I Attacked Because I Was Afraid Of Death

Chapter 8: The contradiction deepens

Chi Xin nodded at Xiao Li and left with the hero in his daze. This child, with how young he was, seemed a little dumb.
Cao Qing stood there and looked at their backs bitterly, resentment overflowing his eyes. Xiao Li reluctantly watched Chi Xin leave, turned to the man who was still holding his waist and leaning on the table, and couldn’t help but ask with some confusion: “Aren’t you leaving?”
Xiao Li wasn’t old, perhaps 18 or 19 years old. Once he took off the camo uniform and put on an ordinary t-shirt, he looked even younger. He had an innocent expression and his question sounded very genuine. Cao Qing’s face became stiff; he straightened up despite the pain and limped away.
Xiao Li put away his immature expression and snorted.

Chi Xin followed the protagonist group to a room. There were many of them that weren’t inhabited in the base, which had been abandoned after the outbreak. Jing Xiubai opened one at random; it seemed that the original owner had been a basketball lover and the entire room was decorated in famous players’ posters. Chi Xin walked over to take a look, touching the furniture with the tip of her fingers. Everything was so real.
Jing Xiubai’s voice sounded behind her: “You just followed us like that, aren’t you afraid of what I will do to you?” His tone was cold, “After all, after what you did, you can’t have a clear conscience.”
Chi Xin turned around and looked at the three protagonists. They all had different expressions and she picked the easiest answer: “I’m not afraid.”
She then added: “Watch what you say, there… are girls.”
Right now, the hero and the heroine’s feelings were not clear and as she thought about it, she swallowed the word “your” in her sentence.
Yu Xiang laughed: “Chi Xin, ah, you are so confusing now.”
Yu Xiang was the least hostile of the three. Not only was he more tolerant towards her because she had saved him in the past, but after she had saved the entire base, his negative thoughts had been forgotten. 
Chi Xin might have been confusing but her meaning was self-explanatory. Jing Xiubai choked for a second and his indifferent expression faded. He pushed back his glasses and said, a little helpless: “I just think you are no longer unreasonable.”
It was Chi Xin’s turn to be perplexed: if you don’t mean it, why say such misleading words!
Once the atmosphere eased, Jiang Congyun pursed her lips and whispered: “Nothing else matters but that pendant is very important to me. Chi Xin, can you give it back to me?”
After her words fell, the barely-there joy in the room disappeared instantly. The pendant was what Jiang Congyun cared the most about and the real thorn between Chi Xin and the protagonist group. Yu Xiang stopped smiling and Jing Xiubai’s eyes became serious once more; all three of them stared at Chi Xin.
But Chi Xin was also helpless. She had studied the space during these past three days but the jade pendant had melted in her body and she hadn’t found a way to give it back. 
Jiang Congyun watched her stay silent and said: “This is an heirloom left to me by my father. It has nothing to do with the space it contains, I just want it back and I can give you better quality jade, okay?” The heroine’s temper was so good that she did not get angry and patiently tried to persuade Chi Xin.
Yu Xiang also added: “If you like jade, when we get to Base A in the future, I will ask my dad to get a bunch of them for you. Maybe there will even be a space in one of them, so you can return the pendant to Congyun.”
As the once superstar of City A and now the youngest son of the leader of Base A, he really had the confidence to say this.
Chi Xin was stared at by the three of them and felt all explanations were futile. She opened her shirt and pulled down the clothes on her left breast. Yu Xiang let out a weird cry. He pretended to cover his eyes but moved his fingers apart and blinked.
“What are you doing?”
The other two were not acting as ridiculously as he was and their gaze fell on Chi Xin’s exposed flesh. On the fair skin, a small emerald green pendant-shaped trace was printed on it, as natural as a birthmark.
“It’s not that I don’t want to give it back.” Chi Xin finally said, “It’s just that I don’t know how to take it out.”
Jiang Congyun frowned: “You said you didn’t know the pendant was a space and I didn’t even know how to bind it. But you did.”
“It was so chaotic when the outbreak started and blood got spilled on it.” Chi Xin answered, mentally rolling her eyes. What era was this? Was it so difficult to guess a drop of blood would work?
“So you managed to bind the pendant but you don’t know how to break the contract.” Jiang Congyun showed a mistrusting look.
Chi Xin looked at the heroine speechlessly. But knowing the original body’s personality, it was impossible to believe her words just like that. She opened her shirt wide and stood in front of her.
“I don’t want to avoid the important and dwell on the trivial but this is the way it is.” Chi Xin’s eyes were clear, “I am at your disposal now, as long as you can take it away, I will not do anything.”
