CHAPTER 24

Y City was a big city with tall buildings everywhere, so there were still many shops and pharmacies that remained.

Tang Yu found an abandoned security booth and settled Jin Ye inside while she and Xiaoli went to scavenge medicines from a nearby pharmacy.

They couldn't bring Jin Ye with them because pharmacies were places where players often visited. Small spaces like security booths, which lacked resources, were unlikely to be visited by players.

Unfortunately, all the useful items in the pharmacy had already been looted. Tang Yu and Xiaoli rummaged through the shelves and finally found some Sanqi [Notoginseng powder], blood-activating and stasis-dispelling medicines, and some painkillers whose expiration dates were uncertain.

Without any medical knowledge, they could only take whatever they could find. They took everything that seemed useful.

These medicines could cure people, but they weren't sure if they would work on zombies.

When Tang Yu and Xiaoli returned to the security booth, they found that Jin Ye had regained consciousness. Jin Ye helplessly smiled and said, "Zombies still have some advantages. At least, they can still move as long as they're not dead."

Upon seeing Jin Ye still able to smile, Xiaoli's mouth twitched downwards, as if she was about to burst into tears.

Jin Ye quickly waved her hands in a panic, wanting to comfort Xiaoli and stop her from crying, but it only made Xiaoli cry even harder. It was unclear whether it was due to guilt or something else.

Tang Yu, holding the medicines, felt out of place, unsure of what to do.

She glanced around and realized that it was already midnight. The zombies in Y City had lost their control from the Zombie King and had returned to their scattered and chaotic state.

With that, the threat had diminished significantly.

However, there were still many players who hadn't evacuated from Y City, and it would be troublesome if they encountered them.

After considering for a moment, Tang Yu decided to carry Jin Ye and prepare to leave the city.

"Given the current circumstances, there's not much else we can do. Let's return to the village where we were before to recuperate. Y City is not safe. We'll leave tonight and travel through the night. Jin Ye, you can convey the message to Xiaoli."

Jin Ye cleared her throat and gestured to Xiaoli, briefly explaining the plan.

Jin Ye noticed that Tang Yu's physical abilities seemed to have improved slightly, and coupled with the fact that the mission to kill the Zombie King had disappeared from her panel, it meant that someone had completed the mission.

After thinking for a moment, she understood the situation.

"Did you kill the Zombie King?" Jin Ye asked Tang Yu.

"Probably... I guess so? Because I obtained his ability, but my points didn't increase."

Jin Ye's eyes lit up with joy. "Ability? You have an ability now?"

"Yes." Tang Yu proceeded to explain the acquired ability, its origin, and the events surrounding it to Jin Ye.

"You should be cautious and not casually disclose your abilities and weaknesses to others." Jin Ye advised, speaking like an elder with a serious tone.

"It's fine, you and Xiaoli aren't just anyone." Tang Yu responded openly. Having gone through life and death together twice, Tang Yu could see Jin Ye and Xiaoli's true characters.

Jin Ye sighed inwardly, unsure whether to feel relieved that Tang Yu truly considered her a friend or worried about Tang Yu's future.

Before Jin Ye could finish sighing, Tang Yu added, "So, if we encounter any future situations, the two of you can coordinate with me based on these abilities. For example, you can send enemies with abilities towards me."

Jin Ye replied, "...You've thought this through quite well."

"Of course!" Tang Yu proudly affirmed.

The three of them quietly left Y City under the cover of night and rested for a while when they couldn't walk any further.

After leaving the city, they slowed down their pace and followed the original mountain path back to the previous village.

Due to Jin Ye's injury, their progress was slow. They walked and rested in the mountains, taking six days to return to the village, a journey that previously took them three days.

Jin Ye's gunshot wound had stopped bleeding and even showed signs of healing. However, since they didn't have the means to remove the bullets, the two bullet heads remained lodged inside her body.

External wounds were easy to heal, but internal injuries were difficult. Jin Ye couldn't stop coughing along the way, and walking became challenging. It seemed that this injury would require some time for recovery.

When the three of them returned to the village, they were taken aback.

The abandoned house near the bamboo forest had inexplicably become neat and tidy. The courtyard was devoid of fallen leaves and weeds, replaced by leveled yellow soil. The half-collapsed kitchen had even been cleared of mud and debris. Now, those pieces of wood were neatly stacked against the wall, a highly suspicious sight.

The three of them exchanged glances, wondering if they had taken the wrong path.

