Surviving the Game as a Zombie - Chapter 123

Long time no see.

A whispered greeting smoothed over all the turbulence in her heart. Tang Yu was a bit stunned, momentarily forgetting to respond.

By her count, they had been separated for less than half a month, but whether it was because the days were getting longer or something else, this half-month had felt exceptionally long.

“Are you not listening?” When no response came, Song Lengzhu whispered again. Her voice was very soft, blending in with the surrounding noise, yet Tang Yu could distinguish it clearly.

“I am,” Tang Yu immediately replied in a low voice. She had no idea what those two words sounded like in Song Lengzhu’s ears.

Hearing the muffled response, the smile on Song Lengzhu’s face deepened. “Good.” She stared at the silhouettes of the buildings in the distant darkness, and by straining her eyes, she could just barely make out someone standing there.

The conversation lasted only a dozen seconds. Tang Yu saw someone nudge Song Lengzhu. Shifting her gaze, she then noticed that Li Luo and a hat-wearing Xiao Li were also in the line.

Song Lengzhu was at the very front, Xiao Li was squeezed in the middle, and at the very back, Li Luo was gesturing something to the player behind her.

They were like ordinary players waiting to exchange for food, queuing in an orderly fashion and occasionally chatting with those around them.

The wireless walkie-talkie didn’t allow Tang Yu and Song Lengzhu to converse without barriers. They didn’t speak the same language. Tang Yu wanted to ask about Song Lengzhu’s current situation, but after mulling over her words, she didn’t say anything. After all, Song Lengzhu wouldn’t understand her even if she spoke. She might as well ask Xiao Li in the camp group chat.

But in the next moment, as if she had guessed her thoughts, Song Lengzhu responded the very second the question arose in Tang Yu’s mind.

Song Lengzhu’s voice was extremely low. “Tang Yu, thanks to you, there are very few guards nearby now. The citizens should be quite restless at the moment. Stay where you are for now. I’ll meet with you after I’m done with what I’m doing.” Surrounded by the crowd, she spoke very cryptically, but Tang Yu keenly sensed that they were about to stir up trouble.

Song Lengzhu added, “It’s inconvenient for us to communicate, so most of the time, I’ll talk and you’ll listen. If you receive the information, please respond with a simple syllable.”

“Mm,” Tang Yu grunted. No matter how different their language systems were, affirmative sounds like ‘mm,’ ‘ah,’ and ‘oh’ were still universal.

Receiving the response, Song Lengzhu stopped chatting with Tang Yu and turned to talk to Xiao Li.

Tang Yu guessed that Song Lengzhu was about to use this opportunity to launch an attack, but she didn’t know what method she would use. With her abilities, she could eliminate ten guards in the blink of an eye, but she hadn’t done so.

As Tang Yu was speculating, Peng Min behind her sighed softly, “Something’s about to happen.”

Xiao Qi made a sound of surprise. “How do you know?”

Peng Min glanced outside, then quickly pulled back to hide in the alley. “There have been incidents while collecting food before, but they were suppressed by force. With so few guards today, they definitely won’t be able to suppress it.”

Leaning against the wall, Xiao Qi commented with great interest, “So the citizens here have long had rebellious thoughts? I have to say, you people in the city are really strange. You have a ton of weird rules and a ton of weird people, yet you’re still willing to stay here.”

“Those who resist are still in the minority,” Peng Min said quietly. “But Songming City doesn’t have that many strange rules. It’s just that they don’t support idle people here. Everyone has to contribute to the city’s construction and share their earnings to receive Credit Coins. You also can’t discuss the General Administration, or if you’re reported, you’ll lose Credit Coins. Other than the people from the General Administration being a bit arrogant, there’s not much else. There’s food and shelter here, which is better than being outside.”

Xiao Qi chuckled. “You got a good position, so of course you think it’s fine. Some people work themselves to death and don’t even get a single Credit Coin. Yesterday, I met an NPC with no stamina and no money who said the only way to not be considered idle was to become a zombie in the inpatient department.”

“There’s no other way,” Peng Min said, feeling conflicted. She was also somewhat dissatisfied but didn’t know what was wrong. Hearing Xiao Qi speak ill of Songming City, she even retorted, “The people from the General Administration haven’t been too harsh. They provide food, housing, and electricity. For people like us who are unarmed, it’s already very good. Going outside is a dead end.”

