CHAPTER 26

Tang Yu pondered for a moment and decided to wait until evening to discuss it.

For now, they planned to hide the supplies they had stolen. It wouldn't be wise to just leave them piled outside the Beixi camp, and they wouldn't be returning to their own camp anytime soon, they still needed to make a trip into the city.

They climbed over the wall, calculated the distance and direction, and dug a hole about a hundred meters away from the Beixi camp, burying the supplies inside. They compacted the soil and covered it with some grass and bushes, making it indistinguishable from the surrounding forest.

As the three of them returned to Beixi camp, the square erupted in noise. It seemed like the leaders of the two camps had finished their negotiations and were preparing to make important speeches on the square.

Jin Ye and Xiaoli took advantage of the chaos, hiding in the power room to observe the situation outside through a crack in the door. Tang Yu, on the other hand, nonchalantly stood on the square, even positioning herself at the very front row.

As long as she didn't make a move, no one could see her.

The person referred to as Professor Gu seemed more eloquent. He pushed his glasses and summarized the results of the negotiation as the spokesperson.

As Tang Yu had anticipated, the two camps had decided to take turns managing the northern camp on a yearly basis.

Tang Yu heard a faint sigh from the crowd. It seemed everyone understood that this was just a temporary measure agreed upon because neither side could defeat the other, indicating that the northern camp would continue to be in a state of unrest in the future.

However, Professor Gu's speech was captivating, painting a rosy picture and explaining everything convincingly.

Tang Yu listened attentively from the audience. She now had her own camp, learning from others to avoid repeating mistakes. She also realized the importance of learning from Professor Gu's public speaking skills, just in case she needed them in the future.

Jin Ye was surprised to find out that Tang Yu was not only stealing here but also learning from others.

Twenty minutes passed before Professor Gu finished his speech. Tang Yu noticed that Zhou Zhou was not in the audience but standing next to Professor Gu and Master Ba, indicating her high status.

It seemed she was the only one conducting research in the entire camp, making her a valuable asset.

However, someone like her could easily become a pawn in factional disputes if not careful.

Zhou Zhou didn't show much emotion. Tang Yu still couldn't tell if she was willing or being compelled, but a new idea formed in Tang Yu's mind.

She wanted to steal Zhou Zhou back to her own camp.

After Jin Ye was injured last time, Tang Yu had been pondering over this matter. They didn't have team members who understood medicine, so when someone got injured, they could only tough it out. If it weren't for the special physical traits of zombies, Jin Ye would have already died from the pain.

Tang Yu still didn't know what kind of research Zhou Zhou was conducting, but from the way she skillfully applied medicine to the injured, it was clear that this professor understood medicine.

She was a talent, and Tang Yu wanted to recruit her!

After Professor Gu's lecture ended, the crowd in the square dispersed in groups, but they still formed two clearly defined factions.

Tang Yu quickly ran back to the power room, where she and Jin Ye hid behind the generator.

In the power room, aside from some large gasoline and diesel generators, there was also a chair and a military cot, indicating that someone was on duty. However, the person on duty had just been called to the square, which was why the power room was locked from the outside.

At that moment, the duty officer was about to return.

The door was pushed open slightly, and a fat man walked in and casually closed the door behind him. It was nearing dusk, and the man turned on the lights in the power room.

He had good work habits, upon entering, the first thing he did was inspect the electrical equipment.

The red light controlling the power grid stood out among the green lights, startling the man. He quickly walked towards the control panel, but before he could touch the switch, he felt a scratch on the back of his neck.

Jin Ye retracted her claws, watching the fat body fall to the ground, feeling as if she had scratched out a handful of oil.

"I think I know why you're not earning points and instead let me scratch people." Jin Ye complained to the empty corner.

Tang Yu chuckled, "Sister, I'm just trying to help you earn more points."

"Yeah, right." Jin Ye rolled her eyes and reached out to check the man's breath. It was evident that he had lost all vital signs and had not chosen to remain in the game.

