Salted Fish Zombie

Chapter 43.1: Manman (16)

June 13, 2023 by Wyrd

In the morning, Gui Sheng woke up feeling a bit confused. It was almost time for breakfast, yet Ning Su and Blood Doll were still asleep. He nudged one and then the other, and as they groggily opened their eyes, they saw each other’s weary expressions.

Blood Doll crawled out from her swaddling clothes, tilting her head slightly. With her bloodshot eyes, she gazed intently at Ning Su, seemingly contemplating something.

Ning Su sat up in bed and asked her, “Ah Fei, why did you wake up so late? Didn’t you sleep well last night?”

Blood Doll averted her gaze, lowered her head, and picked up a bottle, latching onto the nipple.

Gui Sheng: “Hmm?”

“Su Su! Why haven’t you come out yet?” Zhu Shuangshuang shouted from outside the door. “Breakfast is about to begin!”

Ning Su and Gui Sheng hurried to the bathroom to brush their teeth side by side, quickly washed their faces, and then came out.

“It’s really strange. You’re not so enthusiastic about eating today,” Zhu Shuangshuang wondered.

Ning Su replied, “I’m just really tired.”

Zhu Shuangshuang: “...”

After looking tired and listless for a while, Ning Su looked up with a somewhat happy expression and said, “Even when tired, we must protect our little seedling.”

Zhu Shuangshuang’s eyes lit up, and she immediately understood what Ning Su meant.

He confirmed that Little Gu Witch’s ghost friend, the oil-painted wooden puppet, was of the same type as Bu Bu and Slime.

The Gu Witch also had a ghost friend that could go out.

A relaxed and happy smile appeared on Zhu Shuangshuang’s face. “Su Su, do you know, when you said yesterday that there wouldn’t be much food to eat here, I suddenly felt a sense of security, as if we were about to clear this instance?”

“Ah, the previous instance was the same.”

Zhu Shuangshuang said, “It seems like I should go with you to those instances where there’s nothing to eat or nowhere to stay, the ones with harsh conditions, like a zombie apocalypse instance.”

Ning Su: “...”

Two people were talking as they descended the stairs.

Gui Sheng walked with two ghost friends following behind them.

Blood Doll pulled on his shirt. And previously, Zhizhi would also get close to him, especially when they were going down the stairs and it felt a bit scared. However, this morning, Zhizhi stayed far away from him, pulling on Zhu Shuangshuang’s skirt instead.

Gui Sheng glanced at one ghost friend, then at the other, and noticed that the two friends were keeping their distance and not looking at each other.

Gui Sheng: “Huh?”

Because Ning Su woke up a bit later than usual, most of the players had already gathered when they came downstairs.

There was a strange silence in the atmosphere of the dining hall.

Soon, they found out why.

On the long dining table, Shi Tianzhu and Little Gu Witch sat at opposite ends.

Shi Tianzhu was the same as before, wearing a loose skirt, with a cool expression and an indifferent demeanor, her usual appearance.

But Little Gu Witch was very different from before.

He tied up the hair that had been hanging in front of his face.

After washing it, his hair didn’t have that healthy and smooth texture, nor did it have a shine. It appeared slightly yellowish, like autumn grass, tied into a low ponytail at the back.

After tying his hair back, it revealed a not-so-fair face.

With single and slightly swollen eyelids, a high and rugged nose, and light-colored thin lips pressed into a straight line.

Zhu Shuangshuang, who had been to many fashion shows since childhood, exclaimed.

“Although Little Gu Witch isn’t the traditional beauty with big eyes, based on her nose and facial structure, she must grow up to be a person with the bone structure beauty of a high-fashion model. I haven’t seen her before, so I don’t know if she looks as I predicted when she’s an adult.”

Ning Su made a sound of agreement. “Perhaps in his adult state, you won’t be able to see his face.”

As the two were talking, Little Gu Witch looked over, his narrow eyes shining with a hint of darkness, beyond what one would expect at his body’s current age.

