Surviving the Game as a Zombie - Chapter 23

In an instant, the itching and pain on Tang Yu’s body vanished completely. But other than that, nothing about her body had changed.

Berserk? No. Invisibility? Also no. There wasn’t even a sign of her wounds healing. She had confirmed it for nothing.

Tang Yu cursed under her breath and closed the panel. With the pain gone, she could only run a little faster. Was that supposed to be her new ability?

This was of no help to her current situation.

Tang Yu truly didn’t see Xiao Qi’s third attack coming.

The other woman suddenly appeared right in front of her. Tang Yu, who had been running in circles, couldn’t stop her momentum. Seeing that she was about to crash into Xiao Qi’s gun, she made a split-second decision and reached out to twist the muzzle.

The moment her fingers touched the gun, Tang Yu grabbed the barrel with her bare hands and twisted hard. The shot went wide, hitting a bronze sculpture. The ejected casing flew up and grazed Tang Yu’s cheek.

Tang Yu didn’t let go. Instead, she used the momentum to pull Xiao Qi toward her, opening her mouth to bite down.

In that pull, Tang Yu inevitably touched the hand Xiao Qi was using to hold the gun. Xiao Qi knew the consequences of being bitten. She reacted instantly, dropping her weapon and vanishing on the spot.

Tang Yu couldn’t pull back in time and took a step back, filled with regret. She had been so close to scratching Xiao Qi.

But her regret was quickly replaced by astonishment. After she touched Xiao Qi, something felt different about her body.

Her limbs felt light and airy, as if a sense of clarity had flowed through her bones and muscles.

Before she could think too much about it, the twins who had been chasing her caught up and raised their guns to fire.

Tang Yu’s pupils constricted. Almost subconsciously, with a mere thought, her body was instantly pierced by the air, and she experienced a second of weightlessness.

She, too, had vanished into thin air.

The two twins let out a low cry of surprise. Song Lengzhu, who was observing from a distance, also froze in place.

What… what was going on?

Tang Yu was still standing next to the sculpture, maintaining her evasive posture. She looked down at her own hands, her gaze passing straight through her palms to the floor below.

Holy cow, it seemed she had acquired a pretty incredible ability.

Tang Yu was certain that this invisibility skill wasn’t something she had right after confirming the panel. The change had only occurred after she touched Xiao Qi.

It was less like gaining an ability and more like replicating Xiao Qi’s.

She suddenly remembered that when the Zombie King had fought Shen Xu, it had also used the exact same berserk ability as him, and all of that happened after the Zombie King touched Shen Xu’s arm.

Tang Yu’s eyes widened. So, she had inherited the Zombie King’s ability, and that ability was Replication?! She moved cautiously, confirming that Song Lengzhu and the others truly couldn’t see her.

The situation tonight had changed again and again. Suddenly, Tang Yu had a chance to live.

She quickly ducked down and ran away from the sculpture, heading for the distance.

But after running a few steps, Tang Yu stopped again. She wanted to observe the enemy’s reaction to understand their methods.

Tang Yu scrambled up to the arm of the goddess statue in one go, holing up just as the Zombie King had done, poking only her head out to observe the situation below.

Xiao Qi reappeared by the sculpture, her face full of astonishment. “How can this zombie turn invisible?”

No one could answer her.

Song Lengzhu scanned her surroundings with a cold gaze. She activated her heightened sense of smell and could sense that Tang Yu was still in the square. But in this open space, the scent dissipated quickly, and the area around the church was filled with the smell of zombies, making it impossible for her to pinpoint Tang Yu’s exact location.

Tang Yu couldn’t help but marvel. This invisibility skill had its flaws for attacking, but it was fantastic for staying alive!

With some breathing room, Tang Yu crouched in the crook of the goddess statue’s arm and pulled up her game panel for a closer look.

Her points hadn’t changed much. They had only increased to 160 for killing Brother Hu and converting Lu Lu. However, the “Current Objective” and “Talent/Abilities” sections had undergone significant changes.

The mission to find the Zombie King was now marked as complete. The special mission to join the Zombie King that had popped up earlier was now grayed out and void due to Song Lengzhu’s appearance, with a line struck through it. Below the line, a new message had appeared.

