Reborn As A Doomsday Villainess-Chapter 22: Find the archive(2)

He stood there like he had known what she was planning. Like he had been waiting for her to open the door.

Her fingers curled around the doorknob, but she didn’t open it immediately. She exhaled sharply, forcing down her irritation before unlocking it and pulling it open.

Feng Yizhou met her gaze, expression unreadable. "Take me along," he said. "I can help you. If your system is about to shut down, then you’re going to need my help."

Qingran stared at him, her grip tightening on the doorframe. The cold morning air did nothing to cool the sharp irritation curling in her chest.

"The f**k! Are you spying on me? How the hell do you know all this?"

Feng Yizhou didn’t blink. "My system gives me certain database info. It told me about your journey to Xi’an. And your system shutting down."

Her blood ran cold.

He knew.

Her system had never mentioned him before. Had never warned her that someone else had access to information about her. And yet, here he was, standing at her doorstep, knowing exactly where she was going and why.

Something about this wasn’t right.

Her system had already told her something had changed in this life.

Now, looking at him, she wondered if he was part of that change.

She exhaled sharply, crossing her arms. "And? What exactly do you want? What’s in Xi’an that makes you so eager to come along?"

Feng Yizhou’s gaze didn’t waver. "Nothing." he paused then said. "Except that it was the first major attack zone during the apocalypse."

"Exactly..why is what I wonder" she murmured.

But she didn’t tell him why she was going.

And she couldn’t shake him off.

Feng Yizhou leaned against the doorway, watching her. "You know I’m right. If whatever is in Xi’an is strong enough to mess with your system, going alone is reckless."

Qingran clenched her jaw. She hated that he had a point.

Xi’an had never been on her radar before. Not once in her past life had she needed to go there before the collapse. Yet now, the system was forcing her toward it.

And if even Feng Yizhou’s system was acknowledging the danger...

She exhaled slowly, rubbing her temples.

"You follow my lead," she said finally. "No unnecessary risks, no bullshit. If you slow me down, I will leave you behind."

A ghost of a smirk tugged at his lips. "Understood. Your wish is my command."

Qingran gave him one last long look before stepping back.

"Fine. Get in. We leave in an hour."

Qingran shut the door in his face before he could say anything else.

She leaned against it for a moment, inhaling deeply, forcing herself to think.

This wasn’t ideal. She hadn’t planned on bringing anyone with her, at least not Feng Yizhou of all people. But if his system had warned him about Xi’an, then something was wrong. Something neither of them fully understood yet.

Pushing off the door, she moved quickly cross check the backpack stuffed with her essentials—her remaining emergency cash, a burner phone, rations, and a spare change of clothes. She checked her stockpiling list once more. Weapons were still missing, but she could get those in Xi’an.

She pulled her laptop closer, double-checking routes.

The drive to Xi’an was long—too long to go without a contingency plan. She mapped out alternate roads, places they could stop if necessary, emergency exits in case things went south.

Then she hesitated. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard before she typed in one last search.

Xi’an—recent incidents, disappearances, classified reports.

A few seconds passed.Then a single article popped up.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she bit her lips.

’Unidentified biological anomaly detected near Xi’an outskirts. Investigation pending.’

Qingran’s stomach tightened. An Anomaly.

The same word her system had used.

She clicked the article, but there wasn’t much to go on—just vague details of an unknown sighting near one of the abandoned military research zones. No photos. No direct reports. Only that whatever had been detected, the government had already sealed off the area.

So they knew. They knew something was there.

And they weren’t telling the public.

Qingran shut the laptop, a slow exhale escaping her lips.

She didn’t know what she was walking into.

But one thing was certain.

Xi’an wasn’t just the first attack zone in the apocalypse. It was already a battlefield.

A knock on the door made her tense.

Feng Yizhou was still outside.

"Time’s up," he said through the wood. "We’re leaving."

Qingran grabbed her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and opened the door.

"Then let’s go."

The drive was long, stretching out across empty highways and past deserted rest stops, the kind that would become death traps once the world collapsed.

Qingran kept her hands steady on the wheel, eyes flicking between the road and the GPS.

Feng Yizhou sat in the passenger seat, silent. He hadn’t spoken much since they left, only breaking the silence once to adjust the map.

She didn’t like it.

She didn’t like him being here.

But as much as she wanted to argue, a second pair of hands could mean the difference between life and death.

The GPS flickered and Qingran frowned, tapping the screen, but it was still glitching. The map scrambled before freezing altogether.

"What the—"

"Something’s interfering with the signal." Feng Yizhou’s voice was calm, too calm. "It’s not a blackout. It’s being jammed."

Qingran pressed her lips into a thin line. Her system was still silent, not giving her any warnings, but that didn’t mean the danger wasn’t there.

A sign flashed past.

Xi’an – 78 km.

They were getting close.

The air felt heavier the further they drove. It wasn’t just the lack of traffic, the emptiness of the roads. It was the pressure—like something unseen was watching, waiting patiently for a chance to strike.

Qingran’s fingers tightened on the wheel.

Then—

Feng Yizhou suddenly sat up straighter. "Stop the car."

She didn’t hesitate. Foot on the brake, she slowed down, pulling to the side of the road.

Silence. Nothing but wind and the faint hum of the engine.

But then she saw it.

A single overturned truck up ahead. It’s cargo spilled onto the road.

And streaks of something dark smeared across the asphalt. freёnovelkiss.com

Blood?!.

Qingran inhaled slowly. "This wasn’t just an accident."

"No." Feng Yizhou’s fingers hovered near his pocket. He looked awfully prepared then her who had yet to acquire any weapon. All she had right now was her pocket knife.

Lingquan was still silent. And that silence was the loudest warning of all.