Lu Lu poked her head out from the side of the courtyard wall, saw Tang Yu and the others, and quickly put away her gun. A wide smile appeared on her face.

"You scared me! I thought you were zombies." Lu Lu exclaimed cheerfully.

"Well, I am a zombie, and so are you." Tang Yu reminded her.

"That's true. I'm still getting used to this identity." Lu Lu admitted.

Lu Lu finally noticed Jin Ye's injury and was shocked. She hurriedly led the three of them into the courtyard and said as they walked, "I found a relatively clean courtyard and tidied it up. There's a big bed in the house where Jin Ye can rest, but there are no blankets or anything."

"It's enough." Jin Ye responded.

Tang Yu settled Jin Ye on the wooden bed and then took a stroll around the courtyard.

This village house with a small courtyard had two adjacent adobe houses, relatively well-preserved. The wooden bed in the other adobe house had collapsed and couldn't be used, but there was a large wooden cabinet and two tables with chairs and stools inside the house.

In addition, there was a brick-built kitchen in the courtyard, although it had also collapsed.

The small courtyard was fenced, enclosing the three buildings, with a dense bamboo forest behind it.

Tang Yu and the others had previously cut bamboo here, and the village well was not far away.

At this moment, the courtyard was neat and tidy. Although the yellow soil in the courtyard couldn't be considered clean, it was completely different from when they had come before.

Tang Yu looked at Lu Lu and asked, "Are you planning to settle down here?"

Lu Lu tilted her head. "Huh? Isn't this your base camp? I thought... Oh! No wonder this place looks so desolate."

Lu Lu's words reminded Tang Yu.

Right, they were a small team now, and they needed a base camp!

A glimmer of light appeared in Tang Yu's eyes as she carefully considered the question.

There was a water source and a bamboo forest here, as well as some barren fields. With the mountains behind them, there were plenty of wild animals to eat. They didn't have to worry about food and water.

Although Shen Xu's camp was just over the hill, it was a bit too close. But now that Shen Xu was dead, and his capable subordinates were all stationed in Y City, there probably weren't many highly skilled individuals at the camp.

Moreover, even though it was just a hill, it would still take an entire night to cross it on foot.

Tang Yu clapped her hands. Alright, this place it is!

With this idea in mind, Tang Yu gathered everyone around Jin Ye's bed and explained her thoughts.

Jin Ye, lying on her side, was somewhat speechless. She hadn't heard that zombies needed to build a base camp.

But Lu Lu and Xiaoli were both excited and eager to give it a try.

Xiaoli couldn't understand the conversation, so she asked Jin Ye to convey the discussion results to her later. She went off to prepare food.

Tang Yu's idea was simple but implementing it was complicated. She wanted to establish a third-party power within the game, composed of zombie players.

Mindless zombie NPCs weren't considered teammates to Tang Yu because they couldn't communicate and were of little help to her survival. In fact, they would attack her due to Xiaoli's identity.

Therefore, in order to survive in this game, they needed to transform some human players into zombies.

This goal was extremely difficult to achieve. To find such teammates, they would have to interact with humans frequently, which carried significant risks.

Furthermore, it was challenging to find good teammates. Most players who had been in the game for a long time were not simple-minded.

The biggest obstacle was that players were unwilling to stay. Apart from losing points and resetting their skills, their bodies would return to their initial state, starting from scratch.

Experienced players with abundant survival experience wouldn't make such a choice. The points they had accumulated could be converted into substantial wealth in real life, which wasn't something they could easily give up.

The remaining players were like Lu Lu, newcomers to the game. However, Jin Ye informed them that new players were already extremely rare in the game.

Jin Ye's description of the current situation brought Tang Yu's soaring thoughts back to reality. However, none of them were discouraged. After thinking for a while, Tang Yu decided to treat it as a long-term goal and take it step by step.

The immediate task was to clean up the camp. Half of the houses in the village were already in ruins, and the few habitable ones were in a chaotic state. They needed to spend some time cleaning them up.

In addition, they had to explore the surrounding area of the village, familiarize themselves with the terrain and available resources, establish defenses outside the camp, ensure water and electricity supply, food reserves, and weapon storage. This required a significant amount of time and manpower.

Currently, they only had three zombies and one human, a pot, a military knife, and three guns. They didn't even have a hammer.

Without hesitation, Tang Yu rolled up her sleeves and dashed out of the room with Lu Lu.

