Chapter 99: City of Voodoo
“Slap—”
“Slap—”
“Slap—”
On the viewing platform overlooking the sports field at the Qingzhou University camp, the rhythmic “slapping” sounds echoed in the darkness.
After a long while, a soft voice broke the silence.
“So many mosquitoes, Sister.”
“I know… why aren’t they biting you?”
“Awakened blood is sweeter.”
“Maybe… wait, but you’re Awakened too. Strange…”
Lin Xiwan swatted at the annoying mosquitoes buzzing around her.
Perhaps because their previous camp hadn’t been near any fields or grassy areas, now, sitting beside the cultivated land, she felt like she was being swarmed.
Strangely, the mosquitoes only seemed interested in her, ignoring Lin Jiayao completely.
Perhaps mosquito preferences really did change after the apocalypse.
What Lin Xiwan didn’t know was that her sister’s “Awakened blood is sweeter” theory had been personally tested… no, A4 had personally tested it.
To mutated creatures, whether zombies or animals, blood with blood crystals was more “attractive.”
Not that it actually tasted sweeter, but the blood crystals enhanced the scent, drawing them in.
Mosquitoes were among the few species that hadn’t zombified; they stored blood crystals without absorbing them.
In the early days of the outbreak, they had helped spread the infection.
But now, five years later, most people had developed some immunity, so mosquitoes were barely a threat.
They could even be… harvested for blood crystals. A thousand mosquitoes yielded about 1g.
“I’m a little tired,” Lin Jiayao said, leaning against her sister’s shoulder. “Let’s go back.”
“Okay!”
Lin Jiayao knew her sister would endure the mosquito bites as long as she didn’t complain.
She didn’t want her sister to suffer, so she decided it was time to go back.
And after evolving Vigor to Lv.2, her mental strength was recovering faster, no longer as drained after logging in.
She even checked the Hideout, hoping to upgrade the Control Center now that she had Vigor Lv.2.
But unfortunately, there were no new facilities, and she couldn’t upgrade the existing ones.
The once lively system seemed stagnant now.
「Perhaps the host should consider whether they are simply too weak.」
A system prompt appeared, as if reading her mind.
Lin Jiayao didn’t bother arguing with the system. She was just thinking out loud; she was actually quite satisfied with its current functions.
Lin Xiwan lifted her sister, preparing to return to their dorm.
But this time, she didn’t take the same path. They’d only been out for ten minutes; those… activities… would still be ongoing.
The campus was built against a hillside, roughly a “?” shape, the hill at the center of the question mark.
This meant that to return to the dormitory from the sports field, they would have to pass through that area again, unless they took a detour through the surrounding streets or over the hill.
But Lin Xiwan had already figured out a shortcut.
“Yao, hold on tight.”
She smiled at her sister in the moonlight.
After her sister’s arms were securely around her neck, Lin Xiwan looked at the seven-story teaching building and started counting down.
“3…”
“2…”
“1!”
“Crack—”
“Thump—”
Blood crystal veins glowed on her chest and legs. With a powerful heartbeat that cracked the concrete beneath her feet, she leaped, sending debris flying, landing on a fourth-floor window ledge, then, using the air conditioning units as footholds, easily reached the roof.
“Hoo…”
Lin Jiayao’s arms tightened around her sister’s neck, the sudden drop and ascent a momentary thrill, like riding a roller coaster.
But being held tightly by her sister was far more reassuring than any roller coaster safety harness.
Seeming to sense her sister’s slight fear, Lin Xiwan smiled.
If she wasn’t worried about the noise, she would have jumped straight to the seventh floor.
“Exciting, wasn’t it?” She asked, squeezing her sister’s shoulder.
“It was okay,” Lin Jiayao replied honestly.
If her sister had done this a day ago, she might have screamed.
But after experiencing A4’s body, this wasn’t so thrilling.
In terms of mobility, A4 was the best.
“Hold on tight then.”
Hearing her sister’s nonchalant reply, Lin Xiwan’s competitive spirit stirred.
She took a running leap towards another teaching building.
She had planned this shortcut earlier.
The teaching buildings were close together, less than ten meters apart, perfect for rooftop parkour.
And up here, only the wind in her ears, no distractions from below.
As they leaped between buildings, she felt her sister, previously just holding her neck, now pressing her face against her chest.
Scared, huh?
