After Transmigrating as the Scumbag Alpha in an Otherworld Novel, I Ended Up with the Villain - Chapter 15

Ten minutes passed, and still, no one appeared.

Ye Hai spoke up hesitantly, “Back in the passage, I already felt something was off. If Zhang Tian’s ability was truly as he described, those zombies outside shouldn’t have swarmed us like that.”

Su Xinge nodded, then suddenly remembered something. “Didn’t you tell Li Meng to stay behind you? Why…”

Ye Hai shook his head with a bitter smile. “When we were exiting the passage, she suddenly ran behind Zhang Tian. I guess she thought she’d be safer with him.”

Su Xinge frowned slightly. “Is that so? It is strange, though—didn’t he say that jacket would work for a whole day?”

An Le reached out, tugging at the hem of Su Xinge’s shirt, and spoke in her soft, childish voice, “The smell of the jacket changed.”

Su Xinge knelt down to look at An Le, asking seriously, “How did the smell change?”

An Le withdrew her hand, her fingers fidgeting nervously. “The smell of the spit mixed with the smell of fresh blood. It turned into a scent that zombies love.”

Su Xinge watched her intently, puzzled. “How do you know zombies love that scent?”

An Le shook her head. “I don’t know.”

She truly didn’t know why she could sense that zombies liked that smell. She could smell it, and she could feel the excitement of the nearby zombies. She had been carefully hiding her ability, not letting anyone know. It was only because someone had told her: Wealth should not be easily revealed. They also told her: Give your limited trust only to those who are trustworthy. Finally, they told her: Live well for yourself. These words replayed in her mind over and over, but the person who spoke them was gone.

Su Xinge assumed An Le meant she wasn’t sure if zombies liked it or not, so she nodded and stood up. “Your ability must be a Support type too—a very keen sense of smell.”

Ye Hai pointed at An Le, looking shocked. “No way… could she be…?”

Lin Yuxuan was also somewhat surprised, but she reacted quickly. She asked An Le, “When we were first being chased by zombies, did you smell a mixture of two scents, or just the one on the jacket?”

An Le’s gaze was steady as she answered earnestly, “It was the scent produced by mixing the two. But the smell was very faint; ordinary zombies wouldn’t really notice it.”

Except for the higher-level zombies that wanted to eat her.

Su Xinge asked quickly, “Was that smell always there?”

An Le shook her head. “After the glass broke, there was only the smell from the jacket.”

The group looked at each other in silence; a suspicion was already forming in their minds.

After a long pause, Ye Hai said thoughtfully, “If Zhang Tian’s ability is real, then he must have encountered zombies on previous missions. Therefore, a mix of zombie blood and spit shouldn’t attract them. The zombies only swarmed after someone died, so it’s highly probable that only the mixture of fresh human blood and his spit triggers the frenzy.”

Su Xinge nodded. “That’s possible.”

Just then, a burly man nearby suddenly pointed down the road, shouting excitedly, “Someone’s coming!”

Everyone looked. In the dim, gloomy light, a familiar figure appeared on the road ahead. As he got closer, they could see Zhang Tian waving a hand rather disheveledly, his hair dancing wildly in the wind.

Shortly after Zhang Tian’s figure appeared, a second followed. They waited a long time, but no third figure emerged behind the second.

Zhang Tian ran up to the branch campus entrance.

Ye Hai quickly went to support him. “I thought you weren’t going to make it, kid. Where’s your jacket?”

Zhang Tian panted heavily, his eyes red as he cursed breathlessly, “Lost it, dammit. Li Meng got hurt and was bleeding, so I took the jacket off to let everyone hold onto it while we walked. I originally intended to mask the scent of blood, but that woman Li Meng snatched the jacket away when I wasn’t looking. Then, for some reason, the zombies went crazy and swarmed her. Now the jacket’s gone, and we’re down two more people.”

Su Xinge stepped to the side and said, “So, after your jacket was snatched by the injured Li Meng, the mixture of the jacket’s scent and fresh blood actually triggered the zombies’ frenzy?”

Zhang Tian was stunned for a moment, then rubbed his forehead. “I don’t know. That’s never happened before. The teams I take out usually don’t get injured.”

Su Xinge raised an eyebrow. “Interesting.”

Ye Hai clenched his fist. “Damn, so that was it!”

Lin Yuxuan said dismissively, “Clearly, Liu Lindong didn’t tell Li Meng the whole truth either.”

Zhang Tian pushed Ye Hai aside and stood up straight, his gaze shifting between them. “What kind of riddles are you all speaking in?” he asked unhappily.

Ye Hai patted Zhang Tian’s shoulder and said helplessly, “Play less Werewolf and pay more attention, will you?”

Zhang Tian swatted Ye Hai’s hand away, cursing, “The hell are you talking about? If I make it back to the base safely, I’m going to play for three days and three nights straight without stopping.”

Ye Hai teased, “Who’s going to play with you for three days? The zombies?”

Zhang Tian didn’t care, tilting his chin up proudly. “As long as the merit points are right, there isn’t a game I can’t put together.”

Ye Hai turned to look at Zhang Tian as if he were an idiot. “You actually have to use merit points to play games?”

Zhang Tian cracked his neck, looking disdainful. “It’s the same logic as you guys drinking and playing cards. Don’t you have to spend points when you’re enjoying yourself?”

Ye Hai looked confused. “I’ve never heard of anyone getting paid in merit points just to join a Werewolf game.”

