Their actions made Chen Kaijie feel a bit embarrassed. He then cautiously glanced around, “Are we going to get a warning?”
“What warning? You didn’t break any rules. I just think SD is an idiot. What’s wrong with that?” Shen Qingqiu said arrogantly, and nothing happened after she spoke.
After a moment of silence, everyone started laughing.
“Jokes aside, we still have work to do. We need to help Team Leader Xiao identify where these zombies are from based on these images.” After that, everyone gathered around.
Xiao Muyu spread out the booklet, and they began to examine each picture carefully.
The first picture was simple, just the outline of a person. Xiao Muyu scrutinized it closely. The person seemed slender, likely a woman.
Ignoring the other images, Shen Qingqiu examined the first one and pointed to a black shadow, saying, “This part should be the head, right?” Xiao Muyu looked over and nodded, “These are the arms. Based on their position, this is the head, though it appears oddly shaped, almost square.”
While they were pondering, Su Jin noticed something in one of the pictures and called out, “Team Leader Xiao, come and look at this zombie. Is it only half a body? The lower part seems like it’s either the ground or something like stairs.”
Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu exchanged a glance, then turned to look. “Yes, I know where this is.”
Su Jin felt excited as she continued to study the booklet, although she found some of the images confusing.
Suddenly, an idea struck her, and her eyes lit up, “These cards were drawn by Team Leader Xiao, so these zombies must be ones she has seen before, right?”
Xiao Muyu nodded and pointed to the first picture, saying, “Since we are collecting zombie illustrations, it’s likely in chronological order. The first picture shows a woman, and this odd shape on her head is a nurse’s cap.”
Zuo Tiantian leaned in for a closer look. “You’re right. So, this must be the nurse you saw at the central hospital, Tian Jia?”
Xiao Muyu observed Zuo Tiantian’s actions and nodded, “Her exaggerated pose should be how she looked after turning into a zombie.”
This was the first person Xiao Muyu saw zombified after entering the scenario, and she remembered every detail vividly.
Since the booklet didn’t require specific names, she wrote “Central Hospital” on it.
However, the illustration didn’t light up, which made Shen Qingqiu uneasy, “Did we guess wrong?”
That’s impossible. Even if it’s not Tian Jia, it should still be a nurse from the central hospital.
Xiao Muyu stayed calm and added a few more words, “Surgical Ward.”
Once she finished writing, the illustration glowed, and the black shadow became clearer, revealing a female nurse with twisted legs, her head drooping stiffly on her chest, and a name tag reading “Nurse: Tian Jia.”
The picture was so realistic that they instinctively stepped back. Zuo Tiantian complained, “This is nightmare fuel.”
“At the time, I didn’t feel much, but now it’s giving me goosebumps. No wonder it’s in the horror genre; it’s genuinely creepy.”
Su Jin felt a bit queasy. During the mission, they had no choice but to confront the zombies head-on, but now the aftereffects were more pronounced.
“This half-body one can be filled in too,” said Shen Qingqiu, not one to dwell on things.
Xiao Muyu nodded and filled in the location. The image appeared, showing the half-zombie from the Norovirus Biopharmaceutical Research Institute.
“It seems simple, but it’s quite strict. You need the exact location,” Chen Kaijie noticed, frowning slightly.
“Yeah, getting these cards isn’t easy,” Xiao Muyu continued to study the booklet. Mistakes were not allowed, and insufficient details were tolerated to some extent, but errors could be costly.
“These zombies should all be ones we’ve encountered, with some distinguishing features. Otherwise, with thousands of zombies, it would be impossible to remember them all.” Xiao Muyu said, looking at the first and fifth completed images.
“This one was from the first day, and this one from the fifth day at the research institute. So, the next three are from the period between leaving the hospital and deciding to go to the research institute.”
Examining the second picture, Xiao Muyu noticed its peculiar shape. Despite the distortions, its outline should be curved, but it looked spiky, with several projections extending outward, resembling jagged edges.