This space was an iron-hot brand and no one wanted to give it back more than her. But this move, coupled with her past behavior, was only seen as some kind of scheme.
It wasn’t in Jiang Congyun’s nature to argue. She was angry and disappointment filled her eyes but she did not reach out to touch Chi Xin’s body. She looked at Jing Xiubai, trying to get some comfort from him, but he wasn’t noticing her and was staring at Chi Xin with curiosity.
“You have a lot of secrets.” He said, “I didn’t just want to ask about the pendant.”
“Hm.”
Jing Xiubai squinted slightly, trying to find the subtlest expression on her face.
“I have a supernatural ability and only Yu Xiang and Congyun knew about it. I am certain they never mentioned anything about it, how did you know?” He took a step forward, “And why were you hiding your strength and acting like an idiot? This is not an interrogation but some doubts I would like answered from someone who has fled with us.”
He said it wasn’t an interrogation and his tone was mild but there were no emotions on his handsome face and his eyes were sharp and cold, giving people a strong feeling of oppression. Chi Xin’s body instinct reacted naturally to this pressure, her face became void and she instinctively took a defensive posture.
“Is this an accusation?” 
“You don’t need to be so warry.” Seeing the situation was wrong, Yu Xiang said with a wry smile: “It’s just that you have too many secrets…”
“So do you.” Chi Xin interrupted him and her eyes sharpened: “We escaped the school together but you never regarded me as one of you, watched out for me, or told me anything.”
She sneered: “What right do you have to demand that I be honest with you?”
The three protagonists were speechless and looked at each other and Jing Xiubai replied: “With how you have acted before, it was hard to believe you were sensible. The more we tell you, the more trouble you will make.”
Of course Chi Xin knew that. Her original body had taken on all the hate value of the film, but now that she was this body, she didn’t want to admit to it. However, she had nothing to refute them and chose to show a slight look of contempt instead.
“Since you are willing to believe appearances, I have nothing to say.” She also pretended to sigh, “I thought you would be different from those short-sighted people in the base.”
She said it so seriously the three protagonists shuddered and became thoughtful. No one knew Chi Xin’s past, only that she was from the same grade as Jiang Congyun’s. When the virus had broken out, they had pitied her and had taken her to escape but didn’t know anything about her. Since they had decided she was an idiot and a liability, they had never really talked to her; how could they blame her for not being honest with them?
Chi Xin opened her mouth and bluffed all three of them, and no one asked any more questions. Chi Xin looked at them and shed tears in her heart. What had happened, weren’t they supposed to talk? Didn’t she want to solve their contradictions? Why did the relationship with the protagonist group seem to be even more rigid?! Her face stiffened when she realized what she had just done; the heroes were silent and only staring at her. What should she say? She had just rendered them mute, should she change her words like nothing had happened and ask if they could start over? Chi Xin felt desperate and when the wilder her heart beat, the colder her expression became. So under the gaze of the three protagonists, she glanced at them sharply as if she was about to peel them apart, and turned around to leave the room.
Chi Xin: Stop me! Hold me! Don’t let me leave!
Of course, no one did.

After Chi Xin left, the other two looked at Jing Xiubai.
“What should we do?” Yu Xiang asked.
“It looks like my pendant really cannot be retrieved.” Jiang Congyun sighed with a certain gloominess between her gentle brows.
“Let’s keep observing.” Jing Xiubai said, “I feel she is hiding something else but if she doesn’t want to share, I am afraid no one can force her.”
Yu Xiang’s spirits suddenly came back: “Speaking of, what level is your ability at now? And if you were to be the one going against the high-level zombie before, what would have been your chances of winning?”
Jing Xiubai raised his hands; a small whirling of ice crystal appeared in the center of his palm and both Yu Xiang and Jiang Congyun let out a small shout. They had always known Jing Xiubai had powers but to keep them hidden, they had rarely seen him use them. An ability that was beyond human capacity was naturally very attractive and the two of them stared at the little whirlwind without blinking.
Jing Xiubai closed his fingers and put the ice away: “According to the zombie leveling, I should be above level 4. But this high-level zombie was an agile type and the outcome would have been unpredictable.”
Yet Chi Xin had not let it even have the time to react and had kicked its head off with one kick. The three protagonists fell silent at the same time.