The two of them hurriedly sat down at the dining table.

“Ha ya.”

The oil-painted puppet looked at Ning Su.

Ning Su politely greeted, “Hello.”

As if it was their first meeting, with an expression of “I don’t know you at all” on his face.

The oil-painted puppet did not sense his deeper meaning and, upon receiving a response, sat satisfied next to little Gu Witch and arranged the utensils in front of it.

The 11 players silently ate their breakfast.

When they were almost done eating, Shi Tianzhu said, “The window opening on the fifth floor for three days is over.”

The 11 players either looked at her or perked up their ears.

“We are entering the ninth day in the castle. There are 4 people left on the fourth floor, 4 people left on the fifth floor, and 3 people left on the sixth floor, totaling 11 people.”

“Starting tonight, the windows will be opened floor by floor, starting from the fourth floor, then the fifth floor tomorrow, and the sixth floor the day after.”

She said, “Let me remind you again, the mother’s body is already very weak and may not last for two more days. No matter which floor, you are not allowed to use any means to keep the monster children outside the window, letting them destroy the mother’s body all night. Remember, if the mother’s body dies, we will all die.”

“I hope everyone will be ‘born’ soon. Good luck.”

The players who had just finished eating felt heavy in their hearts, and those who hadn’t finished couldn’t eat anymore.

They didn’t have a clear sense of the mother’s body. They had been struggling and exhausted, dealing with the monster children while avoiding death and accumulating luck points. However, they forgot about the mother’s body’s deteriorating condition.

Even if they managed to survive the death brought by the monster children, if they hadn’t accumulated enough luck points before the death of the mother’s body, they would die along with it.

“President Shi, how long do you think the mother’s body can last?”

“This is a difficult question to give an exact time for. Let me describe it, and you can speculate for yourselves.”

She said, “This is the ninth day since we entered the castle. On the first night we entered the castle, I could feel the mother’s body’s pulse while wearing boots on the carpet. After being attacked by the monster children two or three times in a row, I had to put my hand inside the carpet to feel it. Last night, it was difficult to feel the pulse even when my hand was inside the carpet.”

Players’ hearts sank, and several of them became visibly anxious.

This was much worse than they had imagined; they might not be able to endure for even two days.

They looked at their ghost friends, their faces filled with struggle.

Chen Jinpeng and Zhu Ji’s experiences had taught them that they couldn’t force their ghost friends anymore; it was a dangerous thing to do.

But not accumulating enough luck points quickly was also a very dangerous and worrisome matter.

Bai Shuang suggested, “I propose that from today onwards, we only eat one meal, and this meal will be only half of what we usually eat.”

Ning Su: “...”

No player opposed; compared to death, enduring hunger was nothing.

Shi Tianzhu said, “Since everyone agrees, let’s decide on it this way.”

The players left the dining hall in silence, and many of them looked at the little Gu Witch as they left.

Besides her appearance today, there was another reason.

The little Gu Po had the least luck points among all the players.

She only had one luck point.

Even though the mother’s body was about to decay, she didn’t seem to be in a hurry at all. Why was that?

***

“It seems like Gu Witch must have known that her ghost friend is extraordinary?”

On the balcony of room 407, Zhu Shuangshuang analyzed, “She’s too calm. From the beginning until now, she has never pressured her ghost friend nor deliberately sought its favor. She’s not in a rush to obtain luck points from her ghost friend.”

“Even if she’s capable, she can’t create luck points out of thin air. So, she must have realized that she doesn’t need luck points; her ghost friend will naturally take her out.”

Meng Jiang affirmed, “She must be aware; after all, she’s a high-ranking member of the Yongming Guild.”

This explained everything.

They heard that the top members of the Yongming Guild were ruthless and not virtuous individuals.

If the Gu Witch needed luck, she would never show mercy or have a soft heart. She must have more powerful and safer means than Chen Jinpeng and Zhu Ji.

