Chapter 36: Screecher Zombie, Preparing for Experiments
After resting, Su Ning glanced at the time and was surprised to find that only two hours had passed.
The sky was still shrouded in deep darkness, as if endless night covered the whole world.
“I only slept for two hours?” Su Ning murmured to herself.
She quickly gathered her gear and checked on the Giant Carnivorous Flower that was still in the process of awakening.
However, it was clearly still not fully awakened.
Since it hadn’t completed its awakening, Su Ning returned it to her backpack and decided to shift her attention to other matters.
After the rest, her spirit was renewed, and she felt it was time to act. She pulled out the long-unseen night vision goggles from her backpack and skillfully put them on.
Through the night vision, even in the pitch-dark night, everything around was clearly visible.
Su Ning couldn’t help but marvel at the wonders of technology. This kind of equipment allowed her to move in the dark as if it were broad daylight.
A sudden urge welled up inside her—she wanted to attempt the seemingly impossible mission: kill 100,000 zombies.
Although the task was extremely difficult, Su Ning thought that since there was no punishment for failure, maybe if she persisted, there would be unexpected rewards.
At that moment, the rain had already stopped. Su Ning decided to first clean up the scattered ordinary zombies.
She cautiously stepped out of the room, weapon tightly gripped in her hand.
With her “Perfect Aim” skill, she precisely hit the head of every approaching zombie, killing them instantly. Her movements were swift and decisive, giving the zombies no chance to retaliate. As the zombies fell one after another, Su Ning gradually adapted to the combat rhythm, and her confidence grew stronger.
The system’s kill count voice rang continuously in her ears, lifting her mood further.
She quickly picked up the arrows she had fired, intending to reuse them, when her eyes fell on the blackish zombie blood on them.
Suddenly, a thought flashed in her mind: “The zombie virus is also a kind of poison. My ‘Scavenger’s Venom’ can absorb and utilize all kinds of toxins—can I use it to absorb this virus too?”
Once the idea surfaced, numerous experimental methods and possible outcomes flooded her mind.
But another risky thought followed: what if the Scavenger’s Venom couldn’t absorb the virus, and she became infected herself—then she’d be completely doomed.
“I should try it on other animals first.”
Su Ning thought to herself.
She placed several zombie corpses into her scavenger backpack, planning to study them later.
This way, she could avoid putting herself in danger while exploring more of the Scavenger’s Venom’s potential. Thinking of this, Su Ning became excited for what the future might hold.
Next, Su Ning began her zombie-hunting campaign.
Her arrows harvested the undead, and as she continued slaying, she also searched for a safer shelter.
Su Ning followed the path previously taken by the zombie horde, and along the way, she took down nearly a hundred zombies.
The effort left her breathless. Even with her “Perfect Aim” skill, she was utterly exhausted.
She pulled out her ice-heat converter flask from her backpack. Inside was her homemade [Energy Soup].
After learning in the Farming Ranch instance that Energy Soup was made using Juju Fruit and Jade Dew Berries, Su Ning had tried to recreate it herself. Although she succeeded, the result was far from ideal.
[Energy Soup (Defective)]: As the name implies, a defective version of Energy Soup. It allows the user to recover stamina for a certain period of time.
Su Ning drank it. Although the effect wasn’t as good as the one she had in the Farming Ranch instance, the Energy Soup combined with her innate [Self-Healing] talent allowed her stamina to recover quickly. The price, however, was a significant increase in her appetite.
This was one drawback of the [Self-Healing] talent.
But for Su Ning, it wasn’t a problem.
Soon, she spotted a survivor base.
However, it had clearly been overrun—it was full of zombies, and the numbers were even greater than the previous corpse tide.
“Looks like I can’t head that way.”
Then she saw a tall tower on a nearby mountain. She immediately headed toward it.
The tower was very tall and offered a wide view of the surrounding areas.
Upon reaching the tower, Su Ning felt the cold wind from the height. She quickly pulled a military coat from her backpack and threw it over herself. Then she set up a tent there.
She placed a pot of Temperature-Stabilizing Flower inside, and the cold dampness from the recent rain instantly vanished.
Using her night vision goggles, Su Ning carefully scanned the surrounding environment and found many zombies wandering in the dark.
Besides the usual [Common Zombies] and [Savage Zombies], she also noticed some other, unfamiliar types.
Using Scavenger’s Eye, she identified them by name.
They included [Juvenile Mutant Zombies], [Striker Zombies], and [Screecher Zombies].
[Juvenile Mutant Zombies]: These are mutated human children infected with the zombie virus. They are small in stature but extremely agile, excellent at climbing. You can spot them moving between trees and rooftops. Their claws are exceptionally sharp and can easily tear through objects.
[Striker Zombies]: These zombies are incredibly fast. While they can be killed with a hit, their speed makes them hard to catch or target.
[Screecher Zombies]: These are mutated female human zombies. They don’t deal direct damage but have a special ability—emitting a piercing scream that summons nearby zombies, forming massive zombie swarms. Their threat lies in triggering large gatherings that overwhelm survivors.
These three new zombie types shocked Su Ning.
She realized that not only were these mutated zombies growing in number, but their variety and unique traits were also increasing.
Faced with this, Su Ning knew she had to be more cautious.
“Looks like I need to eliminate the Screechers the moment I see them.” These things were basically zombie summoners—one scream and an entire horde would appear. Dangerous beyond words.
While observing, Su Ning glanced back at the house she had previously stayed in. Seeing the number of zombies there made her scalp go numb.
“Good thing I left early,” she muttered.
She felt a chill—there were two female Screecher Zombies patrolling around that very house.
If one of them had noticed her and screamed, even if she could kill them both, the scream alone would’ve drawn an entire swarm.
Had she been surrounded, her fate would’ve been sealed.
Su Ning sat down to plan her next steps in the instance.
“Gathering supplies is a must.”
The extreme cold was coming, and she didn’t want to freeze. She needed plenty of cold-resistant gear.
“I have to hunt zombies and collect resources.”
With that in mind, she pulled out the zombie corpses she had earlier stored in her backpack to test her hypothesis.
Su Ning released a Death Worm, which she had already tamed using her Insect Refining Jar. It followed her commands entirely.
She wanted to see if the Death Worm would become a Zombie Death Worm after feeding on zombie flesh—would it be infected, and could she still control it?
Of course, she was also testing virus absorption.
(End of Chapter)
