Chapter 3

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Almost instinctively, Zhao Zhu's calf muscles tightened at this moment, and then his entire body leaned backward, performing a move similar to a backflip.

Due to the overreaction, he was unable to stand steady upon landing and instead knelt on the ground, supporting himself with his hands. A large tear appeared in Zhao Zhu's white coat, which had been slashed by the zombie's claws. If his reaction had been any slower, he would have ended up with a torn abdomen.

A delicate shout rang out, and Chen Hong's figure appeared beside Zhao Zhu. She quickly moved forward, stepping in a special pattern.

The female zombie swung her arms, trying to grab Chen Hong, but Chen Hong's steps always landed in areas the female zombie, due to her stiff body, could not reach. After several rounds of confrontation, the female zombie failed to touch Chen Hong.

Then, Chen Hong found an opening and quickly moved forward, using a shoulder throw to pin the female zombie. At the same time, she held a talisman and swiftly pasted it on the female zombie's forehead.

The talisman immediately emitted a red light when it was pasted on the zombie's forehead, and the zombie became motionless, as if under a spell.

Chen Hong also let out a sigh, saying, "Fortunately, the talismans I exchanged can still suppress this level of zombie."

"Exchanged?"

"I'll tell you in detail after this mission world ends. For now, find some ropes and tie the zombie's ankles, and also secure some key areas on her body. Although the talisman has subdued her, we need to prevent any unexpected incidents."

Zhao Zhu nodded and used his phone to search the mortuary. He found a pile of hemp ropes in a corner, which he used to tie the female zombie's ankles several times. He then tied her knee joints and shoulder joints.

The female zombie's eyes stared blankly ahead, but when one approached her, a pungent odor could be smelled, especially around her mouth, which could almost knock a person out.

After tying her up, Zhao Zhu used the ropes to create a simple trap by looping them around several positions on the roof beam.

Chen Hong leaned against a coffin, quietly watching Zhao Zhu do these things. When Zhao Zhu sat back down, Chen Hong offered him a cigarette and a lighter.

"No, I don't actually smoke," Zhao Zhu declined. Chen Hong hummed and lit a cigarette for herself, the tip flickering on and off.

"You keep watch, I'll rest first," Chen Hong said, closing her eyes.

Zhao Zhu slightly moved his neck, took out his phone, but there was no signal and the battery was almost dead. He put the phone away and scanned the surroundings with his eyes, listening for any slight sounds.

There was no choice; one coffin had already come to life, who knew if the other coffins would also "stir"?

After about an hour, Chen Hong was still sleeping, and Zhao Zhu was still alert, but the constant vigilance was making him feel tired. He yawned, his head tilting back, when a cat's meow came:

"Meow~~~~~"

The meow was light and eerie. Zhao Zhu's gaze fell on the roof beam, where a black cat was looking at him. Suddenly, a deep sense of fatigue overwhelmed him, so intense that he couldn't resist it.

...

A crisp knocking sound came, and Zhao Zhu opened his eyes, finding himself leaning on a desk.

Before he could respond, the door opened, and Zhao Meifen walked in with a seductive manner.

"Darling, did you miss me?"

Zhao Zhu shook his head in confusion, feeling something was off. Could it be that everything before was just a dream, including the horror novel, the zombies, and Chen Hong?

"Hey, what are you thinking about? This is a hospital, why do you look so distracted?"

Zhao Meifen sat on Zhao Zhu's lap, seductively rubbing her soft buttocks against him.

Right, this is a hospital, a hospital, not a mortuary, not some mission world.

Zhao Zhu smiled, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and kissed Zhao Meifen twice, smiling.

"That's right, this is a hospital, but don't you think your psychological suggestion and guidance are a bit too simple and low-level?"

"What? This is really a hospital." Zhao Meifen looked puzzled.

"Although I don't want to admit it, the fact is that I'm still in the horror novel world, and you and this office are things I see after being hypnotized. So, I need to wake up, Meifen, I'm sorry."

