Salted Fish Zombie

Chapter 35.1: Manman (8)

May 12, 2023 by Wyrd

Because of his leisurely demeanor, the tension in the air dissipated to a great extent.

This was a little boy who could unexpectedly create small miracles.

Zhu Shuangshuang and Meng Jiang approached him, sitting on the blanket with their ghost friends.

Considering the current situation, even if they were to rush up immediately, it would be futile if the vines couldn’t hold against those monster children. It’s better to sit and wait like this.

Ji Mingrui was still standing there, seeming somewhat embarrassed to come over.

After such an incident just happened, indeed, anyone would feel embarrassed.

He had already apologized sincerely, and Ning Su also forgave him and helped him.

Zhu Shuangshuang felt that since that’s the case, the four of them on the fourth floor should still stick together.

“Boss Ji, come over and wait for the results,” Zhu Shuangshuang said to him.

Ji Mingrui hesitated for a moment, then walked over here somewhat stiffly and sat beside Zhu Shuangshuang.

“Don’t call me Boss Ji anymore,” he said. “This is not a world for Boss Ji.”

Hearing him say this, Zhu Shuangshuang knew that he had figured things out and accepted it.

Zhu Shuangshuang nodded. “Yes, we have entered a completely new world. Everything from before is irrelevant and shouldn’t be dwelled upon.”

Zhu Shuangshuang had some guesses about his identity. If it was indeed as she suspected, with his prestigious background, Ji Mingrui used to be a remarkable individual.

The disparity between then and now was truly immense.

In this world, the reversal of social classes was indeed difficult to accept for some people, but they must accept this cruel reality and quickly adapt to the brutal laws of this world.

Ji Mingrui was still somewhat stiff, and he glanced at Meng Jiang beside him.

Meng Jiang appeared completely accustomed to the situation.

Seeing Ji Mingrui looking at him, he candidly spoke, “I’ve seen this kind of thing many times in dungeons and in the base. It’s nothing. This game is just like that.”

Ji Mingrui hung his head. His eyes reddened, but for the first time since he started playing the game, he took a relaxed breath.

Whatever was forcefully weighing him down, burdening his tension and anxiety, had disappeared.

Ning Su glanced at Ji Mingrui, who had red-rimmed eyes, and fell silent for a moment.

“You directly entered the third-level game just to prove yourself, right? Don’t be like this. Pull yourself together,” Ning Su said.

Ji Mingrui smiled briefly.

So, he knew all along.

In the game hall and before entering the castle, he was eager to prove the things he had said, and Ji Mingrui could tell that he was forcing his own ridiculous pride.

Ji Mingrui: “Can’t you let me take it easy for a bit?”

Ning Su made a sound of agreement and said, “Then hurry up. I’m still counting on you to perform well and earn more points for me. In case the system doesn’t give me points, with your contribution, I won’t have to sleep under the bridge.”

“...”

Meng Jiang exclaimed, “Boss, you still sleep under the bridge?”

Ning Su replied, “I still have to rely on Zhu Shuangshuang’s buns to survive.”

Zhu Shuangshuang: “...”

Ning Su continued, “Hurry up and become big shots. I’ve already promised my neighbor in the bridge hole not to forget him when I’m rich.”

“...”

The four of them opened up their hearts for the first time and sat together without any barriers.

Perhaps it was because they had truly become a united front, but when the knocking sounds on the arched window rang out, they were not as terrified and panicked as the previous times.

The four players sat on the blanket, each holding their own ghost friend, and under the warm light, they watched the heavy window trembling from the impacts.

Meng Jiang said, “If they rush in, the four of us on the fourth floor, abandoned by the boss, can die together.”

Ning Su: “No.”

“...”

They heard the sound of the outer layer of wooden planks breaking and falling.

The hearts of the three players sank.

But then they realized that no matter how the outside was being beaten and impacted, the layer of wooden planks inside the vines remained intact.

The three players stood up in surprise, except for Ning Su, who remained calm. He had known it would be like this.

“It really works! This vine is amazing!”

“Ning Su is incredible!”

“You’re the real deal!”

Ning Su: “...”

I just want to cling to a thigh, not be the thigh.

Zhu Shuangshuang, Ji Mingrui, and Meng Jiang stood in front of the arched window, listening to the intense crashing sound and the angry roar.

This feeling was a bit magical.

In the previous encounters, they were shaken by the impact, and the sounds of crashing and roaring haunted their nightmares every day. They struggled with all their might and were on the verge of collapse.

But now, they didn’t have to do anything, and the wooden planks remained motionless.

