Sickly Girl Doesn’t Die in Zombie Simulator 304

Chapter 304: Everything’s Ready

“[Extracting: 7.9]”

Seeing the extraction prompt, Lin Jiayao immediately switched her consciousness.

Back in A4’s body, she found herself on the roof of her villa.

Since she had taken Huayibai and the Blue Serpent with her, her sister and Kisaragi Mika still had about an hour left in their dream worlds.

The villa area was essentially unguarded.

Lin Jiayao didn’t want A4 to extract in Perfect Form; otherwise, the next Extraction Point might be outside the country or at sea.

She controlled A4 to jump off the roof, left the villa courtyard, and canceled the ongoing extraction.

As she stepped onto the street, Lin Jiayao saw a small figure in the courtyard.

It was the Black Stem Fungus.

The only active B-rank blood crystal in the villa area right now.

The little Black Stem seemed to be sweeping the courtyard.

But now, it looked terrified.

Dressed in its black and white maid outfit, the small Black Stem clutched its broom tightly, pointing it at A4, shielding the villa behind its small body.

Its hands were trembling. Clearly, it felt threatened by A4.

A4’s descended body had come to the villa before, but Lin Xiwan and Lin Jiayao had been present then, and the little Black Stem hadn’t directly interacted with it.

Now, it was startled by this terrifying intruder.

After a moment of thought, Lin Jiayao had A4 raise its right hand, and familiar, blood-red mycelium tendrils extended from its palm.

Seeing the mycelium, the little Black Stem’s trembling hands stilled, and it tilted its head slightly, as if puzzled.

Lin Jiayao then had A4’s body be completely covered by the fungus. Even its tall, slender form began to shrink, the bones within cracking and shifting with a sickening crunch.

Soon, the surging mycelium was absorbed back into A4’s body. Now, A4’s size and appearance were identical to Lin Jiayao’s main body.

Seeing the familiar face and sensing the similar fungal presence, the little Black Stem hesitantly lowered its broom.

It still wasn’t entirely sure if the fungus before it was truly Lin Jiayao, but its guard was down.

It was as easily fooled as a kindergartener.

“It’s okay, I’ll be leaving soon.” Lin Jiayao smiled at the little Black Stem, then, bending her knees slightly, jumped back onto the villa roof.

The extraction countdown reappeared. Under Lin Jiayao’s control, mycelium surged from A4’s body.

Two seconds later, the fungus retracted, and A4’s arms and legs were completely severed.

The severed limbs scattered across the rooftop, some distance from A4’s body.

Lin Jiayao had A4 extract in this limbless state.

This would ensure a longer login time next time and a shorter distance to the Extraction Point.

Her sister and Kisaragi Mika would be waking up in about an hour. After A4 extracted, Lin Jiayao would immediately log into No. 7, Gundam, to acquire more Awakened blood and collect more genes.

After that, she could log back into A4 and have it go to Zhijing City for the final evolution attempt.

The eight-second countdown quickly ended, and Lin Jiayao’s consciousness, bypassing the black settlement space, returned to her main body.

[Please retain your evolution.]
[1. …]

Perhaps because A4 had devoured such a diverse range of genes, there weren’t two golden evolutions this time.

Only the [Bone Enhancement Coating Lv.1], which had appeared three times before, was available, not even [Lava Black Scales].

It was still a golden evolution, and the one she had intended to choose during the last extraction, so Lin Jiayao selected [Bone Enhancement Coating].

An icy sensation spread from her chest, a bone-chilling cold rapidly permeating her skeleton.

A dull ache spread through her bones.

It felt like dozens of dentists were drilling into her bones with whirring drills, instantly soaking the clothes on her back with cold sweat.

It was even more agonizing than dying during a login or simulation, instantly topping Lin Jiayao’s “never want to experience again” list.

Fortunately, the sensation quickly passed, replaced by a comforting warmth.

She could feel that her bones, after multiple rounds of evolution retention from Mask and A4, had reached near peak strength and defensive capabilities.

Compared to Mask or A4 individually, their bone strength might not even be as high as Lin Jiayao’s.

This was the confidence brought by multiple evolution retentions.

After feeling the completed evolution within her body, Lin Jiayao opened the system interface, entered the Hideout, and clicked on the [Medical Station].

After spending eight Blood Crystals to exchange for twenty Blood Crystal Combat Stimulants, at a cost of 200g of Blood Crystals each, Lin Jiayao took out four bags of Blood Crystal Serum and the remaining bottle of Blood Crystal Capsules, filling her Safehouse.

