Who Wins in the End?
All zombies were unable to resist the lure of the light.
[Princess Ding Ding has made a huge contribution]
[Your fame spreads across the world!]
[Let’s all say: thank you, Ultraman Light of Ding]
Ding Ziyue: But this isn’t the kind of attention I wanted!! Damn it!
Her heart was filled with anger, but her face was being broadcast live in ultra-high definition on the giant screen, so she couldn’t show too much expression!
Jiang Linyi was kind-hearted. Seeing the effect, he thought they had finally managed to help.
“Yueyue, it seems Miss Ning’s method is very effective,” Jiang Linyi turned to Ning Yi. “This screen projection should also have speakers, right? It can make sound.”
Ning Yi: “Mm-hmm, yes.”
Ding Ziyue suddenly had a bad feeling. “Linyi gege…”
Jiang Linyi enthusiastically suggested, “Then Yueyue, you can sing! Use your beautiful voice to attract even more zombies!”
Ding Ziyue: “???” What do you all take me for?!
Jiang Linyi’s thinking was simple. Ding Ziyue liked performing singing and dancing in front of people anyway. In so many past events, she had always volunteered to open with a performance. Now there was an even better opportunity—and she could save everyone. Kind-hearted Yueyue would surely be willing.
Ding Ziyue: “Ha… haha… sure! I’m very willing.”
[Do one! Do one! Do one!]
[Sing the Ultraman theme song!]
[First time I’m this excited for Princess Ding’s performance! Come on, everyone’s attention is your fuel!]
Ning Yi held back her laughter: what a talent.
All of them were talents.
My game is incredible because of you all!
So—
On the apocalyptic sea, on the floating giant screen—
Princess Ding Ding, smiling under holy light, began to sing:
“How can we forget old friends, how can our hearts not smile…”
[HAHAHAHAHAHA HELP]
[I’m dying laughing, Light, you’re so sacred!]
[I call this the greatest dark humour of the apocalypse. This scene deserves to go down in history]
Ding Ziyue: “May friendship last forever…”
As soon as her voice came out, the holy light intensified. All the zombies rushed toward the giant screen.
The zombie monsters chased the light away. Once they had all left the mountain, the game system judged the stage as cleared.
A catastrophe was resolved in an unbelievable way!
Gu Cheng held Ning Yi’s hand. “Let’s go.”
Ning Yi: “Okay.”
Wander glanced down the mountain, thoughtful.
[Confetti! Congratulations to the surviving players!]
[Ahhh it’s so fun, I really want to play!]
[So the game rule says when only 2% of players remain, you win—ahhh it’s entering the final showdown!]
[2% means two people! Even the iron triangle won’t be stable anymore! Ahhh it’s getting exciting]
…
After this wave, the remaining players were only Wander’s team and the Goddess of Light’s team.
A total of 14 people.
And in the end, only two would win.
In the apocalypse, survival always came down to an individual battle in the end.
Their team’s supplies were already insufficient, and Wander’s weakness required massive food consumption. They had to gather more resources.
But after such drastic environmental changes, the world had very little left. There were only wild fruits on the mountain, and the water below might not be safe to consume.
Wander bit into a wild fruit, thinking, damn, after living such a good life, this really took some getting used to.
Then he turned his head and saw Gu Cheng feeding Ning Yi small bread pieces.
Wander: “Got any more?”
Gu Cheng expressionless: “Heh.”
Idiot. Get lost.
Wander: “.”
Fine. No one could trick the business emperor twice. He turned to Zhao Mochu instead, preparing to ask about upcoming intel.
After feeding Ning Yi, Gu Cheng touched her stomach through her clothes and asked softly, “Not full yet, right?”
Ning Yi immediately felt a bit embarrassed—people were watching! In front of the whole world, as a top tech genius, she had to keep her dignity. She absolutely could not admit that at home she usually ate until her belly was round.
So Ning Yi wiped her mouth. “I’m full!”
A trace of amusement flashed in Gu Cheng’s eyes. He lowered his voice. “Then should I give the rest to someone else?”
Ning Yi opened her mouth: “Ah ^口^—”
Gu Cheng smiled and fed her the rest, finishing with a small jelly.
