Lucky Compass

The eighth day after entering the game.

The doctor came over with Ye Zhao's examination report. Her body had indeed been contaminated by a massive amount of nuclear radiation. At a glance, it was clear she had been in close contact with a radiation source. By all logic, Ye Zhao should have been lying in bed, barely alive, rather than bouncing around full of energy.

And she had awakened supernatural abilities.

Not only could she foresee the future, but she was also astonishingly fast.

Word of Ye Zhao charging through the night with a machete and slaughtering everything in sight had already spread. Everyone knew she was an ability user, so fast she became an afterimage. They looked at her with excitement and curiosity.

People had even started asking about her early that morning. Who wouldn't want to become an ability user? It was not only the capital needed to survive the apocalypse, but also a chance to rise to the top in a single leap.

Fortunately, the higher-ups took Ye Zhao very seriously. They had sent people to protect her early in the morning, keeping away those prying eyes as well.

This abnormal phenomenon secretly thrilled the doctors. Since she had come out of City X, perhaps the X Virus in her body had mutated together with the nuclear radiation? Was that why her physical potential had been awakened? Maybe they could even develop a zombie vaccine?!

They immediately looked at Ye Zhao as though she were an enormous treasure.

If Ye Zhao had not been leaving this world in two days, she would have been worried that these people might lock her up as an experimental subject.

Ye Zhao had several tubes of blood drawn early that morning. After breakfast, she swallowed a whole pile of pills before Fu Lie came to pick her up.

Fu Lie brought her to a training ground. Countless soldiers were training in the square, while a chubby young man ran around the track. He was panting hard, his face twisted in agony. Countless times, he tried to stop, only for the two tall soldiers beside him to haul him up and make him keep running.

Ye Zhao could see the despair on his face.

Fu Lie said, "That's the ability user. His name is Nie Yun."

"Before the virus outbreak in City X, he personally went to the police station and claimed to be an ability user, asking for the country's protection. Unfortunately, his ability worked only sometimes. Every few days, he could produce one tiny Waterball."

"Later, we received news that ability users had appeared in City X. Some could launch fireballs, some could throw lightning bolts, and some could casually fling out a sturdy Earth Wall!"

"After receiving the information, we immediately sent people to bring the ability users back."

"Unfortunately, we were still one step too late. The major countries discovered that the zombie virus was spreading at a terrifying rate. Locking down cities could stop zombies, but it could not completely contain mutated animals infected with the virus..."

"Two hundred countries around the world voted to use nuclear weapons on City X, aiming to eradicate the zombie virus once and for all!"

"Of course, it failed."

After Fu Lie finished speaking, he waved. The two soldiers supporting Nie Yun immediately brought him over. Nie Yun was half-dead from exhaustion. In the past few days, he had run more than he had in his entire twenty-odd years of life.

God knew he was just an obscure shut-in!

Ye Zhao had used Scan on Nie Yun the moment he approached.

[Scan successful: Create Waterball—Elemental Card ×1. Creation Points required: 100.]

[Waterball—Elemental Card: Can release 100 Waterballs with diameters of 3–5 cm.]

[Scan successful: Create Lucky Compass ×1. Creation Points required: 100.]

[Lucky Compass: After using the compass, it will guide you to make the most correct choice. Can only be used 10 times.]

Sure enough, he was a Player too.

His so-called ability working only sometimes was because Nie Yun feared exhausting the Elemental Card's energy. An ability user who could no longer produce Waterballs was no longer an ability user.

He was quite clever, actually.

Fu Lie introduced them. "This is Miss Ye. Nie Yun."

Nie Yun was exhausted to the point of near death. He lifted his eyelids, and when he saw a pretty young woman, he gave a goofy smile and weakly waved. "Hello."

Ye Zhao had no intention of acknowledging a fellow Player. She only coveted his game items. "Hello."

Fu Lie gave Ye Zhao a puzzled look. He had thought she had some special purpose in meeting an ability user, but she was only saying hello?

When he saw that Ye Zhao truly had no further plans, he waved his hand. The two sparring partners immediately dragged Nie Yun off to continue running.

Nie Yun: ...I'm dying, save me!

He really was about to collapse. He had always been a frail shut-in. When he entered the Black Hole Game, he had been terrified. After hesitating for a long time, he had turned himself in at the police station, hoping to seek protection from the state. How else could his weak body survive in this world?

He had originally planned to become a human test subject. As long as he held out for ten days, that would be enough.

Who would have thought that aside from checking his physical data every day and drawing some blood, they did not lock him up? Once they discovered just how weak he was, they started taking him to train every day. God knew he had already lost twenty pounds in just the past few days!

Twenty pounds! How many chicken legs would he have to eat to gain that back?

Of course, Nie Yun later learned that City X had been destroyed by a nuclear blast. He was terrified in hindsight, but also grateful. Since he had never seen any ability users besides himself, he had always believed he was the only Player left in this world.

Naturally, it had never occurred to him that the girl he had just met was also a Player.

Fu Lie said, "This is my sincerity toward you. We will not harm you. We only want to use your abilities to better survive in this world! You should know that the X Virus is far more terrifying than we ever anticipated."

Ye Zhao said, "Do you have a laboratory researching the X Virus? I want to take a look."

Scanning a single zombie had increased her experience by twenty percent. She had scanned over ten thousand items before and gained so little. Naturally, she wanted to scan more mutated species, and a laboratory certainly would not be lacking in them.

Perhaps she would level up soon. This trip had truly not been wasted!

Fu Lie said, "I'll need to apply for that. And I have to know why you want to go to the laboratory, otherwise the higher-ups won't approve it."

He added, "You should understand how important the laboratory is."

Ye Zhao understood the laboratory's importance, but she would not tell him the truth. No matter how sincere Fu Lie appeared, she could not reveal her trump card or her true purpose. "There are a few things I want to confirm. If it's not possible, then forget it."

At worst, she would find one herself.

Ye Zhao acted as though she did not care either way, which made Fu Lie even more uncertain. "I'll try applying."

"Thank you." Ye Zhao pulled two milk candies from her pocket and handed one to Fu Lie.

Fu Lie said, "Thank you, but I don't eat candy."

Fine, then.

Ye Zhao unwrapped one and ate it herself as she asked, "Is there a place to practice target shooting?"

She needed to shed the identity of a rookie sniper.

Ye Zhao lay prone at the sniper range and practiced shooting. Fu Lie was actually quite decent. He had even assigned her an instructor. The instructor, however, was in agony. Who had taught this comrade how to snipe? How could they have taught her so crookedly?

He could not help asking. Ye Zhao replied proudly, "Teacher Baidu. Not bad, right?"

The instructor: ...

That really was something.

A little after one in the afternoon, Fu Lie arrived with good news. The higher-ups had agreed to let her visit the laboratory, but they hoped she could make predictions for humanity.

Ye Zhao readily agreed. "Sure."

The laboratory was built underground. Ye Zhao underwent layer after layer of inspections before entering, and she also put on protective clothing.