Chapter 146 This final, crucial question... they really...
It's unclear whether the zombie king, who was using Jing Yun's body, was influenced by its host and showed some rare kindness towards Jing Yu.
She was neither infected nor detained in the nest in Qinghe Village; instead, she was released while trying to send a message to the outside world.
Zhou Lingxi called a friend to help Jingyu into the car. There was no hot water, so they could only give her a bottle of mineral water to hydrate.
When Qin Wei and his companion go to seek help later, they can take her with them.
Jingyu cried, and all the emotions she had accumulated over the past year, which she had no one to confide in, seemed to flow out in her tears. She felt completely drained and her heart was ashen.
She didn't actually want to leave, but she knew that staying would only be a burden, so she acquiesced to their arrangements.
only……
Sitting in the car with the heater on, she silently looked at Fu Qing, who was surrounded by people, the conversation from earlier still echoing in her ears.
Her fingers tightened, the plastic bottle making a crisp sound. She closed her eyes, hiding the pain in them.
An argument broke out outside the car.
"I disagree!" Bai Xianglei said the exact same line as Qin Wei and the other man.
A minute ago, Fu Qing casually declined the special forces team's request to accompany her and the elite team into Qinghe Village.
The special forces team, whose equipment was almost fully checked, stood there dumbfounded, unable to believe it.
They then realized that Fu Qing had never seemed to have agreed to let them go in with him.
It was all wishful thinking on their part; Fu Qing had no intention of accepting their "sacrifice."
But……
"But it's too dangerous inside. There are only five of you. How are you going to fight off so many zombies?"
The internal environment of Qinghe Town is complex and varied. Various small vendors' mobile food carts, electric vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles, etc. are all crammed along the roadside. Not to mention that outsiders are unfamiliar with it, even locals find that the road conditions here change every day.
Not to mention that vehicles cannot drive in; one must walk in.
What's the difference between entering without any protection and being baited into a monster's lair?
Even if Fu Qing... he might not be confident of surviving in such an environment, right?
"No, it might not be that difficult if we just hold out until reinforcements arrive." Before Fu Qing could speak, Xue Ran suddenly interjected.
She looked up at Qinghe Village in front of her. The old houses were crowded together, and from a distance they were blurry and indistinguishable, like a huge creature lurking in the night. But as she got closer, they became clear.
It reveals a familiar outline.
Yes, it's familiar.
Bai Xianglei and the others were confused, but Song Rushuang spoke first with a strange expression: "I don't know if you are aware, but there are three hellish difficulty dungeons in Fangzhou's simulation pod."
"One of them was in the forest at night, facing five mutated wolf leaders and the huge pack they led alone."
This instance is perfect for training your ability to deal with mutated animals.
However, considering that there are not as many mutated animals as zombies, the latter being the main threat in the apocalypse, and given the high difficulty of the dungeon, Fangzhou students, including the elite class, do not practice this dungeon much.
"The second one, which you have already been to, is an empty city that was overrun by zombies five years after the apocalypse."
When she mentioned that instance, Bai Xianglei and the others quickly recalled their painful experiences there, along with the oppressive emotions they felt at the time.
"We don't go to the first two dungeons often because they're not very useful for actual training. One has too many zombies, and the other is mainly composed of mutated animals. Only the last dungeon is where we practice regularly."
Could it be such a coincidence?
Chu Hai was stunned: "The map for the last dungeon... it can't be right here..."
“That’s right, it’s Qinghe Village,” Song Rushuang confirmed.
Although its name was censored in the dungeon because it involved real-world content, as the students of Fangzhou gained a deeper understanding of S City, these real-world locations corresponding to the dungeon map were quickly uncovered one by one.
Although Song Rushuang was a local, she had never been to Qinghe Village before entering Fangzhou.
After a whole semester of hellish, high-intensity practice, she can confidently say that this place has become one of the most familiar places to her.
Even with their eyes closed, they can find several ways to survive.
The Zombie King probably didn't know that Fu Qing had been here before and imported his memories into the instance, because in the instance, it was only a short storyline of about half a day.
In other words, Fu Qing only stayed here for half a day. No matter how much the Zombie King paid attention to her movements and tried his best to find her, he would never find out this.
