CHAPTER 11

"Huh?" Tang Yu widened her eyes. "What kind of incredible ability is that?"

"She can resurrect within half a day after death." Jin Ye paused.

Tang Yu was speechless. She also wanted such an ability.

"But on the other hand, she can't leave the game."

". . ."

Just a moment ago, Tang Yu thought this ability was extremely powerful, but Jin Ye poured cold water on her the next second.

This far exceeded her understanding. She thought this game was just a normal survival game for other players, where they could exit anytime and play whenever they wanted. But clearly, it wasn't the case.

"There's no exit mechanism in the game. Each player only has one life permanently. The only way to quit is through death." Jin Ye patiently explained. "But Xiaoli can't die."

"How can one obtain such an ability? Are players unaware when they acquire it?" Tang Yu asked.

"They are aware. Before acquiring any ability, players are given detailed introductions and confirmation buttons. Abilities are unlocked through special missions, sometimes by killing zombies, sometimes through rescue missions. The triggering mechanisms vary, and the types of abilities triggered also differ from person to person. But to obtain the innate abilities here, you have to pay some price. It all depends on your own choices. Sometimes the price may even outweigh the benefits, so there aren't many ability holders in the game right now."

Tang Yu nodded thoughtfully, deepening her understanding of the game. Song Lengzhu could always find her accurately, and she probably possessed some kind of ability as well. She always felt that this game was filled with an eerie atmosphere, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong.

Tang Yu turned her head and asked Jin Ye, "What is your innate ability?"

"I haven't acquired one yet. I haven't triggered any good abilities."

"I see." Tang Yu responded and then turned her head to observe Xiaoli.

Both Tang Yu and Jin Ye, who had become zombies, had the impulse to take a bite out of living humans, but their self-control was evidently stronger than that of an average person. They completely ignored the fact that Xiaoli was human, even though she was a fragile and delicate girl.

Xiaoli had a baby face, blond hair, and black pupils. She seemed to have mixed-race genes and had a small and cute physique.

Combining their previous conversation, Tang Yu suddenly understood why Jin Ye chose to stay as a zombie without hesitation. Xiaoli, with her innocent and harmless big eyes, evoked a sense of closeness in people. Moreover, as an undying being, Jin Ye couldn't bear to leave her alone to suffer in the game.

Just as the whimpering zombie Tang Yu suddenly looked at herself, Xiaoli shrank her shoulders and blurted out subconsciously, "What are you looking at?"

Tang Yu paused and silently withdrew her gaze. This girl, why did she sound different from what she had imagined?

She had misjudged her.

Xiaoli seemed to have sorted out her emotions and completely confirmed that these two zombies would not attack her. Her expression relaxed considerably. She gently tugged at Jin Ye's wrist, curiously examining the black patterns that covered it, as well as the long nails that had suddenly grown out.

The sudden touch made Jin Ye tremble slightly, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. She averted her gaze and her arm became somewhat stiff.

"Aren't you afraid of me?" Jin Ye asked Xiaoli.

But only Tang Yu could understand this sentence. Tang Yu caught on to something and playfully interjected, "Not afraid, I even like it."

Jin Ye gave Tang Yu a glance and silently withdrew her hand.

This playful exchange successfully eased the awkward atmosphere among the three of them. They relaxed as if they were old friends reunited.

Jin Ye picked up a twig and wrote Tang Yu's name on the ground, then pointed at Tang Yu, introducing them formally. She also highlighted some key points and briefly explained to Xiaoli how she had become a zombie. However, due to the difficulty in communication, it took quite some time.

During this interval, Tang Yu opened the game interface on her wristband. Seeing that Jin Ye and Xiaoli were still interacting, she confirmed a fact: only she could see this interface.

The group at the camp assimilated a few zombies, and with her deeper understanding of the game, the information on the interface had changed significantly.

Tang Yu organized and categorized the information in her mind.

Player: Tang Yu

Points: 140

Primary Objective: Survival

Current Objective: Go to City Y and find the C-class Zombie King

First Skill: Alliance

Second Skill: Unlocked at 300 points

Weapon Slot: Jing Long

Ability: None

Current Allies: None

There were two points that caught Tang Yu's attention.

First was the current objective of killing the Zombie King. This information hadn't appeared before, and Tang Yu recalled her conversation with Song Lengzhu and Shen Xu.

They had mentioned that the Zombie King was lurking in the central square of City Y. Could it be that they had obtained information clues and triggered a new mission?

Tang Yu asked Jin Ye, "Does your mission include finding the Zombie King?"

Jin Ye seemed to have communicated quite well with Xiaoli and also integrated her own information. She had killed many people at the camp with a submachine gun, although they didn't directly assimilate into zombies, she still obtained kill points. Unfortunately, all the points she had accumulated as a human player were reset to zero.

When Tang Yu asked, Jin Ye responded, "Yes, why? Are we going to do the mission?"

"Huh? Can we choose not to do it?"

"Yes, for missions you don't want to undertake, you can just leave them be. They will automatically disappear once the time limit expires."

"I see. By the way, the mission only mentions finding the Zombie King. Is the mission considered completed once we find it?"

"Not quite," Jin Ye said. "The missions in the game are all open-ended. After finding it, usually the next step or even two more steps need to be taken to trigger the settlement. For example, joining it or killing it. The starting point of the settlement is unknown, and different results will lead to different settlement outcomes."