The third zombie’s hand was outstretched, with its elbow turned outward, as if it were lying on a large shadowy mass. One of its hands reached through the object below it, giving a sinister and fierce impression.
The fourth image was even stranger. The zombie appeared to be lunging forward, but its head had fallen off, and the detached head was irregular, missing a chunk of its face.
The sixth image was chaotic. It showed the outline of another female zombie, but she seemed too ordinary, just standing stiffly. They examined it for a long time but found nothing distinctive.
“This one is odd. The information is sparse and lacks distinctive features. How can we fill it in?” Zuo Tiantian frowned deeply.
They all had some idea about the other zombies, but this one left them clueless.
Xiao Muyu glanced at the seventh image. After finishing with the sixth, Shen Qingqiu also looked at the seventh. From the beginning, Shen Qingqiu had noticed the seventh picture because, unlike the other black-and-white silhouettes, this one’s black shadow was softer and had a faint hint of red emerging from the darkness.
Staring at the red part, Shen Qingqiu found it familiar.
She silently observed for a while before turning to Xiao Muyu and placing her hand over Xiao Muyu’s mouth and nose, then suddenly smiled.
Xiao Muyu found it strange but understood Shen Qingqiu’s gesture and laughed, shaking her head, “This system is really something. Despite its randomness, you can tell they put a lot of thought into creating this game.”
Xiao Muyu’s sudden comment puzzled Su Jin and the others. Looking at the last two illustrations, Su Jin asked in confusion, “Team Leader Xiao, do you know what they are?”
Xiao Muyu shook her head. “No.”
Su Jin and the others were a bit disappointed but quickly realized it was understandable; otherwise, Team Leader Xiao would be too impressive.
“We’re still uncertain about the sixth picture.”
Su Jin was taken aback. Did this mean the other six were already confirmed?
Xiao Muyu quickly focused all her attention on the sixth picture, meticulously examining it while recalling potential zombies that might have appeared between the timelines of the fifth and seventh pictures.
Due to the high difficulty, the system’s questions were challenging but not entirely random. Each zombie on the card, once guessed correctly, seemed quite logical.
“Her hands are not visible,” Shen Qingqiu pointed out, which gave Xiao Muyu a hint. This zombie’s hands indeed couldn’t be seen.
After turning into zombies, the most peculiar actions usually involved their hands. Except for the seventh picture, the hand features of other zombies were very distinct, but this one wasn’t.
“There are two possibilities: either she doesn’t have hands, or her hands are in front of her body,” Xiao Muyu mused, starting to have an idea.
“Zombies usually don’t place their hands in front of them without reason, and there are plenty of zombies missing arms,” Shen Qingqiu continued.
“I feel she might be holding something or maybe a child,” Xiao Muyu suggested to Shen Qingqiu.
Chen Kaijie and the others suddenly realized, exclaiming in unison, “The zombie baby!”
“Not sure, but let’s try it. Sooner or later, we have to fill it in,” Xiao Muyu said, determined but not overly concerned.
She swiftly wrote down the location with her pen.
Su Jin, Chen Kaijie, and Zuo Tiantian watched anxiously. As the pictures gradually lit up, they felt both happy and impressed. They had guessed a few correctly, and the ones they hadn’t guessed made perfect sense once revealed. Other than the first and second pictures, which were from before they met up, they remembered the rest clearly. The memories were too many and too chaotic, making it hard to pinpoint them based on such little information, but Xiao Muyu’s memory was exceptional.
The first picture was Liu Jia from the central hospital ward. The second was the zombie burned by Shen Qingqiu in the Xinhui Building. The third was the mutant zombie from the gas station that almost scratched Shen Qingqiu.
Su Jin vividly remembered the fourth one, having guessed it correctly. It was the zombie they encountered at the staircase corner in Lin Jian’s residential area, whose head was chopped off by Shen Qingqiu with one stroke.
