Surviving the Game as a Zombie - Chapter 37

Song Lengzhu glanced at the three of them. “I haven’t decided.”

She paced a couple of steps, then looked up and asked Xiao Li, “Since you’re players and your skills aren’t bad, why not join my team?”

Hearing this, the three of them shook their heads like rattle drums. Xiao Li vehemently refused, “No way! Not happening! Impossible!”

Not to mention they already had their own camp. As long as they slowly collected points, they would live a good life.

Besides, they had fought with Song Lengzhu so many times. That woman surnamed Song was so fierce and menacing; joining her team would surely lead to nothing good.

Tang Yu thought, Maybe that woman surnamed Song is planning to use her position to settle a personal score. Who knows how she’d torture me. Join her team? Impossible!

Song Lengzhu sounded a little regretful. “If you won’t be teammates, letting you go will just turn you into formidable rivals. In that case… I might as well kill you.”

“You! How can a living person say such cold words,” Xiao Li cursed.

Zhou Zhou was packing her case on the side. She smiled. “Is Miss Song getting into the business of coercion now?”

Song Lengzhu replied, “I was just saying.” She didn’t draw her gun or assume an attack stance.

Song Lengzhu truly hadn’t decided how to deal with Tang Yu. Previously, she had thought Tang Yu was a mutated zombie and had habitually tried to hunt her down and exterminate her. But after this mission, she was certain the three were players with the ability to think, just for some unknown reason, they had ended up in this state.

That being the case, she no longer had a reason to attack them casually. Moreover, after observing them for this period, the actions of Tang Yu’s trio were different from other profit-driven players, which had moved her slightly.

Right now, the safest method was to keep the three of them by her side, but unfortunately, her invitation to join the team had been rejected.

Song Lengzhu glanced at Tang Yu, who looked at her with hostility. She turned to Zhou Zhou. “Do you have any good suggestions?”

Zhou Zhou shook her head, picked up her case, and looked ready to leave. “Same as always. I’ll get what I need from Xiao Qi. Our deal is complete. I’ll be taking my leave now. You can take your time figuring things out.”

Xiao Li craned her neck. “Hey, we traveled together for a while. Aren’t you going to help us?”

Zhou Zhou smiled. “No points in it for me.”

Damn it!

Tang Yu was so angry she rolled her eyes. Where was the Dr. Zhou who went to such great lengths to save Huang Qianqian? This woman only treated NPCs like people, not players!

Zhou Zhou ignored everyone else, pulled Xiao Qi aside, and whispered a few words in her ear. Xiao Qi then crouched down and started rummaging through her backpack.

Tang Yu’s mind went blank for a moment, but then she suddenly realized—wait, Xiao Qi had been called away. No one was holding her now!

Tang Yu didn’t know if Zhou Zhou had deliberately drawn Xiao Qi away or if it was a coincidence. She didn’t have time to think, instinctively activating her invisibility.

Song Lengzhu had been watching Zhou Zhou’s transaction, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tang Yu vanish into thin air. She muttered “Not good,” and reached out to grab the empty air.

Her fingertips seemed to brush against soft skin, but when she closed her fist, she only grasped air.

The black cat appeared from nowhere and blocked Song Lengzhu for a moment, giving Tang Yu a chance to breathe.

But Tang Yu was troubled. Although the iron chain on her body had also turned invisible, the other end was tied to Xiao Li and Jin Ye. She couldn’t hide living people along with herself.

The drawback of this ability was now fully exposed.

The weapons of Tang Yu’s trio had been confiscated by Song Lengzhu on the first day they were captured. They had struggled and resisted twice over it, but with their hands bound, the three of them were no match for her.

This iron chain was a tool belonging to one of the twins, made of some unknown material. The more one struggled, the tighter it became. The chain was tied in a knot on each person, impossible to undo without a weapon.

The most urgent task was to get her knife back.

Song Lengzhu carried Startling Dragon with her. It was currently wrapped in cloth and hanging from her waist. The blade was too long to be kept close to her body, which gave Tang Yu an opportunity to snatch it.

Tang Yu kept changing her position, looking for a chance to strike. Her arms were bound, but her wrists could still move.

