Treatment is a difficult situation.
Upon hearing Alice's voice, Ye Xi froze instantly. She took a deep breath to relax, thinking that although her first encounter with Alice was on a very advanced high-definition screen, the lighting was dim, and more importantly, she was wearing a truly bizarre zombie face back then. Although Ye Xi didn't know what she looked like then, judging from Alice's doubtful tone, she must have looked very different then than she does now.
Thinking this, Ye Xi forced herself to remain calm and asked in confusion, "'That Ye Xi'? What are you talking about, miss? Did you meet someone with the same name as me?"
Alice frowned, then gently shook her head. She didn't remember much about her past in the Hive. "Sorry, maybe I'm mistaken. It's common to have the same name, and... I'm not very good at recognizing people from the East. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Alice."
Ye Xi instantly relaxed, but on the surface remained gentle and polite, like a refined lady from a prestigious family, making people feel as warm as a spring breeze. In this apocalyptic environment, she was like a ray of sunshine warming people's hearts. "Hehe, it's nothing. I'm not very good at recognizing Westerners either," Ye Xi, whose appearance was quite deceptive, looked even more approachable with her deliberately warm smile. "I'm Ye Xi, the same name as your friend. I think this must be LJ?" Ye Xi looked at the hip-hop styled, dark-skinned man wearing a hat and nodded politely. LJ immediately returned the greeting awkwardly, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.
Looking at the gentle and quiet Ye Xi, Carlos and Nicola rolled their eyes in unison—another few unlucky kids who had been deceived by this seemingly harmless girl.
“We should leave here,” Jill said. “There shouldn’t be much time left until sunrise.”
With the seven of them in agreement, after receiving Dr. Ashford's next instructions at a public phone booth outside the school, Ye Xi, Carlos, and Nicola got into the same car and followed Alice and the others to the city hall.
Ye Xi sat by the car window, looking at the desolate and bleak Raccoon City outside, nervously biting her fingers. Each T-virus infection didn't have a precise timeline for evolution, so she had no idea when she would evolve this time. There was going to be a big battle later, and if she evolved then… what if that damned Umbrella Corporation had its eye on her too? What would she do if she was unlucky enough to experience that painful evolution?
What if she were even more unlucky and ended up with an opponent like Alice, or even a threesome with Alice and Matt? Ye Xi knew her own limitations. Although she was skilled now, compared to Alice and Matt, she was nothing. Besides, she couldn't even control her explosive outbursts. For example, right now, it was impossible for her to enter a super-powerful state!
Dust, you stepmother! Ye Xi couldn't help but mentally give you the middle finger.
↑My dear stepmother hasn't even arrived yet~~ (orchid finger)
"Hey, are you alright? Why do you look so pale?" Seeing Ye Xi's unwell face in the rearview mirror, Carlos, sitting in the passenger seat, frowned and turned around.
"It's nothing," Ye Xi said, pursing her lips and touching her injured thigh. "It's probably a recurrence of an old injury. I was grazed by a stray bullet on the street during the day, so I'm probably a bit anemic now."
"Why didn't you say so sooner?" Carlos said reproachfully, taking a roll of bandage from his leg bag. "We need to change the bandage quickly to prevent infection."
"Honestly, Ye Xi, you're too stubborn." Nikolai glanced at Ye Xi in the rearview mirror and shook his head helplessly.
Ye Xi silently prepared to take the bandage from Carlos's hand, only to find that Carlos had no intention of giving it to her. He simply climbed from the passenger seat to the back and sat next to her. "The place you were clutching earlier was probably your left leg," he said, examining Ye Xi's left leg closely. Sure enough, he saw a patch of blood stained black and red on her trousers. "Nikola, drive carefully," Carlos said to Nikola, then moved closer to Ye Xi, taking out a dagger in one hand and touching Ye Xi's thigh with the other.
"...What...what are you doing?!" Ye Xi kicked Carlos's outstretched hand. Carlos, caught off guard, cried out in pain, "Ouch...don't react so strongly, okay? I just wanted to cut open your pants so I could bandage you up. What are you thinking? If I were to attack someone, I wouldn't choose someone like you..." After saying that, Carlos looked at Ye Xi's chest, waist, and buttocks with a slightly disgusted expression.
