Surviving the Game as a Zombie - Chapter 51

Before anyone could react, the canopied boat was struck by something heavy again. The impact sent the small boat skidding several meters to the left, nearly hitting the cliff face. Not only that, but a sound suddenly came from the floorboards beneath their feet, like fingernails scratching at the wood, a sound that drilled right into their ears.

The hair on Tang Yu’s arms suddenly stood on end. She easily connected these anomalies to the infant corpse that had disappeared. Could the infant corpse have been tainted by zombie bl00d and reanimated?

Tang Yu couldn’t help but swallow. She forced down her panic and darted to the stern of the boat. Jin Ye and the others immediately followed, huddling together and vigilantly watching their surroundings.

Jin Ye asked Li Chengjian, “What is that? Do you know?”

Li Chengjian shook his head, the big man also breaking out in a cold sweat. Having roamed Ghost Valley for years, he held a greater reverence for ghosts and spirits than Tang Yu’s group. At this moment, his thoughts were identical to Tang Yu’s.

On the other boat, Song Lengzhu’s team was in a similar state of high alert. The two teams looked at each other from a distance, then quickly averted their gazes.

Now was not the time for a fight.

But just then, the culprit that had rammed the boat stopped its surface activity, seemingly diving back into the depths and disappearing from sight. This made them even more terrified, not knowing when it would strike again.

Tang Yu tried to activate her precognition ability, but she didn’t see the strange figure appearing anytime soon. With everyone on high alert, the small boat advanced another stretch. Soon, they saw five other small boats stopped not far ahead. The fleet was scattered, with some boats even spinning in place.

Listening closely, they could hear the alarmed cries of the players on board. It was clear they had also been subjected to an unknown attack, and the fleet’s progress had nearly ground to a halt.

Just then, a host of strange noises suddenly erupted from the cliff walls on both sides, like the chirping of beasts, or perhaps the sound of the wooden supports for the hanging coffins snapping.

Tang Yu’s pupils dilated in an instant. She roared, “Watch out above!” Almost simultaneously, Song Lengzhu’s warning rang out: “Watch your surroundings!”

Both had predicted the danger and shouted a warning at the same time.

The words had barely left their mouths when a dozen black shadows descended from the sky, pouncing straight for the people on the boats.

Hearing the warning, the other team members reacted swiftly, raising their knives to meet the sudden assault.

Tang Yu sidestepped to avoid a shadow leaping down from above. At the same time, she gripped her Startling Dragon with both hands and swung the blade upwards in a semi-circle. Just as the blade was about to slice the shadow in two, the creature twisted in mid-air, using a long, thin object to hook onto the canopy’s crossbeam. The shadow’s downward momentum came to an abrupt halt, and it changed direction in mid-air, leaping onto the canopy roof.

Everyone was stunned, because they had gotten a clear look at that long, thin object—it was a tail.

This was a group of monkeys.

Seeing its first attack fail, the monkey on the roof let out a loud cry. Dozens of wet, black figures suddenly shot out from the calm water. A closer look revealed they were all monkeys. Each monkey targeted a boat, grabbing the gunwales, looking as if they were about to capsize them.

So it wasn’t some infant corpse after all, just these water monkeys causing trouble!

Tang Yu was both angry and amused, but at least she was certain it wasn’t some ghostly infant corpse at work. She took a large step to the side of the boat and swung her knife down without hesitation. The water monkey clinging to the gunwale shrieked and let go, but Tang Yu’s blade anticipated its move and followed closely, slicing off one of its fingers just before it could dive back into the water.

The monkey yelped in pain and instantly submerged, disappearing from sight.

“That’ll teach you to play ghost!” Tang Yu bared her teeth and snarled at the monkey on the canopy. Seeing the situation was not in its favor, it too plunged into the river.

Their boat had repelled these wild monkeys that had come from who knows where, but the other boats weren’t so lucky. The few boats that hadn’t noticed the abnormality above were successfully ambushed by the monkeys descending from the sky, instantly losing the initiative to fight back.

Monkeys clung to their faces, their hands scratching relentlessly at the back of the players’ heads and shoulders. Soon, some of the slower-reacting players were covered in minor wounds.

Li Chengjian said in a low voice, “These monkeys are well-trained… It’s the Old Blind Man. We’ve entered the Old Blind Man’s territory!”

