Chapter 167: Dead Siege Practice (Part 4)
When a person's bite force is at its maximum, it's enough to tear flesh off a person's body. Under normal circumstances, however, only a portion of that force can be exerted. Zombies don't have this problem—which is why humans who mutate into zombies can easily devour living people.
But chewing steel raw is another matter.
The girl's sharp teeth didn't even leave a single tooth mark on Zheng Wanqing's arm. A slight scratch and they all fell off with a crackling sound.
The squad leader who fell to the ground released his hand that was covering his mouth. His mouth was empty and blood was gushing out.
It was clearly her who attacked, but she looked more . She whimpered, looked down at her hands, then looked up at Tang Xinjue and the other two, as if she couldn't believe what had just happened.
Zheng Wanqing was alert: "You can't blame me for this, right? You came up here to try to scam me!"
At most, she just used this arm to block the other person's mouth when the other person pounced on her.
The other party did not respond. After whimpering twice, he suddenly strangled his own neck, knelt on the ground and vomited wildly, not knowing what he was vomiting out.
The hoarse sound of retching echoed in the corridor. Tang Xinjue looked around keenly to see if there were any changes in other dormitories.
Before any other sounds could be heard, the squad leader had already vomited out a shapeless mass of flesh and blood, a thick, bloody stench filling the air. Just as she had reached the end of her vomit, she suddenly seemed to regain some consciousness. She glanced at the two people in the distance in horror, struggled to her feet, and ran away.
Zheng Wanqing: “?”
Before she could catch up, the other party disappeared at the end of the corridor at an incredible speed.
"Stop chasing." Tang Xinjue collected some teeth and flesh tissue. After observing the surroundings and finding nothing unusual, the two returned to the dormitory.
"Huh, you're finally back."
As soon as they entered, they began a disinfection process. The two used alcohol and water to clean all the blood-stained skin. Guo Guo took a towel to wipe the blood stains on Zheng Wanqing's metal arm. As soon as he touched it, he couldn't help but wrinkle his nose: "Why does this blood smell so bad?"
Zhang You nodded beside him: "It really stinks."
Zhang You was responsible for handling the "confiscated" teeth and flesh. He rinsed and wiped them with gloves and placed them in a transparent container. The dirty blood was sealed in another can, and he observed with a serious face.
"These clumps should be internal organs, but they're so broken up that I can't tell what they are. The blood has a rancid smell, not like the blood of a living person—it could be the physical changes caused by zombie transformation."
After all, judging from the conversation heard outside the door, the "squad leader" did not seem to be a complete corpse, but he was definitely not a normal person.
Tang Xinjue handed over his phone, which contained a video of a girl kneeling on the ground and vomiting.
"You can judge her physical condition from this video."
Zhang You took it and adjusted his glasses: "Okay, let me compare."
Guo Guo, who worked silently and dared not make a sound:... She always had the illusion that she was in a copy of "Human Anatomy".
After everyone had finished cleaning up, Zhang You had almost come to a conclusion: "I think she's very likely in the process of mutation."
The other party had already explained in the copy background that the zombie mutation came from a virus leaked from the school laboratory. So, it's natural that there's a process for the virus to completely conquer the human body after invading it.
"During this process, she likely retained some ability to think and act. The deeper she became, the more her behavior became like that of a zombie. That's why she initially attempted to negotiate, but then suddenly attacked you."
Zhang You speculated.
Tang Xinjue nodded in agreement, "That's right. She was so persistent in entering our dormitory. On the one hand, it was out of survival instinct, wanting to find a place to hide. On the other hand, it might also be because we were the last message in her chat box."
As for the last aspect... Tang Xinjue's eyes moved slightly, but he still expressed his intuitive guess without reservation.
She has always had an accurate intuition about the malice coming from the darkness.
If the other party successfully enters the dormitory and mutates or dies here, something bad will definitely happen.
——Drag others into the water when dying is also an instinct.
"She may not have originally thought so. But physical torture can change a person in a very short time."
Tang Xin Jue was thoughtful: "The information the copy gave us this time is more than we imagined."
But apart from all this, there is another thing to do now.
Guo Guo opened his eyes wide: "You want to go out?"
Tang Xinjue put on his gloves and said, "I'll go clean up the things left outside the door. You guys adjust the radio."
If zombies were sensitive to smells, the pool of blood and tissue in the clean corridor would inevitably become a time bomb.
After saying that, she opened the door and her body disappeared into the gap.
After a while, Tang Xinjue reappeared at the door, his face not looking good:
"The blood has been moved."
From the time they entered the room and quickly packed up until now, the total time was no more than three minutes.
Even if someone entered the corridor during this time, ran to their door, touched the blood, and then quickly left, the four of them would definitely hear the sound, instead of being unaware of it.
Then the answer is obvious:
"It's someone from the nearby dormitory."
"...Very good, another real-life copy with complete details." Guo Guo covered his temples with his hands as he felt a headache.
She remembered the last time she'd encountered something like this, back in that headless monster dungeon from "Classic Movie Appreciation." Not only did it feature a group of esoteric and suicidal protagonists, but it also featured a university environment that was practically indistinguishable from the real world, with even the classes seeming incredibly realistic.
