Ouyang Aotian’s expression was grim as he gathered everyone capable of fighting the zombies. With a dejected air, he recounted the events to the crowd.
"Miss Que... Miss Que is actually a zombie? She must be here to harm us!"
"Exactly! She’s so familiar with our defensive structures, and she knows exactly where the supplies are kept. It’s too late to move them now!"
"What a venomous woman!"
Que Tang watched these ignorant commoners with a cold gaze, feeling a profound sense of injustice for her sister. Back at the base, even when her Darkening Value was high and she harbored hatred for humanity, Que Lan had still done her utmost to help them. Yet the moment her identity was exposed, before she had even done anything, these people immediately painted her as a malicious monster. And this "Saintly" male lead, who had previously acted as if he loved her sister so deeply, didn't utter a single word in her defense now. If things were this bad in this life, her sister’s situation in the previous life must have been even more harrowing. No wonder her Darkening Value was so high upon her rebirth.
Ouyang Aotian wiped his face, forcing himself to rally the crowd. "Now is not the time for this. If the zombie tide is really going to break out early tonight, we must start preparing immediately." He divided those present into two groups: the combat-capable and the weak. He looked at the boy. "Take the non-combatants and transplant all the Peashooters into pots, then move them to the entrance."
"I understand, Brother Aotian," the boy replied, immediately leading the group toward the woods.
Ouyang Aotian addressed the remaining people. "Tonight, we face a monumental trial. If this method succeeds, it means our sanctuary will be safer than anywhere else. But if it fails, we might all be wiped out. Anyone who wants to flee can leave with the military now. However, you must realize that no place in the world is absolutely safe anymore. If you are willing to stay and protect this place with me, then let us fight for our base until the very last moment!"
The crowd looked at one another until, suddenly, a shout erupted from the throng.
"Fight to the last moment! Fight to the last moment! Protect the base!" everyone roared in unison.
"Good! Now, take up your weapons! We clear the perimeter zombies through the security gates!"
"..." For a moment, Que Tang thought she was watching a hot-blooded, edgy shonen anime.
As everyone left to attend to their assigned tasks, only Ouyang Aotian remained, looking at her with eyes full of concern.
"Tangtang, are you alright? None of us expected that about your sister. Don't blame yourself." He placed his hands on her shoulders.
*Which eye did you see me blaming myself with?* Que Tang complained internally. Still, she feigned sorrow and lowered her head despondently.
"Tangtang... your sister must have been brainwashed by the S87 virus long ago. The person she is now isn't Que Lan at all. Don't overthink it. The most important thing now is to survive tonight's tide, then find a way to track down your sister and kill her—let her rest in peace, free from the virus's control."
For the first time since starting her missions, Que Tang felt a surge of genuine rage. Her entire body trembled with suppressed fury; she was terrified she might actually punch this man into orbit.
Ouyang Aotian, however, mistook her trembling for grief-stricken sobbing. He reached out and tenderly pulled her into a consoling embrace. "Tangtang, don't cry. Don't be sad. I'll take your sister's place and look after you. You still have me—your Brother Aotian."
Que Tang couldn't take it anymore. She shoved him away with all her might and bolted.
"Tangtang!" The male lead was shoved back a full hundred meters by the sheer force. He looked at her retreating figure in shock. "Tangtang must be too devastated. Let her be alone for a while."
Neither of them noticed a figure hidden in the nearby shadows, eyes flashing with a vengeful red light.
After that display, Que Tang had zero sympathy left for these people. Her only concern now was how to find the female lead. Otherwise, this mission was in serious danger of failing. She had sacrificed so much of her dignity to grind for her sister's affection; she couldn't let it all go to waste now!
But she had no leads. Considering the zombie tide tonight, her sister was bound to show up. When the time came, she just had to find the "Original World Female Lead" tag...
Que Tang suddenly remembered that before entering the mission, she had told Little Mushroom to only show the prompt once at the beginning. She couldn't see the tag at all!
"...No wonder you were smiling so craftily back then. Little Mushroom, get out here right now!"
"Meow~ That was the Host's own decision," came the pitiful voice. "And I did remind you, meow..."
"You clearly misled me on purpose! What 'reminded me'? You knew the plot all along, you swindling guide!"
"Meow~ This one asked if the Host was really sure. The Host was the one who said 'yes' so confidently. No appreciation for a cat's good heart... I'm ignoring you now!"
"Holy crap, you swindling cat, you actually have the nerve to act like a tsundere!" Que Tang was so angry she could have snapped an iron bar. Because of this blunder, she could only wait until nightfall and play it by ear.
The atmosphere that night was exceptionally eerie. The base was darker than usual because, according to the botanists, the plants were far more active in sunlight than in the dark. Ouyang Aotian immediately sent a group to the walls to turn the large floodlights outward. Because of her great strength, Que Tang volunteered. Once all the lights were aimed outside, she flipped the switch.
Outside the walls, three rows of potted Peashooters were arranged in a staggered formation to ensure no gaps. Behind them stood a line of soldiers with rifles, and behind the soldiers were crates of grenades.
The atmosphere was solemn and tense, every face etched with the grim resolve of life or death. Yet, Que Tang couldn't help but lean against the wall, laughing. How was she supposed to immerse herself in this setting?!
Finally, as the last sliver of sunlight dipped below the horizon, dark shadows began to emerge from the distance of City B’s main highway.
"They're here. Everyone, get ready," Ouyang Aotian shouted, his eyes narrowing as he rallied the crowd. "Trust me, and trust yourselves. We will get through this!"
"Yes! We will survive!"
One shadow, then two, gradually becoming a group, then several, until they converged into a river-like tide of zombies, marching slowly toward them.
