When the zombie pounced, Jiang Shuyu didn’t react in time.
It wasn’t until she saw Ruan Qing faltering that she snapped out of her daze.
Jiang Shuyu’s eyes widened in terror as she hurriedly took a few steps forward, attempting to grab hold of him.
However, it was already too late. In her attempt to pull him back, she lost her own balance and began to fall.
Seeing her inability to steady herself, Ruan Qing knew things were about to go south.
He had never been particularly good at maintaining balance, and once he started to wobble, the likelihood of him falling increased drastically.
As expected, he couldn’t regain his balance and ended up falling, twisting his ankle in the process.
Despite the pain shooting through his ankle, he wasted no time and swiftly retrieved a prop resembling a talisman from his bag.
This talisman, which he had acquired from the system’s store, had a similar function to the one Qiao Nuo had given him to conceal his presence. However, its effect only lasted for ten minutes and had cost him most of his points.
With so many zombies around and his ankle twisted, Ruan Qing wasn’t sure if he could safely escape within the given time frame.
If the prop lost its effect before he could leave, he might truly meet his end here.
But at this moment, he had no other choice.
Ruan Qing noticed that Jiang Shuyu was also about to fall. Without taking the time to switch hands, he immediately extended the hand holding the talisman paper to help.
The talisman could conceal the presence of up to three people, so he and Jiang Shuyu could make their escape together.
However, a twist of fate occurred.
Ruan Qing hadn’t even managed to grab Jiang Shuyu yet when the talisman paper in his hand was... snatched away.
Ruan Qing’s eyes widened in disbelief as he looked up at Jiang Shuyu.
Jiang Shuyu was holding the talisman paper in her hand, clearly indicating that she was the one who snatched it.
Ruan Qing opened his mouth, wanting to ask why. But the next moment, he met Jiang Shuyu’s dark gaze, and he was left dumbfounded.
That wasn’t the expression Jiang Shuyu should have had.
In the end, Ruan Qing fell into the midst of the zombie horde. Before the pain could register, darkness engulfed his vision, and he lost consciousness.
He was knocked unconscious by Jiang Shuyu.
In the last second, before losing consciousness, Ruan Qing was still thinking that getting bitten to death while unconscious might be less painful.
***
It seemed that passing out and being bitten to death indeed didn’t hurt much.
This was Ruan Qing’s first thought after regaining consciousness.
But it seemed not entirely painless; his left foot still hurt a bit.
However, it didn’t seem to be a zombie bite; it felt more like the sprain he got when falling off the wall earlier.
Wait, did he... not die?
The system had said that if he died in the instance, he would lose his memories and become a true NPC.
He still remembered everything as before, evidently indicating he hadn’t died.
Was he saved by someone?
Ruan Qing’s eyelashes trembled imperceptibly twice, but he didn’t immediately open his eyes.
Instead, he carefully sensed his surroundings.
Because something didn’t smell right.
The air at this moment was filled with a strong smell of blood and decay.
That smell of decay was exactly the same as the smell on the zombies.
Just like the odor when he was previously surrounded by zombies.
Although no sounds could be heard nearby, upon closer listening, one could faintly hear the distant ‘hissing’ sound.
Continuous and unceasing.
Obviously, it would take a considerable number of zombies to produce such a sound.
Ruan Qing’s heart sank slightly, a sense of unease creeping into his mind.
His eyelashes trembled lightly a few times, and eventually, he slowly opened his eyes.
Upon seeing the situation in front of him clearly, his eyes widened instantly. Cold sweat broke out, and his delicate little face turned a few shades paler.
Because standing in front of him was a zombie, a zombie dripping with saliva, staring straight at him.
The flesh on the zombie’s face had long been gnawed away, revealing a few white bones.
Even with one eye missing, leaving only a bloody and blurry cavity, it looked horrifying.
But even with just one eye left, it continued to stare straight at Ruan Qing.
Upon seeing Ruan Qing open his eyes, the zombie made a ‘hehe’ sound, its whitened pupils showing excitement.
As if it was about to pounce and bite him to death in the next second.
Ruan Qing immediately recoiled upon realizing this, reaching out in panic to find his messenger bag.
However, he didn’t have his messenger bag on him at all.
He was lying on a bed with walls on both sides, and his messenger bag was on a nearby sofa.
Because his outfit had no pockets, his belongings were mostly kept in his messenger bag.
