Not a single one of the five beast husbands looked at Xiao Jinsheng with a kind expression, yet bound by the shared fate of their marriage, they still sullenly washed her underwear.
The moment Xiao Jinsheng recalled the original plot – how her own reckless actions had pushed her five beast husbands past their breaking point, leading them to each stab her and choose mutual destruction – darkness swam before her eyes once more.
"You damn system, you lunatic!" she mentally shrieked. "You call these five bodyguards? You've sent me five butchers!"
Connecting the plot points with her current reality, Xiao Jinsheng realized the story had already progressed to the part where she had scorned Mo Jiao for his beast form being a black snake, only capable of slithering in the shadows, unlike the golden dragon of the neighbor's husband, which could soar through the clouds.
Therefore, she had secretly replaced Mo Jiao's wound medicine with sleeping pills and sold him off to the black market.
Yes, sold him.
And for a pittance.
She had received a single level-three crystal core, condemning Mo Jiao to become food for mutated beasts.
Mo Jiao had narrowly escaped death from the mutated beasts' jaws. After half a year of marriage, the accumulated rage towards Xiao Jinsheng had reached its breaking point, his only desire now to kill her.
And now, Xiao Jinsheng was surrounded by zombies. The other four beast husbands had discovered Mo Jiao's disappearance and had come out to search for him.
They all suspected Xiao Jinsheng was behind Mo Jiao's vanishing act, but unfortunately, they lacked proof. Even with evidence, they couldn't harm her due to their marital bond.
Despite their loathing for Xiao Jinsheng, while searching for Mo Jiao, the four men had no choice but to assign one of them to protect her, lest she court death and drag them down with her.
The white cat beastman, Yu Yunxiao, was the unlucky soul who had drawn the short straw to guard Xiao Jinsheng.
"Mo Jiao's disappearance… was it your doing?" Yu Yunxiao questioned, his face dark with suspicion.
Having already received the memories, Xiao Jinsheng turned her head away, refusing to answer.
In her mind, she called out countless times to the accursed system that brought death without compensation, but received no response.
If it hadn't been for this system initially mistaking her identity, killing her in preparation for transmigration only to realize its error, she wouldn't have been delivered into the hands of five butchers.
"Xiao Jinsheng, do you even have a conscience?" Although Yu Yunxiao's tone was sharp, it carried a note of sorrow. "If you despise us so much, then just agree to a divorce."
"You want to be bound to us, yet you abuse the terminal's protection to act inhumanely."
"Just get a divorce. Let's part ways amicably, so we don't grow to loathe each other even more."
"Divorce?" Xiao Jinsheng finally processed his words, her emotions settling. Her fair face puffed up like a pufferfish as she coldly snorted, "Want a divorce? In your next life."
Did he really think she didn't know that after a divorce, the bond between her and Yu Yunxiao would be severed?
If Yu Yunxiao wanted to kill her then, it would be easy and he wouldn't have to be buried with her.
Xiao Jinsheng soothed herself for a good while before resignedly accepting this mess.
Regardless of whether she liked these five men or not, a divorce? That was impossible!
With the terminal's existence, in the Misty Continent, their marital bond was her life insurance.
But if she didn't divorce, according to the plot, she would eventually be killed by these five beast husbands, each delivering a fatal blow.
Her life was only temporarily safe. Xiao Jinsheng understood that the most crucial thing right now was to find Mo Jiao.
She needed to completely sever Mo Jiao's desire for revenge after his escape from death.
Xiao Jinsheng mentally reassured herself for a few more seconds, then stood up with a determined air, full of energy. She turned to go save him from the black market, but her eyes went dizzy upon seeing the scene below her feet.
She was currently standing on the fourth-floor rooftop without any railings. Below the rooftop, the street was swarming with densely packed zombies.
The fragile college student's legs immediately went weak, and her body fell straight off the edge of the rooftop.
Yu Yunxiao, who was standing behind her, was so startled his fur stood on end. He leaped forward, grabbing her waist and swiftly pulling her back.
