Chapter 20

The ride back was quiet.

This world is completely ruined—that thought echoed in every player's mind. How much worse could it get? The medical researcher who might have found a cure was dead, the government safe zone was gone, and zombies were everywhere. There wasn't even a place to take shelter. Just thinking about it was suffocating.

They were only staying here for three months, and it already felt hopeless. The locals had it far worse.

Yet when they glanced at the locals, they didn't see complete despair in their eyes. Well, that was how people were—a strange species. No matter how dire the situation, as long as there was a thread of hope, they wouldn't give up.

"I know a few smoked goods wholesale markets," Officer Robert said from the back seat, hitching a ride. Though the others didn't like him, they'd decided to drop him off somewhere with fewer zombies since he was, after all, a fellow human. "That area is basically the source of smoked goods for the whole town, even the city. If you're interested, we could go together. After all..."

His voice grew low again. "The safe base is gone. We still have to survive somehow." It was clear the loss had hit him hard.

Smoked goods were a great find, Lin Tu thought. They had a long shelf life, stored well, and tasted rich and delicious. Stock up on a couple of sausages, and no matter what you were eating, you could slice off a piece—mixed into rice or simmered in soup—and add a special flavor to an otherwise bland apocalypse.

Unfortunately, back when she'd had little stocking experience, Lin Tu had only hoarded a dozen sausages and a dozen slabs of cured meat. Nowhere near enough.

Lin Tu was tempted, but she didn't want to move with Officer Robert. The others shared her sentiment and all shook their heads in refusal.

"I'll go with you."

"Me too."

The two nurses spoke in unison. They exchanged a glance, seeing the resolve in each other's eyes.

"There's no safe place in this world anymore," one nurse said. "From now on, we have to survive on our own..."

"I'll gather the courage to fight them too. They're just zombies..." The other nurse glanced at Lin Tu, who was driving with a blank expression, and encouraged herself. "I'm strong. I can lift patients. I can do this."

Lin Tu raised an eyebrow and looked at her arm through the rearview mirror. It really was bigger than her own.

They drove to a spot roughly halfway between the "Combatants" shop and the hospital, and the three got out.

Before she left, Lin Tu called out to the nurse with the strong arms. "Hey! If you get your hands on smoked goods, you can come trade with me for other things. I've got food, clothes, supplies—everything. Take this for now, consider it a down payment..." Saying this, she handed the nurse the axe she no longer needed.

The nurse took the axe and looked up at her, stunned. "Thank you..."

Karen trusted Lin Tu's judgment implicitly. She quickly dug a kitchen knife she'd scavenged earlier out of her backpack and handed it to the other nurse. "If you find some, I want some too."

"Thank you!" The two nurses clutched the axe and knife tightly, warmth welling up in their eyes. They forced it back down—they'd just promised to be strong and brave, so they couldn't break that so soon.

Officer Robert stood off to the side, watching the two nurses who, having received help, seemed even more courageous. He couldn't help but think of the others... He'd been wrong. Completely wrong.

He'd protected the hospital survivors all along, and in doing so, he'd turned them into cowards, indulging their ambition and greed. He'd insisted the doctor stay away from Xiao Ling to keep him safe, only to harm him instead—and possibly, because of that nearly successful antidote, harm everyone.

It seemed like he'd been helping people all along, but had he really? Someone like Lin Tu, who never talked about helping others, seemed to be the one who actually did.

After the two groups parted ways, Lin Tu drove behind Dong Huadan and the others to the Combatants basement. Luo Yongzhi's face was flushed red; the heat radiating off him was palpable even from a distance. Dong Huadan hurriedly disinfected his arm and set up an IV. Her technique was rough, and she missed several times before the needle finally went in, but at least the fluids were flowing.

An epinephrine syringe was prepped nearby, ready to be administered the moment he showed signs of shock.

Life was so fragile, Lin Tu mused.

"What are you planning to do next?" Dong Huadan asked Lin Tu, who was busy snacking and scrolling through her phone.

Lin Tu was currently reviewing her earnings from the past two days—[From Anju: You have killed a total of 344 D-level zombies and 1 D+ level zombie in the D-level world "Global Zombie Crisis".]

Each D-level zombie was worth 1 point, and the D+ one was worth 20. That meant Lin Tu had racked up 364 points. Plus the 100 points she'd been paid by the other players, that made 464 points in total.

The first thing Lin Tu thought of when she saw that number was—150 points for a proper kitchen, 150 points for an expanded space, and another 150 points for [Permanent Electricity]... leaving her with 14 points...

