Deep in the Living
Chapter 409 - 397: Hunger and Zombies

Chapter 409: Chapter 397: Hunger and Zombies

"The theme of the second challenge is [Hunger], inspired by one of my favorite zombie movies from when I was a human teenager."

"This challenge is quite difficult and has significant weight. Those who perform excellently may even receive a ’Skip Card.’"

Mr. Question Mark had already pulled out a glittering gold card between his fingers.

"Additionally, I will not personally intervene in the second round, but leave it in the capable hands of my assistant—Jia Wen."

"I believe many people here should know him. Now, let’s welcome Jia Wen to the stage."

With the beam of the second spotlight and the play of dynamic music,

a man dressed in all white—hair, eyes, skin, and clothing—took the stage. Unlike Mr. Question Mark, he did not dance onto the stage, but simply walked forward and stood by Mr. Question Mark’s side.

He appeared to be in his fifties or sixties, standing respectfully.

Luo Di immediately caught a scent from the man, a scent of a corpse.

"Hua, is this a zombie? Like Shea?"

"Yes, but there’s a big difference.

This is the strongest known zombie in the Corner, and the earliest monster to enter the Corner through [Zombie Concretization].

It’s rumored that he was personally selected as a servant by Mr. Question Mark, participated in the Death Grand Challenge, and won the final victory. Since then, he has always stayed by Mr. Question Mark’s side.

This guy is very strong, with a higher rank than all of us here, very dangerous.

It’s a pity Shea isn’t here; otherwise, having Shea take you through the second round might have been the best choice."

"The earliest zombie?"

While Luo Di was carefully observing this person, Mr. Question Mark continued explaining the challenge levels: "The 279 servant-master teams that advance will simultaneously head to the scene of the second round—[Detached Villa Community].

This community has experienced a severe zombie outbreak. However, as long as you stay inside your villa, you can ensure your safety.

The requirement for passing is very simple,

you only need to survive for three days.

Each group will have their own small villa,

but the food in the villa will only be enough for you to survive one day. Some individuals with large appetites may not even last a day.

So, you will need to risk zombie infection, seek food, and survive; it’s that simple.

Because the quality of this year’s participants is very high, I’ll give a little hint—don’t be confined to the conventional understanding of food. Use your imagination to the fullest; as long as there’s food to eat, you can survive this round.

Additionally,

because this challenge might involve privacy issues, we will not provide private recordings of the interior of the villas, only showing footage of the hungry ghosts within the community.

Since it will last for three days, guests who are not participating, please proceed to the lounge where we will provide free dining and accommodation services. Please wait quietly for the end of the second game.

If there are any questions, you can ask now, limited to ten minutes."

Soon someone in the crowd raised their hand to ask, "Is the ’Hunger’ forcefully imposed?"

"Good question. Yes! Once participation is confirmed, our staff will inject everyone with a hunger virus, effective for three days.

Once injected, you will completely die if you do not consume enough food within a day."

"May one satiate their hunger by consuming their own regenerating limbs or those of their servant?"

"That’s a good question~ In this game, self-cannibalism as well as eating one’s own servant is prohibited.

But you can kill your servant to end the game, if necessary. However, I believe none of you will be so cowardly as to be forced to this point, having to exit the game through such a lowly method.

If you indeed do so, I will possibly look down on you, and in the future, it’s best not to occupy a game slot here."

"What level of threat are the zombies inside the community?"

"Involves game content, unable to answer, next one."

"Can the villa structure be damaged?"

"Oh~ Good question! I forgot to mention, since the villa is your [safe house], it can absolutely prevent zombie intrusion.

During the challenge, any method to damage the villa, whether yours or others’, is prohibited, which will lead to direct elimination.

Of course, you being the fellow owners and neighbors of the same community, visiting is allowed, but whether or not the other party will open the door for you is another matter."

Through a Q&A session, the relevant rules were mostly completed, and Luo Di roughly speculated the key point of the "second round."

Similar to the first round.

Since you need to find food and are prohibited from eating yourself, the other participants become an "obvious choice," continuing to encourage mutual slaughter.

But there should also be a "dark side" choice that requires actually going into the game to discover.

Luo Di could also sense that Mr. Question Mark was hiding a lot, and that this round involving hunger and zombies would have many variables, where the slightest mistake could lead to his death inside.

"Time’s up," Mr. Question Mark clapped his hands loudly to signal the end:

"The Q&A session ends here. If there is any need to supplement rules, I will inform everyone through the neighborhood broadcast inside the second round scene.

Let’s not waste time; now please begin your servant-master team-up.

Once a duo is determined, please head to the west entrance of the waiting area, where virus injections will be administered. Once we verify the virus’s activation, you can enter early.

Time limit is half an hour.

You can head there early, even though you’ll be confined inside your own villa, but you can adapt to the gaming environment and the specific effects brought on by the virus in your body early, gaining an advantage."

The originally closed wall on the west side gradually opened up,

a large number of staff wearing animal masks were already stationed in the inspection-like area, holding pure white syringes.

The capable assistant who was just beside Mr. Question Mark, [Jia Wen], the First Generation Zombie, also approached the checkpoint.

He will personally oversee this process to prevent some specially-abled monsters from trying to disguise and muddle through.

Most of the participants on-site were in a one master, one servant format, not needing to choose partners, and directly headed to the checkpoint.

Participants like Luo Di, brought to the scene with more than two masters, needed to carefully choose.

"Luo Di, let’s go~ Sounds fun enough."

"Moreover, I’m quite familiar with Shea, and we even had a deep exchange. I have some zombie cells in my body, living for three days is not a problem."

Hua Yuan grabbed Luo Di, bearing some personal thoughts.

Listening to the relevant game rules, it seemed there was no need to go out once enough food had been found, giving reason to mess around inside the villa when bored.

Just as the two were preparing to head for the entry to inject the virus,

Pa~ A cold hand suddenly reached out, pulling Luo Di’s other hand.

"I’ll take Luo Di through."

The cold voice emanated between lips, icy with a hint of command.

Hua Yuan did not back down, responding under the premise of maintaining sisterly friendship:

"Sister Yu~ Luo Di and I have cooperated many times, we are the most suitable pair. You can watch properly in the rest area and take a rest as well. If there are any cooperative challenges later, you can take them, how about that?"

However, Yu Lu had no intention of letting go, simply responding:

"It’s grandmother’s wish."

This statement left Hua Yuan without a rebuttal, and she could only let go with an unhappy face.

On second thought, it didn’t matter. This Death Grand Challenge was somewhat different; the first round was not easy, the second round would only be harder.

Even if she and Luo Di were together in one room later, there would certainly be no time for anything else.

"Alright then... By the way! Sister Yu, Luo Di has a knack for attracting clowns, and who knows, they might have blended in. If you meet them in the game, be careful."

Yu Lu just nodded normally, pulling Luo Di away in a floating manner.

Also considering the clown threat, Luo Di turned back to look at Hua Yuan, watching attentively at the grandmother’s arm pendant he couldn’t bring into the game.

Unexpectedly, Hua Yuan’s voice suddenly appeared within his thoughts.

"Luo Di, I warn you! Absolutely do not make a move on Sister Yu, or I’ll mess you up!"