Surviving the Game as a Zombie - Chapter 119

The reason Lou Yan was willing to take the three to the laboratory was that it was already open to the public. The city hospital’s inpatient department even had a dedicated viewing area.

However, today was not an open day, so the empty corridor was occupied only by Lou Yan’s group.

“Over here are the zombies that have already completed the taming process,” Lou Yan explained, stopping in his tracks to address the distinguished guests behind him.

The inpatient wards had been converted to look like a prison. The wooden doors had all been removed and replaced with iron bars. Through the wrist-thick bars, one could see the zombies, or rather, pets, locked inside the rooms.

They were either lying down or standing, filthy and crowded together haphazardly. Their faces were blank, showing no aggression, their movements and expressions utterly wooden.

Lou Yan approached the wall, flipped open the cover of a plastic box mounted on it, and a row of green-glowing buttons came into Song Lengzhu’s view.

“What is this?” she asked.

“A controller,” Lou Yan answered patiently, then pressed one of the buttons.

The zombies in the room instantly stood up, their heads snapping to face the four of them. Soon, a zombie at the very front lunged at the bars, shaking the iron gate until it rattled and letting out muffled roars. Its previously wooden expression vanished, replaced by the fierce and terrifying face of a zombie.

Usually, at this point in the demonstration, visiting citizens would scream and retreat, huddling together in fear that the zombies would break through the iron bars.

Or they would draw their weapons and assume a combat stance.

But today’s guests showed no reaction. Song Lengzhu stood calmly, meeting the crazed zombie’s gaze through the iron bars without even blinking, even though only an arm’s length separated them.

Lou Yan was a bit stunned. With the guests showing no reaction, his enthusiasm for the demonstration waned considerably. He reached out and pressed another button. In an instant, the furious zombie turned back into a docile pet and obediently retreated.

Song Lengzhu turned her head and asked Lou Yan, “How is this done?”

“Neural stimulation. They have receiving terminals installed in their cervical vertebrae. Different stimuli cause them to react differently.”

So it was physical control, Song Lengzhu understood.

Songming City had retained a lot of military equipment. This equipment wasn’t just artillery and firearms, but also many technological weapons. It wouldn’t be difficult to modify them to develop these methods of controlling enemies.

Song Lengzhu moved closer to the controller for a look, then glanced at the food bowls on the floor of the ward. They were filled with something like slop. She asked, “Do they need to be fed regularly?”

“Zombies need to eat, and they prefer raw human flesh. We don’t have that, so we feed them leftovers. But they can go a month or two without eating or drinking and be fine.”

“So these zombies are being kept as a reserve force for Songming City?”

“Not as a reserve force, but as a vanguard. The people of Songming City don’t need to go out and fight zombies themselves. These zombies are commanded to fight the ones outside. We then select some of the defeated soldiers with good potential for our own use. The rest, the old, weak, sick, and disabled, are given to the players in the city to be converted into points.”

“What a perfected process.”

“You flatter me, Miss Song,” Lou Yan replied with a slight bow.

There were at least a hundred zombies imprisoned on this floor. After walking through the entire level, the four of them silently exited the inpatient building.

Song Lengzhu looked up. The inpatient building had six more floors. She asked Lou Yan, “Are the upper floors also filled with zombies like these?”

“Not all of them. There are also untamed ones.”

In other words, Songming City’s zombie army numbered at least five hundred.

Li Luo, who had shown little interest until now, finally spoke up. “What about the zombies I brought today?”

“Miss Li, they are being held in the experimental area. Those places are not open to the public,” Lou Yan replied with his gaze lowered, his tone humble. “Only Mr. Lin’s people are allowed to set foot there.”

Li Luo felt like she had been played, but she had no grounds to argue. Thinking back, Lou Yan had indeed only promised to show them the laboratory; he had never specified which areas they would see.

Her gaze and Song Lengzhu’s fell on Lou Yan simultaneously. He had been respectful and polite, answering every question, yet he was not a friendly person. The information he revealed was less a patient introduction and more a display of Songming City’s power.

Very well, Song Lengzhu received the message.

“Let’s go back,” Song Lengzhu said without insisting, turning to leave.

Xiao Li glanced back at the hospital campus. In such a large hospital, she had no idea where Jin Ye and Tang Yu were being held.