Thinking this, Lin Xiwan slowed down slightly, not wanting to frighten her sister too much.
At a slower pace, it took a few minutes to reach their dormitory building.
After jumping down from the roof, Lin Jiayao finally lifted her head and looked at her sister.
So windy…
The wind from their rooftop run had whipped against her face; she’d had to bury it in her sister’s chest.
But her sister seemed to have interpreted her action as fear.
Back in their room, Lin Xiwan closed the door with her foot and gently placed her sister on the bed.
“So, how was it? Exciting?”
She looked at her sister, still slightly out of breath.
Exciting? The rooftop jumps?
Lin Jiayao finally understood her sister’s earlier playfulness.
She’d been trying to scare her… but it hadn’t worked.
Not wanting to disappoint her, she shook her head.
“Very scary. Don’t do that again,” she said, her lips trembling slightly, feigning distress.
“Okay, okay, Sister will be more careful next time~” Lin Xiwan, seeing her sister’s cute, slightly pouty expression, couldn’t resist and playfully rubbed her cheeks.
Only when her sister’s gaze turned slightly reproachful did she stop.
Her sister’s earlier response had given Lin Jiayao a strange sense of… déjà vu.
As if she, having experienced far more thrilling things, was now indulging her sister’s clumsy attempts at playfulness, pretending to be scared.
Well… it was a somewhat strange analogy, but it felt… accurate.
Of course, this didn’t mean her sister’s abilities weren’t impressive.
If her sister punched A4 with full force, Lin Jiayao, remembering the fate of the monstrous bird, imagined A4’s body would shatter.
A4 was a classic glass cannon: high mobility, high attack, low defense.
Perhaps she could have Mask collect more Armored zombie blood crystals in Xin City for A4 to consume; maybe it would develop some defensive abilities.
“Can you sleep now?” Lin Xiwan asked, picking up the fan and gently fanning her sister.
Even without air conditioning, if she fanned her sister constantly, she might be able to sleep.
That was her plan.
“No need,” Lin Jiayao said, taking her sister’s hand and pulling it towards her. “Come sleep with me.”
Having woken her sister twice, she felt guilty.
“I’m not tired, I’ll sleep later,” Lin Xiwan smiled, looking at her considerate sister.
Seeing her sister’s refusal, Lin Jiayao resorted to a rarely used, but highly effective tactic.
Acting cute.
She turned, tugged at her sister’s clothes, and whispered, “I want Sister to sleep with me…”
Her soft voice made Lin Xiwan’s heart melt.
“Okay, okay, I’ll sleep with you.” She put down the fan, took off her shoes and socks, climbed into bed, and gently hugged her sister.
“Goodnight.”
Lin Jiayao wrapped her arms around her sister’s waist. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight~” Lin Xiwan kissed her sister’s forehead, habitually wrapping her legs around hers and placing her hand on her waist.
Her hand always seemed to find its way under her sister’s shirt while she slept.
Strange.
This time, Lin Jiayao kept her distance from her sister’s chest, having learned her lesson.
She didn’t want to be caught off guard again, logging out from a zombie battle only to find herself nestled comfortably in her sister’s embrace.
She shifted slightly, finding a more comfortable position, inhaled her sister’s comforting scent, and closed her eyes.
「No.1: [Mask] (Available for login)」
「No.2: 🌐 (Available for login)」
「No.3: [Goldie] (Available for login)」
「No.4: [A4] (Available for login)」
All four slots were available, but she chose number 2.
Whether investigating the Voodoo Cult or going to Kun City, she needed a scout, it was just a matter of priority.
And investigating the Voodoo Cult’s plans was more important right now.
If they weren’t planning to push further into Guangdong Province, then she and her sister could safely stay at the Qingzhou camp and build their strength.
If the Voodoo Cult was planning to move south, then she would have to “terminate” the second zombie and send a new one to Kun City after the 12-hour cooldown.
If Kun City was safe, she would wait for Huayibai, who was slowly making her way towards her, and then they would go to Kun City together.
As for using the second zombie to wipe out the Voodoo Cult…
That thought didn’t even cross her mind.
A freshly spawned zombie, with no time to evolve, against the entire Voodoo Cult?
Impossible.
Even sending all three of her other zombies wouldn’t be enough.
The Voodoo Cult had been able to withstand Survivor’s Light for so long; they must have at least one B-rank Awakened.
