The leading man watched as the prize slipped away, grinding his teeth in frustration. “Who are you people, and why are you capturing this zombie?”
Xiao Muyu’s eyes were cautious. She glanced over at Shen Qingqiu, who was binding the zombie’s hands with iron chains and shoving it into the car. Only then did she respond slowly, “I’m equally curious. Why are you going to such lengths to capture a zombie? Who sent you? Someone from Norovirus Biopharmaceuticals’ upper management, or Sun Qinian?”
If Xiao Muyu and her team had any doubts about their target before, the appearance of these men confirmed their conclusion. This zombie was indeed the one they needed to protect.
Sun Qinian was the father of Sun Xi, a key biological professor for Norovirus Biopharmaceuticals.
The information they had indicated that Norovirus Biopharmaceuticals might be the mastermind behind this disaster.
This made the so-called Z serum and the vaccine that Wu An mentioned very suspicious. Coupled with the system targeting this peculiar zombie, Xiao Muyu suspected it was likely the initial infected individual. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about, but let me warn you, don’t oppose us. If you return her now, I can pretend nothing happened. But if you dare take her away, I guarantee you won’t survive three days in this apocalypse!”
The man’s breath quickened, his eyes cold and murderous, showing how important this zombie was to him.
Xiao Muyu smiled faintly, quickly turned her gun, and fired without hesitation. A man in the group groaned in pain, clutching his right hand and bending over.
“I’ll warn you one more time: if I see you again, it won’t be your hand next time, it will be your head. Believe me, I have the ability.”
This shot extinguished their fire completely. Shen Qingqiu, moving like a ghost, slipped past two men and pressed a dagger to one’s neck. “Keys.”
The man’s facial muscles twitched, showing shock and fear. He hadn’t seen how Shen Qingqiu had managed to get the knife to his throat. He glanced at his leader, who looked back coldly without any indication.
“Hurry up!” The blade was cold and sharp, causing pain in his neck. Trembling, he handed the keys to Shen Qingqiu. Shen Qingqiu grabbed his collar, dragging him to the driver’s seat before kicking him back into the crowd. She inserted the keys and started the car smoothly.
Xiao Muyu opened the passenger door and got in. The car spun in a ninety-degree turn and sped away.
The man, gritting his teeth, took out a gun he had been hesitant to use and fired at the car furiously, finally throwing the empty gun to the ground in rage.
“Damn it, useless! Chase them! If we lose her, none of you will get the vaccine!”
Shen Qingqiu drove the jeep at breakneck speed, eyes fixed on the road ahead, speaking sternly, “Chen Kaijie, be careful. Hold her hands down and watch her mouth. Don’t be careless.”
“Understood.” Chen Kaijie fixed her head with a tang blade and a steel rod, stuffing cotton into her mouth. Su Jin and Zuo Tiantian pinned her hands down tightly, their nerves taut.
“Captain Xiao, those people trying to capture her—does it confirm our suspicion that this mutated zombie is from the initial batch of infected?”
Su Jin, looking at the ferocious but unable to shout zombie, felt a bit terrified.
Heaven knows, this was her first time being so close to a zombie. Although the zombie was wrapped tightly in cloth, its strength was immense. Suppressing its movements made Su Jin’s legs tremble.
“Yes, and based on the current situation, I suspect it’s not just an initial zombie. From our observations, many zombies were part of a spontaneous infection, and some of them, like her, have cognitive mutations. This group clearly came prepared, with the same goal as us: to ambush her.
They avoided answering my questions, but their expressions gave them away. I deduce that Norovirus Biopharmaceuticals is very aware of this zombie’s existence, possibly even having created her.”
Xiao Muyu logically laid out her deductions, and Su Jin and the others nodded in agreement.
Soon, Shen Qingqiu drove to an industrial park, a remote place they had chosen beforehand.
Since their mission was to protect a zombie, explaining things peacefully was impossible. The only option was to capture her after finding her.
Having surveyed the area earlier, they had chosen this place to hold her. The tools were already prepared.
Today’s coordinated effort had been prearranged by Xiao Muyu: Zuo Tiantian threw the red rope, she and Shen Qingqiu wrapped the zombie in cloth, turning it into a mummy.
Despite some changes in the situation, Chen Kaijie and Su Jin had coordinated well, managing to carry out the plan perfectly despite the danger.
