Seduce The Villainess (GL)

(Lirean Province- Capitol City)

(Outside The Local Police Station)

The world had turned to hell. Fires raged across the city and heavy smoke could be seen rising up from the distance.

Loud screams and cries of pain filled the air as the survivors woke up to find themselves in a dangerous world.

Some were unable to accept that their friends, family and even loved ones had become horrific monsters and died without putting up a fight.

Others hid and cowered behind locked doors while desperately praying to any deity that would save them from this terrible fate.

A zombie slowly walked through a highway while sniffing the air occasionally for any prey that was hiding nearby.

He was a middle-aged man in a business suit.

Perhaps once he had been a successful entrepreneur but now, he was nothing more than a mindless beast.

He walked forward towards the scent when a figure rolled out from under the car to his left.

A knife slashed forward, and the sharpened blade tore into his throat.

Qin Lan neatly chopped off the zombie's head before crushing it with the palm of her hands. She dug around the filthy pinkish flesh and pulled out the crystal that was inside.

She constantly kept a close eye on her surroundings for any other zombies that were wandering around the area.

In the early stages of the apocalypse, the zombies were actually quite weak and ability users could easily deal with them.

The biggest hurdle for most people was merely psychological.

It was not a simple matter to kill something that looked human.

In fact, Qin Lan herself was quite surprised to discover that she was able to kill so easily as if it came naturally to her.

Was it the influence of the original Qin Lan?

Or was it something that was hidden inside her own psyche?

She tossed that disturbing thought to the back of her mind and returned to her hiding spot to wait for the next zombie to wander over.

The van that she had rented before the apocalypse had begun was only a few feet away so she would be able to escape if things went wrong.

Well… hopefully…

The road ahead seemed fairly clear, but Qin Lan didn't know if any car accidents had taken place on route to her little brother's high school.

The minutes passed uneventfully so Qin Lan decided to take a risk and sneak back to her van to get some water.

She stealthily crawled on the ground to the rented van and inserted her key into the trunk to open it up.

Qin Lan quickly grabbed two bottles of mineral water and ducked down behind the car door as she saw a pack of zombies chasing a slender man.

She wanted to help but the man got caught before Qin Lan could even make a move.

She could only watch as the zombies tore him apart limb from limb before feasting on his remains.

It was at that moment when she understood why the original Qin Lan was so broken.

No one could survive in this world with their sanity intact.

And this was merely the beginning…

The true darkness inside the human heart was yet to be revealed.

Qin Lan knew that she needed strength. She wasn't sure what her gift was, but she had to upgrade it regardless of whether she understood it or not.

She opened up the bottle of water and took out the crystals from her pocket. The purplish-black crystals were stained with blood and chunks of meaty flesh.

Qin Lan carefully washed each crystal and used her fingers to wipe the stains that refused to come out.

Eventually she managed to clean them up… relatively.

She could still hear the sounds that the zombies made as they continued to devour the man's corpse and it sent a shiver down her spine.

Qin Lan's fingers trembled as she picked up the crystals and shoved them inside her mouth before her body could react.

Pain!

Qin Lan collapsed on the ground in agony as a fiery sensation coursed through her veins.

The warm and fuzzy feeling in her chest intensified and it was as though something in her body was trying to escape.

Why did it hurt so much?!

She could vaguely sense that her gift was activated but as Qin Lan struggled to open her eyes, she saw that nothing had changed.

Qin Lan raised up her hand and bit her palm to prevent herself from screaming in agony which would alert the nearby zombies.

Beads of sweat appeared on her brow as her muscles cramped up.

She had swallowed a total of six crystals, but she didn't know that the side effects would be so potent.

Her vision slowly darkened but Qin Lan fought to keep herself awake since she knew that falling unconscious would be a death sentence.

Breathe in… breathe out… breathe in… breathe out…

Qin Lan focused on her breathing pattern and eventually the intense pain in her body gradually faded away.

She got up from the ground and discovered that her body felt much lighter.

Qin Lan casually pressed her finger against the side of her van and managed to make a small dent in the metal.

This kind of strength… she was now level two…

Ability users would eventually be classified in terms of levels which would increase with the number of crystals that they absorbed.

To get to level two was quite simple but moving further up the ranks required an exponentially higher quantity of crystals.

It was for this reason why eventually zombies would be considered a precious resource and some more radical bases would even intentionally turn their weaker residents into zombies.

Qin Lan got up from the ground and moved towards the pack of zombies with speed that surprised even her.

Her body moved as though she had been extensively trained in combat.

Qin Lan boldly walked towards the zombie and used her knife to sever their tendons before killing them.

She was able to dodge every single one of the desperate swipes and lunges that they threw at her.

Qin Lan repeated the process of gathering their crystals and let out a light sigh of relief. With this level of strength, she should be invincible for the next few months.

Well at least provided that she did not encounter any enemies with heavy firepower.

No one else should have figured out that crystals were required to upgrade their abilities.

But still Qin Lan was going to keep pursuing more strength just in case her assumption was proven incorrect.

"Excuse… excuse me…" a cold voice suddenly came from behind her.

Qin Lan felt a strong hand grip her shoulder with a force that paralysed her whole body.

She reflexively swung her fist at her attacker but stopped as her palm came mere inches away from a mysterious woman's face.

"Oh? I'm sorry," Qin Lan quickly apologised as she moved her fist away.

She had reflexively assumed that the unknown attacker was a zombie, but her eyes were completely normal.

The strange woman smiled and took her hand away from her shoulder.

She was beautiful woman in her mid twenties with a lean muscular physique. Her skin was a healthy wheat colour and she had sharp angular facial features.

She wore a simple pair of black pants and a white jacket that did not fit her properly.

"Do you have an ability?" Qin Lan asked quietly as she gestured for the woman to follow her behind a nearby car.

The woman looked at her in confusion before nodding slowly and placing her hand underneath the car.

Qin Lan watched in an amazement as the woman lifted up the car with frightening ease before putting it back down.

A strength type? Were they all so powerful at level one?

Qin Lan wasn't sure where this strange feeling came from, but she was suddenly determined to have this woman join her team.

"What's your name? My name is Qin Lan… would you like to come with me? I have food, weapons and supplies," Qin Lan offered seriously.

"Qin… Qin Lan…" the woman thoughtfully muttered as she stared at Qin Lan as if seeing someone else through her.

"Eve… they called me… Eve."