Tang Yu had guessed as much. The waterway ahead was already showing signs of splitting. Their boat had reached the fork, exactly as Li Chengjian had described.

“These monkeys still have their own consciousness. They don’t seem to be zombified. They haven’t been infected by the river water,” Tang Yu said, looking at the water, which was a murky, deep green, obscuring any view of what lay beneath.

Jin Ye said, “They probably haven’t. This river has a large volume of water and is constantly flowing, so its self-purification ability is quite strong. The bit of bl00d we created might have polluted a small area, but it wouldn’t necessarily contaminate the entire river.”

By now, they had traveled several hundred meters, and that bloody water had long been washed away to who knows where.

Tang Yu asked Li Chengjian, “Why would the Old Blind Man order the monkeys to attack players?” Wasn’t he just making enemies for himself? Was he really that skilled and fearless, unafraid of offending people?

“I don’t know. He has a very strange personality.” Li Chengjian scratched his head. “It’s also possible that too many people have come looking for the great tomb recently, which angered him. This great tomb is on his territory.”

Tang Yu retorted, “His territory? Has he crowned himself king of the mountain?” She looked up at the surrounding cliffs, but there was no sign of the Old Blind Man anywhere.

Tang Yu looked down and said, “Let’s not worry about that for now. Let’s use this chaos to get our boat to the front.”

Everyone ducked into the canopied boat and cranked the motor to its maximum setting. Jin Ye took the helm, steering them around the boats that were already out of control.

Before leaving, Tang Yu glanced back at Song Lengzhu’s boat. They had also repelled the water monkeys and were now adjusting their course, seemingly preparing to give chase.

While keeping a wary eye out for a cheap shot from Song Lengzhu, Tang Yu asked Zhou Zhou in the camp chat, “Zhou Zhou, how’s your boat?”

Zhou Zhou seemed to be in a situation where she couldn’t speak, replying with a line of text in the chat: “We’re fine. Everyone except me is injured.”

As expected of the number one escape artist.

Soon, Zhou Zhou typed another line: “By the way, the captain of this boat said he saw a little girl who was abducted by Chen Deming. Chen Deming, the leader of that group of twenty.”

Everyone’s heart sank.

Jin Ye asked urgently, “Which little girl? Xiao Li or Xingyue?”

“He doesn’t know. He said he didn’t see the details, only that they picked someone up.”

Jin Ye clenched her fists, her jaw tight.

Chen Deming’s group had appeared in the swamp, which was in the direction of Xiao Li’s fall. It was obvious the person they had abducted was Xiao Li.

“Do the people on your boat know where Chen Deming went?”

“They’re ahead of the main group. They had some interaction with these player teams, but Chen Deming was too disdainful to join this player alliance. Their destination is the same, though.”

“Okay, let’s hurry and catch up!” Tang Yu said with a frown.

For everyone, Zhou Zhou’s news was bad news, but also good news. At least they had a direction to search in.

Tang Yu was a little surprised that Zhou Zhou was willing to help gather information. She could feel that during the half-month she had spent in the village, Zhou Zhou had changed noticeably. She was no longer so calculating about everything, appearing gentle on the surface but actually keeping people a thousand miles away.

It was hard to say whether the harmonious and mutually supportive atmosphere of the village had influenced her, or if she was gradually starting to see the camp members as her own people. Now, apart from her bottom line of not saving people, Zhou Zhou would lend a hand with small matters and would even help the aunties lift things, even without receiving points.

She had even been the one to suggest coming up the mountain in the first place, saying she wanted to look for some herbs in the back mountains. Otherwise, with Zhou Zhou’s personality, if she had wanted to stay in the village, no one could have persuaded her to leave.

However, throughout the search, Zhou Zhou still didn’t offer much advice, remaining a bystander on the sidelines.

The canopied boat weaved through the other boats on the river at high speed. During this time, a few persistent monkeys tried to grab the gunwales, but Tang Yu simply stabbed at them several times through the bamboo canopy.

Monkeys are highly intelligent creatures. Knowing this boat was not to be trifled with, they stopped coming to offer themselves up for slaughter.

The canopied boat finally sailed past the cluster of boats of the main group, leaving them far behind, and stopped at the mouth of the forked canyon.

