Chapter 87: Midnight, With Bad Intentions

(from *Restarting the Farm at the End of the World*)

At night, the entire camp had quieted down again, but Bian Changxi sat in her car, window half-lowered, unable to sleep.

She had no idea what was happening over at the music square. In her previous life, a lot of people had died there, with only a handful making it out—and those few survivors always kept their mouths shut. So, very few people knew the truth, and Bian Kuang certainly wasn’t one of them.

All she knew was that, afterward, the convoy ended up taking the mountain road instead.

Maybe because of whatever happened, that red-nosed man who had sworn to kick her out of the convoy never brought it up again.

She rested her head against the window, eyes fixed on the darkness, ears straining for any sound in the night. She never heard the triumphant horn announcing the return of the expedition team, but she did spot a sneaky figure lurking around.

That person crept along, glancing around nervously, his face a mass of lumps and bumps, looking like some ghoul that had crawled out of nowhere. In the darkness, he was especially creepy—if anyone stumbled upon him, they’d be scared half to death.

Bian Changxi watched him inch closer, checking license plates, getting nearer and nearer to her car.

“Zhang Yuwen, what are you doing?” she called out suddenly.

The figure, barely a meter away, jumped in surprise, then looked at her with delight. “Changxi, you’re still up? That’s great! I really have nowhere to sleep, and it’s freezing out here. Let me stay in your car tonight, please?”

A wave of rot and bad breath wafted over on the breeze, making Bian Changxi’s stomach churn and her skin break out in goosebumps.

It wasn’t like she hadn’t smelled worse, but when it came from a living, breathing, and especially annoying person, it was just extra disgusting. She opened the car door, shoving him back a few steps before slamming it shut again. “Stay away. How did you get in here? Where’s the manager? Don’t you know you’ll be punished for wandering around at night?”

There were rules in the convoy: no wandering at night, since danger could strike at any time. Only by staying put in your assigned spot could everyone be managed and protected. For the strong, these rules didn’t matter, but for ordinary people like Zhang Yuwen, they were strictly enforced.

“I didn’t know,” Zhang Yuwen said cluelessly. “I just walked in. Changxi, you still have space in your car—I know you do. Please let me in, I’m really freezing to death.”

Bian Changxi started shouting, “Manager! Manager!”

The commotion woke up people nearby. The manager arrived late, but it wasn’t Yang Xiaowen—it was a man, yawning and pulling on his coat. “What’s going on? Wailing like ghosts in the middle of the night.”

Bian Changxi said coldly, “Someone from another area snuck in.”

“I didn’t sneak in! I’m her boyfriend—she told me to come over secretly tonight!” Zhang Yuwen protested.

Everyone who’d been woken up stared in shock, their expressions weird and skeptical. So this was her style…?

They didn’t have any light, so they couldn’t see what this “boyfriend” looked like. All they knew was that Bian Changxi always seemed calm and reserved—who would have thought she couldn’t stand being alone?

Zhang Yuwen leaned in smugly. “Let me in the car, or I might say something unpleasant. That wouldn’t look good for you.”

That’s where he miscalculated.

In his memory, Bian Changxi was a quiet person. She might act wild on the surface, but deep down she was thin-skinned and didn’t like her private matters exposed. He knew she’d changed, but people’s opinions of others are always tinged with habit. He figured that even if she was angry, she’d argue with him in private, maybe not let him in, but as long as they were close, as long as no one noticed…

BANG! Bian Changxi suddenly flung open the car door, this time with much more force and speed. Zhang Yuwen stumbled back several steps. Bian Changxi stepped out and kicked him over, then flipped on a flashlight, shining it right in his face. She stepped on his chest in disgust. “Who the hell are you? With a face like that, even your parents wouldn’t recognize you. My boyfriend? Am I crazy enough to pick a pig head like you?”

Zhang Yuwen flushed with shame and anger, struggling to breathe. He tried to get up, only to find Bian Changxi’s foot pinning him with surprising strength. He shouted, “Bian Changxi, you can’t just deny everything! You said you’re a wood-type, that healing me would be a snap—why else would I come here? I only stayed away these days because I didn’t want to drag you down! But you—you gave me hope just to humiliate me!”

“Hmph!”

Keep making things up!

She suddenly noticed something hard at his waist and felt something was off. Just as she was about to kick it away, a flash of panic crossed Zhang Yuwen’s eyes. Taking advantage of her slightly loosened grip, he suddenly leapt up, grabbing the object and lunging at her. “You can’t abandon me!”

Sensing danger, Bian Changxi quickly retreated, grabbing the hand he tried to wrap around her waist as if to hug her.

Sure enough, he was holding a black device—she couldn’t tell what it was at first glance.

Caught red-handed, Zhang Yuwen stopped caring about anything else. His face twisted, and with a flick of his wrist, he wrenched the device free and swung it down at her.

To be fair, Zhang Yuwen had some training—maybe just flashy moves, but not entirely useless. Since Bian Changxi hadn’t gone all out, he managed to break free with a clever move. Not knowing what he was holding, she didn’t dare go head-to-head.

