Surviving the Game as a Zombie - Chapter 114

Zhou Zhou’s laboratory was to the left of her bedroom. Most of the equipment she had salvaged was placed there. Zhou Zhou had covered the surrounding earthen walls and roof with a thin film to reduce contamination.

It was difficult to maintain a sterile environment in the village, but Zhou Zhou didn’t force it. Having survived in the apocalypse for so long, she had her own set of methods.

On the second night, after Tang Yu finished her follow-up work with the food supply team, she slipped into the laboratory under the cover of darkness. The door wasn’t fully closed. She lifted the plastic dust cover and happened to see Zhou Zhou with her back to her, tinkering with something.

Tang Yu had intended to give her a scare, but Zhou Zhou suddenly turned around. Her tightly wrapped mask and medical gloves were covered in bl00d and lumpy white matter. She turned her head stiffly to look at Tang Yu, and under the overhead light, the terrifying effect was astonishing.

Tang Yu let out a yell. When she turned and saw the half-dissected corpse on the operating table, she felt completely numb.

Zhou Zhou must have done it on purpose.

Zhou Zhou burst out laughing, her voice muffled by the mask. She pointed a finger at a space in the corner of the lab, partitioned off by a plastic curtain. “Wait over there. I’ll be right with you.”

Tang Yu obediently sat down. She noticed that the room was filled with so many things it was almost overflowing—two operating tables, a specimen cabinet, an extraction station, and some other sophisticated instruments she didn’t recognize.

“Auntie Pang said the new lab will be ready in ten days,” Tang Yu chatted with Zhou Zhou.

Although the aunties didn’t understand what Zhou Zhou was tinkering with every day, common folk always held a certain reverence for doctors. Zhou Zhou was also very kind to the NPCs, occasionally checking the aunties’ bl00d pressure, testing their bl00d sugar, and monitoring Li Qianqian’s development. Everyone liked her very much. This time, after returning from the restricted zone, she had so much stuff that the lab couldn’t hold it all, so Auntie Pang had thought of building a better environment for her.

“That would be great,” Zhou Zhou replied, her hands busy as she responded to Tang Yu.

“What are you working on now?”

“Trying to use Du Jiexu’s method to conduct brain development experiments on zombies,” Zhou Zhou explained in terms Tang Yu could understand.

Only then did Tang Yu realize the thing on the operating table was a zombie, scavenged from who knows where.

“Was it successful?”

“It failed.” Zhou Zhou responded with a smile, showing no sign of discouragement. “The requirements for this experiment are too strict. It’s not something that can be achieved in a short time.”

She walked over to the sink, used a connected stream water pipe to wash off the bl00d, and then carefully removed her tightly wrapped surgical gown before heading towards the partitioned area.

“This is a serum extracted and processed from Du Jiexu.” Zhou Zhou picked up a vial of liquid from a nearby table and walked over to Tang Yu. “Previously, Du Jiexu used this as a medium to make zombies A and B obey her. I’ve tested it on zombies near the camp, and they do undergo some kind of change, but without a primary controller, I can’t see the effect.”

“I called you here for two reasons. First, to test if zombies injected with Du Jiexu’s serum can be controlled by you. Second, I want to extract your serum directly. The 【Control】 ability you acquired in the restricted zone needs some kind of medium to work. Using your own serum might make the control effect stronger.”

Tang Yu looked at the pale yellow, transparent liquid in the test tube and nodded. “Okay, I’ll listen to you.”

Right now, Tang Yu’s copied Control ability was of little use; since leaving the restricted zone, there had been no conditions for her to use it. If Zhou Zhou’s research succeeded, Tang Yu could establish a mental link with other zombies, just like zombies A and B. Although these mutated creatures lacked the emotions and rationality of player zombies, they would be incredibly useful in battle once formed into a zombie army.

“I’ll try to improve the methods from the notebook to see if I can enhance the serum’s effect. If it’s successful, you guys will have to carry an extra row of syringes when you go out,” Zhou Zhou said with a broad smile, as if she could already see the scene of Tang Yu, Jin Ye, and Xiao Li chasing after zombies with syringes.

“I have a question,” Tang Yu said. “If we only use my serum, the resources are too limited. That means I won’t be able to control too many zombies. I was wondering, can we extract serum from the zombies that have already been injected? Like a fission-like propagation.”

“We can test it, but don’t be too optimistic. The effect of a diluted serum will definitely diminish.”

“It’s okay, let’s try.”

Zhou Zhou placed the serum back in its original spot. “Also, I’ve thought about using surgery to solve your amnesia, but the risk is too great. Besides, according to Qi Jinyin, your amnesia is likely a restriction imposed on your consciousness by the game. I can’t solve it on a physical level, especially since this body of yours might not even be your own.”

“Oh?” Tang Yu tilted her head up to look at Zhou Zhou, a sly smile on her face. “Since when has Professor Zhou been so kind? I’m a player, you know. Doesn’t this count as saving someone?”

Zhou Zhou rolled her eyes at Tang Yu. “I just want to watch the fun.”

Who could truly understand the joy of someone who just loved chaos?

“However…” Zhou Zhou stroked her chin and looked up in thought. “If that girl Jian Che can really figure out a language conversion system, she might be able to help you with the memory restriction problem.”

“That’s quite a promise you’re making…” Tang Yu laughed. “I like it a lot!”

“Alright, hand out. Let’s begin.” Zhou Zhou put on a new pair of gloves and took out a bl00d lancet.

For several days in a row, Tang Yu spent every night with Zhou Zhou. Sometimes, Jian Che would also help out, learning from Zhou Zhou.

The young girl could now calmly face corpses and internal organs, and she could also calmly eat meat at the dinner table.

