Chapter 319: I’m Not a Scapegoat

That shriek was absolutely ear-piercing.

It felt like it was going to shatter everyone’s eardrums!

Ma Xiaotian didn’t even have time to react before she felt something bone-chillingly cold pounce onto her.

The thing clung tightly to her skin, its coldness sending a chill straight to her core. Goosebumps instantly erupted all over her body.

Ma Xiaotian felt her scalp prickle with terror.

For a moment, she didn’t dare to move, her entire body tensed as she stood rooted to the spot.

Martin, who had rushed in at the sound, was on the verge of tears. He stared at the monster clinging to his daughter and shouted, "Don’t move! Don’t move, Xiaotian! Whatever you do, don’t move!"

His voice grew quieter and quieter, a trace of fear slipping into his eyes.

"Dad... Daddy... save... save me! Save me!" Ma Xiaotian didn’t dare to move. She couldn’t even bring herself to look at the thing clutching her head.

The sight made everyone’s skin crawl.

A toddler-sized zombie was latched firmly onto Ma Xiaotian’s head, its chin pressed tightly against her scalp.

The little zombie’s face was long since rotted, its enormous, pupil-like eyes glowing with a grayish-white light as it glared viciously at Martin and his group.

Martin was losing his mind with fear, clenching and unclenching his fists, frantic with anxiety.

He desperately wanted to rush forward and pry the little zombie off his daughter’s head, but he was terrified that the moment he moved, the zombie would kill his precious girl.

Martin looked over at Xie Ning, his eyes filled with desperation.

’From Xie Ning’s angle, if she used her Gold Ability to pierce the little zombie’s skull, she could definitely save his daughter.’

Besides, the little zombie’s attention was completely fixed on them.

’If Xie Ning made a stealthy move, she could definitely resolve this without anyone noticing.’

Xie Ning, however, just widened her eyes, putting on an act of being utterly terrified as she stealthily backed away.

’Useless! Useless! Useless!’ Martin screamed inwardly.

’His daughter Ma Xiaotian was right. This pampered young miss from a major base was completely and utterly useless!’

"What’s going on, Ma?" Chai Lei burst into the master bedroom like a gale, and the draft she kicked up completely drew the little zombie’s attention.

’Now’s my chance!’

Martin took a deep breath and lunged toward the little zombie and his daughter.

He threw a punch at the little zombie’s head without a second thought.

The little zombie let out a piercing shriek and nimbly leaped aside.

Ma Xiaotian’s face was drained of color. Now free, she scrambled away, crawling and running toward Xie Ning.

By this point, Xie Ning had already backed up to the bedroom windowsill. As Ma Xiaotian came stumbling over, Xie Ning quickly pulled Beichen further out of the way.

Martin missed the little zombie with all three punches.

The little zombie was small and devilishly agile. In just a few bounds, it had leaped onto the large bed in the bedroom.

The bed was covered only by a rumpled quilt, which was stained with splotches of blood.

The little zombie leaped onto the bed, then turned to snarl and roar provocatively at Martin.

Martin took a knife handed to him by a member of his group and began hacking wildly at the little zombie.

The little zombie let out a high-pitched SQUEAL, turning its head to fix its cold, gray-white eyes on Ma Xiaotian by the windowsill.

Terrified to the point of near incontinence, Ma Xiaotian shrieked and tried to hide behind Xie Ning and Beichen.

Seeing the little zombie leap toward the windowsill, Ma Xiaotian became frenzied and tried to shove Xie Ning forward.

A flare of anger ignited in Xie Ning, and she violently threw Ma Xiaotian off.

Ma Xiaotian staggered and fell backward onto the soft bed. Before she could sit up, the little zombie latched onto her arm and began to chew furiously.

"AHHHHHHHH!" Ma Xiaotian let out a desperate, terrified scream.

But she quickly realized that even though the little zombie’s milk teeth had mutated, its bite force was... a far cry from an adult zombie’s.

She quickly flung off the little zombie hanging from her arm. At that moment, the Speed Superpower User, Chai Lei, rushed forward and lopped off the creature’s head with an axe.

Martin’s eyes were bloodshot. "Xiaotian."

"Daddy." Ma Xiaotian started to run over, but Chai Lei sent her flying with a kick. She landed hard on the bed with the dried bloodstains.

"What are you doing?!" Martin roared.

The woman with short, curly hair raised her axe, her face a mask of vigilance. "She was bitten! She’ll turn soon."

"I won’t! I won’t turn!" Ma Xiaotian shouted, her eyes red with rage. "That little zombie’s bite was too weak! It didn’t even break the skin! It didn’t!"

As she spoke, she quickly unzipped her thick winter coat and rolled up her sleeve to show everyone.

Thanks to the thick, padded coat, Ma Xiaotian had actually gotten lucky; the little zombie hadn’t managed to break the skin on her arm.

Martin breathed a sigh of relief. He pulled his daughter into his arms and patted her back comfortingly. "It’s okay, Xiaotian. Daddy’s here."

"Daddy, it was her! A moment ago, she’s the one who pushed me out there to die!"

Seeing Ma Xiaotian point a finger at her, Xie Ning feigned outrage, throwing a perfect pampered-miss tantrum. "What is this nonsense? Ma, you saw it with your own eyes, didn’t you? Your daughter was the one who tried to push me first. She wanted me to be her scapegoat."

"I only threw her off in self-defense. What’s wrong with that?" Xie Ning’s face was a mask of indignation. "Ever since we arrived at your stronghold, this daughter of yours has made things difficult for us and looked down on us in every possible way."

"Ma, just say it. If you don’t want to take us back to Golden City Base, you can be straight with us. We don’t have to keep begging to stay here. We can go back on our own!"

"No, no, no." Faced with Xie Ning’s outburst, Martin had to swallow anything else he wanted to say. He quickly stepped forward with a placating smile. "Miss Huang, you can’t take a little girl’s words to heart, can you?"

"Look, in another two days, once the hail stops for good, we’ll take you back to Golden City Base."

"Those are your words!" Xie Ning huffed, putting on a full display of her ’pampered miss’ attitude. She turned and walked off, pulling Beichen along with her.

As she passed Ma Xiaotian, she shot her a provocative glare. Ma Xiaotian instantly blew her top.

"Daddy..."

"Enough. Why do you talk so much? Aren’t all the things in this villa enough to keep your mouth shut?"

’This child is so impulsive. If she really makes them leave in a huff, what will we use to get on Chaoyang Base’s good side?’

"Go get your things. Be extra careful this time. The rest of you, stick with the young miss and make sure you protect her."

Xie Ning and Beichen walked out of the villa complex, deliberately acting as if they were just taking a stroll as they surveyed the area.

"Was Ma Xiaotian really that lucky?" Beichen asked in a low voice. "Somehow, I’m having a hard time believing it."

"You saw through it?" Xie Ning pursed her lips in a slight smile.

"I didn’t see anything, but you look so calm. I just get the feeling it’s not that simple."

"Hmph." Xie Ning shrugged and chuckled. "When the little zombie pounced out of the wardrobe, its sharp claws had already left a scratch on the back of her neck."

"She was probably too panicked to even notice."

"So she’ll turn soon?"

"Yep. Things are about to get chaotic for them today. Let’s take a nice stroll around this villa complex."