Contraction

“Pain!”

A sharp pang in her abdomen made Li Xiaoxiao inhale sharply. It had been a long time since she’d felt pain like this. Instinctively, she reached to clutch her stomach, but the moment her hand touched her belly, she recoiled abruptly.

Her stomach…

Her eyes flew open, and her gaze locked onto her swollen belly. For a moment, she forgot to breathe.

“Hurry, hurry, hurry! Bring more cash, and gold bars—take all the gold bars. Don’t bother with those other things, they take up too much space. If you have money, you can buy anything! Move quickly, or we’ll miss the convoy!”

The noisy clamor snapped Li Xiaoxiao back to her senses. At the sound of that voice, her expression turned icy, venomous as if steeped in poison.

She would never forget that voice, even in death! It belonged to Chen Cheng’s vile mother!

But the next instant, she realized something was wrong.

That old witch was already dead!

Li Xiaoxiao had killed her herself—slowly, painfully, with her own hands.

And she herself had died, too…

“Ugh!”

A dull ache throbbed in her head, familiar scenes flickered through her mind like a carousel.

Finally, Li Xiaoxiao understood—she had been reborn.

Her daughter was still alive, safe within her womb.

Having died once, Li Xiaoxiao realized she was actually the villainous Big Boss in a post-apocalyptic novel.

In everyone’s eyes, she was cold-blooded, ruthless, her powers unmatched, sickly and mad, always at odds with the heroine, ultimately defeated by justice and killed by the heroine and her loyal followers.

But no one knew that everything Li Xiaoxiao did was solely for revenge for her daughter. It was her only obsession, the sole force that kept her alive through six years of the apocalypse.

If gods blocked her path, she slaughtered gods; if demons stood in her way, she destroyed demons!

As for her conflict with the heroine, it was only because the targets of her vengeance were protected within the heroine’s team.

In her previous life, the sudden outbreak of the apocalypse plunged humanity into panic.

Fortunately, Hua Nation had always prepared for emergencies. When disasters struck worldwide, Hua Nation had already established over a dozen emergency shelters across the country.

But no one expected that the first disaster would be the zombie virus.

The global outbreak of the zombie virus caught everyone off guard, even the military.

Though soldiers were well-trained, at the onset, few were infected, but once bitten or injured, even the toughest couldn’t resist the infection.

By the time the military resolved their internal crisis and began rescue operations, it was already the third day of the apocalypse.

In her previous life, Chen Cheng’s family despised Li Xiaoxiao for being heavily pregnant and slow, so they abandoned her in the villa and left her to fend for herself.

None of them expected Li Xiaoxiao to survive, nor that she would give birth alone, without medical help.

When they met again and saw Li Xiaoxiao and her child alive and well, their greedy eyes fell upon mother and daughter.

Li Xiaoxiao awakened her healing ability at the first opportunity, and to control her, they snatched her child away.

But not one of those beasts truly cared for the child. When danger struck, the first thing they did was toss the child out.

Li Xiaoxiao watched helplessly as her daughter was torn apart and devoured alive by a gang of thugs. From that moment on, her sole purpose for living was revenge!

She memorized every face that had harmed her daughter, transformed into a devil, and tore them apart one by one, making them die slow, agonizing deaths.

Especially Chen Cheng’s parents and sister, whom Li Xiaoxiao butchered piece by piece, leaving them unable to live or die.

But Chen Cheng was cunning, hiding deep, disguising himself well, fooling everyone and painting Li Xiaoxiao as the monster who killed his family—and even her own child.

Thus, Li Xiaoxiao died at the hands of the heroine Bai Lu.

But in this life, Li Xiaoxiao had no intention of giving those people any chance to harm her and her daughter.

She sat up from the floor, touched her forehead, and found, unsurprisingly, a handful of blood.

Today was the day the army would rescue survivors, but with limited personnel, they couldn’t enter the city.

The military vehicles were parked outside the city on the G101 highway, where it was open and accessible. Anyone who dared leave their homes and reach the temporary military camp would be protected.

The notification had come at dawn, and everyone scrambled to pack as many valuables as possible. At that moment, Li Xiaoxiao suddenly went into labor, threatening to delay them and make them miss the evacuation.

In a fit of rage, Chen Cheng shoved Li Xiaoxiao, her head smashing against the corner of a cabinet, splitting open a deep wound.

It was at that moment Li Xiaoxiao returned to life.

In her previous life, Li Xiaoxiao never understood why Chen Cheng was so heartless, ignoring all familial bonds.

Just before her death, Chen Cheng finally let her die knowing the truth.

He had no interest in women.

But he needed an heir for the Chen family, so he married Li Xiaoxiao.

Once married, he realized he couldn’t perform with women, not even with medication.

So he drugged Li Xiaoxiao and sent her to another man’s bed to conceive.

He even sold her virginity for a good price.

Ha! What a fine man!

Li Xiaoxiao reviewed everything in her mind, then focused and tested her powers—her abilities had not yet awakened.

No matter. Even without abilities, she could deal with those beasts in the Chen family.

“Bzzz—Bzzz—”

Her phone vibrated with a bee-like hum.

Li Xiaoxiao looked down; her fall had knocked the phone under the cabinet.

She stretched as far as she could to reach it.

When she finally pulled it out and glanced at the screen, tears filled her eyes.

Her trembling fingers slid to answer the call.

“Mom.” She tried hard to control her voice.

“Nannan, are you alright?” The familiar, yet distant concern.

“Mom, I’m fine. I’m okay. Wait for me at home, I’ll come pick you up soon.”

“Nannan, don’t worry about me. You hurry to the shelter. I’ll go with your aunt’s family. We’ll meet at the shelter.”

Her mother’s voice was anxious yet gentle on the other end.

“No! Mom, listen to me. You must put your phone on silent, lock all doors and windows, and wait at home for me. Remember, don’t open the door for anyone—not even for Aunt’s family!”

Li Xiaoxiao’s voice trembled, but her warning was firm.

“Mom, I beg you, please listen to me. Don’t open the door for anyone. Stay home and wait for me. Remember, I’ll come find you as soon as possible.”

“Nannan…”

“Beep—beep—”

Before her mother could finish, the call was cut off. Li Xiaoxiao didn’t know if her mother understood.

Thinking of what happened after her mother opened the door for her aunt’s family in her previous life, Li Xiaoxiao’s heart twisted in agony.

But now was not the time to dwell. She needed to seize every moment.

She glanced around—it was the study on the second floor. Li Xiaoxiao climbed to her feet, ignoring the wound on her forehead, and grabbed Chen Cheng’s favorite alloy golf club.

She rolled her neck, a bloodthirsty smile curling her lips as she strode toward the door.

Her abdomen contracted again; Li Xiaoxiao gently patted her belly.

“Good girl, don’t rush. We’ll meet soon. For now, Mommy has to deal with a few scumbags.”

She was only experiencing irregular contractions—it would be another two and a half hours before her daughter was born, plenty of time.

Just as she stepped out, she saw Chen Cheng’s sister, Chen Jiaojiao, whose face had been overworked by plastic surgery, stiff and grotesque, more zombie-like than any zombie.

“Ah!”