In the past few days, the protective electric fence outside the village had lost power, and all the zombies that gathered around became test subjects for Tang Yu and Zhou Zhou.

As they had expected, Du Jiexu’s serum was effective. Tang Yu could control these mutated zombies that had been injected with the serum, but the mental link with them was very weak, and controlling them was strenuous for Tang Yu.

Her own serum, however, was extremely effective. Zombies injected with it would change within three minutes, developing very primitive combat and thinking instincts. They had no emotions, no sense of right or wrong, and were a mutated species somewhere between player zombies and NPC zombies.

Tang Yu’s “Control” ability finally became useful. She could command these zombies, making them stop and go, attack specific targets, and even perform actions like carrying heavy objects.

Most importantly, just like the bl00d zombies and mutated animals in the restricted zone, once given a general command to attack, they would think of their own attack methods, and their movements were much more agile than ordinary zombies.

On the day the zombie serum was successfully developed, the entire village came to watch Tang Yu’s “performance.” The aunties, who used to be terrified of zombies, watched as they became the village leader’s companions, standing in a neat row for inspection. Their eyes were wide with astonishment.

Xiao Li happily tugged on Jin Ye’s sleeve and loudly suggested to Tang Yu, “Let’s give them a name! We have a zombie legion now!”

Even though there were only five of them at the moment.

Zhou Zhou crossed her arms, a teasing smile on her face. “You’re letting Tang Yu name them? What good words could possibly come out of her mouth?”

Tang Yu frowned and thought for a long time before blurting out a phrase: “Fren… Frenzied and Unconscionable?”

Xiao Li jumped up. “You’re the one who’s frenzied and unconscionable!”

Jin Ye laughed. “Why don’t we call them ‘Living Corpse People’? Although they have mobility, they are still different from people with emotions. As for the legion’s name…”

Xiao Li cut in, “The Family of Corpses! A Close and Loving Family of Corpses!”

“Ah… that doesn’t sound very auspicious.” Zhou Zhou held her forehead. “Xiao Li, your naming skills aren’t that great either.”

Tang Yu, however, expressed her approval. “The Family of Corpses is good! The Family of Corpses Legion, a name that will shake the world, utterly frenzied!”

And so, the five workers of the Family of Corpses Legion officially started their jobs, becoming the first batch of permanent Living Corpse People protecting the camp.

Zhou Zhou drew bl00d from all of them to study the “fission serum” Tang Yu had mentioned.

They remained motionless during the bl00d draw, showing no signs of aggression. Their hunched bodies were even forced to stand straight, and under Tang Yu’s command, they would even proactively extend their arms.

After the procedure was over, Tang Yu stood for a long while. She suddenly fetched two old wooden buckets from the village, drew water from the well, and placed it in front of the Family of Corpses, along with a few old towels.

“Find an open space and wash yourselves. Be careful not to let the dirty water flow into the farmland.”

Zhou Zhou: ?

The five Living Corpse People obediently picked up the buckets and walked expressionlessly into the night.

The “fission serum” was successfully developed soon after, but unfortunately, it was only effective for a maximum of three tiers. After being diluted three times, the subsequent serum had little effect.

Tang Yu readily accepted this. Assuming one batch of her processed serum could inject ten zombies, and those ten could each inject ten more, and so on, she could still form a legion of a thousand. Besides, as long as Zhou Zhou was around, her serum could be extracted more than once.

The zombies that visited the village each night were gathered by Tang Yu and incorporated into the Family of Corpses’ ranks. Tang Yu stationed these zombies about a li away from the village, forming a man-made line of defense.

There was just one problem: right now, only Tang Yu could control the Living Corpse People. If Tang Yu wasn’t in the village, these zombies would become a threat to the camp. Tang Yu decided to take these zombies with her wherever she went for the time being. Once Zhou Zhou figured out a solution, the Living Corpse People could be left behind to protect the aunties in the village.

After the legion was formed, Tang Yu began to consider leaving the village.

Tang Yu looked at the note in her hand. From Jin Ye’s map, she deduced that the camp’s location was still within the Xinzhou territory. This territory was vast, with many unexplored areas further north.

This time, Tang Yu decided to head west. There were three regions adjacent to the Xinzhou territory, and Tang Yu chose the one on the far left.

One reason was to see what quests were available, and the other was that Tang Yu wanted to search for traces of special rooms along the way.

Heading west would mean passing through A-City again. Tang Yu clutched the note, her mind slightly adrift.

Could Song Lengzhu have returned to A-City as well? But Zhou Zhou had said they didn’t have a fixed camp and roamed around all year. Perhaps she had gone somewhere farther away.

This situation, where they could only meet by chance, made Tang Yu feel a little melancholic.

Only Tang Yu, Jin Ye, and Xiao Li were leaving the village. Zhou Zhou was too busy with many things on her plate and didn’t plan to go with them.

Qi Jinyin had wanted to go. She had been to many places and could offer Tang Yu some advice, but unfortunately, her injuries hadn’t fully healed, and she couldn’t run or jump. She could only wait for the next time.

Tang Yu picked up the list of required supplies from the past few days and stuffed it into her bag, placing it in the inner compartment along with the clothes Song Lengzhu had given her.

There were very few items on the list. The camp still had a surplus of supplies, so the pressure to scavenge was much lower.

They found a truck, loaded up the Family of Corpses Legion, and drove onto the dirt road leading to the main road in the morning light.

“We’ll wait for your return!” Lu Lu shouted, waving from the village entrance. After saying goodbye, she went about her usual tasks.

Only Jian Che remained, standing silently to the side, the morning sun reflected in her eyes.