Surviving the Game as a Zombie - Chapter 113

The next day, Tang Yu got out of bed with a yawn. Lu Lu was about to head out with a file in her hand. Seeing Tang Yu’s face, she couldn’t help but tease, “Were you out stealing chickens last night?”

Tang Yu’s hair was a mess, and she shuffled along in a daze, yawning so much that her eyes teared up. She didn’t look to be in high spirits.

“Insomnia,” Tang Yu replied lazily, stuffing a notepad and a pen into the pocket of her work pants.

“A zombie like you can get insomnia?” Lu Lu said with a laugh as she walked out. “I’m off to work. See you later.”

Although she was the general manager, she still had to do work for the tool group on a daily basis. There were no idle hands in the village. Perhaps it was the atmosphere, but everyone was diligent and responsible, and slackers were rare.

Even Tang Yu, who had just returned to the village, was no exception.

“Yeah, I’ll go find Auntie Zhu in a bit,” Tang Yu said, heading to the washroom to splash some water on her face and wake herself up.

She didn’t know what time she had fallen asleep last night. After the thoughts in her head finally subsided, she had a series of bizarre dreams. It felt like she hadn’t slept for long before the roosters in the coop began to crow one after another, their calls echoing throughout the village.

The sky had just brightened, and the sun wasn’t too scorching yet.

After washing up, Tang Yu went into the courtyard and felt the clothes hanging out to dry. The shirt Song Lengzhu had given her was clean and had been blown by the early summer night wind all night, feeling cool and smooth to the touch.

Tang Yu folded the shirt neatly. She felt it wasn’t right to leave it on the headboard, so she stuffed it into her backpack. She straightened up and thought for a moment, deciding that wasn’t right either. It would get wrinkled in the bag. Even though it wasn’t a material that wrinkled easily, it just wouldn’t do.

She took the shirt out again, holding it in her hands, unsure of what to do with it.

If she returned the shirt to Song Lengzhu, the other woman probably wouldn’t want it back—after all, a zombie had worn it. It would be a waste to wear it for farm work; it was such a nice shirt, and she didn’t lack clothes in the village.

For the first time, Tang Yu felt she was being indecisive. She sighed, placed the shirt next to her pillow, and decided not to worry about it anymore.

By the time Tang Yu got to the kitchen, Xiao Li was already there helping Auntie Zhu prepare breakfast. Work in the village was different from in the city; three meals a day had to be eaten on time and in set quantities. Otherwise, ordinary people wouldn’t have the strength to work. During hot weather, they would even add a fourth meal in the afternoon.

Breakfast and lunch were mostly filling staple foods, while dinner was usually richer and lighter.

Auntie Zhu was pinching pieces of dough into the pot. Since Tang Yu didn’t handle food much, she helped by adding firewood and chopping some wood.

“Do we have enough food?” Tang Yu asked.

“Auntie Zhu said we scored a lot of oil, rice, and flour from that logistics warehouse last time. It’s enough to last us a while, don’t worry,” Xiao Li said, rolling up her sleeves to help Auntie Zhu stir the soup to prevent the dough pieces from sticking together.

Hearing Xiao Li, Auntie Zhu knew what they were talking about and chimed in, “It’s enough. Oh, by the way, a couple of days ago, I saw some domestic pigs on the back mountain. I was thinking we could go look for them together when Xiao Tang got back.”

“Pigs?” Tang Yu lifted her head from the stove, her eyes peeking out.

“They should be like those chickens, escaped from the village before. It would be great if we could find a couple to bring back.” Auntie Zhu was beaming, unable to stop smiling. “Oh, oh, and cows! Granny Mei and the others have been working so hard tilling the fields. It would be even better if we had a cow.”

“Alright!” Xiao Li’s playful spirit was ignited. She had been seriously injured and bedridden during the chicken-catching incident and couldn’t go. “I’m going on this pig-catching trip too.”

After breakfast was ready, Tang Yu called for the members working around the village to come back and eat. She took the opportunity to make a round of inspections.

