Premonition of Losing Reason

“You haven’t eaten people, have you?” Lu Linyuan’s voice was somewhat cold.

Ping Chengcheng was stunned and shook her head.

“Of course not.”

“Then what is this scent you’ve picked up?”

“Are you similar to me?” Lu Linyuan asked.

Ping Chengcheng sensed a faint aura and nodded, “Yes, what’s wrong?”

Lu Linyuan suddenly laughed, “So you smelled that I’m a variant?”

?

“I have, and she also saved you,” the girl said, looking at Lu Linyuan’s attitude, trying to figure him out.

‘Should I just admit I’m a variant? Anyway, this guy doesn’t seem hostile to variants, and there aren’t many true humans left… Even if I kill him, no one would suspect me.’

Ping Chengcheng had her doubts.

“…So that’s how it is.”

“I recovered my senses and became a variant within a certain month after the apocalypse began.”

He then told his story.

“One month?” Ping Chengcheng was a little surprised.

‘So he was originally a variant? Then why did he show up in the base so early? And why did large-scale conflicts between variants and humans only break out on the day I arrived?’

Ping Chengcheng had some goodwill towards him; she didn’t speak, just listened quietly.

Lu Linyuan looked at the girl’s expression, his mood relaxing slightly.

He had been suppressing this matter for a long time, and his heart was heavy.

As a variant, he even had to shoulder the responsibility for the base’s order, so he knew how much pressure that entailed.

He could clearly see that Ping Chengcheng held no killing intent towards him.

Instead, he saw a deep longing and a desolate sky in her eyes, and he confirmed her past from his words.

It turns out that the first wave of variants were not innately evil or murderous.

At that time, Lu Linyuan, who had just fallen in love with his partner, was also a variant.

His lover was also a variant but was foolishly killed by humans.

That was why he killed those humans.

To properly choose his path forward, he hesitated for a long time, contemplated his own way, and finally, for his lover’s sake, to protect her final resting place, he became the general commander.

‘So that’s really how it was?’

“If I were Shen Mengyuan, I suppose I would know the truth, and also…”

“…I would protect him.” Ping Chengcheng said.

Lu Linyuan did not reply, only nodding.

“I won’t tell anyone. After all, I am now focused on fighting, and I have self-control and rarely lose my temper.”

“Oh? And Xiao Lie?” Ping Chengcheng was not entirely convinced.

‘Xiao Lie is indeed a bit troublesome, but he doesn’t know what his tribe is like…’

“I really want you to die.”

Upon hearing Lu Linyuan’s words, Ping Chengcheng was stunned.

“Go die,” she said with a smirk.

Lu Linyuan paid her no mind.

“Alright, to thank you for your reward, I will go back and prepare a bit.”

Ping Chengcheng shrugged, “I have returned to this base, killed a Lurker that fell from the sky, and captured a zombie that had just evolved. This time, I also brought back precious materials for you all.”

“I cannot accept Xiao Lie’s reward now,” she sneered.

Lu Linyuan frowned, “You cannot, you are a variant, even more…”

“…your appearance has no deterrent effect, they will not be convinced by you.”

“Besides, there were originally only a handful of people who followed me from the beginning. Why would they defect for my sake?”

“Why do you have to be the scapegoat?”

Hearing Lu Linyuan’s words, Ping Chengcheng smiled slightly.

Her small body trembled uncontrollably, and the white double ponytails emitted a faint glow.

“Hahaha~ Hahahahahaha~”

“I’m a variant? So what if you are the General Commander? Did I say I wasn’t?”

“My appearance… hahaha~ It’s hilarious, you know?”

“The things you said are not wrong. You knew I was a variant early on, and you used this as a pretext to make me work for you, even to seal up some necessary moments for the entire… let me go, let me go, aren’t you going beyond the scope of your good intentions?”

Lu Linyuan’s face grew cold.