“Special Mission 2: Kill the Zombie King. —”

“Mission settlement complete. Settlement details:

1. Obtained the Zombie King’s ‘Replication’ ability: This is an active skill. By touching others, you can rapidly acquire the ability they are currently using. The ability is retained permanently.”

Tang Yu was ecstatic. What an overpowered ability! She continued reading.

“But be aware: The corresponding flaws and costs of the ability will also be replicated. The flaws of the ability cannot be known before replication. After replication, details can be viewed on the game panel.”

Reading this, Tang Yu’s surging excitement subsided a little. As expected, the game’s balance was tightly controlled. The ability had seemed completely overpowered, but with this restriction, she would have to act with caution.

If she replicated an ability with a fatal flaw, wouldn’t that be a huge loss?

Tang Yu glanced at the ground. Song Lengzhu and the others were searching for her everywhere.

She looked away and continued reading the messages on the panel.

“Settlement details:

2. Completed intermediate special mission. Physical fitness increased to 50 (initial value was 20.)

3. Health increased to 20 (initial value was 10.)

4. Healing ability increased to 10, Agility increased to 10.

*As a fellow zombie, no points are awarded for killing the Zombie King; without obtaining the mycelium spore sac, the ability to control zombies cannot be acquired.”

The Talent/Abilities section now listed “Replication” and “Invisibility.” Additionally, there was a description for Invisibility.

“Invisibility: The entire body becomes transparent, including but not limited to carried weapons and luggage. Flaws: (1) Carried living creatures cannot be hidden; can only be used to turn oneself invisible. (2) Will still receive physical damage if hit. (3) Will become visible for one second before launching an attack.”

Tang Yu closed the panel and let out a long sigh. Despite the many restrictions, obtaining two abilities at once still put her in a great mood.

She poked her head out to look down and saw Song Lengzhu pacing below the goddess statue.

A thought flashed through Tang Yu’s mind: if she touched Song Lengzhu, what kind of ability would she get?

Just then, Song Lengzhu seemed to sense something and looked up at the statue.

Through the darkness of the night, Tang Yu’s gaze met Song Lengzhu’s.

This was the first time Tang Yu had seriously looked into Song Lengzhu’s eyes. Song Lengzhu had a pair of clear, dark brown pupils that reflected the moonlight with a faint blue tint, making them look deep and bright.

Tang Yu’s heart was squeezed tight, and it skipped a beat uncontrollably. She couldn’t tell if she was stunned by her beauty or just plain terrified.

At that moment, the ruthlessness in Song Lengzhu’s eyes was completely undisguised. She stared fixedly at the goddess statue’s downturned face, her gaze landing on its bent arm.

Tang Yu held her breath and shrank back. Even though she was invisible, she still felt a sense of guilt. She chanted silently in her heart: You can’t see me, you can’t see me.

But Song Lengzhu’s gaze lingered for a long time.

Just as Tang Yu’s psychological pressure was about to explode, Song Lengzhu suddenly moved.

She raised her hand, aimed, and fired, all in one smooth motion.

The bullet cut through the air and embedded itself firmly right next to Tang Yu’s ear.

Hiss. Tang Yu took a deep breath and slowly shifted her position.

Then came the second shot, which hit the exact spot where Tang Yu had just been.

Tang Yu was inwardly astonished: What’s going on! Can she see me?!

Tang Yu was so scared she almost fell off the statue.

After two fruitless shots, Song Lengzhu seemed to confirm that there was no one on the statue and lowered her gun.

Tang Yu let out a sigh of relief. Before she could fully relax, she heard Song Lengzhu speak.

“No matter where you hide, I will find you.”

Tang Yu’s heart skipped another beat. Those words sounded terrifying.

She patted her chest and looked up to see the twins and Xiao Qi spread out to the left, center, and right, searching the square. Tang Yu couldn’t help but marvel at how difficult this team was. Even when faced with an unexpected situation, they maintained an efficient search pattern.

A gentleman’s revenge is never too late. Tang Yu wasn’t planning to wait around any longer. Seeing Song Lengzhu head towards another statue, Tang Yu immediately climbed down from the goddess statue and slipped away towards the bell tower.

She had to find Jin Ye and Xiao Li.