After all, these supplies would naturally be consumed over time in the game, so of course Ning Yi should eat her fill.
Ning Yi blinked. “What about you, husband?”
Gu Cheng was thinking about the next stage. Hearing that, he looked down. “Hm?”
Ning Yi: “Are you full too?”
Gu Cheng looked at her. “Not yet.”
Ning Yi let out an “Ah” and quickly grabbed his arm. “Then why didn’t you say earlier—”
Gu Cheng smiled, lowered his head, and quickly kissed her lips. “Now I am.”
Ning Yi: “!”
Isn’t that cheating? Isn’t that cheating?
[He’s cheating!! Ahhhh he’s cheating!]
[Even if you two turn your backs and whisper, I can still find it!]
[No sweet moment can escape my microscopic eyes! Ahhhh]
In the distance, Wander didn’t see the couple’s little movements. He simply reached out toward Zhao Mochu like Erkang. “Wait, wait! Don’t—”
Zhao Mochu: Damn, so sweet!!! Ahhhhhhh!
I don’t want to ship it either, but this married couple is too sweet ahhhhh!!
Wander: “I know you’re excited, but don’t get excited yet—”
Fortunately, Zhao Mochu had gained experience this time. Before fainting, she first gave the warning: “Water! So dark! Underground!—”
After saying those important few words, snap.
Her eyes rolled back and she fainted again.
Zhao Weining caught her in time and almost closed his own eyes too.
He thought: If I’d known, I should’ve followed Gu Le out!
At least that would be better than enduring this embarrassment!
At this moment, the online comments:
Assistant Zhou: [Hahahaha]
Young Master Gu: [Hahahahahahaha]
—How wonderful! The best thing is that the smiles have transferred onto our faces!
Ding Ziyue was dumbfounded. After asking the others, she finally learned about Zhao Mochu’s skill and weakness—so as long as Zhao Mochu shipped a couple, she would faint? Then why didn’t she come ship her and Linyi gege?
They were clearly the sweetest in this world!
Ding Ziyue thought about it and realised Zhao Mochu’s weakness was very convenient for letting the audience feel how sweet her own relationship was.
So Ding Ziyue, with her incredibly strong heart, quickly forgot the experience of being forced to use her face and singing voice as zombie bait. She secretly swore that she would at least make Zhao Mochu faint once for her sweet, pampered life!
And so.
When Zhao Mochu’s blood sugar finally settled and she managed to wake up, she saw Ding Ziyue staring at her with fiery enthusiasm.
Zhao Mochu: “?”
Ding Ziyue hugged Jiang Linyi and said sweetly, “Linyi gege, I hurt.”
Jiang Linyi was indeed very concerned about her and immediately asked, “What’s wrong? Where does it hurt?”
Ding Ziyue felt sweetness in her heart. Did you see? Jiang Linyi had always spoiled her like this! How could anyone not ship it? Wouldn’t Zhao Mochu be sweetened to death?
“It’s not too bad, Linyi gege. I just…”
Jiang Linyi thoughtfully asked, “Is your throat hurting? Did you sing too loudly earlier?”
Zhao Mochu burst out laughing. “Hahahahahahaha—”
She had forgotten the holy-light scene for one second, and his reminder made her remember it again!
Ultraman’s love, too beautiful to seem mortal. Deep affectionate gaze.
Ding Ziyue: “…”
Go away, go away. You’re all sick!
She hated this world so much!
…
After everyone had reorganised, Wander led them down the mountain path.
Ning Yi’s giant screen was still moving into the distance, so this mountain was basically safe now. They stepped across the muddy ground and descended to the foot of the mountain. There was only one road ahead, and at the end of the road appeared a narrow door.
Pitch black. It didn’t look very auspicious. But it was clearly the gate to the next stage.
After walking through that narrow door into the underground palace, the inside was also completely dark, heavy with dampness, gloomy and cold.
The viewers could follow the players and see all the details of the underground palace. In the faintly rippling, cold water light, towering giant pillars of marble or granite stood everywhere!
At a glance, there seemed to be no end, like a maze in the depths of night.
