Reborn As A Doomsday Villainess-Chapter 167: Are you god?

Qingran didn’t reply. Her gaze remained on the board, as if Yu Song’s words were too heavy to respond to directly. The air in the room grew still.

Meng Nian looked down at his hands, his fingers curled loosely around the edge of the table. "It’s strange," he murmured, "I thought knowing the truth would make you seem less human. But now that I do... you seem more real than anyone else I’ve met since the world ended."

Qingran gave a dry chuckle. "Don’t start romanticizing it. I’m not doing this to be noble. I’m doing it because I want to live."

"You could’ve abandoned all of us," Meng Nian said. "You had every reason to. But you didn’t."

"I had every reason to," she agreed. "But I also had one reason not to."

"And what’s that?"

She looked at him then, her expression still unreadable but her voice softer than before. "Because living alone isn’t living at all. I learned that the hard way."

The room fell silent again, the weight of Qingran’s words lingering in the air. Meng Nian’s eyes met hers, and for a moment, it seemed like he saw beyond the tough exterior, glimpsing the scars and pain she’d accumulated.

Yu Song shifted slightly, his gaze flicking between Qingran and Meng Nian, before returning to his usual stoic demeanor.

Qingran’s expression hardened once more, and she turned back to the board, her focus snapping back to the task at hand.

"We need to review the security protocols for the hotel. We can’t afford any more breaches."

Meng Nian nodded, the momentary connection broken, but the understanding between them seemed to have deepened.

"I’ll go over the schematics and see if there are any vulnerabilities we can patch up."

**********

The survivors gathered in the small, dimly lit room, their faces a mixture of exhaustion and anxiety.

Their leader, Zhang Yi, stood in front of them, trying to appear reassuring. His features were sharp, his age around thirty, and his presence commanding.

He spoke with the calm authority of someone who believed his words were enough to convince others.

"We’re safe here. We’ve made it." he said. "We have food, water, and shelter. We’ll get through this, just like we always do."

The survivors nodded, their expressions wary but hopeful.

They didn’t know what Zhang Yi was truly like behind his soothing words. They didn’t know the countless lives he had thrown away to ensure his own survival.

Zhang Yi had sacrificed one of their own in the name of survival.

He had claimed they were lost to the zombies, but in truth, he had abandoned the person, deeming them expendable when food was scarce.

He did the same to others before her, manipulating and controlling the group as if they were pawns to be discarded when the need arose.

Zhang Yi had noticed Qingran from a distance when she and her group rescued the medical professionals. There was something about her—something strong and unwavering—that intrigued him. He had followed her back to the hotel, knowing it would offer the safety he desperately sought. He abandoned his group without a second thought, leaving them behind in a world where their survival depended on the whims of someone who had no qualms about using them for his own gain.

Qingran, however, recognized him immediately. Her expression grew colder as she locked eyes with him.

Her mind flashed back to her past life, where this very man had turned the others against her.

He had framed her, manipulated everyone into believing she was a threat, and led the group to betray her.

She had died at his hands, the weight of his lies crushing her in that final moment.

She didn’t hesitate, but she kept her cool, taking a few steps closer without giving away her true thoughts. She studied him for a moment, her gaze unwavering.

"You," she said, her voice controlled but with an edge of recognition. "Who let him in? No one let’s anyone in without taking permission from me."

"I was the one who opened it. He sounded so desperate, I’m sorry.." Rina bowed, she had been the one incharge of doors today and he had already messed up.

"Is it wrong that she let me in?" Zhang Yi asked, staring sharply at Qingran.

"I decide to comes into this place.."

"..."

"Why? Are you god? She did the right thing letting me in.."

Qingran chuckled "There were 59 new intakes, you being the 60th, if the 60 had been completed, and she let you in..that means she has given you her spot."

Zhang Yi’s eyes narrowed, his expression flickering for just a moment before he regained his composure. "You’re implying she made a mistake?" His voice was low, dangerous in its calmness.

Qingran didn’t flinch. Her gaze remained steady, unyielding. "No, I’m implying that if she had let you in after the 60th spot was filled, then you would’ve taken her place, and she would’ve been the one left outside. Do you understand?"

Rina shifted uncomfortably, her hands wringing together. "I didn’t mean—" freёweɓnovel.com

Qingran cut her off with a single, sharp gesture. "It’s not about what you meant. It’s about what happens now. The moment you opened that door, you risked everything. If you let him in now, Rina, you’re giving up your own place. And that’s a choice that could come back to haunt us."

Zhang Yi straightened up, meeting her gaze with a sharpness that matched hers. "And what do you intend to do about it? Ban me because of a door I walked through?" He chuckled softly, almost mockingly. "You really think you can control everything here?"

Qingran took a slow step forward, her voice as cold as ice. "In this place, I decide who stays, who goes, and who gets what. If you try to make a move to disrupt that, I’ll be the one to decide whether or not you remain. Remember that."

His smirk faded, but he didn’t back down. Instead, he tilted his head, almost as if studying her, his eyes calculating. "You’re a lot more interesting than I thought."

Qingran’s lips barely twitched into the ghost of a smile. "Interesting doesn’t mean I’ll tolerate your presence."