She stared intently at Song Lengzhu’s waist. Before anyone could pinpoint her location, she found an opportunity to circle to Song Lengzhu’s side, grab the hilt, and successfully draw the blade.

For a split second, Tang Yu had the urge to attack. A single horizontal slash now could cut into Song Lengzhu’s slender waist.

Although Song Lengzhu hadn’t harmed them in the past three days, she might strike at any moment. Tang Yu didn’t think Song Lengzhu was particularly kind; her impression of her was far from good.

This was a rare opportunity to attack.

So she made her move. With a slight twist of her still-mobile wrist, Startling Dragon fell into her hand as if it were alive, slicing straight toward Song Lengzhu.

Unfortunately, Tang Yu had forgotten that Song Lengzhu had the ability to predict danger.

Song Lengzhu hastily took a step back while delivering a flying kick to where she had just been standing.

Having revealed herself by attacking, Tang Yu was kicked squarely in the right shoulder by Song Lengzhu and sent flying.

Jin Ye and Xiao Li, at the other end of the chain, were also pulled off balance by the force.

Song Lengzhu paused for a moment, an unreadable emotion in her eyes. Tang Yu had gone for the kill. If her physical abilities had been any weaker, she wouldn’t have dodged that slash and would have likely been cut in half.

She had already decided not to kill Tang Yu and had intended to ease the tension between them, yet the other’s hostility remained so intense.

Song Lengzhu’s eyes regained their clarity. In that case, let’s just be enemies.

The moment she landed, Tang Yu became invisible again. She had activated her ability just in time, as Song Lengzhu had already drawn her gun.

Tang Yu made a split-second decision. Using the pull of the chain, she rolled on the ground, got close to Jin Ye and Xiao Li, and with two quick slashes, severed the iron chains on her teammates.

The twins quickly reached out to grab them, but Mrs. Li, wanting to repay her debt, blocked them. Jin Ye and Xiao Li were quick-witted; the moment their restraints were loosened, they bolted.

For some reason, Jin Ye and Xiao Li were running much faster than before, their agility noticeably different.

But now was not the time to think about that.

The connecting chain fell with a clatter, leaving only the dead knot on Tang Yu’s body.

The angle at which Tang Yu held the knife made it impossible to cut the chain on herself. She didn’t bother with it; running was the best option now. Her legs weren’t tied, after all.

The three had a tacit understanding. They didn’t run into the open but instead dashed into the crowd of believers who had just drunk from the well. Using the crowd as cover, they twisted and turned into an alley.

Sporadic gunshots came from behind, frightening the believers into scattering with their heads in their hands, which inadvertently provided cover for Tang Yu.

Song Lengzhu holstered her gun. “Forget it.” Her cold expression returned, and she didn’t order her teammates to pursue them.

“We’ll meet again.” She had a feeling that since Tang Yu wanted to kill her, she would definitely appear before her again.

The three of them found a random house to hide in. Jin Ye and Xiao Li hadn’t gotten their guns back, but it wasn’t a huge loss. They had stolen so many guns from North Stream Camp, they could just pick two more. They still had plenty of weapons on hand.

The iron chain on Tang Yu’s body was split open by Jin Ye using Startling Dragon. It was a pity for the chain to have met Startling Dragon; otherwise, it would have been a useful treasure.

During their break, the three checked their game panels. They were in for a surprise; the information on them had changed drastically.

First were the points. Before entering Huang Village, Tang Yu had 180 points. Because she had scratched many players and killed some people during the chaotic battle, her points had increased by 80.

In addition, she received 100 mission points, bringing her total to 360.

The second basic skill was successfully unlocked. Tang Yu looked at it; it said 【Material Search】. The next skill required 400 points to unlock.

“What’s ‘Material Search’?” Tang Yu habitually asked Jin Ye, whose explanations were much more detailed than the system’s.

“Oh, that. You can set a certain material as a search target. The system will notify you when the target is nearby, but only if you’ve already touched and registered that material.”

“Can it be a living person?”

“No, players and NPCs can’t be set as targets, but animals and zombies can.”

Tang Yu nodded. This basic skill was quite useful; at least she wouldn’t have to worry about finding food.

