Occupy

As Yu Zou passed by the storage room, he glanced inside, but C8 wasn't there.

The two overcame numerous obstacles and quickly figured out a way to cooperate. Yu Zouyin ambushed from the shadows while Du Pianjian drew fire from the open, and they did not encounter C8.

Half an hour before the next blood moon, deafening music blared from the center of the stage. The cheerful drumbeats seemed to be a summons, and the zombies began to approach the center of the stage.

Yu Zou, who was walking in the corridor on the fourth floor, stopped and looked down through the window. He saw five girls in the center of the stage, dressed in sailor uniforms and berets, with bloodstains on their bodies.

The movements are in place, the music is in place, it's an idol group.

The zombies below erupted in cheers, and Zhao Junjie was among them.

Although he had marveled at the yacht countless times, Yu Zou still couldn't help but mentally complain, "Zhao Junjie! You really know how to enjoy yourself!"

A sweet voice echoed throughout the cruise ship. Yu Zou leaned on the windowsill and looked down, humming along in her heart, her body swaying slightly.

At the climax, the five of them sang together: "Fish fly, bubbles hide my heartbeat, fish fly, seashells hold my confession wall."

Electronic zombie fish leaped around the stage, and after a dazzling light, five people put on pirate hats. The leader said, "We are E-chos, the great pirate team, and today we will take over this ship."

The crowd below responded enthusiastically, shouting: "Occupy it!"

Yu Zou silently echoed in his mind: Take over!

In this joyful and excited atmosphere, Du Pianjian remained detached until she realized Yu Zou hadn't followed, at which point she stopped and stood by the window looking down. The two were like two vastly different paintings framed in the same picture frame.

After the performance, an announcement was made: "Inspired by this, the zombies have increased their speed of movement. The first floor has been completely overrun by zombies, and those who enter are becoming infected more quickly."

The five pirates scattered amidst the zombies. Du Pianjian locked onto one of them and said, "Capture a pirate alive."

Yu asked, "The one wearing anchor earrings and with blood on her thigh?"

"I don't know, I didn't look as closely as you did."

"Ha, actually I guessed you'd want to capture one alive. I'm just scouting, so which one is it?"

"The closest to Gate 2."

"It's not the one I was talking about," Yu Zou thought to himself.

Of the five, only her position was the most suitable, with low difficulty and short time. However, even though it was the best plan, she was still a high-level NPC unlocked midway through the process. Capturing her took a lot of effort from Du Pianjian, and the longer she stayed on the first floor than expected caused her infection value to rise sharply. Her bracelet and neck ring were flashing yellow at the same time, and if the infection value rose another 13%, it would have a negative effect.

Du Pianjian led the pirate into an empty room, took out a potion from his pocket, aimed it at his bracelet, and after three seconds, the infection level dropped by 30%, returning to a safe range. He then sat silently on the bed.

The pirate, poised for a heroic end, seemed prepared for interrogation. Ten minutes had passed, and the player remained silent, not even wiping the dried artificial blood from his face. He stared intently at the doorway, his eyes sharp and pointed like hooks, the curves of his double eyelids jutting out, free at the corners. No atmosphere was needed; every line, every bone structure, clearly displayed beauty, so much so that it felt hurtful—his face seemed to be speaking ill of him.

The pirate looked away, but within two seconds looked back.

Du Pianjian finally spoke: "What is your true identity?"

The pirate snorted, turned his head away, and said, "Kill me or torture me, it's up to you. I won't say a word!"

Du Pianjian took out the medicine he had prepared at the bar from his pocket, held it up in front of the pirate, and said, "Do you recognize this? If you don't tell me, I'll force it down your throat."

The pirate scoffed, "It's just an outdated version, I'm not afraid."

"So, you have the antidote? Show it to me."

“I came here prepared to not do what you say, no matter what.”

The two sides remained silent, neither willing to give in, when Yu Zou burst through the door and came in, supported by C8. C8 looked normal and was conscious, but his furrowed brows showed that he was worried.

The pirate stared at C8 in disbelief, trying to move further back, but she was already pressed against the edge of the bed.

Du Pianjian's eyes were practically spitting fire. Just now, when he was capturing the pirates, he had lured the pursuing C8 to the designated location, but Yu Zou's crossbow bolts not only failed to arrive as expected but also deviated from their direction. Afterwards, he even left C8 unattended, forcing him to continue maneuvering and causing the infection value to exceed expectations.

Yu Zou pointed to the cowering zombie beside him: "He is C8."

Du Pianjian's tone was icy cold. He stood to the side with his arms crossed, showing no intention of giving Yu Zou the antidote: "So?"

"Let him talk to the pirates; he'll get results. Ask him, 'What is your true identity?'"

C8 timidly circled around Du Pianjian, smeared cake on the pirate's lips, and repeated Yu Zou's question.

The pirate, as if his soul had been ripped out, answered stiffly and mechanically like a puppet: "Researcher."

"What researcher?"

"The researchers who were left behind."

Why were you left behind?

"The experiment failed, the virus leaked, and the captain decided to abandon ship and escape, but he couldn't take everyone with him, only the core members. I was left behind."

"Did you succeed in your research afterward?"

"No, it's a miracle we survived."

"What is your purpose in coming here?"

"revenge."

How do I report it?

"Disguised themselves and sneaked onto the yacht, then added the remaining virus to the food, so that they too could experience the horror of living with the virus."

Are all the researchers from that time still on board?

"yes."

Why are you afraid of seeing the C8?

"His rationality indicates that the experiment was a success."

Do you have any key items on you?

The pirate took a triangular key out of his pocket. C8's eyes gradually became unfocused, and he spoke slower and slower, unconsciously biting his fingers. Five minutes were almost up.

