Several people had no idea how many loops they had gone through already. Their stamina and the vehicle’s condition had both reached their limits.
There were many questions at present. While they fled for their lives and fought zombies, a brief discussion quickly led to new guesses.
“It must be that mutant zombie, the Red-Clothed Little Girl!” The fortune teller shouted at the top of his lungs from the van’s roof. “—Mutant zombies can control regular zombies, but I’ve never seen one control so many!!!”
Mu Shan had only seen crawlers before, but those were the type that fought solo with powerful physical bodies.
As for this Red-Clothed Little Girl, she controlled nearly an entire zombie legion. Anyone who saw her had to run.
The minivan sped forward at full throttle. With a “clang,” the last remaining rearview mirror was also knocked off by a zombie.
The old driver gnashed his teeth. “Are we in an infinite loop or something?”
“No.” Mu Shan kicked away a zombie that tried to climb in. She panted heavily. “She’s just constantly resetting our mental memories. She can’t reset physical states, so this isn’t an infinite loop!”
The vehicle grew more and more battered, stamina kept dropping, and used items wouldn’t recover.
Rather than calling it a “reset,” it was more like “mental manipulation.”
Mu Shan glanced at her wristwatch when she had a moment. “She can’t reset time either. It’s already 10 o’clock now!”
The old driver slammed the steering wheel hard. “Damn it, we’ve been circling this crappy road back and forth for nearly two hours!”
Who still remembered that they had only wanted to head to Building Materials City to snag some materials to renovate the house at the start.
“This is a mental control-type mutant zombie.”
The fortune teller cursed from the roof. “I told you to buff your brains, didn’t I? Buffing strength is useless!”
The porter who got called out roared loudly and shoved the zombies piled up by the window off the vehicle. “Yours Truly can’t take it anymore! Yours Truly’s had enough. If it’s so damn strong, why not just eat me?!”
He had had countless opportunities to do so.
The old driver gazed at the endless zombie horde chasing their rear and spoke gloomily. “With just us few, it seems like there wouldn’t even be enough to go around.”
Not even enough for each zombie to get a bite-sized piece of meat.
Once the words were out, everyone suddenly felt goosebumps all over.
Mu Shan panted roughly as she swung her axe. “Because from beginning to end, there’s only one who’s been feeding.”
For the time being, they guessed that on the Red-Clothed Little Girl’s menu, players’ something held higher priority than physical bodies. Her repeated loop resets weren’t just for eating their flesh and blood. Otherwise, she would have been full long ago.
“What do we do now? Who the hell has a way to face a zombie legion?!”
“Aaah, I’m going crazy! I don’t want to be made into human meat buns!!!”
“I say, all of you, stop holding back! If we can’t escape, we’re all dead! Whoever has any large-scale destructive weapons, hand them over now!”
“If Yours Truly had a rocket launcher, would I be getting walked like a dog by these things?”
“The fortune teller’s talking to you. Don’t you know any Turtle School Qigong or spells like that?!”
Shu Yongzhi climbed in through the car window, panting heavily. “Yours Truly is a Daoist, not a monk.”
“I do have some offensive talismans, but only one!”
Seeing everyone look over, he said, “No matter how you look at it, to escape the current predicament, the key is that little girl, right.”
The minivan, with its front all black and red and its body wrapped in mud, roared past. Behind it chased a zombie horde rolling forward like a small hillside, spreading even faster than a mudslide. The scene was extremely spectacular.
Mu Shan clung to the driver’s seat with her eyes closed and suddenly shouted, “I sense it. The nearest one’s to the north, about two kilometers away!”
“Good. Watch mine.”
The old driver shifted gears with his right hand, his expression cold and fierce as he gnashed his teeth. “You monsters know how many parts and how much effort it takes to ruin my carefully modified baby?!”
“Go die for Yours Truly!!!”
【Player Feng Wei (Old Driver) used skill: 4S Store Lifetime Member
Temporarily alters attribute point bonuses for the held vehicle.
Durability -20%
Speed +20%】
Almost as soon as the system message appeared, everyone felt a powerful backward force hit them. Their whole bodies felt nailed firmly to the seatbacks.
The already shaky minivan became even more wrecked inside. The metal frame “clanged” and rattled, as if it would collapse at any moment.
But at the same time, the minivan’s speed reached its peak. The zombies that had been crawling and rolling to touch the vehicle walls were thrown far behind with a tail drift.
Mu Shan was jostled until she was dizzy in the cabin, but she still endured the nausea to sense the position.
“North, 1 kilometer!”
“Almost there!”
“Now!”
The old driver floored the accelerator. The minivan flew up entirely, its four tires spewing hot white smoke as it roared onto a small stone bridge over the river.
Water source ≈ river
The fortune teller clung to the window and looked back. “Zombie horde in three seconds!”
By then, their vehicle had smoothly driven onto the stone bridge and sped toward the opposite riverbank.
The zombie horde half a step behind chased relentlessly like a puddle of rotten mud.
But the zombie horde consisted of countless individual zombies without thinking ability. So when crossing the narrow small stone bridge, a large number of zombies fell into the river channel and “splashed” down the bridge.
