Yan Yu

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Before entering the Survival Apartments, Yan Yu was an ordinary worker with neither the money nor the interest to learn shooting. Her first two instances involved extreme heat, where dehydration and sunburn were the principal dangers, and a train with a serial killer. The zombie outbreak in which she meets Su Cheng is her third instance 6 102.

She initially saves points for items rather than improving her constitution. A cold that seems minor after her previous instance becomes severe during the zombie outbreak, teaching her to prioritize physical strengthening. She also postpones her first special instance because of that illness 6.

Appearance

• Hair: Ear-length, worn loose when she meets Su Cheng outside the apartment complex 33.
• Clothing: Wears an American-style tank top and cargo pants during their trip to the Central Circle 33.
• Exhaustion: Has a sallow, sleep-deprived complexion after a frightening special instance that leaves her with recurring nightmares 33 34.
• Possession-related changes: At Man Moon Hotel, develops a deathly pale face, unusually red lips, narrower eyes with upturned corners, and a mole near her mouth. She also wears vivid red nail polish that she later recognizes as unlike her own taste 163.
• Eye injury: Her eyes become cloudy gray and her vision deteriorates after the hotel ritual and possession. The impairment remains evident when she resumes front-desk duty 165 169.

Personality

Yan Yu is blunt and decisive. Su Cheng characterizes her approach as using force rather than wasting words when force will solve a problem. She is prepared to chop through locked doors, drives aggressively through obstacles, and takes the rear guard during the gas-station escape 5 6 8.

She is also outgoing and willing to share hard-earned knowledge. She explains apartment mechanics to Su Cheng, admits her own mistakes with constitution upgrades, and later repays Su Cheng’s help with medical supplies and an offer of ammunition. Their friendship includes easy teasing, including her suggestion that she should start calling Su Cheng “Sister Cheng” 6 34 78 102.

Although supernatural encounters frighten her, she remains practical about survival. After learning that the hospital growth could “give birth” within days, she immediately looks for a way out. She wants to unlock her Gene Lock but rejects deliberately risking her life merely for a chance at awakening it 34 73.

Abilities & Skills

Mental Barrier

Yan Yu’s First-Stage Gene Lock ability strengthens her defenses against external mental stimuli and enhances her five senses 77.

• Mental resistance: Helps her withstand the restrictions she encounters in the Golden Leaf Slaughterhouse 102.
• Reduced harm under illusions: During the hospital’s operating-room trap, she marches in place rather than harming herself and quickly regains clarity when Su Cheng supplies white Qi 81.
• Limits: Does not make her immune to powerful ghosts. Soon after awakening it, she is overwhelmed by a female ghost described as nearly as strong as a vicious ghost 78.
• Personal preference: She is disappointed that the ability is not the kind of power she had hoped for, despite previously wishing simply to unlock a Gene Lock 77.

Melee Combat

Yan Yu fights zombies with a fire axe and spear, covering retreats and responding to attacks at close range 4 8.

• Kills a zombie attacking Su Cheng and stays behind to cover her withdrawal through the convenience store’s side door 8.
• Spears a zombie that has climbed onto the SUV’s rear windshield 8.
• Keeps a long saber ready beneath Doctor Li’s desk when the consultation becomes threatening 76.

Driving

Yan Yu repeatedly serves as the group’s driver, including while ill and under pursuit 5 8.

• Drives through obstructed streets and rams a path across a bridge during the zombie outbreak 5.
• Takes turns at full speed after replacing Wang Zhiyang at the wheel 8.
• Later picks Su Cheng up in a white sedan for visits to the Central Circle 33 102.

Survival Planning and Instance Knowledge

As a more experienced contestant, Yan Yu teaches Su Cheng practical apartment rules and helps organize their early shelter 6 7.

• Explains restrictions on carrying supplies out of instances, storage items, teaming items, and supermarket membership 6.
• Recommends constitution-enhancing purchases before expensive weapons 6.
• Organizes rotating night watches at the gas station 7.
• Proposes widening a drainage ditch and filling it with gasoline to burn approaching zombies without directly setting the gas station ablaze 7.
• Explains how to qualify for the Central Circle’s auctions 34.

Firearms Limitations

• Has no formal shooting experience. Her attempt to learn inside an instance nearly results in her shooting herself because of the recoil 102.
• Uses guns infrequently and offers her stockpiled bullets to Su Cheng 102.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Fire axe — Her recurring melee weapon, used against zombies and brought out while the hospital group prepares to block the placenta chute 4 8 83.
• Homemade spears — Two wooden poles fitted with kitchen knives are kept in her SUV; she later uses a spear against a pursuing zombie 5 8.
• Long saber — Readied during the confrontation with Doctor Li 76.
• Smart Bag — Stores supplies, water, and weapons 74 75.
• Restorative potions — Used after surgery and supernatural attacks 77 78.
• Soul-Pointing Needle and yellow talisman — Given to her by Su Cheng before they board separate buses. The talisman repels ghosts below Vengeful Ghost level 84.
• Geological detector — A slightly damaged special item that predicts the timing of geological disasters; accepted during auction qualification 103.
• Vehicles — Uses a green SUV during the zombie instance and a white sedan around the apartment complex and Central Circle 4 33 102.

