The Villainess VTuber Tears People Apart

Chapter 97 - Repeat After Me



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【Virtual VTuber Gallery】

[Stream] Doesn’t Laura make you feel a little something, too?

(Hyperlink)

Why does she seem so good?

[Comments]

– Ugh, this yellow mutt…

– Shina got totally wrecked in the promotion match, so now she totally hates Laura, lol

ㄴ (Author) But in the end, she can’t resist her, right?

ㄴ You’re insane, lololol

ㄴ She can’t physically refuse her, right? Lol

– The main wife spot is already taken, dude

ㄴ (Author) She can be a concubine

ㄴ That’s bold of you;;

ㄴ Dating Sora, marriage with Rion, and an affair with Shina sounds about right

ㄴ You don’t get it, do you?

===

The way to save Shina.

It wasn’t even that grand of a method. It seemed that there was a vaccine at the SerenadeKR base.

“Oh my, did SerenadeKR manage to get a vaccine?”

“Yes. You can occasionally find them while searching through the medical facilities.”

Noa went on to explain that it seemed possible to find a formula to make the vaccine later on. I hadn’t known that. I managed to get some useful information.

‘Honestly, I don’t have a moral obligation to save her.’

Still, since I’d come this far, I thought I might as well help Shina.

Who knows how this game would progress from here on?

Some might say it’s extreme, but keeping Shina alive could be beneficial—or perhaps letting her die might be more advantageous.

It was hard to judge at this moment which choice would yield more profit.

When uncertain, it’s best to proceed in a way that can be reversed later.

What if keeping Shina alive led to problems? I could always kill her then.

On the other hand, what if letting her die caused issues?

There’s no immediate way to revive someone who’s already dead. I don’t even know how long it would take before cloning technology becomes available.

‘It might be good to extend some kindness in advance.’

I am confident in extending kindness and drawing out benefits from it. After all, I am the Villainous Noblewoman.

So, I decided to save Shina.

“Miss Noa.”

“Huh… Did you call me?”

“Oh dear, did the title offend you? I could use a different one if you’d like.”

Calling someone “Miss” was a habit from my days as the Ducal Family’s Lady. During my time at the academy, most of the people around me were noble ladies from somewhere or another.

When addressing them, I would typically say “Miss” or “Lady.” Miss Sora, Miss Rion, Lady Anna, Lady Ainatsu… Something like that.

It’s not a standard form of address, but I often call people “Miss” without thinking about it.

“Oh, come to think of it, you were the exiled Ducal Family’s Lady….”

Noa nodded, seeming to accept it. It looked like she thought it was just part of my role-playing.

“You can speak informally to me. I also debuted in summer.”

“Oh, did you? In that case, we’re technically colleagues, even if we’re with different companies?”

“Yes, exactly. Let’s get along well.”

“Let’s do that, then. Noa, I’ll carry Shina, so could you bind her securely?”

“Wait! I didn’t give you permission to be so casual with me! Why are you calling me by my name?”

Shina shouted, but I didn’t bother to pay attention.

“Are you alright with this, Laura?”

“Then can you carry her and run?”

“That would be… a bit much.”

Shina shook her head.

In this game, each avatar had hidden stats and skills. This was something I’d verified through cross-checking during the last three days of play.

For example, after making Rion drive constantly, her driving skills improved over time.

When I had Sora make portable or emergency rations, she unlocked a variety of cooking recipes. Her eye for ingredients also seemed to improve over time.

It didn’t seem like players could check their own stats or skills, but stats seemed to increase, and skills seemed to be acquired based on activities.

‘The infection level of zombies rises over time, after all.’

So, if players don’t grow to some extent, the game’s balance would skew.

Especially since I’d been focusing on combat and survival activities, it seemed like I had some stamina-related bonuses. Carrying Shina while running wouldn’t be a problem.

“Tie her up tightly so she won’t fall off me. And just in case, gag her as well.”

“Do I… really have to be carried by Aurora…? This is so humiliating….”

“If you keep talking like that, I’ll leave you here. Are you alright with that?”

“Ugh….”

Shina let out a deep sigh but ended up on my back. She should’ve just listened from the start.

After carrying Shina, I checked our equipment.

It seemed that Shina and Noa each brought a firearm, a shotgun and an assault rifle.

