Reborn As A Doomsday Villainess-Chapter 165: Nobody’s savior

The doctor hesitated. "There are five more. Two doctors, three nurses."

Qingran’s eyes narrowed. "I only need three more. Can you pick the most experienced?"

The man flinched, clearly uncomfortable. One of the nurses glanced at him with a panicked look. "Please... don’t leave us."

Qingran’s expression didn’t soften. "I’m not here to debate. I have room for three more medical professionals. Choose, or I will."

Silence fell heavy in the dim corridor. Behind her, Meng Nian stood still, saying nothing.

Finally, the doctor exhaled shakily and pointed. "Dr. Lin and Nurse Cao. They’re the most skilled. And... I’ll go with them."

The others didn’t argue, one of the nurses simply bit her lip and turned away, holding back her tears.

"Good." Qingran said. "Yu Song, take these three back to the SUV."

She looked at the remaining nurse. "Barricade the door again. We’ll come back if we can, but no promises."

The unchosen nurse nodded with trembling hands, pulling the cabinets back into place as the others followed Yu Song down the hall.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Meng Nian muttered, "That was cold."

"It’s called logistics," Qingran replied. "We’re not running a charity. We’re running survival."

They turned back toward the stairwell.

Qingran and Meng Nian climbed the stairwell, careful not to make unnecessary noise. Blood spattered the walls in thick streaks, and something foul clung to the air like damp cloth. A few stray groans echoed from the lower floors, but nothing close.

At the second floor landing, Qingran raised a fist, pausing beside the Pediatric wing sign.

"Door’s half open," Meng Nian whispered, peering down the hall. "No movement."

"We sweep. Stay close."

They moved down the corridor, past cracked tiles and upended carts. Hand-painted murals of cheerful animals lined the walls, faded and dusty under flickering lights. Room 209 had a small toy giraffe sticker on the door, half-peeled.

Qingran knocked twice. "Room 209. Anyone inside?"

No answer.

She tried the handle. Locked.

"Stand back," she told Meng Nian, then kicked the door in with a sharp crack.

Inside, two people flinched back—another doctor and a nurse, both alive, both armed with metal IV stands. They froze when they saw Qingran’s face.

"We’re here to evacuate you," she said. "No time to explain. Can you walk?"

"Yes," the doctor said immediately. "We’re fine. We’ve just been hiding."

"Good. You’re the last two."

She ushered them out and down the hallway.

As they neared the stairwell again, Qingran slowed. A soft sound caught her ear—a quiet sobbing, muffled behind another nearby door.

She stopped. Meng Nian turned to look at her.

"What?"

"There’s someone else."

"Qingran, we’ve got our five. That’s the limit you set."

"No. My limit was six and since we’ve found only 5" she muttered. "I’m getting the last person."

Meng Nian didn’t argue. He studied her for a beat, then nodded. "Don’t take long."

She was already turning back.

Retracing her steps through the hospital’s eerily quiet halls, Qingran moved swiftly but cautiously.

Her boots crunched softly against glass as she approached the room with the barricaded door.

She knocked once. "It’s me.." she called through the barrier. "Open up."

A moment passed. Then the cabinet shifted aside. The nurse peeked out, eyes wide with disbelief. "You... came back?"

Qingran gestured. "Come on. Quietly."

The woman scrambled to her feet and followed without hesitation. freewēbnoveℓ.com

As they moved back through the hallway, Qingran kept her pace steady, ears attuned to any sound.

But the hospital remained silent, heavy with the presence of death rather than the noise of the undead.

"You’re lucky," Qingran muttered. "I don’t usually change my mind."

"I—thank you," the nurse whispered. Her voice cracked. "I didn’t want to die here."

Qingran didn’t answer. She didn’t have to.

The act was already done.

They exited into the bright sun, its heat hitting like a wall after the chilled sterility of the hospital.

Meng Nian stood by the SUV, arms crossed, eyes scanning the surroundings.

As Qingran approached with the fourth survivor, his brows rose. "This her?"

"Yeah." Qingran nodded at the nurse. "Get her inside. We’re full now."

He opened the back door, and the nurse climbed in, finding a narrow spot between the others.

Qingran shut the door behind her, scanning the perimeter one last time.

The hospital loomed behind them, its windows like empty eyes, watching them .

She could feel it in her bones the place wasn’t done yet. There were still people inside. Still lives waiting. But not today, she couldn’t save everyone.

She circled to the passenger side and climbed in beside Meng Nian.

"Yu Song?" she asked.

"Already ahead with the first three," Meng Nian said as he started the engine. "They should be nearing the hotel."

Qingran gave a short nod, resting her arm on the window frame.

The nurse beside her in the back gave a soft sniffle, trying to suppress the sound. No one commented.

The SUV rumbled down the cracked road, weaving past overturned vehicles and dried blood trails.

The sunlight filtered through dusty windows, casting everything in a too-bright, too-cruel light.

Meng Nian glanced at her. "You alright?"

She didn’t answer right away. Her eyes were on the horizon.

"I don’t like leaving people behind," she said at last, her voice low.

"Could’ve fooled me with how you talked earlier."

"Well...I mean we could always squeeze her in"

Meng Nian chuckled lowly, he knew if Qingran wanted to leave anyone behind, she would, she was nobody’s and at the same time everyone’s savior.

"Alright everyone please keep quiet, there are zombies everywhere but as long as you’re quiet, you’re practically invisible.."

She parked the car and got down, the barricaded doors opening as she urshered them in.

Now that she had the survival count completed, she wouldn’t rescue anymore.

"Yuxi check them for bites. Meng Nian will take them to the 37th floor. They’re six in total so let them share a suite."

Meng Nian nodded as he urshered them to where Feng Yuxi was.

"After you’ve taken a good rest and had some food. Your work begins."