Relationships

• Su Cheng — Close friend and recurring teammate. Yan Yu initially provides transport, combat support, and guidance; Su Cheng later nurses her through a fever and repeatedly saves her from supernatural threats. Yan Yu repays her with supplies and offers further assistance 4 5 6 84 102 165.
• Xu Shaowei — Friend and fellow regular at An Tavern. Yan Yu introduces her to Su Cheng, and the three exchange instance information and supplies. Xu Shaowei also helps rescue Yan Yu at Man Moon Hotel 33 34 102 165.
• Song Yichi — Hospital teammate whose medical knowledge identifies the growth in Yan Yu’s abdomen as a placenta. He performs the procedure to remove it and later helps seal the hospital’s chute 75 77 83.
• Sister Wang — Gas-station employee who shelters with Yan Yu and Su Cheng, shares watch duty, and helps evacuate Wang Zhiyang 6 7 8.
• Wang Zhiyang — Rescue target whom Yan Yu and Su Cheng retrieve from an approaching zombie horde 7 8.
• Yun Xi — Acquaintance from another instance. Yan Yu has spoken to her about Su Cheng before their reunion during the District Competition 169 170.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Zombie Outbreak

Yan Yu meets Su Cheng while searching a pharmacy for fever and cold medicine. She proposes escaping to the outskirts together and drives them out of the city, but collapses from her fever after crossing a bridge. Su Cheng administers medicine, cools her with rubbing alcohol, and keeps watch until she wakes 4 5.

At a gas station, Yan Yu helps establish shelter and shares survival knowledge. When Wang Zhiyang arrives with a horde behind him, she and Su Cheng rescue him, fight a retreat through the convenience store, and escape with Sister Wang. They reach armed rescuers and complete the rescue mission 6 7 8 9.

First Special Instance and Central Circle

After returning home, Yan Yu plans to enter a special instance the following day because purchases and an approaching utility bill have left her short of points. The experience frightens her badly enough to cause three consecutive nights of nightmares despite medication 10 34.

She later brings Su Cheng to meet Xu Shaowei at An Tavern. Still unable to unlock her own Gene Lock, she listens to their awakening experiences before helping show Su Cheng around the Central Circle 33 34.

Golden Leaf Hospital

Yan Yu is drawn into cafeteria work upon arriving at the hospital. Its “nutritious meals” cloud her judgment and cause a living placenta to grow in her uterus. Su Cheng gets her away from the cafeteria, arranges an ultrasound, and later restrains and sedates her when the food’s aroma overwhelms her self-control 71 72 73 74 75.

Song Yichi removes the placenta, and Yan Yu awakens Gene Lock First Stage during the ordeal. She subsequently pursues her cafeteria quest and joins Su Cheng and Song Yichi in blocking the chute supplying placentas to twin Ghost Kings, completing the hospital’s main quest 77 78 82 83.

Golden Leaf Slaughterhouse and Return

Her cafeteria quest unlocks a pending journey to the Golden Leaf Slaughterhouse. Though exhausted and anxious about proceeding without Su Cheng, she boards her bus after accepting protective items from her friend 82 84.

She survives the slaughterhouse and later reports that Mental Barrier helped resist its restrictions. At their reunion, she brings medical supplies for Su Cheng and Xu Shaowei, waives payment for Su Cheng’s share, and offers ammunition in gratitude for the protective items 102.

District Competition: Man Moon Hotel

With contestants’ memories sealed during the competition, Yan Yu works at Man Moon Hotel’s front desk. A white-dressed spirit clings to her back and gradually alters her appearance and behavior. Su Cheng temporarily slows its intrusion with white Qi, while she and Xu Shaowei use their matching bracelets to prompt Yan Yu to question her situation 147 163.

Yan Yu is later found bound during a sacrificial ritual, with a cross embedded in her chest. Su Cheng cuts her free, removes the cross, and destroys the spirit as it attempts to merge with her. Yan Yu recovers her memories but is left wounded and visually impaired 165.

After the competition, Yan Yu and Xu Shaowei recount exploring the villa, fighting Hu Ding and his companions, and witnessing the Calamity’s arrival. They arrange to meet Su Cheng in the Central Circle again 177.

Notable Quotes

“The instance won't leave us with no way out. There must be a way. I just haven't found it yet.” 73

“When I get back to the apartment, you can take your pick of my things.” 84