Chapter 267: City of the Dead (9)

Chapter 267: The City of the Undead (Part Nine)

Zhu Yao?

Zhu Ning found a piece of paper in the office, with Zhu Yao's notes and name on it. She looked at the floating white coat, belatedly guessing that her mother might also be in this world?

Pei Shu reminded her, "You were looking for information just now."

Many documents had been soaked by rain, experimental subject files scattered around, most of which contained student records. The eyes in those photos stared straight out, quite frightening.

The current Zhu Ning was purely an athlete; it would be strange if she could understand them.

Zhu Ning asked, "What is this?"

Pei Shu: "It should have been a research base."

The zombie form was likely artificially created, but Pei Shu couldn't figure out why.

Zhu Ning asked, "Was the researcher Zhu Yao?"

Pei Shu: "Yes."

This office had always shown signs of activity, but from the traces left behind, it seemed only one person named Zhu Yao lived here.

Pei Shu found it hard to imagine what kind of person would live in such a place, enduring loneliness, tolerating cohabitation with contaminants, focusing solely on their research, and being very clean.

As he thought, Pei Shu began to profile Zhu Yao in his mind. Zhu Yao must have a very strong inner self; such a person, whether aiming to save or destroy the world, would be terrifying.

While thinking, the image of Zhu Yao gradually took shape in his mind, as if he really saw Zhu Yao once sitting at this desk, facing away from people while conducting research. What did she use to alleviate her loneliness?

Pei Shu didn't understand the thoughts of such a genius.

There were some shielding devices in the building, forming a red line buried in the crevices of various structures. When Zhu Yao lived here, she must have activated the shield, making the environment barely habitable for humans.

She left in a hurry, many devices not having been recovered, as if she vanished suddenly.

Pei Shu felt this point didn't align with his guess about Zhu Yao, because from the details, this person would definitely arrange everything properly before moving on to the next step.

Zhu Ning frowned, all the documents indicated that Zhu Yao was a mad scientist. Was this the Zhu Yao she knew, or someone from a parallel universe?

Pei Shu: "She shares your surname, a relative?"

Zhu Ning: "I don't know."

Zhu Ning pulled at the wires behind the computer, covered with mycelium, the wires inexplicably swollen three times their size, and the computer had no power at all.

Zhu Ning rubbed the mycelium, and under the pressure of her fingers, a white, sticky liquid oozed out, much like poisonous mushrooms encountered in the wild. "What is this?"

Pei Shu examined it carefully, "It was once Prometheus' observation point, probably a human-machine hybrid device that grew."

The human-machine hybrid device had mycelium embedded inside, but usually only as thick as a hair, precise enough to pierce into a human brain. Such thick mycelium was rare.

It resembled a mushroom cultivation base that had been bred and improved. Pei Shu was unsure of the situation, whether the researcher Zhu Yao and Prometheus were in a cooperative or exploitative relationship.

Zhu Ning: "I don't understand."

What is all this?

Pei Shu shook his head, feeling that believing a middle school girl's delusions was truly sick. He quickly recorded the current situation in his investigation notes.

In the city of amnesiac zombies, a laboratory was discovered inside, where someone observed and raised zombies, leaving behind experimental data. From the scene, it appeared that Prometheus had set up an observation point here.

Pei Shu thought and recorded, Zhu Ning was right; he had been focused on one task and hadn't lost any memory since talking with Zhu Ning.

Zhu Ning kept talking to Pei Shu, not idle herself, continuously searching for clues. There had been a fierce fight here, almost leveling the place.

Zhu Ning felt around, originally there was a wooden bookshelf leaning against the wall. She shook the bookshelf and felt something odd in the gap between the bookshelf and the wall, very slippery, as if she touched the surface of glass.

Zhu Ning frowned, pulling out a black box, perfectly cubic, textbook-level precision, with a mathematical elegance.

