Surviving the Game as a Zombie - Chapter 4

A zombie had already stepped into the water, baring its sharp teeth as it slowly closed in on Tang Yu. The encirclement grew smaller and smaller, leaving her with no room to retreat in the small, several-square-meter pool.

With a roar, a zombie charged forward, flailing its arms. Tang Yu gritted her teeth and, with nothing to lose, raised Startling Dragon and swung. She had initially intended to just slash wildly, as her previous experience with the gun had led her to believe her combat ability was low.

But as the knife swung out, a conditioned reflex engaged the strength in her upper arm, directing the blade straight toward the zombie’s cervical vertebra. The tip of the knife precisely pierced the joint in the zombie’s neck. Tang Yu could even feel the satisfying sensation of the sharp weapon sliding into the gap between the bones. Without pausing, the sharp blade severed the joint in an instant. The head of the zombie in front of her fell to the ground. Before her brain could even process what had happened, she habitually followed up with another strike, plunging the knife straight into the fallen head. Only then did the zombie completely stop moving.

The entire fluid sequence of moves was over in less than five seconds. And Tang Yu, holding the knife, hadn’t even had to think. Her body had carried her through a perfect attack.

“Holy cow,” Tang Yu muttered, gripping the knife’s hilt in quiet astonishment. It seemed she was quite skilled with cold weapons.

With this realization, Tang Yu’s confidence surged. She gripped Startling Dragon and roared, “Come on!” But only whimpering sounds came out.

Not waiting for them to attack first, Tang Yu swung Startling Dragon at the nearest zombie. The blade cut through it as if it were mud, easily severing its neck. The head rolled twice in the water. Tang Yu kicked it away, knocking back another zombie that was about to charge.

After tearing an opening in the encirclement, Tang Yu didn’t linger. She quickly rushed out of the pool. The wound on her leg prevented her from running fast, so after some thought, she climbed a thick tree.

The zombies that had gathered below clawed at the air and let out intimidating roars, but that was all they could do. Their twisted limbs were not suited for climbing.

Having survived the ordeal, Tang Yu straddled a branch to calm her racing heart. She looked at the zombie horde below with some difficulty. During her cleanup, she had left her backpack by the side of the pool. It contained food, rope, and other tools—things Tang Yu had painstakingly scavenged from shop to shop when she left the city. By now, her existing supplies were dwindling, and Tang Yu didn’t want to abandon these precious items.

But judging by the zombies’ behavior below, they had no intention of letting her go. It would be unwise to go down and fight them now. Although her combat ability seemed high, she didn’t know just how high it was. Taking on twelve zombies alone still sounded very dangerous.

Tang Yu decided to rest in the tree for now and deal with it tomorrow. She climbed a little higher, her figure disappearing into the dense foliage.

The electronic screen did not light up with any notification. Just as she had expected, killing zombies did not increase her points.

The forest at night was grim and terrifying. Strange cries echoed from time to time, creating a duet with the zombies’ roars. In the latter half of the night, exhausted from several battles, Tang Yu could no longer hold on and fell into an uneasy sleep, clutching a branch.

The morning sun pierced through the leaves and shone on Tang Yu’s eyelids. Awakened by the light, her first instinct was to check on the zombies below the tree. What she saw immediately put her on high alert.

The zombies were lying scattered on the ground, all silent. Sticky bl00d was splattered everywhere. From the looks of it, something had killed them.

Tang Yu didn’t dare to make a rash move. She had been sleeping lightly but hadn’t heard any commotion, which meant the opponent was strong. Tang Yu gently pushed aside the leaves blocking her view and scanned her surroundings. She could faintly hear sounds coming from the pool, muffled and indistinct.

She carefully shifted her body to a different position. Through the layers of leaves, she saw two men and a woman collecting water by the pool. All three were wearing black windbreakers, their backpacks bulging. They all had daggers strapped to their legs. They looked like a team of well-equipped players.

The woman among them sensed something was off and looked up doubtfully toward the canopy of Tang Yu’s tree. Tang Yu was startled but held her position, concealed among the leaves.

“Jin Ye, what’s wrong?” asked a man with slicked-back hair.