Li Xishi had already returned with his team after releasing the fish fry, carrying several large red buckets. Tang Yu had woken up late and missed this major event, not even seeing a single fish.

She greeted Li Xishi and called back the aunties who were weeding the fields and building foundations before detouring to Zhou Zhou’s courtyard.

Zhou Zhou was teaching Jian Che some basic knowledge. The two of them had moved small stools and were sitting in front of a pile of medicinal herbs that hadn’t been spread out yet, murmuring about something.

Tang Yu was somewhat glad that Zhou Zhou wasn’t a zombie and could still converse fluently with an NPC.

Zhou Zhou was very serious when she worked, wearing a stern, unapproachable expression even when teaching a child. Tang Yu stood aside and watched for a while, noticing that Jian Che was a quick learner. She remembered things after Zhou Zhou explained them once and could even repeat them in her own words.

“Time to eat,” Tang Yu said, having to interrupt as the two showed no signs of stopping. Only then did they get up and follow Tang Yu to the courtyard where they gathered.

Tang Yu moved next to Jian Che and asked her via the notepad, “How are you getting along with Zhou Zhou?”

“She’s like a dean of discipline,” Jian Che commented sharply. “The kind that peeks through the door.”

Zhou Zhou’s reputation had been tarnished.

After breakfast, Tang Yu, Xiao Li, and Auntie Zhu headed up the mountain. After walking for over half an hour, they reached the “crime scene” where Auntie Zhu had spotted the domestic pigs.

It was a small mountain hollow. Judging by the terrain, there must have been a stream or river here before, but it had now dried up, leaving behind soft, damp sand. The sand was covered in animal tracks of all shapes and sizes—three-toed, four-toed, crescent-shaped, and paw-printed.

Some animals had fixed routes, often treading a path through the forest. This riverbed was one such route for many animals.

Auntie Zhu had lived in the countryside and was experienced. She pointed to a four-toed print. “This, this is a pig’s hoofprint.”

Though it was four-toed, only the front two prints were particularly deep, while the back two were barely visible. “But I don’t know if it’s a domestic pig or a wild boar,” Auntie Zhu said.

Wild boars couldn’t be captured; they were too feral and couldn’t be tamed. The domesticated pigs were Tang Yu’s group’s target.

The tracks were fresh and led down along the riverbed. The three of them walked on the soft soil, following the tracks. The terrain got lower and lower, and soon they arrived at a place they had never been before.

This was a flat, low-lying area in the valley, overgrown with reeds and calamus that were half a person’s height. At first, they didn’t notice the change in the ground, until Tang Yu felt a dampness on her feet and realized her shoes were soaked.

Xiao Li suddenly nudged Tang Yu. “Look, what’s that?”

Pushing aside the sharp reed leaves, they saw a wide, open shallow wetland. Tang Yu first spotted a few ducks among the waterweeds. She couldn’t tell if they were domestic or wild. They were gathered together, occasionally dipping their long necks into the water with their tails high in the air, as if foraging in the mud.

Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t just ducks. In the reeds to their right was a grayish-black water buffalo, with only half its head visible as it drank. A broken piece of its nose rope dangled in the water, showing signs of wear.

“A cow!” Auntie Zhu was so thrilled she almost cried out, but she quickly stifled the sound.

For a moment, all the creatures in the reed marsh perked up their ears alertly. After a moment of silence, they returned to their leisurely state.

The grass and waterweeds here were lush, and the reeds provided cover. It was surprising how many creatures were hidden here.

Tang Yu made a shushing gesture, first using her material search function to take a picture of the ducks and the water buffalo. Then, with a flicker, she vanished from her spot. When she reappeared, she was already on the buffalo’s back. She leaned over, grabbed the dangling piece of nose rope, and pulled back hard.

The water buffalo let out a moo, shaking its head from side to side. It lifted its front hooves and charged into the wetland, trying to throw Tang Yu off.

