After Transmigrating as the Scumbag Alpha in an Otherworld Novel, I Ended Up with the Villain - Chapter 10

Everyone’s forward momentum stuttered to a halt. Su Xinge quickly looked toward the front-left, the source of the cry.

She saw Su San sprawled on his backside, bracing himself with his hands to keep his balance. Right next to where he had been standing was a car. Protruding from the window was a head with blurred features; a foul stench wafted from its mouth along with a continuous flow of an unknown liquid. Its large maw opened and closed, emitting a raspy, low-growl—a sound that seemed to crawl out from the depths of a demonic abyss.

Zhang Tian took a few steps forward, raised his blade, and severed the creature’s head in one clean stroke. He turned back and cursed at the sweating Su San on the ground: “Couldn’t you see it was stuck? It’s a damn immobile object—what are you afraid of? Who were you screaming for?”

Knowing he had messed up, Su San apologized while trembling, “Sorry, sorry! It’s my first time out, I have no experience. I won’t scream next time.”

Ye Hai walked up and sighed from the side. “If we were in the city center and you dared to scream that loud, I’m afraid even God couldn’t save you.”

Zhang Tian turned to the crowd. “Listen up, everyone. Don’t make a peep when we get into the city center. The ears on these things are incredibly sharp.”

Lin Yuxuan held An Le’s hand tightly, using her own body to shield the child from the gore. She worried An Le would be scared, but her other hand, gripping a kitchen knife, was also tensed. Even though she hadn’t awakened yet, the experience accumulated from her previous life allowed her heart to settle; she was no sniveling brat who would cry at the sight of blood.

In this apocalypse, survival experience was sometimes more important than raw power.

As if catching the scent of blood, several cars nearby began to rattle with varying intensity; some even had mangled limbs draped over the windows. Since this road had been cleared before, most of the creatures were trapped inside vehicles, able only to intimidate with their howls. Even so, many of the ordinary people present felt their legs shaking, their lips turning white with fear.

Su Xinge gripped her heavy blade, equally terrified. However, this body felt different from her old one. The blood coursing beneath her skin felt a faint, underlying excitement. She felt an urge to rush forward and hack those severed heads and limbs into mincemeat. If this were her body from before she transmigrated, she likely would have vomited the moment Zhang Tian brought out that stinking jacket.

She glanced at Lin Yuxuan and An Le. Though they looked tense, fear didn’t seem to be part of their emotional palette. An Le had no obvious weapon; Su Xinge had only given her a small knife for emergencies. In a zombie-infested center, it was more practical for a child to be light enough to run than to exhaust themselves swinging a heavy weapon.

Zhang Tian signaled with his hand: “Keep moving.”

The path was narrow, forcing the crowd into a single-file line. Liu Lindong was at the very front, Zhang Tian in the middle, and Ye Hai at the rear. Su Xinge stayed beside Lin Yuxuan and An Le, positioned to act flexibly within the group.

They wound through the jumbled cars and traversed paths that could barely be called roads until they reached the end of the highway. In the distance, they could see countless looming skyscrapers standing upon the earth, piercing through the gloomy, overcast clouds. Had it not been for the shattered glass, the alternating light and dark bloodstains, and the suffocatingly silent air, Su Xinge might have mistaken it for a regular, slightly unpleasant rainy day.

Looking down, she saw unidentifiable creatures drifting sporadically across the landscape. The group sucked in a breath of cold air.

Zhang Tian cursed quietly, “Damn. I haven’t been out for a few days and the numbers look higher than before.”

Su Xinge gripped her hilt tighter to confirm the scene before her was real.

Ye Hai’s expression was equally grim. “No wonder the base extended the perimeter distance from the city recently.”

Liu Lindong, standing at the front, spoke after a moment of silence: “We’ve come this far. Keep the noise down during the operation. If you can’t control your mouth, turn around and go back to the base yourself.”

Su San shook his head frantically, promising, “I’ll control myself, I swear.” Not in a million years would he want to walk that road back alone.

Su Xinge turned to the two behind her. “Stay close to me during the move.”

An Le nodded obediently. “Okay.”

An Le felt the strength in Lin Yuxuan’s grip and squeezed back, as if they could pass courage to one another.

Liu Lindong signaled from the front, whispering: “Advance.”

The team fell into formation and stepped into the dimness, toward the unknown. Black dust floated continuously in the air. For the moment, Su Xinge sensed no immediate, extreme danger.

The outskirts of town were sparsely populated, and the number of zombies was relatively low—nowhere near as staggering as the view from above. These ordinary zombies moved and reacted slowly; as long as they didn’t make too much noise, they generally wouldn’t attract a siege. The stray zombies they did encounter were easily spotted and dealt with by the Awakened on the perimeter.

Su Xinge walked in the middle-right of the line. The excitement signals sent by her brain caused her muscles to twitch, and her palms felt damp. She didn’t know if this was a natural reaction for an Awakened in danger or a specific reflex of the original host’s body.

Suddenly, a roar erupted from around a corner five meters away.

Su Xinge spun around instantly as a humanoid monster, flailing its claws, lunged toward them. With wind beneath her feet, she raised her blade and brought it down. Su Xinge exerted a sudden burst of force, hacking the creature down before it could fully leap. Her brain hadn’t even issued a command; her body had completed this swift, decisive strike entirely on instinct.

Sweat dripped onto the ground. Su Xinge returned to the line, expressionless and focused.

…

About an hour later, the group stopped to take a short break. These creatures were typically more active at night and less so during the day, so despite being exhausted, there had been no casualties yet. Everyone leaned against a wall, gasping for breath.

Suddenly, Ye Hai straightened up, his expression shifting. “Wait. What is that sound?”

Su Xinge heard nothing, but she felt a vague, creeping unease.

Ye Hai looked at Liu Lindong. “Didn’t you hear that?”

Liu Lindong remained impassive. “Hear what?”

Ye Hai’s face went pale instantly. “Crap! Run! There’s definitely a horde heading this way!”

Everyone’s expressions changed drastically. They didn’t dare scream, but they looked around in a panic, scanning left and right.

Zhang Tian didn’t doubt him for a second. “Dammit! Liu Lindong, you’re really something!”

Su Xinge tightened her grip on her knife, sweat pouring down her forehead.

Something is wrong.

The person with the best hearing on the field was undoubtedly Liu Lindong, followed by Ye Hai, whose awakening was also sensory-based.