Chapter 86: Zombie King x Ex-Girlfriend (8)

The moment the transport trucks rolled back into the library courtyard, Senior Sister Claire jumped down from the side panel, brushing a light layer of grey ash off her black sleeves. She turned her head toward the reddish-haired guy, gesturing dismissively with her chin toward Lyra, who was still clutching her bleeding left shoulder.

"Take her straight to the infirmary," Claire ordered flatly. "The Captain and I have important reports to deal with regarding the missing patrol squad."

The reddish-haired guy stopped dead in his tracks, pointing a finger at his own chest in absolute disbelief. "Me?!"

He gave Claire a desperate, pleading look, as if asking why on earth he had to babysit the very girl he had accidentally shot. But Claire completely ignored his silent plea, turning on her tall frame and walking away beside Kael without looking back even once.

Lyra let out a loud, dramatic huff, blowing a stray lock of hair off her forehead. "Fine! Lead the way, Red!" she grumbled, stomping her tactical boots as she followed behind his tall frame.

A few minutes later, they pushed open the quiet doors of the medical wing.

Dr. Richard looked up from his desk. The second his eyes landed on Lyra entering the room with a bleeding shoulder again, he didn’t even look surprised. At this point, her infirmary visits were practically becoming a scheduled daily routine

"Back so soon, Miss Vance?" Dr. Richard sighed softly, pulling out a fresh roll of sterile bandages, a bottle of disinfectant, and a pair of medical tweezers. "Sit down on the examination bed."

Lyra slumped onto the edge of the bed, wincing sharply as Dr. Richard carefully peeled back her bloody black jacket sleeve to treat the open wound.

"Oww! Hiss- !" Lyra winced, her eyes flashing with pure rage as she clutched the sheets

"Whoever the absolute asshole was that shot me on the library steps deserves a horribly painful death!" Lyra cursed out loud, her voice ringing sharply through the quiet room. "May his gun backfire into his face! May he stub his toe on a metal crate every single morning! May all his instant noodles be missing the seasoning packet forever!"

The reddish-haired guy, who was standing stiffly near the door with his arms crossed, suddenly froze completely! His shoulders went rigid, a light bead of cold sweat trickling down the back of his neck as he stared intently at the floorboards.

Dr. Richard glanced over at the stiff young officer, catching his nervous expression, and let out a soft, knowing chuckle.

Lyra whipped her head around, glaring suspiciously at the doctor. "Why are you laughing?! Do you know which blind idiot shot me?!"

Dr. Richard quickly cleared his throat, looking back at the reddish-haired guy before shaking his head with a professional smile. "No idea, Miss Vance. I just treat the wounds here."

"Tsk! Fine! I’ll ask someone else then!" Lyra huffed, crossing her uninjured arm over her chest.

The reddish-haired guy coughed awkwardly into his fist, shifting his weight. "Oh... I just remembered I have something important to do. I should leave- "

"Wait," Lyra interrupted, her eyes narrowing as she looked at him up and down. Her gaze landed directly on his right hand, where several deep scrapes and raw abrasions were bleeding against his knuckles. "You should treat those wounds too."

The guy looked down at his own hand, surprised.

Dr. Richard joined in, nodding in agreement as he prepped a fresh alcohol swab. "She’s right, Officer. You should get those scraped knuckles disinfected right now, or you’ll have serious trouble gripping your weapon during the next containment mission."

Reluctantly, the tall officer walked over and sat down on the stool beside Lyra’s bed, extending his hand toward the doctor.

As Dr. Richard carefully cleaned the raw scrapes on his knuckles, Lyra leaned in slightly, her dark, crystal-clear eyes staring intently at his hands, analyzing his calloused skin with a focused expression.

"Do you... use a heavy firearm a lot?" Lyra asked out of nowhere.

The reddish-haired guy let out a sudden, dry cough, his eyes flickering nervously before he quickly nodded. "Y-Yeah. I’m the primary marksman for the vanguard unit."

"Hmm..." Lyra hummed softly under her breath.

Whatever- she didn’t think too much of it. She was far too tired and hungry to play detective right now.

Seeing that she wasn’t suspecting his identity as her accidental shooter at all, the reddish-haired guy let out a massive, quiet sigh of relief. The second Dr. Richard finished wrapping his knuckles in a white bandage, the guy stood up like a launched rocket. "Thanks, Doc! I’m heading out!" he blurted, leaving the room so fast he almost tripped over the doorframe.

A few minutes later, Dr. Richard finished re-stitching Lyra’s shoulder and wrapped it in a clean, tight bandage.

Lyra stepped out of the medical wing into the main corridor, stretching her uninjured arm as she looked around the bustling library floor.

System, Lyra called out inside her head.

Ding!

[ YES, HOST! ] the System’s blue panel flashed brightly beside her shoulder.

"Where is the Male Lead right now?" Lyra asked, her dark eyebrows raising.

[ Target Kael Noctis is currently busy in the inner command sanctuary... clearing up all the evidence and records of the student council murders he executed today! ] the System whispered in a dramatic digital tone.

