The Bigshot's Superstar Wife

Chapter 38: Crizelda

"Take it easy," Athena urged gently, her hand on his shoulder to keep him from overexerting himself. "You’ve been unconscious for a while. Rest for now."

Xianli blinked a few times, trying to collect his thoughts. "Where... where am I?" His voice was raspy, and his gaze darted around, confused.

"You’re safe," Mors reassured him. "We found you after the quake, but you were burning up with fever. We’re in a cave near the forest."

Xianli looked at them both, still disoriented. "The earthquake... it was... it came out of nowhere. Did we make it out in time?"

He winced as a sharp pain shot through his head. Athena quickly pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling his temperature had dropped to a more manageable level.

"You’re safe," she repeated, her voice calm but firm. "But we need to know what happened. Before the earthquake... Did you meet anyone?"

Xianli’s brow furrowed as he began to piece together his fragmented memory.

He swallowed hard, trying to recall the details. Finally, his expression cleared, and he spoke with cautious certainty.

"We met another team before everything... got crazy. It was a group with a long-haired woman, Crizelda... Daphne’s stepsister."

He paused for a moment, as if weighing his words. "She... she looked off, strange. I don’t know... something about her didn’t sit right with me."

You noticed something was wrong with that person’s appearance but disregarded your thoughts? How crazy could you be?

"They were left alone to talk. Daphne wasn’t in a good mood after that, and they ended up in a fight. We left before things got worse."

Athena and Mors exchanged a glance, both of them taking in Xianli’s words carefully.

They hadn’t told him about Daphne’s infection, nor did they mention the massive number of Zerg-infected beasts they had fought.

But Athena’s mind was already turning, her thoughts racing. Could there be a mystery when the sisters talked?

"Crizelda?" Athena repeated, her voice low, trying to understand what he had said. "Did you notice anything else unusual about her? Anything... strange?"

Xianli paused again, his hand reaching to rub his temple as if trying to recall more. "I can’t say for sure, but... there was something about the way she moved."

Could she be injured? Is this man really accepted in the military? How could he only notice such flaws? He didn’t even ask what happened to those pair.

Mors gave a heavy sigh, sitting beside Xianli and resting a hand on his shoulder to steady him. "The virus doesn’t show its full effects immediately."

"It takes time to take hold. The night before the quake, you said Daphne had developed rashes. Those were early signs of the infection. By the time you left, she was already at risk."

Xianli’s face paled, and his breath hitched. "The rashes... I should have noticed that it wasn’t ordinary... I..."

"It’s not your fault," Athena interjected quickly, her voice soft but firm. "The infection is insidious. It takes hold quickly."

Xianli ran a hand through his damp hair, still struggling to process the reality of what was happening.

"I... I should have protected her. I should’ve done something sooner..." His voice trailed off as he stared down at the ground, guilt, and regret mixing in his expression.

Athena placed a reassuring hand on his arm. "You couldn’t have known. None of us could have."

Mors nodded, his expression unreadable as he stood. "We need to act quickly. The longer the infection spreads, the harder it will be to contain."

Xianli, still looking shaken, glanced up at Mors. "But... is there anything we can do for Daphne? Can she be saved?"

Athena’s gaze grew serious, her lips pressing into a thin line. "We don’t know yet. We’ll have to find out, but the situation is dangerous."

"The virus spreads through the infected, turning them into puppets controlled by the Zerg. Daphne may not even be conscious anymore."

Xianli clenched his fists, frustration, and helplessness flooding through him. "So, we’re just going to leave her like that?"

Mors turned to face him, his tone unyielding. "We don’t have a choice right now. Our priority is to stop the spread of the infection."

"We can’t afford to let it reach the other regions. If we don’t act fast, more people will be infected, and the entire planet could be at risk."

Xianli took a deep breath, his shoulders sinking as he processed the information. He knew what had to be done, but the weight of his failure to protect Daphne was hard to shake.

His voice, though quieter now, held a firm resolve. "Then let’s make sure we stop this. For her... and for everyone else."

Mors nodded. "We’ll find a way to contain the virus. But first, we need to head out and locate the others before it’s too late."

Athena’s eyes were far away, planning what they would do next. "The virus is traveling faster than we can track. We have to move now. Every second counts."