Ruan Qing retreated directly into the corner.
The corner had walls on both sides, without any windows, and there was nothing around.
And in front of his bed stood the zombie.
No way to escape.
Ruan Qing curled up in the corner, his long eyelashes trembling uneasily, knowing he had no chance against the zombie.
Luckily, this particular zombie seemed a bit peculiar and didn’t seem intent on biting him directly to death.
After all, if it really wanted to bite him, it could have done so while he was still unconscious, without any need to keep him alive until now.
But nothing was certain. Maybe it was just considering him as a reserve food source.
Ruan Qing stared at the zombie without daring to move, afraid it might suddenly pounce.
But a minute passed, and the zombie still just stared at him straight.
Seemingly not intending to bite him.
Ruan Qing paused, then glanced at his messenger bag out of the corner of his eye.
It wasn’t too far away.
As long as he could reach the messenger bag, he was confident he could deal with this zombie.
But Ruan Qing wasn’t sure if moving would agitate the zombie, which was practically risking his life.
But not taking a chance might not guarantee survival either.
Ruan Qing’s slender fingers briefly gripped the bedsheets before releasing them. Then, almost imperceptibly, he shifted to the side.
As Ruan Qing moved, he kept an eye on the zombie’s reaction.
The zombie seemed not to have noticed.
Ruan Qing once again slowly moved towards the edge of the bed, only shifting a small distance each time.
So small that one wouldn’t notice unless paying close attention.
Ruan Qing moved for several minutes, finally reaching the edge of the bed.
Just as he was about to move off the bed, the zombie stirred.
Instantly, it walked towards the side of the bed where he was getting off, emitting a ‘hehe’ sound from its mouth.
It even reached out its hand toward Ruan Qing.
Ruan Qing’s eyes widened and rolled back in panic, returning once again to the corner of the wall.
As he rolled, he didn’t pay attention to his ankle, and he twisted it again, causing Ruan Qing’s eyes to mist over with tears from the pain, dampening his long eyelashes.
Cold sweat broke out once more.
And just as he returned to the corner, the zombie quieted down.
Ruan Qing paused, his eyes narrowing imperceptibly.
This zombie... wouldn’t let him off the bed?
When the zombie pounced, Jiang Shuyu didn’t react in time.
It wasn’t until she saw Ruan Qing faltering that she snapped out of her daze.
Jiang Shuyu’s eyes widened in terror as she hurriedly took a few steps forward, attempting to grab hold of him.
However, it was already too late. In her attempt to pull him back, she lost her own balance and began to fall.
Seeing her inability to steady herself, Ruan Qing knew things were about to go south.
He had never been particularly good at maintaining balance, and once he started to wobble, the likelihood of him falling increased drastically.
As expected, he couldn’t regain his balance and ended up falling, twisting his ankle in the process.
Despite the pain shooting through his ankle, he wasted no time and swiftly retrieved a prop resembling a talisman from his bag.
This talisman, which he had acquired from the system’s store, had a similar function to the one Qiao Nuo had given him to conceal his presence. However, its effect only lasted for ten minutes and had cost him most of his points.
With so many zombies around and his ankle twisted, Ruan Qing wasn’t sure if he could safely escape within the given time frame.
If the prop lost its effect before he could leave, he might truly meet his end here.
But at this moment, he had no other choice.
Ruan Qing noticed that Jiang Shuyu was also about to fall. Without taking the time to switch hands, he immediately extended the hand holding the talisman paper to help.
The talisman could conceal the presence of up to three people, so he and Jiang Shuyu could make their escape together.
However, a twist of fate occurred.
Ruan Qing hadn’t even managed to grab Jiang Shuyu yet when the talisman paper in his hand was... snatched away.
Ruan Qing’s eyes widened in disbelief as he looked up at Jiang Shuyu.
Jiang Shuyu was holding the talisman paper in her hand, clearly indicating that she was the one who snatched it.
Ruan Qing opened his mouth, wanting to ask why. But the next moment, he met Jiang Shuyu’s dark gaze, and he was left dumbfounded.
That wasn’t the expression Jiang Shuyu should have had.
In the end, Ruan Qing fell into the midst of the zombie horde. Before the pain could register, darkness engulfed his vision, and he lost consciousness.
He was knocked unconscious by Jiang Shuyu.
In the last second, before losing consciousness, Ruan Qing was still thinking that getting bitten to death while unconscious might be less painful.