However, a domesticated cow was ultimately more docile. After a brief standoff with Tang Yu pulling the rope, it quickly quieted down.

Tang Yu jumped off the cow, her foot landing in the shallow water, and led it by the rope toward Xiao Li.

“Tang Yu! Amazing! Using an ability to catch a cow is basically cheating,” Xiao Li exclaimed, running over happily, which scared the ducks into the reeds with a flutter.

This water buffalo had deep scars on its body, likely from being clawed by a large animal. Being a domesticated cow with a gentle nature, it had probably suffered a lot out in the wild.

Auntie Zhu happily took the nose rope. She hadn’t expected to find a cow before finding any pigs.

Tang Yu scanned the reed marsh and set the water buffalo as a search target, but unfortunately, there were no other water buffaloes here.

However, there were plenty of ducks. The beeping of the system was constant. It seemed many ducks had made nests and laid eggs in the reeds, reaching a point of proliferation. The environment here was very suitable for them.

The three of them weren’t greedy. They only took six ducks and a few duck eggs, leaving the rest to live here.

They would be coming back often anyway.

While searching through the reeds, Tang Yu saw several flattened patches of grass. It seemed that besides the water buffalo, there were other large animals here.

As Tang Yu searched cautiously, thinking it might be some dangerous beast, she suddenly spotted a pinkish-white hind leg and a slightly curly tail sticking out of a patch of grass.

“Pigs, pigs, pigs!” This time, Auntie Zhu’s actions were faster than her words. Before she could even process it, she had already dashed out.

Pork! She couldn’t let the pork that was practically in her mouth get away.

The chase revealed that there was more than one pig hiding. Three small adult pigs scattered in all directions, oinking chaotically.

Tang Yu immediately transformed into a pig-catching champion. But you couldn’t ride a pig, and there was no nose rope to pull. Tang Yu didn’t dare to use too much force, afraid of turning the pork-to-be into a zombie pig. And so, three people and three pigs staged a grand chase in the reed marsh.

By the time a squeal like a pig being slaughtered echoed through the valley, Tang Yu had already grabbed a few handfuls of grass stems and tied up the piglet’s hooves.

“There, there, piggy, we won’t eat you,” Tang Yu cooed as she tied it up, her hands showing no mercy.

“Like hell anyone would believe you,” Xiao Li said, helping to hold the pig’s legs, laughing so hard she bent over. “You’re practically drooling.”

This trip was a great success, but the three of them couldn’t carry so much back. So, Tang Yu contacted Jin Ye, Lu Lu, and Zhou Zhou.

Upon hearing they needed help moving things, Zhou Zhou immediately disconnected from Tang Yu. In the end, Zhou Zhou didn’t show up, but Jian Che did.

What a fine example of exploiting child labor.

While waiting for the others, Auntie Zhu discovered that many water celery and watercress plants were growing in the shallow parts of the wetland. Unable to stay idle, she plucked several handfuls. She also found a large patch of lotus leaves. The lotus flowers had already formed buds, looking tender and pink.

Auntie Zhu’s face lit up with joy, but she didn’t touch them. These lotuses were growing luxuriantly; if cultivated on-site, the camp might have lotus roots to eat in the future.

Besides that, the wetland ecosystem was excellent, with many useful resources. Even the reeds could be used to make brooms or stuff pillows. It was truly a major discovery to be recorded in the camp’s history.

Under the midday sun, everyone returned, fully loaded.

The water buffalo and domestic pigs were penned up. The ducks were kept in cages for a while until they became accustomed to their new home, after which they were allowed to roam free, looked after by two young girls, Huang Xinxin and Li Qianqian. They often went to the rice paddies to eat snails and small insects, and their droppings served as excellent fertilizer for the fields.

Two days passed uneventfully. Jian Che had used a scalpel to debride the necrotic flesh from Qi Jinyin’s wound, and it was healing much faster.