I let Noa keep the assault rifle, while I took Shina’s shotgun, just in case an opportunity to use it came up.

My gear consisted of a survival knife, a pistol, and one grenade.

I kept the grenade at my waist and held the knife and pistol in each hand.

“Follow me after I clear the way.”

I instructed Noa.

As we exited the staff lounge, I noticed zombies slowly approaching us.

Not many of them. There was no need to use a gun. I quickly approached and cut down the zombies’ necks.

Once the path opened, Noa and I entered the emergency stairwell.

“Noa, watch out for zombies coming down from above.”

“Yes, ma’am….”

“Shoot any zombies you see. But keep an eye on your ammo count, and make sure to let me know when you need to reload. Can you manage those three things?”

If not, I’d leave her behind.

I made sure my words conveyed that meaning.

“Y-yes, I can manage….”

“Good girl. …Oh dear.”

I realized something after speaking. I might have treated her a bit too much like a child. I guess the habit of handling Ainatsu was coming out.

Under such urgent circumstances, it seemed hard to maintain my “civilian” act. For me, my true self was the Lady of the Ducal Family, and pretending to be an ordinary person felt more like role-play.

In that sense, being a VTuber might be freedom for me.

And perhaps this environment was, too.

I bounded down the stairs.

Shina mumbled about being shaken up because I was jumping too forcefully, but I had no time to pay attention. Besides, with her gagged, I couldn’t understand her anyway.

Traveling alone and moving while protecting someone were vastly different. Mainly, I had to clear all the zombies in our way.

Honestly, escaping itself wasn’t too difficult. Jumping out of a window would be enough, wouldn’t it?

I’d be fine, but Noa wouldn’t, I’m sure. And leaping out with Shina on my back would be a significant risk even for me.

Thus, I had to clear out every zombie to ensure no harm would come to Noa or Shina. It was a tedious task.

“Be careful not to trip. Avoid stepping on zombie corpses.”

“Got it….”

Even so, navigating the stairs wasn’t particularly challenging. The staircase was narrower than a hallway. With Noa guarding the rear, I only had to deal with the zombies in front.

Thus, we could quickly and easily reach the first floor, where the real action would begin.

‘The distance to the exit is farther than I thought.’

If I were alone, I could brute-force my way out, but considering Noa following behind, it became a bit complicated.

No help for it. I’d have to proceed as usual.

“Noa, what’s Shina’s condition?”

“It’s been three hours since the infection time… Her face looks dazed.”

Reaching the first floor, I set Shina down.

Her face indeed looked blank.

She had an expression as though she wanted to say something to me, but her mouth didn’t seem to move well, and she seemed to speak less. I had heard that people start to lose rationality after three hours.

At least, she didn’t seem hostile, so it should be fine to leave her as she was.

“Stay here with Shina.”

With that, I ran toward the center of the department store’s first floor.

I raised my pistol and shot the zombie right in front of me.

-Bang!

The gunshot echoed loudly.

In response, the zombies’ attention focused entirely on me. That was my goal, anyway.

How many zombies could there be here?

Apparently, the department store was bustling with customers on the day the virus broke out. It felt like there were far more zombies here than in the bank or the fire station.

The key points of fighting multiple enemies were twofold.

Don’t face too many at once, and maintain the stamina to continue the battle.

After all, humans only have two arms.

At best, I could take down two enemies at once.

On the flip side, if three or more came at me, I’d have no choice but to risk taking hits. And therein lay the problem.

If I were dealing with one hundred common thugs wielding knives, I could afford to get hit a few times in a fight. I could take some hits, dodge some, and deliver my own strikes.

But my opponents were zombies. Even a slight scratch could potentially lead to infection.

To play with a “no hit” strategy, I had to ensure I wasn’t facing multiple zombies at once.

I tipped over a display case.

-Thud!

The display case toppled over, crushing several zombies underneath.

But that wasn’t the crucial part. The main point was that it created a temporary zombie-free zone.

I stepped onto the fallen display case.

A few zombies tried to climb up to follow me, but I had no intention of allowing them. As they approached in turn, I kicked them away or struck their heads when they got close.

I needed to prevent the zombies from closing in on me all at once.

Even a one-second delay between their arrivals would mean I’d only be fighting a single enemy at a time, repeating the fight with just one target.