Lyra felt a sudden shiver run straight down her spine! She gave a slow, horrified nod. "Okay, yeah... I am DEFINITELY not interrupting him right now! Otherwise, he might decide to clear me up along with the evidence!"

Deciding to stay as far away from Kael’s murderous workspace as humanly possible, Lyra took a right turn, strolling casually down the wide hallway to explore the base.

"Oh, by the way, System," Lyra suddenly remembered, tapping her chin with a slender finger. "Who was that second handsome, ridiculously irritating guy?"

[ Who, Host? ]

"That reddish-haired guy!" Lyra grumbled, rolling her dark eyes. "The tall one I mistakenly took for the Male Lead back at the outpost!"

[ Oh! That’s... uh... ] the System stammered, displaying a locked character card with a big question mark over it. [ I can’t seem to unlock his official character profile metrics yet, Host! His full background will automatically unlock once his primary narrative sequence comes up in the main script! ]

Lyra hummed in indifference, letting out a soft "Hmph!" as she kept walking.

As she reached the central atrium of the 2nd floor, she noticed dozens of student survivors gathered around long wooden tables, sorting canned goods, cleaning utility gear, and organizing medical supplies.

Lyra’s eyes scanned their faces and her lips slowly curled into a mischievous smirk!

From the original host’s memories, she recognized almost every single one of these faces! They were the exact same arrogant, rich, and spoiled university classmates who used to laugh along when the original Lyra bullied Kael, and who had immediately turned their backs on her the second the apocalypse broke out!

Heh... since I’m bored and waiting for the next main plot trigger, Lyra thought, her dark eyes sparkling with wicked amusement, let’s go annoy them a bit!

The second Lyra stepped into the bright atrium in her sleek black vanguard uniform, her soft dark hair falling over her shoulders and her fair skin glowing, several former male classmates instantly spotted her!

"Whoa... Lyra?!" a wealthy former classmate gasped out, his eyes bulging as he quickly stood up from his chair, posturing himself to look impressive. "Lyra, you’re back from the mission area! Are you alright? Come sit over here with us!"

Four other male students immediately crowded around her, trying to strike up a conversation, their eyes full of blatant admiration and desperate flattery.

Lyra stopped dead in her tracks, raising a slender, delicate hand in mid-air, her face twisting into a look of absolute, dramatic disgust.

"Ew! Stay away from me, you guys!" Lyra barked out, her clear voice carrying loudly across the quiet atrium. "You guys stink like stale sweat and old canned beans! Don’t come anywhere near my outfit!"

The male students froze mid-step, their faces flushing bright red with pure humiliation as the surrounding survivors snickered softly!

Before Lyra could take another step to enjoy her petty victory, a soft, unbelievably gentle, and sorrowful voice suddenly rang out from the far side of the reading nook:

"Classmate Lyra... how can you treat our fellow classmates like this in such difficult times?"

Lyra’s dark eyebrows furrowed sharply. She slowly turned her head toward the source of the voice.

Stepping out from behind a white medical screen was a girl bathed in the soft afternoon light.

She had long, shimmering golden hair that fell in silky waves down her waist, soft hazel eyes filled with deep compassion, and was wearing a immaculate, pure white healing robes- it was none other than Seraphina Gold, the original Female Lead of the world!

Seraphina walked forward with gentle, graceful steps, looking at Lyra with a gaze full of righteous, sorrowful disappointment.

"We have all survived a terrible tragedy together, Lyra," Seraphina said softly, her sweet voice echoing across the attentive atrium as every survivor turned to watch. "Everyone here is working so hard to contribute to the base. How can you still be so arrogant, mean, and cruel to those who are simply showing you kindness?"

The surrounding classmates immediately began nodding in agreement, whispering among themselves!

"Yeah! Seraphina is so right!"

"She thinks she’s still a spoiled rich princess just because she wears a vanguard jacket!"

"Seraphina is so kind and gentle... unlike her!"

Lyra stood in the middle of the atrium, her arms crossed over her chest, her dark eyes narrowing into sharp slits as she stared at the glowing golden-haired saintess standing before her.

Ding!

A bright blue screen popped up right beside Lyra’s face, pulsing with gold warning lights!

[ CHARACTER MATCH TRIGGERED! ]

TARGET: Seraphina Gold (The Original Female Lead)

STATUS: High Social Influence & Holy Healing User!

SYSTEM ADVICE: MAINTAIN A DIPLOMATIC FACADE TO PREVENT POPULARITY METRIC LOSS!

Lyra let out a low, cold scoff, a captivating smile slowly spreading across her rosy lips.

"Cruel...?" Lyra repeated raspy and sweet, taking a slow, graceful step toward the Female Lead. "Seraphina... while you were sitting comfortably in this clean atrium giving speeches about ’kindness’, I was out on the front lines taking a bullet to the shoulder while saving the Captain’s life."

She tilted her head, her dark eyes flashing with absolute dominance as the entire atrium fell into a dead silence!

"So tell me..." Lyra purred coldly, her voice dripping with venom. "...What exactly have you done today besides looking pretty?"

Seraphina’s gentle face paled instantly! Her hazel eyes widened in speechless shock!