Surviving the Game as a Zombie - Chapter 86

The first detonation had only consumed the two bombs at the laboratory entrance. Tang Yu remembered that the twins had placed several such devices inside the lab.

Sure enough, before the team of bl00d zombies could regroup, the twins pressed the button again. The operating table in front of Tang Yu was flipped over by the blast of air, thrown high into the air, and crashed against the ceiling before falling back to the ground, where it shattered into several pieces with a loud crack.

Behind the operating table was the epicenter of the explosion. A large hole had been blasted into the floor. The bl00d zombies at the very front were dismembered on the spot, and a mist of bl00d mixed with dust, carrying a scorching heat, sprayed onto Tang Yu’s face.

“The sound of the explosions has already alerted the people outside.” Song Lengzhu’s voice was devoid of inflection. At this moment, she seemed to have transformed into a different person. She didn’t even blink as the blasted limbs landed in front of her. In her eyes, the bl00d zombies were not her kin.

Just like how the Leader viewed them.

For a moment, a tremor ran through the depths of Tang Yu’s heart. She felt that, in the end, there was no real difference between all things in the world.

It was a fleeting thought that flashed through her mind, disappearing from her consciousness before she could even grasp it. Tang Yu composed herself, her eyes fixed intently on the Leader.

More than ten bl00d zombies had been blown away, reducing the enemy’s combat strength by a third. Yet, bl00d zombies were still pouring into the laboratory continuously. Tang Yu had no idea just how many of them there were.

The Leader seemed to have realized that the black boxes were the source of the explosions. She scanned the laboratory, and her figure flickered. Before Tang Yu and Song Lengzhu could react, she was already near the closest bomb.

Song Lengzhu’s eyes flew open. “Quick.” She told the twins to press the button controlling this bomb, but the Leader’s speed surpassed theirs. In the blink of an eye, a piece of iron in the Leader’s hand pierced the outer shell and plunged directly into the black box.

“Click.” The button was pressed, but there was no reaction.

Song Lengzhu’s expression finally changed.

A bomb damaged by external force should have exploded. Yet, that bomb was like a dud. There was only one possibility: the piece of iron in the Leader’s hand had precisely destroyed the bomb’s fuse.

To be able to disarm a bomb so precisely without observation or careful analysis—this was something beyond human capability.

Zhou Zhou leaned against a nearby operating table, breaking out in a cold sweat. “Her brain development must be at 30%.”

Tang Yu had no frame of reference and asked Zhou Zhou, “What does 30% mean?”

“It probably means that every minute structure of the bomb is visible to her. She might have even memorized the locations of all the bombs in the lab. To her, human movements would seem incredibly slow.” Zhou Zhou clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white. “I’ve never heard of such a mutated human existing in the game.”

The Leader was about to move again. Song Lengzhu immediately dashed out and shouted in a low voice, “Detonate all the bombs.”

Song Lengzhu had issued a crazy command. She had barely considered their own survival. Rather than watch the bombs get dismantled one by one, it was better to put them to good use.

As soon as Song Lengzhu made her move, the A and B zombies, who had been at a stalemate, immediately led the newly conscious bl00d zombies to attack Tang Yu and Song Lengzhu.

A series of explosions erupted one after another, instantly pushing the battle to a fever pitch. There was almost no warm-up period, like music suddenly being switched to its highest note. A life-or-death struggle instantly unfolded within the laboratory.

Tang Yu only saw a flash of white light before her eyes, and a deafening roar exploded right beside her ears. The heatwave licked at her hair, and the strands at her temples visibly curled.

Fortunately, Tang Yu had her premonition active. After forcing back the charging A-zombie, she immediately grabbed Jin Ye and Xiao Li, took ten quick steps toward an open area away from the center of the explosion, and promptly dove to the ground.

Although these were small bombs, the power of their simultaneous detonation was not to be underestimated.

A lingering fear filled Tang Yu’s heart.

Was Song Lengzhu always this crazy?

Or did facing such a formidable opponent force her to adopt such drastic measures?

She didn’t even shout a warning before setting them off! This crazy woman, wasn’t she afraid of blowing up her own people!

Debris from the laboratory ceiling was blasted loose, crashing down upon the corpses of the bl00d zombies. Although this move was insane, its results were remarkably effective. The remaining thirty-plus bl00d zombies were almost all affected, and even the A and B zombies had their shoulders injured by the blast.

The successive explosions destroyed not only the bl00d zombies but also the laboratory walls. Sand and dirt rained down, covering the floor in a thick layer of dust. A large hole was even blasted in the ceiling. Besides the lab equipment, many of the fluorescent lights were also shattered, causing the light in the laboratory to dim considerably.