They even felt a bit weightless.

“Should we open this layer of wooden planks and take a look?”

“I think we should. After all, the wooden planks are useless against the monster children.”

With that, Zhu Shuangshuang and Meng Jiang removed the wooden planks together.

The inner and outer layers of wooden planks sandwiched between a layer of vines. The monster children had already smashed the outer layer, and after removing this layer, only a layer of lily vine remained.

The monster children were just within reach.

To be honest, at first, they were a little scared because they never expected that the vines covering the entire wall could stop the monster children, who couldn’t even be stopped by iron blocks.

But that’s how amazing it was.

Being so close, they could feel the monster children on the verge of eruption, growing increasingly angry, with the weight of their resentment evident in their roars.

The more furious and resentful they became, the denser the vines grew. Amidst their wailing, blooming flowers with three petals appeared, vibrant and crimson, in the dimly lit corridor.

Meng Jiang: “This is a bit too much.”

Zhu Shuangshuang: “It’s a little unfair to the children.”

Ning Su: “...”

Finally, the monster children gave up and climbed upward, filled with rage.

The three of them returned to Ning Su’s side, brimming with questions.

Meng Jiang: “How did you manage to cut them? I couldn’t even make a dent.”

Before Ning Su could answer, he suddenly thought of something and said, “They said that in the previous two attacks, my strength was the one that helped us, but I didn’t feel it myself. Was it actually you?!”

Ning Su let out a grunt.

Meng Jiang marveled at his strength, saying, “My stamina is at 97, so yours must be... 100, right?”

Ning Su: “...”

“...” Zhu Shuangshuang quickly changed the subject, “The wooden planks are useless against the monster children. Why add another layer on the outside?”

She thought that the inner layer was probably for testing whether the vines could completely protect what was inside, so what was the purpose of the outer layer?

Ning Su: “Just to provide some cover.”

Meng Jiang: “Yes, we can’t let the fifth and sixth floors know so directly, but it probably won’t remain hidden for two days, either.”

Ning Su nodded. “Every bit they spare counts.”

Meng Jiang was puzzled, sensing that they were focusing on different points.

If that’s the case, Meng Jiang followed his words and said, “Actually, they might not be able to make much progress.”

Ji Mingrui was still observing by the window when Meng Jiang called him, “Come and sit for a while. They should be struggling on the fifth floor for a long time. Tonight will be a protracted battle.”

Everyone thought the same.

They could block the doors and windows with vines, which appeared very sturdy. However, the presence of the Little Gu Witch on the fifth floor should not be underestimated.

The monster children wouldn’t easily gain entry on the fifth floor and might likely return to the fourth floor.

Ji Mingrui said, “I wonder how frustrated they’ll become and which floor they’ll eventually reach.”

Just as Meng Jiang was about to respond, all of them simultaneously heard an unexpected system notification.

[Player Yan Nuo’s ghost friend has been destroyed.]

[Player Yan Nuo has died.]

Zhu Shuangshuang exclaimed, “The sixth floor? How could it be the sixth floor?”

Ning Su, who had been leisurely all along, also stood up.

***

The windows on the fourth floor were densely covered by continuously growing vines, leaving the monster children helpless. They continued crawling toward various windows on the fifth floor and relentlessly banging on them.

In the pale moonlight, a group of densely packed, oil-white monster children twisted in anger, their faces contorted.

They stood or crawled on the dark windows of the fifth floor, fiercely pounding and crashing with various grotesque and twisted postures, expressing their grief and anger.

This scene was truly shocking and chilling.

However, the players on the sixth floor were very relaxed, some even watching with great interest.

In these past few days, under the protection of Shi Tianzhu’s Concealing Space item, they had been completely at ease, free from any trouble. They were the most relaxed and dignified among the three floors.

Faced with these terrifying monster children, they showed no worry and even had a hint of schadenfreude in their tone.

“Oh my, I wonder if the unlucky soul tonight will be from the fourth floor or the fifth floor?”

“It’s probably the fourth floor. Although we don’t know how they managed to withstand the first wave of attacks from the monster children, the little Gu Witch is not to be underestimated.”

“The monster children are getting angrier, and their strength is growing. I can feel the castle shaking from their impact.”

“Oh, dear.”

“Yes,” Shi Tianzhu, who was looking down from the front, spoke calmly, “The castle is starting to become unstable.”

“We can’t go on like this,” she said, with a slight smirk at the corner of her mouth. “It’s time to let them in.”

“What... what?!”

The five players on the sixth floor trembled, wide-eyed and unable to believe what they heard.

