Reborn As A Doomsday Villainess
Chapter 218: Not nice anymore

Chapter 218: Not nice anymore

The man howled, trying to yank his arm back through the gap in the barricade, but Qingran’s boot was relentless, grinding bone against rusted metal.

Blood dribbled out over the threshold. Behind the makeshift barricade, panicked shouts rose up, weapons scraping and loading.

She leaned forward slightly, voice silk over steel. "I didn’t say I was here to beg. I came to talk. This is me talking."

Behind her, Yu Song drew his gun, pointing it calmly at the door. Xu Tianming’s fingers twitched around his axe.

"I—I’ll open it! I’ll open it, just let go!" the man inside shrieked, half-choking on fear and pain.

Qingran slowly stepped back, her boot lifting from his crushed fingers. He scrambled back into the shadows, whimpering.

Seconds later, the door creaked open. Not wide. Just enough to reveal the man’s pale, sweating face, and the muzzle of a rifle shaking in his hand.

She smiled, her smile was serene and terrifying.

"Now we can talk properly."

Inside, the supermarket was a fortress. Makeshift walls built of broken shelves and scavenged furniture, watch stations made from stacked pallets and empty crates.

A half-dozen armed men stood behind the cover, all eyes on her trio.

Their weapons weren’t clean or well-maintained, but there were a lot of them.

The man who’d opened the door, gaunt, pockmarked, missing two front teeth, backed away from her like she might bite. "Y-You said there’s more of you. You serious?"

"I never lie when it comes to numbers," she said calmly. "60, total. All from Zone One. We fled the flood. We’re not helpless, but we’re stretched thin. This place is the closest structure we’ve found intact. I came to negotiate."

"You broke my hand!"

"You tried to steal my supplies."

"You said—!"

"I said I was scared," Qingran said sweetly, and the glint in her eyes shut him up instantly.

A grizzled man near the back stood, clearly older than the rest, with iron-gray stubble and eyes like gravel. He tapped the butt of his shotgun on the floor. "You want to negotiate, talk to me. Name’s Rong."

Qingran inclined her head. "Qingran. These are Yu Song and Xu Tianming. We’re just scouts. Our main group’s about two miles southwest. They’re waiting for word."

Rong eyed her, then spat. "You’ll get maybe ten in, fifteen max. Rest can keep walking or rot. We don’t take chances. Everyone’s already got a job in here. We don’t need mouths that can’t earn their keep."

Qingran’s smile never wavered. "And what does ’earning your keep’ look like?"

"Hunting. Scouting. Guard duty. Trash duty. Trap setting. Bait."

Yu Song’s jaw tightened. "Bait?"

Rong didn’t blink. "We set traps. Something needs to draw the monsters in. Sometimes that’s meat. Sometimes it’s noise. Sometimes it’s a man in a cage with a bell."

"You’re disgusting.." Xu Tianming muttered.

"No.." Rong said, eyes sharp. "I’m alive. So is everyone in here."

"I could clear the area," Qingran said lightly, turning a slow circle, flame dancing between her fingertips. "Clear it of monsters, threats, parasites... depending on the definition."

The others tensed, but Rong only raised a brow. "That’s a nice threat. Problem is, you don’t know how many guns are trained on you right now. You take me down, you won’t get out of here alive."

Qingran tilted her head. "You think I came unprepared?"

Rong’s gaze didn’t waver. "I think you came desperate."

"Desperate people don’t bring an army."

For a moment, the silence between them stretched.

Then Rong smirked. "I’ll make you a deal. Ten of you come in. Trial basis. No complaints, no fights, you work your way up. Rest of your group, they wait their turn. Or leave. We don’t care which."

"And if I say no?"

He shrugged. "Then we shoot you here and take whatever you brought. That’s how things work in Zone Two."