Jin Ye asked Tang Yu, “What now? Should we split into two groups?”

Tang Yu knew that Jin Ye would unhesitatingly choose the narrow path leading towards the great tomb to rescue Xiao Li. Fu Mengqing, on the other hand, was most concerned about her own sister.

Tang Yu’s eyebrows knitted into a knot. After a moment of careful thought, she decided to have Li Chengjian and Fu Mengqing go together to find Fu Xingyue. She herself would go with Jin Ye towards the great tomb to find Xiao Li.

It was by no means a good decision, but at this moment, there was no other choice.

Tang Yu opened her mouth, preparing to convey this plan to the others. But before she could utter the first syllable, the stern of the boat suddenly sank. A loud crash echoed, and there was even the sound of a wooden plank snapping.

“Who’s there!” Tang Yu gripped her knife, flung open the curtain, and rushed out.

The first thing that met her eyes was not a person, but a massive monkey. Its fur was entirely white, save for a small tuft of bright red fur below its face. When squatting, it was as tall as a person. It was undoubtedly a monkey king.

It seemed to have leaped down from the cliff face, unceremoniously snapping a crossbeam on the canopied boat in half. Fortunately, the bottom of the boat wasn’t broken, so it wasn’t taking on water.

Looking again, she saw a person riding on the monkey’s back.

A thin old man with a white beard and eyebrows.

“The Old Blind Man?!” Li Chengjian exclaimed in surprise. He had never actually seen the Old Blind Man’s true face, only heard other players talk about him.

The Old Blind Man snorted coldly. His vacant eyes swept over the group, and though he was blind, his gaze sent a chill down their spines.

“I was wondering who could evade my monkey troop’s attack. Turns out it’s a bunch of zombies.” He twitched his nose, his face filled with disgust. People who have lost their sight often have hearing and smell far superior to ordinary people, and the old man was clearly one of them.

A series of chattering sounds came from the water beside the boat. Tang Yu turned to see the little monkey whose finger she had cut off. It was now pointing a finger at Tang Yu while chattering away at the Old Blind Man.

Tang Yu raised an eyebrow. What? Was this monkey tattling?

The Old Blind Man’s beard trembled. “Outrageous. Teach her a lesson.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the giant white monkey let out a long cry and prepared to pounce. At that moment, Tang Yu activated her skill, predicting the white monkey’s movements. She put her hands behind her to block. A moment later, the white monkey’s palm swung down, landing right where Tang Yu had blocked. The next second, Tang Yu suddenly lunged forward, her knife slashing towards the white monkey’s abdomen. The reflected silver light stung the white monkey’s eyes, and it leaped backward, the entire monkey now standing on the very edge of the stern.

The canopied boat tilted sharply under its weight, the stern dipping deep into the water, and river water began to flood into the cabin.

The Old Blind Man was somewhat stunned. He tugged at the white monkey’s fur and asked, “What? They can use weapons? Are they A-Class Zombie Kings?”

A-Class my ass.

Without waiting for the white monkey to attack, Tang Yu took the initiative and charged forward with her knife. At the same time, Jin Ye and the others rushed forward with their blades. Li Chengjian’s silver needles shot past Jin Ye and Fu Mengqing’s ears, heading straight for the white monkey’s eyes.

The white monkey was quite large, but it was a monkey after all. It moved with exceptional agility, dodging the attacks of the group. It used their momentum to leap up, flying over their heads and jumping directly from the stern to the bow.

Tang Yu had predicted its move, but the white monkey’s jumping ability was simply too good. It could leap three feet high at a touch, and she couldn’t stop it.

As the white monkey landed on the bow, the canopied boat shuddered again, tilting rapidly to one side. The group rushed towards the bow to continue their attack.

The Old Blind Man was just like any other player; seeing that they were zombies, he wanted to exterminate them.

Coupled with the little monkey’s tattling, which fanned the flames of hostility between the two sides, the white monkey’s attacks were merciless.

Anger surged within Tang Yu. The monkeys had started it.

Just as she passed the canopy, the white monkey suddenly took a step back, its entire body blocking the exit on the other side, but its back was turned to them. The Old Blind Man was clinging to the monkey’s fur on its back, peering his head out to look ahead, as if an enemy had also appeared at the bow.