The two of them pushed the man out of the door together, and by now, he had already turned into a zombie.

The man-turned-zombie banged twice on the door, then seeing living people moving in the square, quickly changed direction, roaring as he charged towards the people in the square.

"There's a zombie!" someone shouted.

This wasn't even the worst part, the camp members soon realized that the wandering zombie horde, which appeared every evening, had rushed toward the outer barbed wire.

However, at this moment, the barbed wire did not have electricity running through it as usual. Soon, zombies started climbing over the barbed wire and crossing onto the wall.

People with combat power in Beixi camp rushed out at this moment, holding their weapons to shoot at the zombies that had already climbed onto the wall.

The injured without effective weaponry hid behind them, their eyes constantly darting toward the camp's main gate.

"They want to take this opportunity to leave the camp." Tang Yu remarked, sitting on the eaves above the power room, commenting like she was watching a show.

Jin Ye and Xiaoli lay on the rooftop, poking their heads out to observe the situation.

"Should we stop them?" Jin Ye asked.

"No, don't stop them." Tang Yu said. "They can distract the attention of those with guns."

In reality, these injured individuals with little combat power might not be able to escape the surrounding zombies outside.

Soon, the first brave soul attempting to flee appeared, shouting as he charged toward the camp's entrance, recklessly rushing out.

"Damn it! The zombies are coming, and instead of fighting, you're causing trouble here!" The gunman, Master Ba, was the first to notice this, and he shot the fleeing soldier.

Unfortunately, this soldier was from Professor Gu's faction.

Someone pointed angrily at Master Ba, shouting, "What right do you have to kill our people?"

Xiaoli poked her head out and yelled, "He did it on purpose! He just wanted to take the opportunity to kill our people."

This shout sounded suspicious, prompting some to look towards the direction of the power room, but there was no one on the ground, and no suspicious figures could be seen on the rooftop.

The not-so-bright fighters were enraged by this statement.  "Bullsh!t, why would Master Ba need to personally kill someone from our side? Even if he did, what can you do about it!"

The accumulated resentment between the two sides ignited in an instant. They began shooting at the zombies while also pointing their guns at their own kind.

Xiaoli lay on the concrete slab, shaking with laughter, while Jin Ye glanced at her helplessly. This girl, having spent too much time with Tang Yu, had become someone who enjoyed stirring up trouble.

Tang Yu gave Xiaoli a thumbs-up, only to realize that she couldn't see it.

She casually withdrew her hand, sighing at the convenience of Xiaoli maintaining her human identity. She could infiltrate human player factions to cause chaos and communicate seamlessly with humans, acting as their interpreter.

The resurrection ability made it impossible for Xiaoli to turn into a zombie or form alliances, which was originally quite inconvenient. However, they had turned it into an advantage in this situation.

Thinking about resurrection, Tang Yu turned to look at Xiaoli. She could replicate Xiaoli's abilities, but she could only replicate abilities that were currently being activated.

To complete the replication, Xiaoli would have to die first.

That wouldn't do, Jin Ye would probably kill herself first.

Death isn't as simple as eating or sleeping. Those who have experienced death, even if they come back to life, may suffer some psychological damage. Tang Yu would not easily put her teammates at risk.

Moreover, Tang Yu didn't want to stay in the game forever. From the information she had, her body was still being held captive in a certain interstellar prison, like a fish waiting to be slaughtered on a cutting board.

She needed to survive and, one day in the future, regain control of her body. As for how to achieve that, she could only take it step by step.

In any case, unless absolutely necessary, she would not easily replicate Xiaoli's resurrection ability.

The noisy sounds from the square interrupted Tang Yu's thoughts. Zombies had already broken through the outer wall and jumped into the camp.

The remaining players in Beixi camp were mostly the less capable ones left to guard, and now they were throwing themselves into chaos, making the situation more chaotic.