She remembered the B-rank Awakened from Survivor’s Light, the one who had collapsed an entire building with a single attack, a force of nature.
A B-rank Awakened wasn’t something she could handle right now.
Lin Jiayao selected the second zombie slot.
The other options dimmed, the virtual map beside the second zombie expanding, and the familiar world map appeared.
If the Voodoo Cult diaries were correct, their headquarters was in Chongyu City.
For an organization to establish a base in a large city, they would have had to clear out most of the zombies, like Survivor’s Light.
Otherwise, normal operations would be severely hampered.
And yet, Chongyu City was available as a login location.
This meant there was a problem within the Voodoo Cult, or the zombies there had abilities even the Voodoo Cult couldn’t handle.
Without further thought, she selected Chongyu City.
The light blue map shattered, and her consciousness was plunged into darkness.
In the darkness, she slowly opened her…
No eyes?
Although blind, she felt a familiar sensation of control.
This is…
Fungal tendrils?
Before she could process it, a torrent of memories flooded her mind.
And a system prompt.
Inherited Evolution: [Mimic Fruiting Body Lv.1 (Gold)]
“This is…”
The familiar sensation made her realize what had happened.
The zombie she had logged into in Chongyu City… was a fungal zombie!
She focused on processing the memories.
With her mental strength boosted to Lv.2, the influx of memories was no longer unbearable.
A… college student’s memories?
A quiet, beautiful young woman, with a pleasant-sounding name: Nangong Mian.
It sounded like the name of a romance novel protagonist.
The memories were… ordinary.
The only unusual thing was that she had a childhood best friend who had been admitted to a mental institution during middle school.
She had visited her friend a few times but had been bitten and injured each time.
Her once close friend, now a raving lunatic, would lunge at her, biting her neck and screaming about being together forever, whenever she let her guard down.
Following her family’s warnings and pleas, she had stopped visiting.
After entering university, she’d heard rumors that no one else had visited her friend since her own last visit.
And that her friend’s condition had worsened. She could barely remember her friend’s name or face now; just a fleeting memory from her past.
The last memory was of a mushroom garden on the university campus, the sky blood-red, red crystals falling like snow.
A poor soul, infected at the start of the outbreak, the surrounding fungi also mutating from the blood crystal infection.
After reviewing the memories, Lin Jiayao dismissed them; they were useless.
She controlled the fungal tendrils, expertly splitting and reforming, using the remaining blood crystals to generate a white stem, a blood-red, umbrella-like cap unfolding at its tip.
As the crystal-like cap opened, she finally saw her surroundings.
“Pitter-patter—”
Water droplets landed on her cap, blurring her vision.
But she could still make out the general shape of her surroundings in the dim light.
Inside a room?
A large metal door?
It felt like… a prison cell?
Was this… an experimental zombie?
This was the first thought that came to mind.
The Voodoo Cult’s leadership was conducting experiments on fungal zombies? No wonder they wore so much protective gear!
Lin Jiayao now understood who had likely spread the fungus in Survivor’s Light.
It was definitely the Voodoo Cult!
“Click—”
The door opened.
Lin Jiayao couldn’t hear anything, but she sensed the change in light.
She turned her cap towards the doorway and saw a tall, thin figure in a hazmat suit and a full-face mask entering.
She saw the figure freeze for a moment, then rush towards her.
Danger!
As Lin Jiayao tried to move away, the figure scooped her up and brought her close to its face.
Lin Jiayao couldn’t hear what it was saying, but the bulging eyes behind the mask showed its… excitement.
Excited… about what?
Because the experimental subject had developed a fruiting body?
Just as Lin Jiayao was considering restarting this zombie, she noticed the woman’s face behind the mask.
A wide grin, hair plastered to her face, her pale, gaunt features accentuating her wide, almost bulging eyes…
The image of the frenzied woman slowly overlapped with the memory of the “best friend,” a sense of foreboding washing over Lin Jiayao.
Perhaps this fungal zombie wasn’t an experimental subject…
Perhaps it had been imprisoned here by its insane best friend… even after it became a zombie… and that lunatic… was a high-ranking member of the Voodoo Cult.
Well… no need to restart then.
Lin Jiayao glanced at the extraction point, a few hundred meters away, but only an hour left on the timer.
She needed to gain this woman’s trust and escape this room within that hour.
Perhaps she could actually disrupt the Voodoo Cult from within.
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