Surviving the Game as a Zombie - Chapter 32

Lan Jie pursed her lips and chuckled softly. “It seems the information you’ve obtained is no less than mine.”

The bald man took a step back, his right hand pressing down firmly on Qianqian’s mother, afraid that Song Lengzhu would snatch her away.

Upstairs, Tang Yu was shocked by what she heard. A medicinal catalyst? Qianqian’s mother is a medicinal catalyst? This was far beyond her comprehension.

Just then, there was a soft knock on the door. Jin Ye and the others had already snuck outside. Tang Yu opened the door for them and signaled for Xiao Li to be ready to cover Huang Qianqian’s mouth at any moment. The little girl would surely cry out instinctively upon seeing her mother captured.

Huang Qianqian peeked out from the window, her head popping up for a quick glance. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but then covered it with her small hands and squatted down, shrinking into a corner.

It was an almost reflexive action.

A complex emotion flashed through Tang Yu’s mind. This little girl must have been through many dangerous situations to be able to suppress a child’s instinct to cry. Or perhaps her mother had once told her that when faced with danger, she must immediately fall silent and hide.

Xiao Li squatted down, wrapping her arms around Huang Qianqian, who was huddled in the corner. The black cat also jumped out of Jin Ye’s backpack and rubbed against its little owner. Xiao Li asked softly, “Are you sure that’s your mom?”

The little girl nodded with tears in her eyes. Although she could only see the woman’s back as she was being carried, Huang Qianqian knew she wasn’t mistaken.

Now that the target’s identity was confirmed, the three of them quickly discussed a rescue plan in the camp’s group chat.

They planned to find a way to reignite the subsided battle, letting Song Lengzhu and Lan Jie fight a little longer so they could find an opportunity to ambush the bald man.

The ambush, of course, would be Tang Yu’s job, as she had the advantage of invisibility. Jin Ye and Xiao Li would be responsible for long-range support and backup.

No sooner said than done. Tang Yu leaned out for a look, preparing to slip down and cause some trouble. But just as she lifted her foot, she noticed something was wrong. Someone was missing from Song Lengzhu’s team.

Xiao Qi was gone.

As someone who could also turn invisible, Tang Yu couldn’t see where Xiao Qi had gone either. Her gaze swept the area for a moment before finally settling on the space behind the bald man.

Sure enough, Xiao Qi appeared behind the man. The attack was instantaneous. Xiao Qi grabbed the back of the man’s neck. He seemed to have hit a nerve, paralyzing the man for a moment. Now visible, Xiao Qi quickly freed a hand to grab Qianqian’s mother.

It all happened so suddenly that Tang Yu was also taken aback. Then she realized it was a perfect opportunity to snatch the person. Tang Yu swung herself out the window, preparing to leap down and grab Qianqian’s mother amidst the chaos.

But at that moment, Lan Jie turned and fired. The bullet flew straight and true, right at Xiao Qi, as if she had been ready to shoot all along. Having failed to secure her target, Xiao Qi could only duck behind the bald man and turn invisible again.

Tang Yu, who was about to jump, barely managed to stop herself.

What’s going on? The opportunity is gone just like that?

Lan Jie turned back and smiled at Song Lengzhu. “We’ve fought so many times. You’ve long known my ability is premonition, yet you still dare to send someone for a sneak attack?”

Song Lengzhu didn’t show any regret. She replied calmly, “Just a test. It would have been great if it worked, but no loss if it didn’t.” She suddenly raised her head, scanning the surrounding walls and windows, and asked Lan Jie, “Since you can see the future, why don’t you see how many people will be coming to ambush us later?”

Lan Jie lowered her eyes and smiled faintly, saying nothing.

Tang Yu, still hanging outside, sullenly pulled herself back in.

She sent a message in the group chat: “This won’t work. That woman can predict the future. I’ll be discovered the moment I appear.”

Everyone fell silent.

A moment later, Jin Ye replied: “Now is not the right time to rescue her. Lan Jie is in a state of combat readiness and will use her premonition ability at any moment. We need to wait until she’s calm and relaxed before we make a move. She can’t stay on high alert forever.”

Tang Yu thought about it and agreed. If Lan Jie had been constantly using her ability, she wouldn’t have fired her gun and triggered the subsequent events.

This ability must have some kind of limitation.

Tang Yu held back in time, but the other players who had heard the gunshot and come to set up ambushes hadn’t heard the conversation between Song Lengzhu and Lan Jie. They swarmed forward, pouring in from the alleys at both ends to surround the two women.