This is why narrow spaces like hallways or staircases are convenient—they allow you to create a time lag for enemy approach.

In open spaces like this one, however, that advantage disappears.

Zombies swarmed in from every direction.

Left, right, front, back—all sides.

It was time to change battle positions.

-Whoosh!

I jumped.

With the height difference provided by the display case, plus my running momentum, I could leap over the heads of the zombies.

I stepped on a zombie’s head.

Despite not having any life activity, they were surprisingly sturdy. Likely because they hadn’t experienced a typical death.

Even with their heads stepped on, they didn’t collapse immediately, which worked in my favor—it meant my foothold wouldn’t give way.

I continued, stepping from one zombie’s head or shoulder to the next.

Once I reached a suitable open space, it was time to start fighting again.

In the end, these creatures had no intelligence.

Tactics and skills were my advantage, even if they had the numbers.

Now, it was simply a matter of whether I’d tire out first or if all the zombies would fall before that. It was one or the other.

“Laura! Above you!”

At that moment, Noa shouted.

Glancing up, I locked eyes with a zombie.

A mutated zombie clung tightly to the ceiling.

It vaguely resembled a reptile, and it even had a tail for some reason.

A Level 3 infection zombie.

It lunged straight at me.

“I already noticed. No need to yell.”

-Click.

I was already aiming a shotgun at its gaping mouth.

-Boom! Bang!

Flames erupted right in front of my eyes.

Meat chunks scattered all around.

“Don’t draw aggro unnecessarily.”

I said to Noa.

One “Mindcraft” source of aggro is enough, wouldn’t you say?

***

“Thank you so much for helping us!”

Choi Changyoung gave me a polite bow.

We were now in the new base for SerenadeKR, a small clinic.

Compared to my (now personally claimed) safehouse, the defenses seemed a bit lacking, but it was clear they had done upgrades in several places.

CCTV cameras were installed everywhere, and there was an emergency escape route in the basement.

“To think we’d receive help from Laura again… I’m not sure how to thank you.”

“Oh, I didn’t help for the sake of receiving thanks. As humans, we ought to help each other, don’t you think?”

-Bullshit, lololol

-What’s she trying to get now…

-This place is about to be confiscated

-Are SerenadeKR folks going homeless again?

-The Villainous Noblewoman can’t be kind, lolol

Such cynicism.

This time, I genuinely hadn’t helped them to receive anything in return. There was nothing I particularly wanted to demand.

If I extended some kindness now, it might come in handy later.

For now, that’s all there was to it.

“Um… do we have to leave here, too?”

Even Choi Changyoung seemed hesitant to believe me. Really, the lack of trust.

Of course, I didn’t ask them to leave. I’m a Villainous Noblewoman, not a demon.

Well, it was getting late, so it was time to head back to our base.

But before that.

“Shina.”

I called her name.

Her eyes, which had been unfocused, returned to their original clarity, and her complexion and dazed expression returned to normal. She had received a vaccine shot as soon as we arrived.

“…What do you want now?”

“It could just be my imagination, but I feel like I haven’t heard a ‘thank you’ yet. Could it be just me?”

“That tone of yours… it really ticks me off, you know?”

“Oh my.”

I gave her a sly smile.

“Ticks you off, huh? Really? Are you truly annoyed? Toward your savior?”

“You…”

“I’ve lived a long time in the Ducal Family, so Korean can be a bit hard for me. Ingrate…? Could you tell me exactly what that means?”

“Argh!”

Aka. Murasaki.

Shina screamed, but of course, she didn’t intimidate me in the slightest.

“Now then, Miss Shina. Repeat after me, please. ‘Thank you very much.’”

“Ugh… Th-thank you… for helping….”

“Oh my, I couldn’t quite hear what you said. Could you repeat that a bit louder?”

“I said, thank you for helping…!”

“Is that the way to speak to your savior?”

“Thank you very much for helping me….”

“Louder.”

“THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR HELPING MEEEEEE!!! You’re going to regret this!”

Since Shina had finally exploded, I returned to our base.

【Status of Survivors in ‘Great Ducal Family’ Group (4/4)】

【Aurora】

【Nekozuka Rion (Infected)】

【Tanabe Ainatsu】

【Ayanokouji Sora】


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