After cleaning the wound, Jian Che was in a daze, her hand holding the scalpel trembling, but the young girl kept a straight face and didn’t make a sound.

Performing surgery on someone close to her, and a rushed surgery at that after only two days of learning, had a huge impact on her fifteen-year-old mind.

Because of this, Zhou Zhou and Xiao Li took turns giving Jian Che psychological counseling. Tang Yu, Jin Ye, and Qi Jinyin couldn’t communicate with Jian Che, so they could only encourage her with gestures and looks.

Jian Che pursed her lips and said, “It’s okay, don’t worry.” For the rest of the afternoon, no trace of panic could be seen on her face.

But that night, during the hot pot dinner, Jian Che didn’t touch a single piece of chicken or fish.

After the crowd dispersed, Tang Yu held a meeting with Jin Ye, Zhou Zhou, and Xiao Li. The four of them moved small stools to a corner of the courtyard and sat in a circle.

Tang Yu said worriedly, “I’m a bit worried about Jian Che. She worries too much and keeps her thoughts bottled up. She doesn’t seem like a child.”

Zhou Zhou was unconcerned. “I think it’s fine. I like dealing with mature and steady people.”

Tang Yu and Xiao Li were taken aback, both feeling like they were being targeted.

Zhou Zhou continued, “Don’t worry. Her experiences are unique, so it’s normal for her to be thoughtful. It’s not necessarily a bad thing for her. Not everyone can accept things as quickly as Tang Yu.”

Tang Yu blinked. That wasn’t quite right; she couldn’t either.

Jin Ye thought for a long time before speaking. “Jian Che is special. It might sound heartless for me to say this, but she is a piece of code with a strong self-learning ability that has undergone a mutation. From the game’s perspective, her very existence is a huge variable. I was a little worried when Tang Yu and Xiao Li wanted to bring her back to the camp… but now it seems like it was a good decision. If Jian Che were in another environment, it’s hard to imagine what she would become. At least in the camp, there isn’t as much conflict and killing.”

For a moment, all eyes were on Jin Ye.

Jin Ye’s words were cold. She stated bluntly that she didn’t fully see these NPCs as real humans. Deep down, she had her concerns, though she rarely mentioned them.

This statement made Tang Yu and Zhou Zhou feel a tightness in their chests, but they had to admit that the second half of what Jin Ye said was reasonable.

The fact that the camp had maintained a healthy atmosphere and developed to this point was the result of everyone’s hard work. Take the aunties, for example. Were they inherently good-natured? Tang Yu and the others knew very well that they weren’t.

Humans are social animals who, like chameleons, unconsciously change their colors to blend into society. In other words, they are heavily influenced by their surroundings.

If the environment is positive and encouraging, the camp members will be inspired to show their greatest kindness and will voluntarily restrain behaviors that are detrimental to the camp’s development. If the people around them are malicious, even the kindest person will become extreme and irritable.

The same was true for these NPCs, who were based on real humans.

Tang Yu was certain that if her camp’s atmosphere hadn’t been established with strict rules from the beginning, and if everyone hadn’t worked together towards this goal, even the same aunties might have acted in a completely opposite manner.

Xiao Li said dejectedly, “Then we have to be nicer to Jian Che and teach her good things. Hey, I suddenly feel the pressure of being a parent… Wait, I’m not that much older than her.”

Zhou Zhou said, “No need. Just interact with her naturally. As her teacher, I’ll keep an eye on her condition. Speaking of which… she asked me a question yesterday.”

“What?” Tang Yu asked.

“She asked if the camp has a computer. I asked her what she wanted a computer for, and she said she wanted to research a language conversion system.”

“Ah…” Tang Yu said thoughtfully. “It’s because she can’t understand what Qi Jinyin is saying, right?”

“And your conversations with Jin Ye.”

Jin Ye said, “This is the first time I’ve seen an NPC with such high initiative. But she clearly knows this is likely a game setting, and that current computers and programming languages can’t solve this problem.”

