Surviving the Game as a Zombie - Chapter 130

The hospital was the easiest to capture. The hardest was the armory. This place was larger than Tang Yu had imagined, already on the scale of a base. Besides common ammunition, it housed aircraft, armored vehicles, and even some oversized heavy weaponry. A row of missiles, each as tall as two people, was on display.

Though the weapons were plentiful, the number of guards was far too small. By the time Tang Yu and her group arrived with the zombies, the heavy machinery had all become useless. The guards didn’t dare use large-scale firearms at close range, or else half of Songming City would be affected.

They used guns, cannons, and grenades to fend off the attack, only to discover with horror that the zombies attacking them could also use guns. After one gun depot fell, the advantage of having a base at their back turned into a disadvantage.

The battle raged for a long time. Tang Yu, Song Lengzhu, and the others personally took action, eliminating the few leader-class players who were skilled with firearms. The zombie family swarmed in. By the time the smoke cleared, the sky was already beginning to lighten.

While taking stock of their gains, Tang Yu looked around the warehouse and said to Jin Ye in disbelief, “With all this stuff, no wonder this camp’s level is so high.”

“Indeed,” Jin Ye agreed. “If we had tried to attack the city from the outside from the start, we would have never been able to break in. Only by breaking through from the inside could we succeed so easily.”

If they had appeared before the gates of Songming City with their zombie family back then, they would have likely been blown to smithereens.

Once the final fortress was captured, the task of conquering the city was more than half complete. All that remained was to settle the residents within the city.

The two teams gathered in a warehouse, where Xiao Qi gave a brief update on the current situation with the residents. Earlier, they had incited some players to round up the 54 members of the pro-Lin faction. As for the NPCs who supported Lin Zhongqi, Xiao Qi had followed Song Lengzhu’s instructions and left them alone for the time being. The grudges among these players ran deeper than they had imagined; Xiao Qi and her group had barely lifted a finger. In the chaos of the infighting, some were eliminated, and some disappeared.

“How should we deal with the other residents?” Xiao Qi asked her captain. “And this city, what should we do with it?”

Song Lengzhu didn’t speak for a moment.

An idea sparked in Tang Yu’s mind, and she whispered to her teammate, “Jin Ye, this city is so great, with water and electricity. Should we move our entire camp here?”

Jin Ye first glanced at the nearby Song Lengzhu. “We conquered this city together. It’s hard to say how the resources will be divided. What if Song Lengzhu wants to station her team in this city too?”

Tang Yu thought that was a good point. She weighed her options, considering whether she should just ask Song Lengzhu directly.

But then Jin Ye thought of something else and continued, “But I don’t think it’s a good idea to move the camp. So many people and players in this city have seen you. We can’t possibly kill them all or win them all over. If some players who escape leak the location of your camp and unite with other forces to attack, we’d become a glaring target by staying here. You killed Lin Zhongqi today; tomorrow, other players will come together to hunt you down. Songming City is too big and exposed a target. It’s not good for us.”

Jin Ye was always cautious, and a cautious person would prioritize potential dangers. She was worried about Tang Yu’s safety and the well-being of the aunties.

“There’s another point. If you were a human player, you could rally a large number of other players to defend the city together, like Lin Zhongqi did. But you’re a Zombie King, which gives you a natural disadvantage in recruiting players. When there’s an external attack, we can’t count on the aunties, who have no abilities, to help defend the city. Even though we have so many zombies and weapons, we can’t create a flawless defense against player abilities.”

Tang Yu pondered for a moment. Jin Ye had a point; she shared these concerns. More importantly, she didn’t plan to stay in the camp all the time. She needed to find Anchor Points and complete missions, so she couldn’t guard the city like Lin Zhongqi. It would be safer for the aunties to continue their quiet life deep in the mountains, where they were at least safe.

Thinking about it this way, taking over Songming City wasn’t as useful as it seemed.

“How about this? We won’t move the camp,” Tang Yu thought of a plan. “If Song Lengzhu wants to be the lord of Songming City, our two camps can establish an alliance. We can transport the resources our village lacks from here. Given our relationship, there should be room for negotiation. As for personnel, if there are any female NPCs or friendly female players who don’t want to stay in Songming City, they can come to our place to add to our numbers.”

“Should we tell Song Lengzhu our camp’s location then?” Xiao Li asked in a low voice.