But then, hearing Ping Chengcheng’s next words, he was filled with disbelief.

“Are you sure?”

“The seeds of a good man, how can their ambition be so great?”

“What I said is, of course, true.”

Lu Linyuan’s thoughts sank deep.

‘Just like that…’

After listening for a long time, he did not fully believe Ping Chengcheng’s words.

“As long as you can provide evidence, I will believe you.”

“Although it is a place for research professors, it is not a garbage dump. If you can provide proof, you can come to me for your reward at any time.”

Ping Chengcheng grinned, “So, can I think that you admit that I am a variant?”

“Do you want me to provide evidence that I’m actually a variant?”

“Can you cooperate? If I really want to be malicious, don’t mention your little base. The first thing I’ll do is announce my identity as a variant.”

“Unless you’ve been standing guard here waiting for my confession.”

Lu Linyuan took a silent breath.

He didn’t really understand.

‘The girl is not lying, and even less so, she is not in a vortex of her own making, right?’

‘Her current possibility has even become an extremely dangerous bomb!’

He changed the topic: “Alright then. The new generation of armored soldiers for the base will finish their training in half a month. I’ll use them to supervise your reward, how about it?”

The girl smirked, “Alright, of course you can!”

“As long as you don’t use this as a pretext to investigate my private matters, I can give you protection to a certain extent. Of course, you must also work for the base.”

Lu Linyuan continued to bargain, but Ping Chengcheng simply let out a scoff.

“Alright? Then I’ll be leaving now.”

The girl, under Lu Linyuan’s complicated gaze, left on her tall horse.

The matter of the ceremony was somewhat special.

The entire procession was about twenty to thirty meters long.

Walking along the way, due to the population density, they encountered many people who stopped to look.

Ping Chengcheng discovered that many people were looking at her with curiosity.

‘Is there something unusual about my face?’

“Huh?”

She leaned against the wall of a small building, looking at a notice board.

At the very top, a line of large characters: [Notice about the S City Base]

Ping Chengcheng felt that the reason this notice board was unusual was that there was an article with her photo on it.

[S City’s savior… ] The girl’s disguise had been seen through by these few words.

Originally, it was a very ordinary puppet, but it was truly quite big…

“Ah! Miss! Are you Miss Ping?” A young man in a white vest suddenly appeared behind the girl.

Ping Chengcheng glanced at him.

He was a young man of about sixteen or seventeen, dressed very neatly and carrying a large briefcase.

It was obvious he was an errand boy.

The people who recognized her followed behind, their gazes fixed on the girl’s face, as if wanting to examine her.

“Ahem… ahem… that, Miss Ping, can you give me a name?”

Ping Chengcheng was a little helpless.

The enthusiastic and curious gazes almost made her blush, making her feel as uncomfortable as if she were in a deserted, cold place.

So, she simply summoned her own big wolf, her figure nimble.

(TL note: “Summoned her own big wolf”:

The phrase “大尾巴狼” (dà wěiba láng), literally “big-tailed wolf,” is a very common idiom. It means “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” or someone who is pretending to be harmless but is actually dangerous and cunning.

When the text says she “summoned” it, it’s a powerful metaphor. It means she dropped her innocent little girl disguise and let her true, predatory Variant nature show through to intimidate the crowd and escape. The “summoning” was a change in her aura and actions, not a magical act.)

She leaped over the young man and landed on the wolf’s back.

“Let’s go… help me with something!” her voice was slightly trembling and moving.

“Miss Ping? Don’t be like this! My… the matter I am recording today, I have already signed up for the recovery team!”

“Get lost!” The girl, unable to bear it any longer, kicked the boy aside.

The surrounding crowd, seeing this scene, was momentarily stunned.

The girl let out a puff of white air, her eyes flashing red.

Suddenly… such a strong, fresh smell of blood!

She shook her head, her form dissolving into a phantom, and fled the scene under the astonished gazes of the crowd.