Yu Zou set up his crossbow, aimed it at C8, and said, "Don't be angry, considering the infection points I paid to capture him."

"You should have told me in advance."

“I didn’t expect to run into C8 here either, especially since I’ve told you what he looks like.”

C8's eyes were completely captivated, his gaze fixed solely on the people he saw. He first pounced on the bound pirate. The pirate's infection level on his bracelet quickly reached 100%. In the split second that C8 turned, the impact of the crossbow bolts sent him staggering back two steps, and then a silver knife knocked him unconscious.

The infected pirates were no different from ordinary zombies and were shot down just like ordinary zombies.

The room fell completely silent. Yu Zou looked down at Du Pianjian, whose face and neck were stained with blood, a stark contrast against his fair skin. One could imagine the ugly struggle of his enemy in his hands. Still seething with anger, he stared at the person opposite him. Noticing Yu Zou watching him, he frowned slightly, blew upwards to clear the hair that was obscuring his eyes.

Yu Zou took a pack of tissues out of his pocket and handed it to him. The raised veins on his wrist were cut off by the yellow warning bracelet. He only squeezed the tissues a third of the way in, leaving enough space for the other person to avoid touching them. Du Pianjian waved it away and said, "No need."

Yu Zou pursed her lips and nodded, pulling out a tissue to wipe her face. She wanted to say that it was quite pretty, but perhaps out of a sense of cherishing and reverence for life, the words stuck in her throat and came out as: "That's even more intimidating."

As Du Pianjian walked out, she shoved a vial of antidote into his hand as she passed by: "The Blood Moon is coming again. If you can't aim properly again, I'll consider replacing you."

Yu Zou aimed the antidote at the bracelet, followed him, and replied, "No, I still need your protection. Are we going to the captain's cabin?"

"no."

"Where to?"

Du Pianjian didn't answer, but walked straight to the elevator and pressed the button for the 3rd floor.

The Blood Moon descended once more, and the number of zombies was even greater than before. Three pirates remained, leading their zombies in a targeted attack. The two survived the carnage until the Blood Moon was halfway through, but their infection level had once again reached a significant threshold.

More important than deciphering the mystery right now is finding the antidote. The areas they should have explored have already been mostly searched, so the two of them unanimously thought of the locked captain's cabin.

The enormous, arched French windows were stained dark red by the blood moon, and the ocean stretched as far as the eye could see, a sea of ​​blood. On the ebony nautical table, the electronic chart flickered with an unstable blue light, indicating that the yacht was in an unknown area marked "Salt." Li Kuo operated the control panel, attempting to change the yacht's course, but to no avail.

The audio and video on the monitor were out of sync, so much so that when someone pushed the door open, Li Kuo didn't react immediately until the door was fully pushed open, at which point he suddenly looked up.

"Du Pianjian?" Li Kuo subconsciously called out the other person's name, surprised that he had survived this competition until now.

Du Pianjian raised his left wrist to show the bracelet, which displayed an infection rate of 58.47%. He truthfully stated, "I need to replenish the serum in the supply box."

"You've been to the captain's cabin?" Li Kuo glanced at the box in the corner. He hadn't opened it because he didn't have the key. Most supply boxes didn't require a key, but this one did.

“No.” Du Pianjian looked around and saw the box in the corner.

Li Kuo said, "I need a key. Do you have one?"

Du Pianjian took a brass key out of his pocket and said, "I don't know if this is the one."

Li Kuo's eyes flickered. He walked around the table, and a red dot appeared at his feet, immediately stopping him in his tracks. The dot climbed up his leg to his chest. Li Kuo slowly raised his hands, a subtle sense of unease creeping in. How could someone who had survived this long be as naive as he had acted just moments before? "You have a sniper teammate? Chi Hengxun?"

Du Pianjian smiled: "He died long ago. His identity?"

Li Kuo closed his eyes and took a deep breath, seemingly making a great decision before speaking: "The escaped scientist."

On the monitor, only the ruins of the glass cabin remained on the first underwater level. Du Pianjian inserted the memory card he found on the third level into the monitor, and the screen exploded with static, revealing a black and white image of the captain leading a group of scientists in an experiment.

Du Pianjian asked, "What were you doing just now?"

"They changed course. They steered the ship towards the waters where we used to conduct research, intending to take us down with them."

"Why? Aren't they accomplices?"

"Halfway through the experiment, a wise leader suddenly emerged among the experimental subjects. Together with the other experimental subjects, they caused considerable damage to the ship. There was no other way but to retreat. However, we couldn't take all the researchers and experimental subjects with us, so we had to destroy them on the spot."

Du Pianjian smiled, but something seemed to be suppressing that smile. Her slightly curled sideburns swayed forward, making her eyes appear even darker, like collapsing black holes.

"Then?"

"Then the core members of the immortality experiment withdrew, and the investors built another ship for us to experiment on. Learning from the previous experience, the experiment finally succeeded." The script described the researcher's excited explanation, but Li Kuo felt extremely ashamed and only repeated it in a rigid manner, "The immortal seed is in a glass tank on the first floor underwater. Today can also be considered our victory celebration. As long as we hand over the immortal seed to the investors, the project will be completely over. I will take the money and leave completely, to a place where no one knows me to start a new life, to start a family with a slightly better person, and to live out the rest of my life peacefully and leisurely."

Li Kuo quickly finished reading the last few sentences and let out a long breath as if he had finally completed his task.

"And then?" Du Pianjian asked, his tone as calm as the ice of early winter.

"have no idea."

"have no idea?"

As the two sides faced off, Du Pianjian tucked his hair behind his ear, and a red firework exploded on Li Kuo's chest. Du Pianjian finished him off, and the broadcast announced: "V6 kills V18."