Pei Shu instinctively frowned upon seeing the box, as if suddenly seeing someone's organs, asking, "What is this?"

Zhu Ning: "I don't know."

She felt the surface of the black box, so strange, no lock, not even a seam?

The material of the box felt peculiar, extremely smooth, unlike common metals or wood, indescribable, as if her palm would be sucked in when placed on it.

Zhu Ning felt around the box, finding it familiar, but couldn't pinpoint why.

Thump—

Zhu Ning's temple suddenly throbbed, similar to a headache after sleeping too long, but the sensation quickly disappeared.

Pei Shu asked, "Where did you find it?"

Zhu Ning: "Behind the curtain, in the corner between the bookshelf and the wall, used to prop up the bookshelf."

The object was placed in the gap between the bookshelf and the wall, seemingly used as support. When Zhu Ning pulled it out, the bookshelf started to sway slightly.

Pei Shu was about to say it might be dangerous or a trap, but that made it difficult to judge.

If the item in Zhu Ning's hand was important, it wouldn't have been carelessly left in the gap, easily found.

Pei Shu: "It might be abandoned experimental material."

He could only think of this scenario, like leftover scraps from woodworking, casually used for something.

Zhu Ning put it in her backpack, along with all the documents she could gather. She tapped the mycelium behind the computer with the back of a knife, asking, "What do we do with this? Is it alive?"

Pei Shu: "I suggest you don’t touch it. It might just be in a dormant state, and touching it could activate it."

Zhu Ning gave up the idea of cutting the mycelium. "Alright, now you need to teach me how to get out."

Pei Shu: "Outside the wall, the contamination concentration isn’t evenly distributed. There are areas with high and low concentrations. We should find the weak spots; usually, that’s where we can find a way out."

Zhu Ning: "How do we find them?"

Pei Shu: "The simplest method is, if your team has a lot of unlucky members, you can push them out to die. They can test which positions are safe and which are dangerous."

Pei Shu had once participated in a mission where he led sixty ordinary humans from inside the wall into the contaminated area, like a massive survival game. They observed which side had more deaths, indicating which side was more dangerous and closer to the source of contamination.

This method relied entirely on human lives for trial and error, but it was highly efficient. Pei Shu still felt a physiological disgust when he thought about that mission.

"..." Zhu Ning didn’t know what to say. Was this world a bit too cruel? She asked, "Is there another way?"

Pei Shu: "Investigators use different methods to test and find the way."

Pei Shu took out his investigation notes. When he was amnesiac, he explored Blackbird City. One page had a simple map with large crosses marked at the tunnel and mountain, indicating that these were dead ends.

"I’ve explored it. The mountain has issues, and the tunnel is impassable," Pei Shu said. "The school is definitely a dead end too."

After entering the school, Pei Shu’s episodes of amnesia increased significantly, proving that the place was very dangerous.

Zhu Ning: "The safer places are closer to life, and the more dangerous places are closer to the source of contamination?"

Pei Shu thought Zhu Ning was about to take a big risk and go straight to the source of contamination. He asked, "Are you going to purify this place?"

Zhu Ning, fearless due to her lack of knowledge, asked, "How do you purify it?"

Pei Shu: "..."

Zhu Ning was currently too weak. Pei Shu felt that he would be a true hero to embark on such a grand adventure with her.

Pei Shu would lose his memory again soon, but fortunately, he had many memories about the outside world, which provided more knowledge for Zhu Ning.

There were two main attack methods in this contaminated area, the most significant being amnesia. Once this point was understood, a way out could be found.

Pei Shu looked at his simple map and pondered. Blackbird City wasn’t that big, but where exactly was the way out?

Zhu Ning was also thinking about this problem. After organizing her thoughts, she quickly carved something on her helmet with a knife, deleting a few routes she deemed unimportant. They needed to set off again.

Clang—

A loud clang came from outside the door. Pei Shu looked up, momentarily dazed. His mind was filled with fragmented memories, and his memory collapsed again. Before him was a huge monster, black blood columns blocking the sky, and countless people dying violently.

