"Do you want to tell me more about that game?"
Tan Xinger adjusted her seatbelt and turned to look at him, appearing eager to listen.
"The game is called Square City. All players are bound to the game after dying in the real world."
"Each player has a unique ID, and the rankings are displayed in real-time on the big screen in the central building. The bottom one hundred players in the rankings will be eliminated."
Gu Jingyong spoke lightly, but Tan Xinger could imagine the scenes of one player after another being eliminated by the game displayed on the huge electronic screen.
It was bloody and thrilling, extremely terrifying.
"How are the rankings determined?" Tan Xinger asked.
"The rooms on the second floor of the central building are all entrances to instances. Players can choose their own instances. Completing different instances earns points and rewards, and rankings are based on these points."
Gu Jingyong added, "Instances are divided into five-star levels. The instance you are in is a three-star evacuation instance, considered to be of moderate difficulty. Completing it rewards you with 30+ points and 300 circulation coins."
"Wow, it's really similar to the settings I've seen in novels before."
Tan Xinger inexplicably felt a bit excited, but suddenly remembered something and her face fell again.
"If it's an instance, then wouldn't it just keep respawning indefinitely?"
"Yes." Gu Jingyong nodded.
"So even if I die, it doesn't matter, right? Since I can respawn, why bother running?"
As Tan Xinger thought about this, she suddenly felt the dark cloud hanging over her dissipate, and the whole world seemed to brighten up.
"Indeed."
Gu Jingyong tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, the joints symmetrical, making a sound that caught Tan Xinger's attention.
"Do you have something to say?"
"If you could leave this instance, what would you choose?"
Gu Jingyong stepped on the brake, and the car slowly came to a stop, quiet to the point where only the sound of the air conditioning running and their breathing could be heard.
"What do you mean? I can leave the instance?"
Tan Xinger furrowed her brows, finding his words unbelievable.
"As long as you want to."
Gu Jingyong's words exploded in Tan Xinger's ears like thunder. As long as she wanted, she could leave this instance without having to go through wave after wave of zombie attacks.
"Let me think about it. You can continue."
Tan Xinger decided to play it cool for now. There were still more than six days until the end of the instance. No rush.
"What are the four factions? Which one did you join?"
Tan Xinger changed the subject, becoming curious.
"There are four factions: East, South, West, and North. I'm a member of the West faction."
After Gu Jingyong finished speaking, a zombie suddenly appeared at the intersection ahead, rushing straight towards the car window.
Gu Jingyong turned the steering wheel sharply, and the rear of the car swung out, colliding with the zombie with a loud bang.
Tan Xinger was pulled back by the seatbelt again, almost out of breath, her head hitting the window, causing her vision to blur.
"Are you okay?"
Gu Jingyong reached out to touch the back of her head, his large hand covering her hair, emitting warmth and a sense of security.
Tan Xinger shook her head dazedly, her hair rubbing against his palm, fluffy like the fur of a small animal.
"Continue straight ahead and you'll enter the urban area. There will be more and more zombies. Be mentally prepared."
Gu Jingyong reminded her, reaching under the seat to pull out a wooden stick and handing it to her.
"Take this."
"Understood!"
Tan Xinger hugged the wooden stick to her chest, her expression serious. But shortly after, when she saw endless zombies ahead, her seriousness disappeared.
"I knew Anshi had a large population, but I never thought there would be this many."
From the corner of the street, came Tan Xinger's low voice. She followed behind Gu Jingyong, looking around surreptitiously, her actions contrasting sharply with Gu Jingyong's ahead.
"There's a convenience store over there. Let's find something to eat."
Gu Jingyong suddenly stopped, but Tan Xinger didn't notice and collided straight into his back.
Gu Jingyong was tall, and Tan Xinger's nose hit his shoulder squarely, causing a sharp pain to shoot to her forehead, and tears instantly filled her eyes.
"Ouch! Watch out!"
Tan Xinger covered her nose, looking annoyed, and strode ahead.
Gu Jingyong's hand stopped in mid-air, watching Tan Xinger striding away with large steps. He had to retract his hand, with a hint of amusement apparent in his eyes and brows.
Tan Xinger leaned against the wall, her hands clutching it, her messy hair sticking up. She pondered how to pass through the crowded streets filled with zombies to get to the convenience store.
"It seems like there are zombies inside the convenience store too."
Tan Xinger widened her eyes, confirming that the blurry figures moving inside were... headless zombies.
"Gu Jingyong, how far will the zombies in this instance evolve?"
Tan Xinger suppressed her fear and glanced at the opposite side. Through the glass door, she could clearly see the zombies without heads, but still waving their arms, repeatedly banging against the walls and leaving behind a large area of bloodstains.
"As long as their hearts are intact, they are virtually indestructible."
Gu Jingyong watched the zombies across from him. The distance was too far, but he could imagine a rapidly beating heart under the shriveled skin, as if it wanted to burst out of the chest, roaring to tear something apart.
Tan Xinger heard the sound of her swallowing saliva and glanced at Gu Jingyong with subtle eyes, which he caught.
"What's wrong?"
Gu Jingyong couldn't understand her gaze and asked.
"Um."
Tan Xinger shook her head, indicating that there was nothing.
