Surviving the Game as a Zombie - Chapter 102

Tang Yu counted silently. Just before Fang Yiming closed the distance to thirty paces, she moved.

She appeared for an instant, then vanished the next, her form leaving only an afterimage in the air.

Fang Yiming moved at the same time. The moment he glimpsed Tang Yu’s figure, a long, thin iron nail shot out from a nearby bookshelf, aiming for the spot where Tang Yu had just stood.

But it hit nothing.

The tall man behind him let out a sound of surprise. “It’s a woman?” He hadn’t gotten a good look, but based on her build and clothing, their target was a lone female.

His other female teammate jabbed him with the pommel of her knife. “What? Don’t underestimate women.”

The tall man waved his hand. “No, I mean, could it be that Song woman? Didn’t she show up in the restricted zone? Did she somehow make a detour to Xinzhou?”

“No, the build isn’t right,” the female teammate said, crossing her arms.

Fang Yiming’s expression soured when his attack missed. His assault had been incredibly swift; if the person had simply turned invisible again, his nail would have pierced them where they stood. Since the nail missed, it meant the person had already fled.

Fang Yiming turned his head, looking down the long aisle to the other side. The distance was too great for his Spatial Detection to pick up any fluctuations.

Interesting. The newcomer had more than one ability.

This piqued his competitive spirit.

“Black Scorpion, Ci Huai, spread out and surround them,” Fang Yiming ordered calmly. The two people behind him vanished from their spots. “Don’t be stingy with your abilities.”

“Got it,” Ci Huai’s response came back, her voice already sounding very distant.

Tang Yu teleported in one go to the farthest point she could see. Thanks to the library’s neatly arranged bookshelves, her teleportation was unobstructed, allowing her to cross an entire section.

She glanced over and saw a sign on a bookshelf that read “Central Section 3 – Eastern European History.” Based on her sense of position, she was now in the rear-central part of the library.

She couldn’t move toward the main entrance; another team member was stationed at the first-floor door, and getting too close would trigger the Zombie King mission.

Fortunately, this was a provincial-level library with a massive footprint. The other three sides had glass observation decks for people to look out from, so she didn’t have to use the main entrance.

Tang Yu didn’t linger. It wouldn’t take them long to catch up over this distance. She once again fixed her direction and blinked toward the observation deck at the back of the library.

Just as she was about to switch to Instantaneous Movement, Tang Yu felt a fierce gust of wind whip past her. How could there be wind indoors!

Tang Yu made a split-second decision, taking three steps back and instinctively arching backward. The sound of the wind grazed her face. She quickly realized it wasn’t wind at all, but a person wielding a knife, running past her at such a high speed that they left only an afterimage.

The next second, she saw the figure halt, turning back in confusion. In her hand was a Mongolian scimitar. It was the female teammate.

Tang Yu’s eyes flickered. At such a close distance, the other party should have triggered the mission.

But the woman didn’t rush to check her mission. She quickly raised a hand and blew a sharp whistle. The next moment, she pushed off the balls of her feet and charged toward Tang Yu’s previous position with her scimitar.

So fast. That was Tang Yu’s first impression. Ci Huai’s movement speed was almost comparable to a B-Class Zombie King’s. A human couldn’t possibly achieve that. Tang Yu quickly determined it was an ability.

The scimitar in Ci Huai’s hand was like a spinning fan blade, shifting through several thrusting techniques within a second, sweeping through the area where Tang Yu was in the blink of an eye.

It was too late to switch abilities now. Tang Yu had no choice but to raise her knife to meet the attack. The military knife and the scimitar collided, striking a long trail of sparks out of thin air. Tang Yu’s invisibility failed, and her figure began to materialize.

Ci Huai, however, didn’t engage in a direct clash. The moment their blades met, she twisted her wrist and slashed downward diagonally, aiming to sever the suddenly appearing hand in two.

This was someone who knew how to use a blade. The thought flashed through Tang Yu’s mind. Not to be outdone, she retracted her right hand, pivoted on her wrist, and circled around her opponent’s blade, secretly putting force into a downward chop. She was confident that Startling Dragon could break her opponent’s blade.