There were many strange eye patterns on these giant pillars, as if they were staring at the players in the dark, or conveying something through the murals. At the base of every giant pillar were stone carvings, inverted in the water. Drip, drip—the sound of water seeped out.
[Incredible ahhhh the art design is amazing]
[Grand and full of detail! Sister Ning, I really love this]
[‘Apocalypse Recreated’ is the best of the year. Sister Ning yyds!]
The atmosphere inside the game was extremely eerie. After all, this looked like a zombie lair, and something might jump out from anywhere.
All the players were so tense they didn’t dare breathe loudly. At that moment, the system’s flat electronic voice suddenly rang out—
“Welcome, players, to the Palace of the Apocalypse.”
“According to the game rules, when only 2% of the entering players remain, the system will determine those 2% as survival winners. Warm reminder: after the transformation of sea and land, the underground zombies now possess many new characteristics.”
Ding Ziyue calculated it. They started with 100 people, meaning only two people could win.
Did that even need asking? It had to be her and Linyi gege!
The two of them were the male and female leads of the world!
Ding Ziyue was very confident in her halo!
Turning around, Jiang Linyi also cared a lot about her “halo.” “Why don’t you wear a hood, Yueyue?”
Ding Ziyue: “Why?” Even if this place was completely dark, it could not stop her beauty!
Jiang Linyi said thoughtfully, “Otherwise, since the palace is so dark, wouldn’t you look like a lamp in the eyes of zombies?”
Ding Ziyue: ?
[Hahahahaha]
[Movie Emperor, how considerate!]
[I think Jiang Linyi really loves her hahahaha]
Ding Ziyue: Did you have to say that out loud? Did you really have to?!
After hearing this, Ning Yi also fell into thought. She turned and quietly said to Gu Cheng, “Husband, you should wear one too.”
Gu Cheng: “?”
Ning Yi said, “Otherwise, when they see you, they’ll get angry and go berserk.”
Gu Cheng: “.”
Wearing a hood was fine.
But receiving the same treatment as that idiot Ding somehow felt insulting.
The system’s flat electronic voice continued: “Kill 20 zombies to receive a system reward.”
Wander: “Why did it increase?”
“Wasn’t it ten before?”
This was mainly because Young Master Gu had completed the previous task too easily, so the system algorithm directly raised the stakes.
The players looked at Gu Cheng, internally breaking down, but didn’t dare say it out loud.
—Do you think everyone is the strongest combat force in the apocalypse?! Ah!
“—Final special reminder to all players: their hearing is extremely sharp! Using firearms may instead attract more zombies and trigger greater danger.”
Everyone: “???”
Why didn’t you say that earlier? Your damn system voice is the loudest!
All players instantly shut their mouths.
This belonged to the system category, so Zhao Mochu couldn’t receive the intel either. The system was truly dog-like!
But after they closed their mouths and quieted down, they finally heard the rustling sounds that had been covered by all the noise earlier.
It was approaching them!
In the blink of an eye, a zombie suddenly rushed out—
In an instant, the players who had gathered together were scattered. They fled in all directions through the maze-like water prison, panicked and disoriented.
In fact, everyone knew that inside the underground palace, there would definitely be a slaughter. Only the final winners of this survival game would make it out.
So from the moment they entered the underground palace, the concept of a team had already automatically dissolved.
Of course, some people still teamed up in pairs. After all, there could be two final winners.
For example, Ding Ziyue and Jiang Linyi were definitely bound together. Zhao Mochu stayed with Zhao Weining. After analysing the situation from the side, Wander also grabbed Song Qingmei to team up—freeze-frame plus combat still gave them a chance.
Gu Cheng pulled Ning Yi and quickly turned into another passage.
This stage did not recommend firearms, so many cold weapons such as knives, spears, staffs, and clubs were scattered inside the palace, helping players improve their combat power.
Soon, Wander picked up a curved blade and charged ahead with it.
One after another, many players grabbed weapons. Holding something in their hands at least gave them some sense of security.
[Ahhh they’re fighting, they’re fighting!]
[Full night vision! So exciting ahhhhh]
Soon, the underground palace echoed with the sounds of blades clashing, knives cutting into flesh, and zombies roaring unwillingly—
In the darkness, Ning Yi quietly asked Gu Cheng, “What should we take, husband?”
