☆ Poisoning, an interesting thing

Although Ye Xi's smile was incredibly bright and sunny, Nikolai couldn't help but shiver. Ye Xi patted Nikolai's arm with an innocent smile and whispered, "Sorry, bear with it." Then, under Nikolai's questioning gaze, she raised her hand and slapped his cheek hard.

A crisp "snap!" rang out, unusually clear in such an open environment.

"Let me tell you, Nikolai, the world has changed, don't think you can act like a scoundrel and a hero just because you're a little bit innocent! It's safer to be with Boss Jody and the others than with an idiot like you!" Ye Xi didn't give Nikolai a chance to react at all. She put one hand on her hip, pointed the other finger at the petrified Nikolai's nose, and cursed him like a shrew. Then she turned around and strode towards the four people who were camping by the roadside watching the commotion.

Seeing the beauty's pragmatism, Jody burst into laughter, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth: "Hahaha, Nikolai, this girl is more realistic than you, why are you still chasing after her!" He grabbed Ye Xi, who had walked over, and made her sit next to him, disgustingly touching her hand, and asked pretentiously, "I still don't know your name, miss, could you tell me, boss?"

Clearly, Ye Xi's acting skills had reached a certain level; at least she could skillfully use her deceptively charming face. Although she had already wanted to torture him to death a hundred times over in her heart, and goosebumps were rising all over her body, she remained expressionless, raising a smile reminiscent of Xue Baochai, a well-bred young lady. Combined with her Lin Daiyu-like physique, she exuded a unique charm of an oriental beauty.

"My name is Ye Xi, Ye as in fallen leaves, Xi as in tides." Ye Xi lowered her face and whispered, seemingly shy, but who knew she was just hiding her near-laugh. Nikolai remained petrified, standing on the roadside watching Ye Xi's terrifying (to him) appearance, almost cracking his skin from fright. Too...too terrifying! Ye Xi, if you're going to act, at least make it clear beforehand so my fragile little heart can prepare! Nikolai stiffly turned his head and chose to camp on the other side of the road, out of sight, out of mind.

But she just said she was going to fight zombies... Nikolai shuddered and glanced at Ye Xi, who was smiling broadly—what exactly was she going to do?

"Ye Xi, my little kitty, I have to say you made the right choice~~~" Jody chuckled disgustingly, putting his arm around Ye Xi's shoulder and gesturing with his chin to Nikolai, who was alone opposite them. "Even though that bitch is raising a former mercenary, isn't he still scared of the four of us and has to go home to his mother? Here, have some fruit, it's not good for such a smooth little face to become rough~~~"

He touched Ye Xi's face and stuffed a fruit directly into her collar. A cold glint flashed in Ye Xi's eyes, but only for a moment. She silently took out the fruit, then said to Jody with a saintly smile, "Let me wash the fruit for you. After all, we should be careful in this situation, shouldn't we?"

Perhaps dazzled by Ye Xi's smile, Jody blankly handed all the fruit to her. Ye Xi immediately took out a water bottle from her bag, then, with her back to Jody and the others, pretended to wash her water, while secretly taking out a syringe. One good thing about the T-virus is that it will infect any wound it touches. So whether those four bastards spit out the fruit because they didn't like the taste, or swallow it, as long as a little T-virus gets into their mouths, it's a death sentence. But wasting is shameful… Ye Xi grinned sinisterly, hid one fruit, and secretly injected the remaining fruit, using less than a third of the syringe.

All that was left was to sit quietly and observe. Ye Xi sat obediently beside Jody with a smile on her face, her indifferent eyes not paying any attention to any of them. Half of the roasted venison had been eaten, the wine was flowing freely, and the sky was getting darker. The risqué jokes and playful banter between Jody and the other three seemed to Ye Xi like an ignorant farce happening in another world. She simply watched with a faint smile as their skin color changed from a pale yellow to orange and then gradually deepened, a feeling as pleasing to her as watching an artistic performance.

