Reborn As A Doomsday Villainess-Chapter 162: Minor field detection

She stood, stretched her limbs with a low groan, and made her way to the bedroom.

The quiet padded hum of the suite accompanied her as she walked, the weight of exhaustion pulling heavier with each step.

Her body hadn’t fully recovered from the fights earlier, and the adrenaline that had carried her through the day had finally drained away, leaving a raw, dragging fatigue in its place.

The master bedroom was dim, lit only by the faint glow spilling in from the hallway. Qingran didn’t bother turning on the lights.

She tossed her jacket over the chair in the corner, peeled off her boots, and collapsed into the bed.

The mattress was soft and cool, it seemed to absorb every ache in her bones.

She stared up at the ceiling for a while, listening to the faint hum of the city outside and the low, distant howls of the infected below.

Even here, forty floors up, the world didn’t feel so far away.

"Lingquan.." she murmured, not bothering to raise her voice.

[Yes, host?]

"...Was there anything strange about the kids we rescued today?"

There was a long pause, longer than usual.

[Strange how?]

Qingran frowned. "You’re dodging."

[No, I’m... considering the answer. If you’re asking if any of them are infected—no. They all passed the scan. No anomalies in vitals, no mutations, no energy spikes.]

"Then what is it?"

[One of them had elevated neural activity. But that could be trauma. Or adaptation. I need more data to confirm.]

Qingran turned onto her side, propping her head on one arm. "Jiong Jiyao?"

[Yes.]

"Could it be she’s getting a system? I doubt that, maybe she was just traumatized. I mean it’s very normal, I was like that during the first hoard. Anyways I’m going to get some sleep and see how the survivors were distributed and sign more people to different floors."

Qingran cracked her head and dragged her body from the bed. Now that there was running water, she should make the most of it.

After getting cleaned up, she into some clean pajamas and plopped on the bed.

"Alright. Whatever you have for me, keep it until tomorrow.."

***********

"Alright everyone gather round. Please me careful with your meal, it’s hard enough to feed all 457 of you, so let’s be civil and not bully anyone for their food. If you are caught, you’ll be tossed out of this little safe haven. So please choose your road wisely. I’ll be handing out the food to the leaders and distributing the ones I have with me around."

Sun Zi Mo said stiffly, as to how Feng Yizhou had managed to provide food for this many people, he had no idea but he also knew that this was some people’s last meal.

Eventually everyone had gotten a portion, Sun Zi Mo headed back to meet Feng Yizhou who was also eating.

"Are you done?"

He asked, just like everyone he had also gotten something simple.

"Yes. Would you be decreasing the numbers now?"

"No...maybe, we’ve not found a suitable location...during that transition, that’s when I plan on lessening the crowd.."

Sun Zi Mo sighed, he would rather not let anyone die but it was impossible to feed 457 people, they’ll have to look for food constantly if they wanted to keep up.

"Very well. I shall retire to have my own meal. I’m a corner away if you need my help.."

Feng Yizhou stood up as well, Caocao had finally found a suitable place so it was time to check it out.

{There’s a warehouse, 3 miles from here. It’s surrounded, and by a lot, it’s surrounded by a lot of zombies. You’ll have to fight your way through and clear the entire zombies.}

"That’s completely doable. What’s the zombie count?"

{"..."}

{A lot..}

"..."

"Are you saying you can’t estimate or you don’t want to tell me. Which is it?"

{Caocao’s voice crackled with simulated hesitance.}

{"...I don’t want to tell you."}

Feng Yizhou’s eyes narrowed. "Is it that bad?"

{"Let’s just say, if Qingran were here, I’d be giving her a very confident ’go ahead.’"}

Feng Yizhou sighed, running a hand through his hair. That meant very bad. Caocao wasn’t one to exaggerate when it came to numbers.

"I’ll check it out first. If it’s something I can thin out with traps or diversions, we’ll talk logistics later."

{"Affirmative. Sending you a new path. Minimal exposure, avoids known herds."}

The map flickered into existence before his eyes, overlaid on his vision like a pale ghost. He studied it briefly, noting the safer rooftops, alley choke points, and areas flagged as high-density infected zones.

Nearby, Sun Zi Mo had settled against a wall with his bowl of rice, eating in silence. His gaze flicked toward Feng Yizhou with quiet concern.

"You’re going out?"

"Yes. I’ll go alone. It’s recon for now. No use sending anyone else unless I know for sure we can move there."

Sun Zi Mo hesitated. "And if you don’t come back?"

Feng Yizhou smiled faintly. "I’m the only one you shouldn’t doubt. I’ll be back soon."

**************

Back in the suite, Qingran woke with a sharp inhale. Not from a nightmare—those had stopped months ago—but from the unmistakable mental click of her system nudging her awake.

[Good morning, host. Your body metrics have stabilized. Vitals are within acceptable range.]

She rubbed the side of her face into the pillow and groaned. "Alright, hit me."

[+8000 System Points.]

[+1 Map Expansion Token.]

[+Survivor Favorability – General Increase.]

[+Access to Mission Tier: Intermediate Scavenger Routes.]

[+New Skill Unlock: Minor Field Detection (passive) – detect minor energy shifts or disturbances within 10 meters.]

Qingran sat up slowly. "Field detection, huh..."

She focused, and for a moment, the room shifted in her perception. She couldn’t see anything new, but there was a faint pulse in her mind now, like a sixth sense brushing lightly against the furniture, the walls, and the floor.

Useful. Especially in tight quarters.

[You’ve also received two personalized reports: Survivor Assignment List and Room Occupancy Overview. Would you like them displayed now?]

"Yeah. Show me."

A holographic list blinked open before her, names and room numbers arranged by floor. The survivors were now spread across floors 37 to 39, six per room as planned, with two additional rooms left on the 38th floor.

The injured had been placed on the 34th floor for easier medical access. Jiyao was listed as [temporary occupant, 40th floor, pending reassignment.]