Surviving the Game as a Zombie - Chapter 7

Surprisingly few people were guarding the cellar. It was hard to tell if the camp was short-staffed or just didn’t see Tang Yu’s group as a threat. The only person in the entire cellar was the large man with the gun.

“Behave yourselves.” It was just past noon. The large man patrolled in front of the iron cage, uttered a few perfunctory threats, and then straddled a broken chair to rest.

Jin Ye grunted a few times, which Tang Yu understood as a question about when they would make their move.

“No rush. We’ll wait until nightfall to act.”

After that, the three zombies in the iron cage made no further unusual movements. About half a day passed, and someone brought over a metal lunchbox, handed it to the large guard, and then left.

Tang Yu looked past the large man’s arm and saw the food he took out. It wasn’t the white congee and steamed buns from the square during the day, but a meat-filled flatbread wrap.

This is the apocalypse, isn’t it? He’s eating way too well.

The sound of him chewing noisily began. The large man’s shoulders were slumped in relaxation, and he seemed very much at ease.

He had clearly dealt with zombies often. He knew these creatures were just NPCs who couldn’t use weapons. Their most common attacks were scratching and biting at close range. Now that these three zombies were locked in an iron cage, they posed almost no threat as long as he kept a safe distance.

As if to confirm, he glanced sideways at the three of them between chews. Seeing that the three zombies were staying quietly in the iron cage, not making a fuss, his guard dropped to its lowest point.

“What a great gig. The other brothers are out there fighting for their lives. Tsk, just a bit low on points.” The large man fiddled with a metal sliver in his hand, humming contentedly.

There were no windows in the cellar, so Tang Yu didn’t know the time. However, when the person delivering the food had come, Tang Yu had glanced through the slightly ajar door and seen that the sky outside was already pitch-black.

The time had come. Tang Yu silently drew Startling Dragon, even carefully adjusting the angle. Then she narrowed her eyes and aimed for the back of the large man’s head.

The next moment, with a flick of her wrist, she threw it with practiced force. A silver light spun out from between the bars of the iron cage, tracing a beautiful arc before plunging straight into the large man’s neck.

Bl00d splattered. A heavy thud echoed as the body hit the ground, but no one outside the cellar noticed. The large man on the floor clutched his neck, looking toward Tang Yu in terror. Until the moment of his death, he couldn’t understand how a zombie could use a weapon!

“That’s right, I did it.” Tang Yu waved in response to the man’s stare, the corners of her mouth lifting into a smile.

“Ding.” The notification sound that only Tang Yu could hear chimed from her wrist again, indicating she had earned another 10 points.

Inside his cage, Jian Wu flinched instinctively. So Tang Yu’s promise not to kill anyone was a lie after all.

“You killed him. How are we supposed to get out now?” Jian Wu asked.

The lock on the iron cage was a large, sturdy padlock. Startling Dragon had been thrown by Tang Yu, and without a weapon in hand, it would indeed be difficult for the three of them to escape.

“If we didn’t kill him, it would be even harder to get out,” Tang Yu retorted bluntly. She then yanked hard on the padlock, which clanged loudly against the iron cage.

It seemed brute force wasn’t going to work.

Just as the two were worrying, there was a sudden, crisp “click.” Tang Yu turned her head to see that the lock on Jin Ye’s cage had sprung open.

Jin Ye held up a small object in her hand. “A bobby pin. An essential household item.”

“You even know how to pick locks. It seems you’ve done your fair share of shady business,” Tang Yu said with a laugh.

“You have a special way of complimenting people, but… thank you,” Jin Ye replied. She skillfully opened Tang Yu’s lock, but when it was Jian Wu’s turn, she hesitated for a moment.

Tang Yu pulled Startling Dragon from the large man’s body and casually wiped the bl00d off on his clothes. She stood up and handed the submachine gun she had picked up to Jin Ye.

“What’s wrong? You don’t want to let Jian Wu out?” Tang Yu asked.

Jian Wu panicked. “Don’t! If you leave me here, now that a guard is dead, they might dissect me.”

Jin Ye pondered for a moment before saying helplessly, “You won’t reveal any information about the camp, and you have no combat ability. If we take you with us to rescue someone, won’t you just be a burden?”

Jian Wu was at a loss for words for a moment. “I know you’re trying to pressure me. I can see the situation clearly. They just want to kill me now, so there’s no point in me protecting them anymore.” His eyes darkened, and he continued, “I can lead the way, but on one condition: don’t harm the weak, and don’t touch anyone from the logistics team. They’re my acquaintances, after all.”

Tang Yu laughed. “I didn’t expect you to be so righteous. But what kind of bloodthirsty demon who kills without batting an eye do you take me for? Do I look like that kind of person?”

“That kind of zombie,” Jian Wu replied.

Having gotten Jian Wu’s promise, Jin Ye skillfully picked the lock. At the same time, she muttered to herself that Jian Wu still had the mindset of a teenager, acting based on sentiment rather than understanding the stakes. She had no idea how he had survived this long.

With the lock open, the three of them were in no hurry to leave the cellar. Jian Wu briefly explained the camp’s layout. There were about three hundred people in the camp. The relatively intact abandoned buildings at the front housed the vanguard, the management, and people with special skills, like researchers such as Professor Zhou, as well as electricians and plumbers.

The two rows of half-collapsed buildings in the middle were home to survivors who had stumbled upon the camp. They usually had little combat ability and not many points, and were responsible for the daily tasks that kept the camp running. The logistics team, which handled odd jobs like Jian Wu, was crammed into these middle two rows.

