Chapter 131: Fatal G City (Part 16)

Shen Qingqiu side-eyed the calm person beside her and noticed a faint trace of mischief in her eyes. She arched her brows.

Shen Qingqiu searched for a supermarket while driving. After passing two streets, however, she noticed the wide open doors of all the convenience stores and supermarkets. The inside was a complete mess, evidently looted.

Xiao Muyu checked the time. It was past 1 PM, on the second day of the apocalypse. They’d seen three of the four teams, meaning there was still one team out there.

“Someone’s already stockpiling supplies… could it be the team that didn’t go in?” Chen Kaijie looked tense.

Xiao Muyu stood at the entrance of one supermarket, looking at the messy traces on the floor. She shook her head. “Doesn’t seem like it. How many people could one team have? They wouldn’t need to empty this many stores, even if they had to survive for ten days or half a month.

“Worst-case scenario, if they did go on a frenzy to grab everything, finding a place to stay is hard enough for us outsiders, not to mention obtaining the means to transport and store this many.”

Everyone’s expression grew grim.

Shen Qingqiu looked at the items strewn across the floor and suddenly thought of something. Her face turned even darker. Xiao Muyu glanced at her. Both knew what the other was thinking.

“We’ve been too careless,” Xiao Muyu murmured before quickly getting in the car. “Qingqiu, keep driving. We need to stock up!”

“Leader Xiao, Vice-Leader, what’s going on?” Zuo Tiantian asked nervously. Su Jin, who had been silent the entire time, seemed to wake up from a dream. Frustrated, she said, “We all overlooked one thing. This apocalypse isn’t the players’ apocalypse. It’s the NPCs’. Our competitors aren’t just the players, but also the NPCs.”

The first quest was their top priority. Fail that, and they could forget everything else. A few people might not use up much, but an entire city’s population trying to survive? That’d be an unimaginable demand for supplies.

“I get it now.” Apprehension gripped Chen Kaijie’s heart as realization finally dawned on him. “Players didn’t loot these supermarkets. It was the locals.”

“The system tricked us. We haven’t seen a single NPC other than where we started since entering the instance. A city full of zombies and deserted streets gave us the illusion that everyone had died in the disaster.”

Shen Qingqiu’s expression was dark, almost disbelieving, as she spoke. The assumption had been baseless, yet they didn’t question it until such a critical mistake happened.

“Don’t dwell on it. It’s probably part of the game design. What matters now is checking if anything’s left. We must search for supplies as much as possible, regardless of how little there is.”

As she finished speaking, Xiao Muyu saw a group of people rushing out of a 24-hour convenience store in the distance. They were carrying half-meter-long machetes and metal bars, taking down the zombies rushing at them.

They seemed to have noticed Xiao Muyu’s group. Shen Qingqiu stepped on the gas and sped off.

“Heh, first the system lulls the players into a false sense of security before letting the NPCs sweep through the supplies. Conflict is inevitable once we run out of food. And with conflict comes violence. Remember the system’s rule? Players aren’t allowed to harm NPCs. ‘Harm’ is a vague word. Killing definitely counts, but what about hitting them? What about stealing their food and letting them starve?”

Shen Qingqiu’s tone grew colder and colder. At first, she’d thought the system had developed a conscience, trying to keep players from abusing their power to bully the locals. But now she realized.

It was a trap.

Shen Qingqiu’s words left everyone in silence. They had just been celebrating the discovery of a vital clue to the third quest, only to realize the biggest issue was the most basic one.

“Things may look bad, but don’t get discouraged,” Xiao Muyu reassured everyone. “At least we planned ahead yesterday and gathered a batch of supplies. We’ll be fine for a few days.”

“Muyu’s right. Don’t be fooled by how serious I made it sound. I won’t hold back when it’s time to fight. Since the system didn’t clarify the rules, I’ll test the limits myself if it comes down to it.” Shen Qingqiu turned at an intersection and parked beside a shopping mall.

“Vice-Leader, are we going into the mall?” Zuo Tiantian looked at the store signs outside and spotted a large chain supermarket. She had a vague idea of what Shen Qingqiu was planning.

Xiao Muyu understood Shen Qingqiu’s reason for choosing the place and explained. “Because small supermarkets and convenience stores have less foot traffic, they have a lower chance of zombies showing up. So, they’re the first choice for ordinary people scavenging for supplies. That’s why most of them have been picked clean. But big malls, while riskier, have more supplies. We might still have a chance.”

After everyone exited the vehicle, Shen Qingqiu parked in the surface lot. With plenty of cars around, theirs wouldn’t stand out.

Zombies started closing in as soon as the car stopped. But these early-stage mutated zombies posed no real threat when they had Shen Qingqiu.

They quickly entered the mall through a side entrance.