Zombies couldn’t swim. They either flailed stiffly with limbs like land ducks thrashing in water or sank straight to the river bottom.
“Success!” The old driver shouted through tears.
In just a few seconds, the riverbank piled up with a dense mass of black zombies.
Interrupted by the stone bridge, the originally sky-covering zombie horde lost half at once, with only a third managing to cross and pursue.
The human players’ situation had never been so favorable.
Mu Shan glared deathly at the Red-Clothed Little Girl standing at the top of the zombie horde. She seemed somewhat surprised and suspicious, but her face showed no panic at all.
With a raise of her hand, the regular zombies under her feet firmly lifted the girl and chased after the players’ minivan.
Cao Cheng had been racking his brains desperately, but his skill had limitations. He couldn’t say the same effective statement twice. And he himself was a keyboard warrior who only surfed the web online, with no real knowledge in his head.
Staring at the girl’s figure, Cao Cheng suddenly had a flash of insight.
“Besides my Zi Han, no one can stand in the first row! Her name isn’t Zi Han, so I deduce—she can’t stand in the first row of the whole class!”
【Logic established, deduction successful】
The old driver couldn’t help spitting out a string of curses. “&Bleep@#—This works?!”
In the next instant, the Red-Clothed Little Girl was wrapped by an invisible force and tumbled headfirst from the top of the zombie horde mountain, smashing heavily into the ground with a “bang.”
The surrounding regular zombies paused for a few seconds.
Mu Shan and the fortune teller were shocked. —This worked?!
Cao Cheng seemed encouraged and went into overdrive. “Some people in this world are experts, which means some experts are people. We are people, so I judge—we might also be experts!”
【Logic established, deduction successful】
【Player Cao Cheng (Brick Expert) grants all friendly units temporary attribute point +5% (duration 30 minutes)】
Mu Shan was dumbfounded and speechless.
Now she understood why Cao Cheng’s success rate was so low. This powerful causality-type skill had a nearly terrifying priority in the system.
Taking advantage of the gap while the Red-Clothed Little Girl lay fallen and unable to get up, the old driver slammed the brakes. Mu Shan pulled out the Peashooter, narrowed her eyes to aim, and unleashed a “pew pew pew” barrage.
【Gold coins +1 +1 +1】
She burst the heads of the obstructing zombies one by one in a straight line.
“This Poor Daoist goes forth!”
Shu Yongzhi slapped two Swift Movement Talismans on his legs. With a stomp of his boots on the ground, his figure turned into a bolt of lightning and charged straight into the zombie pile.
His agility must have been extremely high. He leaped forward in an absurdly light-footed manner, stepping on zombie skulls all the way. His longsword danced dazzlingly in his hand.
The old driver drove the vehicle in circles on the spot, kiting the zombie group behind.
Mu Shan shot while Cao Cheng threw bricks, coordinating as much as possible to clear the blocking zombies for the fortune teller.
Wang Wei wielded two meteor hammers alone, swinging left and right ferociously, smashing all approaching zombies flat into meat paste.
Finally, they rushed to close range. The fortune teller leaped into the air in one arrow step and shouted loudly, “V Me 50, I’ll divine your fate and horoscope for you! No accuracy, no charge!”
【Player Shu Yongzhi (Re-employment Fortune Teller) used skill: V Me 50
Forcibly weakens opponent’s attack power by 10%-30%
Degree depends on strength difference between both sides】
The Red-Clothed Little Girl stood barefoot in place. Hearing this, she slightly raised her head, revealing pitch-black lips.
Her skin was pallid blue-white with few wounds on her body, but her red dress was tattered. Her limbs were as thin as matchsticks.
This girl had died no older than eight.
With her attack power siphoned by the fortune teller, the zombies forming a protective circle around her clearly weakened. Shu Yongzhi seized the chance and skewered several with one sword.
Seeing an obvious gap in the encirclement, everyone glimpsed dawn.
Shu Yongzhi drew the only Five Thunder Talisman from his backpack, pinched it between two fingers, and silently chanted the incantation.
“One step summons heavenly thunder, two steps opens earth and water, three steps unleashes thunder fire, four steps cracks with lightning, five steps calls the Five Thunder Messenger, sweeping evil before and driving off wicked dragons behind.”
Thunder governed punishment and specialized in subduing evil. Zombies, as living dead, naturally fell under evil.
Shu Yongzhi muttered under his breath while still dodging attacks from surrounding zombies, jumping around with very strained movements.
The people in the vehicle behind weren’t much better off either. Mu Shan’s Peashooter was on cooldown, so she hacked with her axe barehanded now.
The minivan was scratched open by zombie claws, with a big hole torn in the rear. The old driver cursed while pulling out a crowbar.
Everyone was ragged and bedraggled, barely holding out. Whether support or not, they were all forced into the zombie-fighting team.
Shu Yongzhi roared, “Supreme Lord Laozi, as the precept commands, summon the five thunders—!”
With the final incantation uttered, he tossed the Five Thunder Talisman into the air. Subconsciously glancing at the Red-Clothed Little Girl, he saw her with head lowered, not paying attention here.