If her teammates were killed by Song Lengzhu, she wouldn’t forgive this group even if she were turned to ash.

Having escaped the danger, Tang Yu remained invisible. She circled the bell tower but didn’t see the bodies of Jin Ye or Xiao Li.

Tang Yu felt a little relieved. No bodies meant they had escaped alive.

Only then did she open her game panel and try to contact Jin Ye through the ally function.

But after waiting for a while, Jin Ye didn’t reply.

Tang Yu could only circle the church again, searching. Finally, in the park behind the church, she found a heavily injured Jin Ye.

Jin Ye had fallen into a semi-conscious state. Xiao Li was holding her, sitting in the bushes, her face streaked with tears.

Tang Yu deactivated her invisibility, called out to them softly, then went to Jin Ye to check her injuries.

The gunshot wound wasn’t fatal; the bl00d was flowing out slowly. But combined with the force of their fall, Jin Ye’s internal organs and cervical spine had been severely damaged. Her initial body couldn’t withstand such injuries.

Tang Yu was also sweating with anxiety. After a quick assessment, she rummaged through her backpack for the medicine she had scavenged, taking out some painkillers and hemostatic drugs to apply and administer to Jin Ye.

But these conventional medicines were just a drop in the bucket.

Tang Yu knew that the two of them were different from ordinary zombies. They felt pain and fatigue, and it was very possible they could die from severe injuries.

The most urgent task was to find a safe place with no players so they could rest and recuperate.

Tang Yu took the opportunity to check her own wounds. Of the four shots Song Lengzhu had fired, one bullet had hit her forearm, and another had struck her shoulder blade. Neither was a fatal wound, and they were now bleeding slowly. The other two shots seemed to have been blocked by the Zombie King.

Tang Yu haphazardly applied some medicine to herself, but since her physical fitness had been enhanced, she could barely feel any pain from these two wounds.

After tending to the wounds, Tang Yu carefully picked up Jin Ye. She was taller and could carry a person much more easily than Xiao Li, so she consciously took on the heavy task of moving the injured. Together with Xiao Li, she left the park.

In the live stream room.

The previously bustling comment section was now completely silent. After a moment, a single comment finally popped up.

“Can I breathe now?”

As soon as this comment appeared, the audience seemed to snap back to their senses, chattering away.

“So thrilling, that scared me to death. I thought Tang Jie was definitely dead after falling from the tower,” someone said.

“When Song Lengzhu had her cornered, I also thought Tang Jie was a goner.”

The live stream was from Tang Yu’s third-person perspective, so the audience could immersively share her feelings when she fell from the tower and confronted Song Lengzhu.

“What a great show! From the moment the Zombie King appeared, the roles of hunter and prey kept switching between the players and the zombies. So satisfying!”

“Only Tang Jie’s role as the kill-stealer never changed.”

“Hahahaha, I’d like to call her the King of Kill-Stealing, and she’s always playing it safe to develop.”

“Does she have a luck-based ability from birth? To not die from that, and even steal an ability.”

“And she picked up a follower!”

“It’s more than one ability, right? I feel like something’s off with her ability,” someone guessed.

“True, how did she get one exactly like Xiao Qi’s?”

In front of the light screen, Xiao Zhao let out a deep sigh of relief.

Tang Yu’s game panel was hidden during the live stream; the audience could only see her points and basic skills. Abilities, current objectives, and physical stats were not open to viewers.

This was because some people who had game eligibility but hadn’t entered yet would choose to watch the interstellar live streams first. If an existing player’s abilities were leaked, those new players could enter the game and kill them with precision.

However, the number of such players was already very small. Game eligibility was determined when the game went on sale. Other than the company’s live streamers, any citizen of the home star who was over 16 and had no criminal record or credit crisis could enter the game and play freely. Therefore, in the initial sales period, 90% of players had already flooded into the game to try it out, leaving only those with little interest in the game to automatically give up their eligibility.

Of the 90% of players who entered the game, half didn’t survive the initial virus outbreak, quickly squandering their one and only chance at the experience. Now, those still interested in the game could only watch others play in the live stream rooms.

New players like Lu Lu were actually quite rare, but it was clear she was simple-minded and hadn’t gathered information on other players beforehand.

