CHAPTER 4

Several zombies had already stepped into the water, baring their teeth as they slowly approached Tang Yu. The surrounding circle grew smaller and smaller, trapping her in the few square meters of the small pool.

With a roar, one of the zombies lunged forward, showing its claws and fangs. Tang Yu gritted her teeth, raised her weapon, "Jing Long" and swung it at the zombie. Initially, she had just swung the blade recklessly, as her previous experiences with firearms had made her doubt her combat skills.

However, after the blade swung out, her reflexes kicked in, mobilizing the strength in her upper arm. The blade precisely pierced the joint in the zombie's neck, and Tang Yu could even feel the satisfaction of the weapon penetrating the gaps in its bones. She continued her movements, the sharp blade quickly severing the joints, and the zombie's head fell to the ground. Before Tang Yu could react, she instinctively delivered another blow, plunging the blade directly into the fallen head. Only then did the opposing zombie completely stop moving.

She smoothly executed a series of actions in less than five seconds. And holding the knife, Tang Yu was secretly astonished to realize that she seemed to be skilled with cold weapons.

With this newfound knowledge, Tang Yu's confidence soared. Gripping the "Jing Long," she shouted, "Come on!" However, the only sound that came out was a whimper.

Without waiting for the zombies to attack, Tang Yu swung the "Jing Long" towards the nearest zombie. The blade cut through it like mud, easily severing its neck. The head rolled twice in the water, and Tang Yu kicked it away, pushing back another zombie that was about to charge at her.

After tearing open a gap in the encirclement, Tang Yu didn't linger. She quickly rushed out of the pool. Her injured leg prevented her from running fast, so she pondered for a moment and climbed up a sturdy tree.

The approaching zombies below gnashed their teeth and made threatening roars, but that was all they could do. Their twisted limbs were unsuited for climbing.

Surviving the ordeal, Tang Yu sat on a tree branch, calming her heartbeat. As she looked at the zombies below, she felt a bit troubled. When she was cleaning herself earlier, she had placed her backpack near the water's edge. It contained some food and tools like ropes that she had painstakingly scavenged from various places when she left the city. The available supplies had been diminishing, and Tang Yu didn't want to give up these valuable items.

However, judging by the zombies' posture beneath the tree, it seemed they had no intention of letting her go. Descending from the tree at this moment would be an unwise choice. Although her combat skills seemed formidable, she didn't know how high her capabilities truly were. Taking on twelve zombies alone sounded dangerous.

Tang Yu decided to rest in the tree for now and wait until morning to decide her next move. She climbed further up, disappearing into the dense foliage.

The sound of the electronic screen notification didn't ring, as she expected. Killing the zombies didn't increase her score.

The forest at night was eerie and terrifying, occasionally punctuated by strange cries that harmonized with the zombies' roars. As the second half of the night arrived, Tang Yu, exhausted from several battles, couldn't hold on any longer. She held onto a tree branch anxiously and fell asleep.

The morning sunlight penetrated through the leaves and shone on Tang Yu's eyelids, waking her up. As soon as she opened her eyes, her first instinct was to check the zombies below the tree, which immediately put her on high alert.

The zombies were scattered on the ground in disarray, motionless. Sticky blood splattered all over the place, indicating that something had killed them.

Tang Yu didn't dare to make any sudden movements. She had slept lightly, but she hadn't heard any sounds. It seemed that her opponent was not weak. Gently brushing aside the leaves in front of her, she looked around. Faintly, she could hear some sounds coming from the edge of the water pool, but it was indistinct.

She cautiously shifted her body, changing her position. Through the layers of leaves, she saw two men and a woman by the water pool, splashing water. All three were dressed in black tactical suits, their backpacks bulging, and they had daggers strapped to their legs. They appeared to be a well-equipped team of players.

The woman among them noticed something amiss and looked up towards the tree where Tang Yu was hiding. Tang Yu was startled but managed to steady herself, concealing herself among the leaves.

"Jin Ye, what's wrong?" asked the man with a large flat top.