Zhang Yuwen seemed to press a button, and suddenly, thin arcs of electricity—no thicker than hair—crackled silently at the tip of the device.

A stun gun!

Bian Changxi leaned back, watching as the arcs flashed before her eyes. Zhang Yuwen pulled back and swung again, but she was faster, grabbing his wrist with one hand and locking his elbow with the other. With a twist, she jabbed the device right under his own chin.

It all happened so fast that Zhang Yuwen didn’t even have time to let go of the button. The current surged through him, making him convulse violently, the air filling with the faint smell of burnt flesh. As soon as Bian Changxi let go, he collapsed stiffly to the ground, face twisted, looking utterly pathetic.

Everyone nearby was stunned.

Zhang Bubai ran out of his shabby tent. “Miss Bian, this man—”

“He’s carrying a weapon and clearly up to no good. For all we know, he was planning to rob people,” Bian Changxi said, turning to the dumbfounded male manager. “Aren’t you going to report this?”

He opened his mouth, then sheepishly called over two people to drag Zhang Yuwen away, but Bian Changxi stopped them. “No need. Until we get to the bottom of this, I’ll watch him myself.”

“That’s against the rules!”

“Oh, and you all follow the rules, do you? How did someone like him get in here, then? I’m starting to think you’re all in on it.”

The manager pointed at her. “You can’t just say things like that!”

But he was clearly nervous. The truth was, he’d helped Zhang Yuwen sneak in—well, not exactly him, it was Yang Xiaowen who’d egged him on. With her sweet breath and flirtatious looks, who could refuse a beauty’s request? He figured, since they were supposedly a couple, what harm could it do? After all, hadn’t Bian Changxi herself been caught sneaking around at night before?

Who could have guessed it would turn out like this?

Now that Bian Changxi had made a scene, there was no way to sweep it under the rug.

As he was fretting, several soldiers arrived, heading straight for Bian Changxi. “Miss Bian, a few of the wounded from earlier have taken a turn for the worse. The medical team is at a loss—could you come take a look?”

Bian Changxi glanced at them. She didn’t recognize any of them, which made sense—these past few days, the people coming and going, even those she worked with, were always unfamiliar faces, as if they were deliberately preventing her from building any connections.

She kicked her foot. “Someone tried to kick me out of the convoy today, remember? I’m not part of the medical team anymore. Find someone else.”

Wei Xiaodong popped up from somewhere. “I’ll go! Come get me, I’m just as good as her.” She waved a green crystal core in her hand.

The soldiers ignored her, looking at Bian Changxi with troubled expressions. “We don’t know what happened earlier, but the commander responsible has already been dealt with. We promise no one will give you a hard time again. Lives are at stake, Miss Bian—please help us.”

Bian Changxi picked at her nails—well, they were too short to pick at, so she gave up. She said to Zhang Bubai, “Tie this guy up with that rope. Don’t let anyone take him away before I get back. Let’s go.”

“Thank you, thank you so much!”

The soldiers expressed their gratitude and led the way. “The wounded have been moved to a quieter spot. You probably don’t know the way.”

On the way, they ran into Shadow. “I heard you were attacked. I was going to check on you—what’s going on?”

“Someone died,” Bian Changxi replied irritably. People only ever treated her nicely when someone died. “I’m fine. Go back.”

Gu Xu, Qiu Yun, and Qiu Feng had all gone to Longyue Town and hadn’t returned yet, so Shadow stayed behind to look after Wu Dalang. If he left, Wu Dalang—bedridden—would be in danger.

“Wu still has Anan and the others with him,” Shadow said, his gaze sweeping coldly over the soldiers, his presence so intimidating they could barely breathe and quickly lowered their heads. Satisfied nothing was amiss, he said, “I’ll head back, then.”

He turned to leave, but the little creature that followed him refused to go, crawling on the ground and staring up at Bian Changxi with big eyes. Every step she took, it scurried after her.

Bian Changxi turned back in annoyance. “Aren’t you going back? Why are you following me?”

“Woof woof…” Milk wagged its tail, glancing at her while licking its paws in tiny, pitiful licks—like a little wife.

One of the soldiers couldn’t help but remind her, “Miss Bian, we should hurry. They’re waiting.”

Seeing Shadow had gone, Bian Changxi ignored Milk, pretending it didn’t exist.

As they passed the dairy farm, Bian Changxi saw it clearly for the first time. It was huge, and the lights were on inside. It sounded like they were slaughtering cattle—the cows’ screams and people’s shouts mixed into a chaotic din. Suddenly, something seemed to happen, and she glimpsed the herd stampeding, someone yelling, “Run, run!”

She was curious, but not in the mood for gossip, so she followed the soldiers to the tents set up at the edge of the hills.

Thank you to ann555141 for a pink ticket! Thank you to wangnanlele for a pink ticket! Thank you to 龙绍ll1 for a peace charm!

This thank you is a bit late—every bit of your support is my motivation. Thank you!"