Chapter 172

The girl lying in the middle of the path was soon discovered by kind-hearted residents. As she was taken to the local clinic, she kept repeating to the helpful passersby, 'Wake me when it's over... wake me when it's over...'

'What?' the passersby asked in surprise. 'Wake you when what's over?' But the girl's words continued unabated.

To this day, we still do not know the girl's name.

Small Town Express: Recently, a giant black crow has been terrorizing the town. The city is about to send guards to hunt it down.

Outside the book, Lin Tu and the others all stared at the lines of text that had appeared on their own pages. When they saw the black crow, they were certain that the girl in the earlier passage was Guan Suixing.

Kou Lin guessed that the creatures' method of tracking them was surveillance. After destroying all nearby cameras, she returned to her companions, who were already puzzling over how to send a message to Guan Suixing.

'Go in and tell her?' Luo Yongzhi scratched the back of his head. 'As long as you keep reminding yourself that you're outside the story, it should be fine.'

'Is it that simple?' Liu Sheng sounded doubtful. 'This is at least an S-rank disaster.'

'Then how do we get a message through...'

'The simplest way.'

They all turned to Lin Tu, who held up a single finger. They urged her on. 'What is it?'

'Drop a note in.'

Everyone: '...' They really had been grasping at straws, forgetting the simplest method of all.

Ten minutes later, Guan Suixing finally reappeared outside the book.

She had taken an S-rank anti-mutation pill, temporarily suppressing the virus in her body. As long as she lasted until the disaster ended, the virus would be automatically purged upon leaving the disaster.

But even so, her current condition was far from good.

Liu Sheng hurried over to check on her. After a moment, his expression grew grave. 'She's poisoned.'

'Poisoned?' Guan Suixing asked, drenched in cold sweat.

'Literally.' Liu Sheng pulled out a large assortment of tools and medicine from his backpack. After taking her temperature and drawing blood for testing, he shook his head. 'It's not a common poison. This venom was deliberately applied to its claws. We'll have to find whoever poisoned it, or check out that medical center the creature mentioned. After all, the only poisons on this ship would be located there.'

The others nodded in agreement.

'What exactly are these monsters?'

'Yeah, this is supposed to be a zombie disaster. Do these creatures even qualify as zombies?'

'And poison?'

The players mulled it over, finding it all rather strange.

Guan Suixing was now unable to move, so she returned to the book. She had been hurt for the sake of her companions; if it hadn't been her, it would have been someone else. No one could abandon her, so they decided to head for the Main Ship above—which had also been Lin Tu's second choice for a hiding spot earlier.

'Everyone, get ready. I think...' Lin Tu fell into thought. 'This medical center might not be so simple.'

The players turned to her, slightly surprised.

'First rule: the monsters' intelligence depends on their previous profession. So I'm thinking—considering how smart researchers are, once they get infected...'

In everyone's mind, a researcher in a white coat appeared, twirling a blood-dripping scalpel and revealing a sadistic smile as he looked up. They couldn't help but shudder.

'That would be a super-powered version of a mischievous brat,' Luo Yongzhi said, scratching his head.

.

Meanwhile, on the third level, another corridor.

After Yu Liu and the others had fled, the surging army of infected, bathed in blood, fell into an eerie silence. The remnants of their human struggle on their faces had all transformed into mindless desire, like hunters lying in wait for the right moment to strike.

If anyone were here, they would have screamed at the sight of the swarming monsters, only to be torn to shreds.

'Do you want to kill people?'

At that moment, a few firefighters standing not far from the front of the army removed their helmets and coats, revealing white lab coats underneath.

The style of the coats didn't reveal their identities, but the ID badges on their chests showed they were staff of the medical research institute.

'Ahhhhh!'

The corridor erupted with screams. The quiet beast gradually awakened.

'Then go.' The few smiled, swiped their cards, and flung open the gates to the third level. From beyond the narrow, mysterious passage, a rich fragrance drifted in.

.

Residents of the third level, after a hellish night, had expected the army to come to their rescue.

In one dormitory, a man trembling under his blanket felt a surge of joy at the sound of dense footsteps.

Hungry and cold, he thought it was finally over. Hearing footsteps at the door, he waited quietly for the rescue workers to knock, but to his surprise, no knock came. Just as he was about to call out for help, he heard a scream from the next room.

He grabbed his companion's arm tightly. 'Th-this... is this really the army?'

The next second, the flimsy dormitory door was broken down, and a horde of 'people' poured in.

Under the bright fluorescent lights, everyone clearly saw the military uniforms on these figures. A moment of joy—then, as a companion on the first bunk was dragged out of 'cage,' blood sprayed. In an instant, joy turned entirely into despair and screams.

In another dormitory.

There was an employee from the ship's system maintenance department who was leading the others to open the bathroom passage.

She knew well how flimsy the dormitory doors were; those murderers could easily break in. To survive, they had to get out of the dormitories quickly.

'The bathroom pipes lead to the outer wall of the building, and from there, we can get outside.'

Once outside, they could find rescue. Surely those murderers couldn't occupy the entire three-story building.

They hunched over and moved forward. When they reached the first exit, the woman at the lead swiped her card and cracked the door open. The moment the soundproof door opened, screams from outside flooded in. She quickly shut it again—

'No good. Keep moving forward.'

Then came the second exit, the third... Some exits were even blocked by corpses, their doors impossible to open.

Gradually, despair set in.

—Where had so many murderers come from? They didn't dare think about it.

Finally, at the fifth exit.

She had just opened the door when she saw a group of soldiers searching for survivors nearby.

She urgently swung the door wider, about to call out, when she noticed the strange bloodstains on these figures. And behind them lay a scene of blood and severed limbs—a veritable hell on earth!

'No!' Someone behind her screamed and grabbed her, but in that instant, a powerful force yanked her out of the door, and a laser gun fired at the people inside.

Another chorus of screams.

It was a bloody, one-sided massacre.