"I vaguely sensed someone," replied the woman named Jin Ye, focusing her attention but finding nothing. "It's nothing, maybe I'm just being too sensitive." Jin Ye turned her head and started rummaging through the backpack left by Tang Yu.

"It seems another player has turned into a zombie. I wonder who this backpack belongs to among those corpses." Jin Ye muttered as she searched through the items, stuffing useful things into her own bag.

Tang Yu felt a surge of anger as her supplies were being taken away like this. She glanced at the distance between herself and the others, contemplating how to successfully ambush them.

Just as Tang Yu was preparing to attack, there was another commotion in the distance, accompanied by faint voices.

More people were coming.

Tang Yu immediately steadied herself, remaining motionless on the tree.

The three individuals by the water pool were also startled. Two men hid in the bushes and behind a large rock, while Jin Ye looked around and agilely climbed up a tree trunk, coincidentally next to the tree where Tang Yu was.

Tang Yu cursed inwardly but had no time to hide. The two adjacent individuals had nowhere to escape, and they stared at each other through the branches and leaves.

Jin Ye suddenly noticed someone on the nearby tree and was startled. She was about to grab her weapon, but a group of people arrived at the water pool in the distance. She had to keep quiet, keeping an eye on the area below the tree while also being on guard against Tang Yu's possible attack.

Under the tree, the group was none other than Song Lengzhu and her three companions. Tang Yu saw Song Lengzhu through the gap in the tree and became furious, her shoulder throbbing in pain.

The girl next to Song Lengzhu examined the zombies killed by Jin Ye and investigated the water pool. She then made a gesture, and the four immediately entered a state of vigilance. It was their signal to indicate danger.

Song Lengzhu held her gun and observed her surroundings. Seeing no apparent threat, she asked, "Xiaoqi, what's wrong?"

The woman with short hair, called Xiaoqi, replied, "The footprints near the water pool are still fresh, recently left. Be cautious of an ambush."

Upon hearing this, both Tang Yu and Jin Ye, who were in the tree, were shocked. This team was too perceptive.

Song Lengzhu surveyed the surroundings with a piercing gaze. The area fell into complete silence as the hidden individuals dared not make a sound. Suddenly, Song Lengzhu looked up towards the tree, seemingly discovering something through the layers of leaves.

Tang Yu's skin crawled, realizing the danger. Seeing Song Lengzhu squinting dangerously, Tang Yu had a sudden idea. She gently broke off a small tree branch, raised her hand, and threw it towards Jin Ye's direction.

The sound of the branch breaking was already quite noticeable, and when it hit the leaves, it made an even louder noise, successfully diverting the attention to another tree. Jin Ye on the opposite tree was furious and about to retaliate against Tang Yu when she was interrupted. Just as she uttered the first syllable, a bullet pierced through her shoulder, causing her to lose balance and fall straight to the ground.

The men hiding behind the bushes and rocks, witnessing their teammate's exposure, exchanged a glance and swiftly attacked, rushing towards Song Lengzhu and Xiaoqi. Their daggers were dangerously close to their skins, ready to pierce into flesh.

But a master is a master. Song Lengzhu reacted swiftly, sidestepping to create distance from the assailants and aiming her gun at their temples.

The black-clad man who was targeted immediately rolled to the side, and without catching his breath, he charged again. However, his target was not Song Lengzhu but the teammate behind her.

The group engaged in a chaotic battle, lethal moves filling the air, bullets flying everywhere. Tang Yu, watching from the tree, was sweating profusely. These humans were so merciless towards their own kind. Taking advantage of the chaos, she quietly descended from the tree, preparing to slip away.

Just as she was relieved to have found cover behind a tree trunk and stepped on dry branches and fallen leaves, the gunfire suddenly ceased. Tang Yu was so frightened that she dared not even breathe. The forest had many broken branches, and stepping on them would make noise. She quickly lay flat on the ground, pretending to be a dead zombie, blending in with the other twenty-something corpses, hiding herself.

Xiaoqi's voice came over, "Are you all okay?"

"We're fine. Let's leave this place first. The gunfire may attract some things." Song Lengzhu's voice echoed.