Xiao Qi just smiled and shook her head, saying no more. The “not too harsh” that Peng Min spoke of was merely a facade. She had been here for two days and heard people talk about the old Songming City, where one Credit Coin could be exchanged for two days’ worth of food. Now, two Credit Coins could only be exchanged for one day’s worth. Lin Zhongqi’s slow-boiling-frog style of exploitation was well-hidden. Over time, everyone had silently accepted it.

Some people were dissatisfied, but they wouldn’t erupt. Besides, Songming City had a reporting system, so those who were unhappy chose to avoid trouble. If Songming City were a company, most of its citizens would be the low-level workers who complained about their boss every day but never dared to resign.

After all, just as Peng Min said, once you’ve had a taste of the good life in Songming City, who would want to go back to suffering in the wilderness? This was already the best sanctuary they could find.

They didn’t know that Lin Zhongqi had seized the armory and all food sources and was drinking wine and eating meat in his villa.

Xiao Qi didn’t really care. She felt that Captain Song wanted to attack the city simply as a legitimate contest between players. After all, attacking a city also awarded mission points. The higher the level of the city, the more points you got for conquering it. She couldn’t be bothered with the rights and wrongs of the city. She would just do whatever Captain Song told her to do.

Their conversation fell on Tang Yu’s ears, providing her with a lot of information.

Without a doubt, Lin Zhongqi had some management skills. He wasn’t overtly evil; on the contrary, he provided a sanctuary for those with nowhere else to go, making it difficult for people to find an excuse to cause trouble, even making them wonder if they were being ungrateful.

But Lin Zhongqi was not a benevolent person. For every bit of benefit he gave, he would secretly take back ten times more.

This development model was also prone to backlash. The longer it went on, the more force was needed for suppression. Once that military support was insufficient, this small society would be in danger of collapsing. All it needed now was a spark.

Tang Yu’s gaze swept over the crowd in the square. They were whispering among themselves. Song Lengzhu was talking to Xiao Li, and since she hadn’t turned off her walkie-talkie, their conversation also reached Tang Yu’s ears.

In a regretful tone, Song Lengzhu said to Xiao Li, “I heard the zombies in the hospital rioted. These guards probably won’t be coming back.”

Her voice wasn’t loud, just enough for the circle of players around them to hear.

Xiao Li, who was checking a message from Jin Ye, looked up blankly, not quite understanding. Jin Ye had just synchronized this news in the camp group chat, saying they had caused trouble at the hospital. Could they just say this out in the open?

But when she saw the nearby players seemingly unintentionally leaning in their direction, Xiao Li’s little brain quickly put things together.

“Yeah,” Xiao Li sighed. “I wonder if they’ll still distribute the food rations tonight. If not, I won’t have anything to eat tomorrow.” She spoke softly, pulling her hat down dejectedly, playing her part perfectly.

Li Luo leaned in with a serious look. “Really? Will the zombies make their way here? If a fight breaks out, the dozen or so guards here won’t be able to hold them off, right?” She stood on her tiptoes, looking towards the dozen guards standing by the tables. “We might as well just grab the stuff and run.”

The words were spoken casually, but the listeners took them to heart. The nearby players also looked up at the scattered guards and immediately started murmuring with others nearby.

At first, the discussions were quiet, with only a few people whispering as if making small talk. The guards didn’t pay much attention.

But soon, the scope of the commotion expanded. The rumor spread like a game of pass-the-flower, and who knows what version it had evolved into, but the faces of the NPCs in the back rows already showed expressions of irrepressible excitement.

After releasing the news, Song Lengzhu said no more. She didn’t need to do anything else. Before Tang Yu and the others had arrived, she and Li Luo had already chatted with several citizens. Now, these citizens were starting to get restless.

The citizens weren’t chosen at random. They were people Song Lengzhu had scouted over the past two days—NPCs who had been treated unfairly, and capable players with ambitions of seizing power. These qualified individuals became the targets Song Lengzhu intentionally courted.

Song Lengzhu hadn’t intended to use these people so soon, but Tang Yu had coincidentally caused a disturbance at the hospital, so she took the opportunity to fan the flames. They wouldn’t have to do the rest themselves.