Xiao Zhao couldn’t help but admire Tang Yu’s luck. Thank heavens, her cash cow was safe.

Song Lengzhu’s gaze had not only intimidated Tang Yu but had also successfully intimidated Xiao Zhao and the other viewers.

Such a ruthless look was rarely seen on people from the home star.

Xiao Zhao glanced at the light screen next to her. On it were her notes, containing the information she had collected on Song Lengzhu.

There were only four words: “No such person found.”

Xiao Zhao had tried many search methods, but the result was always the same.

Thanks to the advanced population registration system, no two people in the interstellar era had the same name. Everyone’s name was their own unique identifier. People of the home star were used to using their real names for everything, a habit developed over hundreds of years. Except when committing crimes, of course.

Therefore, the names that appeared in the game were all real names, although this was also a requirement of the game.

However, many of these names could not be found online, such as those of the home star’s central government, high-ranking officials, certain criminals, and even people in special professions.

It should have been a common occurrence for Xiao Zhao to be unable to find information on Song Lengzhu, but Xiao Zhao just felt that there was more to her than met the eye.

When Xiao Zhao came back to her senses and looked at the live stream again, the direction of the comments had taken a complete turn.

“I’m just saying, don’t you guys think Song Jie is really interested in Xiao Tang? The kind that chases her relentlessly?”

“Yes, yes, that ‘I’ll go wherever you go’ feeling!”

“And she even said those harsh words, ‘No matter where you hide, I will find you.’ Ah, someone stop me, I’m about to start shipping them.”

“Shipping everything will be the end of you. This is clearly a death CP.”

“Count me in!”

“I’m already obsessed, sis. I’ve been quietly shipping them since they first met.”

“I’ll say it again, shipping everything will be the end of you!!!”

Xiao Zhao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She let them discuss it; discussion brought popularity to her live stream.

But not all the comments were friendly. Someone popped up at an inopportune moment:

“Why can she get an ability? Why?” someone asked, confused. “This doesn’t seem like the treatment for a criminal.”

“Who cares? This game has an incredibly high degree of freedom. Tang Jie might have pioneered a new way to play.”

“Even the Zombie King can have an ability, so it’s not strange for Tang Jie to have one as a zombie.”

“I once watched a criminal player. When he was put into the game, he was a random NPC. His initial stats were identical to Tang Jie’s, no weapons, no supplies. Survival depended entirely on himself. That’s not preferential treatment.”

“Maybe Tang Jie’s original self was a good fighter and a good scavenger, so she walked a different path.”

“But I think, since she’s a criminal and the purpose of putting her in the game is for punishment, the game difficulty should be increased.”

“I think her game difficulty is pretty high. If it were me, I would have died long ago.”

“I don’t agree. Shouldn’t Star Research step in and do something?”

Xiao Zhao rubbed her forehead. As more and more people flooded into the live stream room, everyone had their own opinions, and arguments were common. Some people automatically assumed Tang Yu was a heinous villain and thus found it hard to accept her status.

This was understandable.

Xiao Zhao pulled up Tang Yu’s file again and looked at it. The crime listed was “violating the home star’s entry regulations.”

This wasn’t a major crime on the planet. Usually, one would just pay a fine or be deported back to their own planet. The home star was a unified star domain; violating entry regulations was at most equivalent to traveling without reporting it. In short, this crime had never resulted in a punishment as severe as Tang Yu’s.

This kind of violation and its punishment could be looked up on public websites; it wasn’t classified information.

Xiao Zhao thought for a moment and posted this information in the live stream room, explaining Tang Yu’s crime.

This time, the comments stopped arguing.

“What? Am I seeing things? Just for violating entry regulations?”

“If that’s true, that’s so unfair.”

“It’s true, just came back from checking the public website. So tragic.”

“Wait, I feel like there’s some inside story here.”

“Who knows.”

As the viewers discussed among themselves, Xiao Zhao’s damn curiosity flared up again. She pulled up Tang Yu’s file and looked it over repeatedly, then dialed a number on her wristband.

“Brother Qi, it’s me, Xiao Zhao. Hey, you’ve been to Planet 879 before, right? I wanted to ask if you know anyone who lives in… let me see, who lives in Sector Seventeen…”