“Hmm… let’s not bring it up proactively,” Tang Yu felt it was better to be safe. If Song Lengzhu asked, she would then consider whether to tell her.

“That works,” Jin Ye said. “At least we have more than enough weapons and daily necessities.”

The three of them whispered for a while before Song Lengzhu finally spoke, interrupting their conversation.

“Tang Yu, how about you take charge of this camp?”

“Huh?” Tang Yu looked up, surprised that Song Lengzhu’s proposal had completely disrupted their plans.

Xiao Li blurted out, “Wait, you don’t want to be the leader of this city?”

Song Lengzhu said calmly, “I don’t. Managing a city is mentally and physically draining. My team is used to moving between cities; we’re not accustomed to settling in one place.” In any case, they had completed most of the city conquest mission, and the rewards they received were enough.

“I thought you attacked the city because you wanted it,” Xiao Li said.

Xiao Qi waved her hand. “No, we didn’t plan to attack the city at first. The idea came later.” As for why, the factors were far too numerous.

This complicated things. If Song Lengzhu didn’t want to be the city lord either, they couldn’t just let such a large camp go to waste.

Song Lengzhu noticed the troubled expression on Tang Yu’s face and sighed. “You said you had a camp. I thought you’d want to move here… Is it because of your zombie identity?”

Tang Yu nodded.

“That makes sense.” Song Lengzhu pondered for a moment before saying, “There’s a solution. How about we give the city to Li Luo?”

Li Luo opened her apartment door and looked up to see seven or eight people standing outside. She was sleepy-eyed, her usually tied-up hair now down, clearly having just woken up.

Song Lengzhu stepped through the doorway. “The sound of cannons was shaking the heavens, and Miss Li could still sleep?”

Li Luo let everyone into the room. “I could. I already guessed the outcome of the siege, so there was nothing to keep me awake. It was just the players outside shouting all night that gave me a headache. I only managed to drift off in the latter half of the night.”

Having just woken up, she looked even more exhausted than the others who had been up all night.

Song Lengzhu got straight to the point and explained their purpose. Li Luo was stunned for a moment, then regained her composure and smiled. “Of course I’ll accept this grand gift. Go on, Miss Song, what are your conditions?”

Unlike Song Lengzhu and Tang Yu, Li Luo had both the ability and the leisure to be a manager. She was more than happy to accept the fruits of their labor. But she was also smart enough to know that the city wasn’t being given to her for free.

Song Lengzhu didn’t hold back. “First, my team and Tang Yu’s team can take supplies and weapons from the city at will, for the long term.”

“Fine. You conquered the city, so that’s reasonable.”

“Second, if our people need to, they can enter the city to rest at any time.” Song Lengzhu thought for a moment, then added, “If anything happens in the future, Tang Yu and I can meet here.”

Li Luo’s smile widened. “So you’re treating this place as a relay station?” She glanced at Tang Yu, her gaze falling on Tang Yu’s jacket, and said with a purse of her lips, “You’re welcome anytime.”

“Third, because of Tang Yu’s special identity, there need to be standards for players garrisoned in the city from now on. I hope Miss Li won’t let players who are hostile to us into the city.”

Li Luo mulled over the meaning behind Song Lengzhu’s words. “So, if I agree to this condition and take the city, our three teams will become a deeply bound community of shared interests?”

Song Lengzhu nodded. “I hope I haven’t misjudged you.”

Li Luo understood Song Lengzhu’s true intention. She hesitated for only a moment before agreeing to Song Lengzhu’s proposal. She had already intended to form an alliance, and with Song Lengzhu taking the initiative, it saved her the trouble of finding another opportunity. Li Luo’s gaze seemed to unintentionally sweep over Tang Yu as she smiled. “Your judgment has always been excellent.”

She extended a hand to Song Lengzhu. “Then, here’s to a pleasant cooperation.”

Song Lengzhu shook her hand. “Pleasant cooperation.”

Just then, the light of dawn shone through the apartment window, casting a golden glow on everyone in the room. The dense fog of the night was dispelled by the clear weather, and visibility outside improved dramatically.

In the morning light, Tang Yu felt a little moved. This wasn’t a simple alliance; Song Lengzhu had used a city to pull Li Luo into her circle. She had a faint feeling that if she were ever targeted by other players in the future, their three teams would stand on the same side.