Chen Kaijie shook his head, “Vice Leader has chopped off so many heads, how could you recognize this one?”
“But this one was the most thrilling,” Zuo Tiantian shivered at the memory.
The fifth was the half-body zombie from Norovirus Biopharmaceutical Research Institute. When Xiao Muyu filled in the details for the sixth picture, everyone was tense.
Chen Kaijie hesitated, “This zombie appeared in many places. Are you sure you can get it right, Team Leader Xiao?”
“The book is for collecting zombie illustrations. The first encounter should be enough,” Xiao Muyu assured them.
As she finished writing, the picture appeared, showing the zombie they had captured. The baby it held had a ghastly blue face, with its mouth open towards the camera. Shen Qingqiu’s expression turned cold upon seeing it.
Xiao Muyu glanced at her and chuckled, “It’s just a picture.”
“That little one was quite annoying.”
When the seventh picture was revealed, Shen Qingqiu smiled warmly at the image, “This one is the best, so cute. It’s a pity to place it here.”
“This… This is actually you, Team Leader Xiao. The system is really something…” Chen Kaijie and the others were amazed.
With all seven cards successfully collected, the illustration booklet folded itself. The rarity label now only showed “S” instead of “S or D”.
The zombie illustration book, once opened, allows summoning of the pseudo-zombie king Xiao Muyu. After summoning, it grants the power of the red-eyed Xiao Muyu from Scenario 005, lasting for 15 minutes, with a 48-hour cooldown.
Shen Qingqiu burst into laughter, seeing Xiao Muyu’s slightly embarrassed face. “So, we can see our cute and fierce Team Leader Xiao?”
Chen Kaijie and the others looked at the two of them, speechless. Actually, that version of Team Leader Xiao was quite scary—she would growl at them, baring her teeth. While adorable, they couldn’t handle it.
Seeing their sour faces, Shen Qingqiu squinted her eyes, “What, you don’t think she’s cute?”
Xiao Muyu felt quite awkward, while Chen Kaijie and the others shook their heads vigorously. After a while, Su Jin quietly said, “If she didn’t growl or yell at us, she would be quite cute.”
“Alright, everything’s settled. Everyone, go get some rest. Also, review your cards and think of better ways to use them. Reflect on the previous scenario and figure out what could have been done better. Understood?”
Xiao Muyu suddenly became serious, emphasizing key points, making Su Jin and the others nod continuously before being dismissed.
Shen Qingqiu chuckled softly, “You don’t like being called cute, huh?”
Xiao Muyu didn’t respond, looking at Shen Qingqiu with a mix of annoyance and affection, making Shen Qingqiu relent, “Alright, alright, I won’t say it.”
As Xiao Muyu put away the booklet, she seemed to be deep in thought, her brows slightly furrowed.
Shen Qingqiu, sensitive to her mood, asked cautiously, “What’s bothering you?”
Xiao Muyu didn’t relax her brows and said in a low voice, “I didn’t mention it earlier, but something about this feels odd.”
“What is it?” Shen Qingqiu asked seriously, putting aside her playful demeanor.
“Remember, I met with Shen Shiyi before entering the scenario, and we talked about some things.”
Mentioning Shen Shiyi made Shen Qingqiu’s face turn solemn, “Of course, I remember. Did you discover something?”
Xiao Muyu exhaled slowly, a puzzled look in her eyes, “In the scenario, during the puzzle with the Nine Linked Rings, I immediately knew the answer from the first hint, not because I was that confident. It’s because before entering the scenario, Shen Shiyi left me with five words.” Shen Qingqiu tensed up, “What were they?”
“Apocalypse, Nine Linked Rings.”
Author’s Note: This was mentioned when Xiao Muyu met Shen Shiyi. There was also a hint when Xiao Muyu guessed the Nine Linked Rings. As for the zombie illustrations, you all can find them too.
