After Transmigrating as the Scumbag Alpha in an Otherworld Novel, I Ended Up with the Villain - Chapter 14

The group walked through the darkness for an unknown amount of time, as if the passage had no end.

Zhang Tian couldn’t help but complain in a low voice: “If we stay in this place much longer, it’ll definitely shorten my lifespan. I’m never doing a ghost mission like this again. Double points aren’t as important as my life.”

Zhang Tian wasn’t loud, and no one responded; the air fell back into silence.

Drip.

The sound of a water droplet hitting the ground rang out, but no one paid it any mind.

Splatter.

Zhang Tian wiped an unidentified liquid off his face and cursed: “Crap, what kind of hellhole is this? How is it leaking?”

The team continued forward. Su Xinge didn’t pay much attention to it; underground passages were naturally damp, so leaks were normal.

“Ah… help… AH!”

After only a few more steps, a blood-curdling scream erupted from the back of the group, echoing through the tunnel.

Everyone jerked to a halt and looked back. Instantly, an atmosphere of extreme tension spread.

Su Xinge’s vision wasn’t particularly clear in the night. She could only see a blurry dark shadow at the rear of the crowd, its body twisting and swaying. Although she sensed an attack from an unknown creature, she couldn’t see the specific details.

Su Xinge quickly backed up, using her arms to shield Lin Yuxuan and An Le.

At the same time, Ye Hai turned around. Seeing the anomaly, he quickly raised his blade, stepped toward the team member at the very back, and brought the edge down.

Pshhh.

A sound like a leaking balloon hissed out.

Ye Hai launched a continuous flurry of attacks at the monster. Following two more pshh sounds, the hissing of the “leaking balloon” grew even faster.

The fighting gradually ceased, and a stench of sour, rotting decay mixed with blood filled the air. Ye Hai looked like a butcher fresh out of a slaughterhouse, unidentified liquid dripping steadily from his blade.

Zhang Tian muttered under his breath: “What the hell is that thing?”

Su Xinge took two steps closer, then stopped abruptly.

The person who had screamed for help had a massive hole ripped through his chest; clearly, there was no chance of survival. Su Xinge remembered him as the other strong man Liu Lindong had chosen. Beside the man lay a pile of black biological matter about the size of a watermelon. Its mangled body, hacked to pieces, was still wriggling as if it might come back to life at any moment.

Ye Hai tightened his grip on his weapon and delivered several more stabs to the watermelon-sized creature. He said: “I don’t even know what kind of damn thing mutated into this, but it has terrifying vitality.”

Zhang Tian stepped forward, his breathing heavy, and asked Su Xinge: “Didn’t you sense this thing earlier?”

Su Xinge shook her head: “My detection was focused entirely forward. I didn’t notice this thing at all. Now that something’s happened, the only possible place this creature came from is the ceiling. From now on, I’ll try to expand my detection range.”

After speaking, Su Xinge looked up at the ceiling.

Ye Hai nodded: “No wonder I didn’t see it either. The ceiling is indeed easy to overlook.”

Realization dawned on Zhang Tian, and he said excitedly: “Then that sound earlier might not have been a leak—it was probably this thing’s secretions!”

Ye Hai reminded Zhang Tian: “You’re filthy.”

The group fell silent. Although it was a joke, no one could laugh.

Ye Hai sighed: “No wonder I couldn’t hear it. A soft-bodied creature like this moving along the walls or floor wouldn’t make a sound.”

Perhaps because she had become so tense, Su Xinge suddenly felt her detection range increase. She tried probing in every direction.

Su Xinge’s face suddenly changed. She gripped Lin Yuxuan’s hand tightly and shouted to the crowd: “Run! More of those things are coming from behind! They aren’t fast, but there are a lot of them. We need to get out of this passage as fast as possible!”

The team members, who had just begun to relax, instantly fell into a panic. As if losing all reason, they abandoned formation and scrambled to escape.

Zhang Tian couldn’t help but curse: “Dammit! How can these things really make no sound at all?”

Ye Hai quickly shouted a reminder: “Maintain formation! If you run blindly like this, none of you will make it out! Split into three groups. Awakened, take your own people. Li Meng, follow me!”

The team members quickly split into three columns and bolted forward. Su Xinge sprinted with An Le and Lin Yuxuan.

Zhang Tian, running on the far right, said: “Those things must have been attracted by the scent of blood. Their noses are sharper than a dog’s.”

Ye Hai, on the far left, asked: “How come your jacket isn’t working?”

Zhang Tian’s neck turned red as he shot back: “Didn’t I say it only works on zombies? It’s useless against other mutations!”

No one spoke further; they simply sprinted. Countless heavy gasps echoed in the darkness. People no longer cared if their breathing or footsteps were too loud—something was already hunting them.

The current situation was far more dangerous than the potential zombie siege earlier. Before, they were conserving energy; now, they were running for their lives.

But there is always a gap in capability; where there are fast runners, there are slow ones. Although An Le was likely an Awakened, her running speed was still much slower compared to a grown adult. Su Xinge slung her heavy blade over her back, scooped An Le up with one arm, and pulled Lin Yuxuan with the other. She didn’t forget to comfort them: “Don’t worry, those things behind us aren’t as fast as we are.”