Things had gone surprisingly smoothly. This arrangement brought even more benefits than if they had taken over the city themselves.

Once things were settled, Tang Yu had Xiao Li translate a sentence for her: “This zombie army, I’ll station them in the city after a while. They can be treated as the main force for defending the city.”

As for how to ensure the safety of this zombie army after Tang Yu left, the pressure was now on Zhou Zhou. Tang Yu calculated that she would need to assimilate a few trustworthy zombie players to become the second-in-command of the zombie army, who could remain stationed in the village and in Songming City.

Li Luo was very pleased. “That would be for the best.”

“Then what are your arrangements for the citizens and players in the city?” Li Luo asked.

“I have no thoughts on that.” Song Lengzhu granted Li Luo full administrative authority. “I will provide you with the information I have—who had old ties with Lin Zhongqi, who has ambitions to cause trouble. You can deal with them as you see fit.”

Tang Yu had an idea, which she had Xiao Li convey: “In the future, it’s best to separate the residential areas for players and NPCs. Most players have a sense of superiority and unconsciously suppress NPCs. This is even more severe when they live together. However, the supplies provided to the two areas must be equal to reduce differential treatment.”

Tang Yu had noticed that when citizens collected supplies before, the players were always at the front of the line, while the NPCs could only follow timidly behind, unable to get good food. This was just what was visible; the unseen suppression was surely worse. In the long run, the conflict between the two groups would only deepen, which would be detrimental to the camp’s development.

“Also, the gender ratio among players should be changed. There are too many male players in Songming City, and this group has picked up many bad habits in the game. They will shamelessly encroach on the living space of the other side, and the distribution of supplies and Credit Coins is likely not very reasonable, causing more problems than not.”

After translating, Xiao Li added her own comment, “That’s right, Li Jie, did you know? I just discovered today that among the guards defending the fortress, not a single one was female. The women in this city have no say at all.”

Peng Min, who had been quiet all this time, interjected in a small voice, “Because being a guard is too hard, women don’t want to do it. The men will also share the supplies they get with the women in the city.”

Her words silenced everyone in the room for a moment.

Xiao Li was somewhat furious. “That’s not sharing, that’s charity after seizing women’s resources. Are these men also going to blame you women for getting resources just by holding out your hands?”

Peng Min opened her mouth, clutching her sleeves tightly.

“They occupy important duties and positions, holding most of the power and benefits, and then tell you the work is too hard and tiring, that you shouldn’t do it, that you’re not suitable. When you yourselves start saying this, they’ve achieved their goal. Because they’re afraid that if you truly understand this world, you’ll go and compete with them for resources and power.” Jin Ye rarely spoke up, but she earnestly guided the NPC, and Xiao Li translated her words one by one for Peng Min.

Peng Min fell silent. She had received too much information and too many shocks on this journey and couldn’t process it all at once. She retreated to the back, only half-understanding.

Li Luo glanced at Song Lengzhu, who was quietly watching Tang Yu, listening intently to her suggestions. A sense of sincere admiration rose in Li Luo’s heart. She finally understood why Song Lengzhu held this zombie team in such high regard. Compared to the issues Tang Yu’s group brought up, she and Song Lengzhu prioritized which players belonged to which faction and whose side they were on.

But Tang Yu’s team focused on how to settle the vulnerable groups in the city, how to plan for players and NPCs, and the living space between gender groups. Tang Yu valued the interests of the common people, valued equality. Naturally, she was surrounded by a group of people like this. With this way of thinking, no matter where she went, Tang Yu wouldn’t be a ruthless manager, but she would definitely be a leader who won the hearts of the people.

Li Luo nodded. “I will seriously consider your suggestions.”

“Then we’ll be counting on you.” Xiao Li smiled happily; she was still quite fond of this “cousin.” “By the way, you don’t mind if I recruit some people to leave, do you?”

“Citizens?”

“Yes, female NPCs and players. I’ll wander around for the next two days and ask around. Of course, it also depends on their willingness.”

“I don’t mind, feel free.” Li Luo was slightly surprised that Xiao Li specified a gender, but she quickly guessed their intention. This zombie team probably had its own little camp. Since Tang Yu and her group didn’t volunteer the details, Li Luo didn’t press further.

The group talked for a while longer, discussing some details. The sky quickly brightened. They tidied up and walked out of the small apartment, preparing to start transforming the new Songming City.