"I know you're a player because I've met a few people before you. They thought I was an NPC in the game, so they didn't avoid talking to me," Tan Xinger explained, thinking of the fate of those few people. Then she turned to Gu Jingyong and asked, "What happens to players when they turn into zombies?"
"They get wiped out, completely dead," Gu Jingyong replied, his gaze fixed on her without wavering. It was a burning gaze, but it wasn't the kind that would lead Tan Xinger to misunderstand... it was admiration.
So Tan Xinger didn't understand, but she didn't intend to pursue further, because she was sure Gu Jingyong wouldn't tell her everything now.
"Do you know if NPCs are really avoided by the game rules?"
Leaning against the wall, Gu Jingyong's face showed an undeniable fatigue. He slowly closed his eyes, his breath almost imperceptible.
"Is that why you came to find me?" Tan Xinger pressed on.
"No."
Gu Jingyong's answer was short and direct, but it left room for Tan Xinger to explore.
"I'm tired, let's talk tomorrow."
After a seemingly light sigh, Gu Jingyong leaned against the wall and glanced at Tan Xinger, the chill in his eyes fading away, leaving behind a rare warmth.
Tan Xinger stared at him blankly. That glance just now seemed like an illusion, but it made her truly understand the meaning of "a glance that lasts a lifetime."
"Hehe, you should get some sleep."
Tan Xinger smiled, resting her chin on her hands, staring at the faint light outside the window.
She didn't know how long had passed, but just before she fell into a deep sleep, Tan Xinger was nudged awake and saw Gu Jingyong's enlarged face looming over her.
"Huh? What's wrong?"
Tan Xinger thought something had happened and instinctively stood up, but she couldn't keep her balance and fell to the side before she could steady herself.
Before she could make contact with the floor, a strong grip on her arm pulled her back.
"It's time to go."
Gu Jingyong's voice sounded hoarse. Tan Xinger subconsciously turned to look at him.
She saw a faint blush on Gu Jingyong's pale face, his eye sockets also red, and his whole demeanor was desolate and lifeless.
"Did you kill someone while I was asleep?" Tan Xinger said subconsciously, then quickly remembered something and lowered her eyes to look at his wound.
As expected, the wound had started to fester, swollen and gruesome, looking extremely terrifying.
"You haven't taken care of your wound all this time?" Tan Xinger looked at him in astonishment. He had allowed his wound to remain exposed all night.
No wonder his voice sounded hoarse and he looked so haggard. Even a strong body couldn't withstand it.
"I won't die."
Gu Jingyong glanced at the wound and casually said, as if he had just been bitten by a mosquito. It seemed that the person who had been half-dead on the ground yesterday wasn't him.
After waiting for a long time without hearing her response, Gu Jingyong looked at her and saw her looking at him with a mysterious expression, staring at... his head.
Although there was no sharp aura around her, Gu Jingyong felt a chill on his head, making him want to avoid it.
After thinking for a while, Gu Jingyong decided to tidy up by himself. Tan Xinger saw him turn around, but her gaze still followed him, falling on his head.
Tan Xinger felt that there must be a halo there, called the protagonist's halo, radiating golden light.
Like an angel, golden and radiant, otherwise Gu Jingyong would probably have died a thousand times over.
But since Gu Jingyong had the protagonist's halo, then her role as his little brother must also be blessed.
"Hmm, I'm truly one in a million, to have such a golden thigh," Tan Xinger sighed. But then she heard her stomach growl, instantly snapped back to reality from her beautiful illusion.
Her smile, which had just brightened, immediately faded, and she looked at the well-prepared Gu Jingyong with a worried expression, following him downstairs.
"Are you hungry?"
As Tan Xinger asked while walking downstairs, Gu Jingyong's voice was muffled, and he coughed a couple of times. Tan Xinger couldn't help but worry again.
"Are you really okay?"
Tan Xinger became increasingly convinced that he might collapse at any moment, subconsciously taking two steps closer and holding onto his arm.
Her slightly chilly fingertips touched his bare skin, and Gu Jingyong's arm stiffened for a moment before returning to normal. He frowned and looked down at her, saying, "Are you cold?"
"Huh? Not really."
Tan Xinger was a little confused. She looked at the sun rising in the sky. Although it was not yet seven o'clock, for the summer in Qingcheng, the heat was already showing.
Moreover, she had dug out several pieces of clothing from the mess just now to cover her exposed skin.
"I won't die, don't worry."
Gu Jingyong's words were concise and firm, leaving no room for doubt.
"Oh."
Tan Xinger nodded, letting go of his hand. Since he said so, there was no need to ask further.
After all, between worrying about whether he would die and worrying about him, Tan Xinger knew better than anyone else which one weighed more heavily on her mind. Overconcern would seem a bit deliberate.
Tan Xinger put her hands in her pockets, following closely behind Gu Jingyong as they traversed the streets full of zombies. She didn't ask where they were going, just stayed by his side, trying to hold onto her little life.
"There are quite a few zombies ahead, be careful to stick close to me."
After Gu Jingyong finished speaking, he saw Tan Xinger obediently nodding. When he turned around, he saw her stepping back two steps, standing and squatting, which was a bit awkward.
"Do you need to tie your shoelaces?"
