I Conquered the Villain Boss Chapter 14
Advanced chapters will be available after June 25th, so keep track on Digitalian’s ko-fi!
Translated by Digitalian (ko-fi)
Chapter 14: Winter Had Arrived
In the evening, the convoy traveling along the country road arrived at a small village.
Unexpectedly, the outskirts of the village were surrounded by a tall fence. Sharp wooden stakes protruded from the fence and several struggling zombies hung on the stakes.
Si Xu, who was playing with Jiang Ran’s hair, suddenly looked up and said coldly, “Stop the car!”
Song Rong stepped on the brake reflexively.
Gu Yunqing used the walkie-talkie to contact the convoy behind first, then turned around and asked Si Xu, “What's wrong?”
“There are things on the ground.” Si Xu patted Jiang Ran on the shoulder, placed the sleepy girl on the seat, opened the door and got out of the car.
Gu Yunqing followed him out of the car, walked two steps forward, and saw the obstacle lying on the road — a row of sharp and small nails buried in the soil were protruding. They were inconspicuous, but posed a big problem for the convoy.
Si Xu looked around with squinted eyes and said flatly, “Don’t stop talking. There are people watching us from the observation deck over there.”
“Oh?” Gu Yunqing arched his eyebrows and shouted as per Si Xu’s instruction, “We are a team from Xiling Base. We’ve passed by here on the way back. I hope you can let us pass through!”
The night wind carried Gu Yunqing's voice far away and soon, the other party responded.
A small door that only allowed one person to enter and exit was opened on one side of the tall fence. Several men walked out from inside and stopped a few steps away.
“Dude, excuse us. We merely want to pass through from here. I wonder if you can remove these nails temporarily." Gu Yunqing smiled politely. “If you find it troublesome, our team can do it ourselves, and we promise to help you put them back after our convoy passes through.”
“You guys... came from Xiling Base?” The man standing at the front was wrapped in a thick padded jacket and had a cigarette in his mouth. He glanced at Si Xu and Gu Yunqing, and then at the convoy behind them. Are those all supplies?”
Knowing what the man implied, Gu Yunqing said with a smile, “If you need anything, you can tell me. If our team has it, we may agree to use it in exchange for the toll.”
“In exchange for the toll?” There was undisguised greed in the man's eyes. “I can have whatever I want?”
Gu Yunqing smiled faintly. “It has to be something that we have.”
“Oh, in that case...” The man was trying to exploit these passers-by when he saw the door of the off-road vehicle open. A young lady got out of the car and stood by the door, quietly looking in their direction.
She’s really... beautiful! The man's eyes widened involuntarily, wanting to see more clearly. The girl’s beauty was secondary. Most importantly, she was clean and neat.
After the man occupied this village and established a base here, there were many women around him. However, those women were always frowning, or dirty and skinny, unlike this young lady in front of him, who was clean and spotless.
She wasn’t a superhuman, but she had gotten out of the car. Was she a plaything of one of these two men? Or was she shared by the team?
Sensing the man’s gaze, Si Xu turned his head and motioned to Jiang Ran.
Jiang Ran walked up to Si Xu hesitantly.
What was the situation now? In the novel, didn't the convoy return to Xiling Base without incident? Why was there suddenly this inexplicable episode?
Could it be that some events had changed because of her transmigration?
The girl came closer and the greed in the man's eyes became more obvious. “If you really want to exchange something for the toll, how about using this woman as the exchange?”
Gu Yunqing thought he heard wrongly. “Huh?” This guy would rather want a woman than supplies? Was he that desperate for women?
“I want her.” The man pointed at Jiang Ran, with explicit greed in his eyes. “Give this woman to me and I'll let you pass through.”
What? Jiang Ran was startled when she heard that. Si Xu called her over specifically. Was he thinking of using her as an exchange? Such a thing wasn’t impossible. After all, she couldn’t figure out Si Xu's thoughts at all...
At the thought of that, she reflexively grabbed Si Xu's hand and looked up at him.