Jin Ye smiled and lay back down. Being two years older than Tang Yu, she was calm and composed, and she had a better understanding of the game than the others. She didn't believe that establishing a camp would be an easy task, but the enthusiasm of her three teammates couldn't help but make her hopeful.

Perhaps this plan could work.

Tang Yu started by chopping firewood in the courtyard for Xiaoli. Lu Lu had previously collected the broken pieces of wood in the house, and now these pieces came in handy.

The rabbits and wild vegetables they had caught earlier were mostly consumed on the way back. So Tang Yu took Lu Lu out of the courtyard to the mountainside to find food, leaving Xiaoli to look after Jin Ye in the village.

While walking, Tang Yu asked Lu Lu, "What did you eat before we came back?"

"I picked some wild fruits on the way. Basically, I didn't eat much, and I didn't see anyone else either." Lu Lu, who appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen years old, answered earnestly.

"What? Are you still interested in eating people?"

"Don't zombies eat people? I just wanted to give it a try."

Tang Yu made a sound of disapproval and reminded her, "Don't even think about touching Xiaoli. Jin Ye will kill you."

"What's their relationship? Are they sisters? They don't seem like it." Lu Lu was curious.

"It's a complicated relationship." Tang Yu chuckled softly. Jin Ye's concern for Xiaoli was too obvious, even Tang Yu could see it clearly. But it seemed they hadn't revealed their feelings to each other yet.

Passing by the bamboo grove in the backyard, Tang Yu casually cut off some bamboo nodes to use as utensils. While cutting the bamboo, Tang Yu noticed a small bulge in the ground with a crack.

"Huh?" Tang Yu squatted down and used her knife to dig into the soil. Before long, she uncovered a piece of bamboo shoot hidden underground.

"Ha! We're in luck." Tang Yu carefully removed the soil around it and dug out the shoot.

The temperature wasn't too high at the moment, and Tang Yu hadn't paid much attention to the current season since arriving here. But holding this bamboo shoot, Tang Yu made a judgment. Spring had the most abundant ingredients, so they wouldn't have to worry about not having enough to eat.

With Lu Lu by her side, Tang Yu cheerfully ran back from the mountainside.

In just half an hour, Tang Yu brought back quite a few things, including a wild chicken.

Plucking feathers, gutting, and cleaning the innards, Xiaoli deftly handled the chicken. She put it together with the bamboo shoot and wild vegetables, simmering them slowly over a low fire.

After the meal, the four of them enjoyed a hot meal with joy, finally getting rid of their fatigue from the past few days.

It was such a blissful moment, and Tang Yu wished they could be this happy every day. The idea of establishing a camp had deeply ingrained itself in Tang Yu's mind.

Before dusk, Tang Yu circled around the village. The village was not big, with only about ten earthen houses. She classified the intact houses and the collapsed ones separately, gathering useful items from the houses to their current dwelling.

Hoes, winnowing baskets, wooden barrels, large iron pots, and even some saws and iron nails were piled up together, and there were quite a few of them.

They even found two intact bamboo beds.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lu Lu also cleaned up the neighboring house and moved the two bamboo beds inside. When the four of them looked at it, they were all delighted.

They would finally be able to rest well for a night.

However, Tang Yu thought it wasn't enough. She and Lu Lu set up the large iron pot on the fire pit and fetched some clean water from the well, heating it up. They even managed to prepare some bathing water for everyone.

"Even though we become zombies, we should maintain cleanliness." Tang Yu said confidently. "We girls need to be clean and hygienic."

They cleared out the kitchen with a collapsed wall and covered the gap with a torn bedsheet they found somewhere. The kitchen turned into a rudimentary bathroom.

Standing in line, the four of them happily washed themselves clean and returned to the house under the cover of the night.

Tang Yu left the big wooden bed for Jin Ye and Xiaoli, while she and Lu Lu went to another room. They each occupied a corner of the bamboo bed and slept soundly.

Having food to eat, a comfortable bed to sleep on, and the luxury of taking a bath, other zombies would probably get sick with envy if they saw them.

What an heavenly life they were living.

This kind of life continued for half a month. Every day, Tang Yu, Xiaoli, and Lu Lu took turns going out. They either searched for food ingredients and firewood or cleaned up the usable houses in the village. After Jin Ye's injuries gradually healed, she also joined the team in constructing the camp.

They accumulated a small cabinet full of ingredients. The sweet potatoes in the nearby fields were all dug out and stored in a dry cabinet. They also picked some wild fruits and vegetables from the mountains as reserves. Unfortunately, the bamboo shoots in the bamboo grove sprouted rapidly and became inedible after a rain.

