Surviving the Game as a Zombie - Chapter 34

In the chaos, Qianqian’s mother saw the faces of Tang Yu and Jin Ye. Only then did she realize that she had been talking to a zombie all along.

Honestly, her heart was filled with terror, but after escaping through the window, Xiao Li grabbed Huang Qianqian’s hand and ran without offering any explanation, so she didn’t have a chance to ask. In any case, these zombies hadn’t harmed her for the time being, so she forced herself to ignore Tang Yu and Jin Ye’s identities.

After running downstairs, Tang Yu and Jin Ye immediately regrouped with Xiao Li and the others. Without a moment’s hesitation, the group broke into a sprint toward the memorial archway.

They avoided the main roads, deliberately ducking into small alleyways.

Qianqian’s mother was very familiar with Huang Village. Protected in the center of the group, she would call out from time to time, telling them which secluded path to take.

Before Lan Jie could come downstairs to hunt them, they had already twisted and turned through the alleys several times. If nothing went wrong, they should have been able to quickly escape her pursuit.

But things rarely go as planned. The players didn’t see them, but the people of Huang Village did.

A man suddenly appeared at a window above an alley. Seeing Qianqian’s mother fleeing below, he immediately shouted, “It’s Mrs. Li!”

At his shout, many surrounding windows were pushed open. Only then did Tang Yu and the others realize that so many villagers had survived.

In the past two days, aside from Granny Mei and the mother-daughter pair, Tang Yu’s group hadn’t seen a single man. They had assumed all the men in Huang Village were dead. But now, these stern-faced, scowling brutes, along with the women who echoed them, had popped out from who knows where.

Tsk. A feeling of disgust rose in Tang Yu.

Villagers living on the lower floors were already blocking the alley with kitchen knives. Tang Yu, at the front of the group, raised a hand to block them, but one man had clearly come prepared. He bypassed the formidable-looking Tang Yu and charged straight for Mrs. Li with his knife.

He couldn’t beat the strong, but he was very skilled at swinging his blade at the weak.

Jin Ye, who was protecting Mrs. Li, reacted quickly. She blocked his arm and simultaneously scratched the back of the man’s hand, completely infecting the villager and turning him into a zombie.

NPCs in the game had only one life. Once infected, they would rapidly degenerate into mindless, shambling monsters. Killing them in their human form would not grant players any points.

When the other villagers blocking the path saw Jin Ye make her move, they were so frightened they stumbled back several steps, not daring to charge forward again for a moment.

Tang Yu and the others seized the opportunity to break out of the encirclement.

Someone in the crowd of villagers shouted, “Mrs. Li is actually mixed up with zombies! That mother and daughter really are dirty things!”

What dirty things! Who are you calling dirty things!

Anger flared in Tang Yu. She turned as if to pounce, and the person who had shouted hastily hid behind someone else, trembling with fear.

Jin Ye pulled Tang Yu back and fired a shot behind them. Without caring who it hit, the group turned and fled.

With the villagers causing such a commotion, Lan Jie could catch up at any moment.

Even after they had run a great distance, they could still hear the villagers gossiping, “…No wonder Mrs. Li cursed her husband to death.”

Tang Yu was so angry she started cursing under her breath. This bunch of villagers seemed defenseless, but their words were utterly vicious, their destructive power no weaker than a player’s bullet.

Huang Qianqian, held in Jin Ye’s arms, pursed her lips and said nothing. Her little face was flushed red, and it was unclear what she was thinking after hearing the villagers’ words.

“Don’t listen to them. Focus on escaping,” Xiao Li said in a low voice, though it was hard to tell if she was speaking to Huang Qianqian or the dazed Mrs. Li.

The villagers didn’t disperse. They didn’t dare pursue Tang Yu, but when they saw Lan Jie catching up, seemingly chasing these people, they suddenly forgot she was an outsider and eagerly reported, “They ran that way! Quick, help us catch Mrs. Li.”

Lan Jie glanced at them. Help? She was only doing this for her own mission.

The journey from the ancient well to the memorial archway should have taken about ten minutes on foot, but Tang Yu felt like she had been running for half an hour. Every second of the escape felt like an eternity.

Players had appeared several times on the routes they chose. Tang Yu was getting a headache. Where were all these players coming from?