When Jiang Ran’s slightly cold and soft fingers tightly wrapped around Si Xu’s, he looked at her in surprise and happened to look into the girl's teary eyes.
Was she feeling uneasy?
Si Xu was dazed for a moment. Thinking that she was frightened by the ugly men opposite them, he gripped her hand to comfort her and pulled her behind him, blocking the man from sizing her up.
“I see.” Gu Yunqing said in a resigned tone, “If that’s the case, there’s nothing more to discuss then.”
He and Si Xu exchanged glances and turned around to leave.
Passing through this village was a shortcut, but it did not mean that they must take this route.
They could make a detour without causing too much trouble.
They could have barged through, but it was the apocalypse now. Survival was tough for everyone. There was no need to cut off people's livelihoods.
Seeing that they were about to leave, the man hurriedly said, “I don’t necessarily need to have her.”
Gu Yunqing stopped in his tracks.
“Well, it's not easy for everyone in this kind of world. What supplies do you have? Leave some behind as the toll and I'll let you pass through.” The man glanced at Jiang Ran, looked at Gu Yunqing, and laughed heartily. “It's night time now. It’s not convenient for you to travel at night. Why don’t you stay overnight and leave tomorrow?”
Since the other party had given in, Gu Yunqing compromised as well. “If it’s not a bother to you, we have that intention too.”
“It’s no bother. We depend on this for our livelihoods.” The man seemed to imply something. He instructed the person beside him and that person immediately ran to the village.
“My name is Lei Tang. I’m the current person in charge of this small base.” The man introduced himself.
Gu Yunqing shook hands with the man in a familiar manner. “My name is Gu Yunqing.”
Si Xu was expressionless. “Si Xu.” He had no intention of introducing Jiang Ran.
While they were talking, the man running errands came back and forth, lifted several stone slabs, and laid them on the nails.
“It's done, Boss.”
Gu Yunqing called out to the convoy to go into the village. Si Xu didn't get into the car. He led Jiang Ran into the village on foot behind Lei Tang.
The village was very quiet and only a few houses had lights on. Upon hearing the movements, some people looked out from the windows while some people came out of their doors to greet Lei Tang.
Jiang Ran followed Si Xu closely, trying not to look left and right. However, wherever she looked, she had an inexplicable feeling that something was out of place.
Unlike the brick and tile houses on the outskirts of the village, Lei Tang took them to a small western-style building.
“This is my residence. It’s also where our base receives guests.”
After Lei Tang said that, he looked specifically at Jiang Ran, trying to see something in the woman's eyes, but she just lowered her eyes and didn't look at him at all.
After getting the convoy settled down and leaving people to watch the night, Gu Yunqing brought the rest of the team over.
“Oh, this villa is rather beautiful,” Gu Yunqing praised generously. “It seems that I can sleep well tonight. Thank you for the hospitality, Brother Lei!”
“Don’t mention it.” Lei Tang said modestly, but there was a smug expression in his eyes. “All of you are my guests. Please come in.”
Gu Yunqing and Si Xu exchanged glances, then Gu Yunqing followed Lei Tang into the house.
Si Xu didn't move, so Jiang Ran naturally didn't move either.
When Zhou Jian passed by Jiang Ran, she glanced at Jiang Ran and snorted loudly to express her disgust.
Jiang Ran, “...” She was no longer in Luo Rui's team. Why did this woman still dislike her so much? How baffling.
All the people in the team went in. Jiang Ran peered inside and asked, “Aren't we going in?”
“I'm tired after driving all day.” Si Xu put his arm around her waist. “Walk with me.”
There were no lighting facilities in the village, so when the sky was completely dark, the place was almost pit black.
A gust of wind blew past and something cold fell on Jiang Ran’s cheek and melted into water.
Jiang Ran opened her eyes wide and reached out to catch a falling snowflake.
“It's snowing,” she murmured. The disaster broke out in midsummer, and now half a year had passed, ushering in the first snow in winter.
Winter had arrived.
She wondered how many zombies and people would die after winter passed.