Her dry yellow hair covered half her dirty little face. In that instant, in Shu Yongzhi’s eyes, her figure overlapped slightly with his own daughter.
It was this momentary flicker of compassion that made the fortune teller lose focus for a split second.
In that flash of lightning, a zombie at his feet suddenly lunged and bit dead onto his calf. Other zombies’ sharp nails also pierced into his flesh.
Shu Yongzhi cried out in pain as the purple falling thunder veered off.
With a “boom—” a massive crash, a charred pit appeared on the ground.
Zombie skeletal remains were clearly visible in the pit, but the Red-Clothed Little Girl, aside from being covered head to toe in ash, wasn’t affected at all.
Shu Yongzhi slapped on several Swift Movement Talismans and desperately escaped the encirclement. Shaking, he tore open his pant leg and saw his calf muscle visibly blackening.
He was rapidly being infected by the zombie virus.
Without hesitation, Shu Yongzhi slashed off a chunk viciously. Black blood sprayed from his leg instantly. He then forced out the continuous flow of poisoned blood with his mana.
The man’s face paled, and he slumped weakly under a tree, roaring hoarsely, “Be careful, all of you! Getting close to that thing twists your mind. You can’t even approach her!”
The few in the minivan were already at the end of their ropes. Zombies pressed closer and closer. They fought back-to-back, chopping monsters, with the encirclement shrinking smaller.
The fortune teller’s warning was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Cao Cheng cried as he threw bricks. “I can’t hold on!”
Mu Shan turned back. “What do we do?”
The old driver gnashed his teeth. “We have to find a way to get close!”
Not far away, amid the zombie horde’s protection, the Red-Clothed Little Girl watched them quietly. Her white eyeballs without pupils didn’t know what they stared at, calm yet eerie.
The old driver’s heart ached. He reached into his backpack. “I still have one lifesaving item. Damn! What a huge loss! All of you, buck up for Yours Truly. Don’t give up!”
He pulled out a round thing, mustered his strength, and kicked it flying into the sky hard.
Mu Shan felt a powerful irresistible force. Like the others, she stared into the distance, her gaze chasing that round ball.
【World Cup Soccer Ball (Auxiliary type)
Quality: Fine
Explanation: Possesses the highest priority in the current scene, capable of attracting everyone’s attention (even monsters can’t escape).
Use: Shoot!
Note: “What are you looking at if not the ball?”]
After the Old Driver kicked out the World Cup soccer ball, all the zombies that had been surrounding them and snarling froze stiff. Those eyes rolled back one by one turned toward it.
The zombies scattered like dogs that had caught the scent of meat, scrambling in a frenzy to chase after that soccer ball.
Mu Shan panted heavily, her body drenched in sweat. She gripped her axe like a crutch to rest, and everyone exchanged glances.
Because right in front of them—hundreds of zombies were fighting over the ball, an utterly eerie sight.
“Quick, now!” the Old Driver roared.
Except for the gravely injured fortune teller, the other four charged forward with all their might toward the mutant zombie.
The Red-Clothed Little Girl also wanted to chase the soccer ball, but her self-control was clearly superior to that of the ordinary zombies. Even her steps were unhurried.
The Porter was the first to rush over. His arm muscles bulged as he swung his meteor hammer with force, eyes bulging in rage.
“Go die!” The massive meteor hammer smashed onto the zombie little girl’s shoulder, the immense force instantly collapsing the bones on one side. Her entire body tilted backward and thudded to the ground.
Wang Wei swung the hammer to vent his fury, only realizing after the swing that his target was gone.
He bent down and nudged the motionless zombie little girl on the ground with his toe. Smug, he turned back with hands on hips and laughed loudly.
“Hey, fortune teller, did you see that? In the end, it still comes down to yours truly stepping up! Facts prove that pumping attribute points into strength without any brains still works great!”
Shu Yongzhi lay weakly on the ground. He had just expended all his mana to barely force out the zombie toxin from his body, leaving him almost unable to move.
Seeing Wang Wei nagging incessantly there, Shu Yongzhi just wanted to slap him: “Idiot, no kill notification yet—be careful!”
Mu Shan and the others were also startled and stopped in their tracks.
“Porter!”
“Behind you—!”
Before he could react, Wang Wei whipped his head around. The short Red-Clothed Little Zombie had somehow stood up and was right behind him, only reaching his waist—he had to bend down to see her.
Her eyes without pupils stared straight at him.
Wang Wei froze solid.
By then, the other three were only a few steps away.
The Old Driver saw the dent just smashed into the mutant zombie’s body miraculously recover and couldn’t help cursing: “Damn it, it even has self-healing ability! How the hell do we fight this!”
Cao Cheng trembled as he pointed: “Wait, the Porter seems off somehow…”
Mu Shan held her breath.
She found it odd that Wang Wei wasn’t moving.
The sight before her of the big and small figures facing each other might have been heartwarming in normal society, but this was the Zombie Siege.
The Red-Clothed Little Girl opened her mouth; no teeth were visible in the pitch-black cavity.
“Da… Dad…” She made a sound like that.
In the next instant, the meteor hammer dropped from the Porter’s hand with a thud.