Reborn As A Doomsday Villainess-Chapter 117: It’s narrow but you’ll fit

"Alright I understand. Get back so we can head out."

"Understood. I’ll be there soon."

Back at the safe house, Qingran stood at the window, watching the night deepen. She had changed into dark clothing, a lightweight jacket zipped up and her boots laced tight.

There was no rush now. She was waiting for his return. Lingquan sat quietly beside her on the armrest.

Outside, the wind had picked up, and a distant siren wailed briefly before falling silent.

The city held its breath. Qingran checked the time, knowing Feng Yizhou would be back soon.

"Hey Lingquan, help me out here. What’s the percentage of me finding the details of the elite members or why they started the apocalypse in the lab?"

[Ding! 20% you’ll find something in those labs but not that info. The Guyoung official military base, that’s where you’ll find it but the place is guarded 24/7]

Qingran sighed, her arms crossing as she leaned against the window frame. The glass was cold beneath her fingers.

"So the labs are just the surface," she murmured, more to herself than to Lingquan.

[Correct. A few scattered documents, maybe early-stage research, but the real plans? The coordination? That’s in the official military base. The labs were just tools.]

Lingquan’s response was casual, but Qingran’s eyes narrowed. "Then why didn’t you say so earlier?" she muttered, glancing sideways at him.

Lingquan gave a shrug, his tail curling lightly. [Because you didn’t ask the right question.]

Qingran let it go, her mind racing with the implications. The military base had always been on her radar, but it was a riskier target. Heavily armed. Cameras everywhere. Getting in was one thing—getting out without alerting anyone was another.

Her comms clicked, breaking the silence. "I’m outside," Feng Yizhou’s voice came through clearly. Calm, steady. "Ready when you are."

Qingran straightened immediately, reaching for her earpiece. "Copy. I’m coming down."

Lingquan hopped down from the chair with a stretch, giving her a sidelong glance. [He sounds good. Not tense. I guess the council didn’t get under his skin.]

"They tried," Qingran said, pulling on her gloves. "But they forgot who they were dealing with."

She didn’t say it out loud, but she was glad to hear his voice again. It grounded her. Everything in the city felt like it was falling apart, but with Feng Yizhou around, the chaos never quite touched her.

Qingran stepped out of the room and walked briskly down the hallway, her boots silent against the marble floor. A few of Yizhou’s men nodded as she passed, their gazes alert.

The safe house hadn’t changed. It still felt like a fortress tucked into the skin of a collapsing city.

She reached the garage level just as the elevator doors opened. Feng Yizhou stood there, his collar turned up against the wind. His hair was slightly tousled, his expression focused.

Qingran didn’t need to ask how the meeting had gone. She could see it in the set of his shoulders.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yeah. Let’s go."

They walked to the car together without another word, slipping into the backseat of the lead vehicle.

The night swallowed them whole as the SUV pulled out from the garage and rolled silently into the streets.

The ride through the capital was oppressive. Buildings looking deserted, their dark windows and flickering signs casting an eerie glow.

The city seemed abandoned, yet Qingran sensed unseen eyes watching from the shadows. She sat still, her arms folded, eyes fixed on the view outside.

The route was both un familiar as the city was unrecognizable.

As they approached the labs, Qingran leaned forward. "Let’s stop two blocks out. We’ll go on foot from there." Feng Yizhou nodded, tapping the driver’s shoulder. "Pull over at the next alley. Lights off."

The SUV slowed, its headlights dimming as it crept into a narrow side street lined with shuttered shops and broken glass.

The engine died, plunging them into silence. Qingran opened her door and stepped out into the night, the cracked pavement beneath her boots and the cold air brushing against her cheeks.

She scanned their surroundings, her eyes adjusting to the darkness.

She tugged her jacket tighter. "There’ll be less attention this way. The outer sensors might still be active. We don’t want them picking up engine heat."

Feng Yizhou adjusted his gloves and fell into step beside her. "Makes sense. Places like this... there’s always someone watching."

"Yeah the sooner we get into the lab the better.."

They walked deeper and deeper through the alley, soon enough they had gotten to a "No trespassing" zone

"Well this is it. Darling be careful, if you see anything don’t keep it to yourself.." Feng Yizhou said as he flipped her over the fence, then flipped over himself.

They blended through the shadows and headed to the first gate.

"There’s 18 guards in this perimeter alone. Might be more at the second gate."

Qingran nodded as she counted the men silently.

Feng Yizhou kept low beside her, his voice barely audible. "They’re posted in threes. Rotating every twenty minutes. If we wait for the handoff, we’ll have a ninety-second window to slip past the eastern blind spot."

Qingran studied the timing, watching the pattern shift. Her muscles settled, her breathing slowed.

It was like old times, except this time, they were walking into something worse.

[There’s a vent system ten meters from here. Old intake shaft. It’s narrow, but you’ll fit.]

"How narrow?"

Qingran asked under her breath. [You’ll have to take off your jacket.]

She grimaced, but crouched lower and began to inch toward the dark edge of the complex, staying low behind overgrown hedges and collapsed fencing.

Feng Yizhou moved behind her without sound, the two of them blending with the shadows.

When they reached the intake shaft, Qingran knelt beside it and inspected the rusted metal. "It hasn’t been used in years." she whispered.

"Perfect."

Feng Yizhou offered her a boost. She slid her jacket off, revealing the black layer beneath, and placed it into the system space.

Then, she slipped inside, shoulders tight, legs pushing carefully against the sides of the shaft.

The metal groaned slightly but held her weight.

Yizhou waited until she reached the vent opening above the inner hall and followed in along with her.