!ChatGPT
Tan Xinger's instinctive reaction was to take two steps back, and she found it strange that Gu Jingyong didn't bend down to tie his shoelaces.
Changing the direction of his hand that was about to come out, Gu Jingyong untied the loose shoelaces and retied them, adding an extra knot for security.
"Good idea, I should retie mine too, or else what if I trip later?" Tan Xinger said, tiptoeing to reach her shoelaces, which were a bit loose, and squatted down to tie a neat bow.
"Huh, the laces are loose," Tan Xinger glanced and quickly tied them up.
As she stood up, she saw Gu Jingyong give her a strange look before looking away and walking forward.
"Huh? What's with that look?" Tan Xinger was a bit puzzled but still followed him as they slowly made their way into the heap of zombies.
"Grr..."
"Grr..."
The zombies turned around as if they had arranged it in advance, and their dozen pairs of crimson eyes instantly locked onto them, making it feel like they had fallen into a wolf's den, sending shivers down their spines.
In the next moment, the zombies didn't give them a chance to catch their breath. Twisting their stiff bodies, they rushed towards them.
"Get ready."
Gu Jingyong said coldly and rushed forward with a wooden stick in hand, smashing it down on the nearest zombie's head.
The stick collided with the head, making a dull sound, and the splattering liquid from the smashed head was nauseating.
The zombie fell to the ground, followed by the second, then the third.
The two of them were almost surrounded by zombies in a ring formation, and to make matters worse, more zombies in the distance were attracted by the commotion and were rushing towards them.
Tan Xinger didn't dare to slack off. As soon as Gu Jingyong delivered a critical blow to a zombie, she immediately followed up with a few hits with her stick.
There was no particular technique, but it was effective. She targeted the neck and legs, and with just a few hits, she could render them immobile, quickly reducing their numbers.
"Bang!"
The stick hit the wall, numbing Tan Xinger's hand, and unconsciously, she loosened her grip.
As the stick fell, Tan Xinger suddenly felt a chill behind her. Just as she turned around, she saw a zombie lunging towards her with its mouth wide open.
Suppressing her fear, Tan Xinger quickly dove to the side. After landing on her back, she used all her strength to roll to the right.
"Don't move!"
Just as Tan Xinger was about to stand up, she saw the zombie dangerously close, its sharp teeth about to pierce her throat.
But Gu Jingyong told her not to move.
"Boom."
The next moment, what Tan Xinger saw was the zombie's body instantly torn apart into pieces, exploding like a burst firework.
Blood clots seemed to splash onto her body, and blood dripped from her cheeks.
The sound of human explosion amplified in her ears, looping, and she experienced a brief moment of tinnitus.
Tan Xinger slowly squatted down, feeling somewhat powerless, and covered her ears with her hands, feeling uncomfortable all over.
"Hold onto me."
Her arm was forcefully pulled up, and as Tan Xinger looked at the darkening scene in front of her, she saw Gu Jingyong's tense expression. He wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her tightly.
Tan Xinger's last conscious thought was to reach out and grab his neck, then she passed out.
Gu Jingyong watched Tan Xinger faint, her pale face still bearing a few bloodstains, and even though she had passed out, her brows were still furrowed.
"Sorry, I scared you."
Gu Jingyong threw the stick in his hand away, plunging it straight into a zombie's chest.
Then he took off his duckbill cap and put it on Tan Xinger's head, adjusting her position and holding her in his arms.
The zombies gathered, attempting to devour them, their outstretched arms just about to grab Tan Xinger's clothes.
The next moment, the zombies were thrown away as if hit by a heavy object. Gu Jingyong's palm hanging by his side slowly opened, as if controlling something. If there were others present, they would feel the air currents in the scene silently changing.
The originally free air seemed to be collected into a glass bottle, visible but intangible.
More and more air was collected, compressed, and then exploded under Gu Jingyong's tight grip.
"Boom."
One by one, the zombies were thrown away, hitting each other in a large group. In less than a minute, the surrounding zombies had almost been cleared out.
The broken limbs mixed with endless blood slowly wetted the ground, gathering at Gu Jingyong's feet.
Gu Jingyong didn't care as he stepped out of the blood pit, carrying Tan Xinger horizontally in his arms, and walked forward.
The zombies that hadn't died yet were crushed by their companions' bodies, stretching out their arms with broken hands, trying to tear them apart.
Here gradually became quiet, with only a few eerie moans from the remaining zombies.
After some time passed, the blood stains on the wall dried up, seeping into the bricks and turning into mottled dark brown spots.
The sound of cautious footsteps gradually approached, somewhat chaotic but walking at a consistent frequency.
A group of people slowly revealed themselves. The leader cautiously surveyed the surroundings and waved his hand behind him.
Following him were two men and two women, all looking quite young, in their twenties or thirties. They all looked disheveled, their clothes covered in dust, and their backs bent.
As they walked along the wall, Jiang Qiqi, who was squeezed in the middle, looked around strangely and asked in confusion, "Strange, why are there so few zombies here?"
"Could it be that they were lured away by other players?"
Another girl echoed, but soon, several gasps sounded, and everyone looked at the scene in the distance incredulously.
Blood was everywhere, and body parts were scattered around. This place had undergone a massacre.