Sure enough, the commotion in the line caught the guards’ attention. Perhaps feeling insecure, the guards wanted to nip the trouble in the bud before it could escalate, so they adopted an intimidating posture.

This played right into Song Lengzhu’s hands.

A guard secretly asked his supervisor when the reassigned personnel would return. The response was that the guards were still clearing the floors of the inpatient department, which would take at least another ten minutes.

Ten minutes was more than enough time for these people to cause trouble.

The discussions in the crowd grew louder. Some reckless individuals began to openly incite others, “There’s safety in numbers. Let’s just snatch the supplies.”

“What are you all talking about!” A guard singled out a female player for questioning. He pointed his gun at her and threatened her.

The female player didn’t answer. Unfortunately for her, this guard was impatient. Seeing the crowd start to clamor, he fired a shot directly at the player’s arm.

The shot wasn’t fatal. Perhaps he wanted to make an example of her, but it ended up stirring up a hornet’s nest.

If an NPC had been injured, the players might have stood by and watched. But after a player was hurt, the other players in line suddenly shared a common hatred for the enemy. Coupled with some instigation, the guard was quickly surrounded by the crowd.

There were too few guards in the square, so few that even if the NPCs banded together, they could beat them to a pulp. So, after the gunshot, someone made a move, and someone else charged directly for the food supply tables.

One person causing chaos led to a hundred people causing chaos. Seeing that the food was about to be looted, the others immediately sprang into action. A nearby guard who tried to rush in and suppress them was stabbed in the abdomen by someone.

The square descended into chaos, evolving from a food grab into an armed brawl.

Song Lengzhu and her two companions blended into the crowd of fleeing NPCs and slipped away from the square amidst the chaos. They took a detour and met up with Tang Yu’s group in the alley.

“Let’s find a safe place first,” Li Luo calmly led the group out of the alley and into the top floor of a nearby abandoned shop. The twin sisters appeared from somewhere and joined Song Lengzhu.

“Aren’t we going to make a move? The timing is perfect,” Xiao Li said, standing in the small room and taking out a small flashlight from her backpack for illumination.

Li Luo replied, “There’s no need. This little disturbance is just the beginning. It won’t damage Songming City’s foundation. We don’t need to get involved so early.”

Xiao Li was bewildered. “As expected of people who think big.”

Tang Yu searched the abandoned room. Tables and chairs were overturned everywhere. It looked like a shop that sold local specialties. The outermost window was sealed with wooden planks, likely nailed up by the previous owner to fend off zombies. The sounds of fighting could still be heard from outside.

Tang Yu walked through the mess and back to the group, standing next to Jin Ye, who happened to be next to Song Lengzhu.

The nine people from four factions stood together.

Song Lengzhu cut straight to the chase. “I plan to attack the city. I’ve already scouted the location and established connections. Tonight… or by tomorrow morning at the latest, I will launch the attack. But I don’t have enough manpower to do it. I’d like to invite you and your team, Tang Yu, to join.”

As soon as she finished, Xiao Qi chimed in, reading from her wristband like a script, “Songming City’s camp level is nine. If the assault is successful, the system will judge the outcome based on the level of contribution. Participants can share 2000 points. The reward is very generous.”

Tang Yu was a little surprised. She hadn’t triggered any mission so far, but Xiao Qi already had the mission information. Could it be that she had an ability to gather mission intelligence in advance?

No wonder Song Lengzhu was wherever there was a mission. It turned out her team had an intelligence gatherer.

A 2000-point reward sounded very tempting, but if many people joined the assault, the share wouldn’t be that much. However, the city’s resources would belong to the victors. The armory alone was attractive enough.

Song Lengzhu looked at Tang Yu, seeking her opinion. “Will you join? It’s fine if you don’t want to attack the city. The thing you’re looking for is in Lin Zhongqi’s residence. You can take it and leave.”

Tang Yu looked at Song Lengzhu in confusion. Song Lengzhu didn’t explain further, but simply took something out of her jacket pocket—an object that only the two of them had seen before.

—The broken glass eyeball.

Tang Yu’s expression jolted. Could it be that Lin Zhongqi’s residence also had a special room? Was that why Song Lengzhu had led her to Songming City?