"Xiao Jinsheng!" This time, Yu Yunxiao was genuinely furious.
If he wasn't bound to Xiao Jinsheng by marriage, he would have gladly kicked her downstairs to feed the zombies himself.
"Divorce, divorce, divorce! I want a divorce from you!" Yu Yunxiao's mismatched gold and blue eyes narrowed into vertical slits due to his rage, and his soft white short hair and cat ears bristled with anger.
Xiao Jinsheng watched his appearance – filled with resentment towards her, yet forced into impotent fury due to their shared fate – and couldn't help but chuckle.
This laugh reignited Yu Yunxiao's anger. "Divorce—"
"Not happening," Xiao Jinsheng interrupted, suppressing her smile and turning towards the stairwell.
Seeing her dismissive attitude, Yu Yunxiao grew even angrier, chasing after her. "Causing trouble is one thing, but can you at least not make things worse? Would staying put kill you?"
"I'm going to save Mo Jiao," Xiao Jinsheng stated.
Hearing this, Yu Yunxiao gave a mocking laugh. "He should be thanking the heavens if you haven't killed him. Save him? Please."
"Believe it or not," Xiao Jinsheng said, not bothering to explain further. She really had no way to explain.
After all, it was indeed her body that had sold Mo Jiao to the black market.
Walking down the openwork iron outdoor staircase, Xiao Jinsheng tightly gripped the handrail. She was both afraid of heights and felt a bit hypoglycemic, not to mention the zombies lurking below.
To say she wasn't scared would be a lie.
But hearing the sounds of the person behind her, Xiao Jinsheng knew her safety was guaranteed.
At least for now, no matter how much resentment Yu Yunxiao held towards her, he wouldn't abandon her.
Sure enough, seeing her dawdling on every step, Yu Yunxiao couldn't help but reach out and hoist her up. "Either divorce me, or go home. Don't cause me any more trouble."
"Take me to the black market," Xiao Jinsheng demanded.
Unexpectedly, upon hearing "black market," a look of panic and even greater anger flashed across Yu Yunxiao's eyes. "You refuse to divorce me, and now you want to sell me off too?"
Xiao Jinsheng: "…"
Her previous vicious reputation was truly deeply ingrained.
"Mo Jiao is at the black market. If you keep dawdling, he'll be chopped into pieces and fed to mutated beasts."
"How can there be such a vicious woman in this world? Mo Jiao's disappearance was definitely your doing!" Yu Yunxiao gritted his teeth.
But knowing the urgency of the situation, he had no choice but to carry Xiao Jinsheng towards the black market.
At the same time, he sent a message to Xiao Jinsheng's other three beast husbands.
In a dim underground room, within an iron cage, was a long-haired man covered in blood, his purple eyes deep and intense.
His fingertip traced the black scales on his neck, and he forcefully plucked one off.
Fresh blood immediately welled up from his neck, flowing down along the remaining scales.
Smelling the blood, the mutated beasts in the surrounding cages turned their scarlet eyes towards him and began to riot.
Mo Jiao allowed his blood to drip onto the ground, quietly watching as the cage's defenses weakened under the mutated beasts' impact, about to break open.
A desolate smile curved his lips, his eyes filled with suppressed killing intent. "Xiao Jinsheng, you just wait to die."
Having quietly sneaked into the black market's arena and just found the entrance to the underground area, Xiao Jinsheng inexplicably felt a chill run down her spine.
She shivered, then nudged the person picking the lock. "Hurry up! If you're too slow, Mo Jiao will be eaten by mutated beasts."
"Realize the urgency now, do you? Where was this urgency earlier?" Yu Yunxiao retorted irritably.
Soon, he cracked the crystal core lock and slipped into the underground area.
Before even descending the stairs, he smelled a strong, pungent odor of blood mixed with dampness and mildew.
The restless growls of mutated beasts echoed from the underground.
"Something's wrong!" Yu Yunxiao exclaimed, simultaneously grabbing Xiao Jinsheng behind him. "Don't court death! Stick close to me later."