Zhao Zhu tightly gripped Zhao Meifen's neck, and she struggled, initially making human cries of pain, but then the cries turned into cat meows, sharp and piercing.

A sharp pain in his head woke Zhao Zhu up. He opened his eyes and found himself leaning against a coffin, with a dead black cat in his arms, its neck almost broken by his hands.

Zhao Zhu pushed Chen Hong, who woke up easily. Her first action was to scan the surroundings with a sharp gaze, and then she saw the dead cat in Zhao Zhu's arms.

"Such a thing appeared on the first day."

"Can you explain what this is?"

"This is a yin sha, attached to a cat. It usually plays tricks on you, making you have daydreams. But you're quite strong-minded; it couldn't confuse you."

"I studied psychology and use hypnosis in treating patients."

"Oh, so it was overconfident in front of you."

On the other side, the female zombie with the talisman on her forehead remained motionless.

Chen Hong stretched and said to Zhao Zhu, "Alright, I'll keep watch. You sleep."

Zhao Zhu didn't hesitate, lowered his body, leaned against the coffin, and closed his eyes to sleep. He was indeed tired.

...

His eyes felt slightly sore when he opened them, and he saw sunlight shining directly on his face. Zhao Zhu blocked the sunlight with his hand and got up, his legs numb from sitting all night.

A faint fragrance wafted over. When Zhao Zhu reached the door, he saw Chen Hong walking in with two large bowls. Seeing that Zhao Zhu was awake, she handed him one bowl.

"There's only one bag of rice in the mortuary, so I cooked some porridge."

Zhao Zhu thanked her and took the bowl, his gaze sweeping over the spot where the female zombie had stood the previous day, but only a black mark remained.

"It turned to ashes when the morning sunlight came in," Chen Hong said.

"Are we staying here today?"

"That depends on the plot. If there's no plot prompt, we'll stay here. At least the rice will last us a few days."

"What do you mean by plot prompt?"

"Well, to put it simply, it's like when you read a novel, the protagonist's actions are driven by the supporting characters and events around them. More vividly, when you play an online game, after completing a task, an NPC will usually come to talk to you and guide you to the next task.

In the horror novel world, there will be such clues to guide you on what to do and how to do it. If you don't follow the prompts or the established rules, you'll face various unexpected events and dangers. Of course, even if you follow the prompts, you'll still encounter unexpected events, but they'll be easier to handle."

Zhao Zhu nodded thoughtfully, leaned against the door, and drank the porridge. Before he finished the bowl, an old woman walked in, carrying a basket and leaning on a cane.

"Red, Zhu, go to the land temple at the west end of the village and check it out. They say someone died there. Oh, what a tragedy. Go and bring the body back, you can't leave it for wild dogs to eat at night."

At this moment, a voice sounded in Zhao Zhu's mind:

[Side mission issued: Go to the land temple at the west end of the village and bring the body back to the mortuary. Reward: 300 points.]

The old woman wiped away her tears and left. Chen Hong tidied up, found a rope and a wooden board similar to half a door, and called to Zhao Zhu:

"Did you receive the side mission? Let's go to the land temple."

"Can side missions be skipped or chosen selectively?"

"Exactly. Main missions are mandatory, but side missions can be skipped. However, I need to do them. You'll understand the importance of points later. I won't miss any opportunity to earn points."

"Alright, let's go together." Zhao Zhu picked up the wooden board and followed Chen Hong out of the mortuary.

...

The land temple at the west end of the village was a desolate place. The temple was already in ruins, and the clay statue of the land god had collapsed.

However, after searching the temple twice, Zhao Zhu and Chen Hong couldn't find the body.

"Where is the body?" Chen Hong pursed her lips. "Since the side mission was issued, it can't be wrong."

"There's a possibility that the body hid itself before we entered." Zhao Zhu took a deep breath. "I can still smell the faint odor of a corpse."

"But it's daytime, and zombies fear sunlight," Chen Hong countered.

"So, we just need to find where the sunlight doesn't reach in this temple..."

As they spoke, Zhao Zhu and Chen Hong looked up at the roof beam of the temple.