This also led to the fact that in the battle at the end of the copy, the lifelike "classmates" in the entire teaching building all became headless ghosts, and rushed to the balcony one after another to meet them cordially, leaving an unforgettable impression on them.
Converted to the present, Guo Guo felt his scalp tingling whenever he thought about the countless zombies or zombie reserves hiding in the nearby dormitories.
Zhang You said, "I don't think they are zombies. They are probably just people who are very vigilant."
Of course, it is hard to say whether it will still be a "human" after a period of time.
At this moment, a familiar rustling noise suddenly fell into their ears. Several people immediately turned their heads to look in the direction of the sound.
It was the radio that Zhang You had just repaired.
The old black radio instantly brought back many memories for them. And if what the squad leader said was true, this dungeon had many similarities with the "Four Seasons Protection Guide," and the core of it was this radio.
To some extent, it replaces the function of the examination task system.
The four of them tacitly put other things aside and work on the radio first.
Tang Xin Jue adjusted the channel along with his memory. The rustling sound became louder and softer, and finally it suddenly subsided. A clear voice finally came out:
"...Hello everyone, this is the Student Union Radio Station. I'm reporter Xiao Ming! I'm sure you've noticed, but this Monday is destined to be an unusual day..."
Hearing the familiar opening remarks, Guo Guo and Zheng Wanqing were suddenly excited, as if a certain DNA of theirs had moved.
Isn't this the opening line of the Student Union Radio Station in the Four Seasons dungeon?
Not even a single word was changed!
The four of them looked at each other.
Could it be... the same student union?
The voice on the radio continued:
"Yes, we are very sorry to inform you that the school has fallen into an unprecedented major crisis. According to reliable information, the source is due to negligence in the laboratory. Therefore, the Student Union has contacted the laboratory immediately. We believe that this accident will be perfectly resolved - of course, it is only a matter of time."
"So during this period, we hope that every student will listen to the radio announcements, abide by the Student Union rules, pay attention to our news at all times, and stay safe until the end."
"If you hear this news on the radio right now, then congratulations, you have achieved the first and most important point in survival."
"Next, the second thing you need to remember is: stay in the dormitory and don't go out!"
The radio station paused for two seconds and then changed the subject:
"Of course, many students may be curious about why they are not allowed to go out. Obviously, this has to involve another unfortunate news."
"Based on the characteristics of the virus, the first batch of students infected with the zombie virus have already completely mutated at this time."
The moment these words fell into the air, several people immediately noticed a subtle change. It was as if some invisible barrier had been lifted.
"Out the window."
Tang Xinjue suddenly spoke.
Everyone else looked at the window and saw that the white fog outside the dormitory had dissipated at some point, revealing the dormitory area.
Judging from the view outside the window, they were probably on the top floor of the innermost dormitory area, so they could see the layout of several buildings in the distance. However, the ground below each dormitory building and the road were empty, with only the yellowed leaves rustling and falling, making it seem extremely desolate.
In such a silent environment, the sudden scream was particularly clear:
"--ah!!!"
The scream came from a blind spot in the distance and soon evolved into a scream mixed with calls for help and curses, and soon disappeared.
Silence returned outside the window.
"Hehe, I think everyone is clear about it now. Then enjoy yourself, no, start preparing as soon as possible. See you in half an hour!"
The radio station was then turned off, and only the rustling sound was left on the radio.
"Prepare, half an hour... What does he want us to prepare for? What will happen in this half hour?"
Even though several copies had passed, when Zheng Wanqing heard the despicable tone and words of the student union radio station again, she still had the urge to pull the person out of the radio and strangle him to ask him questions.
Zhang You shook his head: "They won't finish what they are saying."
She had never listened to the radio in front of this radio before - because she was even more unlucky at that time, she was standing next to the student union to listen to it. So now she could even imagine the malicious and gloating expressions on the other side.
"Since we are old acquaintances, there is no need to guess." Tang Xinjue said.
Anyway, they only need to know one thing: "Whatever makes the student union happy will bring us disadvantages."
What are the unfavorable elements of this copy for them?
"Virus."
"Zombies."
“…Supplies?”
"If the virus is airborne, then no one can escape, and there's no room for struggle, so we can disregard it. We're not short of supplies, and even if we were, we wouldn't run out of food and ammunition in half an hour. So there are only two variables that fit the bill."
Tang Xinjue looked out the window.
"Zombies...and people."
30 minutes, how many more zombies will be mutated?
This cannot be verified in the huge campus, but one thing is beyond doubt, that is, the dangers they face are not just zombies.
"Even at the beginning of the story, when the zombies are still relatively less dangerous, humans, as members of the same species, may actually be the greatest source of danger."
Unlike zombies, humans are highly motivated creatures. Even if they stay still in their dormitories, they could become targets.
Just like the existence of the "class monitor", no one can predict what traps the copy will set for them in advance.
"Instead of passively waiting, it is better to take the initiative and eliminate the nearest risks first."
Tang Xinjue suggested.
The four of them had no objections. Once confirmed, they immediately began to prepare. It was only when they were ready to go that Guo Guo realized:
"Hey, but can't we go out?"
So how do we eliminate the risks?
"Who said that if you want to take the initiative, you have to go out?"
Tang Xinjue smiled.
She looked out the window again, hinting, "Don't forget, we have a neighbor who shares the balcony."
No need to go out the door, just go out the window.
