Married by Paper, Loved by Fate 35

35: How Did She Become Prettier?

“Isn’t the captain’s partner that ugly, fat Shen Tang who everyone wants to beat up in the city?”

“Yeah, I met her last month. She was all flabby, her skin was as black as a coal ball, and her face was full of pimples and pustules. When you got close, you could smell a sour stench. I almost threw up from disgust.”

“The captain must have had terrible luck for eight lifetimes to marry that ugly, fat woman.”

“I heard that vicious, ugly female often uses the captain’s money to gamble. She’s sly and cunning. How could she kindly come to find the captain?”

“You’re Shen Tang, really or not?”

The beastmen sized up the female who suddenly appeared before them, their gazes filled with dangerous scrutiny. “Could you be trying to seek refuge and talking nonsense to trick us?”

This female was indeed very fat, with swollen, puffy eyes that were narrowed into slits, a flat, fleshy nose, and crooked teeth. She was not attractive, and her appearance could be considered ugly even among ordinary people, but she was much better than that fat woman Shen Tang.

At the very least, her skin looked soft and smooth, fair and clean, better than the skin condition of most females in the city.

Shen Tang’s face was covered in black lines. She almost forgot how bad the original host’s reputation was. These beastmen’s stereotypical impression of her was still stuck in the past.

She had no choice but to take out her Light Brain, open her personal information page, and show it to them. “I really am Shen Tang. After recovering my C-grade mental strength, I followed the army to the contaminated area. Later, some accidents happened, and I ended up nearby… I saw a废弃工厂 (abandoned factory) here, so I wanted to hide from the Mutated Creatures. I didn’t expect to stumble upon you.”

A nearby beastman rubbed his eyes and confirmed he wasn’t mistaken. “Oh my god, it really is Shen Tang. The Light Brain’s personal information authentication cannot be faked.”

“How did you become… not so ugly?”

“All the pimples on your face are gone, and your skin has become so good. How did you do it?”

“You don’t look as fat as before. It’s really strange.”

The crowd asked in amazement, one after another, and their spirits seemed to be less dispirited.

“Stop, stop, stop,” Shen Tang quickly interrupted. “These are not important. I came to take you out, and also, where is Lu Xiao now? I need to find him for something!”

“The captain is on the first underground level,” answered a handsome young beastman.

Shen Tang was surprised. “Underground?”

“Yes, this abandoned factory has been occupied by Mutated Creatures and has become their nest. After we arrived, we cleared the Mutated Creatures on the surface of the factory, but later discovered that there was a world of difference underground; it was an abandoned underground bee-hive laboratory.”

“We haven’t entered the deepest level underground yet. I heard there’s a terrifying Mutated Creature suppressed there. Every night, we can hear roars from underground. The captain doesn’t allow ordinary team members to go down.”

As the beastman spoke, he rubbed his arms, his face full of fear. “I heard it’s a monster created by an illegal laboratory using hundreds of S-class pollution species. Even the captain is not its opponent!”

“To prevent that monster from escaping, the captain and beastmen of level five and above are suppressing it on the first underground level.”

“Shen Tang, you said you came to help us, but how can you help us all by yourself?” a tall, slender, gray-haired beastman sneered coldly.

What use was a female coming here? She didn’t even bring any support troops. It didn’t look like she came to help them, but more like a burden that would slow them down! “Don’t think we can save you. We are in a precarious situation ourselves. Staying in this broken place, we can only wait to die day by day!” the beastman’s eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was hoarse as he suppressed a growl. It seemed he was on the verge of going crazy.

Thinking of their current predicament, everyone became dispirited again, and despair filled the air.

Let alone breaking through the siege, they were so hungry now that they were almost losing the strength to walk.

Shen Tang opened her mouth and insisted, “…Take me to see Lu Xiao first.”

She had supplies rewarded by the System in her space, enough to help these beastmen overcome the difficulties, but she dared not take them out rashly. Human hearts couldn’t withstand temptation. These starving beastmen could turn into a pack of wolves at any moment. If she, a female without self-preservation ability, took out so many supplies, who knew what would happen.

Everyone just thought Shen Tang was eager to find Lu Xiao for protection and didn’t think much of it.

Someone went down to inform Lu Xiao.

After about half an hour, Shen Tang saw the tall figure she hadn’t seen in a long time.

Lu Xiao’s figure was somewhat thinner than when she first saw him, but he was still tall and upright like a pine tree, steady, composed, and his authority undiminished.

Especially his deep gray-blue eyes were sharp and piercing. When he looked at someone, he exuded an invisible pressure, making people instinctively tense up, straighten their backs, and dare not slacken.

“Why did you come here?” When Lu Xiao saw Shen Tang, a hint of surprise appeared on his usually expressionless, stern face.

It was unclear whether he was surprised she would appear in the abandoned factory or surprised by the changes in her.

He clearly remembered her dark, fat, and bloated body when they last met. After less than half a month, her skin had become fair and delicate, and her figure was no longer so bloated.

“I’ll tell you the reason later. First, gather all the surviving beastmen in the team and tell me the current situation. I have something important to tell you,” Shen Tang’s voice held a hint of urgency.

Lu Xiao’s eyebrows slightly furrowed. He didn’t know why this female appeared here for no reason. Based on his past understanding of her, he would never believe a word that ugly female said.

But this time, Lu Xiao’s cold, deep gaze met Shen Tang’s determined eyes and paused for a moment. Then, he turned his head and said sternly to the Vice Captain beside him, “Have everyone come back and take a headcount.”

“Yes.”

After everyone returned, Lu Xiao quickly took stock of the team’s current situation.

As of the night before yesterday, the supplies they carried were completely consumed. All the beastmen had not eaten a single bite since.

When they set out, there were 107 beastmen. They lost two during an ambush on the way. There were 105 beastmen when they arrived at the factory. Later, after the operation to encircle and suppress the mutants and the losses over the past half a month, only 69 beastmen remained.

The survivors all had moderate to severe injuries and had been in a state of hunger and dehydration for a long time, their bodies were very weak, and they could no longer resist a new wave of mutant invasion.

They could hold on for at most three more days, and the outcome would only be to starve to death.

Despair filled everyone’s hearts. Lu Xiao’s expression was unreadable, but the fists he held at his sides slightly loosened, his fingertips turning cold.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” Lu Xiao said to Shen Tang, his voice devoid of emotion. “Mutated Creatures are all over outside. They’ve surrounded the entire abandoned factory, trying to starve us to death inside. The unit has long run out of water and food. We can’t take you out alive.”

“But I can take you out alive,” Shen Tang said, smiling as she met his gaze.

A flicker of stunned disbelief appeared on Lu Xiao’s face.

What?

Everyone looked at Shen Tang, who had spoken such boastful words, wondering if this female had gone mad. She was in the mood for jokes under such circumstances?

Shen Tang wasted no time. She directly took out 100 boxes of purified water and 100 boxes of high-energy compressed biscuits from her System space. However, she first stored everything in her Light Brain’s space and then took it out from there, so as not to arouse suspicion.

The supplies instantly filled half the area.

Shen Tang looked at the stunned and petrified crowd and smiled slightly. “These are the supplies I brought this time. Not much, but it should be enough to solve your urgent needs!”

Dylan