Spending all her points on stocking up and food wasn't extravagance. Ever since she'd finished the last fresh chicken she'd hoarded, Lin Tu hadn't tasted fresh meat again.

She desperately wanted to scoop up a pat of butter and sear a steak in a skillet. Or pour oil into a pot and make a plate of Typhoon Shelter fried prawns. Or even just have a bubbling hotpot base and blanch some fatty beef, beef tripe, and stomach slices...

Day after day, it was either canned food or homemade meals with plain ingredients, simple seasonings, and lackluster cooking. Lin Tu felt her retirement life wasn't living up to expectations at all.

As she thought this, she pulled out a box of chocolate cookie sticks and started munching mournfully.

The rich chocolate aroma combined with the crunch of the cookies quickly soothed Lin Tu's soul. She looked up to see everyone staring at her longingly. Lin Tu clapped her hands, dusting off the cookie crumbs—

"I still don't have enough points," she said. The other players looked exasperated—as if any of them had enough points. Then Lin Tu continued, "So I'll need to grind a bit longer."

Everyone: ?

Even though they'd heard her use that word many times, it still sounded absurd every time.

"If you want, you can come with me." Lin Tu extended the invitation after a moment's thought.

She'd learned from Karen that a mutant zombie might be lurking nearby. Having a few extra hands on the team would be better.

But...

Zheng Yangyang, recalling the fun of killing zombies with Lin Tu before, was about to raise her hand excitedly when Lin Tu added, "I don't bring useless people. The lookout job's already filled. Right now, I need people who can at least take down a zombie solo."

Zheng Yangyang pulled her hand back immediately. She wasn't worthy.

A moment later, someone among the players hesitantly raised a hand. Everyone stared in surprise.

Tian Jingjing was especially astonished: Wait, what? You?

.

The next morning, at the town center hospital.

The first rays of the sun had just touched the earth when a small squad in military uniforms marched south from the north, greeted by the light. A convoy of three vehicles threaded through the town's narrow roads, passing a car that had apparently rolled over not long ago and was still smoking by the roadside.

"Hey, why are there so few zombies?" One or two people sat on the roof of a vehicle, looking around curiously.

"No idea? This is like a different world from where we were stationed." There, you'd spot a zombie every few steps; they'd worked hard to clear them out. Here... you'd have to peer through binoculars just to catch glimpses of zombies struggling behind windows and in door cracks.

"Maybe they've gathered somewhere?" One of them said grimly.

"Then we've got to be careful." The order went out, and tension rippled through the group. Everyone scanned their surroundings nervously, dreading the sight of a massive zombie horde.

They were here to collect supplies, not to die.

Just then, the person sitting atop the lead vehicle caught a sound in the distance—faint, but it seemed like singing.

Looking ahead, zombies were suddenly appearing in greater numbers, all restless, baring claws and charging in that direction.

The person was about to listen more closely when the sound rapidly closed in, until it seemed right on top of them.

The singing grew clearer—a melodic tune with powerful lyrics. "Love the motherland, love the people. The bright red scarf flutters on my chest. Fearing no hardship..."

They all turned toward the sound. A pickup truck blared music as it flew toward them, speeding like a race car. In the truck bed stood two young women. One faced away from them, hard to make out, while the other held a pot with some kind of... seedling? What an odd combination.

Seeing them, the pickup suddenly slowed down.

The song grew even more distinct. "Fear no enemies. Study hard, fight resolutely..."

"Watch out!" A woman in the driver's seat shouted toward them.

The woman facing away turned around, raising a gun and aiming directly at them. Just as the squad members tensed in panic, she squeezed the trigger, shooting a zombie that had been drawn by the pickup's noise and was creeping dangerously close to one of them.

"Holy crap!" That soldier was badly shaken. It all happened in a few seconds. By the time he realized she'd saved him, the pickup had already sped off again.

The song faded into the distance. "March bravely toward victory, march bravely toward victory, forward, forward..."

Right behind the pickup, a dark mass of zombies surged in pursuit.

Meanwhile, the woman on the truck raised her gun, aimed, fired—and zombies in the horde kept dropping, heads blown clean.

The squad members, for the first time, were completely ignored by the zombies. They watched, slack-jawed, as the horde chased the pickup away, as if perfectly matching the song's lyrics—marching bravely toward the pickup.

"What are they doing?" One soldier asked.

"I don't know," no one could answer him. "But I do know why there are so few zombies here now."