Lin Yuxuan remained silent. She remembered that Su Xinge’s detection range wasn’t large, which indirectly meant those creatures were already very close. She wasn’t sure they could actually make it out. She suddenly thought of her past life; after her successful awakening, she had wanted revenge, only to find out that Rye had died at some unknown point. If not for the twists of fate this time, Rye should have been part of this team.

Lin Yuxuan clenched her fist. Even rebirth has happened—why can’t I awaken early? At least in her last life, she had died after Su Xinge. This time, they might die together.

Running in the middle of the three columns, Su Xinge shouted to both sides: “I’m detecting the ceiling! You two watch the left and right walls so we don’t get ambushed again!”

The moment she finished, Ye Hai delivered a fierce hack at a monster on the wall, cursing: “I didn’t notice them before, but these things hanging on the wall look like lanterns.”

Zhang Tian retorted: “Is there a lantern that doesn’t glow and bites people?”

Before Ye Hai could reply, Zhang Tian pointed ahead in pleasant surprise: “Light! We’re getting out!”

Ye Hai’s ears twitched. “Something’s wrong. There’s movement at the exit.”

Despite this, the team didn’t stop. To them, danger in the dark was more terrifying than danger in the light.

As light flooded into the gloom, they could see a scattering of zombies already gathered at the exit, seemingly ready to rush in and turn the humans into a meal. Having just seen hope, the group was instantly plunged into deeper despair.

Their running speed plummeted. Su San, following Zhang Tian, was covered in tears and snot but didn’t dare scream. He asked tremblingly: “What do we do now?”

Su Xinge heard him and saw the hesitating footsteps. She said: “Those zombies clearly don’t dare enter the passage. Our only chance of survival is to push through while there aren’t many out there!”

Hearing this, the group managed to steady their nerves and accelerated again. This was indeed their only way out. They moved faster, nearing the light.

Ye Hai commanded: “Once we’re out, split up and run! Take them down individually, don’t get surrounded and wiped out. See you at the branch campus!”

As light and shadow blurred together again, Su Xinge squinted in discomfort.

“Ah!”

Another scream erupted from behind, and the scent of blood spread. Before Su Xinge could look back, two foul-smelling zombies lunged from her front and right. She delivered a fierce kick, knocking the front one down, then dodged the other.

She didn’t even have time to finish them off; she just sprinted toward the open space ahead. More and more zombies were converging on the tunnel entrance. Su Xinge wished she had wings to fly out of this hellhole.

She twisted and turned according to the route, dodging incoming zombies. The further she got from the passage, the fewer zombies there were. She pushed her ability to the limit, avoiding encounters as much as possible. After weaving through several streets, she finally escaped the surrounding circle.

After another few hundred meters, Su Xinge arrived at the gate of the branch campus. Most of the zombies had been drawn away by the blood at the tunnel exit, so there were fewer elsewhere; at least, she didn’t see any wandering nearby.

Su Xinge quickly set An Le down and leaned against the gate. Even with her Awakened physique, she was exhausted by the ordeal. Beside her, An Le reached out her thin arms and gently patted Su Xinge’s back, whispering with her head down: “Thank you, sister.”

Su Xinge patted An Le’s head. “No need to thank me. Maybe I’ll need your help in the future.”

After resting for a moment, Su Xinge straightened up and looked at Lin Yuxuan. Seeing her equally flushed and exhausted, Su Xinge asked with concern: “Are you hurt?”

Lin Yuxuan shook her head, her breath coming in ragged bursts: “No… no.”

Su Xinge nodded. “That’s good.”

She realized she was still holding Lin Yuxuan’s hand and let go. What she saw was a shocking patch of red. Su Xinge said guiltily: “I’m sorry, I didn’t control my strength. Does it hurt?”

Lin Yuxuan smiled and shook her head. “You’ll find out if you try it yourself next time.”

Su Xinge lowered her head and whispered: “There won’t be a next time.”

Looking at Su Xinge’s sincere expression, Lin Yuxuan could tell the concern wasn’t faked—even though Su Xinge had just saved her. Given her current physical state, she never would have made it out of that circle on her own, yet the person before her was the one constantly apologizing.

Lin Yuxuan truly couldn’t figure out what was wrong with Su Xinge. What kind of problem could cause someone to change so drastically overnight?

Just then, Ye Hai ran up, followed by two team members. He was panting heavily. Looking at Su Xinge, he marveled: “Impressive. Running that fast while carrying a child.”

Su Xinge looked at the thick, dark blood on Ye Hai’s blade and replied: “I didn’t even fight; I was just running for my life.”

Ye Hai, covered in filth, simply remarked: “I just want to hack those things when I see them. Consider it practice.”

Su Xinge nodded and asked: “Where’s Zhang Tian? He hasn’t made it yet. Is he lost?”

Ye Hai looked back. “I was in a bloodlust; I didn’t notice.”

The two fell into silence. Everyone knew that the longer it took in this situation, the lower the chance of survival.

Ye Hai spoke again: “Let’s wait a bit longer. Maybe he really is lost.”

The group stood their ground. In the distance, they could see more zombie figures emerging and converging toward the passage. Time seemed to stand still.