Hiding the car, they took the zombie to the second floor of an abandoned factory. The building had a sealed iron door that was difficult to open once closed, making it a perfect hiding spot.
Xiao Muyu and her team chained the zombie tightly. The zombie was furious, struggling violently and making muffled noises due to the cloth in her mouth.
Xiao Muyu noticed something: the small baby she had seen the day before, which the zombie had been holding, was missing. The baby had appeared lifeless, possibly dead without turning into a zombie.
Despite her protective nature, the zombie hadn’t brought the baby. Xiao Muyu cautiously approached her, checking but not finding the child. Had she lost it?
Seeing Xiao Muyu move closer, Shen Qingqiu quickly followed, understanding Xiao Muyu’s thoughts. She too checked, shaking her head.
Shen Qingqiu then examined the iron hook embedded in the zombie’s body.
Such a wound wouldn’t be fatal for a zombie, but the hook must be uncomfortable.
Shen Qingqiu took out a dagger, carefully cut along the wound, and removed the hook. The zombie strained towards her, causing the chains to clink.
“Being angry won’t help. Staying here might not be free, but at least you’ll be alive. You’ll be free once this is over.”
Shen Qingqiu shrugged, planning to leave the zombie and walk away with Xiao Muyu.
But Xiao Muyu suddenly stopped, noticing a black mark on the zombie’s left ankle. Squatting down, she saw a series of numbers: B-9527.
“What is this?” Shen Qingqiu crouched down, puzzled.
“It looks like a code, further proving our theory that she’s an experimental subject.”
“Congratulations to player Xiao Muyu’s team for completing the phase task: finding the core evidence B-9527 in side quest 005. Team points +25. Side quest: protect the target 1/2.”
The familiar announcement invigorated the group, who couldn’t help but smile. But the “1/2” puzzled them.
“Does this mean the protection isn’t over yet?” Zuo Tiantian wondered aloud.
“Most likely. After all, they won’t give up and will definitely keep looking for her. She’s not absolutely safe.” This reasoning made sense.
“But her child is missing, which is very strange.” Xiao Muyu felt something was off.
“Could it be that the child is missing, which is why it’s half safe?” Su Jin was somewhat worried.
“She wouldn’t abandon her child unless something happened. But from the child’s previous condition, it didn’t seem like the child could survive. It doesn’t make sense for us to protect a child who is already dead.” Xiao Muyu had just finished speaking when the system started again.
“Player Jiang Wei’s team target has died. Player Jiang Wei’s team target has died. The entire team enters Hell Mode. Within a 500-meter radius, zombie speed increases by 20%, and attack power increases by 10% for 3 hours!”
The following announcement was another shocking piece of news. Chen Kaijie couldn’t help but click his tongue. “A 20% speed increase. If we encounter mutated zombies, we’re done for. Just as I predicted, they probably didn’t save Sun Xi’s sister, leading to the mission’s failure.”
“So far, our advantage is still clear. However, leaving this thing here isn’t a long-term solution. The disappearance of that child is very strange. We must complete the mission quickly; otherwise, unexpected trouble may arise.”
Xiao Muyu wasn’t too excited. Looking at the female zombie chained by her hands, feet, and neck, he felt a bit worried.
Su Jin and the others nodded, each quietly contemplating the information gathered over the past few days.
After a moment, Su Jin spoke first, “We have secured our current target, but now we don’t have a clear objective.
Based on the previous information, we have a few choices: First, the Second Hospital where the initial cases were reported might have information.
Second, the Nuo Group’s research institute, where the Z-agent was originally developed, might have useful information.
Third, we could find the abandoned factory of Nuo Biopharmaceuticals in the northern suburbs that Wu An mentioned. That’s their stronghold, so it definitely contains valuable information. However, it is heavily guarded, and going there would be risky and without a clear target.”
Su Jin’s words were clear, and Xiao Muyu nodded in agreement.
But leaving this zombie here posed a big problem. They couldn’t just leave her unattended, but staying behind to watch her was also risky. It was a headache.
After some discussion, it was decided that Chen Kaijie and Su Jin would stay in the factory to guard the zombie, while Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu would take Zuo Tiantian to gather information.
