Reborn As A Doomsday Villainess
Chapter 238: A battle between odds

Chapter 238: Chapter 238: A battle between odds

There was a beat of silence.

Then Fengya slowly tilted her head, fixing him with a slow, lazy glare.

"You’re telling me," she said flatly, "that even with my poison in her bloodstream — actively tracking her core — you still haven’t found her?"

The man flinched. "She... she must be suppressing her abilities. Hiding her resonance completely—"

"Of course she is," Fengya muttered, almost to herself. Her tone dropped like ice. "She’s clever. But not that clever."

Her fingers tapped again. A vein pulsed faintly at her temple.

"She can’t run far in that state," she said finally. "And she can’t stay hidden forever. So stop waiting for her to pop up like a stray cat and start hunting her like you mean it."

Another masked subordinate stepped forward. "Do we expand the search to the next ring?"

Fengya leaned back, expression unreadable. "No. She’ll move soon. I want her found before she does. And if even it’s her plan to attack me directly....."

The corners of her lips curled, faint and sharp.

"...let her. I’d love to see how far she’s willing to crawl.."

At the other side of the zone, things weren’t looking so good.

It has been roughly two days since Qingran disappeared, they had ran out of food as their morale was lose to nothing.

"We have to look for her.."

Yu Song stood up, or they had to at least look for food to stay alive.

"This place is big and we don’t have a tracking device, how do you expect us to look for her?" Meng Nian muttered through gritted teeth, she’s the one with the system, how were they going to protect themselves out there.

"So are you saying then Meng Nian, we just said and wait? What if she isn’t safe? You’re closest to her so aren’t you worried? How sure are you that she’s okay? If she was she wpukd have been back that day.." Yu Song voice was raised, his angry growing by the minute.

"Look, we have a different case to worry about, we have mouth to feed, we have to go out and look for food, sister Bai is pregnant, she needs food. We can’t afford all these back and forth.." Feng Yuxi sighed, it was so much easier to control the crowd if Qingran were around.

Meng Nian sighed and stood up "Very well, since it’s like that. Yuxi and I will go out to look for her, you’ll stay here and create a group to go look for food. What I’m saying is, she’s a system user, looking at our weapons if we encounter a rift monster.. we’re done for.."

Yu Song didn’t argue and nodded.

"Take Tianming along with you. I’ll settle things here.."

They turned to Xu Tianming who stood up. "I guess I have no choice but to follow.."

Meng Nian had a gun, but they prepared more makeshift weapons, just in case they ran out of bullets.

"We’ll be back and we won’t die. We’ll find her and if we can’t we’ll find our way back.."

Rong watched them as they left, he knew every well he couldn’t build this kind of teamwork.

These people cared about their lives but they still risked it all. And all for one woman.

He guessed she had achieved the role of a leader and now it was time for the people she lead to find her.

"Stay safe. I’ll take care of the fort here.."

Now by daybreak everyone had left their safehouses with a goal in mind.

Qingran squatted behind a wall, the place was crawling with cultist and it become even more difficult after Lingquan told her about the arrival of another member of the elite team.

As to who it was or what their abilities was, he couldn’t say.

She brought out the Evol gun, it was finally time to use this guns, if members of the elite team also wanted their hands on it.

Then the gun must be packing.

"Stay away from any person that isn’t a cultist. I’m giving you three guns and a whole lot of bullets. So don’t you fucking die.."

She handed the guns to Ruihuang and then turned to Lingquan. "How good are you at fighting?"

Lingquan smiled "The very best but I won’t be able to help you in this case. I’m on a time limit and once it runs out I’ll be back to being a non entity..and that’s less than 10 mins.."

Qingran bit her lips and shook her head.

"Until then i guess.."

Lingquan’s avatar flickered at the edges, his form shimmering like a candle flame. "Nine minutes left," he said with a lopsided grin. "Make them count, Qingran."