With a soft "pfft," Nikolai, his face flushed, couldn't help but laugh out loud, but swallowed the rest of his laughter under Ye Xi's fierce gaze. Carlos raised his hands and immediately moved to the other side, his back pressed against the door, a smug smile on his face, and said, "Don't be impulsive, don't be impulsive, and don't kick people randomly. Treating your injuries is the priority now. I'll tie you up first, and then you can vent your anger, okay, my young lady?"
"Holy crap! So what if I don't have those sexy girls' enviable and defined curves! So what if I'm stuck with this kind of body?! You're the one who's thinking dirty thoughts, your whole family is thinking dirty thoughts! I just didn't want people to find out it was a bite wound!" Ye Xi roared inwardly, but despite her anger, she hadn't forgotten why she kicked Carlos's hand away—if it were discovered that it was a bite wound, that would be terrible. But being misunderstood was even better. Ye Xi pouted, stretched her hand in front of Carlos, turned her head away, and looked elsewhere: "Give it to me, I'll do it myself."
"Are you sure you can handle this?" Carlos looked at Ye Xi with some skepticism.
"I'm sure!" Ye Xi glared at him fiercely, then snatched the dagger and bandages from Carlos's hand. Just as she was about to start working, she noticed that Carlos was still staring at her. She immediately ordered him, "You, turn your head away from me! What are you looking at? And you," Ye Xi shifted her target to Nikolai, who had been peeking at the show, "Don't think I didn't know you were spying on me. You better drive your car properly, or I'll gouge your eyes out!"
"Yes, yes," Carlos said dismissively, then turned his head to the window.
"Yes, sir!" Nikolai immediately turned serious and stared ahead.
Ye Xi then began to use the knife to cut open the left pant leg from bottom to top, stopping only at the wound. She then wrapped the knife around the wound and cut off all the fabric. Although Ye Xi could see the extent of the infection, strangely, she couldn't see the extent of her own infection. Although the bite wound was a bloody mess, it was clear that it was a bite, not a bullet graze. Ye Xi secretly glanced at Carlos and Nikola, and seeing that they weren't watching her, she immediately wrapped the bandage around her, ignoring the pain and tying a knot before feeling relieved. Then, feeling that the left and right pant legs were asymmetrical, she simply cut off the right pant leg as well, turning it into shorts. Only then did she return the dagger and the remaining bandage to Carlos.
"Honestly, you're so ruthless to yourself." Carlos shook his head as he looked at Ye Xi's thin bandages, but didn't think much of it. He just patted her head and pressed it onto his shoulder before she could explode, whispering, "Rest for a while. We'll be able to leave this hellhole soon."
Ye Xi froze, then awkwardly hummed in response before relaxing, a nameless unease spreading through her heart. This isn't good, Ye Xi. Since coming here, you've become too easily moved. Ye Xi felt her future was becoming increasingly unfathomable.
Ten minutes later, the group arrived at a small alley not far from the city hall. Looking at the tall city hall building, Ye Xi's heart tightened—had they finally arrived…? She gritted her teeth, gripping the two Miao swords at her waist. No matter what, she had to hold on!
"Hmph, Umbrella has quite a few guards." Jill glanced at the men dressed in black and wearing black helmets patrolling around the city hall and sneered.
“Time is running out, 37 minutes left. Let’s split up.” Alice glanced at the group, then calmly assigned tasks. “I’ll take care of the snipers on the roof. Carlos, Nicola, and Jill, you’ll draw their attention. LJ and Ye Xi,” Alice’s blue eyes looked at Ye Xi and LJ, “you protect Angela. Go from the garden in front of the City Hall to the square. There are fewer people there. You can wait for us there, okay?”
There was no time to think further. Everyone nodded immediately and then split up as Alice had instructed. Compared to the others, Ye Xi's task was much easier. The trees in the garden served as a natural barrier, and the three of them easily passed through. However, once they exited the grove, they reached the plaza. Apart from a helicopter and a few patrolling personnel, there were no other barriers. Charging through like this would certainly not end well.
“Let’s just wait here,” suggested LJ, who was less daring. “Even if we have a way to distract those people, we can’t be sure if other people will show up, and we’ll definitely get caught.”
