Surviving the Game as a Zombie - Chapter 44

The light from the flashlight was stronger than a candle’s, and it illuminated the woman’s entire face in its halo. Tang Yu looked up to get a closer look. The woman had a pretty face, looked to be in her twenties, and her dark brown hair was coiled in a bun at the back of her head, held in place by a slanted bamboo pin.

Her face showed a hint of restrained fear, but to prevent her enemies from seeing her vulnerability, she stared fixedly at the group, showing no intention of backing down.

Hearing Xiao Li’s question, the woman opened her mouth but ultimately didn’t respond.

She’s a player, Tang Yu concluded internally.

The woman was wearing a dark green windbreaker and black high-top hiking boots—a typical player’s outfit. The clothes looked very dirty and old, with some bloodstains. She held a gun in her hand, but for some reason, she hadn’t fired a single shot from the moment she was surrounded to her capture.

Aunty Pang snatched the gun from the woman, examined it twice, and said, “She’s out of bullets.”

Tang Yu didn’t speak, instead moving further into the shadows. If the other person was a player, it was highly likely she had seen the information on the server-wide forum. Tang Yu’s identity was too obvious and could easily be recognized.

Seeing the woman’s heavy guard, Xiao Li softened her tone and asked again, “Why were you stealing vegetables?”

“I ran out of food.” The woman hesitated for a moment before answering. Surprisingly, her voice sounded very weak.

Granny Mei slapped her thigh and exclaimed, “Aiya! You still can’t steal potatoes from the ground! These are sprouted potato chunks. You’ll get poisoned if you eat them!” The kind-hearted old woman subconsciously gave her a warning.

The woman’s pupils widened for a moment, and she subconsciously glanced nervously toward the forest. “I didn’t know…”

Tang Yu followed her gaze into the darkness but saw nothing.

But from the woman’s concerned expression, it was clear she wasn’t alone. She must have one or more accomplices.

Aunty Pang took a step forward to grab the woman’s hand. “Now that we’ve caught her, let’s not just stand here. Let’s go back to the village to talk. If we stay any longer, the mosquitoes will carry us away.”

The mosquitoes in the mountains were exceptionally large. As soon as the flashlight was on, dozens of moths and big mosquitoes swarmed toward the light source.

The others nodded in agreement and half-pushed, half-pulled the woman back to the village.

A bonfire was lit in the courtyard, and all the villagers gathered around it. The woman, her hands tied, stood in the center with her head bowed, lost in thought.

Tang Yu was a little surprised. This player was very different from others; her temperament was too soft. If an ordinary player were captured, they would have fought to the death long ago, not been caught so meekly.

Moreover, judging by her condition, this player seemed to have had a very hard time.

Zhou Zhou also rushed over, carrying the mutated crab in her hand.

It was strange. Normally, infected animals would die violently within three days, but this crab, even after more than ten days, was still full of fighting spirit, showing no signs of kicking the bucket.

Zhou Zhou was extremely curious and spent all day focused on the crab, treating it like a treasure.

After a long while, the woman finally raised her head and looked around. In disbelief, she blurted out, “All women?”

Aunty Pang glared. “What’s wrong with women? Are you looking down on us?”

“No… that’s not it.” The bound woman seemed to let out a sigh of relief. Tang Yu saw her shoulders visibly relax, and the restrained fear in her expression faded.

Just what has this person been through?

Xiao Li moved a bamboo stool and sat before the bonfire. Seeing that the woman had no intention of resisting, she dropped the interrogative tone and switched to a more conversational one, asking, “Are you a player? Why are you all alone?”

Unexpectedly, the woman answered obediently this time. Perhaps not being treated violently had allowed her to relax considerably.

“I am a player. I’m very sorry for stealing your vegetables, but I was starving. I saw smoke from the forest earlier and knew there were people here, so I came to take a look. I didn’t expect to see you farming, so I stole some.”

“Stealing vegetables is not a good habit,” Granny Mei lectured sternly. “Since you knew there was a village here, you could have come directly to us for help.”

Xiao Li smiled. “Granny Mei, when players see a camp, they either go around it or sneak in to steal. They wouldn’t openly go in for help.”

Who knew what kind of wolves and tigers were in the camps? A lone woman seeking help would most likely not meet a good end. Only Tang Yu’s camp was special, with no one of ill intent.

Sure enough, the woman gave a bitter smile. “Seeking help openly either leads to imprisonment or oppression. I’ve experienced more than enough of that…”

She said these words in a weak voice, a tremor in her tone as if recalling some bad memories.

