Surviving the Game as a Zombie - Chapter 133

The afternoon sun was scorching. Having been up all night and covered in the smell of gunpowder, the group found it difficult to rest. After some effort, Tang Yu found a water pipe at the water plant and spent a little more time running a line from Lin Zhongqi’s residence to supply water for the two teams to wash up in shifts. This villa had been uninhabited, so Lin Zhongqi’s people hadn’t connected the water and electricity. They had to do it themselves, but fortunately, the distance was short and tools were plentiful, so it wasn’t much trouble.

After washing up, everyone fell asleep the moment they hit their beds. By the time Tang Yu was woken up by Xiao Li, it was already late at night.

Xiao Li banged on the door, shouting from outside, “Tang Yu, Zhou Zhou is here!”

Jin Ye had already picked them up and brought them to the villa district. The small truck was parked on the greenway. A girl got out first—Jian Che. It had only been a few days, but her face had a bit more color, and she no longer looked so gaunt and gloomy.

Jian Che discreetly observed her surroundings. She first greeted Tang Yu and the others, then her gaze fell on the small villa next door, a hint of wariness on her face.

There were four players she had never seen before, and Jian Che could easily tell that they were very powerful.

Tang Yu followed Jian Che’s gaze and saw Song Lengzhu’s group of four leaning against their courtyard gate, watching them. They had probably come out to see what the commotion was about and were now huddled together, with Xiao Qi whispering something.

Song Lengzhu, at the forefront with her long hair down and wearing a short-sleeved shirt, sized up Jian Che with great interest. Her inquisitive gaze was undisguised, making Jian Che so scared that she hid behind Tang Yu.

Only then did Zhou Zhou get out of the truck. She called out, “What are you all standing around for? Come and help me.” Turning her head, she noticed Song Lengzhu was also there and greeted her politely.

When Jian Che saw that neither Professor Zhou nor Tang Yu showed any hostility towards the four, and in fact seemed to know them, she finally let down her guard.

Urged on by Zhou Zhou, the group boisterously went to uncover the waterproof tarp on the back of the truck. Tang Yu asked Zhou Zhou, “What did you bring? It looks like a lot of stuff.”

Once the tarp was removed, the first thing they saw was a glass container, a medical vessel taken from the restricted zone. It was half a meter long and filled with a yellowish liquid.

“The serum you wanted,” Zhou Zhou said. “This is what’s left. If it’s not enough, we’ll have to produce more here in the city.” As she spoke, she and Jian Che started moving the equipment. Tang Yu and the others hurried to help.

“I’ve taken the zombie army to the hospital. It’s late today, so we’ll go over tomorrow,” Tang Yu said as she carried things into the courtyard before returning to the truck.

“What about the rest of this?” she asked, pointing to a large bag made of blue-and-red striped woven plastic. It was bulging, and if Zhou Zhou hadn’t explained quickly, Tang Yu might have thought there was a body inside.

“Vegetables!” Zhou Zhou said, exasperated.

“Huh?” Tang Yu and the other two exclaimed in unison.

“The aunties heard we were coming to find you and were worried you wouldn’t eat or dress well, so they stuffed half a bag of vegetables into my truck in the middle of the night.”

The three of them worked together to lift the bag down, and two potatoes rolled out from the loosely tied opening. Tang Yu laughed. “We’ve only been gone for a short while, it’s not like we’re never going back.” Though she said that, her heart still felt warm.

Carrying a case, Zhou Zhou asked, “Perfect. Can we cook here? I’ve only had two griddle cakes on the way.”

Tang Yu glanced around. The gas in the room had long been cut off, but it wouldn’t be impossible to clear some weeds in the yard and build a fire with some wood. She lifted the bag to take a look. There were plenty of wild vegetables, half a prepared chicken, potatoes, lotus roots, winter melon, and even seasonings like chili sauce and soy sauce had been thoughtfully prepared, along with a large bag of old-dough flatbread.

“Let’s have hot pot,” Tang Yu said, her eyes shining. They hadn’t had a proper meal all day—no, it had been two days, subsisting only on compressed biscuits and the like.

“Yay!” Xiao Li cheered happily.

Hot pot is a lively affair that’s best with more people. Tang Yu turned to look toward the neighboring house and said, a bit unnaturally, “Xiao Li, go ask Song Lengzhu and the others if they want to join.”

Unexpectedly, Song Lengzhu accepted without any hesitation, not even feigning politeness.

And so, as midnight approached, the group poured into the small courtyard of Tang Yu’s villa to prepare for a “grand” late-night meal.