Angela nodded, then looked at Ye Xi. Ye Xi simply rested her chin on her hand, head bowed in thought. This place wasn't necessarily safe. Umbrella's people already knew they were coming here, so everything before them was just bait, a decoy, their ultimate goal being to capture their beloved Alice—and perhaps Ye Xi herself as well. Perhaps their every move was already being monitored. Therefore, whether they went out on an adventure or stayed here, it was all pointless.
Although Ye Xi already knew the consequences, she said nothing, because it was pointless to say anything now. What good was knowing the outcome? The helicopter in front of her was the only way out. No matter how powerful the virus in her body was, it couldn't withstand the destructive power of nuclear weapons. So, Ye Xi finally nodded, sat down on the ground, and remained there until she was finally captured by Umbrella's men.
Everything was just like in the movies, the process different, but the goal the same. Those who had been captured lined up one by one, until only Alice and Ye Xi remained standing before the so-called superior. The reason Alice's hands weren't bound was simple, but Ye Xi… Everyone stared in astonishment at the silent, head bowed Ye Xi, seemingly waiting for an explanation. But she said nothing, simply standing there quietly beside Alice.
"Actually, you're that 'Ye Xi,' aren't you? The 'Ye Xi' from the Hive, the so-called Umbrella researcher intern, the so-called zombie lady who still retains her sanity," Alice sneered, distancing herself from Ye Xi. "Back in the Hive, I felt something was off. You've probably evolved too. A zombie who can talk and even tell us how to get out—sure enough, you were just using us to lure the Lickers away for survival. It's really hard to trust someone from Umbrella like that. At least now I'm starting to suspect you betrayed us."
Hearing Alice's words, everyone looked at Ye Xi in disbelief. "Hey, Ye Xi, this can't be real, right?" Carlos asked Ye Xi incredulously. Although he felt that Ye Xi's origins were mysterious, he never thought that Ye Xi would do such a thing. And... "Zombies? Ye Xi, have you also adapted to the T-virus?"
"Ye Xi, say something!" Nikolai became anxious when he saw that Ye Xi remained silent.
"Really..." A soft, cheerful voice came from Ye Xi, who had been keeping her head down. She slowly raised her head, her dark eyes swirling with an indescribable eeriness. "I say, what's going on here? Doesn't anyone think this scene is particularly melodramatic? I admit, Alice, I was the one who did the Hive thing, but can you settle that score with me later? Don't you think the one we should deal with right now is this hypocrite?" Ye Xi pointed to the person in front of her and then smiled at him, "Oh, if I'm not mistaken, this should be that poor, unlucky kid who got tricked by me inside the Hive and then tricked a bunch of people outside the Hive, and who also helped me get rid of some troublesome guy, right?"
The man wore a gentle smile, but his eyes turned cold, though his tone was as tender as a lover's whisper: "My dear Ye Xi, your guess was right. Even so, you still seem unaware of your true worth. To me, you are a treasure more precious than Alice. Come, my dear, come to my side, leave with me, and let me slowly tell you the secret buried within you..." He reached out his hand to Ye Xi, seemingly certain she would leave with him.
His thinking was correct. Ye Xi had already developed a rift with the people traveling with her. Without his shelter, she would have nowhere to go. Furthermore, the only chance for her survival was in his hands. However, this was only his opinion. With a "slap," Ye Xi slapped his hand away and coldly said, "Get lost." Then, she glanced sideways at Matt, who had transformed into the vengeful goddess, and smirked sarcastically: "Even Alice needed such a powerful monster to test her. So, for the treasure you claim is more precious than Alice, do you have an even more powerful monster?"
“How could I bear to?” the man chuckled. “Your true abilities are so vast that even I don’t know them, they just haven’t been effectively developed yet. But since you want to… hehe, I can’t very well damage you, can I? So…” He clapped his hands, and a huge rectangular prism covered by a black curtain was pushed forward. “Your old friend wants to see you…”
Author's Note: So this old friend is easy to guess... As for Ye Xi's true abilities, you can find out by looking at the volume titles (picking nose). So this isn't a spoiler~ As for the male lead... I've been thinking about it for a year (gets dirty) and finally decided~ Maybe he'll appear in the next chapter (picking nose).
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