Having made these preparations, Lin Jiayao opened the login interface, selected No. 7, Gundam, and logged in.

Northern Alliance, Jingzhou City, inside an abandoned underground pedestrian tunnel.

A tall zombie slowly opened its eyes.

It was nearing dusk, and the armor protected Lin Jiayao from the sunlight.

She controlled Gundam to slowly stand up and walked towards the stairs leading to the surface, its feet crunching on the rubble.

The clanging of metal and the heavy footsteps alerted the Jingzhou personnel guarding outside. Soon, even through the thick helmet, Lin Jiayao could hear the crackle of walkie-talkies.

The highest-ranking leader of the Northern Alliance hadn’t arrived yet, so Lin Jiayao didn’t rush out, but stood in the shadows of the stairwell, waiting for a response.

After about three minutes, Lin Jiayao heard the roar of an engine and the screech of brakes, much faster than before.

It meant they had been waiting for her to “wake up” and were getting anxious.

A lot had happened recently, causing Lin Jiayao to repeatedly postpone her visit to the north. If it weren’t for needing to collect blood, she might have even forgotten about it.

“Knock, knock, knock…”

Footsteps approached. Li Wei, leaning on his cane, stood at the entrance of the underground passage and saw Lin Jiayao standing in the shadows of the stairwell.

“Long time no see, Comrade.” Li Wei smiled, but the stubble on his face made him look much more haggard than before.

As he spoke, Li Wei started to walk down, intending to join Lin Jiayao in the shadows.

But before he could even take a step, Lin Jiayao walked up the sloping stairs.

“Sorry for the delay, something came up.” Lin Jiayao nodded at him and said calmly.

“I understand. Since the signal blockage in the Yellow River Basin was cleared, the areas slightly north of the central region can also receive your radio broadcasts.”

Li Wei gave Lin Jiayao a thumbs-up and continued, “Congratulations on your A-rank Awakened. I believe this is good news for all friendly survivors.”

“I brought the things we agreed on.” Lin Jiayao raised her hand, a Blood Crystal Combat Stimulant appearing in her palm. “Twenty tubes, eight Blood Crystals, cost price.”

Hearing the price, Li Wei’s pupils constricted slightly.

Not because it was too expensive, but because it was too cheap.

If the effect of this one was the same as the previous stimulants, then, according to Li Wei’s calculations, even the most reasonable price should be one Blood Crystal for two tubes.

The other party giving him such a low price was a huge favor.

Because 200g of Blood Crystals definitely couldn’t produce one of these stimulants, not even counting the labor and manufacturing costs.

“This price is really too low… thank you very much.” Li Wei didn’t refuse, but said directly, “If there’s anything we can do to help, just ask. The north owes you a favor.”

There was no such thing as a free lunch, especially in the resource-scarce apocalypse. Li Wei understood this very well.

At the same time, he also knew that the other party was straightforward and didn’t like to beat around the bush, so he directly asked what the other party needed him to do.

If it wasn’t for needing help, Li Wei didn’t believe that the other party would be so kind as to sell him so many Blood Crystal Combat Stimulants at a loss.

There was no such thing as a free lunch.

“There is something I need your help with.” Lin Jiayao put the Blood Crystal Combat Stimulant back into the Safehouse, took out a bottle of Blood Crystal Capsules, and tossed it to Li Wei.

Li Wei caught the full bottle of capsules, shook it, heard the sound inside, and looked at Lin Jiayao with some confusion.

Lin Jiayao nodded slightly, signaling him to open it.

Ibuprofen?

It was indeed a scarce resource, but it couldn’t be compared to Blood Crystals. What was the other party doing by taking out a bottle of ibuprofen now?

Acquiring it? Or selling it?

Li Wei unscrewed the cap, saw the capsules inside, and instantly understood.

This wasn’t ibuprofen. The liquid inside the capsules was mixed with blood crystal liquid.

“This is…” Li Wei slowly asked.

“I want you to gather the Awakened, 200cc of Awakened blood in exchange for one pill.” Lin Jiayao stated her request.

“Blood? 200cc?” Li Wei frowned.

It wasn’t because the other party was asking for too much, but because the request was too strange.

Unless there were injured people suffering from massive blood loss, there was basically no need for blood.

Although he was puzzled by the other party’s purpose, Li Wei still nodded.

“We still have quite a few disposable syringes here… but we don’t have very sanitary methods for storing blood.” Li Wei said truthfully.

“It’s okay, you can mix all the blood in the same bag or bottle.” Lin Jiayao glanced at the extraction time and added, “I only have one hour left. If there’s not enough time, I hope to at least collect the blood of B-rank and C-rank Awakened.”

