Chapter 91: Virus Fragments

Zhao Kuo didn't know how long he had been asleep. All he knew was that when he woke up, the surroundings were pitch black, and Tang Yingying was nestled in his arms. They were covered with a few chef's jackets as makeshift blankets.

The girl's body was soft, pressed tightly against him. Even Zhao Kuo couldn't help but swallow hard.

Tang Yingying wasn't sleeping deeply, and Zhao Kuo's movements woke her up.

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Tang Yingying said, "You're awake. Did you sleep well? Feeling refreshed?"

Zhao Kuo's gaze shifted away from her cleavage as he replied, "Not bad. Do we have any water? I need to wash my face."

He needed to wash his face to calm down. He noticed that Tang Yingying was becoming more and more alluring. If this kept up, things might escalate to an 18+ situation. While washing his face, Zhao Kuo couldn't help but silently recite a mantra of prosperity, democracy, harmony, integrity, and friendliness.

Sure enough, his mindset stabilized!

They didn't turn on the lights because they were planning to go out soon. It was uncertain whether the light would attract the zombies outside.

Tang Yingying took out the equipment she had prepared: a pair of arm guards, a pair of leg guards, a spear, and a carefully selected boning knife about thirty centimeters long. After sharpening it with a knife sharpener, it was exceptionally sharp.

"You've put a lot of thought into this," Zhao Kuo nodded.

After losing his skills and other abilities, it was still unclear whether being bitten by a zombie would cause him to mutate. Taking precautions was necessary.

Tang Yingying reminded him, "We don't need to go too far. Just take a look outside and be careful."

"I know. My stats are pretty high. Don't worry," Zhao Kuo said as he put on the equipment Tang Yingying had prepared, giving her a reassuring look.

It felt a bit like a wife sending her husband off to work—harmonious, yet not entirely so.

After moving the refrigerator aside, Zhao Kuo carefully opened the kitchen door, the boning knife tightly gripped in his hand, ready for any sudden danger.

Fortunately, there was no scene of zombies lunging at him.

Outside the kitchen was complete darkness, with only a faint glimmer of light, barely revealing the layout of the restaurant.

It was probably already early morning. The mall had an automatic power cut setting, and the lights would only come back on when the mall reopened the next day.

Zhao Kuo gave a thumbs-up gesture and then tiptoed out.

On the kitchen door was a large smear of blood and flesh, likely from the poor girl.

Before he had taken two steps, Zhao Kuo saw two motionless figures standing in the restaurant. No doubt, they were zombies—a man and a woman. The female zombie was probably the girl who had been calling for help earlier.

Through the dim moonlight, Zhao Kuo could see that one of the girl's arms had been mostly eaten away, and her face was a mess of torn flesh.

Fortunately, these zombies didn't seem to track humans by scent.

Zhao Kuo tiptoed cautiously behind the girl and, without hesitation, plunged the boning knife into her skull!

Although the human skull was incredibly hard, it was no match for Zhao Kuo's strength attribute of 40.

The boning knife pierced through the girl's skull, and Zhao Kuo quickly pulled it out. With a clean decapitation, the girl's body collapsed to the ground.

But the noise alerted the male zombie not far away. A heavy growl sounded, and the male zombie charged at him.

Zhao Kuo didn't hesitate either. Squinting his eyes, as the zombie approached, he delivered a clean slash, cutting off half of the zombie's head!

Indeed, as his class leveled up, even without skills, his physical attributes and reaction speed had improved significantly.

However, Zhao Kuo didn't get cocky. He knew that even with his enhanced physical abilities, if he were caught in a horde of zombies, he would still be doomed.

Fortunately, there weren't many zombies in the Western restaurant.

Zhao Kuo carefully closed the restaurant door and barricaded it with chairs. Then he thoroughly cleared the restaurant inside and out.

Sure enough, he found three more zombies, all of which he swiftly decapitated.

However, in two of the zombies' bodies, Zhao Kuo discovered a peculiar green substance.

[M Virus Fragment x1]

[20 M Virus Fragments can be synthesized into 1 M Virus Essence]

At that moment, Zhao Kuo had an epiphany. The damn Metro World had been waiting for this.

No wonder there had been such a sudden mutation. The real purpose was to force players to absorb M Virus Essence and mutate. Only players who mutated and gained special abilities could fight their way out of the mall and return to the Metro World.

It was truly shameless, absolutely shameless.

Did this also mean that players who had already mutated before wouldn't have their abilities stripped by the system, giving them a greater advantage over class-based players?

Zhao Kuo's eyes flickered in the darkness. He turned and closed the curtains, then returned to the kitchen door.

"Tap tap, tap tap." After knocking the secret code, the door was quickly opened. Tang Yingying inside looked surprised and asked,

"Why are you back so soon?"

Zhao Kuo shrugged and said, "I cleared out the restaurant first. Take a look at this."

He then handed over the [M Virus Fragment].

Tang Yingying was stunned for a moment. After seeing the fragment's properties, her expression turned serious.

"Is the Metro World forcing us to become monsters?" Tang Yingying muttered to herself. In her eyes, while mutation could grant special abilities, it was essentially no different from becoming a monster.

Moreover, the more abilities one gained, the greater the degree of mutation.

What one would ultimately turn into was anyone's guess.

"What should we do now?" For once, Zhao Kuo actively sought Tang Yingying's opinion.

Tang Yingying pondered for a moment before saying, "It shouldn't be. The Metro World shouldn't actively force people to become monsters. Look at me—even after clearing the level, I'm still the same as before. There must be some information we're missing."

"Are you saying there's a way to mitigate the side effects of mutation?" Zhao Kuo immediately understood Tang Yingying's meaning. The two of them were becoming more and more in sync.

Tang Yingying nodded, then gritted her teeth and said, "How about this—after synthesizing the essence, I'll mutate first. I'll take the risk. At worst, I'll grow three heads and six arms."

Three heads and six arms—sounded pretty cool, actually.

Seeing Tang Yingying's determined expression, Zhao Kuo smiled with relief.

The kid had grown up and was willing to sacrifice herself. However, Zhao Kuo didn't immediately agree. Instead, he handed the fragments to Tang Yingying.

"Let's wait and see. If there's really no other way, mutation will be our only option. I'll go out and take another look. At night, the zombies' senses are much weaker," Zhao Kuo said.

Tang Yingying nodded and placed the fragments in the microwave, using it as a small storage cabinet.

"Be careful," Tang Yingying said again.

Zhao Kuo nodded, slowly closed the door, and stepped back into the darkness.

...