Zhou Zhou pushed up her glasses and said gravely, “Yes, but don’t forget… she herself is a part of the game.”

Zhou Zhou’s words sent a jolt through them. A thought flashed through Tang Yu’s mind like lightning. She shot up to her feet. “I’ll find one for her! Next time we leave the village, we’ll find a working computer.”

“Okay,” Xiao Li and Jin Ye agreed without objection.

Zhou Zhou softened her tone. “By the way, when are you guys leaving the village next?”

Xiao Li propped up her chin. “Let’s wait for things to cool down a bit. You have no idea how chaotic the forums are.”

She updated them on the current situation.

Ever since Tang Yu became a Zombie King and successfully escaped the restricted zone, countless threads discussing the zombie trio had popped up, detailing the events that took place in the zone.

Not many people had made it out of the restricted zone alive, but after the posts were made, the news spread like wildfire. The players who had been following the forums started a new wave of condemnation, even more intense than before.

The theories were all over the place. Some said Tang Yu and Jin Ye were players, some said they were final bosses, some said they were NPCs, and some said they were mutated creatures. The rumors were bizarre and grew more and more outrageous, with many of them outright stripping Tang Yu of her humanity.

Among them, there were plenty of wild claims and personal attacks. After all, the forum was anonymous, and posters were only identified by a random string of numbers that changed each time.

The only good thing was that the forum didn’t allow pictures, videos, or voice messages. It was difficult to identify the zombie trio’s appearance from text descriptions alone.

After all, descriptions like “eight feet tall,” “built like a tiger,” and “green-faced with fangs” had all appeared.

Tang Yu rested her head on her hand and asked, feigning indifference, “Was Song Lengzhu mentioned?”

Xiao Li glanced at Tang Yu, then remembered that their two teams had cooperated in the restricted zone and had been seen by other players. It was normal for Tang Yu to have such a question.

So she scrolled through and reported, “Yeah, a lot.”

“What did they say?” Tang Yu dropped her arm and sat up straight.

“They said… uh, that the D-rank Zombie King is Song Lengzhu’s pet.”

Tang Yu shot to her feet with a clatter, the small stool behind her flipping over and landing upside down.

“Nonsense! That’s an insult to my character,” Tang Yu said, her face flushed with anger.

Jin Ye tugged on Tang Yu’s sleeve soothingly, righted the stool, and pulled her back down. “Are you really taking the comments on the forum to heart? They also called you an ugly old hag. Why aren’t you angry about that?”

Tang Yu snorted a few times. “I’m angry about that too. I’m angry about all of it. If I ever catch them, I’ll give each of them a swipe of my claws.”

“Oh—” Xiao Li continued, “Also, they said Song Lengzhu isn’t that amazing, just pretty, and that she’s just faking her cold persona. Who knows what shameful means she used to cheat her way to those points, maybe she relied on…”

Xiao Li knew it was a bad idea halfway through reading. Her voice grew quieter and quieter, until she and Tang Yu both shot up from their seats, both furious. Even Jin Ye’s face showed indignation.

“Although I don’t have particularly warm feelings for Song Lengzhu,” Xiao Li said, turning to kick the stool over again and putting her hands on her hips. “What kind of garbage are these trashy people spouting! So what if she’s both beautiful and powerful? Is it so hard to admit that someone is better than you? They think just because the game gave them a little initial physical fitness, they’re hot stuff. A stinking loach dips in some seawater and really thinks it’s seafood. They don’t even bother to hide their filthy thoughts in the game anymore!”

After her tirade, she still wasn’t satisfied, so she righted the stool and kicked it over again.

Unlike Xiao Li’s shared outrage, Tang Yu was silent, her lips pressed tightly together. The knuckles of her clenched fists were white, and a furious flame flickered in her eyes. A strong killing intent suddenly emanated from her.

“What else?” she asked, her voice low and suppressed.

Only then did Xiao Li realize that standing next to Tang Yu, she felt a kind of pressure, a pressure that made her instinctively afraid.