In that case, since they were going to attack Lin Zhongqi anyway, it was best to cooperate with Song Lengzhu.

As for attacking the city, Song Lengzhu had already revealed her intentions, so Tang Yu was prepared. However, Song Lengzhu still asked for her opinion face-to-face, which surprised and pleased Tang Yu. She quickly nodded, asking Xiao Li to help translate, “We’ll join the mission. Attacking the city is fine too.”

Song Lengzhu breathed a sigh of relief. “Alright then. After Lin Zhongqi deals with the hospital, he should make a trip to the square. He’s in a terrible fix right now and should be less guarded. Tang Yu, you can seize the opportunity to follow him back to his residence.”

Song Lengzhu had already thought of a plan. She continued, “I’ll meet up with you later. Take this, you should have a use for it.”

She pulled a bag from one of the twins’ backpacks and stuffed it into Tang Yu’s hands. Inside were two remote-controlled explosives.

Tang Yu glanced at the twins’ bulging backpacks. Had these two… gone to steal from the armory?

Jin Ye looked at Tang Yu worriedly. “I’ll go with you.” Hearing this, Xiao Li also chimed in, “Then I’ll go too. Our team will go together.”

“You can’t,” Song Lengzhu understood Xiao Li’s words. “His residence is heavily guarded. Besides Tang Yu, neither of you can get in.”

Jin Ye understood the implication. Tsk, Song Lengzhu’s words really hurt.

Song Lengzhu added, “You two stay with Xiao Qi. She’ll take you to cause some destruction and steal some things. As for Miss Li… please do as you wish.”

Li Luo, who had been listening intently, was taken aback. “You’re just excluding me like that?”

“No,” Song Lengzhu nodded slightly. “Tang Yu has already met with me. The task I entrusted to you has been successfully completed. From now on, Miss Li can act independently. I can’t take the liberty of involving you in the city assault plan. Of course, if you’re willing to join…”

Li Luo pondered for two seconds. “That’s fine. I can’t be of much help. I can lend a hand, but I won’t participate in the main assault.” She could sense that Song Lengzhu didn’t particularly need her, so Li Luo decided not to offer a favor. “However, don’t forget to fulfill the promise you made.”

“Okay,” Song Lengzhu replied.

Tang Yu was completely bewildered. What had Song Lengzhu promised? She wasn’t going to offer herself, was she?

Song Lengzhu ignored Tang Yu’s suspicious gaze, walked over to Xiao Qi, and whispered instructions in her ear.

The arrangements were set, and it was time for everyone to act separately. But Song Lengzhu had assigned tasks to everyone else but hadn’t specified her own. Tang Yu couldn’t help but take out the notepad and pen from her pocket and ask Song Lengzhu, “What about you?”

Song Lengzhu looked down at the handwriting on the paper, her eyes curving into a smile for a moment. Tang Yu really cared about her whereabouts. In that case, she would be direct. “I will meet with Lin Zhongqi to divert his attention.”

“Oh.” Tang Yu put away the notepad, feeling relieved. One in the open, one in the shadows, she got it.

After the discussion, the group finally noticed the panicked Peng Min. It was a good thing she was an NPC; if she were a player, their conversation would have been leaked long ago.

Tang Yu walked up to Peng Min, stroking her chin as she considered what to do with this NPC. Peng Min had been in contact with them, so they absolutely couldn’t just let her go.

Seeing the zombie who had threatened her approach, Peng Min took a step back in fear. She turned her head away, closed her eyes, and shouted, “I didn’t hear anything! Don’t kill me!”

Tang Yu found it rather amusing, feeling like she was bullying a young girl again. She moved closer to Peng Min, baring her teeth to scare her.

Tang Yu didn’t quite trust Peng Min. This person was timid and could easily reveal information about Songming City to them, which meant she could just as easily reveal their information to others. She needed to give her a warning.

Peng Min was on the verge of tears again, leaning back without daring to move. With every inch Tang Yu’s face drew closer, her fear grew.

A hand pressed down on the mischievous Tang Yu’s shoulder. She turned to see Song Lengzhu reaching out to straighten her body.

“Too close,” Song Lengzhu said with a cold face, retracting her hand. Before Tang Yu could argue, she turned to Xiao Qi and instructed, “This nurse will go with you. Keep an eye on her at all times.”