The two teams quickly divided the labor with the same tacit understanding they had in battle, only this time it was for preparing food.

At first, everyone was a little reserved, especially Tang Yu, who deliberately avoided Song Lengzhu’s path, choosing to chop firewood alone in the yard with her Tang dao. The mere thought of her foolishness from that afternoon made her cringe with embarrassment. But Song Lengzhu wasn’t embarrassed at all. She rolled up her sleeves, walked up to Tang Yu with a bunch of watercress, and asked her directly, “Are you avoiding me?”

“No way!” Tang Yu was so startled that her Tang dao slipped, sending the piece of wood beneath it flying. She picked up the wood and, remembering Song Lengzhu couldn’t understand her, shook her head like a rattle drum.

“Good.” Having received a firm answer, Song Lengzhu suddenly turned and left with the vegetables, coming and going like the wind, leaving Tang Yu’s mind racing with half a dozen different speculations.

Before long, the two teams found their rhythm with each other, and the atmosphere became more natural. Although they had cooperated in life-or-death situations several times, this was the first time they had sat down to eat together.

So everyone was a little expectant, yet too shy to show it. Until they picked up their chopsticks, the atmosphere in the yard was a strange mix of awkwardness, warmth, and politeness.

They started by pulling weeds, then set up two stone piles on the cleared ground and chopped up wooden furniture for firewood. Two simple fire pits were quickly assembled. The twins found two aluminum pots and some tableware from an abandoned house somewhere. They used stones and small stools to create two simple “dining tables.”

The nine of them gathered together, barely forming a rectangle, with only Tang Yu and Jin Ye at the far end with their own pot, a little farther away. Everyone had experience with wilderness survival, so no one was particular about comfort, effectively turning the villa courtyard into a survival camp.

Tang Yu was in charge of starting the fire. A fireball appeared in her palm, and with a pop, she shot it at the pile of firewood, which ignited in moments, drawing an involuntary gasp of amazement from Jian Che.

Zhou Zhou praised, “Tang Yu, Auntie Zhu would absolutely love you.”

After the title of “the wood-chopper,” Tang Yu earned a new nickname—”the fire-starter.”

Whether by intention or coincidence, Song Lengzhu’s spot was right next to Tang Yu’s. The two teams sat scattered about, looking just like a corporate team-building event where the boss forces everyone to split up and mingle.

But Xiao Qi and Xiao Li chattered nonstop, with Zhou Zhou occasionally chiming in, and the atmosphere quickly warmed up.

The simple broth, enhanced with chili oil and seasonings, soon came to a boil. Xiao Li expertly blanched the chicken first to enrich the broth’s flavor before adding the other ingredients.

The seasoning, mixed by Xiao Li and Xiao Qi, was on the spicy side. The aunties’ chili sauce made their tongues tingle, and as the temperature rose, the last bit of distance in the air completely vanished.

Xiao Qi was sweating and tearing up at the same time. “How do you guys have so much good food? How are you eating better than us? Damn it!”

Xiao Li said, “Want to join our camp? Seriously, don’t follow Song Lengzhu anymore. I can tell she can’t cook.” Xiao Li was blunt when it came to teasing Song Lengzhu. “Just now, she was cutting potato slices with a knife, and they were as thick as a wall.”

Hearing this, Tang Yu nearly choked on the chili sauce. Come to think of it, Song Lengzhu had indeed been in charge of preparing vegetables.

Zhou Zhou joked, “That shouldn’t be. Miss Song is excellent with a dagger.”

“Is killing people the same as killing a potato?” Song Lengzhu retorted calmly, shooting a sharp glance at Tang Yu, who was laughing uncontrollably beside her.

Xiao Li suddenly remembered something. “Ah, I forgot to ask if Li Luo and Peng Min were coming. I wonder if they’re asleep already, it’s so late.”

“They’re still busy,” Song Lengzhu replied simply. She had contacted Li Luo earlier. Managing a city wasn’t easy; Li Luo was still settling the residents, and Peng Min was assisting her.

“Oh, well.” Xiao Li said with regret. “It’s okay, we still have some vegetables left. We can eat together another day.”

Eating together had its benefits. Sharing a hot meal makes you true friends.

The group talked about many things—missions, points, game experiences, and even Jian Che. Zhou Zhou didn’t shy away from Jian Che’s identity, explaining her situation directly to Song Lengzhu and the others, and boasting about how quickly she learned everything. From then on, Song Lengzhu would frequently glance at Jian Che’s face.