Some houses in the village still had corpses left behind from who knows when. It seemed that they were once zombies but had been eliminated by passing players. The group held their noses and threw these corpses down the mountainside, burying them in a pit.

It wasn't out of kindness but because the temperature was gradually rising, and exposed bodies would breed bacteria.

Tang Yu placed some spikes around the camp. These spikes were split from the trunks of several soapberry trees. They couldn't prevent players, but they could deter any unconscious zombies wandering nearby.

After another half month, their camp had started to take shape.

That day, everyone laid out spikes on the small path leading to the village. Just as they finished setting them up, Tang Yu's bracelet made a tinkling sound.

Since they entered the village, the system panel had remained unchanged, and Tang Yu hadn't opened it for a long time.

But now, the system made a notification sound, and Tang Yu curiously opened it. To her surprise, she had mysteriously completed a "Establish Camp" mission.

This mission was a regular mission worth twenty points. Tang Yu lifted her head in astonishment and noticed that everyone was in the same position, checking their panels. It seemed that they all received the notification.

"I didn't expect there to be points for establishing a camp." Jin Ye sighed. As a human player, she had always roamed the forests without a fixed residence.

"If I had known, I would have worked harder on building it." Tang Yu laughed.

She saw a few lines of small text beside the mission, displaying:

[Camp Level: Level 1,]

[Camp Name: Please name the camp.]

[Camp Members: To be added, requires approval from the initiator.]

There was also a "Join Camp" button below.

Camp name? Tang Yu raised her head and noticed that everyone was looking at her.

Jin Ye said, "You're the initiator, so come up with a name."

Tang Yu scratched her head, it was sudden and she hadn't thought of a good name yet.

She clicked on the input box and typed a few names but deleted them all. Finally, she typed in the three characters "Yijiaren [Family.]"

"I hope we can love and care for each other like a family." Tang Yu said and suddenly remembered something. In the end, she added four more words at the front.

Jin Ye's eyes twitched as she looked at the camp name that appeared on the panel.

"A family that loves and cares for each other."

Tang Yu was satisfied with the name she chose and clicked the "Join Camp" button first.

"I feel this name is a bit... corny." Xiaoli smirked and also tried to click join. She didn't hold much hope, as Tang Yu and Jin Ye couldn't add her as an ally, so it might be the same for the camp.

But to her surprise, she successfully joined the camp. It seemed that the camp was more inclusive than allies.

After Jin Ye joined last, a camp member group appeared on their panels, accompanied by a brief description indicating it could be used for communication between members.

Xiaoli stared at the panel, noticing a symbol that intrigued her. Below the input box in the group, there was a prompt: Voice input supported.

"Let's try voice input!" Xiaoli exclaimed excitedly to the other teammates.

Tang Yu didn't understand what she meant and casually said, "I really want to eat meat."

Xiaoli clicked on Tang Yu's voice message, and the system played a sound in her mind that only she could hear. After a moment, a big smile spread across Xiaoli's face, and she replied in the group, "We'll have extra food tonight."

This surprised all three zombies, and Jin Ye quickly tried voice input too, asking, "Can you understand what we're saying?"

Only then did Xiaoli start to explain, "I can understand it. When the system plays the voice, it's like the notification sound, only the recipient can hear it. The messages sent through the system panel are essentially a string of code. I thought, maybe this targeted code could be transformed by the system into a language I can understand. So I gave it a try, and it actually worked."

"That's great!" Tang Yu was happy. "You don't have to guess anymore."

Building this camp not only unexpectedly earned them points but also solved the communication problem between members. It was a fortunate accident.

Seizing the opportunity, Tang Yu immediately synchronized the next plan with everyone.

Although the camp had some existing tools, they were still lacking many supplies such as clothing, knives, construction tools, oil, rice, flour, and medicine. They would have to go to the city next.

Before entering the city, Tang Yu wanted to visit Shen Xu's camp to see how things were there. Their camp had a wide range of supplies, and they even had power generation equipment.

Optimistically, Tang Yu thought that if Shen Xu's camp disbanded, they could go and see if there were any useful things they could salvage.

After discussing among the four of them, they decided to let Lu Lu stay behind to guard the camp and clean up the weeds in the barren fields. After all, Lu Lu was the best at organizing and tidying up among the four of them.

Tang Yu, Jin Ye, and Xiaoli packed their bags overnight and set off into the mountains before dawn the next day.

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