Perhaps the initial clash had made Ci Huai realize her opponent’s weapon was extremely hard, as she quickly withdrew her blade, avoiding Tang Yu’s entanglement. But the retreat was a feint, a prelude to another attack. Ci Huai used her retreat to advance, swinging her blade at Tang Yu once more.

With her back against the bookshelf and her elbow slightly bent, Tang Yu switched the knife from her right hand to her left in an instant. She then thrust forward with a backhand swing. The blades clashed, scraping out another shower of sparks.

Ci Huai glanced down and saw a slight dent on her scimitar. It was a good thing she’d pulled back quickly. She was inwardly shocked and uncertain. She couldn’t see her opponent’s face clearly in the darkness, but she could tell from every move that this person was an expert with cold weapons. Few players in the game used knives, and those who used them with such mastery were even rarer.

Within a few exchanges, Fang Yiming and Black Scorpion heard the commotion and rushed over. If she didn’t run now, she wouldn’t be able to. Tang Yu gritted her teeth and swung her knife fiercely at Ci Huai’s face. As her opponent dodged, she turned to flee.

But suddenly, Tang Yu felt the air around her solidify. The light gas abruptly gained weight, pressing in on her. Her body became incredibly heavy in that instant, her bl00d churned in her chest, and she couldn’t even lift her knife.

What kind of attack was this?

It wasn’t just her; Ci Huai’s movements also slowed to a crawl. She cursed through gritted teeth, “Fang Yiming, you bastard, you really don’t care if I live or die.” Her voice came out hoarse and strained.

In that same instant, iron nails were swiftly pulled from the surrounding bookshelves. They ignored the abnormal gravity in the area and hovered right in front of Tang Yu’s eyes.

In the nick of time, Tang Yu endured the immense pressure and activated her Instantaneous Movement ability. Her figure vanished and reappeared farther away, but the distance she moved wasn’t enough. The crushing pressure followed her like a shadow.

What no one expected was that in the next instant, Fang Yiming’s figure also disappeared from his original spot.

This time, not only Tang Yu but also Ci Huai and Black Scorpion were stunned, because where Fang Yiming had been standing, another woman’s figure had appeared.

A woman they were all very familiar with.

“Song Lengzhu!” Black Scorpion shouted. He had been close to Fang Yiming, but now his position had become a disadvantage. He subconsciously raised his gun to shoot.

Before he could finish her name, Song Lengzhu vanished again. In her place stood Ci Huai, who had just caught her breath. And Song Lengzhu herself was now standing where Ci Huai had been.

Black Scorpion couldn’t stop his shot in time. The bullet grazed Ci Huai’s shoulder. If Ci Huai hadn’t moved quickly, she would have been shot by her own teammate.

Tang Yu quickly understood. Song Lengzhu had demonstrated a new ability: she could swap her position with others.

She didn’t know where Song Lengzhu had sent Fang Yiming; he was nowhere in sight. The bizarre gravity also vanished with his departure.

Song Lengzhu shouted to Tang Yu from a distance, “Rendezvous on the first floor.” The next moment, a person holding a gun appeared where Song Lengzhu had been.

Tang Yu got the message. There was a stairwell right next to her. With a few uses of Instantaneous Movement, she traveled several times faster than walking. In a few back-and-forths, she reached the main entrance.

Song Lengzhu was waiting there.

Tang Yu stood before her, steadying her rapid breathing caused by her racing heart.

The heart that had been hanging in suspense suddenly felt like it had found a place to rest, dispelling the unease of infiltrating alone. Tang Yu had thought she wouldn’t run into Song Lengzhu in Xinzhou. Although Song Lengzhu had told her of her plans, and she had kept an eye out while passing through the city, she hadn’t encountered her until she had decided to leave Xinzhou.

Unexpectedly, that faint glimmer of hope was answered here.

“Your skills and courage have both improved,” Song Lengzhu praised with a soft sigh of admiration.

Song Lengzhu then pointed up toward the main hall. From here, they could see the walkways of each floor.

Somewhere on the fourth floor, Fang Yiming was leaning over the railing, looking down.

“My speed is limited. I only had time to get to the fourth floor,” Song Lengzhu said. If she’d had enough time, she would have even run to the top floor, hung herself from the ceiling somewhere, and then swapped positions with Fang Yiming.

After all, her Position Swap ability wasn’t limited by line of sight and had an effective range of a full two hundred meters.

