Chapter 19: Candy's Hunting Plan
Twenty minutes later,
In the dimly lit room, an eerie chewing sound echoed.
The sound was like a beast gnawing on animal bones with its teeth.
Candy dragged a corpse out of the bathroom, the flickering candlelight on the table illuminating her body, drenched in crimson.
She looked as if she had just soaked in a pool of blood.
"Ha!" Candy exhaled, satisfied as she sat on the bed.
[Mission Objective: Infect or kill 100 players before this round of the dungeon ends]
[Mission Progress: Infected 2/100, Killed 2/50]
As she sucked on her fingers, she checked the system panel. There was still a long way to go to complete the mission.
Candy sighed, worry etched on her face: "I need to find a way to improve efficiency; if I can't complete the mission, there will definitely be consequences..."
Candy wasn't even sure if she could gather those 100 players before the dungeon ended.
In truth, she knew that if she bit those two, she could convert them into her kind.
But Candy wasn't sure if these guys would obey her orders, and they might even become a nuisance...
Moreover, for the kill mission, only 50 players needed to be taken down.
Plus, having just recently transformed into a rational zombie, she felt an indescribable hunger.
It felt like she had swallowed burning charcoal or that acid was eating away at her stomach.
The hunger spread throughout her body, even causing pain in her bones.
Candy felt as if someone had been whispering in her ear all along.
That voice seduced her to do the things she wanted to do, to kill any annoying guy and turn them into her sustenance.
After completely devouring the two men, Candy felt a noticeable relief.
Her bodily functions seemed to have been significantly enhanced.
A joyful smile spread across Candy's face.
Every cell in her body, freshly satisfied from the meal, seemed to express pleasure.
Even the wound on her abdomen, which had been sliced open by the hunting knife, had miraculously healed, leaving no trace.
She couldn't help but exclaim, "What a wonderful evolution this is..."
Candy looked around and softly analyzed, "This motel is pretty good; I'll just keep luring players in here to eat them. After all, there are plenty more rooms to switch to."
...
Outside the room at the end of the second floor of the motel, a large, deep green fly crawled through a hole in the screen window.
The room was a mess, utterly horrific.
Blood and flesh mixed with bones splattered across the motel's yellowed wallpaper.
It circled around for a moment before landing on a disfigured corpse.
At that moment, faint footsteps could be heard from outside the door.
Buddy pressed against the wall, his four paws softly touching the ground, while his nostrils flared as he sniffed, determining the source of the smell.
After confirming the source of the bloody scent, Buddy stopped in front of the door and glanced back at Ryan.
Ryan emerged from around the staircase corner and quietly approached the door as well.
In fact, the corridor outside this motel is of a semi-open type. Ryan had already observed through the live map that Candy had temporarily left this room and seemed to have gone to the other end.
But he wasn't sure if the two male players who had come with him had been transformed into zombies by her.
If their numbers were too great, then he would have to think of a long-term strategy.
Ryan pressed one eye against the gap in the window, peering through the half-drawn curtain to observe the situation inside the room.
After confirming it was safe, he slowly pushed the door open and stepped inside.
As soon as he opened the door, a strong smell of blood assaulted him. Ryan held his breath and looked down at the two horrifying corpses on the floor.
Their chests had been completely torn open, and much of their flesh was missing, as if they had been devoured by a beast.
"It seems Candy has eaten these two players and did not choose to assimilate them..." Ryan analyzed quietly while opening the system panel to document the scene.
Ryan knew that Candy was still in this motel.
She must have regarded this place as her hunting ground.
Right now, she was likely cleaning the blood from herself so that she wouldn't raise suspicion when she lured her next prey.
Ryan looked at the two corpses on the floor and thought, "I might have been a bit reckless..."
These two players were without clothing, suggesting they had been caught completely off guard by a sudden attack.
But even so, it shouldn't have left them without any ability to resist.
The rational rabies virus might have given Candy some sort of evolution, granting her powers far beyond ordinary humans.
Ryan felt that in a direct confrontation, he might not be a match for Candy.
He needed to come up with a plan.
At that moment, Candy spoke again in the chat room.
Ryan opened the system panel and saw that Candy had sent a message.
[Candy: When I was trapped, I found a large canned goods truck near the bus station, but there are quite a few zombies here. We need backup.]
[Candy: Are there any players who want to team up?]
Soon, people in the chat room began to respond, expressing interest in her proposal.
In fact, the dungeon had been open for nearly an hour, and many players had already scavenged thoroughly.
However, in this world, the zombie crisis seemed to have erupted for about two years, and there were also NPC humans within the dungeon.
So, some resources that were relatively easy to obtain had already been looted.
Now, the players only had two choices—
Either attack a heavily populated zombie area to secure some dangerous resources.
Or find the NPC camps and raid them.
Before long, many people in the group chose to sign up.
Ryan noticed a familiar ID among them; it was the player named Leo Qin, who had exchanged a hunting knife blueprint with him.
He had a good impression of this straightforward guy, so maybe they could work together.
Thus, Ryan sent a message in the chat room.
[Ryan: I'm interested too, count me in.]
[Wow, it's the great Ryan!]
[Leo Qin: Hahaha, those canned goods are as good as ours, we'll be there soon!]
[Candy: Welcome, everyone. Please hold on for a moment; I'll private message you all to announce the specific time and location.]
Ryan figured it out.
Candy was also trying to lure players over under the guise of forming a team to kill them one by one.
One has to admit, a zombie with such a meticulous mind is indeed a bit terrifying.
If he hadn't obtained relevant information through the admin group, Ryan felt that Candy could have killed quite a few people tonight.
Soon, Ryan received a message from Candy.
[Candy: I'm truly sorry, Ryan. I apologize for what happened earlier...]
[Candy: I didn't grasp the situation, didn't read the rules carefully, underestimated the danger of this game, and said so many provocative things to you...]
[Candy: I feel very sorry!]
Ryan looked at the system panel, unable to suppress a smile.
It seemed that Candy's first target was directly aimed at him.
She really was saying one thing while thinking another.
On the surface, she appeared to be sincerely apologizing, but deep down, she must be eager to kill him right away.
[Ryan: No need to apologize, I have my faults too. What I said back then was indeed impolite.]
[Ryan: I'm quite interested in the canned goods truck you mentioned. Where exactly is it?]
[Candy: I'm really glad you can join our plan, but... can we talk face to face?]
[Candy: I'm worried that revealing the location might attract other competitors.]
[Candy: Please hurry to this location, I'll be waiting for you in room 201. We can discuss the details when we meet.]
[Ryan: Alright, I'll get there as soon as I can.]
Ryan closed the system panel and murmured, "Room 201, huh?"
When he entered this room earlier, he had noticed the door number was [249].
This motel, from the outside, was shaped like a "C."
Now, Candy's room 201 should be at the other end, very far from here. She must also be afraid that the murder scene would be discovered, jeopardizing the entire plan.
Ryan whispered to himself, "So, how am I supposed to kill a creature stronger than a normal human using only cold weapons?"
At that moment, a private message popped up on his system panel.