The first thing that caught the eye was a watermelon knife with a black handle and a flat head. The blade, shining brightly, was smeared with pus and fragments of flesh as it struck the neck of a zombie. The sharp blade severed the exposed bone in one stroke, and the zombie immediately fell to the ground. Strangely enough, this fallen zombie, like the others around it whose heads had also been chopped off, did not get up again.
Xin Meng keenly noticed this detail.
The person holding the knife paused after killing the zombie and took a step forward, locking eyes with Xin Meng.
Xin Meng saw the person’s gaze sweep over himself and Xiong Jiabao’s faces, then fall on the armbands they wore. The person adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and asked, “Teammates?”
Xin Meng nodded, confirming their identities to each other, but there was no time to say more as the zombies that had been knocked away earlier were closing in again.
The man had been able to face many zombies alone without being overwhelmed because he stood near a small backup door next to a revolving door. The revolving door was jammed with debris and couldn’t move, allowing only one person to pass through the small door at a time. As long as he blocked the small door, no matter how many zombies were outside, they couldn’t squeeze through two at a time. He could then use his superior agility to kill them one by one. However, it wasn’t entirely safe, as he would eventually tire. Xin Meng and Xiong Jiabao’s arrival came just in time to relieve him.
Seeing this clearly, Xin Meng swung the car around, blocking the small door with the car body, and the two of them jumped out of the car and ran into the door.
As soon as they entered, Xiong Jiabao almost fell. Xin Meng, being close, quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him up. It turned out that Xiong Jiabao’s legs had gone weak from fear. Outside, he had managed to hold on, but as soon as they came inside, he almost collapsed. Xin Meng helped him sit against the wall to rest and then turned to survey their surroundings.
They were still near the revolving door, in the lobby of a mall. The space was large, with few items except some festive decorations that were now dirty and scattered everywhere. There were also some rotten meat chunks and broken bones, and a few headless zombie corpses, but no active zombies were in sight, so it seemed relatively safe.
“Most of the zombies here have been lured outside by me,” the man with the glasses said, catching his breath. He looked disdainfully at the watermelon knife in his hand, covered in rotten blood and flesh, and threw it to the ground. He crossed his arms and walked over leisurely, looking down at the two people squatting on the ground. “It wouldn’t be long before I could kill them all, by myself.”
“Wow, dude, you’re amazing!” Xiong Jiabao foolishly gave him a thumbs up. Xin Meng, however, detected the arrogance and condescension hidden in the man’s words. Judging by his elite attire, he likely had a high status and seemed to be quite skilled based on the previous situation.
Xiong Jiabao, sitting on the ground with weak legs, couldn’t stop talking. He introduced himself and Xin Meng, almost calling the man brother.
The man adjusted his glasses and, facing Xiong Jiabao’s excessive enthusiasm, smiled ambiguously. “I’m Dong Xiu. My father is the chairman of the Kyushu Business Trade Group in X City, and I am the general manager of the marketing department. You should have heard of Kyushu Group, right?”
Xiong Jiabao was a bit stunned. He had indeed heard of it, as it was a leading enterprise in X City and frequently appeared on TV. He hadn’t expected their new teammate to have such a significant background.
Xin Meng lowered his eyes and didn’t respond, instead asking, “Can I see the information on your card?”
Dong Xiu, not receiving the expected compliments and respect, looked somewhat displeased. But seeing Xin Meng’s plain clothes, he guessed he was just a common citizen who probably didn’t even watch economic news. Losing interest, he pulled a card from his suit pocket and tossed it to Xin Meng like a handout. Xin Meng didn’t mind, taking the card and flipping it over to read:
【The monster is too resilient; people are helpless. Even if its body is split open, as long as it can see your face, hear your voice, or smell your scent, it will crawl towards you with all its might, tear your flesh, and drink your blood.】
【Then turn you into one of its kind.】
“Wow! What kind of love letter is this?!” Xiong Jiabao exclaimed, shivering from his own words.
“I see. This says that seeing, hearing, and smelling are all functions of the head. So, as long as the head is intact, the zombie can’t be killed. Conversely, if we can cut off their heads, we can kill them completely…” Xin Meng muttered to himself, looking at the card.
Dong Xiu glanced at him with his chin raised. “Not bad, you’re not too dumb.”
Xin Meng didn’t get angry. He took out his and Xiong Jiabao’s cards, handed them to Dong Xiu, and explained their analysis. Dong Xiu looked at the cards for a while but said nothing.
“We should find something to eat first. We haven’t had breakfast, and I’m starving,” Xiong Jiabao said, rubbing his empty stomach. The food Xin Meng found the previous night was already eaten, and they had only drunk some water in the morning. The journey had frightened them, making them hungrier than usual. He stood up, looking expectantly towards the mall lobby. “Dong Ge, where can we find food in this mall?”
Seemingly pleased by Xiong Jiabao calling him “Dong Ge,” Dong Xiu’s expression softened but then turned grim again. He pointed to the escalator leading downstairs. “There’s a supermarket downstairs, but the door is locked. If you want to eat, you’ll have to persuade her to open it.”
“Someone else is in there?” Xin Meng was surprised.