Looking toward the center of the smoke, Song Lengzhu was already entangled in a fierce fight with the Leader. Song Lengzhu must have activated her ability at this point. Perhaps the Leader was so powerful that it had pushed Song Lengzhu to her absolute limit. Her combat ability had suddenly jumped a level, reaching a degree Tang Yu had never witnessed before. The two fighting figures left afterimages in the air, one in black and one in white, making it momentarily impossible to tell who was who.

Such a breathtakingly fluid fight was all too rare. Tang Yu was momentarily stunned, unable to tear her eyes away.

So, Song Lengzhu was this powerful.

Tang Yu didn’t dare to breathe. No, she should be marveling at how powerful the Leader was.

Zhou Zhou had dodged the explosion on her own. She passed by Tang Yu like the wind and gave her a light smack on the head. “What are you spacing out for? Help!”

The A-zombie was in hot pursuit behind Zhou Zhou. Her hair was slightly disheveled from running, and she was not in a good mood. The few shots she occasionally fired back were all dodged by the A-zombie.

Tang Yu collected herself and, with Jin Ye, flanked the A-zombie from the left and right. Xiao Li, meanwhile, ran to Xiao Qi’s team to help deal with the B-zombie and the remaining bl00d zombies.

The A-zombie’s shoulder was a bloody mess. A second before the explosion, Tang Yu had used a very subtle instant movement to kick it toward the blast. If not for that kick, the A-zombie would have likely escaped unscathed.

Now, Tang Yu used the same trick again. While Song Lengzhu and her teammates were preoccupied, she quietly combined her premonition and instant movement. The more she used them, the more adept she became at switching between them. The very instant she moved, she could launch an attack on the A-zombie along the most optimal path.

Zhou Zhou and Jin Ye would occasionally land a blow, distracting the A-zombie. Three against one, it wasn’t so strenuous.

She wondered how Song Lengzhu was faring.

Tang Yu couldn’t afford to be distracted. If the Leader’s brain functions were truly enhanced as much as Zhou Zhou had said, then no one present should be able to defeat her.

At some point, unfamiliar footsteps echoed in the laboratory.

“What in the hell is going on here?” A rough, middle-aged man’s voice rang out from the laboratory entrance, followed by the clatter of hard-soled shoes on the tiled floor.

No one answered him. A stray bullet even embedded itself in the floor at his feet.

The players had arrived, and quite quickly at that.

Tang Yu stole a glance amidst the fighting. There were many of them, so many that they couldn’t all fit at the entrance. It seemed that nearly all the players stationed around the restricted area had been awakened and had flocked to this place.

It made sense. With such loud explosions, no one could resist their curiosity and stay in bed.

They probably hadn’t come down the elevator shaft. A section of the laboratory ceiling had collapsed. There was likely an air vent in that spot during construction, which had caved in under the repeated blasts.

Tang Yu frowned, a suspicion forming in her mind. Was Song Lengzhu doing this on purpose? Did she intend to lure the players here to help her deal with the Leader?

Regardless, with the players here, it was time to put on a show.

Tang Yu steeled herself, reined in her overt abilities, took off her hat to reveal her face, and then began to fight while retreating under the A-zombie’s assault, feigning that she was being overwhelmed.

“Xiao Li, come here,” Tang Yu shouted. She knew very well that only her teammates could understand her words; to outsiders, it would only sound like the roar of a zombie.

Someone noticed them.

“Holy crap, look! The zombies are fighting each other,” someone pointed at Tang Yu and Jin Ye.

Tang Yu, Jin Ye, and Xiao Li regrouped, standing back-to-back.

Zhou Zhou opportunely ran off to help Xiao Qi with the B-zombie, making the three of them stand out even more.

A commotion arose in the crowd. “Is that the zombie trio all huddled together? Then who are the other zombies?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. The one Song Lengzhu is fighting is the leader of the zombie trio. I’ve been in the restricted zone for so long, I’ve seen her!” As he spoke, the leader of this team saw Song Lengzhu fighting a small woman and led his group to charge into the fray.

“That’s not right. I heard the zombie trio is on the same side as that Song woman. Why would they be fighting? These three weaklings must be the zombie trio.”

“To hell with it, let’s just help first.” These players were no pushovers. Although they were still arguing, they had already sprung into action, hacking away at the surrounding bl00d zombies.

No matter which side was the real zombie trio, killing the bl00d zombies was always the right move.