Gu Cheng was bending down and rising from the ground. He lowered his eyes and looked at the sheepskin scroll in his hand.
He opened it.
It was the map of the Palace of the Apocalypse.
Ning Yi: “??”
As expected of you, emperor luck! You can even pick this up?
Ning Yi placed both hands behind her back, expressing that she definitely hadn’t given him a cheat.
Online comments filled the screen with []
[Hahahaha Sister Ning, no need to feel guilty]
[We all know that man is simply naturally overpowered]
Gu Cheng quickly memorised the entire palace structure under the faint light, then laughed softly. “Maybe because this is the world you created, it gives me preferential treatment.”
Ning Yi laughed too. “Hmph hmph hmph.”
It turned out there was an underground river in the palace, and only that river led to the exit.
However, after experiencing the apocalyptic sea just now and seeing so many monsters underwater, ordinary players would definitely not dare enter the water easily.
—It had to be said, this plot connection was really sinister!
“So we have the answer,” Gu Cheng put away the map and took her hand. “We’re not looking for weapons. We’re looking for a boat.”
The system reward would definitely be that.
Then Ning Yi wouldn’t need to create one and lose her defensive ability, which would be unsafe.
Ning Yi rolled her neck. “Okay.”
Since entering the game, she had always been protected by Gu Cheng and hadn’t really fought yet.
So when they encountered several zombies facing the wall in a secret passage of the underground palace, Gu Cheng immediately began killing, and Ning Yi wasn’t idle either.
[Holy crap! So cool!]
[Holy crap, Sister Ning is fighting too!]
[Sister Ning, be careful ahhhhh my heart is about to jump out]
Then, in the night-vision view, Ning Yi’s whole body flew up as she kicked a zombie, attacking without hesitation. Her arms twisted, directly snapping one zombie’s neck—clean, neat, and crisp!
Zombies were like that. Many players were defeated by their own fear. As long as you weren’t afraid, their intelligence wasn’t as high as humans’. With steadiness, accuracy, and ruthlessness, they could be dealt with quickly.
Ning Yi clapped her hands. Gu Cheng patted her head.
Then the two of them quickly dealt with several more zombies.
[Holy crap Sister Ning is so handsome!!!]
[Ahhhh Sister Ning, I love you]
After they killed 20 zombies, the system indeed delivered the reward as promised.
An inflatable raft.
Although it didn’t look very sturdy and could easily be overturned in the water, at least it could be rowed.
Gu Cheng held Ning Yi with one hand and carried the raft with the other. Relying on the palace map reproduced by his powerful memory, after many turns, they really found the underground river!
Just as the two of them got on the raft, they heard a series of footsteps.
Wander pulled Song Qingmei along, having cut down quite a few zombies along the way too—
His strategy was still very effective. Song Qingmei’s photography freeze-frame skill helped him freeze zombies, and then he killed them. Their cooperation was decent. But seeing that Song Qingmei was already exhausted to the point of collapse, he ultimately chose to escape with her first, so the two of them hadn’t received the system reward yet.
When Wander saw Gu Cheng rowing, he immediately asked, “Got another one? Give me a boat!”
Gu Cheng smiled faintly.
Holding the paddle, his flat voice echoed through the underground palace: “May friendship last forever…”
Then he rowed away expressionlessly.
Heh. You scammer. Did you think I’d let you scam me three times?
[Hahahaha Young Master Gu really holds grudges]
[Gu Cheng: You think I’ll work for nothing twice?]
[Brother Wan, don’t even think about picking up leftovers!]
Wander: “…”
Damn it!
Ning Yi: Hahahahaha, sorry, Brother Wan!
Survival competition! Competition first, friendship second!
“886.”
Gu Cheng looked at the rapid current ahead in the underground river and said, “Sit tight, baby.”
Ning Yi found it very exciting and waved her hand. “Set off!”
Charge out of the underground palace!
…
Behind them, the entire underground palace was in chaos.
Every so often, several gunshots rang out, followed by terrified screams.
The number of surviving players was dropping sharply.