Fang Yiming slammed his fist on the railing and turned away from the walkway, apparently heading down to pursue them.

“Follow me, quickly.” Before their enemies could catch up, Song Lengzhu turned and ran out the main entrance, with Tang Yu following silently behind her.

The two of them didn’t go far. They wound their way around to the back of the library, where there was a staff entrance and a freight elevator.

After entering the staff passage, Tang Yu realized they were back inside the library, only this time in the staff office area.

It seemed Song Lengzhu had been here for a long time and had familiarized herself with the library’s layout.

That was fine. Tang Yu didn’t want to escape just like that anyway. Everyone in Fang Yiming’s team had triggered the “Kill the Zombie King” mission. Although her identity was exposed, it also gave her an advantage; she no longer had to be constantly wary of her distance from other players.

“Activate Precognition,” Song Lengzhu said, making no attempt to hide that she already knew about Tang Yu’s ability.

Tang Yu switched her ability. The two of them slipped into a staff lounge, where Song Lengzhu turned on a small flashlight and placed it on an office desk.

The staff lounge wasn’t as neat and orderly as the public areas. Unprocessed books were piled in a corner, several folding beds were stacked next to a cabinet, and the computer and files on the only desk were askew.

How did you get here? Tang Yu pointed at Song Lengzhu, expressing her confusion.

Song Lengzhu didn’t respond. It was unclear if she didn’t understand or simply ignored the question. She cut to the chase. “Fang Yiming. His known abilities are four: Spatial Detection with a 20-meter range, Metal Manipulation with a 20-meter range, one Bl00d Clone, and a Gravity Field with a 10-meter range. He has other unknown abilities as well. Also, he’s the only player who can use two abilities simultaneously.”

Song Lengzhu rattled off a long string of crucial information.

Tang Yu had activated Precognition, so her reaction came even before Song Lengzhu’s words. She had already shown a surprised expression before Song Lengzhu even started speaking, and by the time she finished, her features were scrunched together.

How was this Fang guy so powerful? It completely exceeded her imagination.

Aside from Spatial Detection, all of Fang Yiming’s other abilities were almost purely offensive, and each could be combined with others to multiply their effects. Fang Yiming’s ability wasn’t controlling iron, but controlling metal—the two concepts were completely different, giving him a much wider range of control.

So, what Tang Yu had just experienced was the Gravity Field. If she had stayed under that pressure for a few more seconds, she was certain her eyeballs and internal organs would have ruptured from the force.

But how did Song Lengzhu know all this so clearly?

Tang Yu tilted her head and gave up on asking. Even if she did, Song Lengzhu wouldn’t answer.

Song Lengzhu looked at Tang Yu’s face, somewhat amused. This person was so expressive when she was with someone she knew. “You came looking for him without knowing any of this intel?”

Tang Yu nodded.

“Commendable courage,” Song Lengzhu commented.

Tang Yu suddenly felt like she was being teased.

“Among the people I know, his offensive capabilities are ranked number one. If you came here to kill him, it’s almost impossible.”

Tang Yu’s relaxed brows furrowed together again. Number one. This point bothered Tang Yu greatly. Fang Yiming was a player, and she was a Zombie King. If she managed to survive, Fang Yiming would be her number one rival.

She didn’t have any intention of killing Fang Yiming right now—she certainly lacked the power—but how would she deal with this person in the future?

Tang Yu thought far ahead, and her expression couldn’t help but turn serious.

“However…” Song Lengzhu propped herself up on the desk, looking up at the straight-backed Tang Yu. “I just discovered that your Instantaneous Movement is the perfect counter to Fang Yiming’s Metal Manipulation and Gravity Field. As long as you react fast enough and move far enough away before he attacks, he can’t hurt you.”

That was true, Tang Yu had tested it. Even under the increased gravity, her Instantaneous Movement was still effective. The only thing was, she hadn’t known the range of his ability before. The information Song Lengzhu just gave her filled that gap. As long as she wasn’t in a confined space and had a viable spot to escape to, she was absolutely safe.

Song Lengzhu felt a bit of a headache. When she was alone with the little zombie, she was often the only one talking. She was usually a person of few words, but now she had to be garrulous. She continued, “Fang Yiming’s weakness is precisely your strength. He has no spatial abilities he can use to escape. He didn’t before, and he doesn’t now.”

