Surviving the Game as a Zombie - Chapter 82

Jin Ye’s speculation was not without reason. Both the Leader and Zombie A had only made appearances before them; so far, neither had directly engaged Tang Yu. Yet, they remained elusively active in their vicinity, popping up from time to time to provoke everyone, like a cat toy that couldn’t be caught but was always dangling before their eyes.

Tang Yu was beginning to understand what Xiao Qi had meant about being led around in circles by the Leader.

She lowered her voice and reminded them, “Let’s check inside the building. Be careful.” They were already in the restricted area; this was a path they had to take, no matter what.

The design of this laboratory building was completely different from the main one. The corridor twisted and turned, far from a straight line. On one side was an exterior wall with inlaid glass, and on the other were enormous laboratories with thick, sturdy doors. All the doors were currently half-open, resembling the silent, gaping maws of beasts awaiting their prey.

The floor and walls were caked with stale bloodstains, seemingly left long ago. To Tang Yu’s eyes, they appeared deep black.

The first laboratory was on the right side of the corridor. One of its heavy metal doors was pushed open, revealing a wide entrance that could easily accommodate four or five people walking abreast. The sign on the door was stained with bl00d, obscuring the text and its original purpose.

Tang Yu led the way into the laboratory. Once inside, the only source of natural light was blocked, and even she could barely see.

Unable to see, Jin Ye bumped into a table after taking only a few steps. The metal legs scraped harshly against the floor tiles, and something immediately fell from the edge of the table to the ground.

Such a noise could be fatal. They didn’t know what might be lying in ambush in the laboratory; if a monster was drawn by the sound, it would be too late. The group immediately assumed defensive stances, but after waiting for half a minute, no creature attacked.

Only then did Tang Yu crouch down to get a closer look at the fallen object.

It was a keyboard, nothing special. A cable was still attached to it. Following the wire, the group discovered a computer, paper documents, and something that felt like an ID card on the table.

It was a simple office desk.

As she crouched, however, Tang Yu noticed a very faint green light reflecting off the floor up ahead. Due to the angle, the reflection was completely invisible while standing. Only now, in the pitch-black, sufficiently dim room, did she notice it.

The restricted area was supposed to be completely without power. How could there be light?

Filled with suspicion, Tang Yu stared at the point of light and realized the reflection on the floor showed no signs of movement. It was a fixed light source.

Seeing Tang Yu crouched so low she looked like she was about to lie on the floor, Song Lengzhu moved closer and whispered, “Did you find something?”

Her voice was extremely quiet, almost a breathy whisper. In this environment, no one dared to speak loudly, and to communicate with Tang Yu, Song Lengzhu had to move in closer.

Tang Yu was so focused on the green dot that she didn’t notice Song Lengzhu approaching at first. Although their two teams were moving together, they had maintained a slight distance, just as they had in Ghost Valley.

Without raising her head, Tang Yu replied, “There’s light.”

Only after speaking did she turn her head and see Song Lengzhu, also crouched low and peering ahead. Tang Yu instinctively shifted a step away before remembering that Song Lengzhu couldn’t understand her, so she pointed to show her instead.

To make sure Song Lengzhu could see, Tang Yu deliberately waved her hand in front of her eyes. In this pitch-black environment where one couldn’t see their hand in front of their face, only Tang Yu could see any distance. She hadn’t forgotten that the others lacked this ability.

Song Lengzhu also spotted the reflection on the floor. She straightened up and felt her way toward the green light.

Tang Yu stood up and followed Song Lengzhu. After several dozen steps, the tip of her outstretched knife struck a hard surface. Both of them reached out to feel it. The surface was cold and hard—not a wall, but a metal door. The green light was shining through a transparent panel at the bottom of it.

The metal door before them was closed. It had no handle and wouldn’t budge when pushed; they had no idea how to open it. This was strange. In a long-abandoned restricted area that players occasionally explored, it was unlikely for a door to remain perfectly intact.

Unless this door had just been closed, or it was still operational.

Zhou Zhou moved to stand beside Tang Yu. She had already felt her way around the area in the dark. Her courage was considerable; she wasn’t the least bit afraid of a zombie jumping out from the shadows.

“Tang Yu, this should be the buffer zone on the lab’s periphery. It seems there are no other creatures here besides us,” Zhou Zhou whispered from behind Tang Yu.

So that was it. In other words, they hadn’t entered the actual experimental area yet.

“Perfect timing. See if you can figure out how to open this door,” Tang Yu said, making way for Zhou Zhou. Having seen many laboratories, she might know how.