Perhaps Xiao Qi’s move made them misjudge the timing, thinking it was a good opportunity to attack. They acted with the hope of succeeding in one strike, but as soon as they showed themselves, Lan Jie shot and killed two of them. Someone fired at Song Lengzhu, but she dodged it in time.

The fight below was chaotic. Jin Ye boldly poked her head out and glanced down. She observed Song Lengzhu for a moment and murmured, “She actually has a danger-prediction ability too.”

“What’s that?” Tang Yu asked in the group chat.

“Like premonition, this ability can also detect nearby danger. The difference is that danger prediction can only detect fatal threats, and it only predicts that there is danger, without knowing what the danger is. Although it has limitations, in the hands of a powerful person, this ability is more than enough.”

Tang Yu was stunned. Two people with precognitive abilities were facing off—how could they even fight? Before long, the impulsive players who had rushed out to take advantage of the chaos were either dead or had fled.

Tang Yu couldn’t help but feel relieved that she hadn’t been reckless.

The alley returned to a standoff between the two sides. Other than the addition of a few player corpses, it was no different from before, as if nothing had happened.

Song Lengzhu clearly had no intention of letting Lan Jie go. The gun in her hand was still poised to fire.

Lan Jie was a bit exasperated. “Song Lengzhu, there are two medicinal catalysts. Go find the other one. There’s no need to keep fixating on me.”

Song Lengzhu replied, “There are two, but they only work when brought together. You’ve played this far; don’t tell me you haven’t received that tip?”

Lan Jie chuckled lightly. “How about this? We cooperate for once. You’ll be responsible for finding the other catalyst, and we’ll complete this mission together.”

Song Lengzhu didn’t answer, seemingly considering the matter seriously.

Upstairs, the three of them were clicking their tongues in amazement. Using people as medicinal catalysts, and two of them at that, sounded utterly bizarre.

Jin Ye said in the group chat: “It’s confirmed now. This is a cryptic mission.”

“What’s that?” Tang Yu asked.

“The main conflict in the game is between zombies and humans, so the main quests are mostly related to zombies and the serum. However, it also involves chain disasters spawned by the apocalypse, like plagues, famines, and cults. Side quests related to these things tend to have some abnormal elements and are called cryptic missions, like this one using people as medicinal catalysts.”

“Are there many bizarre missions like this?” Tang Yu asked.

“Not many.”

Jin Ye’s reply popped up in the camp’s group chat. Tang Yu cursed the game for being twisted. Her gaze fell on Huang Qianqian, and she couldn’t help but worry.

Two medicinal catalysts. If one of them was Qianqian’s mother, then the other was most likely Huang Qianqian.

As for what Lan Jie and Song Lengzhu would do to them after getting the catalysts, Tang Yu had no idea. Their own mission progress was slow, and they hadn’t triggered any new tips yet.

But since they were medicinal catalysts, it was bound to be something bad.

What sins did this mother and daughter commit to be given such a role by the game?

When Tang Yu looked back, Song Lengzhu and Lan Jie seemed to have reached some kind of agreement. They arranged to meet at the old well in three days. Both teams retreated, disappearing around the corner of the alley.

Tang Yu discussed it with her companions for a while and decided to follow Lan Jie, since Qianqian’s mother was in her hands.

The invisible Tang Yu followed closely from the front, periodically reporting their movements to Jin Ye and Xiao Li. She discovered that as long as she didn’t attack or reveal herself, Lan Jie couldn’t predict her presence.

Jin Ye and Xiao Li kept a closer watch on Huang Qianqian, having her walk between them for all-around protection.

Lan Jie didn’t return to her previous house. While retreating, she had tried to contact the subordinate who had disappeared after chasing the cat, but there was no response. So, she guessed her subordinate had been killed and that other players were lying in ambush in that house.

This time, they found a house far from the old well, and Tang Yu slipped in after them.

After they settled in, one of Lan Jie’s subordinates asked, “Sis, do you really believe that woman with the surname Song will keep her promise?”

“I don’t. That’s why we have to guard the medicinal catalyst well. She could come to steal it at any time.”

Lan Jie walked over to Qianqian’s mother and pinched her chin. “I’ll give you one more chance. Where is your child hidden?”

Qianqian’s mother gritted her teeth and said nothing, her deep blue eyes filled with hatred. She would not give up her daughter, even if it meant death.

Lan Jie seemed to have interrogated Qianqian’s mother many times. Upon closer inspection, Tang Yu noticed whip marks on her body. Tang Yu recalled that when she first saw Lan Jie, the woman was toying with a bl00d-stained hemp rope.

These players had absolutely no regard for the pain of NPCs.

Following the directions, Jin Ye and Xiao Li settled on the floor of the adjacent building. Their window was directly opposite Lan Jie’s, with only an arm’s length of distance between them.