To help Jian Che get to know everyone, they all introduced themselves by name. That’s how Tang Yu learned that Xiao Qi’s real name was Yan Qi, and the twins were named Bai Shuang and Bai Lu. However, they were women of few words and many actions, sitting quietly together even while eating. It was hard to tell them apart, as even the length of their twin ponytails was identical. Tang Yu decided she would just keep calling them the twins.

Limited by her inability to speak, Tang Yu could only listen during the meal, sitting at the very edge and blinking, occasionally chatting with Jin Ye. Since she spoke less, she observed more. She noticed that Song Lengzhu beside her was usually quiet, only looking up to listen when the topic turned to Jian Che. Tang Yu also noticed that Song Lengzhu didn’t seem to like chicken and rarely used her chopsticks; the dipping sauce in her bowl was almost untouched.

Did she not like the food? Tang Yu began to regret her suggestion. Maybe she shouldn’t have proposed hot pot. Xiao Li knew how to make braised chicken with potatoes, which might have been more widely accepted.

Song Lengzhu turned her head and saw Tang Yu studying her bowl and chopsticks. Guessing what Tang Yu was wondering, she explained, “I ate earlier this evening. It’s not good to eat too much now.”

You’re so health-conscious. Tang Yu nearly had those words written on her face. Then, she noticed that Song Lengzhu was sitting perfectly straight even on the small stool and couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration. This woman’s self-control was just too strong.

Across from them, Jin Ye saw the interaction between the two clearly. Her thoughts were completely different from Tang Yu’s. Song Lengzhu already ate, so why did she agree to come? What’s her motive? It couldn’t be Tang Yu, could it?

Once the thought took root, everything seemed more and more suspicious. She suddenly remembered that on the way to Songming City, Tang Yu had asked her about the topic of “liking” someone. Jin Ye had a sudden realization. All evening, Tang Yu had been secretly watching Song Lengzhu countless times.

Jin Ye’s chopsticks paused as she picked up some food. She kicked Tang Yu’s shoe with her foot. “Sister, you’re done for.”

“Huh?” Tang Yu turned her head in confusion. “What’s done for?”

But Jin Ye said no more, simply continuing to cook her food.

The meal was a lively affair. By the time they finished cleaning up the yard, it was already past midnight. As they were dispersing, Song Lengzhu deliberately walked at the back of her team. After a moment of thought, she turned back and walked straight toward Tang Yu.

Tang Yu was dousing the burnt-out embers with water, a pot in her hand. She looked up at the returning Song Lengzhu and tilted her head, forming a silent question mark.

But what Song Lengzhu asked was a serious matter.

“The programming-savvy member you mentioned before, is that Jian Che?”

Tang Yu nodded. She hadn’t had a chance to talk to Jian Che about this in detail yet.

Song Lengzhu’s expression grew somewhat grave. She chose her words carefully. “A self-aware humanoid entity can be easily discovered by the game company. I think they might have already taken compulsory measures…”

Tang Yu nodded again. She knew Jian Che would automatically resist the game’s repairs—Jian Che herself had mentioned it. But for Song Lengzhu to bring it up so seriously, had she noticed something else was wrong?

“She was very well-behaved tonight, but… she often had a wooden expression. The hand that was free while she ate was clenched into a fist the whole time. Look, it still hasn’t relaxed.” Song Lengzhu lifted her chin slightly, gesturing for Tang Yu to look at Jian Che, who was talking with Xiao Li by the gate.

Tang Yu turned to look and saw that it was true. Jian Che’s expression was clearly a bit unnatural. Upon closer inspection, the fine hairs at her temples were completely soaked with sweat.

“I feel like she’s enduring some kind of pain, like she’s secretly fighting against an external force. But she’s still standing here, perfectly intact. If you look at her not as a person but as an AI, she either possesses powerful defensive capabilities or is constantly self-repairing and upgrading.”

Tang Yu’s expression froze. Jian Che had been listening obediently to everyone’s conversation and hadn’t shown any signs of distress, so she hadn’t paid much attention to her. But Song Lengzhu was different. It seemed that from the moment Jian Che appeared, Song Lengzhu had been observing her.

Song Lengzhu changed the subject. “If you’re going to let her access that computer, you’d better be mentally prepared. Lin Zhongqi said Chaos is a service-type artificial intelligence, and Jian Che is a built-in NPC AI. There might be common ground between them, and their interaction could lead to unforeseen changes.”

“If something happens,” Song Lengzhu said, “you either protect her or kill her.”