Reborn As A Doomsday Villainess-Chapter 18: The end of everything (2)

Feng Yizhou's gaze held hers, unwavering, as he spoke the next words.

"But this time, I have no use for being the same Red Mask." His voice was steady, solemn. "This time, I'll fight and stand by your side."

Qingran's breath hitched.

His words rang through the silence, pressing into the space between them, impossible to ignore.

"You can count on me," he continued, his tone softer now, almost resolute. "I'll never hurt you."

Her fingers twitched at her sides.

She should reject this. She should tell him that she didn't need him, that she had never needed him, in this life or the last.

But the conviction in his voice unsettled something deep in her chest.

Feng Yizhou—Red Mask—an enemy, a shadow from the past, was standing before her now, telling her he would stand with her.

That he would never hurt her.

She wanted to call him a liar.

But his eyes...

His eyes held no deception. No mockery. No hidden agenda.

Only certainty.

Qingran's throat tightened.

She had never fought beside him before. Never trusted him. Never needed to.

And yet—

The weight of the world had shifted overnight. The virus had awoken. The system had dragged her back into a fate she hadn't asked for.

She was surrounded by uncertainty, by threats hiding in every shadow.

And now, standing before her, was the only person who remembered.

The only person who had lived through the same nightmare she had.

She didn't want to trust him.

She couldn't.

But for the first time in a long time...

She hesitated.

Feng Yizhou must have noticed, because he took one step closer, slow and deliberate, closing the distance between them.

"I don't expect you to believe me right away," he said quietly. "But no matter what happens from here on out... I will prove it to you."

His voice was a vow. A promise carved into the air.

Qingran exhaled sharply.

Her world had been thrown into chaos.

And now, the man who had once been her enemy—who had once stood on the opposite side of the battlefield—was now offering his hand.

She didn't take it. Not yet. Not now.

But she didn't push him away either.

And somehow, that felt even more dangerous.

A sudden chime echoed in her mind.

[Ding! Task Completed: Meet Feng Yizhou.]

Before Qingran could react, another notification popped up.

[Rewards: +1 Skill Point, +500 Survival Credits, Hidden Information Unlocked.]

Her breath stilled.

Hidden information?

She barely had a second to process before the system's monotonous voice rang out.

[Initiating Data Transfer...]

A sharp pulse ran through her head. Images—memories—poured into her mind all at once. Lab corridors, sterilized chambers, glowing vials of liquid. The flash of a biohazard symbol. A file labeled Project Genesis.

And then—

Her own name.

[Gu Qingran – Lead Virologist, Primary Researcher, Project Genesis.]

A cold weight settled over her shoulders.

No.

[You are the original creator of the pathogen.]

Her breath hitched.

[Correction: You are the creator of the pathogen. However, your research was used in its development.]

Qingran's hands curled into fists.

The virus. Her creation.

The one that had destroyed the world. The one she had spent her life fighting against.

It had started with her.

Feng Yizhou's gaze sharpened the moment Qingran's expression shifted.

Her face, once set in cautious disbelief, turned blank. Too blank.

His instincts kicked in. "Qingran?"

She didn't answer.

Her pupils had contracted slightly, her breathing was controlled but noticeably different. It was as if she had suddenly detached from their conversation, retreating into a space he couldn't follow.

"Are you okay?" His voice was calm, but there was an edge of concern.

Qingran finally blinked, like she was snapping back into reality. She turned on her heel. "I have to go."

No hesitation or explanation. She just had to leave.

Feng Yizhou's brows furrowed, but he didn't stop her. He only watched as she strode away, her posture stiff with tension.

Something had changed.

And whatever it was— It wasn't good.

Qingran's mind was running a mile a minute by the time she reached the research facility.

She barely registered the security clearance process. Barely heard the automated voice confirming her ID.

By the time she stepped inside, she could already see them.

A group of government officials stood at the far end of the room, their presence suffocating. Their uniforms were crisp, their expressions unreadable. But their eyes—

Their eyes were watching everything.

Dr. Han, the lead scientist in charge of the research division, approached her immediately. His usual relaxed demeanor was gone, replaced with something unnervingly serious.

"You're late," he muttered, but there was no accusation in his tone.

"Traffic," she lied smoothly.

Dr. Han gave her a look but didn't press. Instead, he motioned toward the others. "They're ready to move. We're heading to the warehouse now."

Qingran gave a sharp nod. "Let's go."

The convoy moved quickly.

Armed personnel surrounded them as they approached the warehouse—the supposed source of the anomaly.

Qingran had expected a tense situation. Had prepared herself for the worst.

Qingran strode into Lab 37, her mind sharp despite the lingering weight of her conversation with Feng Yizhou. She shoved it aside. Right now, there was only one thing that mattered—the virus.

The moment she entered the main observation chamber, she knew something was wrong.

Too many people.

Government officials lined one side of the lab, their expressions unreadable but tense. Several researchers huddled near the secured containment unit, whispering frantically. Security personnel flanked the room, their hands resting near their weapons—a silent confirmation that something had gone terribly wrong.

Her pulse quickened.

She scanned the room until her eyes landed on the lead containment specialist. Dr. Zhao's face was pale, beads of sweat visible along his temple.