Qingran smiled, the flames in her hand burning brighter

"Now that you’ve said your piece, I will say mine. This fire is extremely hot and I can get real ruthless, now I’m giving you a chance to pick a side, my side which will keep you alive or your side which will burn to the ground, the flames hot enough to burn those bullets so choose your poison wisely."

The flames in her palm grew with a hiss, flaring upward like a living thing. Blue-white and otherworldly, they casted shadows against the supermarket walls, licking the barricades and pooling light in Qingran’s narrowed eyes. The air shifted. Hot. Dry. Choking with tension.

One of the younger men behind Rong cursed under his breath and lowered his gun by an inch.

Another glanced sideways, sweat beading on his forehead. Fear spread like contagion, tightening jaws and shifting stances.

Rong held firm, but even he squinted at the unnatural fire, his hands flexing slightly on his shotgun. "We’ve dealt with ability users before," he said gruffly. "They bleed same as anyone."

"Maybe." Qingran stepped forward, and the metal beneath her boots groaned. "But I don’t. Not before I make sure every single person who threatens my people goes first."

Yu Song took a single step closer as well, silent as a shadow, gun never wavering.

The supermarket gang didn’t waver in unison. They cracked one by one , slight retreats, twitching fingers, an audible gulp. The man with the missing teeth took two steps back and bumped into a makeshift shelf, nearly knocking over a stack of empty tin cans.

Qingran didn’t give them time to gather their courage again.

"Sixty," she said, voice low and steady. "Not scavengers. Survivors. Organized. Supplied. Fed. They follow me because they want to live not as bait, but as people. I cleared Zone One with my own hands. You think Zone Two scares me?"

Rong’s eyes narrowed. "That supposed to impress me?"

"No," she said. "It’s a warning."

Behind her, Yu Song spoke for the first time, his voice dry. "She’s being polite."

Xu Tianming added, almost absently, "If she wasn’t, this building would be ash."

A long, heavy pause.

Then Rong sighed and gave a short, sharp nod. "You’re not bluffing."

"No," Qingran agreed.

He ran a calloused hand down his jaw, thinking. "We’re full. Even ten is a stretch. Food’s rationed. Water’s barely enough for the ones we already got. But... I’m not an idiot."

Another nod. Slower this time.

"You get twenty. Temporary. Two days. You don’t cause trouble, we talk again."

Qingran didn’t move. "All sixty and I’ll provide you food and clothing."

Rong’s brow rose.

"She’s not joking. Take a look at us, we even added weight.."

"How much?" Rong asked finally.

"As much as you need," Qingran replied without hesitation. "But only if all sixty of my people come in. You want ration security? I’ll give it. You want work? We’ll provide it. I’m not here to settle in and leech. I’m here to partner."

"And if we say no?"

Qingran didn’t smile this time. Her flames receded into her palm with a faint crackle, then vanished completely.

But somehow, that made her more dangerous. She stepped into the heart of the barricaded supermarket like a queen entering a lesser court.

"Then I’ll leave with my sixty," she said softly, "and this entire building will burn to the ground along with the people in it."

She turned, beginning to walk back toward the door. "Your call."

"Wait." Rong’s voice stopped her halfway.

She paused and turned to face him.

"...Thirty," he said gruffly. "I won’t go higher. Not today."

"I’m bringing all 57, today. If we remove all the shelves in the way, there will be space for everyone."

-_-

"Aren’t you hearing woman?! I said there’s no room."

"And I’m telling you, I will provide it the space. You have nothing to worry about, as partners I will provide you food and water...ain’t that enough for you?"

-_-

"Youngsters these days, no damn respect."

Qingran found a stable spot on the shelf and sat down.

"Yu Song, Xu Tianming, you go back and bring the others. I will take care of things here."

-_-

"Alright, we’ll be back soon."

After they had left, Qingran’s smiled completely disappeared.

"Listen up! Since they’re gone I don’t have to be nice anymore. If you fucking dare try to attack any of my people or steal their stuff. I promise I’ll make your life a living hell until I kill you. Now clear all these shelves to a corner."

This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