“Okay.” Li Wei nodded decisively.

After all, the goods were still in the other party’s hands.

Li Wei picked up the walkie-talkie at his waist, pressed the talk button, and quickly arranged the specific matters with the person on the other end, instructing them to hurry up, the faster the better.

After putting down the walkie-talkie, Li Wei looked up at the tall Gundam and said:

“We just had a meeting not long ago, and the high-level Awakened shouldn’t have gone far… Can I ask a question?”

“Yes.” Lin Jiayao nodded.

“Is collecting this blood related to A-rank evolution?” Li Wei asked, but quickly added, “If it’s inconvenient to answer, then forget it.”

“Yes,” Lin Jiayao didn’t hide it and said directly, “But the way each Awakened evolves is different, and a large amount of blood and genes is not conducive to the evolution of other Awakened.”

“For most Awakened, maintaining the purity of their own genes makes it easier to avoid losing their sanity during evolution.”

Lin Jiayao explained this point in more detail.

She didn’t dare to test other B-rank Awakened’s desire to be promoted to A-rank. If a B-rank Awakened heard about this method and started to imitate it, slaughtering other low-level Awakened, it wouldn’t be good.

Not only would it cause casualties among innocent people, but the Awakened who drank a large amount of blood might also gradually go crazy from the massive slaughter and devouring, turning into a mindless blood crystal.

“Okay, thank you for the explanation.”

In the following time, Lin Jiayao took out twenty Blood Crystal Combat Stimulants and exchanged them for eight Blood Crystals with the other party.

After asking her to wait for a while, Li Wei himself got into the jeep and quickly drove towards somewhere.

About forty-five minutes later, Li Wei’s car returned. After getting out of the car again, Li Wei opened the trunk and showed the things inside to Lin Jiayao.

There were thermoses and insulated cups that were probably used to hold food, now filled with blood, about ten bottles in total.

Each bottle contained about six to eight hundred milliliters, and the two used to hold food might contain more than a liter.

“Sorry, the time was too short, and I could only get this much for now.” Li Wei’s face was apologetic. He gestured for his subordinates to carry down the thermoses while explaining the composition of the blood inside to Lin Jiayao.

Although they didn’t collect much blood from D-rank and C-rank Awakened, according to Li Wei, they had collected the blood of all five B-rank Awakened, even including Jiang Chun’s.

After putting those thermoses into the Safehouse, Lin Jiayao looked at Li Wei again.

“How is Jiang Chun?” Lin Jiayao asked. “Let’s talk while we walk.”

There was still plenty of time before Lin Jiayao had to reach the Extraction Point, so she walked towards the Extraction Point while asking.

“Jiang Chun…”

Li Wei followed Lin Jiayao and slowly told her everything that happened before Jiang Chun came to the north.

Jiang Chun didn’t come to the north with the truck transporting the seeds, she was about a week late.

During this week, she took the rescued B-rank Awakened from the north and a C-rank captain from the north, led a small team, and began searching along the edge of Donghai City.

Because there were two B-rank Awakened, after agreeing on a meeting point, they split up and searched in different places.

The search results surprised everyone.

There were more civilians who escaped from Donghai City than Jiang Chun, or even anyone, had imagined.

About a thousand.

These survivors basically hid in the surrounding villages, away from the highway, which was why Jiang Chun didn’t see anyone along the way when she went back.

And through the accounts of these survivors, the process of Survivor’s Light’s destruction was gradually pieced together.

A tsunami suddenly hit, and a B-rank seabed zombie with countless strange tentacles landed and attacked Survivor’s Light, which had no B-rank guarding it.

But even so, the people of Survivor’s Light were still very united.

They assembled a small convoy and left as quickly as possible before the water rose to the point where the vehicles couldn’t pass.

The first batch to leave were all ordinary people.

And almost all the Awakened and semi-fungal infected chose to stay behind.

Even an ordinary person, a former air force soldier, braved the heavy rain and started a helicopter that could no longer launch missiles and rushed towards the coast.

According to the last batch of survivors, before they left, they only saw a burst of flames rising into the sky, and then, the terrifying blood-red horsehair worms that had been spreading towards the land temporarily stopped.

It was the explosion of the armed helicopter’s ammunition depot. Although the helicopter could no longer launch missiles, the pilot, through self-destruction, successfully detonated the ammunition depot, completing an attack with his life as a sacrifice.

He lived up to his identity as a soldier before the apocalypse, protecting the people once again, using his life to tear open a small but precious path to survival.

