “Just say the word. I’ll do my best.”

“Hmm… how about this.” Su Cheng rested her chin on her hand, pretending to think deeply. “Why don’t you take me to the Water Curtain Cave? Yuexi already said I could go anyway.”