BC Chapter 158

The sharp arrowhead was barely dodged by Yu Lan, who reacted swiftly, but the fleeting air it brought with it seemed to carry a chilling aura, unmatched by the arrows previously shot by Xue Yiran. Moreover, although Yu Lan narrowly avoided the most lethal part of the arrow, the fletching that followed had a larger surface area and still possessed a certain degree of lethality. Thus, as the arrow grazed Yu Lan’s cheek, the fletching swiftly sliced through the outer rim of her ear, also cutting a gash across her unnaturally pale cheek.

Specks of fresh blood splattered with the wind created by the arrow. Yu Lan, without the slightest hesitation, quickly rose and assumed a defensive stance, her eyes sharply scanning the direction from which the arrow had come.

“Tsk, pretty quick reflexes!” Behind a raised compound bow, a girl tilted her head, revealing half her face. Beneath slightly parted bangs were a pair of almond-shaped eyes, seemingly innocent yet with a hint of cunning.

A neat ponytail swayed slightly with her movements, her bright pink quick-drying sportswear standing out vividly in the sunlight. The scene resembled a sports advertisement frequently broadcast on television; the girl’s upright posture and exemplary movements seemed rehearsed many times – perfectly poised and pleasing to the eye.

If not for the current circumstances, many might have thought they were watching a model filming an outdoor advertisement.

But for Xue Yiran, lying on the ground with tear-filled eyes, it was different. She recognized the other person instantly, her pupils dilating with shock at the sight – this was someone she knew all too well. Even with her vision blurred by tears, the figure was vividly etched in her memory, impossible to forget. She might forget many things, but she could never forget this girl who had endured years of bullying alone – her teammate, Xu Rubing.

So she wasn’t dead!! She actually wasn’t dead!!

The chaos caused by the initial zombie outbreak had already put everyone on the defensive, but the exploitative relationships between people had not eased in the slightest. Instead, they had become even more strained. With the bullies covering things up, the question of why Xu Rubing had suddenly disappeared seemed unimportant, so she had no way of knowing where Xu Rubing had gone or whether she was alive or dead. Besides, she was struggling on the verge of life and death herself, with no spare energy to worry about another pitiful person like herself.

However, she could never forget that the reason she had initially escaped the bullying was because Xu Rubing had taken her place as the target. And the reason they had later tried to extend their clutches to her again was because Xu Rubing had disappeared.

In the dire environment that followed, most people died, the good and the evil alike. Disaster showed no discrimination against life; they all died at the hands of zombies. Xue Yiran had naturally assumed that Xu Rubing must have met the same fate, either bitten to death or devoured.

Little did she know that Xu Rubing hadn’t died because those people had suddenly had a change of heart or because she had miraculously escaped being eaten by zombies. It was simply because Xu Rubing was tough and resilient. When she was driven into the zombie horde, the mutation had already begun to occur within her. For zombies, the method of identifying whether someone is one of their own isn’t any of the five human senses. It’s closer to the ultrasound used by bats, a mutual sensing of wave-like brain magnetic fields, and this sensing is only strong and accurate when the two sides are in close proximity. Therefore, the zombie horde, identifying Xu Rubing as one of their own, didn’t continue to harm her.

Xue Yiran hurriedly and clumsily wiped away the tears from her eyes and face. She knew that Xu Rubing’s appearance meant that they finally didn’t have to give up hope of survival.

As for why?

Of course, it was because Xu Rubing had always been the only naturally talented archer on the team.

Otherwise, why would Qian Junchen, Jiang Xiao, and the others have been so “fond” of bullying her? It was because this “beggar” from a remote mountain village dared to steal the limelight from them, the wealthy young masters, repeatedly depriving them of the glory and reputation they felt entitled to, enraging them.

But even with their suppression and repeated underhanded tactics, they couldn’t win a single match against Xu Rubing in a fair competition.

After all, Xu Rubing had entered the archery team and their university through a special admissions program.

Aren’t all specially admitted students naturally talented? Everyone can work hard, but what’s scary is when talented people still work hard.

And Xu Rubing happened to be one of those talented people who worked incredibly hard. Because she knew that the only way for her to leave the mountain village, see the wider world, and change her family’s circumstances was to sprint to the top in this field. So she devoted all her time outside of studying to training, which directly led to Jiang Xiao and Qian Junchen, who relied on their wealth to become so-called “geniuses,” repeatedly facing defeat at Xu Rubing’s hands. But for those who had previously frequently rotated to the top, one or two failures could be excused as mere luck, but after many times, everyone understood – as long as Xu Rubing was on the team, none of them would have the opportunity to stand on the highest podium again.

In this despair, even those who were initially willing to tip off the bullied Xu Rubing gradually fell silent. The malice of people, when suppressed, generates continuously, to the point that everyone who coldly watched became willing accomplices.

Until the day before the chaos began, Jiang Xiao, Qian Junchen, Zhao Qi, and others had planned to completely destroy Xu Rubing, both mentally and physically. Simple punches, kicks, and occasional malicious pranks were clearly no longer enough to satisfy their blackened hearts. Everyone knew that for a girl, her reputation and purity were her greatest and most fatal weaknesses. To fundamentally destroy a girl, there were only two paths: one was to make physical humiliation a reality, and the other was to create an indelible shadow in her mind.

And Jiang Xiao and the others, to ensure that their plan fully achieved its purpose, chose a two-in-one approach. Who would drug her, who would film it, who would lay hands on her, who would spread it – the plan was meticulously divided and organized.

Even the worst-case scenario had been predicted by Jiang Xiao. Get a thrill, completely eliminate the biggest obstacle in their athletic careers, use the video as a threat to prevent her from blowing things up, and even if it was exposed and escalated, they could agree on another story beforehand, saying that Xu Rubing had seduced them first – truth may be in the hands of the few, but a lie repeated a thousand times can become the truth.

Even if the worst-case scenario unfolded and all these measures failed, it would only be a few years. With their family’s resources and assets, they could manipulate things to shorten it to the shortest possible time, which wouldn’t be a problem for him.

So, for the main planner, Jiang Xiao, this plan could be said to be beneficial with no harm.

Normally, their plan would not have encountered any obstacles, but unfortunately, the chaos began on the very day they planned to carry it out.

In the face of personal life and death, love, hatred, and grievances seemed to lose their status. Everyone only had time to take care of themselves and had no intention of harming others. Thus, the saying became true – only in the face of life and death are people absolutely equal.