***

Chi Xin went out of the base in depression and the scorching heat of the sun made her feel even more annoyed. She hadn’t expected to mess up the first step as soon as she came out.
She picked up her pace and wandered around the base, hoping to find some minor troubles to raise her value up. However, before she could get far, Yu Xiang caught up with her.
“Hey.”
He had a bright smile on his face and started to walk by her side.
“Where are you going?”
Chi Xin couldn’t figure out what he wanted and cautiously answered: “Wandering.”
“You didn’t use to be so shy with words.”
Chi Xin didn’t know how to respond to that and replied with a cold face: “Oh.”
She was so uncooperative, Yu Xiang couldn’t continue the conversation; he shrugged and closed his mouth.
At the same time, a child rushed past them and Chi Xin avoided him carefully. Unfortunately, she did not pay attention to the man beside her and accidentally stepped on his foot.
“Sorry.” She blurted out then froze for a moment. The system prompted in her head: [+0.1 trouble value]
Oh, so stepping on the second male lead could actually get her the same amount of points as killing an ordinary zombie… Chi Xin stared at Yu Xiang and the man touched his head in confusion, wondering if something was wrong with his face. However, after weighing the importance of offending one of the protagonists or getting the trouble value, Chi Xin decided to abandon this idea with regret.
[Too bad. If the host directly shoots the second male lead, the host may not have to go out for ten days.]
Chi Xin: “Shut up.”

She worked hard for one day, always followed by Yu Xiang. Chi Xin constantly committed petty crimes, such as accidentally stepping on flowers or drinking from other people’s cups. Yu Xiang scratched his head, not expecting that despite having witnessed Chi Xin’s fighting power, she was still the same distracted girl as before.
When she “accidentally” stepped on someone’s shoe again, the current victim was not as good-tempered as the ones before. He obviously recognized Chi Xin and didn’t dare to confront her so blatantly, but the resentment in his eyes was far beyond the anger of being stepped on. Chi Xin swallowed back her apology when her defense instinct kicked in and her expression turned cold.
Yu Xiang’s face stiffened but kept on a smile as he apologized and pushed her away.
“The attitude towards you in the base is not quite uniform at the moment.” Yi Xiang whispered, “One group regards you as their savior and hero and another believes you are a sinner and not worthy of your merits. You have to be careful.”
“Oh.”
Yu Xiang: “Could you be just a little more concerned about your own life?”
Chi Xin thought about it seriously and looked at him with her big eyes: “But they are no danger to my life.”
Yu Xiang wanted to hold his forehead and almost gritted his teeth: “Have you ever heard the saying that it is difficult to guard against hidden enemies? Knowing you are so powerful now, who would be stupid enough to face you upfront?” He muttered angrily, “If not for you saving me before, I wouldn’t bother reminding you.”
Chi Xin’s face froze, this misunderstanding was also a big problem…
Seeing she ignored him and sullenly walked, Yu Xiang chased after her again and said with a strange expression: “You used to remind me of saving my life 800 times a day but suddenly you don’t seem to care about it so much.”
The original Chi Xin would mention it because it had been the only reason she had been able to stay with the protagonist group. Chi Xin really wished he had forgotten about it altogether, why would he take the initiative to mention it? She kept ignoring him as he followed and seriously caused trouble all day.

Unfortunately, her daily harvest was cleared out after one night of sleep.
Chi Xin: … I will kill the system!
She bounced off the bed all of sudden, quickly washed, and went out the door with a gloomy expression. This time, she would no longer waste time on trivial things and she headed straight to the mission exchange; this was the place where outside teams were arranged to go out and gather supplies and where they handed the items once they were back.