Chapter 50: Accusation—Please Cooperate with the Investigation

When Bian Changxi heard the commotion, she walked over. Standing outside the door was an ordinary-looking man, his face anxious as he said to her, “Miss, have you seen the person in this photo? He’s my brother. I haven’t seen him since the apocalypse started.”

The man in the photo was also in his twenties, with thick, short eyebrows, a hooked nose, and skin so dark it looked like he’d just crawled out of a mine. He had a fierce look about him.

Bian Changxi shook her head. “No, I haven’t seen him.”

“Are you sure? Can you think again?” the man pressed, clearly desperate.

“Really, I haven’t. You should try somewhere else.” With that, Bian Changxi closed the door, greeted Mother Chen, and headed upstairs. The door on the second floor was ajar, but she didn’t disturb anyone. She went up to her own room on the fourth floor, closed the door, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes to sense the energy within her.

Earlier, she’d been forced to use her powers to the limit, wrapping up the zombies and exhausting herself. There’s a threshold to this kind of overexertion—go too far, and it can cause serious damage to your abilities, but within a certain range, it can actually stimulate your potential. When she absorbed energy again, she noticed the flow inside her was a bit thicker, as if her meridians had widened.

She focused, and sure enough, the change was tiny—maybe only as thick as a few strands of hair. But when the energy flowed, there was a slight sluggishness, not as smooth as before.

She let out a sigh of relief. No one knows where their own limits are, and once you start overdrawing your power, it’s like pulling the plug on a dam—it’s hard to control and can have terrible consequences.

Luckily, with the experience of a previous life, she’d managed to cut off the flow just in time.

She gripped her second-tier green core and quietly guided the energy inside her body, circulating the green glow several times until it became smooth again and her fatigue faded. Then she opened her eyes and began practicing her wood spikes against the wall.

Wood spike was her only offensive ability at this stage, but it was embarrassingly weak—even she felt awkward about it.

Short, stubby spikes shot from her hand into the wall. At first, they only stuck in half a centimeter, then gradually up to one centimeter, from falling out in less than a second to finally staying put. Bian Changxi practiced over and over, draining her energy, absorbing more from the crystal core, then draining it again, until she could finally drive a spike one and a half centimeters into the wall. Only then did she stop.

Sigh. Those powerful metal and fire users can cut through a zombie’s skull in an instant with a single blade or fire arrow. But wood is inherently gentle—there’s just no comparison.

She consoled herself: I’m only at the first tier. Sooner or later, I’ll develop something sharper.

Suddenly, a blaring car horn sounded from below, followed by a noisy commotion. At first, she didn’t pay attention, but then the front door was pounded on so hard the whole building seemed to shake. After a moment, Mother Chen called out nervously, “Miss Bian! Miss Bian, someone’s here for you!”

What’s going on? Bian Changxi frowned, wiped her sweat, and went downstairs. The front door was wide open. Several cars were parked outside, surrounded by people. A woman was sprawled over a stretcher, sobbing miserably. When she saw Bian Changxi, she rushed over, screaming, “You murderer! Give me back my husband! Give him back!”

Wu Dalang was downstairs too, and quickly blocked the woman. “If you have something to say, say it. If you try anything, I’ll throw you out!”

The woman sobbed uncontrollably, her companions holding her up on either side, glaring at Wu Dalang and Bian Changxi with fury. A man in a police uniform stepped forward, notebook in hand, and addressed Bian Changxi: “You’re Bian Changxi, right? Zhao Amin—this lady here—is accusing you of murdering her husband, as well as all eleven residents of the temporary village outside the new district. This is the body of Zhao’s husband, Tian Jiaxing, and these are two witnesses. Please come with us.”

As he spoke, he lifted the white sheet on the stretcher, revealing a corpse. The onlookers gasped.

The body was covered in burn marks, the jaw dislocated and twisted open, a deep, long wound across the neck, arms bent at unnatural angles. The face was contorted, as if he’d died in anger or terror.

The crowd’s gaze toward Bian Changxi immediately changed. Old Chen and Mother Chen looked at her in shock.

Bian Changxi frowned slightly, her face calm, but inside, she was anything but.

Wasn’t this the young man she’d fought with not long ago, who ended up falling to his own death?

But before she left, she’d piled all the bodies together and doused them with diesel to burn them. Tian Jiaxing’s body had been at the bottom, and she’d poured on two full buckets of fuel. With that kind of fire, unless someone put it out right away, the bodies should have been destroyed.

Judging by the burns, someone must have arrived soon after she left and pulled the body out.

A chill ran down Bian Changxi’s spine.

Who could it be? With what purpose? How much had they seen? And now, why were they coming for her?

She pressed her lips together, frozen in place. The policeman, as if expecting her to have no defense, said again, “Please come with us.”

He and another officer moved to “invite” her.

Wu Dalang stepped forward, blocking their way. “You think you can just show up with a corpse and a few people crying and take someone away? Do you have a detention warrant? Approval from your superiors? An official place to conduct business? Have you ever seen suspects detained with witnesses and a corpse in tow?”

The other replied, “These are extraordinary times. We don’t need to follow regular procedures.”

Wu Dalang snorted, “So you know it’s ‘extraordinary times’?”

The man’s expression darkened, his tone hardening. “Are you trying to obstruct law enforcement? Don’t forget, even though the country is in crisis, this is still a society ruled by law!”

“If it’s a society ruled by law, then show me the legal documents!” Wu Dalang said forcefully, then leaned over and whispered to Bian Changxi, “Stall them. Don’t go with them. I’ve notified the captain—they’ll be here soon.”

Bian Changxi was a little surprised and gave him a grateful look. “Thank you.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the police sneering. Suddenly, she realized—they weren’t afraid of a scene, or of being stalled. If they dared to come like this, they must be confident they could take her away.

She glanced at the crowd outside. At a time like this, everyone should be busy trying to survive—who had time to watch a spectacle?

Only she and Wu Dalang had abilities here, but the other side had clearly come prepared.

A thought flashed through her mind, and she raised her voice: “I have indeed met this Tian Jiaxing.”

Wu Dalang was stunned, and everyone looked at her in surprise.

She said to the policeman, “I did have a physical altercation with him. I admit that much.”

“Miss Bian…”

“But that doesn’t prove anything. Anyone with experience can see he didn’t die from human-inflicted wounds. As for the other eleven people—three of them were killed by the deceased before he died. The rest,” she added with a hint of sarcasm, “were bitten to death by zombies, and then I cut off their heads. Killing zombies isn’t a crime, is it?”

The police and the two “witnesses” holding the woman looked uncomfortable. The two officers whispered to each other, then one said, “Whatever the case, you’ll have to come with us to cooperate with the investigation.”

“Where to?”

“The train station. We’ve set up a temporary office there.” He glanced at Wu Dalang, raising his eyebrows. “If you’re worried, someone can accompany you.”

Bian Changxi replied, “No need. Since this is a society ruled by law, I trust the police won’t do anything improper. I’ll go alone.”

She smiled at Wu Dalang and followed the police toward the car outside.

“Wait!” Wu Dalang clenched his fist and pulled Bian Changxi aside, using his broad frame to block the others’ view. He slipped her a compact handgun, palm down. “I can’t leave here, but as soon as the captain arrives, I’ll send him over.”

His determined eyes were full of concern. Bian Changxi was silent for a moment, then took the gun. “I understand. I’ll be careful.”

(Um, Lu Guichen’s personal reminders for more chapters are too much for me—I need to save up drafts for the official release, sorry! (╯3╰)

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