If she didn’t want it, it meant she knew something and had other plans.

Ji Mingrui asked Ning Su: “Can the oil-painted puppet open the gate?”

Gui Sheng was playing in the small garden with four ghost friends. Ji Mingrui didn’t hide his intentions and asked directly.

Ning Su pursed his lips and said, “It should be able to, but not right now. It needs some time to recover.”

Last night, Ning Su tried holding the oil-painted puppet. It was indeed able to pull the iron gate slightly, but with that small gap, it had already used up all its strength.

Dry wood chips fell from the puppet’s arm onto Ning Su’s face and body.

Even if the Little Gu Witch hadn’t appeared, Ning Su would have immediately stopped.

“What do you mean? Tonight, we will open the window on the fourth floor, and one of us will die. If he can do it, why not try letting him open the gate?” Ji Mingrui relentlessly asked.

Ning Su, with a helpless expression, said, “I told you, it’s not possible now.”

He had only fed the oil-painted puppet twice, and it had already agreed to help him try opening the door.

When the small wooden hand exerted force to pull the enormous iron gate, the sensation of wood chips falling on his face seemed to linger on him until now.

When the gu insects attacked him, the rough and uneven arms, missing wood chips, held his head, and it gently brushed away the wood chips from the corner of his eye.

There were some intangible things that Ning Su couldn’t simply betray.

Ji Mingrui pressed his temple and said, “I know it sounds callous when I say it, just like those players who force their ghost friends. But now the situation is critical. It’s a matter of one person’s life among us. Why can’t we give it a try?”

Ning Su, sourly and resentfully, said, “Capitalist.”

Ji Mingrui: “...”

Zhu Shuangshuang coughed and said, “The key is that we can’t steal the oil-painted wooden puppet from Gu Witch now. She has it with her today.”

Meng Jiang nodded. “Yes, the four of us can’t defeat her. She’s not alone; she has thousands of gu insects. Don’t underestimate her. Those black-shelled, soft-bellied gu insects are just her lowest-level ones. She is truly terrifying.”

Ning Su lifted his eyelids and asked, “The lowest level?”

Meng Jiang nodded. “Didn’t I tell you before? She has many types of gu insects. Shi Tianzhu can summon monsters from different instances, and she can use dungeon instances to refine gu. In the previous guild tournament, she used a corpse gu refined in the Corpse Sea dungeon instance to wipe out an entire medium-sized guild.”

Ning Su blinked in confusion. Why didn’t he use it last night then?

Zhu Shuangshuang made a sound of dismay. “They are all too formidable. While other players were forced to their deaths, they hadn’t even made a move.”

Ji Mingrui said, “So, this method won’t work anymore.”

Ning Su nodded, “Yes, it won’t.”

Zhu Shuangshuang lowered her head dispiritedly, “Then what should we do?”

Meng Jiang scratched his head. “Actually, there’s a selfish method. We can open the arched window, but we shouldn’t remove the lily vine on the window and door of our room.”

This method was indeed selfish, but people were inherently selfish. If it could avoid death, who wouldn’t want to give it a try?

Zhu Shuangshuang said, “Forget it, let’s remove it. If we let the monster children smash outside all night, the mother’s body might not be able to hold on for the whole night. Originally, it was a matter of one person dying. We don’t want all four of us to die and take another seven players with us.”

Ji Mingrui calmly said, “This method won’t work. If we don’t remove it, the fifth and sixth floors will force us to do it.”

Meng Jiang also felt hopeless. “Then what should we do? Who will die tonight?”

“Who said someone has to die?” Ning Su, who seemed lost in thought, asked.

“What? No one will die? Don’t the monster children destroy a ghost friend every night? And we can’t stop it with the lily vine.”

For players who only had one ghost friend, the monster children destroying one every night meant that someone would die. This belief had deeply taken root in their hearts over these nine days.