Currently, a large number of survivors were still stranded in Kengzhou City, and Jiang Chun was doing everything she could to persuade multiple combat teams to help pick them up.

The weather in the north had already dropped to single digits. If they took in more than a thousand people at once, not to mention the large amount of gasoline consumed along the way, the north couldn’t prepare so many winter clothes.

No matter what the outcome, countless people would freeze or starve to death.

Even if they expelled the Japanese people they had taken in before, the supplies were still not enough, not to mention that those Japanese people were now getting along quite well with the Northern Alliance.

After hearing this, Lin Jiayao nodded slightly.

After a while, Lin Jiayao asked:

“How long are the supplies in Kengzhou City enough for them to use?”

“From now… probably about a week’s worth. If they save some and only drink water, they might be able to last for two weeks.”

“Chongyu City is a ready-made, well-established post-apocalyptic base. The supporting facilities and factories inside are all intact, but there are no living people there yet.”

Lin Jiayao stopped in front of the Extraction Point, looked down at Li Wei, and said, “Help me tell Jiang Chun, tell her that I will take those people to Chongyu.”

“She can choose to stay in Chongyu and rebuild, or she can choose to take the people away. Before she makes a decision, any facilities in Chongyu City can be used by those survivors.”

Lin Jiayao’s words made Li Wei straighten his back slightly.

“I will relay your message truthfully… comrade.” Li Wei nodded at Lin Jiayao and said seriously, “You are definitely the most noble person I have ever met after the disaster, bar none.”

At this time, Li Wei also felt the heavy responsibility and mission in Lin Jiayao’s words, and also felt Lin Jiayao’s compassion and generosity.

After saying this, he bid farewell to Lin Jiayao and walked towards where the jeep was parked with his crutch.

Noble?

Hearing the other party’s words, Lin Jiayao felt a little inexplicable.

After Huayibai evolved, all the clones Huayibai left in Chongyu City were useless. Although Lin Jiayao still had some mycelium left in Chongyu, it couldn’t support so many production and planting lines.

Originally, Lin Jiayao planned to find a group of people from the ash area to “colonize” there, but now there was a ready-made group of people, so why not?

She just wanted to find a group of people to work in the factories for her, that’s all, she didn’t intend to save anyone.

As Lin Jiayao thought about this, she took a step forward.

[Extracting: 7.9]

……

[Please retain your evolution.]
[1. [Safehouse Lv.5 (Red): Upgrades your 5×5 Safehouse to 6×6.]]
[2. Blood Crystal x2]
[3. [Strength Lv.1 (Gray): Enhances your strength slightly.]]

This was…

Familiar yet unfamiliar options appeared in front of Lin Jiayao, which surprised her a little.

But it was also reasonable.

She had already obtained a large number of evolutions, and the Gundam she logged into was only C-rank. After multiple logins, the evolutions had basically been chosen by her.

After the evolutions were chosen, the system had a chance to give Blood Crystals or other rewards.

Those two special slots were probably due to the lack of evolutionary abilities.

There was nothing much to choose from, Lin Jiayao directly chose the red Safehouse.

After the Safehouse was upgraded to 6×6, Lin Jiayao’s Safehouse had thirty-six slots.

This could hold a lot of items. For Lin Jiayao, upgrading the Safehouse was also equivalent to increasing her strength.

With a larger Safehouse, she could carry even more goods.

Lin Jiayao took out the thermoses containing blood from the Safehouse, put them on the pile of fungal blood vessels beside her, opened the login interface again, chose A4, and logged in.

Her sister and the others should be waking up in about ten minutes. It was just right to control A4 to leave and go to Zhijing City.

Soon, Lin Jiayao, controlling A4, opened her eyes again.

To Lin Jiayao’s surprise, even after she removed her hands and feet, the furthest Extraction Point to the north was still more than ninety kilometers away.

Without a doubt, the safest place within this range was Zhijing City, which Lin Jiayao had just cleared. The pattern she had just discovered was quickly proven correct again.

And it was very likely that A4 could exploit the extraction bug, repeatedly running back and forth between Zhijing City and Kun City, repeatedly extracting to farm evolutions.

She could get all the evolutions in one day, how nice.

After Lin Jiayao controlled the mycelium to drag her hands and feet back and attach them, the mycelium covered her whole body, restoring A4’s original appearance, and she directly jumped down from the building and ran towards Zhijing City.

Twelve hours, with her main body supporting, it was definitely enough for evolution.

This time, she would definitely evolve A4 to A-rank.