The air fell silent for two seconds.

“What’s your name?” Zhou Zhou asked.

“Fu Mengqing.”

“Are you alone?” Xiao Li asked again. Fu Mengqing had clearly avoided this question just now.

Fu Mengqing was silent for two seconds, still not answering directly. She shifted her gaze to a corner untouched by the bonfire’s light and pleaded, “I can see you are all very kind. Could you please not hold me and just let me go?”

Where her gaze fell, Tang Yu and Jin Ye were standing.

Tang Yu was surprised again. This woman seemed to know that she and Jin Ye were the ones in charge.

Did she figure it out by observing everyone’s subtle actions?

Or perhaps, she’s a spy sent by other players?

When this thought emerged, Tang Yu broke out in a cold sweat. It wasn’t that she was overthinking. For the past few days, Xiao Li had been keeping an eye on the forum posts. They had clearly become a public enemy, with players clamoring for their elimination.

Fu Mengqing appearing at this particular time, shrouded in so many suspicious points, made Tang Yu feel that something was increasingly off about her.

First, she kept avoiding Xiao Li’s question about whether she was alone. Now, she was directing her question straight at Tang Yu. Was she testing to see if Tang Yu would speak up and answer?

So suspicious.

Tang Yu didn’t respond and hid herself further in the darkness.

A look of disappointment appeared on Fu Mengqing’s face. Seeing that Tang Yu hadn’t granted her request, she became guarded toward the camp’s people again, refusing to say another word no matter who asked.

Tang Yu secretly sent a message in the camp’s group chat, telling Xiao Li to keep an eye on this person, not to reveal too much about the camp, and not to rush into recruiting her. If she really was a spy, they had to be on guard.

And so, the stalemate lasted until dawn.

Xiao Li asked many questions, but Fu Mengqing just mumbled evasively. It seemed she had the same idea, not daring to reveal her own details.

As the sun began to rise, the anxiety on Fu Mengqing’s face grew more intense. She couldn’t help but crane her neck to look toward the forest multiple times, once again pleading with Tang Yu to let her go.

“I know you’re a zombie.” Seeing that Tang Yu remained unresponsive, Fu Mengqing suddenly spoke up. “I’ve seen the game forums. I realized it last night when you showed yourself.”

Alarm bells rang in Tang Yu’s mind. The next moment, Startling Dragon was already in her hand. The others also assumed defensive stances.

Fu Mengqing continued, “But I’m not here to kill you, nor do I have the ability. I didn’t know this was your village. I just want you to let me go.”

Xiao Li said warily, “We’ve said it many times. If you don’t explain things clearly, it’s hard for us to let you go. You already know our camp’s location. Letting you go would pose a great risk to us.”

“I know…” Fu Mengqing lowered her head, seemingly having made a great resolve. She struggled for a long time before saying, “You haven’t treated me violently all night, which means you’re not bad people. I won’t reveal your location. If possible, I’d even be willing to join your camp, but I have to go back to the forest right now.”

“Why?”

“Because… I have a companion who has difficulty moving.”

“A companion? Male or female? Old or young?”

“It’s my younger sister. She’s twenty.”

Tang Yu showed a suspicious expression. “Why didn’t you say so before?”

“We were captured by a camp before. They used my sister to threaten me and restricted our freedom, so I didn’t dare to casually reveal her existence.”

That’s why she hadn’t said anything all night. But after waiting the whole night, not only had this group not attacked her, they had even given her a cup of water at one point.

Fu Mengqing paused, and before Xiao Li could ask again, she blurted everything out. “My sister’s name is Xingyue. Her eyes were injured, and she lost her sight. I can’t rest easy leaving her alone in the forest.”

Tang Yu was skeptical. Zhou Zhou asked, “Since she’s lost her sight, there’s not much fun to be had in the game. Why not just quit? Why suffer in the game like this?”

Her question was the same one Tang Yu and the others had. Judging by Fu Mengqing’s appearance, her survival was clearly difficult. Why not just throw in the towel and stop playing?

Fu Mengqing gave a bitter smile. “Xingyue doesn’t want to leave. In the game, she can still walk normally. Back in the interstellar era, she can’t even stand up.”

Everyone was stunned.

