This work badge seemed like something belonging to a native of the instance, probably something that yellow-hair had accidentally picked up while scavenging supplies and tossed into his backpack.
Mu Shan picked it up casually, but unexpectedly, a system virtual dialog box popped up.
【Cannon Fodder Player 537099, you have triggered the Zombie Siege side quest.
Task 1: Find the cause of the work badge owner’s death (0/10)
Task 2: Find the reason why the zombie virus spread through C City (0/10)
Note: Newbie stage protection—no penalty for failing side quests】
…
This worked too.
Mu Shan quickly examined the work badge in her hand carefully.
It looked exactly like the entry passes used by employees of big companies, with a blue lanyard and a white card. The front featured the company logo, with the text [Inherit Purity and Original Aspiration, Advancing with the Times—C City Digital Medical Research Institute] below it.
The back had a one-inch photo of a middle-aged man, and the position field read [Director—Sun Lizhou].
As for which department this NPC named Sun Lizhou was the director of, and why he had died, Mu Shan would have to explore that herself.
In zombie movies, they usually depicted research institutes mishandling viruses, leading to city-wide disasters. Would this instance be the same?
Not even knowing where the research institute was, Mu Shan could only store the work badge away carefully for now. She had no plans to tackle the side quest immediately.
She finished tidying up the room and soaked her changed dirty clothes in a basin.
She did not forget her daily draw.
She first clasped her hands together toward the main god and prayed for a moment before slowly opening the leather notebook.
Unfortunately, her luck was poor today. She did not draw any powerful environment cards, and the three cards she got were all quite ordinary.
[Item Card: A baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire]
[Character Card: One dwarf zombie, one burly zombie]
Pfft, trash main god.
Mu Shan cursed inwardly, then materialized the baseball bat casually and swung it hard. It did not feel as powerful as the fire axe, so she planned to trade it away.
After killing the mutant zombie yesterday, the system had rewarded her with +10 to all stats. Today, Mu Shan clearly felt a qualitative leap in her strength, endurance, and speed.
She had originally needed both hands to wield the axe, but now she could swing it with one hand.
The only good news today came from the paper cup on the steps.
The pea seed she had planted in the soil had sprouted, green and full of vitality.
The bad news was… this thing would probably poison her if she ate it, right?
Mu Shan squatted in front of the steps and poked the “pea sprout,” which had only grown two leaves but had an abruptly protruding round head in the center.
The round head even had a small hole on it. After she poked it, the hole emitted “Pew~ Pew~ Pew~” sounds, while the two leaves twisted around like they were dancing.
Mu Shan: …What an ugly thing.
In the worst case, even plants would mutate in this apocalyptic wasteland. In that instant, dozens of countermeasures for mutated plants flashed through her mind.
The next second, a system prompt appeared before her eyes.
【Peashooter (Weapon)
Quality: Excellent
Description: Must be watered daily to recharge
Usage: Plant it in soil for autonomous attacks, or uproot it for manual attacks
Note: Fires one pea every 1.5 seconds】
Her doubts from the previous second turned into ecstatic joy the next.
Peashooter! The most iconic basic attack plant from the game Plants vs. Zombies, known to everyone.
The main god sure had a lot of collab editions.
Mu Shan uprooted the Peashooter from the soil, and it instantly turned into a green handgun in her grasp. Two green vines extended out and wrapped around her wrist like an exquisite bracelet.
The upper right corner of the handgun displayed 【Moisture: 100/100】.
In an era where everyone fought zombies with iron bars and kitchen knives, the appearance of hot weapons was practically an era-changing revolution.
Mu Shan had originally planned to stay in the room and rest today, but now she changed her mind.
The rain had fallen for half a day and stopped. But the sky remained overcast, and there was quite a bit of water accumulated in the low-lying areas on the ground.
Mu Shan worried that the entry iron door might leak, as she did not want to live in a pond. Fortunately, the small dirt mound where the safe house sat was at a higher elevation, with no risk of flooding.
Forest Park had two zombie gathering spots in total, both of which she had explored on the first day.
One was the student cub zombie horde, clustered near the basketball court. The other was the elderly zombie group, near the fitness equipment area.
Mu Shan wore her electric scooter helmet and a face mask, a warm padded jacket on her body, Martin boots on her feet, and the axe and fruit knife at her waist.
Aside from the somewhat out-of-place coral fleece loungewear pants, her outfit was already very close to that of an apocalyptic survivalist.
Mu Shan hid behind a tree and observed the distribution of zombies in the basketball court from afar.
Compared to three days ago, there were no major changes, just a bit more spread out. About ten were inside the caged basketball court, with another five or six on the outer side.
These student cub zombies were all drenched by the rainwater, filthy and reeking after months of wind and sun exposure. The ground was littered with rotten internal organs, a scene that could scare a modern person to death.
But Mu Shan’s gaze remained calm and resolute.
Compared to her breakdown when she killed her first zombie on the first day in the game, dealing with regular zombies was no longer an issue for her.
The caged basketball court had only one entrance, facing north.
The zombies, dressed in basketball uniforms whose colors could no longer be discerned, wandered blindly inside the court.
Suddenly, a “Bang—” rang out, shattering the silence. The zombies reacted like athletes hearing the starting gun, instantly ignited and charging toward the source of the sound.
Mu Shan stood on the south side, watching them hurl themselves at the chain-link fence, roaring and clawing, never thinking to exit through the north gate.
Regular zombies lacked intelligence.
Mu Shan first took out her axe and eliminated two that had groped their way to the edge, then drew the Peashooter.
Aim—fire.
She had never played shooting games, so her aim was off at first. Each pea either hit a leg or the body.
But after dozens of shots, her accuracy improved steadily.
One shot, one kid.
【Coins +15】
Once she cleared all the zombies near the basketball court, Mu Shan unlocked her second achievement.
【Player Achievement Unlocked: Hot Weapon Revolution
Kill 10+ zombies with a single weapon (gun type)
Defense +1
HP +1
Marking the shift from melee to ranged combat】
She glanced at the Peashooter: 【Moisture: 56/100】.
There was a public restroom near the basketball court. No zombies wandered inside, but the stalls held plenty of gruesome, bloodstained remnants. Mu Shan did not linger.
By sheer luck, she discovered a vending machine on the side of the restroom that was still intact.
She tried to store the entire machine in her backpack, but received the prompt “Volume too large, unable to store.”
With no other choice, Mu Shan raised her fire axe and smashed it open.
After a bout of violent hammering “Clang clang,” she harvested 65 bottles of milk tea, cola, Sprite, mineral water, juice, tea, and energy drinks.
They all stacked into 【Beverages】, taking up two slots in her backpack.
Mu Shan could not stop the joy surging in her heart.
Her water resources were already excessive; she did not need that much drinking water. Perhaps she could trade some with other players.