Tang Yu’s heart leaped with joy. This was the perfect opportunity to attack. She called out to Jin Ye, and they thrust their blades towards the Old Blind Man’s back from the left and right. But just as the tips of their blades touched his sleeve, the white monkey twisted its body, evading Tang Yu’s attack, and then turned to pounce wildly at a figure standing on the tip of the boat.

Only then did Tang Yu realize that Song Lengzhu had, at some point, jumped onto their boat and had already made a move.

Song Lengzhu had heeded the tomb-raiding player’s advice and had not used her gun. In her hand was a golden dagger inlaid with a red gemstone.

How flashy.

Tang Yu glanced at it for a moment before looking away. Then, taking advantage of the moment Song Lengzhu was keeping the white monkey occupied, she reached out to grab the Old Blind Man’s arm.

This guy could control beasts, so he must have an ability. Whatever else, she had to touch him first.

But the white monkey lived up to its title as monkey king. Its movements were exceptionally agile. It dodged Tang Yu’s outstretched hand, leaping and jumping around the small canopied boat, completely unrestricted by the limited space.

But the canopied boat couldn’t withstand such abuse. It was taking on more and more water. Seeing this, the white monkey grew excited, let out a low roar, and summoned a dozen more monkeys, determined to capsize the boat.

What a malicious monkey.

Although they were good swimmers, they were certainly no match for monkeys. If these water monkeys dragged them to the bottom of the river, they would sooner or later drown.

We are born of the same root, why are you so eager to fry me?

Tang Yu roared, “Jin Ye, you guys deal with the small monkeys.”

Jin Ye and the others immediately turned their blades and chopped down hard on the gunwales.

Tang Yu took a deep breath and charged towards the white monkey.

She couldn’t defeat the white monkey, and the white monkey couldn’t defeat her. One was agile, the other possessed an ability. The two sides were temporarily at a stalemate.

Song Lengzhu glanced at Tang Yu, her expression composed. At the same time, she also attacked the monkey. From the looks of it, her target was to capture the Old Blind Man on its back.

Tang Yu and Song Lengzhu had almost no coordination. Both wanted to capture the Old Blind Man, and both were wary of each other. At this point, it was less a two-on-one fight and more like a three-way brawl.

In the midst of the fight, Tang Yu couldn’t help but think that it was no wonder the Old Blind Man had set an ambush. These players had developed a habit of starting a fight at the drop of a hat. Anyone would get angry.

And so they fought back and forth for a while, with no one getting hurt.

Song Lengzhu’s gaze darkened as she looked at Tang Yu. “If you don’t want to fall into the water, then coordinate with my attacks.”

Tang Yu rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you coordinate with me?”

Song Lengzhu ignored her grumbling, raised her hand in a thrust, and sent her blade slashing towards the white monkey’s armpit.

Not to be outdone, Tang Yu swung her knife in a wide circle, her toes tapping the water as she stepped onto the gunwale, and stabbed straight towards the white monkey’s abdomen.

After three exchanges, the two of them fought with increasing smoothness, gradually finding a point of synergy. The moment Tang Yu’s blade passed, Song Lengzhu would immediately follow up, giving the white monkey no chance to breathe.

Song Lengzhu’s ability was superior to Tang Yu’s. She fought with ease, her movements light and graceful, using clever techniques, specializing in a style that used four ounces to move a thousand pounds.

Tang Yu, on the other hand, was more solid. Her strikes were swift and fierce, each one delivered with ten-tenths of her strength. Her stamina couldn’t keep up with her movements, but fortunately, her experience with the blade was rich. It was almost as if it wasn’t her wielding the knife, but the knife moving on its own.

The Old Blind Man shouted angrily, “You cunning little girls.” He took a deep breath, about to have the white monkey climb the rock wall to escape.

Song Lengzhu kicked one of the white monkey’s legs and shouted, “Now!”

Hearing this, Tang Yu flickered and disappeared from the bow. When she reappeared, she was close to the Old Blind Man, the tip of her blade held directly above his head.

If the white monkey were to leap at this moment, the blade would pierce through the top of his skull.

Tang Yu grabbed the Old Blind Man’s throat, yanking him off the monkey’s back. Her nails pressed into the man’s aged skin, creating deep indentations.