Fu Mengqing continued on her own, “She was born with a strange disease, muscular dystrophy, and nerve necrosis that even interstellar medicine can’t cure. Although you don’t have to worry about food and daily life in the interstellar era, she’s ultimately different from normal people. When she first entered the game, she couldn’t walk either. But after earning some points from small quests, her body was strengthened, and she became no different from a normal person. This made her very happy; I’ve never seen her so happy. It’s just a pity our luck was bad. We ran into bad people, were forced to join a brutal camp, and when we escaped, her eyes were injured by another player…”

It was as if a floodgate had opened. The woman who had been silent all night became talkative when speaking of her sister. “She doesn’t want to quit, so I can’t leave. I’m her older sister; it’s my duty to take care of her.”

Hearing this, Xiao Li took a step back and turned aside, no longer listening to Fu Mengqing. Jin Ye immediately moved behind Xiao Li and discreetly supported her by the shoulder.

For some reason, Xiao Li was trembling slightly.

Tang Yu noticed this and looked puzzled, but before she could ask, Fu Mengqing continued, “What I’m saying is true. If you don’t believe me, we can go find her together, but please don’t hurt her.”

Tang Yu thought for a moment and nodded. The proposal was feasible; they needed to verify it.

The aunties also wanted to go along, but Tang Yu dissuaded them. If Fu Mengqing was lying and it was a trap outside, they wouldn’t have the spare capacity to protect the aunties.

In the end, it was decided that Jin Ye, Xiao Li, Zhou Zhou, and Tang Yu would follow Fu Mengqing to find her sister.

The journey up the mountain was longer than expected. Tang Yu and the others had never been to the place where Fu Mengqing was hiding. They crossed two mountain ridges and walked until the sun was high in the sky, and they were still going.

Tang Yu kept the camp group’s voice chat on so she could talk to her teammates in real-time. She muttered, “If we keep walking, we’re going to get lost. Could this person be tricking us?”

Jin Ye looked ahead. The endless sea of forest was growing denser, and the terrain was becoming more treacherous. They had never been to this area before and had no idea what lay ahead.

Just as Tang Yu’s patience was about to run out, Fu Mengqing stopped in front of a rock face. She said, “We’re here. Sorry for making you walk so far.”

“You started from here and crossed all that way to our village to steal vegetables?” Xiao Li was incredulous. It was too far.

“Yes, we were recuperating in the mountains and wanted to stay away from people, so we lived a bit remotely. I started walking at dusk and reached your fields right around midnight.”

“Walking mountain paths at night, in the pitch dark where you can’t see a thing… you’re too bold.”

Fu Mengqing was taken aback by the comment. After a long moment, she said, “Players aren’t active at night, and there are fewer zombies in the mountains. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“There are black bears and wolves.”

“Compared to players, animals are actually the least threatening,” Fu Mengqing said helplessly. She felt the dense vines on the rock face, lifted them, and a dark cave appeared before them.

The light in the forest was already dim, and the rays filtering through the dense branches couldn’t dispel the inky shadows of the cave.

Tang Yu and Jin Ye exchanged a look, hesitating whether to enter or not.

This looked too much like a trap.

If they were ambushed in a cave like this, they would most likely not make it out alive.

Fu Mengqing didn’t notice their hesitation and stepped inside first. “Xingyue, I’m back!” she called out, her voice echoing off the cave walls several times.

Zhou Zhou said, “How about this, I’ll go in and take a look. You guys wait here.” After all, she was fast, and most people couldn’t catch her.

Tang Yu didn’t stand on ceremony, nodding like a pecking chicken. “Be my guest.”

Zhou Zhou took the flashlight from Xiao Li, shone it into the cave entrance a few times, then bent down and squeezed inside.

But a moment later, Zhou Zhou and Fu Mengqing came rushing out again.

Tang Yu was startled. “What? Was there really an ambush?”

Zhou Zhou shook her head. “No, it’s very small inside, you can see everything at a glance. No ambush.”

Not only was there no ambush, but even Fu Xingyue, who was supposed to be there, was gone.

Fu Mengqing looked anxious. “My sister is gone!” She looked around, calling out twice, “Xingyue! Xingyue!”

The forest was empty, with no reply.

Great, now they couldn’t confirm anything. Tang Yu couldn’t help but suspect Fu Mengqing was playing her.

Zhou Zhou saw Tang Yu’s doubt and said, “There are beds made of dry grass in the cave. The two sisters must have lived here for some time. You can see signs of life. The stolen potatoes are also on the table. She probably wasn’t lying.”

Tang Yu took the flashlight and, still skeptical, walked into the cave.

It was just as Zhou Zhou had said. Someone had been living in this cave. Besides the two beds of dry grass, there were also two porcelain bowls.

Fu Mengqing hadn’t lied to them.