As more and more people found themselves unable to fight, they joined the camp of escapees, and surprisingly, a few of them managed to flee.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Xiaoli and Jin Ye opened fire, killing several players from a distance and gaining some points. No one was paying attention to where the bullets were coming from, the armed people were all in a frenzy.

When the number of people in the camp dwindled to just ten, Tang Yu jumped down from the rooftop.

"Sisters, let's go, let's check out the research laboratory."

The door to the laboratory was closed. Jin Ye, too lazy to pick the lock, shot the lock out. The gunshot blended into the chaos outside, drawing no attention.

The three pushed the door open and peeked inside.

At that moment, Xiaoli and Jin Ye froze in place.

Zhou Zhou was in the laboratory.

While the outside was in chaos, Zhou Zhou was actually cleaning a scalpel in the laboratory.

For a moment, everyone stared at each other, not expecting to come face to face like this.

Invisible Tang Yu hurriedly stood behind Zhou Zhou, ready to scratch her. At this moment, even revealing herself didn't matter.

But Zhou Zhou chuckled at this moment, "What a coincidence, haha." She didn't scream for help or show any hostility, she even recognized that Jin Ye was a zombie but didn't raise a fuss.

Tang Yu was about to raise her hand but put it back down. She couldn't scratch Zhou Zhou right now, if she did and Zhou Zhou didn't want to stay in the game, wouldn't that mean losing a key player?!

No, she needed to let Xiaoli talk to her first.

Seeing that Jin Ye and Xiaoli had no intention of attacking, Zhou Zhou lowered her head to continue her work, as if nothing had happened.

"I recognize you two." Zhou Zhou continued her movements without stopping, engaging in conversation with the two. "One of you was a prisoner caught before, and the other was a zombie caught before."

She placed a row of precision scalpels into a tool belt, carefully rolled it up, and put it into a nearby box. Aside from her initial surprise, her movements were methodical, and her tone was calm. The gunfire outside seemed unrelated to her, she simply went about her routine, organizing her things.

Tang Yu's eyes lit up: "This person has a very stable mentality." Not only that, but Tang Yu also scanned the research laboratory. The medical supplies she hoped for were all present.

There were even things like an electrocardiograph, a defibrillator, a scanner, and some experimental equipment—things that could only be found in hospitals.

The only unsettling thing was the body of a zombie lying on the operating table, half of its brain sliced open, blood dripping, making Tang Yu, as a zombie herself, uncomfortable to look at.

Tang Yu spoke, conveying her thoughts to Xiaoli in the camp, "We lack a doctor. Let's negotiate to recruit her and not let her escape."

Jin Ye chimed in, "Are you trying to recruit or capture her?"

Tang Yu's comment made Zhou Zhou look up. She pointed at the empty air and asked Xiaoli, "Is there someone else?"

"Yes, there's another zombie." Xiaoli stepped forward, flashing a sweet smile.

"Professor... Zhou, right? The Beixi camp is about to fall apart, and we happen to be in need of a doctor. Would you like to join us? We provide food and accommodation, the work is easy, and the colleagues are very friendly. If you don't want to go on field missions, you can stay in our camp. Our camp has great benefits. The only requirement is that you have to become a zombie, but you can still stay in the game and continue the experience. Would you like to consider it?"

Tang Yu commented, "You're becoming more and more like a zombie recruiter."

Zhou Zhou took a step back and asked, "What's the name of your camp? Are you all zombies?"

"We are Yijiaren. Except for me, everyone else is a zombie, a zombie family."

"I haven't heard of that."

"Well, now you have."

Zhou Zhou took another step back. "No thank you."

In just a few seconds, the attempt to recruit had failed.

"Why? What's the reason for the rejection?" Xiaoli persisted.

"The position doesn't match. I'm not a doctor. I don't save people." Zhou Zhou said, adding, "And I don't save zombies either."

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