The white monkey was shocked and was about to move again, but Tang Yu let out a low growl. “Move if you want him to die.” The roar that rumbled from her throat was enough to intimidate the monkey king, freezing it in place.

They had succeeded.

Although a large part of the credit belonged to Song Lengzhu, Tang Yu had no intention of admitting it. She was the one who had captured him, so the credit was hers.

But strangely, even though she was touching the Old Blind Man’s skin, she hadn’t copied any ability.

No way. This man tamed beasts with pure skill.

The Old Blind Man himself had no ability to resist. He let Tang Yu hold him and sighed, “Young people these days have less and less manners.” From their young voices, he could tell they were not over thirty.

The small monkeys nearby also stopped their mischief. Many of them had been dealt with by Jin Ye and the others, and they had grown fearful.

Song Lengzhu walked over to the Old Blind Man and noticed that Tang Yu wasn’t in a hurry to infect him. What was this little zombie planning?

She turned her head and said to the Old Blind Man, “My apologies. I mean no harm. I only wish to ask you to lead the way.”

“Does this look like you’re asking?” The Old Blind Man’s beard was blown askew.

“You were the one who had the monkeys attack first.”

“Hmph.” The Old Blind Man snorted, noncommittal. After a moment, he asked Song Lengzhu, “The one holding me is a zombie, right? Your pet? Not bad. I raise wild beasts, you raise zombies.”

Song Lengzhu didn’t answer. Beside her, Tang Yu’s brows furrowed deeply. She muttered impatiently, “What nonsense are you talking? Song, are you done asking? Let me ask when you’re finished.”

Unfortunately, with Xiao Li not present, there was no one to translate for her.

Tang Yu had no choice but to call for outside help. “Zhou Zhou! Where are you? Come over here for a moment.”

Zhou Zhou’s boat was nearby, still under siege by the monkeys. Monkeys are creatures that know how to pick on the weak. They didn’t dare approach Tang Yu’s boat, but they still surrounded the other boats. The people on the other boats were too preoccupied to spare any attention for what was happening here.

Zhou Zhou received Tang Yu’s signal and brought her boat over. Apart from her, there was no one else on it. The other team members had been pushed into the water by the monkeys and were now flailing about in the river.

“Quick, help me translate. Ask this old man if he’s seen any sign of Xiao Li. I’m afraid if I make a move, he’ll just quit the game,” Tang Yu explained.

Zhou Zhou glanced at the puzzled Song Lengzhu, then turned back to the Old Blind Man. “Did a team of about twenty people come looking for you? They captured a little girl. Have you seen her?”

The Old Blind Man froze for a moment upon hearing this, then seemed to remember something and exclaimed, “There was a group of people earlier. Are you with them? Those bastards, they came straight to my den and threatened me. If it weren’t for my precious Huhu, they would have captured me by now.”

The Old Blind Man was agitated, ranting for a while before suddenly stopping. He said, “A little girl? What little girl? My eyes are both blind, and you’re asking me if I’ve seen her. Are you deliberately mocking me, huh?”

The Old Blind Man shouted until his face and neck were red. His white hair and beard had originally given him a rather ethereal, sage-like air, but now there was not a trace of that sage-like quality left.

Jin Ye mused, “He can’t see. It’s possible Xiao Li was taken as a hostage and is still unconscious. It would be normal for him not to know.” If Xiao Li were awake, she would have sent a message in the camp chat.

But Tang Yu’s eyes gleamed with a sharp light. “No, it’s not normal. He’s lying.”

Li Chengjian had said the Old Blind Man’s personality was strange, so being temperamental was reasonable. But when he mentioned the “little girl,” his vacant eyes had suddenly darted to the side. The sudden outburst of anger seemed more like an attempt to cover something up.

Tang Yu’s nails dug in a little deeper.

Without waiting for Tang Yu’s prompt, Zhou Zhou spoke again, “Their family and companions fell from a cliff and are missing. Everyone is extremely anxious right now. If you know anything, I implore you not to hide it.”

“Family?” the Old Blind Man muttered to himself, then said, “Really family, not people chasing someone to kill them?”

“Yes,” Zhou Zhou replied, glancing at Jin Ye. It wasn’t an exaggeration to call Xiao Li family.