If it had known, it certainly wouldn't have chosen this place as its lair.
Compared to the "Dead City" dungeon, which is dominated by hordes of corpses and offers no room for skillful maneuvering, thus artificially increasing the difficulty of clearing the dungeon, the Qinghe Village dungeon primarily tests comprehensive skills.
The internal environment of Qinghe Village is treacherous, but if one is strong enough and knows how to make clever use of the terrain, there is a way to break through the predicament—its hellish difficulty can be overcome.
This place thus became the main training ground for the elite class. The content of that short half-day dungeon was practiced repeatedly by them over the past six months, so much so that when everyone arrived at the same location in reality, what they felt was not the excitement before the final battle, but a strange calm.
It felt like going back to the days when I would run dungeons with my friends every single day.
While the special forces team was assigning tasks and Jingyu was recounting the past, the elite team members were distracted, trying to recall the details of the dungeon.
Now, they can finally hold their heads high and say: They can!
—They actually did solve this really challenging problem!
Several of them were almost moved to tears. As students, what could be more satisfying than correctly predicting the most challenging question?!
"..."
Chu Hai stared in disbelief, weakly saying, "This...this is possible?"
Seeing the expressions of doubt on the faces of everyone, including Officer Chen, and glancing at the proud and spirited students, Fu Qing looked into the distance, concealing his merits and fame.
Although it was a fluke... it has to be said that perhaps she and the other teachers were waiting for this day from the moment they established the school and developed the curriculum.
If Zhao Yunxiao weren't so far away in the capital, Fu Qing would really like to share her current feelings with him.
The "sea of questions" approach works!
Of course, while the elite squad was familiar with the terrain, it couldn't be said that they were 100% guaranteed to survive. It could only be said that their chances of holding out were much greater, and at least they weren't going to be a one-way trip.
That's why Fu Qing didn't speak up immediately; instead, Xue Ran took the initiative to say that they could hold out until reinforcements arrived.
Fu Qing could tell that she was also subtly expressing her feelings to him.
They were afraid that the principal would treat them like a special forces team and refuse their accompaniment, so they would enter alone.
The same thing happened to Su Huaijin last time; he was afraid that she would use him as bait, so he obstructed her openly and secretly.
From initial fear upon entering school, to developing trust and extreme dependence, and now, like fledgling eagles with growing wings, they can not only support themselves but also try to protect her with their immature wings.
Fu Qing remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.
She wouldn't stop them, since it was the students' own choice.
The four members of the elite team who had been watching her expression closely breathed a sigh of relief.
Having finalized the list of those who could enter, Fu Qing finally spoke up: "Students have another advantage."
Her gaze fell on the student bracelet on Song Rushuang's wrist. "The bracelet is a prop given by the system. It is not affected by signal interference. After entering, you can still use the communication and map functions, but you can't use this bracelet."
Yes, it is possible. Although only students of Fangzhou can wear the student bracelet, the regular bracelet does not restrict the user's identity and also has simple communication functions.
However, Bai Xianglei and his group clearly lacked more than just communication capabilities.
They hadn't trained on the map; they went in purely to try and pave a path with blood. Fu Qing didn't think he was so desperate that he needed their sacrifices to move forward.
"Furthermore, Qinghe Village is not a barrier; not going in doesn't mean absolute safety. No one can say for sure which side's reinforcements will arrive first."
As Fu Qing spoke, Bai Xianglei's heart tightened.
That's true. Who says the zombie king can't get backup? This city is teeming with zombies. If they all went in, they might end up being surrounded from both sides.
His brow furrowed; he couldn't help but consider this possibility.
Fu Qing glanced at him: "We're leaving our rear to you."
She was serious.
Bai Xianglei gritted his teeth and finally nodded: "I understand."
After a final check of their equipment, the group changed into sturdy combat suits that covered their skin as much as possible, without hindering their movements. They also replaced their weapons with more durable military knives and military-grade long-handled axes.
They have been working with the new weapon for some time now and have basically adapted to it.
As for Fu Qing, she unexpectedly obtained a new weapon from the system—a long, jet-black sword.
"What is this?" She swung her long sword, and a whooshing sound came from where the blade sliced through the air; it was surprisingly easy to use.