The last two simple, single-story buildings were used to hold hostages. Some were bargaining chips for negotiations with rival camps, while others were bait to attract zombies. The person Jin Ye was looking for was most likely in the back.

As for their current location, Jian Wu couldn’t say where it was. He had never been to this cellar and didn’t recognize it.

Tang Yu was amazed. “This camp is already quite large-scale, and the division of labor is very clear. How long has it been established?”

“I don’t know. I came here three months ago.”

“What kind of person is the leader?”

Jian Wu shook his head again. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen them, and no one knows the leader’s true identity. I’ve only heard people whisper that they’re an eccentric lunatic.”

Tang Yu made a soft sound of surprise and didn’t press further.

The three of them circled the cellar once more. In the space under the stairs, they found some discarded tablecloths. The cloths were a filthy gray, their original color no longer discernible.

There were also some empty iron cages in the cellar, but nothing else. Tang Yu said curiously, “I thought this place would be used to lock up a lot of strange things.”

“Zombies? I’ve been here for so long, and the three of us are the only zombies to have ever walked into the camp. All the others were killed and disposed of at the barbed-wire fence.”

“Not necessarily zombies. Maybe some other humans? Look, there are iron cages specifically prepared in the cellar. They don’t look like they’ve been sitting idle for years.”

Hearing this, Jian Wu’s steps faltered for a moment, and a strange expression crept onto his face.

“What is it?” Jin Ye noticed this sharply.

Jian Wu hesitated, then sighed before speaking. “This camp isn’t as peaceful as it looks. There’s a very strict hierarchical system here. It’s said that if you offend the leader, you get sent here.”

“Oh, that’s not surprising,” Tang Yu said. She had just noticed it herself: the people receiving congee in front of the open-air stage ate worse than the guard, and the guard’s clothes were clearly not as good as Captain Liang’s. Here, the strong were most respected. In an apocalyptic world, nothing could be more normal.

“Brother Li said that the ones sent here are usually the disobedient weak ones, even though they didn’t do anything wrong.”

Hearing this, Tang Yu subconsciously tightened her grip on her knife’s hilt.

“What do you mean?” A murderous glint appeared even in Jin Ye’s calm eyes.

“This is just what I heard, just hearsay.” Jian Wu took a step back before saying, “Isn’t it true that for interstellar humans, there isn’t much difference in physical strength between men and women? Everyone is tall and thin. But this game, set against the backdrop of ancient Earth, is different. It seems to have simulated the physical differences of ancient Earth humans. Many men get a higher stamina value than women right when they enter the game, which is something many people only discovered after starting.”

“This brought out the worst in some people. Once they had the upper hand, they immediately began to squeeze out the living space of women and the physically weaker, going out to kill zombies and earn more points. Meanwhile, those players with less stamina who were left behind could only earn basic points through odd jobs. As a result, the gap in wealth and strength grew wider and wider. The weaker groups would be treated unfairly, suppressed in terms of both supplies and status.”

“Doesn’t anyone think it’s unfair and want to leave the camp?” Jin Ye asked.

Jian Wu gave a bitter smile. “Leaving the camp is impossible. Once you’re in this camp, you can’t leave. Many people who came seeking refuge didn’t know this. Residents who try to leave become points for the vanguard and are eliminated directly.”

Jin Ye looked at the empty cages, somewhat indignant. “What about the people who were oppressed?”

“Some chose to leave—I mean, by ending their lives to exit the game, but some weren’t even successful at suicide. Others chose to submit to the leader, accepting the dirtiest, most tiring, no-point jobs. Maybe they still held onto the hope of turning the tables, but that hope is slim. In the camp, points are the measure of status. The weak only fall into a vicious cycle.”

“I was curious before. Players can kill each other for points, yet this camp was so peaceful. It turns out it was just suppressed by brute force,” Jin Ye said thoughtfully.

Tang Yu narrowed her eyes, studying Jian Wu with a dangerous glint in them. She asked probingly, “You’re also a man. Aren’t you a vested beneficiary here?”

Jian Wu looked a bit awkward and replied, “You’re not wrong to say that. I did get a logistics position because my strength is decent, and I’ve been getting by okay. But that doesn’t mean I approve of this system. Gender equality is relatively balanced in the interstellar era. Here, it feels like order has collapsed.”

It was more than just the collapse of order; everything here was a mess.

Tang Yu withdrew her sharp gaze and said nothing.

This was no place to linger. Tang Yu cut the tablecloth into three pieces and wrapped one around her neck, just managing to cover the lower half of her face. “A disguise. We’re getting out of here.” She tossed the other two scraps of cloth to Jin Ye and Jian Wu, then led the way up the stairs.

“You look very suspicious, like a thief,” Jin Ye said.

“Being suspicious can also make the enemy hesitate, instead of them opening fire the moment they see us,” Tang Yu said.

The cellar door was locked from the outside, but it was a wooden door. With a few casual chops, Tang Yu’s sharp Startling Dragon split open a crack in the wood.

These cuts made a considerable amount of noise, but no voices were heard from outside. It seemed they were truly confident about leaving three zombies locked up in here.

Jin Ye reached her hand through the crack, skillfully felt for the keyhole, and picked the lock blind. The three of them poked their heads out to take a look. By the moonlight, Jian Wu quickly recognized the terrain outside.

“Ah, so we’re in this corner.” He crouched down and peered out. The small alley outside was empty.

“This is the front row of buildings. Professor Zhou’s research lab is to the left, and the vanguard’s barracks are to the right. No wonder they felt safe tossing us in here. We can’t get out of this alley; there are guards at both ends.”

“Are there no other paths?” Tang Yu asked.

“None.”