Tang Yu fought as she retreated. Since so many people wanted to play the hero, she was happy to oblige, secretly luring the A-zombie toward the crowd of players.

She couldn’t appear too strong. A powerful enemy would make people wary. Only by showing weakness would the enemy lower their psychological defenses.

Jin Ye cooperated with Tang Yu, pretending to be weak, and together with Xiao Li, they focused solely on defense.

But Xiao Li was devilishly clever. Seeing that the players were already fighting the A-zombie, she opportunely shouted at the top of her lungs, “Song Jie, be careful! This fake zombie trio is tough to deal with.”

She drew out the words so long that it made Tang Yu’s skin crawl.

Song Lengzhu’s movements faltered for a moment. Song Jie… why did that sound so awkward, as if she were addressing some old government official.

Song Lengzhu couldn’t spare the mental energy to deal with Tang Yu’s situation. Besides, acknowledging Xiao Li would be tantamount to confirming the rumors. She did not respond.

But she didn’t refute it either.

This silence gave the players plenty of room for speculation.

“Damn, silence is consent, right? Doesn’t that just confirm that this team of weaklings is the real zombie trio?” someone in the crowd realized.

Once someone voiced an opinion, everyone else would habitually follow that line of thought.

“That makes sense. I was wondering why the rumored trio suddenly got so strong. The last time I saw info about them in a post, they were a team of weaklings. After all this time, it turns out they weren’t even the same group.”

Taking advantage of the rising discussion, Tang Yu quickly pulled Xiao Li and Jin Ye behind an aluminum case amidst the chaos.

Regardless of their identity, they would be attacked by the crowd.

Sure enough, someone soon said loudly, not caring if Tang Yu was present, “Who cares if they’re real or fake, why not just kill them all? Those of you with a grudge against the fake trio, go get your revenge. After we finish off the strong one together, we’ll come back for the weak ones.”

“Right. The weak zombie trio can also use weapons. They might be a zombie king too.”

King your ass.

Tang Yu cursed inwardly, preparing to flee. They weren’t stupid enough to become targets for the players; they needed to lie low for a while.

However, they still hadn’t figured out the true origin of the Leader and the A and B zombies. Tang Yu planned to return to the lab to look for clues after the chaotic battle ended.

Everything was proceeding according to their original plan: clear their names, then investigate the truth.

But…

A sense of unease settled in Tang Yu’s heart. She peeked out from behind the aluminum case, her gaze traveling over the crowd to land on Song Lengzhu.

Song Lengzhu had helped her, and had even saved her once on the second floor. Was she really going to hide and abandon her like this?

In her line of sight, Song Lengzhu was struggling more and more. The newly joined players were a mixed bag. The skilled ones were able to help Song Lengzhu pin down the Leader, but those who were only thinking of getting a piece of the action were practically helping the enemy.

They would either obstruct Song Lengzhu’s evasive maneuvers or waste opportunities to attack.

Their coordination was a complete mess.

The Leader was handling five or six people with ease, pressing Song Lengzhu step by step, clearly having marked her as the primary target.

Tang Yu stared at Song Lengzhu’s figure, an emotion she herself didn’t recognize appearing in her eyes. Tang Yu thought: Even if I go, I probably can’t help much…

Thinking about it carefully, it was true. What help could she be? The people who went to help were all stronger than her.

But she still couldn’t convince herself to just walk away.

After a brief internal debate, Tang Yu gritted her teeth and said in a low voice, “Jin Ye, Xiao Li, you two hide for now. Don’t get caught by the players.”

“What about you?” Jin Ye turned her head. Having gone through so much together, she could see Tang Yu’s hesitation at a glance, as well as the worry in her eyes that Tang Yu herself hadn’t noticed.

Jin Ye sighed. “Tang Yu, you only have one life.”

Jin Ye didn’t try to persuade Tang Yu not to step forward. She simply reminded her to cherish her own life.

Just at that moment, Song Lengzhu shouted, “Little Zombie.”

The call was loud, carrying the same tone as when Tang Yu had called for Song Lengzhu’s help when attacked by the A-zombie.

Tang Yu was certain Song Lengzhu was calling her. Song Lengzhu had mentioned this nickname when she asked for her name. She was grateful that Song Lengzhu hadn’t directly exposed her name, especially with so many players present.

Tang Yu’s heart trembled slightly.

This call was unusual. Song Lengzhu had always fought alone, rarely asking for help.

Unless, she couldn’t win.

Tang Yu instantly straightened her back, handed her backpack to Jin Ye, put on her hat, and rushed out.