Although they had dealt with Jin Ye's group, Song Lengzhu's team was also in a sorry state. The two female team members were injured to varying degrees, and Song Lengzhu's sleeve was cut by a dagger. They quickly gathered some equipment and retreated up the mountain.

Once the commotion died down, Tang Yu climbed up from behind the large tree. Jin Ye's body was scattered to the side, and the backpacks of the two men had already been taken by Song Lengzhu. However, Tang Yu, with keen eyes, noticed that Jin Ye's backpack was still there.

She approached Jin Ye and pulled the backpack off her back. As she did so, she discovered that Jin Ye still had a faint pulse. She had been shot in the chest and was bleeding. Tang Yu was in a dilemma. They were enemies, so should she finish her off or save her?

But before she could hesitate for too long, Jin Ye's pulse weakened and nearly disappeared.

Tang Yu thought for a moment and then bit down on Jin Ye's arm.

Soon, Jin Ye regained consciousness, but there was a black line crawling up her neck, indicating that she was no longer in a human state.

Ding. 

The points on Tang Yu's wristband increased by 10 points.

Tang Yu scratched her head. "Sorry, sister. Although I exposed you, I also saved your life. Are we even now?"

If Jin Ye were still alive, she would probably jump up and attack Tang Yu upon hearing those words. But now, she just stared blankly with lifeless eyes.

Tang Yu made a few more sounds. "If you don't answer, I'll take it as your agreement. You're my second follower now!"

Jin Ye remained motionless but turned her head slightly.

Tang Yu then checked the situation of the other two men. They were already dead and could no longer be assimilated into zombies.

Tang Yu surveyed the two bodies and chose the smaller and thinner one. She quickly stripped the black tactical clothing from the corpse and changed out of her tattered clothes.

Afterward, Tang Yu, the scavenging queen, led Jin Ye and headed downhill.

......

[This is too much! Why did you have to strip my clothes off?] a bullet screen comment floated in the live-streaming chat.

Other viewers burst into laughter. [Is that the main character? Just got eliminated and now watching the live stream?]

The player who had their clothes stripped replied, [I just woke up and was worried about my teammate. I clicked on the recommended page and didn't expect to see myself looking like an ugly duckling.]

The other audience burst into laughter and continued discussing the recent battle.

[Song Lengzhu's team is really strong in fights. The battle just now was so exciting. It's a pity that the streamer hid and we didn't see how they completed the kills.]

[The streamer is also powerful, and she's really good at scavenging. She even picked up a teammate.]

[Can any of you understand what the streamer is saying?]

[Click on the translation system in the bottom right corner to see all the languages in the game.]

[No need to look, I guess it's nothing good. She looks like she deserves a beating.]

[But did you notice that she's skilled in using cold weapons? She seems to have some background.]

[She has such quick reflexes and attack speed right from the start of the game. I guess her status in the real world must be low.]

[Indeed, she's probably a hunter from some planet.]

Xiaozhao looked at everyone's speculation and fell into deep thought. She didn't know much about Tang Yu's identity. The only people with stronger physical abilities were the lower-class citizens living on the edge, hunting interstellar monsters for a living. Tang Yu's planet, Planet 879, was indeed on the outer edge of the star system.

In this star system, even slightly wealthy main inhabitants were equipped with intelligent housekeepers. When the main inhabitants played holographic games, they would enter hibernation pods filled with nutrient fluid, and the intelligent housekeepers would take care of all their daily activities and affairs. Humans no longer needed to do anything themselves, so their physical abilities were not particularly strong. Coupled with changes in dietary habits, in real life, both men and women were usually slender and delicate in physique.

If Tang Yu came from a hunter background, then combat wouldn't be a problem for her.

However, the problem was that she was alone, and she was at a disadvantage when encountering most human players who traveled in groups. The other zombies could only act on their instincts and couldn't become reliable teammates. With that, Tang Yu was still in a disadvantaged position.

Xiaozhao sighed at this realization, bowed to the screen, and prayed for Tang Yu's longevity, hoping to survive the end-of-month assessment.

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