Li Luo and Xiao Li’s room was on the fifth floor of an apartment building, right next to Song Lengzhu’s. The room had a cabinet and a bed, but everything else of use had been scavenged, leaving it looking bare and empty.

Other players also lived in the apartment building. People passed by in the corridor from time to time, their gazes greedy as they looked at the trio’s weapons and luggage, but they didn’t dare to act out of line with Lou Yan present.

Before leaving, Lou Yan took out a bag of Credit Coins, giving fifteen to Song Lengzhu and two each to Xiao Li and Li Luo.

“After dark, you can go to Central Avenue to exchange these for food,” Lou Yan said, finally concluding his tour guide duties for the day.

He left the apartment building, got back into his car, and slowly opened his game panel. There was a new message.

“Continue to keep an eye on them. Don’t let them do anything out of line. As for those two zombies, I’m afraid they might be trouble. Find an opportunity and a reason to kill them.”

“Yes.”

Xiao Li placed her backpack on the floor and asked, “Li Jie, where are your two bodyguards?”

Before meeting Lin Zhongqi, Lou Yan had said it was inconvenient to bring so many people into the villa area, so Li Luo had only brought Xiao Li, leaving the other two on Citizen Street.

“I let them act on their own. I didn’t know about this residency rights thing before. They’ll have to figure it out themselves. If they can’t manage, they can just wait for me outside the city,” Li Luo said, setting down her luggage and inspecting the room.

Before she could finish her circuit, there was a knock on the door. Song Lengzhu stood outside, looking at Xiao Li who opened the door and Li Luo who was surveying the room. She said, “The apartment building doesn’t have any cameras. I’ve checked.”

She entered the room and closed the door behind her.

Now, the three women from three different teams stood in the same room.

Song Lengzhu pulled up a stool and sat down, getting straight to the point with Li Luo. “What’s Lin Zhongqi’s background?”

“Just a retired old man,” Li Luo said, sitting on the edge of the bed, which was bare without a blanket or pillow. “His family is involved in both business and politics. They have a bit of power, but not much. They also have some shallow dealings with my family.”

“Which family?” Song Lengzhu thought for a moment before Li Luo could answer. “The Lin family of Chanyan Technology?”

“You know about that too?” Li Luo laughed. “As expected of you.”

Song Lengzhu ignored her compliment, a thoughtful look on her face. “He calls the center of power here the General Administration. He must still regret not making it into the ranks of the General Administration back then.”

“Trying to find a sense of purpose in a game. This is the only place he can show off his authority,” Li Luo grumbled, a rare complaint from her. It seemed she really disliked the old man.

“But in the game, his strength should rank ahead of ours,” Song Lengzhu said, organizing the information in her mind. “So he’s not afraid of you, nor is he afraid of me. Besides, his city is full of players, and he has control over five or six hundred zombies. If we were to dismantle his power…”

“Miss Song, you’re not thinking of conquering this place, are you?” Li Luo finally noticed the seriousness in Song Lengzhu’s tone. She looked around at Song Lengzhu. “By yourself?”

Song Lengzhu’s companions, Xiao Qi and the twins, were nowhere to be seen. This person had appeared in Songming City all alone.

Song Lengzhu lowered her eyes. “No, not just me.” She looked at the wide-eyed, shocked Xiao Li, her gaze shifting to Xiao Li’s wrist. “How is… Tang Yu? Is she conscious?”

Xiao Li quickly covered her wrist. Song Lengzhu’s stare made her skin crawl. It took her a long while to respond, “She’s awake.”

A smile touched Song Lengzhu’s lips. As expected, the little zombie wouldn’t disappoint her. She didn’t need to send someone to protect Tang Yu around the clock; Tang Yu was capable enough to handle things on her own.

Song Lengzhu moved closer to Xiao Li and said, word by word, “In the flowerbed directly in front of the examination building, I’ve already placed a wireless walkie-talkie. The frequency is already set. If you can get your hands on it, please contact me. I have something to say to you.”

Fearing she hadn’t been clear enough, she had Xiao Li repeat the message back to her.

Xiao Li leaned back. Song Lengzhu’s proximity frightened her, and the way her expression softened when she mentioned Tang Yu was even more terrifying. Her heart pounded, and her eyes were wide with shock.