“I vaguely sense someone.” The woman called Jin Ye observed intently for a while but found nothing. “It’s nothing. Maybe I’m just being too sensitive.” Jin Ye turned her head back and began rummaging through the backpack Tang Yu had left behind.

“Looks like another player was turned into a zombie. I wonder which of these corpses this backpack belonged to,” Jin Ye said as she sorted through the contents, stuffing useful items into her own bag.

Tang Yu was furious. Her supplies were being taken just like that. This wouldn’t do. She eyed the distance between them, calculating how to launch a successful sneak attack.

Just as Tang Yu was about to attack, another commotion came from the distance, with the faint sound of voices.

More people were coming.

Tang Yu immediately stilled herself, remaining motionless in the tree.

The three by the pool were also startled. One of the men dove into the bushes, while the other hid behind a large rock. Jin Ye looked around and deftly climbed a tree—the one right next to Tang Yu’s.

Tang Yu cursed inwardly, but it was too late to hide. The two of them were in adjacent trees, unable to avoid each other, staring wide-eyed through the branches.

Jin Ye was shocked to suddenly see someone in the next tree. She was about to reach for her weapon, but the distant group had already arrived at the pool. She had no choice but to keep quiet, observing the situation below while remaining wary of a sneak attack from Tang Yu.

The group below was none other than Song Lengzhu and her team of four. Peeking through a gap in the leaves, Tang Yu saw Song Lengzhu and gritted her teeth, her shoulder beginning to ache at the memory.

The girl beside Song Lengzhu examined the zombies killed by Jin Ye’s team, then scouted around the pool before giving a hand signal. The four of them immediately entered a state of alert; it was their signal for danger.

Song Lengzhu raised her gun and observed her surroundings. Seeing no obvious threat, she asked, “Xiao Qi, what’s going on?”

The short-haired woman called Xiao Qi replied, “The footprints by the pool are still fresh. They were just made. Watch out for an ambush.”

In the trees, both Tang Yu and Jin Ye were inwardly shocked. This team was too perceptive.

Song Lengzhu scanned the area, her gaze sharp. The surroundings were dead silent. The few people in hiding didn’t dare to breathe. Suddenly, Song Lengzhu looked up at the trees, seeming to have discovered something through the dense leaves.

A shiver ran down Tang Yu’s spine. Not good, she thought. Seeing Song Lengzhu’s eyes narrow dangerously, Tang Yu had a flash of inspiration. She gently broke off a small twig and tossed it toward Jin Ye’s tree.

The sound of the twig snapping was already distinct, and the subsequent rustle as it hit the leaves was even louder, successfully shifting the target to the other tree. In the opposite tree, Jin Ye was furious. Just as she was about to open her mouth to drag Tang Yu down with her, a bullet struck her shoulder. She lost her balance and plummeted to the ground.

Seeing their teammate exposed, the men behind the bushes and the rock exchanged a look and burst out, rushing toward Song Lengzhu and Xiao Qi in an instant. Their daggers were already at their skin, a fraction of an inch from piercing their flesh.

But a master is a master. Song Lengzhu reacted swiftly, sidestepping to create distance and raising her gun to shoot at her opponent’s temple.

The targeted man in black rolled on the ground and, without pausing to catch his breath, charged again. His target, however, was not Song Lengzhu, but her teammate behind her.

The group descended into a chaotic brawl, each move a killing blow. Bullets flew wildly, causing Tang Yu, who was watching from the tree, to break out in a cold sweat. These humans were so ruthless, even to their own kind. She took advantage of the chaos to quietly slide down the tree, preparing to slip away.

She had just managed to reach the dead leaves and branches, shielded by the tree trunk, when the fighting suddenly stopped. Tang Yu was so scared she didn’t dare to breathe. The forest floor was covered in broken branches that would make a sound if stepped on. She quickly dropped to the ground and pretended to be a dead zombie, blending in with the twenty-odd other corpses to hide herself.

Xiao Qi’s voice drifted over. “Are you guys okay?”

“We’re fine. Let’s leave this place first. The gunshots will probably attract something,” Song Lengzhu’s voice rang out.