Lan Jie’s subordinate drew the curtains and posted a guard there. Meanwhile, Qianqian’s mother was roughly thrown into the bathroom, and the subordinate locked the door.

The bathroom had no windows, but high up on the wall was an opening the size of an exhaust fan. Since it was still daytime, light shone in, so the bathroom wasn’t too dim.

Before the door was locked, Tang Yu grabbed a notebook and a pencil from a small desk, then slipped into the bathroom. She waited until dusk, when there was no more movement outside, before tearing off a piece of paper and tossing it on the floor.

She was testing whether Lan Jie had activated her premonition and could detect the anomaly here.

The sudden appearance of the paper startled Qianqian’s mother. She took two steps back, then picked up the slip of paper and examined it repeatedly. There was nothing on it.

After a long while, no one came to check from outside. Tang Yu relaxed. Lan Jie had probably let her guard down and wasn’t using her ability.

Tang Yu wrote a line on the remaining paper: “Qianqian’s mother, please rest assured, your daughter is safe right now. We are trying to find a way to rescue you, but we need your cooperation. Please don’t panic or scream. If you can do this, please nod.”

She tossed the note on the ground. As it left her fingers, it slowly materialized in mid-air.

Qianqian’s mother seemed to have gotten used to paper appearing out of thin air. She picked up the note and stared at the words on it.

But contrary to Tang Yu’s expectations, Qianqian’s mother became very flustered. She didn’t believe her child was safe. Only one thought filled her mind: someone had found her daughter, and these people were outsiders with special abilities.

She didn’t trust outsiders.

Qianqian’s mother didn’t nod. In her panic, she even accidentally knocked over the bottles and jars on the sink. The man guarding the door immediately opened it for a look. Seeing only Qianqian’s mother in the bathroom, he threatened, “Behave yourself!” and quickly shut the door again.

This is difficult, Tang Yu sighed inwardly, but she understood a mother’s feelings. If she were in her shoes, she wouldn’t believe it either.

Tang Yu tossed the pencil onto the paper, signaling for Qianqian’s mother to communicate with her.

Qianqian’s mother wrote in the notebook: “Who are you? What are you going to do to my daughter?”

“We are also the outsiders you speak of, but we have no intention of harming you or Qianqian. Qianqian is with my companions right now, and Xiao Hei is there too.”

At the mention of Xiao Hei, Qianqian’s mother seemed to calm down a little. Their family’s black cat was very smart; if these people were bad, Xiao Hei wouldn’t have gone with them.

Just then, a black shadow suddenly blocked the light from the exhaust vent. The two in the bathroom looked up and saw that it was indeed the black cat.

Tang Yu opened her game panel and saw a message from Jin Ye: “I had the black cat jump across along the windowsill and drainpipe. Can you see it?”

“I see it.” Tang Yu closed the panel and saw that Qianqian’s mother’s panic had subsided significantly.

The black cat leaped down lightly from its high perch. It first nuzzled affectionately against Qianqian’s mother, then circled around Tang Yu’s feet.

It can sense me, Tang Yu thought, surprised. She squatted down and stroked its head.

Xiao Hei showed no malice, which finally made Qianqian’s mother lower her guard. She reached out and waved her hand in Tang Yu’s direction. Although there was nothing in front of her, she touched a piece of fabric—it was Tang Yu’s sleeve.

Qianqian’s mother quickly pulled her hand back and wrote on the paper: “I believe you a little now. How are we going to escape?”

Tang Yu didn’t answer that question. She first asked about something else that concerned her: “Why do those people call you a medicinal catalyst? Do you have something special on you?”

“I don’t know.” Qianqian’s mother wrote these words, her expression conflicted.

“If you don’t tell us, it will be very difficult to find a way to save you,” Tang Yu reminded her.

Only then did Qianqian’s mother write: “There’s an old god-woman in Huang Village. When I married into the village and when Qianqian was born, she came to our door to cause trouble, saying that Qianqian and I were born at inauspicious times—one pure yin and one pure yang—and that we would bring harm to the entire village in the future.”

Tang Yu’s brow twitched. What kind of feudal superstition is this?

Qianqian’s mother turned a page in the notebook and continued writing: “When that woman outside was torturing me, she also mentioned the god-woman’s name. I guess it’s related to her.”

“Where does the god-woman live?”

“In the small house to the right of the Huang Village ancestral hall. The villagers fled this place before, but the god-woman didn’t leave. We were surprised to find she was still alive when we came back.”

It seems this god-woman has some skills, Tang Yu thought. She synced the information with Jin Ye and Xiao Li, telling them to go and check out this god-woman tonight.