Xiao Li had completely missed Tang Yu and Song Lengzhu’s cooperation in Ghost Valley, and she hadn’t been to the library in Xinzhou either. When did Song Lengzhu become so concerned about Tang Yu? They hadn’t seemed this close back in the restricted zone. Were they deliberately keeping their distance in public? Xiao Li felt like she had missed some crucial information.

So, after relaying Song Lengzhu’s message, Xiao Li added a sentence of her own: “Tang Yu, what’s your relationship with that Song woman?!”

What relationship? Tang Yu frowned, thinking for a long time. She didn’t know either!

Song Lengzhu’s instructions still echoed in Tang Yu’s mind. The camp’s voice system couldn’t clearly pick up external audio, so whether it was the earlier meeting or the tour of the inpatient department, Tang Yu could only get the gist of it. Fortunately, she had caught the keywords.

This last time, however, Song Lengzhu’s voice had been crystal clear, likely because she was very close to Xiao Li.

The familiar voice soothed the restlessness in Tang Yu’s heart, only to stir it up again. The quality of the voice in her head was different from a normal conversation. The 3D surround sound effect made it seem as if Song Lengzhu were speaking right next to her ear, making Tang Yu’s scalp tingle as if an electric current was passing through it.

Tang Yu never had this reaction when listening to her teammates.

Song Lengzhu’s tone and content were very business-like, but the final phrase, “please contact me, I have something to say to you,” managed to stir a ticklish feeling in her heart. What was it that couldn’t be relayed through Xiao Li? Tang Yu couldn’t help but feel a sense of anticipation.

But fantasies aside, there was work to be done. Tang Yu sorted through the intelligence she had gathered while keeping an eye on her surroundings.

Her shadow was not hindered by walls and could be summoned through them. Thus, a dark shadow appeared in the room where Jin Ye was being held, holding something in its hand.

At first, Tang Yu was worried that cameras might capture their actions, but she later discovered that the red light on the camera had gone out at some point. She was now pacing around the ward, and the guards outside hadn’t burst in.

Tang Yu quickly deduced that there was a helper nearby, she just didn’t know who it was.

Tang Yu recalled Song Lengzhu’s words. During the earlier meeting, Song Lengzhu had used many long sentences for explanation, much like she was introducing something to those around her.

It wasn’t that Tang Yu was narcissistic, but she had noticed before that Song Lengzhu only explained things in such detail when facing her. Normally, she was a woman of few words.

So, Song Lengzhu must have guessed what Xiao Li was doing and was explaining the situation in Songming City to her through Xiao Li.

Tang Yu stood still in thought, analyzing the current situation.

Song Lengzhu had clearly stated her intention to attack the city. Tang Yu didn’t understand why Song Lengzhu would risk attacking. If it was simply chalked up to a struggle between players, it would be plausible, but there was no need to put herself in such danger.

Perhaps she had discovered something else.

But how could attacking the city be so simple? Song Lengzhu had mentioned that old man Lin had a force of five hundred zombies. Tang Yu didn’t have the ability to bring them all under her control; she hadn’t brought that many zombie serums this time.

No, that wasn’t right either. Since these zombies were physically controlled, it was possible to seize control of them. This was different from Tang Yu’s control ability.

These zombies had dedicated controllers. All she needed was to get those controllers. Tang Yu thought about it for a moment, then dismissed this strategy.

A self-centered person like Lin Zhongqi wouldn’t trust his subordinates with full control. He most likely had a master control switch.

She had to find a way to get that.

Another point that bothered Tang Yu was that Lou Yan had told Xiao Li and the others to use Credit Coins to exchange for food. Hearing this, Tang Yu finally understood what felt wrong. The goods at the market today were all daily necessities.

There were no weapons and no food. The so-called market was not for free trade.

It was highly likely that weapons and food were monopolized by the General Administration. Citizens obtained Credit Coins through some means and then exchanged them for the most critical survival supplies.

If it were a harmonious camp with a small population, such a management method would indeed be feasible. But the arrogance Lin Zhongqi displayed in his brief words made Tang Yu feel a sense of dissonance. Coupled with the mixed bag of people and the large population in this city, the camp under his management couldn’t possibly be as peaceful as it appeared on the surface.

The more Tang Yu thought about it, the stranger it felt.

Just then, a message from Jin Ye finally appeared on her panel: “I saw the note from the shadow. Tang Yu, is it time to act?”