Qingran's voice cut through the room like a blade.

"Where is the virus?"

The whispers died instantly.

Dr. Zhao hesitated, glancing at the government officials, but Qingran had no patience for his reluctance. She stepped forward, her tone icy.

"Dr. Zhao."

He swallowed hard, voice strained. "It's... gone."

A cold silence settled over the lab.

Qingran's fingers curled into fists.

Gone?

Her gaze snapped to the containment unit. The reinforced glass chamber stood empty. The biohazard seals were still intact, the security systems showed no breach warnings, and yet—the virus was missing.

"That's impossible," she said, eyes narrowing. "This facility is impenetrable isn't it?. The last report confirmed it was still here."

Dr. Zhao wiped his forehead, his hands trembling. "It was. We ran another scan after the initial containment check. The system showed no removal. No alerts. No unauthorized access. And yet—" His voice faltered. "It's not here anymore."

Qingran's heartbeat slammed against her ribs.

A virus doesn't just vanish.

Her eyes flicked to the officials. They were watching her carefully, but she wasn't sure if it was suspicion or expectation.

One of them, a senior representative from the Department of Biosecurity, stepped forward. "Dr. Gu, we need answers. We need to know what happened here."

She gritted her teeth. "You think I have them?"

He didn't reply, but the weight of his gaze was clear.

Qingran turned back to the empty containment unit, her mind racing.

No forced entry. No alarms. No signs of system tampering.

Then how the hell had it disappeared?

Then—

A sharp chime echoed in her mind.

[System Notification: Task Completed.]

Her breath stilled.

[Reward Issued: +1 Enhanced Perception, +10 System Points.]

Before she could react, another notification followed.

[Warning: Host's direct engagement with the anomaly has triggered memory reconstruction. Accessing relevant data...]

A piercing sensation shot through her skull.

And then—

The memory hit her like a freight train.

A splitting pain lanced through Qingran's skull, sharp and unrelenting. Her breath hitched as images surged through her mind—fractured, disjointed flashes of something buried deep.

Blood-red vials. A sealed chamber. The sterile, artificial hum of Lab 37's containment system.

And then—

A hand.

Her own.

Reaching for the virus.

Her vision blurred. The memory was jagged, incomplete, but the implications sent a cold chill down her spine.

Had she...?

No.

No, that wasn't possible.

Her grip tightened on the console, grounding herself as the wave of dizziness passed. When her vision cleared, the entire room was staring at her.

She must have faltered for a second because Director Li's gaze sharpened. "Dr. Gu?"

Qingran forced her expression back under control. "I'm fine."

She couldn't afford to dwell on that.

Straightening, she refocused on the problem at hand.

"The virus didn't just disappear," she said coldly, her mind racing. "There are only two possibilities. Either someone found a way to bypass every security measure in this facility without leaving a trace..."

She paused, pulse steady despite the weight of her next words.

"Or the virus left on its own."

A heavy silence followed.

"That's ridiculous," one of the senior researchers scoffed. "It's a pathogen, not a sentient being."

Qingran's fingers curled. You don't know that.

Not yet. Not for sure. She was speculating that it had evolved.

She exhaled, reigning in the storm in her head. Whatever had happened, she needed more information.

"Pull the last 24 hours of security footage," she ordered. "I want every anomaly, no matter how small, flagged immediately."

A technician nodded stiffly and rushed to comply, fingers flying over the console. The rest of the team remained frozen, uncertainty thick in the air.

Dr. Zhao finally found his voice. "Dr. Gu... if you're suggesting the virus left on its own, then what exactly are we dealing with?"

Qingran didn't answer right away. She didn't have a definitive answer yet, but her instincts were screaming that they were missing something crucial.

A virus that could bypass containment wasn't just dangerous. It was evolving.

Her gaze snapped to the screen as security footage loaded, timestamps flickering as the data compiled.

Frame by frame, the footage played.

The containment unit sat undisturbed. Hours passed in seconds—lab staff coming and going, routine checks, automated systems running diagnostics.

Then—

A flicker.

A single frame, distorted.

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Qingran's brows furrowed. "Pause. Rewind ten seconds. Play it back at half speed."

The technician complied. The screen reversed, the seconds ticking back.

Then they saw it.

A shadow.

No—it wasn't a shadow.

Something inside the containment unit.

The lab fell into stunned silence.

The shape wasn't human. It wasn't anything that should have been there. A swirling mass, almost imperceptible, shifting against the glass. It flickered once, then—

Vanished.

Not escaped or even opened the chamber. It just vanished.

Qingran's blood ran cold.

That wasn't just a virus anymore. That was something else entirely.

Dr. Han inhaled sharply. "What... what are we looking at?"

No one answered.

Because no one knew.

Qingran clenched her jaw, suppressing the unease crawling up her spine.

"Run an energy analysis on that frame," she ordered. "Check for electromagnetic distortions, bioelectric signatures—anything."

The technician nodded shakily and got to work.

Dr. Zhao turned to her, his voice barely above a whisper. "Dr. Gu... what if it's not just a virus?"

Qingran met his gaze, her expression unreadable.

"Then may God have mercy on us all."