Chapter 6: The First Encounter with the Zombie Dog

After a night’s ordeal, the village was now overrun with wandering zombies, though fortunately, they were mostly first and second-tier walkers. Without the nighttime enhancement, their attributes had significantly weakened. Even without a bow or crossbow, Song Yu found dealing with them quite easy.

However, she didn’t waste much time on these weak foes and hurried toward the camp they had found the day before. It took her nearly forty minutes to reach the camp from the village. Along the way, she encountered no other players—likely because her location was so remote.

When she arrived, Chen Su still hadn’t shown up. It was early morning, and Song Yu discovered a variety of edible wild greens in a nearby clearing. The berry bushes had been stripped bare the day before, with no new growth yet. Pulling a cloth from her bag, she focused intently on gathering the wild vegetables.

There were many types growing together in the clearing—shepherd’s purse, curled greens, ash plants, and more. Perhaps she could explore the nearby forests and hills around the city later; those areas surely held abundant natural resources.

Unaware, Song Yu had already caught the attention of someone. When she finally sensed it, a group of survivors appeared in her line of sight—three men and two women. A team with females tended to be less aggressive than all-male groups.

Song Yu eyed the sudden arrivals warily, instinctively reaching for the small knife at her waist. Compared to her vigilance, the other players seemed much more relaxed.

“Don’t get the wrong idea—we mean no harm,” they quickly assured, noticing her defensive stance.

“You’re here to meet the NPC collecting blood, right? So are we,” one said.

Song Yu responded with a slight nod but said nothing, continuing to observe them cautiously.

They found her reaction amusing. “What are you doing? Picking wild greens? Do you really eat those?” a familiar-faced woman stepped forward, trying to strike up a friendly conversation.

“Yes,” Song Yu answered simply.

But as the woman approached, Song Yu took a few steps back, maintaining a safe distance.

Hearing that these wild plants were edible, the group’s eyes lit up, and they began gathering them alongside Song Yu.

This small team was faring far worse than Song Yu. Without her powerful talents, they struggled to find supplies. Moreover, with more people to feed, their hunger and thirst levels hovered near critical.

Having grown up in the city, they couldn’t distinguish which wild plants were safe to eat, so they had to rely on watching Song Yu. She, raised in the countryside, had a natural advantage and moved swiftly, soon filling a large bundle.

The others eyed her bounty with envy but had no intent to rob her. The game’s rewards were personal, not shared, so there was no need for internal competition.

The weather had been poor lately; otherwise, Song Yu could have collected more to dry for later.

They coexisted peacefully until the sharp roar of a motorcycle engine broke the calm.

Song Yu immediately stopped and waited in the clearing, a large bundle in hand, for Chen Su.

Soon, a black heavy motorcycle roared into view. Chen Su, clad in a black tactical jacket and helmet, rode with precision and flair.

Seeing Song Yu, Chen Su accelerated, speeding toward her.

“Damn! So many zombies!” the other players panicked upon noticing the horde trailing behind Chen Su and scrambled for cover.

Song Yu stood her ground.

Chen Su braked sharply around a corner, the bike skimming the ground before coming to a smooth halt in front of Song Yu. Removing her helmet, she pulled a grenade from her waist, bit the pin, and without hesitation hurled it into the zombie crowd.

The grenade exploded with a thunderous blast, obliterating the horde instantly.

“So cool!” Song Yu’s eyes lit up as she applauded enthusiastically.

Her fawning support caught the attention of the other players, who glanced at Song Yu with curiosity. How could this girl have such dual personas?

“Morning, Chen Su,” Song Yu greeted politely. Chen Su nodded in response.

“Morning.”

“Pick whatever you want,” Chen Su said, mounting her bike and aiming a mounted machine gun at the scattered zombies without looking back.

Song Yu admired the gun before quickly opening the exchange panel and trading for 63 arrows.

“I picked a lot of wild greens around the camp before you arrived. Sorry, I took the initiative,” Song Yu said as she placed the heavy bundle beside Chen Su, feigning modesty but with a clever glint in her eye.

Chen Su glanced at it briefly and responded with a grunt, saying nothing.

[NPC—Mutated Blood Merchant Chen Su Favorability +5]

“Come have lunch here around noon,” Chen Su said quietly.

“Sure! I’ll be back in time,” Song Yu replied with a bright smile before hopping on her bicycle to say goodbye.

Curry favoring NPCs really paid off! Chen Su’s meals were quite lavish, so exchanging some wild greens for a nutritious, hearty lunch was a great deal.

Next, Song Yu planned to scavenge nearby, kill some zombies to collect more mutated blood, then deliver goods to the old city.

During the day, zombies’ health dropped significantly. A first-tier zombie could be taken down with a single arrow and a finishing blow.

But arrows were consumable and had to be conserved; she only used them on second-tier zombies or stronger.

Without the night’s boost, the chance of zombies dropping mutated blood was lower.

Song Yu’s current position was on the city’s edge, surrounded by vast construction sites.

“A construction site,” she thought. Maybe there were plenty of weapons here!

Her current weaponry wasn’t powerful enough, and knives and daggers forced close combat. When she had just killed zombies, the foul stench nearly made her vomit.

As she stepped into an unfinished site, an unusual, dangerous aura washed over her.

Just as she decided to leave, her retreat was blocked.

A zombie dog, its body emitting a putrid stench of rotting flesh, matted fur hanging in tatters, bones exposed, eyes blazing with ferocity, barred her path.

There was more than one zombie dog.

One in front, one behind—escape was impossible.

Since entering the game, Song Yu was finally facing her greatest crisis.

[Second-tier Zombie Dog, Health: 23, Attack: 32, …]

This was her first encounter with a zombie creature possessing such low health but such high attack power!

One bite from it would be fatal.

But just one arrow would take down the zombie dog as well.

Outnumbered two to one, Song Yu was in serious danger.