“This kind of access door is usually electronically controlled. The entire restricted area has lost power, so it probably can’t be opened,” Zhou Zhou responded while feeling along the doorframe. She actually found a raised square. After a moment’s thought, she went back to the desk, picked up the inconspicuous ID card, and swiped it over the protrusion.

It was a complete shot in the dark; no one held out much hope.

Click—

A very faint click of a lock sounded. The latch released, and the metal door before Tang Yu slid silently and automatically into the adjacent wall.

The door was open.

The group remained rooted to the spot.

“My god, there’s still power here.” It wasn’t just Tang Yu who was surprised; everyone present was caught off guard by the fact that there was still a door controlled by electricity.

Zhou Zhou mused, “Large laboratories always have backup power, relying on wind or solar energy. This lab’s electrical system seems quite intact.” She found a light switch and tentatively pressed it, but nothing happened.

She concluded, “It seems the power is only being used to maintain minimal equipment operation.”

With that in mind, the green light was likely coming from some piece of equipment as well. Tang Yu steadied her nerves and stepped through the open doorway, leading the group into a small anteroom.

The anteroom was equipped with a sink, and several nozzles of some unknown device protruded from the ceiling. Farther in, a few clothing-like items hung on the wall. Their material wasn’t fabric, and they didn’t resemble Song Lengzhu’s protective suit.

Zhou Zhou squeezed in and said, “Sterile work clothes. It’s even equipped for a full decontamination procedure.”

But these procedures were useless now. The sterile work clothes were stained with bl00d and likely teeming with bacteria and viruses.

Tang Yu noticed a fresh red mark atop the dark brown, old bloodstains on the work clothes. It meant that someone—or a bl00d zombie—had passed through here before them.

At that moment, the door behind them suddenly slid shut again without a sound, ending with the sharp click of the lock engaging.

A flicker of panic went through Tang Yu’s mind.

Song Lengzhu, however, resolutely crossed the buffer zone and headed straight for the laboratory.

Xiao Qi clutched her head and let out a low groan. “Here we go again. Another sealed room.”

It seemed this wasn’t the first time they had encountered such a situation.

Zhou Zhou waved the keycard in her hand. “It’s fine, I have the card.” It was a good thing she had held on to it tightly; if it had been left outside, they might have been trapped.

Tang Yu followed with Jin Ye and Xiao Li. Soon, they figured out the source of the green light.

The door to the experimental area was open. In the darkness directly ahead stood a strange glass apparatus, like a cylindrical fish tank. Its surface was covered by a metal frame, upon which a row of green lights flickered. The device was clearly still operational.

As expected, this restricted area still had power.

A quick glance revealed quite a few of these glass tanks, arranged neatly in a row against the wall. In the vast laboratory, there were at least a dozen of them.

These green lights dispelled the laboratory’s darkness, and visibility improved dramatically. At the very least, they could now make out the room’s furnishings.

Tang Yu saw that the tanks were filled with water. The water was clear and transparent, tinged green by the surrounding lights. Unexpectedly, all the glass tanks here were perfectly intact, showing no signs of damage.

Aided by the light, the others could also make out the laboratory’s layout.

The laboratory was rectangular, lined with numerous metal cabinets. The entire space was divided into four areas, interspersed with large pieces of equipment and waist-high workbenches. In addition, there were many small rooms along the periphery.

There was no sign of zombies.

Zhou Zhou looked around for a few moments, muttering, “Pathology sampling workbench, DNA sample extraction station, negative-pressure pathology specimen cabinet…” It looked like an ordinary laboratory, except for the glass tanks in the corner; she had no idea what they were for.

Tang Yu and Song Lengzhu had little interest in these things. Using the faint light, they searched all the adjacent small rooms. Forget zombies, they didn’t even find a single mutated mosquito.

However, at the far end of the row of glass tanks, they discovered another metal door.

This door was extremely well-hidden, almost blending seamlessly with the surrounding wall. It had no handle or frame. If not for Tang Yu’s enhanced vision allowing her to spot the tiny vertical seam on the wall, the group would never have noticed anything amiss.

Zhou Zhou came over with the keycard and swiped it around the seam, but it was no use.

There was no device here to read the keycard.

Tang Yu didn’t bother with pleasantries and went straight for her knife.

Only her knife was sharp enough to forcibly carve an irregular opening in the door.

Song Lengzhu stood to one side, her brow furrowed. She had never seen someone treat a precious blade with such little care. It was a complete waste.

The door itself wasn’t particularly thick. Tang Yu widened the gash, gradually creating an opening the size of a basketball. She leaned closer to the gap, straining her eyes to peer inside. It was pitch-black, without a single ray of light.

But one thing was certain: there was a space behind this door.