What she didn’t know was that Lan Jie had posted their whereabouts on the all-server forum. The players lying in wait in Huang Village, regardless of whether the information was true or false, had all mobilized.

Lan Lin wasn’t familiar with the terrain here, especially the labyrinthine alleys, which made the chase extremely difficult. If this continued, and Mrs. Li escaped Huang Village, her mission would fail. So, she decided to announce Tang Yu’s group’s location to everyone. Even if she couldn’t catch them herself, Mrs. Li wasn’t getting away either.

The news of zombies abducting people quickly caught the players’ attention. They blocked every intersection and patrolled the streets. Coupled with the villagers’ reports, many soon spotted the fleeing group.

Tang Yu hadn’t expected her situation to become increasingly dangerous. They ran through several alleys only to find the exits blocked, forcing them to change course again and again.

And once the players spotted them, they pursued relentlessly. In an instant, Huang Village had turned into a hunting ground, and they were the frantic prey.

What should I do? This has gotten out of hand.

Along the way, Tang Yu had killed a few villagers who blocked their path. Although she felt sorry for the NPCs, she wouldn’t be soft on those who were trying to harm her.

Despite this, their room for maneuver was shrinking. After several frantic dashes, they were forced back to the ancient well.

This is bad. Tang Yu cried out in alarm and was about to lead the others away, but players swarmed in from all directions. The spectating villagers also followed behind the players, armed with kitchen knives and long poles.

This square-shaped open space, with only an ancient well and an old banyan tree, was now surrounded by people.

The players, having reached some sort of agreement on the forum, only forced the group back without opening fire.

Tang Yu later realized that Mrs. Li and her daughter were the medicine catalysts. After coming into contact with the rotten flesh, their bl00d had to keep circulating for an hour. They couldn’t be killed just yet.

In the crowd, Tang Yu saw Lan Jie, and also Song Lengzhu.

She faced the two of them, a threatening growl rumbling in her throat, which in the eyes of the crowd looked like a monkey show.

A zombie that wielded a weapon and protected humans was something players hadn’t seen in the past year.

Someone suggested, “Let’s take off their legs first, so they can’t run again.”

“No.” Two voices spoke in denial at the same time.

Tang Yu and the others looked over and saw Zhou Zhou in the crowd.

Zhou Zhou squeezed her way to Song Lengzhu’s side, first giving a nod of acknowledgment, then addressing the crowd, “The medicine catalysts can’t lose too much bl00d.”

Her words didn’t really hold up to scrutiny. A single bullet could disable a person’s mobility, and by avoiding the arteries, excessive bl00d loss could be prevented.

But the crowd obediently held back. It wasn’t because of Zhou Zhou’s objection, but out of respect for the other person who had spoken against it. That person was Song Lengzhu.

Tang Yu was also surprised. She was surprised that Zhou Zhou had returned in just two days and that she now seemed to be on another side. She was even more surprised that Song Lengzhu didn’t seem to want to kill her.

This was the first time Song Lengzhu had encountered Tang Yu and Jin Ye in broad daylight. The bright light allowed for a clearer view of the two zombies’ faces. She recognized Jin Ye, a player she had fought and killed before. But Tang Yu’s face was one she had never seen in the game before.

Black lines snaked up her neck—mutated bl00d vessels, a clear sign of a zombie. But those sparkling eyes were something a zombie could never possess.

She guessed that some player might have triggered a game bug.

“Are you a player?” Song Lengzhu asked Tang Yu out of the blue.

The people next to her looked at her in astonishment. “What? Can players choose their own race now?”

Tang Yu couldn’t nod or shake her head. Reacting would be solid proof that she could understand them.

For some reason, Tang Yu didn’t want to expose her identity in front of so many people. She didn’t move, gave no reaction at all, merely shielded the mother and daughter behind her, her grip on her knife tightening and tightening again.

Seeing that the other party didn’t respond but stubbornly protected the insignificant NPCs, Song Lengzhu felt a strange sensation rise within her. She thought with some self-mockery, now it was the players who wanted to harm the weak, while a zombie was protecting humans. How had everyone’s roles become so misplaced?

Tang Yu could have escaped on her own. She could turn invisible.

