Surviving the Game as a Zombie - Chapter 109

Song Lengzhu’s expression tensed, and her back straightened in an instant.

“That won’t be necessary.” Her tone was calm. “I’m not used to showering with other people.” At that moment, she twisted the faucet handle so tightly that it made a creaking sound, a rather telling gesture.

The hand Tang Yu was using to offer the paper trembled, her expression a little strange. She turned and leaned against the transparent glass of the shower, scribbling furiously.

“I didn’t say together!!! You go first!”

After drawing the exclamation points, Tang Yu abruptly thrust her hand out, holding the notepad right in front of Song Lengzhu’s eyes.

What on earth was this woman thinking!

Song Lengzhu fell silent. With the notepad blocking her face, Tang Yu couldn’t see her expression.

Tang Yu pushed the paper forward another centimeter, emphasizing that Song Lengzhu should read it clearly.

Letting Song Lengzhu go first was a decision Tang Yu had made after some thought. Tang Yu was covered in the bl00d of zombies from the restricted zone, and being a zombie herself, it was hard to say whether the water splashing onto the glass walls would affect Song Lengzhu.

That was why she had offered the shower to Song Lengzhu first.

Unfortunately, her good intentions had been misplaced.

“…No need, I’m not showering.” Song Lengzhu moved her head out from behind the notepad.

She wasn’t as bold as Tang Yu, able to strip down in a strange room whose purpose was unknown.

Fine. Tang Yu took back the paper and sized up Song Lengzhu. This person didn’t really seem to need a shower.

Unlike her own filthy state, Song Lengzhu seemed to have freshened up after arriving in Xinzhou. She was no longer wearing the white T-shirt from the restricted zone, having changed into a common outfit of a tank top and a thin storm jacket. Aside from the bl00d on her lips, the rest of her was clean.

But Tang Yu was a different story. After leaving the restricted zone, she hadn’t found a place to wash up. Plus, she had just touched the arm of the toilet man—even though she later learned it was an illusion, Tang Yu still felt like she was stinking from the inside out.

If you stink, you shower. There was water and electricity here, and even small bottles of bath products. Why not wash up!

Tang Yu took back the notepad and wrote again: “Then you can leave.”

Song Lengzhu: ?

Song Lengzhu was shut out of the room.

The broken door could no longer be locked and could only be left ajar. She stood with her back to the door, her feelings complicated.

Before long, the sound of rushing water seeped through the crack in the door, mixed with the sound of off-key humming, which made Song Lengzhu feel restless.

The little zombie was actually humming a song.

What kind of mood was she in, and what song was she humming?

Song Lengzhu tried not to think about it, but the sound of the water seemed to take on a life of its own, drilling into her ears and forcing her mind to picture Tang Yu in the bathroom.

The lines of her arms, the wound on her abdomen that she herself had inflicted…

Song Lengzhu’s head snapped up. She came to her senses. She was done for.

After only a few hours alone, those budding emotions seemed to have found nourishment, fermenting and growing.

She kept her lips sealed, not saying a word, and walked away from the bathroom door, sitting down on the leather sofa with her back straight.

Her gaze passed through the coffee table in front of the sofa, unfocused. Song Lengzhu let out a long sigh and closed her eyes.

She wasn’t one to run from things; she was perfectly aware of the changes in her own heart. From the moment they started climbing the stairs, Song Lengzhu had noticed herself subconsciously paying attention to Tang Yu’s every move, her emotions being pulled along. This pull was very subtle, not strong. Her feelings had finally sprouted from the soil.

But the roots beneath the soil were already a tangled mess, having started to spread long ago.

When did it start? When she asked for her name? When she saved her in the ancient tomb? Or when she heard the zombie trio had appeared in the restricted zone and immediately led her team rushing to the southern province?

Or was it that moment her heart clenched in pain as she watched her on the verge of being killed?

Song Lengzhu pulled these secret, tiny fragments from her mind, laying them out before her, unraveling them one by one.

Or maybe it was none of those.

She found it hard to pinpoint a single origin.

Tang Yu…

Song Lengzhu closed her eyes and frowned.

The sound of water was completely gone now. In the darkness, Song Lengzhu felt like a farmer standing in a field with a dagger, staring at the wild weeds sprouting in the field of her heart, unsure of what to do.

Should she let them be? Or pull them out?

This kind of feeling, blossoming without knowing the other person’s background, was very dangerous.

It was just a seedling, after all. For her, uprooting it completely wouldn’t be difficult at all.

But making the decision wasn’t as decisive as she had imagined.

Song Lengzhu simply relaxed, leaning back against the sofa, and slipped her hand into her jacket pocket. Her fingers toyed with a plain black hair tie, twisting it in circles.

After an unknown amount of time, someone approached. It was the scent of rotten oranges mixed with some kind of shampoo.

Song Lengzhu didn’t move.

She felt the person draw near, and the scent in the air suddenly intensified.

Song Lengzhu opened her eyes to see Tang Yu’s magnified face and her outstretched finger.

The finger hovered just below her nose, as if checking for her breath.

“I’m still alive,” Song Lengzhu said.

The other’s eyes lit up, the intense worry in them vanishing in an instant.

“That’s great, I thought you were a goner,” Tang Yu mumbled. She had bent over so far she was almost right in front of Song Lengzhu. The tips of her soaking wet hair were still dripping, like a puppy just fished out of the water.

Tang Yu straightened up so the water wouldn’t drip onto Song Lengzhu.

“Did you shower with your clothes on?” Song Lengzhu frowned, looking at Tang Yu’s soaked tank top.

Tang Yu shook her head, made a gesture of taking off clothes, then rubbed her hands together as if washing something.