Although they had dealt with Jin Ye’s trio, Song Lengzhu’s team was also a bit disheveled. Two of her female teammates had sustained injuries of varying degrees, and her own sleeve had been torn by a dagger. They hastily picked up some gear and quickly retreated up the mountain.

Only when she could no longer hear any sounds did Tang Yu get up from behind the large tree. The bodies of Jin Ye and her companions lay scattered about. The two men’s backpacks had already been taken by Song Lengzhu, but Tang Yu’s sharp eyes spotted that Jin Ye’s pack was still there.

She approached Jin Ye and pulled the backpack off her. As she did, she realized Jin Ye seemed to have a faint pulse. She had been shot in the chest, and bl00d was steadily seeping out. Tang Yu was in a difficult position. They were enemies, so should she deliver the final blow or save her?

If she saved her, what if Jin Ye woke up and killed her?

But before she could hesitate for too long, Jin Ye’s pulse weakened, almost disappearing entirely.

Tang Yu thought for a moment, then opened her mouth and bit down on Jin Ye’s arm.

Soon, Jin Ye reawakened, but black lines had already crept up her neck. She was no longer human.

“Ding.” Her wristband showed another 10 points added.

Tang Yu scratched her head. “Sorry, sis. I may have exposed you, but this counts as giving you a new life, so we’re even, right?”

If Jin Ye were still alive, she would probably have jumped up and beaten Tang Yu to a pulp upon hearing those words. But now, she just stared with lifeless eyes.

Tang Yu whimpered a few more times. “If you don’t answer, I’ll take that as a yes. You’re my second follower now!”

Jin Ye remained silent but turned her head away.

Tang Yu went to check on the other two men. They were completely dead and could no longer be turned into zombies.

Tang Yu sized up the two corpses, picked the smaller one, and in a few swift moves, stripped off his black windbreaker and pants, changing out of her own tattered clothes.

Afterward, the master scavenger Tang Yu led Jin Ye down the mountain.

…

“That’s too much, she even stripped my clothes!” a comment flew across the live stream’s bullet screen.

Other viewers saw it and burst out laughing. “Is that the actual player? Came to watch the stream right after getting eliminated?”

The player whose clothes were stolen replied, “I just woke up. I was worried about my teammates, saw this recommended on the homepage, and clicked in, only to see myself looking like a clown.”

The other viewers roared with laughter and continued to discuss the recent battle.

“Song Lengzhu’s team is really amazing at fighting. That battle was so exciting. It’s a shame the streamer hid later, so we didn’t get to see how she finished the kills.”

“The streamer is strong too, and such a scavenger. She even picked up a teammate.”

“Can you guys understand what the streamer is saying?”

“Click the translation system in the bottom right corner. You can view all in-game languages.”

“No need to look. I bet she’s not saying anything nice. She looks so punchable.”

“But have you guys noticed? She’s very skilled with cold weapons. Feels like she has a significant background.”

“To have such reaction time and attack speed right from the start of the game, I guess her status in the real world is very low.”

“Indeed. She’s probably a hunter from some planet.”

Xiao Zhao watched the speculation and fell into deep thought. She didn’t know much about Tang Yu’s background either. But the only people with relatively strong physical fitness were the lower-class citizens on the fringe who made a living hunting interstellar monsters. Tang Yu’s Planet 879 was, indeed, on the very edge of the star region.

In this star region, residents of the main planets with even a little accumulated wealth were already equipped with smart butlers. When these residents played holographic games, they would enter hibernation pods filled with nutrient fluid. The smart butlers would take care of all their daily needs and affairs. Humans rarely needed to do anything themselves, so their physical fitness was not particularly strong. Coupled with changes in dietary habits, people in real life, regardless of gender, typically had slender and delicate physiques.

If Tang Yu came from a hunter background, then combat wouldn’t be a problem for her.

But the problem was that she was alone, which put her at a great disadvantage against human players who mostly traveled in groups. The other zombies could only act on instinct and couldn’t be reliable teammates. In this way, Tang Yu was still at a disadvantage.

Sighing at this thought, Xiao Zhao clasped her hands towards the screen, praying for Tang Yu to live a long time so that she could pass her end-of-month assessment.