But her teammates would surely not be able to escape the pursuit of so many people. She couldn’t abandon these few friends she had.

Tang Yu maintained her stance, her gaze fixed on Lan Lin and Song Lengzhu.

Song Lengzhu didn’t want to kill her right now, but Lan Lin did.

Lan Lin drew her gun, but as if she suddenly foresaw something, she resentfully put it away again.

But it was too late. That single action shattered the delicate balance that had been painstakingly maintained among the players.

A young player, unable to wait any longer, lunged to grab the mother and daughter. Someone behind him pulled him back. “What are you doing!”

The young man said impatiently, “With so many people just standing around, how is the mission supposed to get done? Besides, apart from this weird zombie, no one has caught Mrs. Li and her daughter yet. Who does this mission even belong to?”

His question stumped the onlookers.

Right now, Mrs. Li and her daughter were unowned. The desire to snatch them arose in all the players.

Who didn’t want to complete the mission themselves?

He wasn’t the only one with this idea. Someone had already dragged over a rotting corpse, preparing to make the medicine.

Tang Yu shot a look at her teammates. The relationships between players were highly unstable. It would be easier to deal with them if they were fighting each other rather than united.

Xiao Li was no stranger to sowing discord. She peeked out from behind Jin Ye and said with a serious face, “We escaped from Lan Jie. If you want to capture them, you’ll have to ask for her permission first.”

Lan Lin: ?

A player in the crowd retorted defiantly, “Who the hell is Lan Lin? Whoever catches them gets to keep them.”

The moment he finished speaking, a bullet struck the ground at his feet.

“Watch your mouth. There aren’t many people here who can beat me, and you’re not one of them.” Lan Lin holstered her gun, then lifted her cheongsam to tuck the weapon into a thigh holster. Her face was gentle, but her words were unsettling.

Fearing she hadn’t fanned the flames enough, Tang Yu shielded the mother and daughter and took a step toward Lan Lin and Song Lengzhu.

That single step was enough to make some players lose their patience and start trying to grab the pair, afraid of losing the first-mover advantage.

“Run!” Tang Yu alerted Jin Ye. The moment the players started to move, the three of them protected the mother and daughter and looked for a weak point in the encirclement.

Once one player made a move, the others were unwilling to be left behind, scrambling for the advantage. In the chaos, they obstructed each other, pushing and pulling, until they were in a full-blown brawl. Many teams soon suffered casualties, and because of the casualties, the anger among the players intensified.

In this dog-eat-dog apocalypse, the cooperative relationships between humans were pitifully fragile.

Amidst the conflict, Tang Yu’s situation was not optimistic. She needed to protect the mother and daughter from being captured while also avoiding lethal attacks from others. After all, she wasn’t a medicine primer; these players had no reason to show her mercy.

The light from Startling Dragon flashed everywhere. Tang Yu pushed her body to its absolute physical limit. She swung her knife with extreme speed, every strike aimed at a player’s vital point.

The cervical spine, eyeballs, the back of the head, even the temples—as the battle dragged on, Tang Yu’s eyes saw nothing but the enemy’s fatal weaknesses.

In the chaos, she had no idea how many people she had cut or scratched. Some mutated into mindless zombies, only to be quickly dispatched by those around them.

Ever since entering the game, Tang Yu had been focused on survival, rarely confronting so many enemies head-on. At this moment, her nerves were stretched taut like a string, and she could even feel the high-frequency throbbing of the bl00d vessels in her temples.

So familiar.

This feeling of her nerves being stretched to the breaking point, even the sensation of being struck by a weapon, all felt so familiar.

Before Tang Yu could grasp this fleeting, strange feeling, a hand suddenly shot through her defense and grabbed Huang Qianqian’s wrist.

Damn it.

Tang Yu reflexively swung her knife at the person’s arm, but they dodged with a sidestep, avoiding her attack with incredible speed. Then, they scooped up Huang Qianqian and broke through a weak point in the encirclement.

It was Zhou Zhou.

“Qianqian!” Mrs. Li cried out in terror and tried to rush forward, but Jin Ye had to hold her back again.

Tang Yu stared at Zhou Zhou in disbelief. Zhou Zhou’s mission was clearly different from the other players’. Why would she abduct Huang Qianqian?