It was more crowded inside. Men and women wandered everywhere, now mindless zombies.

The mall had five floors. When disaster struck, everyone had to escape from the first floor, making it the hardest-hit area. The whole place was a mess. Severed limbs were everywhere, and broken bodies lay in the central atrium, most likely the remains of people who had fallen from above. They were so mangled that they couldn’t even turn into zombies.

The blood-soaked floor had turned a sepia color in grisly streaks and pools of dried blood. A whole night had passed, and a fetid smell filled the mall.

Shen Qingqiu pulled a mask from her pocket and handed it to Xiao Muyu.

“Put it on. It’ll block some of the smell, at least.”

“Where’d you get this?” Xiao Muyu asked as she took it.

“Nabbed some from a cabinet in Noro Biopharmaceuticals. Not many, though.” She adjusted the mask on Xiao Muyu’s face before glancing at Su Jin and the others. She didn’t say anything, but the meaning was clear. They wouldn’t be getting one.

Su Jin and Zuo Tiantian exchanged knowing looks while Chen Kaijie shook his head.

He finally started to realize what was up with the two.

They carefully avoided wandering zombies and headed toward the supermarket entrance, only to find several zombie corpses lying there. Among them was a man in a security guard uniform, half his head sliced off. The cut was smooth, made by a sharp weapon.

“Someone’s been here,” Xiao Muyu said. Crouching down, she examined the body and frowned.

The supermarket entrance was near the mall’s side entrance. Just as Xiao Muyu lowered herself, a shadow suddenly darted toward them.

Su Jin and Zuo Tiantian, still fretting over Xiao Muyu’s earlier remark, didn’t see the approaching danger.

Only Chen Kaijie, watching the rear, noticed it. But he only had time to shout, “Watch out!”

Shen Qingqiu had just bent down to examine the corpse. At the sound of swishing behind her and Chen Kaijie’s warning, she instantly twisted her body, avoiding claws before landing a kick to the lunging zombie’s chin.

*Crack*

The zombie crashed to the floor. It got up again, pawing wildly at its chin, jaw dislocated, and mouth stuck closed.

Shen Qingqiu glanced at the other zombies shuffling toward them. She raised an eyebrow and rammed the metal bar in her hand deep into the neck of the zombie that had attacked them, snapping its neck bone.

Pulling the bar back out, her lips curled into a cold smirk. “Since Quest 2 requires a pass, the zombies won’t be in short supply, will they?”

Su Jin gave a tense nod, gripping her weapon tightly.

Shen Qingqiu’s smile widened. “We need to find supplies and kill zombies, so…” She took a light step back, casually pushed aside the supermarket’s entrance curtain, and curled her finger at the approaching zombies.

Once the whole horde came rushing over, Shen Qingqiu grabbed Xiao Muyu’s hand, a grin lighting up her eyes. “Run.”

That single word was light as air with no hint of tension, as if she faced not a bloodthirsty zombie horde but another delightful game.

Seeing that grin, the terrified Su Jin, Zuo Tiantian, and Chen Kaijie grumbled incessantly in their hearts. Their vice-leader was too unhinged. They got what people meant by “psycho queen” now.

“Vice-Leader, you could at least give us a heads-up. Don’t lure them in so audaciously. You really scared us, you know.” Chen Kaijie felt a surge of adrenaline and ran like the wind.

Shen Qingqiu laughed freely. “Scared? More like pumped up!”

“Your confidence is contagious, Vice-Leader. These zombies aren’t the only hunters. We’re hunting them, too. They’re worth half a point each, perfect for farming.”

Sometimes, trust between people was so strange.

Scared? Of course, they were. Looking down at those things from a window would’ve scared them out of their minds, not to mention being chased by them.

But they dared to fight back with Shen Qingqiu and teammates at their side. Shen Qingqiu’s self-assurance and boldness were their greatest source of courage.

The five dashed down the stairs and into the underground supermarket. Shen Qingqiu signaled to Su Jin and the others. The group quickly slipped between the shelves, hiding while holding their breath.

Zombies stormed in, some fast, some slow, some mangled, and some intact, forming a roaring mass. The scene was enough to strike fear into anyone.

Soon, Xiao Muyu and the others heard a man’s panicked shouting.

“F*ck me! Ancestors, there are so many zombies! Brother Zhong!”

“You moron, shut up!” came another man’s harsh whisper, followed by the sound of frantic footsteps.

The zombies that had been looking around at the supermarket entrance suddenly locked onto the noise and rushed in, crashing into shelves.

A few zombies ran right between the shelves where Xiao Muyu and the others hid. With their brains eroded by the virus, the zombies reacted sluggishly upon suddenly spotting the living. That brief pause gave Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu the opening to take out all three.