Zhao Mochu and Zhao Weining sneaked along the way like suspicious little dogs, not making a sound. Even when face-to-face with a zombie, they held back from crying.
It was fine! As long as they didn’t make noise! These underground palace zombies had worse sight than hearing, so they could hide!
However, along the way, the two of them picked up too many weapons.
Too many. While walking, they failed to hold them properly.
Clang, clatter—everything fell to the ground!
They were all cold weapons, iron things, making a huge noise.
Immediately, only one thought remained in Zhao Mochu’s heart: “It’s over. BBQ—”
The zombies instantly lunged over. Before the siblings could even pick up their weapons, they were bitten.
Before going offline, Zhao Weining couldn’t bear it anymore and shouted, “Zhao Mochu! Can you stop shipping them?!”
Zhao Mochu also shouted freely, “Long live Gu de Mo Ning!”
Zombie: “Roar!!—”
The two siblings: gone.
…
After watching Gu Cheng and Ning Yi row away, Wander quickly figured it out too.
He had accidentally followed Gu Cheng’s route. That underground river definitely had an exit—after all, someone like Gu Cheng absolutely wouldn’t take the wrong path.
So they had to get a boat too!
Wander pulled Song Qingmei and returned to the zombie-dense passage from earlier. Their cooperation had become slightly more tacit.
When they were about two zombies away from the goal, Wander suddenly cursed.
“Damn it. I’m disconnecting!”
His weakness—he hadn’t replenished enough food earlier, and now, of all times, his energy ran out.
Wander cursed in his heart. Next time, he absolutely had to redraw his character card before playing! Damn!
Wander pushed Song Qingmei. “Go to the underground river. If someone has a boat, squeeze on. The river mouth should be the exit—hurry.”
After saying this, he completely lost mobility and lay flat in the underground palace. However, before Wander was surrounded by zombies, he saw Song Qingmei rush back toward him.
“You have a quality very similar to Ning Yi—” Song Qingmei smiled. “Both of you make me very happy! Thank you!”
Although she was about to die, there was no gloom on Song Qingmei’s face, only a smile.
So Wander suddenly smiled too—
“That’s good.”
Being like 01—he was deeply honoured.
…
Ding Ziyue and Jiang Linyi also experienced a beautiful, tragic battle.
Ding Ziyue cried silently, mouthing, “No! Linyi gege—no!”
Just now, the two of them had also encountered a zombie! Jiang Linyi had fought desperately for her, protecting her from that terrifying zombie!
However, Ding Ziyue was wrapped up in light-blocking clothing, and the underground palace was dark. She accidentally crashed into a pillar.
Just as she was about to hit her head, Jiang Linyi, who was already suffering from hidden injuries, flew forward and blocked the impact for her.
Jiang Linyi: “Pfft—”
Along with the blood he spat out came Ding Ziyue’s broken tears.
—Ah! Her love! At this moment, it had perfectly sublimated!
Ding Ziyue cried but didn’t dare make a sound, so she could only speak in broken breaths. Online viewers were decoding it in real time, and everywhere one looked, it was full of people watching for fun.
[I’m dying laughing. How can these two turn crashing into a pillar into an idol drama scene?!]
[Outside, Young Master Gu and Brother Wan are each killing ten or twenty zombies]
But Ding Ziyue didn’t know any of that. She only knew—
Finally, Jiang Linyi had ultimately sacrificed himself for her!
Could there be any love in the world more moving than theirs?!
Jiang Linyi clutched his chest and spat blood as he said, “Yueyue, I can’t accompany you to the end.”
Ding Ziyue covered his mouth. “No, Linyi gege, don’t say that!”
Sure enough, her pampered life, her beautiful love, remained so moving even in the face of life-and-death choices!
Ning Yi, what do you have to compare with me?!
In the end, she hugged Jiang Linyi. But by accident, her hood was pulled off.
Instantly, a beam of light lit up in the dark underground palace—
Zombie: “Roar!!—”
Ding Ziyue: “Wait! Wait, don’t chase me!”
“Ahhhhh!”
…
At this moment.
Outside the underground palace.
Gu Cheng and Ning Yi followed that underground river all the way forward. Sure enough, they saw a narrow door just like the entrance, glowing with light!