Gu Jingyong didn't inquire further and was about to move forward when he suddenly stopped, his footsteps pausing as he looked towards the distant street.
"What's wrong?"
Tan Xinger saw his sudden seriousness and whispered softly, bending down slightly to follow his line of sight.
"Someone is coming. Let's not rush over."
Gu Jingyong pulled Tan Xinger's wrist and retreated.
Sure enough, within two minutes, Tan Xinger heard a series of hurried footsteps.
"Hurry, run!"
A somewhat rough male voice rang out, and from his trembling voice, one could imagine the fear on his face.
Soon after, the sound of chaotic footsteps followed. Tan Xinger cautiously peeked out, only to see several people running ahead on the street, followed by a large wave of zombies.
The scene was extremely chaotic. Before Tan Xinger could react, she heard a scream.
It turned out that a man accidentally tripped, and before his companions could pull him up, a zombie pounced on him, instantly piercing his artery with sharp teeth.
Blood splattered everywhere, and Tan Xinger could even feel the warmth. After a brief pause, his companion quickly turned and left.
Soon, the man stood up stiffly, his eyes gradually becoming fierce, his skin turning purple-blue, looking very eerie. He had visibly changed.
Gradually becoming more similar to the zombies, he joined the others in chasing his former companions, becoming indistinguishable.
"The speed of zombification is so fast."
Tan Xinger leaned against the wall, patting her rapidly beating heart. In just a few seconds, the man completed his zombification, so fast that it was hard to react.
"He's just the beginning of a zombie. He'll begin to mutate within a day."
Gu Jingyong's gaze was indifferent, as if the bloody scene was just a passing cloud.
"By the way, why don't you zombify?" Tan Xinger's gaze fell on his tightly wrapped arms, where the sleeves of his original combat uniform were torn, and he casually found a piece of clothing to wrap around.
"Because someone didn't want me to die."
Gu Jingyong lowered his eyes to his own arms, chuckling coldly before tearing open his shirt and raising his arm in front of Tan Xinger.
His skin was very pale, and the bruises were particularly evident.
The areas that had been bitten by zombies had strangely recovered, and in less than ten hours, new skin tissue had already grown.
"You won't suddenly have some hidden toxin explode at the critical moment, turning into Zombie X like those protagonists in movies, right?"
Tan Xinger thought of this possibility and felt increasingly uneasy.
With Gu Jingyong's protagonist halo so strong, if something like this really happened, even if nothing went wrong, what would happen if she died?
"No, I won't."
Gu Jingyong spat out two words, feeling like Tan Xinger's mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts.
His fingers twitched, and he couldn't help but want to tap her head.
"Anyway, worst-case scenario, I'll respawn. Is this the benefit of being an NPC?"
Tan Xinger muttered to herself, cautiously poking her head out.
Many of the zombies on the street had been attracted away by the group of people from earlier, and now only a dozen or so zombies roamed around here.
Tan Xinger clenched her fists, preparing to make a breakthrough.
After exchanging a glance with Gu Jingyong, the two of them rushed out together.
Almost as soon as they rushed out, the zombies noticed them and turned their attention, followed by a chase.
Tan Xinger exerted all her strength, staying vigilant for any zombies coming from the sides, while keeping up with Gu Jingyong's pace. Finally, when she was almost out of breath, they reached the entrance of the convenience store.
The headless zombies inside were still banging against the glass walls. Just as Tan Xinger stepped in, she saw a black shadow pouncing towards her.
"Ah!"
Startled, Tan Xinger quickly retreated, bumping into the checkout counter.
It turned out that the black shadow was a zombie lurking behind the shelves. That area was a blind spot, so Tan Xinger hadn't noticed it and was almost caught by the zombie.
The zombie was still wearing its uniform, probably an employee of the convenience store, and it opened its mouth wide, lunging towards Tan Xinger.
She acted decisively, wielding the wooden stick in both hands and smashing it down on the zombie's head. There was a loud "bang," and the zombie staggered back.
Seizing the opportunity while it was weak, Tan Xinger lifted the wooden stick again and struck it heavily.
However, the zombie stepped on a can of cola on the ground while pouncing towards her, causing it to fall sideways.
Tan Xinger's blow, lacking a solid point of contact, also followed through and fell forward.
As she was about to hit the zombie, and they were about to have an intimate encounter, Tan Xinger had a flash of inspiration at the critical moment. She twisted her wrist and stabbed straight down.
"Crack." The sound was particularly clear. Tan Xinger stood there awkwardly in that position.
The tip of the wooden stick pierced the zombie's chest, preventing her from falling over.
Blood oozed from the corners of the zombie's mouth, and its blood-like pupils gradually faded, turning into a lifeless white.
"Wow."
Tan Xinger stared at the zombie for a few seconds before finally coming to her senses. She jumped up, letting go of the stick and stepping back, watching the zombie with its heart pierced.
"I'm so awesome."
Tan Xinger looked around but couldn't find Gu Jingyong's figure. The excitement of killing a zombie hadn't even had a chance to surface before it was suppressed.
"Gu Jingyong? Gu Jingyong?"
The man who was just behind her had suddenly disappeared, and the headless zombie against the wall suddenly turned around, as if "staring" at her.