“Yes, Captain Song.” Xiao Qi loved excitement; she didn’t mind the extra person.

Just then, several deafening cannon-like sounds echoed from outside, followed by the roar of engines. The group simultaneously moved closer to the sealed window and heard a guard shouting loudly.

Lin Zhongqi had arrived at the square with his men, and there were quite a few of them.

Song Lengzhu glanced at Tang Yu. “Alright, let’s move.”

As everyone was leaving one by one, Song Lengzhu grabbed Tang Yu’s sleeve and pointed to her own ear. “Stay in touch. Remember to respond to me. If it’s inconvenient to make a sound, tap your earpiece. A double tap means OK, three taps for an emergency.” She needed a response from Tang Yu, otherwise she would assume something had happened to her.

Tang Yu flashed a bright smile and made an OK gesture. No problem, she had it covered.

The veins on the hand Lin Zhongqi used to grip his cane bulged. He stared intently at the guard reporting to him, suppressing his impending rage.

The guard summarized the information: the staff on duty at the hospital had all been killed, their deaths bizarre and varied, and it couldn’t be ruled out that it was done during the zombie riot. The controllers on every floor were missing, and there were no signs of forced entry on the doors, so it was unknown how the zombies had escaped. Seven or eight players had been killed by zombies. Other than that, there was no other activity.

“What about the zombie king brought in today?”

“It… it should still be on the sixth floor. The number of zombies on the sixth floor matches up,” the guard stammered in reply.

“Should be?” Lin Zhongqi’s tone grew heavy. “What do you mean, ‘should be’?”

“The… the guards and nurses who escorted and saw the zombie king today are all dead. There are indeed two female zombies lying on the hospital beds.” The guard was on the verge of tears. He had been transferred from the villa; how would he have seen any zombie king? Who could he ask to confirm if it was real or fake?

Lin Zhongqi struck his cane down hard. “Lou Yan, you’ve seen the zombie king. You go take a look.”

“Yes.” Lou Yan nodded in acknowledgment. Just as he was about to leave, he received another report from a subordinate. “Mr. Lin… a riot has broken out at the food exchange point. We can’t suppress it…”

This was absolutely not the news Lin Zhongqi wanted to hear right now. He clenched his back teeth, the muscles near his temples tightening. “Who’s causing trouble!”

“It’s the city residents. The armed forces there are weak, and it’s complete chaos.”

Lin Zhongqi grunted heavily. Forgetting about checking on the zombie king, he led his men straight to the food exchange point.

In the car, Lin Zhongqi asked Lou Yan, “I told you to have someone keep an eye on Song Lengzhu and Li Luo. Did they participate in the riot?”

“No,” Lou Yan replied while driving. “They were there, chatting with people around them at first. When the residents rioted, they left.”

“Where did they go?”

“Well…” Lou Yan wiped away sweat, feeling guilty. “The guard following them went to support his comrades and didn’t keep up.”

“…Lou Yan, oh, Lou Yan.” Lin Zhongqi lay back in the rear seat, his expression grim. “You really are useless. Of the two things I told you to do, which one have you done well?”

Lou Yan gripped the steering wheel, taking a long time to respond, “It was my failure to carry out my duties.”

Lin Zhongqi said no more until they reached the food exchange point. Looking at the corpses on the ground and the empty tables, he furiously berated all the guards in front of him.

The bodies on the ground belonged to guards, players, and NPCs. An attack targeting the guards had somehow devolved into a massive brawl. Players who disliked each other and residents fighting over food had all ended up fighting one another. Some citizens fled with the food they had snatched, leaving only a dozen or so people who had gotten carried away with the fighting and hadn’t escaped in time. They were caught by the guards who had rushed over.

Enraged, Lin Zhongqi became murderous. “Take them to the hospital. Let them be exposed to the zombie virus and become backup zombies.”

His gaze swept over the detained residents, and he continued, “Announce this to the whole city. Anyone else who gets out of line will suffer the same fate.”

A player among those captured resisted with all his might and was immediately blasted into a pulp by nearly a hundred guards.

Just then, Lou Yan received another message. He lowered his head and reported to Lin Zhongqi.

“Mr. Lin, a message from the villa guards. Miss Song requests a meeting with you. She is already waiting at the gate.”