"Cough, cough..." One of them started coughing incessantly. Perhaps seeing how often he coughed, his face turned pale and he was covered in cold sweat, Jody sensed something was wrong. Having lived for several years, he was all too familiar with such symptoms. He slammed down a bottle, and the noise stopped abruptly. "Damn it, you bitch, why didn't you say you were bitten! Trying to kill me?!" Jody jumped up, drawing the pistol tucked into his back and pointing it at the man.

"Jordi, what are you doing!" Another person quickly grabbed his hand holding the gun.

"No, boss, I... I wasn't bitten, really! You've got it all wrong! I just... I just choked!" the man with the gun pointed at him cried out in terror, frantically trying to dodge the muzzle. His face had turned orange-red. In this state, even with antibodies, there was no hope.

"Misunderstanding? Damn Kent, don't tell me you've forgotten the symptoms before you became that monster!" Jody roared. Being under the constant fear of death can easily make a person neurotic, especially since Jody himself was afraid of death.

Kent, who was holding Jody's hand, froze. He stared at the man's pale, ashen face, and terror instantly filled his expression. A gunshot rang out, Jody's gun striking the man who was trying to dodge in the shoulder. The man, disregarding everything else, recklessly pulled out his own pistol and fired at Jody, hitting him in the leg.

"No...no! I wasn't bitten! I couldn't have turned into a zombie!" He screamed, clutching his shoulder, his eyes bloodshot with despair and terror. "If coughing a few times turns you into that thing, then you all will too! You, your faces will be just as pale!!" he shouted, pointing at everyone.

Ye Xi remained seated, admiring the artwork she had created. The smile never reached her eyes; her cold gaze held nothing but contempt and sarcasm. Watching them fight each other, she felt it wasn't enough. She had never been a kind person; adhering to the principle of "if someone wrongs me, I will make them wish they were dead," she had eliminated countless people who harbored ill intentions towards her along the way. Moreover, this time, these guys had not only wronged her, but also her friends…

'Are you just going to deal with them like this?' The stiff, rising tone echoed in Ye Xi's mind. The O virus suddenly spoke again, and she didn't know what the meaning behind its words was.

Ye Xi smiled and shook her head, her dark eyes turning into two crescent moons: "How could that be, A-Quan? Don't you think it's quite interesting to just let things continue like this?"

'...Ye Xi, I knew...you wouldn't let me down...' The O-virus tablet's ordinary voice carried a hint of meaning, uttering a strange sentence before disappearing again.

Ye Xi's eyes flickered slightly, but she said nothing, continuing to watch as the four people, once allies, turned into enemies out of fear. Tsk tsk, Ye Xi had memorized every word of the insults directed at Nikolai and his cousin. How could she let them kill each other like this? Ye Xi stood up, drew her knife, and moved like a ghost amidst the flying bullets and swirling dust, easily crippling the four men's mobility.

"Don't worry, these wounds are nothing to a guy who's about to turn into a zombie~" Ye Xi smiled brightly and used the tip of her knife to examine the bullet holes in Jody's body, ignoring his pig-like screams. She continued, "Tch, what kind of eyesight do you have? Your aim is terrible. You were shot three times and none of them hit any vital organs. Well, don't worry, I won't take this opportunity to kill you. You know, what I fear most is killing people!" Ye Xi shrugged innocently, sheathed her knife, drew another clean knife, inserted it into the half-eaten roasted deer, lifted it up, hoisted it onto her shoulder, picked up the package of wine from the ground, and leisurely walked across the road, humming a tune.

Although he heard and saw Jody and the other three bickering, Nikolai remained rooted to the spot, miserably enjoying his less-than-delicious canned fruit, remembering Ye Xi's earlier words. Suddenly, he heard Ye Xi's voice: "Hey, if you like canned food so much, I have a caviar one, do you want it?"

"How did you get here?" Nikolai stood up and looked at Ye Xi, who was carrying half a roasted deer, with some surprise. A black object came flying at him, and Nikolai instinctively caught it in his arms, only to hear the sound of glass bottles colliding.