The faces of some survivors had already turned pale with terror.
Que Tang felt she should act scared, but as she watched the game-style zombies appear, she began to technically analyze their chances of winning. Comparing the number of Peashooters to the size of the horde, the plants probably wouldn't be able to kill them fast enough. They were likely going to lose.
Wait, that wasn't the point. The point was that she had thought her sister would be easy to spot because her art style was different from the zombies, but with so many zombies now, she couldn't find her at all.
As the first zombie approached, a Peashooter quickly eliminated it. But then came the second, the third, and as countless zombies drew near, the firing speed of the peas couldn't keep up. Seeing this, the gunmen in the back began to fire, but it was like trying to put out a forest fire with a cup of water.
Que Tang scanned the area from the wall in a panic. She was rarely this serious about a mission, but she didn't want her sister to die for such a ridiculous reason and cause her to fail.
Just as her gaze swept past a certain building, her eyes widened. *Sister!* She immediately leaped from the wall, charging recklessly into the zombie tide.
"Tangtang!" Ouyang Aotian, who had been watching her, screamed.
Que Tang wielded her iron bar like a god of war, sweeping through the zombies as if they were nothing. She imagined herself like Zhao Yun in *Dynasty Warriors*, activating Musou mode with a dragon spear, clearing everything in her path. In the eyes of the people at the base, however, she looked like a batter at a baseball stadium, knocking zombies out of the park one by one. In reality, she was just a delinquent girl smashing things with a metal pipe.
Regardless, she slowly drew closer to Que Lan. When she finally reached her sister, she was stunned.
*Sister, you're wearing a deep V-neck black leather bodysuit and leaning against a wall staring coolly into the distance... why are you being so stylish? What happened to your office-lady look?*
"Sister. I finally found you." Que Tang took a step forward but stopped under her sister's distant gaze.
"What are you here for? To kill me?" Que Lan gave a wicked smile. "I've already died once; why would I fall for your tricks again? Today, I will make sure every single one of you dies here."
"Sister, listen to me—"
"What is there to say? Did Ouyang Aotian send you to distract me so he could sneak up and ambush me from behind?"
"How could that be? I came to find you on my own."
Que Lan’s face darkened. "Liar." She stepped aside, revealing a bound Ouyang Aotian behind her.
Que Tang’s eyes widened in surprise, but to Que Lan, this looked like a silent admission of guilt.
"Meow~ Female lead's affection for Host decreased by 100. Current affection: -40."
*WTF! How did this romance-novel scumbag get here?!* Que Tang deeply regretted not punching him into the next province this morning.
"Sister! I have absolutely nothing to do with him, believe me!"
Que Lan glared at her without a word.
Que Tang slowly walked forward. "Sister, let's leave this place, okay? Just you and me."
"Heh, are you saying you don't care about the people in the base anymore?" Que Lan sneered. "And why should I believe you? You're with them. You think I'm a threat to your lives."
"How could I! You're my only sister. The only person who is truly good to me and loves me." Que Tang was on the verge of tears—partly for the maxed-out Morbid Value and the negative affection.
Que Lan suddenly gave her a warm smile. Que Tang thought things were turning around and moved to step forward. But at that moment, a swarm of zombies rushed in from behind her sister.
"Tangtang, stop struggling. Just become a zombie. I'll take good care of you."
"If I turn into this kind of zombie... how could I ever show my face again!" Que Tang raised her iron bar, struggling to fend off the endless stream of zombies.
Meanwhile, the male lead, who had been forgotten by both of them, used a knife hidden in his sleeve to cut his ropes during the chaos. He pulled a potted Peashooter out from under his oversized coat.
While fighting the zombies, Que Tang saw out of the corner of her eye that the male lead was aiming the Peashooter at Que Lan, who was completely unguarded because she didn't take him seriously.
In a moment of panic, Que Tang threw herself at Que Lan, hugging her tightly and shielding her from the Peashooter's attack.
"..." *So this is what it feels like to be hit by a Peashooter.* Que Tang looked at her back; sure enough, it was stained with a large patch of green pea juice.
Que Lan looked at the sister hugging her in bewilderment. "Ta... Tangtang."
"Tangtang, why are you protecting her? Have you forgotten that woman isn't your sister anymore? That's just a zombie controlled by S87!" Ouyang Aotian shouted in resentment.
Que Tang rolled her eyes in annoyance. *A controlled zombie would look like something out of Plants vs. Zombies, okay? Look at the art style next door. My sister is so beautiful; she's clearly a high-level zombie.*
"Tangtang, do you really... not care at all that I'm a zombie?" Que Lan stared at her sister, trembling.
"I already told you, you're my only sister. Even if you've become a zombie, haven't you stayed by my side and protected me just the same? So what if you're a zombie?" Que Tang explained with rapid hand signs.
Que Lan’s eyes instantly welled with tears.
"Tangtang, come over here quickly. Get away from that female zombie!" The male lead, who couldn't read sign language and had no idea what the sisters were saying, continued to bluster from the side.
Que Tang suddenly pulled away from her sister's embrace, picked up her iron bar, and marched toward the male lead.
Ouyang Aotian thought Que Tang had come to her senses and opened his arms wide, waiting for her to return. The next moment, he was flying through the air.
"I've wanted to do that for a long time, you scumbag," Que Tang muttered, flipping the bird in the direction he had flown.
"Meow~ Female lead's affection is at max value. Sub-plot 'Sisters are okay too' unlocked. Host, please go for it without hesitation! Host's Morbid Value decreased by 50. Current Morbid Value: 50."
"...Get out here right now. I promise I won't kill you; I'll leave your cat corpse intact."
***