Song Lengzhu watched silently from the side. Hearing Zhou Zhou’s words, her eyes swept over them and she only then realized that the human in the zombie team was missing. “So you were looking for someone? Not treasure hunting?” She had originally thought that Xiao Li simply hadn’t come along.

Tang Yu snorted coldly, not intending to respond.

Instead, it was Zhou Zhou who nodded. “Not treasure hunting.”

The Old Blind Man mumbled for a long time, repeatedly muttering the word “family.” After a moment, he slapped his thigh and said, “Alright, there was a little girl. I can take you to find her, but on one condition: you little zombies can’t harm me. I can see you’re different from other zombies, and I don’t care what you are. In any case, you can’t just attack randomly, deal?”

Jin Ye was overjoyed. When she realized the Old Blind Man was lying, she had briefly considered killing him, following the typical player’s line of thought. But now she was glad she hadn’t.

Tang Yu loosened her grip slightly. Before letting go, she activated her precognition ability and saw that the Old Blind Man had no intention of trying to escape. So she released her hand, restoring the Old Blind Man’s freedom.

The Old Blind Man was also a man of his word. He patted the white monkey’s back. “Let’s not take this damn boat. Xiao Bai will carry you up the cliff one by one. But don’t grab or scratch randomly. If it gets infected, our deal is off.”

Tang Yu grunted in agreement. She had Fu Mengqing and Li Chengjian go first. The white monkey reluctantly shook its shoulders, then leaped up, using the hanging coffins on the cliff as footholds, and climbed to the top of the cliff in just a few bounds.

Tang Yu was momentarily speechless. This Old Blind Man had no respect for the masters of the hanging coffins at all.

Next were Zhou Zhou and Jin Ye. When it was Tang Yu’s turn to climb onto the monkey’s back, Song Lengzhu suddenly said, “We’re going too.”

“No way! What are you going for?” Tang Yu huffed twice.

Song Lengzhu ignored Tang Yu’s huffing and said to the Old Blind Man, “After they find their person, I would like to ask you to lead the way to the tomb. I will provide something of equal value as a trade.”

The Old Blind Man exclaimed, “Well now, you’re different from those players who are accustomed to making threats. Alright, how many of you?”

Song Lengzhu pointed to the boat behind her. “Four, including me.”

Before Tang Yu could object, the white monkey leaped, suddenly soaring into the air. She instinctively grabbed the white monkey’s neck fur. The feeling of being suspended in the air made her gasp.

The whistling wind flew past her ears as the white monkey leaped higher and higher. Each jump brought a wave of weightlessness. A familiar feeling suddenly surged through Tang Yu’s mind like a bolt of lightning.

“Have I jumped like this before?” The thought had just appeared when the white monkey landed. It impatiently shrugged its shoulders, urging Tang Yu to get down quickly.

Her train of thought was broken, and the strange feeling vanished in an instant. When Tang Yu tried to pursue it, her mind was a complete blank.

After the Old Blind Man also made it up the cliff, the group followed him, walking along the cliff edge towards the narrow channel.

As for the others still being toyed with by the monkeys on the river below, no one had the mind to care.

Song Lengzhu’s and Tang Yu’s teams kept a distance of about ten steps. She called out to Zhou Zhou and began a low conversation, “Professor Zhou, when did you join the zombies’ team? This doesn’t seem like your style of doing things.”

Zhou Zhou adjusted her glasses and smiled. “A twist of fate. But it’s not a bad choice. Would Miss Song like to give it a try? Our team is still short on people.”

“You’re actually trying to recruit me.”

“Just a joke.”

“So what’s their… their story? Why did they become zombies?”

“That’s hard to say. I can’t go around gossiping without their permission. I see you’re very interested in our captain. Why don’t you just go and ask her directly?” Zhou Zhou said with a smile.

“Do you think the two of us can have a peaceful conversation?” Song Lengzhu retorted.

“True. Then wait until you get to know each other better before asking.”

Xiao Qi chimed in from the side, “I don’t think that’s possible.”

Walking ahead, Tang Yu turned back and saw Zhou Zhou and Song Lengzhu talking and laughing. She suddenly felt a surge of anger and growled in the camp chat, “Zhou Zhou, I don’t want to interfere with your circle of friends, but that Song woman is no good. Stay away from her.”

Hearing this, the smile on Zhou Zhou’s face deepened. She quickened her pace and fell in behind Jin Ye.