But how did a business system suddenly come up with weapons?
[This is the weapon you used in your first life. Later, your powers evolved too much, and it became obsolete.] the system explained.
The first "Fu Qing" is no longer needed, but for Fu Qing who has no superpowers in this life, this knife is still useful.
[You can keep it in your system inventory normally. Use the military knife when killing ordinary zombies, and only take it out when facing special evolved zombies like the hooded woman who has the ability to regenerate severed limbs.]
While it won't be described as being able to cut through iron like mud, it's close enough to save you some effort.
Consider it... a gift.
The system buzzed.
Sharp, sturdy, and custom-made to fit Fu Qing's height and usage habits—that's all there is to this knife.
Entrusting it to others might not be as good as the weapons they are used to, but entrusting it to Fu Qing is particularly satisfactory.
As for the simulated zombies, considering that although they are system items, their own attributes are still those of zombies, and no one can say for sure whether they will be affected by the Zombie King, they were left at school and not brought along.
Fu Qing looked at the long sword in his hand and really liked it. Considering that he had changed hosts once in the middle of the journey, and the system had actually kept this old, obsolete weapon in the warehouse, a smile appeared in his eyes: "Thank you."
The electronic sound made two beeps.
*
Once everything was ready, Fu Qing led the elite team, turning and walking towards the dark entrance to Qinghe Village under the worried gazes of everyone.
Before leaving, she could feel a gaze coming from inside the car, following her.
Fu Qing did not turn around.
The village was dark, like walking into the bottom of a well where there was no light. The moisture left from the previous days of rain still clung to the surface. Occasionally, a drop of water would drip down from some unknown pipe with a soft, cold sound, and a chill would creep up your spine.
At the same time, it felt as if countless eyes were staring at them, their sinister gazes piercing through them from all directions.
Those gazes belonged to the living and the dead.
The eyes of the living are filled with despair and numbness, while those of the dead are filled with murderous intent.
The surroundings were too quiet, and Song Rushuang unconsciously began to count her steps in her mind. By the time she realized it, she had already counted to 601 steps.
They had penetrated deep into Qinghe Village, making it much harder to seek rescue.
Xue Ran, who was standing next to her, suddenly nudged her silently, raised his chin slightly, and pointed in a direction.
Song Rushuang looked in the direction she indicated, and her scalp tingled instantly. On the tangled power lines high above, there was a running zombie lying on the ground.
It was unclear when it appeared, or how long it had been silently watching them. Its eyelid muscles were already stiff, its eyes were wide open, with only a small portion of its pupils occupying the rest of its eyes, which were all cloudy and yellowish white, like the eyes of a dead fish, empty and unfocused.
It remained silent, as if still, but as the two stared at each other, more and more zombies crawled out from the roof beams, telephone poles, and broken windows.
They appeared in different places and went in different directions, but no matter where they moved, their heads were always facing the five people, staring intently at them.
The four students' sanity plummeted, and they got goosebumps all over. But the principal, who was walking at the front, didn't even pause for a moment, so they had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow.
"If this continues, we'll only fall into their trap." Fu Qing didn't even look up; his voice came from ahead.
The group: "..."
They couldn't help but look up again, feeling as if they were already surrounded.
But in the principal's eyes, the current size of the horde of zombies might not be enough.
Liang Yi, who was the least skilled fighter, was protected in the middle of the team. He was sweating profusely, but he remained calm and chimed in, "The environment in Qinghe Village is too bad. The residents who are still trapped inside probably haven't left their homes for a long time. Only a few of us dare to walk outside."
"The target is too obvious. Right now, only the fast-moving evolved zombies are coming, but it won't be long before all the zombies are attracted. Maintaining the current slow movement speed is practically an invitation."
"Um."
Fu Qing agreed with his statement and walked to a relatively open area with many pathways, then suddenly stopped.
The bright moon shone down just an inch in front of her.
The horde of zombies was subtly agitated by this sudden change, and could launch an attack at any moment.
Fu Qing turned around and looked at the team behind him.
Just one step away from stepping into the light, her figure disappeared into the night. She hooked the black hood of her combat uniform behind her with her index finger and calmly asked, "Ready?"
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