“I… I’ll look again. Don’t be angry.”

Xiao Li scrolled again, this time skipping the nonsense and looking for more critical information.

“Someone suggested ganging up on Song Lengzhu,” Xiao Li said, rolling her eyes. “They don’t even know their own limits. Oh, the replies are from more rational players, saying that few can beat Song Lengzhu, and that she has never shown her full strength to the public.”

“There are also people defending Song Lengzhu, saying she’s not on the same team as us. The replies below say that unless Song Lengzhu attacks the Zombie King in front of everyone, they won’t believe it…”

“What is all this nonsense?” Xiao Li decided to stop reading the posts to save herself the trouble. Reading too much of it just made her feel like her eyes were dirty.

Tang Yu remained standing. She asked, “Are there many threads discussing Song Lengzhu?”

“Far fewer than us, about a third, I’d say. After all, people are still wary of Song Lengzhu’s strength. Look, the only ones who can beat Song Lengzhu are those stronger than her, and I don’t think people stronger than her have the time to spew filth on the forums.” Xiao Li rarely used such strong language; she was genuinely angry.

Of course, the camp’s theory applied here as well; if she read a few more posts, her peaceful state of mind would be affected.

Tang Yu unclenched her fists and sat down on the stool, but the gloomy aura around her did not dissipate for a long time.

As Xiao Li said, she probably didn’t need to worry about Song Lengzhu’s safety, but those crazy words had become a dark cloud in her heart.

It seemed that not only was she caught in the storm, but she had also dragged Song Lengzhu into the center of the controversy.

Does Song Lengzhu read the forums? Would she care?

Tang Yu felt a stifling anger in her chest. She didn’t want to let a single one of those foul-mouthed players go.

Zhou Zhou rested her chin on her hand, watching Tang Yu’s reaction with a gentle smile. She didn’t feel much anger; she had heard similar words many times and no longer cared. From what she knew of Song Lengzhu, Miss Song probably didn’t care either, and wouldn’t even bother to give these ants the time of day.

What interested Zhou Zhou more was Tang Yu’s reaction. She had never seen this side of Tang Yu before. Regardless of whether Tang Yu’s concern for Miss Song stemmed from the same psychology as Xiao Li’s or something else, just looking at her anger, the change in Tang Yu’s aura was too obvious, so obvious that everyone present couldn’t help but notice.

Zhou Zhou always felt that Tang Yu had undergone a subtle change since returning from Xinzhou. Tang Yu would occasionally reveal an unconscious sense of pressure, as if she was becoming more confident as her abilities improved, or as if that confidence had always been in her bones and was only now slowly awakening.

“Tang Yu,” Zhou Zhou suddenly said in a serious tone. “What are your current points and physical fitness value?”

Tang Yu’s emotions hadn’t yet settled. She was stunned for a moment, then checked the system before slowly answering, “910 points, physical fitness… 460. What’s wrong?”

After returning to the camp, Tang Yu had checked her points. She had unlocked a new basic skill called “Mission Prompt,” which had no description. Since there were no missions for her to test it on, she had ignored it.

Zhou Zhou hummed thoughtfully. Her own points were over seven thousand, and Song Lengzhu’s score—Zhou Zhou guessed—was around ten thousand.

Compared to them, Tang Yu’s points were not high, even quite low, probably in the lower-middle range among all players.

But with Tang Yu’s current strength, she could easily deal with upper-middle-level players. Zhou Zhou guessed it was related to Tang Yu’s identity, abilities, and her own combat prowess.

Her foundation is very strong, Zhou Zhou thought, a gentle smile on her face.

She wanted to make Tang Yu even stronger.

Zhou Zhou suddenly changed the subject. “The zombie serum. Give me five more days, and I should be able to develop it. You should get it before you leave the village again. Starting today, Tang Yu, come to my lab every evening after dinner.”

Xiao Li let out a curious “huh.” “Zhou Zhou, are you finally going to make a move on the Zombie King?”