Zhang Tian glanced at Ye Hai. “Do you think just anyone can earn points by playing games? The players I spend my points to invite have to be experienced, good at the game, and have some damn integrity.”

Ye Hai was speechless. He simply asked, “Where do you get so many points to waste?”

Zhang Tian looked at Su Xinge and replied, “I’m not the only Awakened who wants to set up a game. That includes certain Omegas that some people can’t get their hands on.”

He emphasized the words “some people” heavily, making it clear to everyone present. After a pause, Zhang Tian added, “Besides, my dad is an Awakened too. We aren’t exactly short on points.”

Su Xinge ignored his mockery and asked instead, “Then shouldn’t you share some of those points with us?”

Zhang Tian suddenly doubled over, bracing his hands on his knees. “Ugh, so tired! Let’s hurry up and find a safe place to rest our feet.”

Ye Hai spoke up helplessly, “Let’s go. I can’t hear much movement inside the school. Most of the perimeter zombies were probably drawn toward the passage. Entering now shouldn’t be too dangerous.”

Su Xinge nodded, speaking as they walked. “I finally know why Liu Lindong agreed to play that game. His ability is a total bug in Werewolf.”

Lin Yuxuan, walking beside her, said coldly, “Too bad for him he didn’t expect An Le and me to get MVP. And to him, your ability was probably the biggest variable in his plan.”

Ye Hai added, “There was another variable: Zhang Tian. No one expected him to actually agree to team up at the end.”

Zhang Tian, walking ahead, looked back quite dissatisfied. “How am I a variable? I’m a ‘constant’!”

Su Xinge nodded solemnly. “A constant indeed.”

Zhang Tian stopped paying attention to them and walked over to An Le, asking, “If we make it back alive, would you be willing to play with me again?”

An Le gave a small nod, mimicking Su Xinge’s serious demeanor as she replied, “Of course. If you give points, I’ll play. Food works, too.”

Zhang Tian laughed and patted her head. “Yo, the little sprout is smart! Already learned how to haggle.”

Lin Yuxuan and Su Xinge walked at the back of the line. Hearing the conversation ahead, Lin Yuxuan let out a cold snort.

Su Xinge was puzzled. “Don’t you think An Le is very smart?”

Lin Yuxuan countered, “For a child An Le’s age, is ‘smart’ really a complimentary term?”

Su Xinge remained confused. “Is it a derogatory one, then?”

Lin Yuxuan slowed her pace, widening the distance between them and the rest of the group. Her smile held a hint of mockery as she spoke, “Her current state is like duckweed; she has to use her environment to judge her situation. Her only support is herself, so she has to act like a ‘sensible’ child to gain favor and improve her circumstances. She has no one to rely on, so she can’t afford to be ‘not smart’ and act spoiled in a loved one’s arms. Knowing that, do you still think ‘smart’ is a compliment?”

Su Xinge listened intently. Since transmigrating, it felt as though Lin Yuxuan wore countless masks, and her words were always strange. This was the first time Su Xinge heard her speak with such sincerity—the first time she caught a glimpse of the real person behind the masks.

Su Xinge let out a breath and looked at Lin Yuxuan’s exquisite face, smiling. “I finally got to hear some truth from you. You can be headstrong or throw tantrums in front of me; just be yourself. I’ll do my best to protect you, but at the same time, you are free.”

“Even if it’s for…” Su Xinge glanced at Lin Yuxuan’s stomach, then quickly looked away. “In short, you don’t have to work this hard.”

Lin Yuxuan didn’t notice Su Xinge’s brief glance. Naturally, she didn’t believe these “ghost stories” and lies, but after a moment of silence, she put her mask back on and turned to Su Xinge with a seductive smile. “Of course I’m free. That way, it’s easier for you to go find other Omegas.”

Su Xinge was choked for words. This woman didn’t just have many masks; she had a sharp tongue to match.

As they spoke, the team had already passed through the main entrance of the branch campus.

Inside the campus, vegetation grew wild. Rows of bluish-gray buildings came into view. The gray of the structures interlaced with the dark green of winding vines; the deeper they looked, the more the green took over. In the furthest depths, the vines covered the walls almost entirely.

Zhang Tian, walking at the front, couldn’t help but remark, “The green space planning for this campus was actually quite good.”

Ye Hai, walking beside him, said, “This looks like the teaching area. It’s unlikely there are survivors here. We should look toward the residential area—ideally a supermarket or something.”

Zhang Tian curled his lip and sighed. “I originally just wanted to coast along and grab some resources. I didn’t expect to actually end up following the mission objectives this closely.”

Su Xinge, bringing up the rear, said, “Let’s keep moving forward. Luckily it’s not too big and there are no forks, or we’d really get lost.”

Ye Hai nodded. “It is just a branch campus, after all. Although some zombies were drawn out, there’s still movement inside these buildings. Everyone, watch your surroundings. Try not to make too much noise.”

Zhang Tian pulled his clothes tight, still sighing. “No jacket, no sense of security.”

Ye Hai paused, turned around, and asked Zhang Tian, “Why do I feel like you’re out on a vacation tour?”

Zhang Tian thought for a moment and replied, “Probably because you don’t have enough spit.”

Suddenly, a sharp whoosh of air rang out. Zhang Tian reacted instinctively, leaning to the side to dodge an incoming arrow.

Ye Hai immediately barked a warning: “Enemy attack! Find cover!”