“They didn’t stop me, so I came over, and I also brought you some food and wine! Hurry up and thank me.” Ye Xi joked with a smile, but then noticed that Nikolai was staring at her, so she compromised and said, “I poisoned them, so they lost their ability to move, and then I came over with the things.”

"Poisoned?"

"Yes, the T-virus! ~~ And by the way, thank you for those fruits that served as virus carriers." Ye Xi nodded innocently (or rather, pretended to), then took out a syringe filled with a dark red liquid and continued, "As you know, my previous job was an intern at Umbrella, which is to say, a researcher. I was recruited by the Umbrella Corporation because of my outstanding expertise in chemistry and biology. This syringe contains lost blood, which is in a coagulated gel-like state and contains a rich amount of T-virus. I collected this to make antibodies, but all my previous work was lost in a sandstorm, leaving only a few drops of blood. I didn't expect it to come in handy here." Ye Xi lied without batting an eye.

“You didn’t inject this into…” Nikolai’s expression changed.

“Yes, not one less. However, as you saw in Raccoon City three years ago, I, like Alice, adapted to the T-virus and even gained some abilities as a result, though I haven't mastered some of them yet. But those infected fruits pose no threat to me.” Seeing that Nikolai's expression was still not good, Ye Xi quickly added, “I know this is a bit cruel, but Nikolai, they are scum who will do anything for their own lives. You probably knew that when you first met them in Utah. Moreover, they insulted me, and they insulted you as my partner. Their existence is a threat to us, you know? So I…”

"Alright, stop talking. I didn't say anything, why are you getting so worked up? We mercenaries are all daredevils who live on the edge, our comrades come first! Tsk tsk, but..." Nikolai chuckled mischievously, stroking his stubble-covered chin, "Are you in a menopausal state for a long time? The people who mess with you are all so pitiful..."

"...Go to hell!" Ye Xi kicked him. It seemed she really shouldn't have explained anything to him earlier; it was all pointless!

"Hey, Miss, don't be so angry. Are you going through puberty, rebellion, or menopause all at once?"

Ye Xi's lips twitched, then she instantly switched to Mother Teresa mode, activating her holy smile and aura: "My dear partner Nicholas, I have a shiny, delicious fruit here, would you like it?"

Nikolai's teasing smile froze, and he immediately waved his hand and stepped back: "I...I'm not Snow White, so I don't need it...thank you..."

"So, my dear friend, do you mean I'm the wicked queen who tricked Snow White into eating the beauty-enhancing red apple?~" Ye Xi approached step by step, holding the apple, with pure and bright lilies blooming in the background.

"No...no way! Of course, you are the most noble princess, and I, a mere coachman, am only destined to lead, drive, wash, race, feed, and sleep your horses! (←Wait, something strange seems to have gotten mixed up here)" Nikolai gave an exaggerated courtly salute. Seeing his expression, Ye Xi couldn't help but burst into laughter inwardly. Just as she was about to say something, she suddenly noticed four red figures not far behind him and tossed the fruit into his arms: "Alright, stop fooling around. This fruit is clean and uncontaminated. Let's put it aside for now; those four guys have finally turned into zombies."

"Huh? You didn't kill them with your own hands just now?" Nikolai was taken aback.

"No, not yet." Ye Xi smiled slightly, her voice light and gentle. "Don't you think it's wonderful to let them lie on the ground experiencing the feeling of turning from humans into zombies and being unable to do anything? ~ I specifically took their guns to prevent them from committing suicide!"

Seeing Ye Xi's radiant smile, Nikolai shuddered again—yes, you really shouldn't mess with Ye Xi, no matter who you are...

Author's Note: The saying "the most poisonous heart is a woman's" is perfectly embodied in Ye Xi. As for the male lead's extra scenes that don't seem like a male lead... Honey, I really can't spoil it QAQ (pounding the ground) I think I've made myself clear (←What did you say?! Ahahaha Anyway, this story isn't mainly about romance, hahaha (dry laugh) To make the comments even more intense, I've decided that all you tyrants will gain 10 kilograms and your wallets will all lose 10 kilograms!!!