Just then, a strange noise suddenly came from the room where the specimen cabinets were kept. They had clearly checked it and found nothing.

Before anyone could react, a bloody blur shot out from the small room, lunging straight for Xiao Li. Jin Ye, at her side, reached out to block and grab it, her hand closing around a sticky mass that felt like a pile of rotten flesh.

“Bl00d zombie!” Jin Ye roared. She thrust upward, her sword flashing like lightning as it pierced through the bl00d zombie’s throat and skull from below. Pinned by Jin Ye’s grip, the bl00d zombie couldn’t move an inch as its life was brutally extinguished.

Even in death, the bl00d zombie couldn’t have imagined someone would dare to grab it with their bare hands.

By the time Jin Ye released her grip and pulled Xiao Li protectively to her side, she realized the others were already engaged in a battle, surrounded by zombies.

At some unknown point, more and more bl00d zombies had emerged from behind the specimen cabinets, their numbers now far exceeding that of the team. Jin Ye had been right; the enemy had indeed laid an ambush. They were being hunted.

Tang Yu gripped Startling Dragon, her muscles tensed. She swung the blade in a wide arc, its edge flashing up and down, flicking and stabbing, precisely targeting the bl00d zombies’ throats and skulls.

They were mentally prepared for the bl00d zombies’ ambush. The enemy had been constantly provoking them; this fight was inevitable.

Now that the enemy had finally made its move, Tang Yu’s heart actually settled.

Compared to Song Lengzhu, she fought with even fewer reservations. Pushing, pulling, ramming, and kicking, she utilized her clever strength to its fullest. The zombies’ attacks were ineffective against her; as long as a scratch wasn’t fatal, she hardly bothered to defend.

But the number of bl00d zombies seemed endless, pouring into the laboratory in a continuous stream. Tang Yu broke through the zombies’ encirclement and glanced toward the specimen room, suddenly spotting another hidden door on the wall. The door was open, and bl00d zombies were flooding in like a tide, with no end in sight.

Tang Yu was exasperated. What in the world was this damn laboratory for? Why did it have so many hidden doors?

“Jin Ye, with me!” she called out, and the two of them charged into the specimen room, one after the other.

Like a splash in the ocean, Tang Yu and Jin Ye’s figures were quickly swallowed by the zombie horde. Xiao Li anxiously called out Jin Ye’s name, but she was too preoccupied to help and could only focus all her energy on fighting the bl00d zombies around her.

Song Lengzhu frowned as she looked in Tang Yu’s direction, as if wanting to say something but holding back.

Soon, the sound of a heavy object toppling echoed from the specimen room. Unable to close the handleless sliding door, Tang Yu and Jin Ye had worked together to push over a heavy specimen cabinet. The cabinet tilted and crashed toward the hidden door, crushing the bl00d zombies that hadn’t managed to escape in time beneath its weight.

The cabinet was two meters thick, enough to block the doorway. A horde of bl00d zombies might eventually push it open, but for now, it would buy them some time.

The two worked in perfect sync, leaping off the cabinet and fighting their way back to their teammates.

By now, Tang Yu was covered in bloodstains. It was impossible to tell if they belonged to the bl00d zombies or herself, but judging by her movements, she wasn’t seriously injured.

Song Lengzhu’s twin daggers moved in a blur. She spared a moment to glance at Tang Yu and offered an unexpected warning, “Be careful.”

For a player, charging into a horde of zombies was still too reckless.

Tang Yu didn’t respond. Although Song Lengzhu’s sudden warning surprised her, her mind was completely preoccupied with something else. She stared at the bl00d zombie before her, her heart pounding wildly.

The bl00d zombie’s eyes were starting to look lively.

Tang Yu had extensive contact with zombies and had even observed the process of humans turning into them while assimilating players. The pupils of an ordinary, mindless zombie would be dilated; although they could reflect light, the black pupils were much larger than a human’s, occupying almost the entire iris.

A conscious zombie, however, was different.

Now, the bl00d zombie before her was clearly off. Its dilated pupils suddenly contracted, revealing the dark brown iris beneath. Its eyes abruptly looked normal, which was the most bizarre part.

Could it be that this bl00d zombie had regained consciousness?

Tang Yu had no time to ponder what was happening and could only quickly warn her teammates, “Be careful, the zombies are mutating.”

The description wasn’t entirely accurate, but at that moment, Tang Yu couldn’t find a better word.

Sure enough, the bl00d zombie in front of her suddenly took a step back, dodging the tip of her knife with an extremely bizarre posture.

Zombies starting to dodge attacks was already strange enough. What was even more outrageous was that this bl00d zombie suddenly teamed up with five others nearby, forming a circle to surround Tang Yu.