Even when Song Lengzhu swapped him to the fourth floor, he had to take the stairs down instead of teleporting.

This was the information Song Lengzhu had wanted to probe. Originally, she had planned to wait until she regrouped with Xiao Qi to test him, but Tang Yu’s appearance had helped her complete her reconnaissance ahead of schedule.

Tang Yu found a sticky note, bit off the pen cap, and wrote: “What was that ability you just used?”

Song Lengzhu replied, “Position Swap. It only works on me and one other living person.”

Coincidentally, this newly acquired spatial ability also happened to counter Fang Yiming. She could swap positions when he launched an attack and escape to safety. Unfortunately, this alone wasn’t enough to kill him. Fang Yiming was very skilled with his abilities; he could start and stop them at will. These little tricks wouldn’t hurt him.

Tang Yu let out an “oh.” The ability Song Lengzhu gained from killing a Zombie King was random, which seemed different from her own mechanism. After killing a C-Class Zombie King, Tang Yu had directly inherited its replication ability. If she had been the one to kill the B-Class Zombie King, she might have inherited an ability related to zombie control or mental powers. The rewards for players seemed more random.

Tang Yu wrote again: “What do we do now? Wait here?”

Song Lengzhu thought for a moment. “If you’re interested, you could join me in knocking Fang Yiming down a peg.” Killing Fang Yiming would take a great deal of effort for just the two of them, but teaching him a lesson would be much easier.

“My swap ability isn’t hindered by physical barriers,” Song Lengzhu said, getting up. She touched the lounge door and locked it with a click. “Remember to leave him breathing when you strike. I still need to swap our positions back.”

Song Lengzhu didn’t spell it out, but Tang Yu instantly understood what “joining forces” meant.

“Who are you going to swap over?” Tang Yu wrote, holding the note up for Song Lengzhu to see.

“The lookout. He’s a new recruit of theirs. You can handle him with ease.”

Tang Yu nodded. She raised her knife, placing it just in front of Song Lengzhu’s neck. Then, with her free left hand, she made an ‘OK’ sign.

Song Lengzhu shot Tang Yu a glare but forced herself not to flinch. This woman is ruthless, she thought. Not even afraid of slipping.

In the next instant, the person in front of Tang Yu changed to the man with the gun. The man clearly hadn’t figured out his situation before he saw an ice-cold blade slide past his neck.

Tang Yu frowned. She was used to killing with a single, fatal blow; leaving someone barely alive was actually harder to control. She had to lighten her force, slitting his throat and then adding another stab to his abdomen. Whether intentional or not, the wound’s location was exactly the same as Qi Jinyin’s.

After waiting two seconds, Song Lengzhu swapped their positions back. The moment she returned, she took three steps back, afraid Tang Yu might still be swinging her knife.

Tang Yu turned back to the desk and wrote: “Can you swap positions with a zombie?”

“No.”

“What a pity.” Tang Yu even drew a disappointed face at the end. If she could swap with zombies, she could just turn her enemies into zombies herself and wouldn’t have to master this “leave them breathing” balancing act.

Song Lengzhu looked at the vivid expression, her eyes filling with amusement. She took the sticky note, casually put it in her pocket, and said, “When I swapped over, I found they’ve already left the library. It seems they think we’re hiding outside. Also, Fang Yiming didn’t look too happy.”

Now that he’d see his companion with a slit throat, his expression would probably be even worse.

Tang Yu felt that Song Lengzhu might have a grudge against Fang Yiming.

Song Lengzhu said thoughtfully, “This isn’t enough. I want to swap Black Scorpion over too, but his abilities are superior to yours… How about this: I’ll count to ten. If you haven’t dealt with him in ten seconds, stop.” She looked into Tang Yu’s eyes and asked, “Can you do that?”

Tang Yu nodded solemnly and gripped her knife again.

This move was incredibly risky for both of them. If Tang Yu failed to take down Black Scorpion and he survived to return to his team, her location would be exposed. And Song Lengzhu was in even greater danger. This trick had already been used once. If Fang Yiming had set a trap on the other end, Song Lengzhu would face a life-threatening situation the moment she appeared.

Song Lengzhu looked at Tang Yu. “A reminder, Black Scorpion’s ability is to turn shadows into solid forms.”