Meanwhile, Chen Kaijie and Su Jin used the same tactic to eliminate the other three. The noise of rampaging zombies drowned out the sound of bodies hitting the floor.

The five crept forward. When they encountered a zombie, Shen Qingqiu stepped up and slit its throat.

From ahead came the distinct sounds of people panicking. It seemed like they were fighting zombies. Shen Qingqiu glanced back at Xiao Muyu, who was looking forward, and their eyes met.

There was an unreadable expression in Xiao Muyu’s gaze.

Shen Qingqiu held it for a few seconds before her eyes lowered. Facing forward, she took a breath, and told them, “I’ll check it out. You guys hide for now. Don’t come out.”

Xiao Muyu frowned, reaching out to stop her, but caught only air. She immediately lowered her head in frustration.

Su Jin and Zuo Tiantian carefully checked the shelves. The food had already been plundered. High-calorie, long-lasting items like chocolate and beef jerky were mostly gone.

Su Jin glanced at Xiao Muyu, and finally realized Shen Qingqiu’s intent.

“Vice-Leader let the zombies in because she knew someone was there, didn’t she?” She had noticed other people at the entrance, and since she didn’t know who they were, she pretended to lure the zombies in to kill them. Whether the people inside were players or locals, a group of zombies would throw them into disarray.

Xiao Muyu nodded. She had already guessed it the moment Shen Qingqiu made that move. She considered herself just as cold, so she didn’t stop Shen Qingqiu’s ruthless plan, especially in a game as inhumane as this one.

But when Shen Qingqiu looked back at her earlier, her expression must’ve been off. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have said she’d go check it out.

This was a game, not reality. A player should do whatever it took to survive. So, when Zhou Zuo pushed those two nurses out, no one except Lin Jian said a word. Since the NPCs had also become their competitors, Xiao Muyu agreed with Shen Qingqiu’s decision. And because she’d agreed, she shouldn’t have wavered or made Shen Qingqiu feel the need to change her way of doing things.

Xiao Muyu’s confirmation left Chen Kaijie and Zuo Tiantian stunned. They had never done anything illegal or shady and were as ordinary as they came in real life. They just wanted to survive by working hard and staying within the bounds of morality and the law. More than that, they were afraid of hurting others.

But under this situation, in a game no less, the threat of death buried that fear.

They understood that selfishness was part of human nature. They, too, weren’t free from selfish thoughts but ultimately never acted on them. They had chosen to trust Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingiqu because they were upright and honest enough.

Yet, Shen Qingqiu’s actions were the opposite of good.

“It’s not like today’s the first time we’ve realized Vice-Leader isn’t a good person. Yeah, she’s bad, but not the kind of bad that makes you hate her.” Zuo Tiantian spoke after a moment. Shen Qingqiu never hurt anyone without reason.

Su Jin, Chen Kaijie, and Xiao Muyu turned to look at her. Zuo Tiantian shrank back and said timidly, “Don’t tell the vice-leader, okay? I like her bad side, and she’s so good to us.”

The previously heavy atmosphere suddenly turned oddly amusing. The three laughed. Xiao Muyu added, “You shouldn’t like her bad side.”

Su Jin gave Zuo Tiantian a meaningful look. Zuo Tiantian waved her hands quickly, face flushing bright red. None of them continued the topic after that.

Xiao Muyu eventually picked up a few dull thuds. The panicked shouting and screaming from that side slowly settled down.

The other group had nine people—six men and three girls, facing over twenty zombies. Fear was inevitable.

People tend to escape in random directions when running for their lives. The three girls didn’t look athletic, and none of their companions stayed behind to help them. They wouldn’t have made it if Shen Qingqiu hadn’t taken out the zombies chasing them.

The three girls were shaken, their eyes red with tears. One of them clung to another, sobbing. Shen Qingqiu frowned at the sight.

“Th-thank you,” said one girl. She was so nervous that her voice trembled, yet she still managed to express her gratitude.

“Be careful not to draw the zombies. Hide somewhere safe. The back is clear.” Shen Qingqiu didn’t look at them again or respond to the thanks. She had let the zombies in, after all.

The scattered zombies were no longer much of a threat with Shen Qingqiu in the fight. Before long, the men realized the danger had passed.

Someone noticed Shen Qingqiu and called out, “Who are you?” His voice was wary and far from friendly.

Putting her foot on a zombie, Shen Qingqiu swiftly drove her dagger down. Hearing the question, she calmly pulled the blade out and wiped it clean on the zombie’s clothes.

She straightened and turned to face the man.

The man froze, eyes locked on her. His Adam’s apple bobbed, but he couldn’t get a single word out.

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Author had something to say:

Xiao Xiao: Only I can like her bad side.

I accidentally saw someone recommend my story, saying it’s all “mutual attack” because both of my main characters are bottoms…
At the time, I was like, “Oh my God.”