***
It seemed that passing out and being bitten to death indeed didn’t hurt much.
This was Ruan Qing’s first thought after regaining consciousness.
But it seemed not entirely painless; his left foot still hurt a bit.
However, it didn’t seem to be a zombie bite; it felt more like the sprain he got when falling off the wall earlier.
Wait, did he... not die?
The system had said that if he died in the instance, he would lose his memories and become a true NPC.
He still remembered everything as before, evidently indicating he hadn’t died.
Was he saved by someone?
Ruan Qing’s eyelashes trembled imperceptibly twice, but he didn’t immediately open his eyes.
Instead, he carefully sensed his surroundings.
Because something didn’t smell right.
The air at this moment was filled with a strong smell of blood and decay.
That smell of decay was exactly the same as the smell on the zombies.
Just like the odor when he was previously surrounded by zombies.
Although no sounds could be heard nearby, upon closer listening, one could faintly hear the distant ‘hissing’ sound.
Continuous and unceasing.
Obviously, it would take a considerable number of zombies to produce such a sound.
Ruan Qing’s heart sank slightly, a sense of unease creeping into his mind.
His eyelashes trembled lightly a few times, and eventually, he slowly opened his eyes.
Upon seeing the situation in front of him clearly, his eyes widened instantly. Cold sweat broke out, and his delicate little face turned a few shades paler.
Because standing in front of him was a zombie, a zombie dripping with saliva, staring straight at him.
The flesh on the zombie’s face had long been gnawed away, revealing a few white bones.
Even with one eye missing, leaving only a bloody and blurry cavity, it looked horrifying.
But even with just one eye left, it continued to stare straight at Ruan Qing.
Upon seeing Ruan Qing open his eyes, the zombie made a ‘hehe’ sound, its whitened pupils showing excitement.
As if it was about to pounce and bite him to death in the next second.
Ruan Qing immediately recoiled upon realizing this, reaching out in panic to find his messenger bag.
However, he didn’t have his messenger bag on him at all.
He was lying on a bed with walls on both sides, and his messenger bag was on a nearby sofa.
Because his outfit had no pockets, his belongings were mostly kept in his messenger bag.
Ruan Qing retreated directly into the corner.
The corner had walls on both sides, without any windows, and there was nothing around.
And in front of his bed stood the zombie.
No way to escape.
Ruan Qing curled up in the corner, his long eyelashes trembling uneasily, knowing he had no chance against the zombie.
Luckily, this particular zombie seemed a bit peculiar and didn’t seem intent on biting him directly to death.
After all, if it really wanted to bite him, it could have done so while he was still unconscious, without any need to keep him alive until now.
But nothing was certain. Maybe it was just considering him as a reserve food source.
Ruan Qing stared at the zombie without daring to move, afraid it might suddenly pounce.
But a minute passed, and the zombie still just stared at him straight.
Seemingly not intending to bite him.
Ruan Qing paused, then glanced at his messenger bag out of the corner of his eye.
It wasn’t too far away.
As long as he could reach the messenger bag, he was confident he could deal with this zombie.
But Ruan Qing wasn’t sure if moving would agitate the zombie, which was practically risking his life.
But not taking a chance might not guarantee survival either.
Ruan Qing’s slender fingers briefly gripped the bedsheets before releasing them. Then, almost imperceptibly, he shifted to the side.
As Ruan Qing moved, he kept an eye on the zombie’s reaction.
The zombie seemed not to have noticed.
Ruan Qing once again slowly moved towards the edge of the bed, only shifting a small distance each time.
So small that one wouldn’t notice unless paying close attention.
Ruan Qing moved for several minutes, finally reaching the edge of the bed.
Just as he was about to move off the bed, the zombie stirred.
Instantly, it walked towards the side of the bed where he was getting off, emitting a ‘hehe’ sound from its mouth.
It even reached out its hand toward Ruan Qing.
Ruan Qing’s eyes widened and rolled back in panic, returning once again to the corner of the wall.
As he rolled, he didn’t pay attention to his ankle, and he twisted it again, causing Ruan Qing’s eyes to mist over with tears from the pain, dampening his long eyelashes.
Cold sweat broke out once more.
And just as he returned to the corner, the zombie quieted down.
Ruan Qing paused, his eyes narrowing imperceptibly.
This zombie... wouldn’t let him off the bed?
