Skinwalker Belle – Chapter 55 – Perfect Lie, The Queen Returns

All eyes were focused on Lin Fan, especially Ah Hu, whose gaze was filled with urgency and worry.

“Where’s Doctor Xiao Yao?”

Lin Fan, no, she was Lei Li now.

The expression on her face froze instantly, then was replaced by a profound grief and self-blame.

Her body trembled slightly, as if she were desperately trying to suppress her crumbling emotions.

“Xiao Yao… she…”

Her voice was hoarse, laced with a barely perceptible sob.

“To shake off the zombies… when the car fell from the overpass, the impact was too great.”

She raised her hand as if to grasp something, only to let it fall limply.

“She… was thrown out of the shattered window… and fell straight into the river.”

Zhou Ming snapped his head up, his bloodshot eyes staring fixedly at her.

Lin Fan didn’t look at him. She just closed her eyes in anguish as two streams of tears slid perfectly down her cheeks, which had become even more exquisite after merging the features of Liu Ruyan and Chen Yao.

“The river was too fast… I went to look… but I couldn’t find anything…”

“I’m sorry… I couldn’t protect her…”

Every word of this speech seemed to drain all the strength from her body.

The sorrow, the despair, the deep self-reproach—it was so real that everyone present felt it as if it were their own.

“Lei-jie!”

Ah Hu rushed forward in a single stride. He wanted to support her with his burly arms but stopped mid-air, not daring to touch her.

“Lei-jie, don’t say that! It’s not your fault!”

His voice grew rough with emotion.

“It’s those damn zombies! It’s this goddamn world! It has nothing to do with you!”

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Xiao Wang chimed in, “That’s right! Lei-jie! The fact that you made it back alive is the greatest fortune! The stronghold can’t lose you!”

Zhou Ming stood rooted to the spot like a stone statue.

Liu Ruyan had been captured, her fate unknown.

Now, Doctor Chen Yao, who had shown him kindness, was also dead.

It felt as if another piece of his world had crumbled.

Lin Fan slowly opened her eyes, her gaze sweeping over the crowd before finally landing on Zhou Ming.

Her eyes were filled with guilt and pity.

“Zhou Ming, I’m sorry…”

Zhou Ming’s lips moved, but he couldn’t utter a single word.

He just slowly lowered his head, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

Lin Fan knew her performance had been a success.

The identity of Chen Yao had been completely “washed away” by that rushing river, vanishing without a trace.

And she, Lei Li, was a leader filled with grief after the sacrifice of her companion.

“Let’s head back first.”

She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her “grief” and regaining the calm and decisiveness of a leader.

“It’s not safe here.”

“Yes! Lei-jie!”

Ah Hu responded at once, turning to open the door of the massive armored vehicle.

“Get in! We’re going back to the stronghold!”

Lin Fan strode toward the armored vehicle.

Her gait, every step, was filled with a sense of power and an indescribable rhythm, as if she weren’t walking on muddy ground but ascending to her throne.

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Ah Hu, Xiao Wang, and Zhou Ming all subconsciously followed behind her.

As they boarded the vehicle, illuminated by the off-road vehicle’s headlights, Ah Hu and Xiao Wang inadvertently glanced at Lei Li’s profile and back.

For no reason, their hearts skipped a beat.

Strange…

Had Lei-jie… gotten better-looking?

The old Lei-jie was beautiful, yes, but it was more of a standoffish strength and wildness.

But the current Lei-jie seemed to have an extra, indefinable trace of charm in her eyes. Her skin also seemed smoother and more radiant, and even the curves of her figure, wrapped in tight leather pants, seemed to have become more breathtaking.

She was clearly the same person, yet it was as if every cell in her body was exuding a fatal attraction.

An uncontrollable impulse surged up from the depths of their hearts.

It was a kind of… fanatical loyalty, a desire to give everything for her, even to die for her.

Ah Hu shook his head violently, trying to fling the absurd thought away.

It must be a misconception.

It was probably because Lei-jie had survived a great disaster, and her leadership aura had grown stronger.

Yes, that must be it.

He told himself.

The group boarded the armored vehicle one after another. Inside the huge cabin, the atmosphere was somewhat somber.

Lin Fan sat in the innermost seat with her eyes closed, as if resting.

But her consciousness was clearly perceiving everything around her.

Intermediate Charm.

This was the ability she had gained after merging with Liu Ruyan’s skin.

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Unlike Low-level Charm, it didn’t require deliberate guidance but had transformed into a passive aura.

Anyone who came into contact with her would be subconsciously conquered by her charm.

The momentary daze of Ah Hu and Xiao Wang just now was the best proof.

Just a bunch of male animals dominated by hormones and instinct.

Lin Fan sneered inwardly.

“Ah Hu, drive.”

She spoke faintly.

“Yes! Lei-jie!”

Ah Hu’s voice was full of energy, as if the sorrowful atmosphere from before had been completely swept away.

The armored vehicle let out a roar, turned around, and sped off in the direction of Fragrant Hills International.

Inside the vehicle, Zhou Ming remained silent in a corner, like a wounded, lone wolf.

Lin Fan paid him no mind.

This tool’s emotional state was very unstable right now, but that was fine.

Once they returned to the stronghold, she just needed to give him a new hope, and he would once again become the most useful dog.

The vehicle sped through the abandoned streets.

A dozen or so minutes later, the familiar silhouette of the Fragrant Hills International tower appeared at the end of their vision.

However, the expression on everyone’s face changed in an instant.

“What is that?!”

Ah Hu, in the driver’s seat, let out a cry of alarm.

At the entrance of the building was a dense, black mass, like a surging black tide!

It was all zombies!

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Hundreds, thousands of zombies had completely blockaded the entire ground floor entrance of the building!

They were frantically ramming the defensive line that the stronghold members had piled up with various junk, creating dull thuds.

Thud! Thud!

Flashes of fire flickered from time to time—that was the members left behind fighting back with crossbows and a limited number of Molotov cocktails.

And in the shadows of some buildings around the tower, there seemed to be some figures moving about.

“Fuck!”

Ah Hu slammed his fist on the steering wheel.

“What’s going on? Everything was fine when we left! Where did so many zombies come from!”

Xiao Wang held up a pair of binoculars, his face pale.

“It’s not just zombies… look over there… those are survivors!”

He pointed to the roof of a distant shopping mall.

“They seem to be… deliberately making noise to lure more zombies toward us!”

Lin Fan’s eyes instantly turned icy.

She understood at once.

Someone wanted to seize their stronghold.

And they were using the most vicious method—killing with a borrowed knife, using the zombie horde to wear down their strength, and then reaping the rewards.

“Lei-jie, what do we do?!” Ah Hu asked anxiously, looking back. “Should we charge in to support them?”

Lin Fan looked at the zombie horde that seemed to stretch on endlessly, then at the hyenas in the distance waiting to pick up the scraps.

A cold arc formed at the corner of her lips.

It was just as well that she had nowhere to test her newly acquired powers. She wouldn’t be polite with these human sandbags who had delivered themselves to her doorstep.