They thought they had misheard, each of them staring incredulously at the little girl in the center.

The girl blinked, a silver light flickered in her peach blossom eyes, and at the same time, it flashed on the arched window. “Survival is up to one’s own ability.”

She took the oily wax-like hand of her ghost friend. “Good luck, everyone.”

The five players on the sixth floor stood frozen for two seconds, then realized what she meant, and terrified, they ran towards their rooms.

They had been living too comfortably under Shi Tianzhu’s protection these past two days, completely relying on her. Several of them hadn’t taken any precautions in their rooms.

If the enraged monster children were to enter at this moment, their doors and windows would be as fragile as a sheet of paper, pierced with a single poke.

Sudden fear and panic seized them, catching them off guard. Despite being relatively high-level players, their fingers trembled as they didn’t know how to protect themselves, and their brains couldn’t think clearly.

“How did the fourth floor handle it again?”

“Forget about them! Don’t you have any skills?”

“Don’t panic! As long as one of them dies, they will leave. It doesn’t have to be us!”

Who would that be?

They used to think it wouldn’t be on the sixth floor either.

Shi Tianzhu stood at the door, watching the five people in the corridor with a calm and serene expression.

“President, President...” Yan Nuo was still standing next to Shi Tianzhu and hadn’t returned to his room.

His room was right next to Shi Tianzhu’s.

Shi Tianzhu asked, “Aren’t you going back to protect yourself?”

“Yes, yes...” Yan Nuo was startled by Shi Tianzhu’s sudden decision.

He had been standing in front of the arched window just now, witnessing firsthand how terrifying and eerie the enraged monster children were. He didn’t dare to imagine what would happen if they attacked him.

It took his brain a while to react. “President, aren’t you letting me into your room?”

The chilling melody of the children’s song grew louder, as if it were echoing in his ears.

He clearly heard the angry roar of the monster children for the first time, “Wu huo—Wu huo—”

His face was covered in sweat, constantly swallowing his saliva. He trembled and weakly grasped Shi Tianzhu’s trousers, kneeling on the ground, begging her, “President, President, I beg you, I beg you.”

Shi Tianzhu looked down at him. “You’re kneeling here begging me, instead of going back to your room and finding a cabinet to block the door?”

Yan Nuo seemed not to have heard her words, only hearing the low growl of the monster children and the loud cries of his ghost friend, filled with fear.

“Wu ha, wu ha, wu ha ya...”

Fear was contagious, and Yan Nuo’s tears and snot began to flow. “Please, President! I’m willing to do anything. I can do anything!”

Shi Tianzhu retracted her leg. “Since that’s the case, let’s make one final contribution to everyone’s survival.”

A sticky, pale hand slammed against the arched window with a loud “bang,” and the glass window instantly cracked open.

Yan Nuo collapsed and reached out to grab Shi Tianzhu’s leg, but Shi Tianzhu had already retreated into the room.

“President! President! Why didn’t you save me when you brought me into this instance?”

Another monster child appeared, poking his head out from an arched window.

He was a deformed child with an unusually large head and a pair of round, bulging eyes.

Nine-tenths of his eyes were white, with only a small dot of black iris.

He angrily stared at the people in the corridor.

Shi Tianzhu said, “After being in the Yinhua Guild for so long, don’t you understand? In this horror game, only you can save yourself.”

The arched window was filled with oil-white deformed children, all angrily looking over. Shi Tianzhu closed the door.

“In consideration of your function as a humanoid jukebox,” her voice came from inside the room, “I wanted to take you with me once, but you didn’t seize the opportunity.”

The words “humanoid jukebox” combined with the crisp and sharp sound of glass shattering, assaulting his eardrums.

For a moment, Yan Nuo seemed unable to hear any sound.

In this soundless world, he opened his eyes wide and watched as the monster children flooded into the corridor like a torrent.

Driven by fear, he instinctively grabbed something nearby and hurled it at them.

He saw the golden bronze doll struggling in mid-air, its tiny mouth opening.

He no longer heard the crying sound of “woohoo,” which had become his nightmare since the first night when the doll knocked on his door.

The figure of the ghost friend collided with the swarm of monstrous children, surrounded by densely packed hands reaching out to grab it.

Sticky liquid dripped and smeared onto the doll’s body, gradually melting its bronze form. Yan Nuo saw his own legs melting into water, gradually spreading.

He covered his head, screaming in terror, but then discovered that his hands were gone too.

A scorching stream of water flowed out from his eye sockets.

Not only could he no longer hear, but he also couldn’t see, smell, or feel...