“After we leave, take care of her. Don’t get close to this zombie unless absolutely necessary. Lock the door and don’t open it. We’ll be back by nightfall, so don’t worry too much. If you encounter malicious people and can’t avoid them, release her and leave her alone. The target is important, but you are more important. Understand?”
Xiao Muyu’s words made Chen Kaijie and Su Jin feel warm inside. The longer they stayed together, the more they appreciated choosing Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu.
This time, the game was quite malicious. In the Nine-Link challenge, the system kept leading the team to eliminate weaker members first. During the challenge, it was easier to clear if unfamiliar newcomers were eliminated first. When others couldn’t complete the challenge, Shen Qingqiu and Xiao Muyu risked their lives to help them.
If it were another team, the mission might not even be completed, and the team would likely suffer heavy losses.
Before leaving, Shen Qingqiu looked at Su Jin and pointed to her hand. “In a critical situation, you can use outside assistance. No need to show off here. Don’t save the cards; we only have one life.”
Su Jin smiled, stood straight, and said, “Yes!”
Shen Qingqiu chuckled, turned, and left.
Xiao Muyu didn’t say anything, but he had a faint smile on his face. Shen Qingqiu curiously asked, “What are you smiling at?”
“Nothing, just thinking you’ve changed a lot,” Xiao Muyu said softly.
Shen Qingqiu was surprised and looked at Zuo Tiantian. “Have I changed?”
Zuo Tiantian was startled by the question and, after thinking for a moment, shyly said, “The captain means you’ve become a bit gentler.”
Shen Qingqiu raised an eyebrow, looked at Zuo Tiantian, and drawled, “Wasn’t I gentle before? And what do you mean by ‘a bit gentler’?”
Zuo Tiantian instinctively sought Su Jin’s help, but realizing Su Jin wasn’t there, she blushed and looked at Xiao Muyu.
Xiao Muyu glanced at Shen Qingqiu. “You used to be scarier than a ghost to them, rarely interacting with others, let alone specifically reminding people of things.”
“I’m known for having a bad temper and being protective. Since we’re a team, we must look out for each other.”
With that, she took out the keys, opened the car door, and looked at the rearview mirror. “Where to first?”
“The research institute.”
Shen Qingqiu frowned. “Sun Qinian and his people have likely already cleared the northern suburbs. It might not have anything important left. Plus, it’s the third day. Other teams might have been there already. Is it still worth going?”
“My goal isn’t just to find information. More importantly, I need to use a computer,” Xiao Muyu explained.
Shen Qingqiu thought for a moment and understood. “You’re referring to the email you secretly deleted?”
“Yes.” She had only mentioned that the email seemed suspicious, and now, mentioning the need for a computer, Shen Qingqiu immediately caught on. It amazed her how Shen Qingqiu always seemed to know everything.
While driving, Shen Qingqiu noticed an unusually large number of zombies on one street. She glanced from a distance and sneered. “A team is there.”
Seeing the sudden fire and someone disappearing instantly, Xiao Muyu realized it was a player. Observing the accelerating zombies, she told Shen Qingqiu, “Take a detour.” Without another word, Shen Qingqiu turned around, drove a kilometer back, and continued toward the Nuo Research Institute.
The system’s design was clever. Each important location had players spawning there. Even without signal or memory, they could still find their way.
As expected, someone had already been to the research institute. The zombies had been slaughtered, their bodies dismembered, some even decapitated after being cut in half. Seeing the blood trails, Xiao Muyu could almost picture the scene.
As the three carefully approached the research institute’s entrance, a roar echoed, and a zombie rapidly crawled down the stairs.
It was indeed crawling because its lower body had been cut off, exposing its spine, with its organs tangled and dragging behind.
Before the sound ended, the zombie was upon them, springing up to grab Xiao Muyu.
Xiao Muyu hadn’t anticipated such suddenness and froze, but the zombie never touched her. Shen Qingqiu reacted quickly, raising her leg above her head and kicking the zombie away.
“This zombie is like a cockroach, so resilient even in this state.” Shen Qingqiu shook her hand, drew her steel rod, and as the zombie lunged again, she struck its head hard. The impact hurt her hand, but the zombie was unaffected, lunging at Zuo Tiantian.
Author’s Note: Fight, fight, fight. This is a longer chapter, with significant revisions.