Tang Yu looked up and saw that it wasn’t just the bl00d zombie in front of her; the other zombies were also forming attack squads as if they were organized and disciplined.

Six against one, and they could dodge and run. This was far more difficult to deal with than the ordinary bl00d zombies from before.

Even Zhou Zhou had to draw her dagger to fight back.

Before Tang Yu could devise a counter-strategy, the bl00d zombies began breaking off steel rods and iron plates from the laboratory equipment and gripping them in their hands.

This was insane. Zombies could use weapons now!

Even the zombies led by the C-Class Zombie King could only arrange themselves in formations. This was the first time Tang Yu had ever seen zombies wield weapons.

Except for herself, of course.

The bl00d zombies let out a low roar and charged their respective targets, their movements even faster than before. Tang Yu held her breath and focused, sidestepping an iron rod attack. She drove her knee into a bl00d zombie’s abdomen, and as it doubled over, she aimed the tip of her knife at the back of its neck.

But the bl00d zombie’s ally interrupted her attack, lunging forward and nearly knocking her over. The loosely attached flesh and bl00d from its body rubbed off on Tang Yu, disgusting her.

Tang Yu kicked away the lunging bl00d zombie and rolled aside. As she got back up, she caught a glimpse of a pair of shoes through a gap in the throng.

The black uppers of the shoes reflected the green light. They were standing motionless at the laboratory entrance.

Tang Yu’s pupils contracted. She snapped her head up, but two bl00d zombies blocked her view, pouncing from above and hemming her in completely.

Tang Yu clenched her back teeth, gripped her knife with both hands, and as she rose, twisted at the waist and unleashed a lightning-fast horizontal slash at her enemies.

With a clang of metal on metal, Startling Dragon shattered the bl00d zombie’s steel rod and cleaved the creature in two.

Without giving her a moment to breathe, the next wave of bl00d zombies immediately closed in.

This was the toughest horde of zombies Tang Yu had ever fought. Her only consolation was that she had just blocked the hidden door, preventing even more from pouring in.

In the chaos, someone pulled Tang Yu up. She couldn’t tell if it was one of her teammates or someone from Song Lengzhu’s group. The hand quickly withdrew, and in an instant, bl00d zombies once again blocked her line of sight.

After an unknown amount of time, Tang Yu heard Song Lengzhu give a low shout, “Over here!”

She glanced up and saw a dark figure beside her rush forward. In the blink of an eye, Song Lengzhu was at the laboratory entrance.

Tang Yu wasn’t sure if Song Lengzhu was signaling her, but before her mind could process it, her body was already in motion. She kicked off an approaching bl00d zombie, using the momentum to leap onto a lab bench. After a few more running jumps, she vaulted over the heads of the bl00d zombies and landed at the doorway.

By the time she arrived, Song Lengzhu was already engaged in combat with a figure. Those flat, black leather shoes clearly belonged to the person she had glimpsed earlier.

Now that she was closer, Tang Yu could finally see her opponent’s face clearly.

She was certain the figure was a zombie. The bulging black veins on its neck were identical to hers and Jin Ye’s. Furthermore, its face was intact, unlike the bl00d zombies.

The zombie was tall, a short-haired woman in her thirties wearing glasses and a white lab coat. The coat, however, was covered in bloodstains, with bits of flesh even falling from it—not its own tissue, but that of players.

Based on the height, Tang Yu recognized her as Zombie A.

Zombie A now held a piece of scrap iron, seemingly picked up from somewhere in the lab. Its attacks were fierce and every move was lethal, aimed straight for Song Lengzhu’s face.

Tang Yu was horrified. This Zombie A’s abilities were comparable to her own—no, they were even greater.

Song Lengzhu’s expression was composed as she carefully parried Zombie A’s attacks. Tang Yu paused for only a second before joining the fray without a word.

Song Lengzhu’s weapons were shorter, so she specialized in attacking her opponent’s temples. Tang Yu’s blade was long and sharp, and she aimed only for the spine and throat. Together, they managed to force Zombie A back several steps.

Tang Yu and Song Lengzhu had a history of cooperation, so their two-on-one fight was reasonably coordinated. But Zombie A was not fighting alone. In the space of two breaths, five or six bl00d zombies suddenly appeared from the buffer zone behind her, forming a squad and joining the battle.

It seemed these were the zombies Zombie A had left to guard the door.

It was truly a case of trapping a turtle in a jar, and Tang Yu and her group were the turtles.

Tang Yu took a risk and suddenly asked, “Are you a player?”

She was gambling, betting that Zombie A could understand her.