WMSR — QT Chapter 136

 

WMSR – QT Chapter 136

By

siofra

Chapter 136: The Senior of the Apocalypse

Reflecting on Xiao Yi's behavior ever since Ling Mengchen made his miraculous return, she realized this was likely the genuine reason Xiao Yi had kept her pinned to his side all along: from start to finish, she had never been anything more than a decoy and a tool—a deliberate piece of bait designed to lure Ling Mengchen in.

Qi Yuanyuan stared blankly at the photograph resting in her palm. Perhaps due to the relentless passage of time, the photographic paper had turned slightly yellowed around the edges; yet it was glaringly obvious how meticulously its owner had guarded it. Aside from the natural discoloration of the paper, the surface remained entirely devoid of even a stray scratch.

She remembered that during the initial two years following the onset of the apocalypse, Xiao Yi had not yet established the survivor safe zone. They had spent their days drifting across ruins, purging zombies, living an existence where their tattered garments frequently resembled the rags of street beggars. Yet under such apocalyptic duress, this fragile photograph had been preserved with such pristine care...

Qi Yuanyuan flipped the photograph over, her eyes tracing the modified signature Meng love Xiao. Though the characters matched Xiao Yi's familiar handwriting, they lacked firmness and vigor, appearing faint and hesitant—as though the hand that inscribed them had been plagued by a deep, lingering lack of confidence.

For a brief, suspended moment, Qi Yuanyuan let out a dry, bitterly ironic laugh. Through those timid, insecure brushstrokes, she felt as though she had peered directly into the soul of the man, dismantling every fragile, hidden obsession he had harbored beneath his cold facade.

Indeed, a strange, surreal revelation bloomed within her consciousness: that man must have harbored an intense, burning jealousy toward her back then. Judging by how jealously he guarded this photograph, his adoration had likely burned white-hot—persisting unbroken from their university days all the way into the present.

Yet what of it? In the pre-apocalyptic era, she had stood as Ling Mengchen's acknowledged, legitimate girlfriend, while this man could do nothing more than lurk in some forgotten corner, stealing secret glances at her and Ling Mengchen. Even after the apocalypse shattered the world, the absolute pinnacle of his agency had been scavenging the discarded photograph she threw away and hiding it away like a pathetic treasure.

What a thoroughly pathetic, humble existence!

Yet, it was precisely such a man—such a wretchedly humble man—whom she had worshipped and adored with every fiber of her being across these past years!

Qi Yuanyuan abruptly realized that her entire existence over the half-decade had been a tragic farce. The man she had poured such unbridled devotion and worship into had simply viewed her as a rival in romance. It was entirely possible that all those subtle, or even brazen, attempts she had made to flirt with and entice him over the years had registered to him as a wretched joke!

"Qi-小姐... Miss Qi?"

A hesitant, timid voice finally penetrated her daze. Snapping back to reality, Qi Yuanyuan cast a cold glare at the scrawny woman lingering nearby and commanded: "Hurry up and clean this mess. I'll instruct you on how to organize the shelves; if Chief Xiao Yi discovers this, I will keep my mouth shut and cover for you."

Hearing Qi Yuanyuan's promise, the trembling maid nearly wept with gratitude, casting a look of intense relief and devotion her way.

Qi Yuanyuan spared the woman no further bandwidth. Utilizing her intimate familiarity with the study's structural layout, she barked rapid-fire instructions, swiftly restoring the scattered contents to an approximation of their original order. After all, nobody alive matched her institutional knowledge of this domain; even though Xiao Yi had strictly prohibited her from touching his private cabinet, reconstructing a rough approximation from memory was well within her capabilities. Her goal wasn't a miraculous, flawless cover-up, but rather ensuring Xiao Yi failed to immediately notice that someone had tampered with his private repository.

Having reset the study, Qi Yuanyuan swallowed down her boiling resentment and retreated to the lower level to await Xiao Yi's return.

Her wait proved short-lived. Xiao Yi materialized shortly thereafter. The instant the man stepped through the doorway, her eyes locked onto his frame, flashing an edge of hostility rarely directed his way.

Yet while Qi Yuanyuan wore a frozen, furious mask, Xiao Yi's expression was even more glacial. Skipping any inspection of her micro-expressions, he shed his heavy trench coat, tossed a fleeting glance toward the new cleaning maid stationed by the staircase, and commanded Qi Yuanyuan: "Follow me."

Clamping her lips into a tight, silent line, Qi Yuanyuan fell into step behind him without uttering a syllable.

Slipping inside an isolated chamber, Xiao Yi slammed the door shut, locked the deadbolt, and pivoted directly to confront her with the single question consuming his focus: "What is the status of your progress today? Have you managed to exchange words with Ling Mengchen yet?"

Hearing Xiao Yi immediately default to that exact interrogation, Qi Yuanyuan felt a surge of biting mockery ice her chest. Her voice clipped and rigid, she spat: "None."

Xiao Yi registered zero concern for her tone, fixing his attention entirely on the negative outcome. The moment he heard that progress remained stalled, his handsome brow snapped into a ferocious vertical crease. Pacing the room with volatile, impatient strides, he surged back toward Qi Yuanyuan, his features twisting into an aggressive, accusatory snarl: "How are you executing this assignment?! Why is there still zero progress after all this time? Did you willfully ignore every single word I uttered? I instructed you to commit your absolute, maximum effort to this objective—maximum effort! Whatever tactical avenue required—whether sneaking across the perimeter or deploying active seduction—you were supposed to secure results! Failing to register a shred of headway across this many days... are you treating my warnings as a joke? Shall I personally arrange a bunk for you down in the base slums right this instant?!"

Xiao Yi's tirade carried the full weight of a terrifying, unrelenting scolding, stripping away any remaining veneer of professional courtesy.

The harsh verbal onslaught drained the last trace of color from Qi Yuanyuan's face, leaving her complexion horribly ashen. Masking her internal calculations, her fingers twitched at her sides before she dropped her gaze toward the floor.

After venting his fury, Xiao Yi took a deep, stabilizing breath, forcing his pulse back toward control. Fixing his eyes on Qi Yuanyuan once more, he issued his final edict: "Three days. I am granting you a hard limit of three days. I refuse to receive this exact identical excuse when the seventy-two hours expire. Regardless of the tactical route, you will deliver tangible, progressive headway within this window, or face the consequences."

As he delivered the ultimatum, Xiao Yi abandoned all restraint over his internal energy, letting his oppressive supernatural ability wielder aura crush directly down upon Qi Yuanyuan. The immediate physical consequence forced her frame to sway unsteadily, nearly collapsing under the invisible pressure.

Satisfied that his psychological deterrence had achieved maximum impact, Xiao Yi dispensed with further words, wrenched the door open, and strode out of the room.

The second Xiao Yi vanished down the corridor, Qi Yuanyuan's hands—clenched rigidly at her sides—finally stopped suppressing their tremors. She drove her nails into her palms with a force so savage her knuckles turned bloodless and shook uncontrollably.

Slowly, the woman who had kept her head bowed lifted her gaze. Staring directly at the trajectory of Xiao Yi's departure, her eyes blazed with a roaring, unchecked inferno—an unmistakable flame fueled by pure, unadulterated hatred.

If Qi Yuanyuan's initial discovery of the truth had been laced with absurdity, farce, humiliation, and a lingering urge to cross-examine Xiao Yi directly, his absolute, merciless cruelty stripped away every remaining illusion. All lingering romantic fantasies evaporated into ash; what remained in her heart was a singular, consuming venom: the destructive hatred born exclusively from profound, discarded love.

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