She continued reading and saw that the mission column was marked as “Completed.”

【Current Mission: Lifesaving Medicine. ——】

【This mission was triggered by only three players. As Mrs. Li and her daughter are safe, and not all villagers drank the water, the mission is judged a success. However, the three players were not the direct cause of this outcome. As facilitators of the mission, rewards are calculated at 50%. The settlement is as follows:

1. 100 mission points.

2. Stamina increased to 70 (initial value was 20).

3. Health increased to 30 (initial value was 10).

4. Healing ability increased by 15%, Agility increased by 15%.

5. The act of desperately protecting NPCs has moved the Huang Village NPCs. Villager favorability increased to 8.】

Tang Yu scratched her head. It seemed they had received a small fee for their trouble.

The three quickly compared notes on their basic stats. Jin Ye and Xiao Li’s stamina and health had also increased, but they were a bit lower than Tang Yu’s, with health around 50. However, because Jin Ye had killed more people before, her points were over a hundred higher than Tang Yu’s, and she had unlocked one more skill.

Tang Yu discovered that their basic skills were all different. She currently had “Alliance” and “Material Search,” while Jin Ye had “Lockpicking,” “Tool Blueprints,” and the newly acquired “Historical Footprints.”

Xiao Li’s was even more ridiculous. Her newly acquired basic skill was “Recruitment,” making her a veritable HR.

It seemed the game’s skill distribution varied from person to person. Aside from some fixed basic skills, the others were randomly assigned like drawing cards. Perhaps the system analyzed each player’s basic data and action history, assigning skills related to their past behavior.

“What’s ‘Historical Footprints’?” Tang Yu asked Jin Ye, blinking.

“The places and routes you’ve traveled form a map. It’s very useful when you need to backtrack. I had it when I was human, too,” Jin Ye replied.

Tang Yu clapped her hands. Great. Although each person didn’t have many skills, together they had six. Not bad, things were looking up.

The three hid for a while longer, only poking their heads out of the rental house after Song Lengzhu had left Huang Village.

An hour had passed by then. The people by the ancient well had long since dispersed, and all the players had withdrawn. The entire Huang Village had returned to a deathly silence, as if the previous farce had never happened.

Mrs. Li and her daughter were nowhere to be found. Tang Yu guessed they definitely wouldn’t stay in Huang Village.

The three glanced at the ancient well, shouldered their things, and quietly retreated toward the village entrance.

On the way to the village entrance, Tang Yu saw the believers squatting in a corner. They seemed to be falling ill. Someone was coughing loudly, a look of panic finally appearing on their face.

Seeing Tang Yu’s group, someone reached out and cried, “Save us.” But they were immediately pulled back. That old villager was still shouting, “We are getting sick because our hearts are not sincere! Pray quickly, God will hear our pleas.”

Tang Yu frowned, covered her nose, and quickened her pace, leaving the area with Jin Ye and Xiao Li.

At the village entrance, Tang Yu checked Granny Mei’s house. They had wanted to bring Granny Mei back to their camp, but the house was empty. Perhaps Granny Mei had heeded Zhou Zhou’s advice and left Huang Village.

The three could only leave with regret.

On this trip to Huang Village, aside from the 50% trouble fee from the system, they had gained almost nothing.

The three quickly returned to the memorial archway, only to see about thirty people milling about on the road outside the urban village.

Tang Yu recognized them as the villagers from Huang Village. Granny Mei and Mrs. Li and her daughter were also there.

These people were clear-headed, hadn’t drunk the well water, and had followed Zhou Zhou’s advice to leave Huang Village.

But the villagers seemed to have nowhere to go. They stood together looking lost and helpless, discussing which direction to take.

Seeing Tang Yu’s group, some villagers still took a frightened step back. After all, the fear of zombies was ingrained in these ordinary people.

But that was all. These people had been present when Tang Yu desperately protected Mrs. Li and her daughter. They knew Tang Yu wouldn’t kill indiscriminately.

Xiao Li gave a sly smile, looked at Jin Ye and Tang Yu, and asked, “That’s a lot of people. Should I recruit them?”

Tang Yu was more than happy, raising her hand in approval.