Pei Shu’s heart raced. His last memory was from a special mission he executed at age 27. Where was he now?

"Hey," Zhu Ning’s voice broke through the silence, "You’ve lost your memory. You’re my teammate."

Pei Shu regained his composure, his soul returning from the battlefield to the office. In front of him stood a woman in a black protective suit, speaking casually as if nothing serious was happening.

Zhu Ning gathered her materials, noticing that Pei Shu was in an amnesiac state. They had agreed to remind each other. "My name is Zhu Ning. Our task is to find the remaining two teammates and find a way out of here."

Zhu Ning didn’t look at Pei Shu while speaking. She held her gun, feeling uneasy as she watched the zombies outside the door. She had only practiced shooting targets before; this was her first time shooting a living creature, especially one that moved so fast. It was fundamentally different from training.

Zhu Ning: "Don’t believe me? Look at the helmet."

Pei Shu refocused and saw a crooked line of text written backward on his helmet: Trust Zhu Ning.

He had written it himself. Was he really that middle-schooler-like? To leave the most crucial information as these three words?

Zhu Ning had set up a spider web at the door earlier. The zombies that rushed in were quickly shredded, and Zhu Ning felt like she was watching a restricted movie. It was truly disgusting.

Zhu Ning ignored Pei Shu. If he didn’t trust his teammates during amnesia, there was nothing she could do. She shot at the distant zombies, her bullets accurately piercing their heads. This was her first time hitting a living target, and her palms were sweaty with nervousness. It was far more nauseating than shooting moving targets.

Zhu Ning burst through another door, remembering the clue on her helmet: find the teammates in the black car and leave. She left new clues about the way out for herself.

When Zhu Ning ran into the corridor, she regretted it almost immediately. She knew there were many zombies outside, but were there really this many?

It was her first time dealing with zombies, and she lacked experience, relying purely on her shooting instincts. At this moment, she was grateful for her childhood training. Her mother’s decision to send her to shooting lessons proved to be very farsighted.

As Zhu Ning was thinking, a fiery red shadow darted past her. The zombie was engulfed in flames, instantly spreading down the entire corridor.

Zhu Ning turned around to see Pei Shu following her, having followed the instruction on his helmet: Trust Zhu Ning.

When Zhu Ning fired, Pei Shu could even provide support. The bullets he fired were instantly enveloped in flames, landing on the zombies like an unquenchable inferno.

For a moment, the corridor was filled with screams and the smell of burning flesh. The temperature rose rapidly. Having a teammate was beneficial; Zhu Ning didn’t even need to act herself, as Pei Shu would clear the way for her.

A zombie suddenly lunged at Pei Shu. With strong jumping ability, the zombie was already hit and fell to the ground with a bang before Pei Shu could react.

Zhu Ning’s casual voice echoed, "No need to thank me."

Pei Shu, having lost his memory, quickly assessed the situation. The information on the helmet must be true: Trust Zhu Ning. She was his teammate.

It seemed like all the zombies in the building had converged on the eighth floor. It took some effort for the two of them to clear them out, leaving them both a bit disheveled.

Zhu Ning ran to the rooftop with renewed determination. She opened the rooftop door, and a gust of wind mixed with rain hit her face. Pei Shu closed the door behind her.

Sure enough, a black flying car was parked on the rooftop. What should have been a simple task had become incredibly difficult due to the constant episodes of amnesia along the way.

Zhu Ning had two teammates in the car, which was still running, ready to take off at any moment.

Finding her teammates should have been a cause for joy, but now things were getting strange. The rear window of the flying car rolled down, revealing a woman’s face in a black raincoat.

Zhu Ning guessed it was Bai Cheng, but she soon saw another woman next to her. At first, Zhu Ning thought her vision was blurry, as if she was seeing a double image.

Why were there two identical Bai Chengs?