After rushing out, they really arrived in the outside world—
And the final stage was an endless road.
The moment they walked out of the underground palace, the two of them were teleported to different positions.
Because this was the final survival battle. All players were independent individuals, with no teams. This was the final combat arena set by the game.
Ning Yi stood in place and looked toward the end of the road.
A dense sea of heads surged.
Dark and devouring.
A zombie tide.
For some reason, looking at this scene, she thought of the image that had appeared in her mind when she first began making the game.
For a moment, the fragments she had once seen in her dream—the scene of Gu Cheng facing the zombie tide, crossing two worlds, and running wildly toward her—appeared vividly before her eyes.
The same zombie tide Gu Cheng had faced back then was now roaring toward her from the distance, its numbers so terrifying they could not be counted.
All kinds of zombies—human-shaped, fish-shaped, all varieties—came running and crawling in dense waves.
That horrific, terrifying sight even shocked all the online viewers.
This was the game world’s final strike, and also a true “recreation.”
[Holy crap ahhhh I’ve got goosebumps]
[Sister Ning! Run! Run!]
[Ahhhh I’m so scared!]
Ning Yi stood before the zombie tide, with only a few hundred meters between them.
It was a true sense of inescapable oppression. The crushing force of sheer numbers.
And only at this moment did she suddenly understand what kind of courage it had taken to run toward such a tide—
That was something Ning Yi, back in the apocalypse, could not have done.
But Gu Cheng had come like that, regardless of consequences, without caring for himself—
Just like.
Now.
Ning Yi suddenly turned back—
[Ahhhhh he’s coming!]
[Young Master Gu!!!]
[This scene really almost made me cry!]
On the endless road, the man carrying the quiver on his back was running wildly toward the zombie tide and toward her.
The wind lifted the black hair on his forehead, and his steps did not pause for even a second.
[Wuwuwuwu Young Master Gu is running toward Sister Ning!]
[Without hesitation! Help wuwuwuwu]
So Ning Yi also began to run. She ran toward him, and amid the apocalyptic elegy of the zombie tide, she caught his embrace—
Their heartbeats became one.
“There’s no time,” Ning Yi said, panting.
The zombies at the front were only a dozen or so meters away from them.
But Gu Cheng smiled. “It’s fine.”
When he had run over just now, she had turned back to look at him—
That one scene was enough to make up for the turmoil Gu Cheng had experienced many years ago.
And this game had already been wonderful enough.
They looked at each other and smiled.
Just as the zombie horde roared forward, about to engulf the two of them like a wave, suddenly, invisible time froze—
The entire world was paused.
The game ended.
The outcome had been decided.
—This meant that aside from them, all the other players had already died in the underground palace and returned to the real world.
And now, in the entire virtual world of the holographic game, only Ning Yi and Gu Cheng remained alive.
They had won.
[Young Master Gu and Sister Ning won!]
[Congratulations to the Gu de Mo Ning couple ahhhhh]
Ning Yi lifted her head and looked around.
All the zombies that had been about to devour them turned into dust and scattered into the air.
The sky brightened, sunlight shone brilliantly, and ribbons drifted down.
As if celebrating this victory.
At this moment, the whole world was incomparably quiet.
It was the apocalypse Ning Yi had personally created, and they stood here—standing both in the past and the present.
[So exciting ahhhh! Can you livestream more gameplay? I’m begging you! My life cannot be without you, and it cannot be without Light—]
[Sister Ning is really amazing. ‘Apocalypse Recreated’ is the best of the year. Fly high for me!]
[01, forever a god!]
The virtual world began to dissolve. They were finally about to return to the real world.
“So,” Gu Cheng lowered his head to look at Ning Yi, smiling, “what does ‘Apocalypse Recreated’ mean?”
Ning Yi looked up at him. “Hm?”
Gu Cheng held Ning Yi and kissed the tip of her ear. Embracing her, he returned with her.
“It means that no matter how many times it repeats—”
“I will always run toward you.”
[Ahhhhhhhhh]
[He’s so romantic wuwuwuwu]
[Maybe in some world, he really did run toward her like that]
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