Qingran’s eyes remained fixed on the movement beyond the crumbled wall. The cultists were closing in, their formation tightening.

A signal had been sent, and reinforcements were on their way.

Ruihuang crouched beside her, his fingers flexing around the gun she had given him. "You ready for this?" he asked under his breath.

Qingran’s gaze never wavered. "As ready as I’ll ever be."

He nodded, adjusting the strap of the ammo pack. "I’ve got your back."

Qingran’s expression softened slightly. "Thanks, Ruihuang."

As they navigated the ruins, they passed a pile of discarded robes, stained with old blood.

"Three minutes," Lingquan said lightly. "You guys holding up okay?"

"Barely," Qingran replied, her voice tight with tension.

They halted in front of a narrow alley, blocked by a large pipe. Ruihuang vaulted it first, then helped Qingran over. A blast tore through the alley, sending debris flying. Qingran rolled forward, hitting the wall hard as heat seared her shoulder.

She came up with her gun raised. "Sniper," Ruihuang growled. "West rooftop."

Qingran ducked behind the wall. "We need to move, now."

Lingquan stood out in the open, his form shimmering. "Time’s up, guys. Good luck."

His body dissolved into fragments of light, leaving Qingran and Ruihuang to face the cultists alone.

Qingran swore under her breath. "Let’s push in. We can’t wait any longer."

Ruihuang nodded, slinging the rifle forward. They crossed the next courtyard in a blur, shots ringing out as they dodged and weaved.

As they climbed the back stairs, they heard deliberate footsteps. When they reached the top, Fengya was waiting, her white hair loose down her back, her white eyes glowing faintly.

"You’re persistent, I’ll give you that," Fengya said softly.

Qingran raised her gun. "It’s over. You’re finished."

Fengya smiled, her eyes glinting with amusement. "I don’t think so, rather the fun is just beginning. Why don’t I show you what’s it’s like fighting a real mad woman.."

Fengya raised a single hand, and the air twisted violently.

A pressure wave exploded outward, cracking the roof beneath her feet as Qingran was forced to jump back, landing in a crouch.

The sheer force rattled her bones, and the Evol gun in her grip vibrated wildly, its feed flickering erratically.

Without hesitation, Qingran took the shot. The bullet screamed through the air, but the moment it reached Fengya, it bent mid-flight, warping impossibly.

It hit the rooftop two meters behind her in a useless ricochet of sparks.

Fengya’s smile grew, her eyes gleaming with amusement. "That gun you treasure... it’s cute. But cute can’t kill me"

Qingran lunged to the left and fired again, then a third and fourth shot, the rapid rhythm meant to distract.

However, Fengya barely moved, her figure blurring like a smear of white light. The bullets distorted and missed again, as if space itself refused to allow them to strike her.

Qingran skidded behind cover and cursed under her breath. "What kind of ability is that?"

[Spatial interference] Lingquan’s voice echoed inside her head.

[She’s folding the field around her. Normal weapons won’t land.]

Qingran’s eyes narrowed. "Then I’ll use the system.m"

Lingquan’s presence pulsed with warning.

[You know what that means.]

"I don’t care.." Qingran hissed, her breath faltering.

"You will," Lingquan warned.

Still crouched, Qingran drew a sharp breath and summoned her system.

[System Resonance Activated.]

Her body lit with a faint blue pulse, azure flames leaking from her fingers, licking up her arms in elegant, dancing threads.

The moment they appeared, pain followed, a searing, burning sensation.

The poison bloomed, black veins spreading visibly beneath her skin like something alive.

Her pulse surged, and her knees threatened to buckle, but she didn’t stop.

Fengya’s expression shifted for the first time, a glimmer of interest in her eyes. "Ah, the azure flames... now we’re talking."

Qingran’s silhouette blurred forward, movement enhanced.

She closed the gap between them in a second, her fist sheathed in blue fire as she threw a punch straight at Fengya’s ribs.

Fengya didn’t dodge, letting the blow land.