Dong Xiu sneered and indifferently said, “Teammate.”
Xiong Jiabao was confused, “There’s another teammate in the supermarket, but they won’t open the door? Dong Ge, didn’t you explain the situation?”
Dong Xiu was annoyed. Of course, he had explained. He had never met someone so unreasonable!
“Who knows what she’s thinking? She was already there when I arrived, probably transported directly into the mall. When I was being chased by zombies, instead of helping me, she hid in the supermarket! Okay, I didn’t mind since she’s a woman. But then, when I asked what her card said, she wouldn’t tell me. When I wanted to get some food from the supermarket, she locked the door! No matter how much I shouted, she wouldn’t respond. She’s totally crazy!”
“A woman?” Xiong Jiabao nodded, understanding. “Maybe she was scared?”
“Scared my ass!” Dong Xiu snapped. “She looks creepy, staring from her hairline like Sadako, scarier than zombies. It’s a wonder she doesn’t scare them away!”
This sounded troublesome.
But they had to go downstairs. All three of them were hungry, and they had to prepare enough food while waiting for other teammates, not knowing how long it would take.
The three decided that Xiong Jiabao would lead, Xin Meng would persuade, and Dong Xiu would use the watermelon knife for “armed coercion” if necessary. They went down the escalator and saw the closed glass door.
Xiong Jiabao banged on the door, “Hey! Beauty, open up!”
Xin Meng stared at the dozen white knife marks on the glass door and glanced at Dong Xiu holding the watermelon knife. Dong Xiu snorted, “I tried to break the glass to get in, but it’s thick bulletproof glass, can’t break it.”
Xin Meng nodded and said nothing.
As he looked inside, he didn’t know when it happened, but a black head silently appeared among the rows of shelves inside. In the dim light, the features were indistinguishable. Recalling what Dong Xiu had just said about “Sadako,” Xiong Jiabao was scared out of his wits. He instantly jumped behind Xin Meng, trembling and stuttering, “Oh my! Little brother, she’s all yours. I am most afraid of female ghosts!”
Xin Meng couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. His eyesight was better, and he could see at a glance that it was not a female ghost but a young woman. To be precise, she was a girl about the same age as him, wearing a blue school uniform. Her long hair was straight and black, with bangs so long they almost covered her eyes. In the dim light, it created the illusion that her entire head was black and featureless.
Even though Xin Meng had good eyesight, due to the angle, the girl had her head slightly lowered, and her hair fell forward, covering most of her face. As a result, he couldn’t clearly see her features, only catching a glimpse of her pale skin, delicate chin, and small lips. Her expression seemed very gloomy, and even though her eyes were not visible, he could clearly feel the eerie gaze emanating from beneath her bangs.
It did seem a bit scary…
Xin Meng’s heart was also pounding, but he still moved closer to the door and gently spoke to the girl inside, “Hello, my name is Xin Meng, and I am your teammate. I believe you have seen the content on that card. We don’t know how we ended up in this horror game, but we must work together to clear it. You also want to return to the real world, right?”
The soft and gentle voice of the young man was very reassuring, bringing a sense of warmth like an early summer breeze, making one relax involuntarily, just like the feeling Xin Meng gave off.
The girl didn’t speak, merely shifting her gaze to Xin Meng. Her eyes remained cold, sending chills down the spine of anyone being stared at, but Xin Meng sensitively noticed that she seemed to be scrutinizing him.
Her sense of caution was astounding.
At this moment, Dong Xiu coldly spoke, “Even if only one person needs to clear the game, and you can hide here like a mouse to advance to the next stage, what will you do if we all starve to death? You’ll be left alone in this dark place, without sunlight, without other living people, surrounded by zombies outside. When you finish all the food here, you’ll starve to death too.”
The girl squinted her eyes, her gaze at Dong Xiu so cold it could freeze. Her attitude was utterly rejecting.
“You!” Dong Xiu, infuriated, raised the watermelon knife again, about to smash it against the glass door. Xin Meng quickly stopped him.
“Calm down, let me talk to her.” Xin Meng gestured for Xiong Jiabao to hold Dong Xiu back. Although Xiong Jiabao was intimidated by Dong Xiu’s aggressive demeanor, he reluctantly held onto Dong Xiu’s arm, thinking it wasn’t appropriate to wave a knife at a girl. Dong Xiu, annoyed, shook him off but refrained from swinging the knife again.
Xin Meng tried to appear more harmless and reliable, continuing to persuade her, “Don’t you want to return to the real world? Think of your friends, classmates, your parents, siblings, and those who care about you. If they can’t see you again or know you’re trapped here, how heartbroken would they be?”
Something seemed to touch the girl; she hesitated, her eyes flickering. Xin Meng caught the moment and felt a bit more confident. He gently placed his hand on the glass door, “We are trying to find a way out. You don’t have to talk to us, and you can choose whether to follow us when we leave. We won’t force you to do anything, but we need to make sure we don’t starve. Can you open the door for us? We only need food, and we won’t harm you.”
The girl’s gaze lingered on Xin Meng’s face for a while before abruptly shifting to Dong Xiu.