She had washed her tank top while she was at it.

But with no change of clothes and not wanting to run around naked, she had no choice but to wring it out and put it back on. Only the tool belt around her waist was dry.

Song Lengzhu: “…”

Never mind.

She looked at the bright eyes before her and, for the first time, felt she had lost the courage to look the other person in the eye, her gaze shifting away evasively.

Those wildly growing weeds… she would just let them live a little longer.

Anyway, she could pull away whenever she wanted.

Tang Yu felt that something was off with Song Lengzhu. This abnormality was very restrained; she seemed to be troubled by something.

But this person wouldn’t say a word.

It probably wasn’t something she could meddle in, Tang Yu thought.

A crisp notification sound echoed in Tang Yu’s mind. She paused for a moment, realizing it was a communication request from Jin Ye.

Jin Ye had contacted her through their one-on-one ally connection.

“Tang Yu!!” Jin Ye sounded urgent, her voice hoarse.

“I’m here, I’m here. What’s wrong? Did you run into an attack?” Tang Yu took a step away from the sofa and coffee table, pacing back and forth.

“What’s wrong with you! I couldn’t reach you, and you haven’t responded to the group messages.” Jin Ye’s voice carried a rare tone of anxiety and blame.

“I’m fine,” Tang Yu said with a puzzled “huh.” She switched to the group chat and saw dozens of voice messages explode in her head simultaneously.

Jin Ye and the others had arrived at the designated highway gate long ago, but when they tried to contact Tang Yu, they suddenly couldn’t get through. Jin Ye immediately determined that she was in danger and started driving back.

If she hadn’t managed to contact Tang Yu just now, she and Xiao Li might have already been back in Xinzhou in half an hour.

“Strange, it seems like communications were blocked just now,” Tang Yu muttered. Why would a room that exists within the game block the game’s own system?

To verify this, Tang Yu started walking toward the bathroom. “Jin Ye, don’t hang up yet. I’m going to test something. If the call cuts off, I’ll call you back later.”

Tang Yu took a step and crossed the threshold.

Click. She only managed to hear the beginning of Jin Ye’s “Okay” before the call was abruptly cut off.

Tang Yu didn’t immediately step back out. Instead, she stayed in the room and tried to summon the system’s electronic screen.

No response. Just as she had guessed.

Tang Yu walked out of the bathroom, deep in thought, her mind racing.

This room was very much like a safe room. It blocked system signals and had defensive illusions. But if it was a safe room, who was it for?

It certainly wasn’t for players, otherwise Song Lengzhu wouldn’t be unaware of it, nor had Jin Ye ever mentioned it.

While contacting Jin Ye again, Tang Yu pulled out the eyeball from her tool belt. “Jin Ye, have you ever heard of Anchor Points?”

“What’s that?”

“Looks like you don’t know. I’m investigating it right now.” Tang Yu toyed with the glass eyeball in her hand. “Song Lengzhu and I found a strange room, but we don’t know what it’s for. Now we just have more questions.”

“Song… why are you with her?” Jin Ye asked. “Never mind. How about we meet up first? We’re heading back to the ramp now. When do you think you’ll get here?”

“I…” Tang Yu had just remembered their plan to meet up. She looked at Song Lengzhu, who was resting on the sofa. She seemed to have promised to look after the injured party.

This was difficult.

Logically, Tang Yu felt she should just leave, meet up with Jin Ye and Xiao Li as soon as possible, and head back to the camp. They had come on this trip and were leaving in one piece, even gaining two new camp members. It could be called a fruitful journey.

But emotionally, Tang Yu felt that if she left now, the faint connection between her and Song Lengzhu would be severed.

They weren’t teammates, nor allies, just companions who had teamed up for a short while. Due to the system’s settings, they couldn’t even exchange contact information.

She had no idea when they would meet again.

Jin Ye heard the hesitation in Tang Yu’s voice and asked, “Is there still something you need to take care of at the library?”

Jin Ye had been present when Qi Jinyin mentioned Tang Yu’s origins, so she knew how important the library was to her.

“Not really…” Tang Yu felt a little guilty.

“It’s okay. As it happens, we were planning to find a place to rest near the ramp for the night and set off tomorrow morning. We’ve been busy all day and can’t drive through the night for long,” Jin Ye replied considerately. “But you’re with another team, so be on your guard.”

Jin Ye didn’t mention Song Lengzhu by name.

She was still somewhat wary of her.

“You’re the best, Jin Ye! I’ll be good to you for the rest of my life!” Tang Yu’s voice was high-spirited.

“That won’t be necessary.” Jin Ye didn’t seem to appreciate the sentiment.

“Then I’ll put in a few good words for you with Xiao Li.”

“Just shut up. Don’t make things worse,” Jin Ye quickly interjected, cutting off the communication.

Tang Yu collected her thoughts and saw Song Lengzhu watching her from the sofa, but when she looked closely, Song Lengzhu’s gaze had shifted elsewhere.

Song Lengzhu took out the other eyeball and asked Tang Yu, “Did you discover something?”

Tang Yu also sat down on the sofa, leaving a small distance between herself and Song Lengzhu.

She leaned over the coffee table, wrote something, and showed it to the other woman.

“The bathroom blocks system signals.”

“Yes, I noticed that earlier,” Song Lengzhu said. While Tang Yu was searching the bathroom, she had tried to contact Xiao Qi, to no avail.

“Right, while you were talking to your teammate, I thought of a possibility.” Song Lengzhu placed the glass eyeball on the coffee table and gave it a light flick. The eyeball was set in motion, spinning in a circle.

Whether by coincidence or not, the pierced pupil happened to be facing Tang Yu.