Jin Ye smiled and nodded. Although these people had no combat power, logistics work like farming and land reclamation needed to be done!

Xiao Li was eager to try, about to rush into the crowd, but Tang Yu stopped her and stated her recruitment criteria in their group chat.

First, the camp would only recruit women. The “Close and Loving Family” was currently all-female, and they didn’t have time to screen the male villagers’ character in that regard. This would prevent unnecessary trouble.

Second, it was best if they were single. Women with living male partners might only be looking for a temporary place to stay and would likely leave for their partners’ sake in the future. Such people would find it hard to see the camp as a home. Tang Yu needed members who would join sincerely, not temporary residents who might casually leak the camp’s location.

Although it sounded a bit strict, it was the most convenient method Tang Yu and the others could think of.

Xiao Li mingled with the crowd and soon brought back seventeen people. They were of all ages, with a large portion being healthy, middle-aged women. After all, those who had survived until now had some life experience and the stamina to escape. Mrs. Li, her daughter, and Granny Mei were naturally among them.

Huang Qianqian was holding the little black cat, following closely behind Xiao Li.

Xiao Li sighed. “This is the first time my recruiting has gone so smoothly. I didn’t even have to persuade them; everyone just came.”

Tang Yu slapped her forehead and said in the group chat, “No wonder ‘[Villager favorability increased to 8]’ was included in the rewards. It’s actually useful!”

They led the newly joined aunties and headed back toward the center of A-City.

Their original goal for leaving the camp was to find supplies and medicine. Now, aside from the medicine Zhou Zhou gave them, they hadn’t found anything else.

After a few steps, Huang Qianqian suddenly called out sweetly, “Jie.”

Tang Yu was about to answer but realized the girl wasn’t calling her, but someone standing under the memorial archway.

Tang Yu looked closely and saw Zhou Zhou, holding her case, looking at her with a faint, unreadable smile.

Tang Yu’s opinion of Zhou Zhou was extremely complex. To say this person was friendly, well, she would really leave you to die. To say she was malicious, well, that didn’t seem to be the case either.

Zhou Zhou walked up to Huang Qianqian and ruffled the little girl’s hair. She had always been very friendly to Huang Qianqian, and the little girl was very fond of her.

Tang Yu looked at Zhou Zhou with a strange expression. What was this woman still doing here?

Xiao Li sidled up to Zhou Zhou and suddenly asked, “I’ll give you one more chance. Want to join us?”

Perhaps because her recruiting efforts had received positive feedback, Xiao Li was eager to redeem herself. Or maybe she wanted to test her new skill. On a whim, she asked Zhou Zhou this question.

“Okay,” Zhou Zhou replied without batting an eye, her attitude suggesting she would have brought it up again even if she hadn’t been asked.

This stunned Xiao Li. “What? Why did you suddenly agree?” Not just Xiao Li, but Tang Yu and Jin Ye were also caught off guard.

“Originally, after leaving North Stream Camp, I didn’t plan to join another camp. All the survivor camps here are the same, always treating this world with a sense of arrogant superiority. However, after getting to know you all, I found you’re a bit different. At least, this is the first time I’ve seen a player camp that takes in NPCs.”

“However, I still won’t treat players for free. If you accept that, I’ll join.” She pointed to the villagers beside them and added, “If they have any illnesses or injuries, I can help take a look.”

“Talk about preferential treatment,” Tang Yu rolled her eyes.

Zhou Zhou’s joining was a good thing for the camp. Even if she wouldn’t treat them, having someone with medical knowledge was reassuring.

Tang Yu felt a bit emotional. To think that someone who couldn’t be persuaded to join a camp would change her mind because of a single mission.

Half an hour ago, they felt they hadn’t gained much from this mission, but suddenly, their harvest was abundant. With so much manpower, expanding the camp would be easier, not to mention they had also snagged someone who understood pharmacology.

And, that huge generator hidden in North Stream Camp, they finally had someone to help move it back!

Indeed, no path taken in this world is ever wasted.

Tang Yu’s mood brightened. She rubbed her hands together, ready to go all out. She was determined to scavenge more supplies in A-City to take back and build up her camp.