"It's really hard to grasp." Tang Yu complained.

"You can think of it as playing in an open-world setting."

Playing? Tang Yu was exasperated. She wasn't here to play,  if she was killed, she would die.

The open-ended missions undoubtedly added a lot of difficulty for her. If she chose the wrong direction, she could step on a landmine. [Open-ended missions refer to assignments or challenges that do not have a fixed or predetermined outcome. Instead, they allow for multiple approaches and solutions, giving participants the freedom to explore different paths.]

But not doing missions meant her points would increase slowly. With her current physique and abilities, it would be difficult for her to survive in the future.

Seeking fortune amidst danger. Tang Yu wasn't the type to shy away from challenges. She made up her mind and said, "Next, I'll meet this Zombie King. Will you come with me?"

Jin Ye answered decisively, "Sure, you help me save people, and I'll assist you in completing the mission as a token of my gratitude."

Tang Yu showed a joyful smile. With Jin Ye by her side, she wouldn't be blindly groping in the game. "Great, we're like sisters. Is Xiaoli coming too?"

"Wherever I go, she will go."

Tang Yu made a meaningful "oh" sound and received another disdainful look from Jin Ye.

Another point that puzzled Tang Yu in the interface was the "Current Allies" section.

Tang Yu decided to ask Jin Ye directly, "Since we can communicate now, why does my ally section still show 'None'?"

Jin Ye patiently replied, "For human players to form an alliance, it requires a binding between two or more parties. After the binding, they can communicate remotely or send location information to allies. I believe the mechanism for zombies should be similar."

After listening, Tang Yu noticed that there was a dim "+" sign in front of "Current Allies." She clicked on it and a scanning box appeared, showing that it was scanning for nearby allies.

Tang Yu aimed the panel at Jin Ye, and soon Jin Ye's face was recorded in the information. There was a confirmation message on the panel.

[Please select an ally.]

There was no option for Xiaoli, so it seemed that she could only choose a zombie as her ally.

Tang Yu planned to ask for Jin Ye's agreement, "Can we become allies?"

Jin Ye smiled and said, "I thought you wouldn't ask for my opinion, considering that the second thing you said to me was asking me to be your sidekick."

Tang Yu blushed. This person really held grudges, and she didn't speak politely to Tang Yu at all. She didn't seem like a sidekick at all.

After forming an alliance, Jin Ye's name appeared in the Current Allies status bar. In addition, clicking on the name allowed them to communicate privately.

Tang Yu gradually understood the attributes of the game panel. The more involved she was in the game, the more information would be displayed on the panel. It wouldn't provide too many hints until she understood something.

Jin Ye was right. This was indeed an open-world game.

After resting for a while, the three of them decided to search for food in the village.

Tang Yu hadn't eaten for nearly a day and night, and she felt like she was turning into a dried-up corpse. She also noticed that the higher her hunger grew, the stronger her desire to bite humans became.

With Xiaoli, a human, by her side, they couldn't afford to go hungry. The consequences would be severe.

There was almost no food in their backpacks. After all, most of the food in the stores had been looted, and Tang Yu didn't find anything useful. However, Jin Ye brought a small pot, which was very useful in the wilderness.

They walked along the village's path, and the village was deserted. Many brick buildings had been damaged and didn't seem like there was anyone around.

The abandoned farmland on both sides was overgrown with weeds. Tang Yu casually pulled aside the waist-high grass and stepped into the field.

"Let's see if there's anything to eat." Tang Yu bent down and searched in the wild grass.

And she actually found a plant. She had a hunch that this thing was edible.

Jin Ye saw that it was a sweet potato vine. Without human care, the vine grew vigorously.

Tang Yu pulled it up from the root excitedly but was disappointed. The roots were connected to small thumb-sized sweet potatoes, which weren't enough to fill one's teeth.

"I'm surprised that you can recognize crops." Jin Ye remarked as she and Xiaoli also entered the field and started searching in the wild grass.

Jin Ye's casual comment left Tang Yu momentarily stunned. "Is that a strange thing?"

"Most interstellar people don't engage in agriculture. Not many people know about food or care about where it comes from," Jin Ye explained. "I accumulated this knowledge through this game."

As she spoke, Jin Ye found another vine. The leaves weren't large, but when she pulled it up, the sweet potatoes on the roots were as big as fists.

"Oh, I had no idea." Tang Yu responded, lost in thought. Her memories of the interstellar were blank, and she didn't know what kind of place it was or how people's lives were different.

Jin Ye handed the sweet potato to Xiaoli, straightened up, and scrutinized Tang Yu. "Have you lost your memory? Or are you not from the main planet?"

"I don't know." Tang Yu answered firmly. "My mind is empty, and I'm clueless about everything."

Jin Ye narrowed her pupils, considering another possibility.

"In the interstellar, criminals are thrown into the game as a form of execution. Are you someone with only one life?" Jin Ye didn't directly ask what Tang Yu had done. She already had a strong suspicion in her heart. After all, such things were not uncommon in the interstellar.

Upon hearing this, Tang Yu's face suddenly lit up with realization, and she joyfully exclaimed, "So that's it! Does that mean I'm a criminal?"

Jin Ye was somewhat speechless. Why did Tang Yu look so happy about it?

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