The dead city after the rain was filled with a sweet, fermented stench.
Seventeen carried Shen Qingqiu on his back, stumbling along the broken asphalt road. His damaged mechanical right arm hung limply, occasionally swaying with each step, making a soft clicking sound like a broken wind chime.
"There's someone ahead." Seventeen stopped, his purple eyes piercing the darkness, locking onto an abandoned department store on the street corner.
"It's a 'Veteran.'" Shen Qingqiu lay on his back, her injured arm hastily bandaged with a torn piece of her skirt. Though weak, her golden eyes remained sharp.
In her **[Overclocked Vision]**, the building emitted several dazzling red lights—the unique energy fluctuations of enhanced individuals from the Main God Space.
"They've turned this place into a hunting ground," Shen Qingqiu said softly. "And we, in their eyes, are just cannon fodder used to scout ahead."
"Kill them?" Seventeen's voice was calm, as if he would rush in and slaughter everyone inside if she nodded.
"No." Shen Qingqiu's fingers twirled his silver hair, a sly smile playing on her lips.
"Since this is an infinite flow dungeon, how can we miss out on the classic 'using someone else to do our dirty work' trope?"
"Take me in. We need a guide to lead us to the underground… Hive."
…The lobby of the department store had been converted into a temporary defensive fortification.
Four fully armed men sat around a campfire.
The leader was a scarred man wearing heavy bulletproof vest, polishing a Desert Eagle with unlimited ammo. He was the captain of the "Tiger Squad," a veteran of three terrifying battles.
"Captain, two new recruits have arrived." The assassin in charge of reconnaissance was a petite woman, twirling a butterfly knife. "One's a cripple, the other a woman. Looks like they're not worth much." Scarface looked up and saw Seventeen carrying Shen Qingqiu through the rain.
His gaze froze instantly.
Although the two were extremely disheveled, covered in mud and blood,
the silver-haired man's eyes were too cold, as cold as a newly drawn sword. And the woman on his back… was unrealistically beautiful, like a blooming red poppy amidst a pile of rotting corpses.
"Oh, you're lucky to be alive." Scarface whistled, his gaze greedily sweeping over Shen Qingqiu.
"Since you've made it this far alive, you should know some manners. Hand over your food and weapons, and I'll guarantee you survive the night." Seventeen didn't speak.
He simply turned slightly, shielding Shen Qingqiu in the shadows. The broken mechanical hand hanging by his side, its fingertips slightly bent, was gathering power.
"Don't be nervous, Captain." Shen Qingqiu patted Seventeen's shoulder, signaling him to relax.
She slid off Seventeen's back and steadied herself against a pillar. Though pale, her innate aura of authority made Scarface instinctively tighten his grip on his gun.
"We're lost survivors." Shen Qingqiu's lie came easily, her eyes innocent and sincere.
"We're going to the underground lab to find the serum. I heard there's an antidote there."
"The underground lab?" Scarface scoffed. "That's the zombie's stronghold, a true hell. You think you can handle that?"
"Because we… know the password." Shen Qingqiu pointed to her head.
"I'm a senior researcher at Umbrella Corporation (false identity). I know how to disable the 'Red Queen's' defense system." Hearing the words "Red Queen," Scarface's eyes lit up.
That was the biggest side quest, with extremely generous rewards.
"Good." Scarface stood up, giving his teammates a wink (meaning: use them and kill them). "Lead the way. If you get into the Hive, you'll get a share of the credit."
…The entrance to the underground was hidden deep within the subway station.
With the sound of a cable snapping in the elevator shaft, the group climbed the maintenance ladder and entered the massive, buried underground structure—The Hive.
There was no rain, only a deathly silence and stark white lights.
The floor was spotless, flanked by rows of glass laboratories.
"Wait." Scarface stopped before the infamous **"laser tunnel"**.
He knew this place would turn people into pieces.
"Rookie, you go." Scarface pointed his gun at Seventeen. "Go turn on the switch on the other side." Seventeen didn't even glance at him, and was about to leave.
"Wait." Shen Qingqiu stopped Seventeen.
She walked to the control panel before the tunnel, extended her intact hand, and gently pressed her fingertips onto an inconspicuous chip.
[Universal Interface · Physical Intrusion] *Buzz—* In her golden eyes, the entire passage was no longer a physical entity, but a geometric model composed of countless red lines.
A laser net?
No.
That was merely a **"cutting logic"** written for defense.
"If it were a physical laser, I might have to put in some effort." Shen Qingqiu murmured to herself, a faint golden light emanating from her fingertips.
"But here, everything is data."
[Command: Parameter Modification.]
[Laser Wavelength: Adjusted to Visible Light (Harmless).]* *Buzz—* The emitters on both sides of the passage lit up.
The originally deadly high-energy laser net shot out.
"Careful!" The veterans retreated in fright.
But Shen Qingqiu didn't move.
She even reached out to touch the bright beam of light.
The beam passed through her palm; there was no burnt smell, only a faint, sun-like warmth.
The laser transformed into stage lighting.
"This is…the key to unlocking the code?" The scarred man stared in disbelief. He had experienced three worlds and had never seen anything like this before.
"Let's go." Shen Qingqiu turned around and smiled sweetly at Seventeen.
"The lighting technician is in position."
… Passing through the corridor, they entered the core laboratory.
This was where the T-virus stock solution was stored.
But the laboratory wasn't empty.
Hundreds of "researchers" in white lab coats stood there silently. Their backs to the group, their shoulders trembling slightly with their breath.
"It's a horde of zombies!" the assassin screamed. "Fire!"
Rat-a-tat-tat— Gunfire instantly illuminated the laboratory.
The zombies were awakened by the gunfire and turned around. Their rotting faces looked particularly grotesque under the lights.
They roared and surged forward like a tidal wave.
"Too many! We can't kill them all!"
"Retreat! Retreat quickly!" Although the veterans had fierce firepower, in this enclosed space, facing a horde of zombies was a near-certain death.
"Seventeen, don't move." Shen Qingqiu held down Seventeen, who was about to unleash a killing spree. She watched the frenzied zombies charging at her, her eyes showing no fear, only the excitement of seeing intriguing code.
"You think this is a virus?"
She walked to a massive bulletproof glass panel, looking through it at a female zombie slamming its face against the glass.
Shen Qingqiu reached out and touched the female zombie's forehead from a distance.
[System Analysis: T-virus source code.]
[Essence: A malicious script capable of rewriting biological genetic sequences.]
In this virtual plane constructed by the main god, the so-called virus is actually a piece of **"rampage code"**. It modified the NPCs' action logic, rewriting "survival" into "devouring".
"Since it's code, then it can be... edited." Shen Qingqiu closed her eyes.
Her mental power erupted instantly, like a golden net covering the entire laboratory.
[Administrator Privileges: Temporary Takeover.]
[Target: All T-virus carriers.]
[Operation: Logic Reconstruction] "You are not beasts." Shen Qingqiu's ethereal voice, carrying a strange rhythm, resonated in the minds of every zombie.
"You are... dancers."
[Command: Attack -> Dance.]
[Command: Roar -> Chant.] A miracle occurred.
The zombie at the forefront, its sharp claws already at Scarface's nose.
Suddenly, it stopped.
Its cloudy eyes flickered, and then…
It withdrew its claws, performing an extremely gentlemanly, standard **"invitation to dance"**.
"Uh… ah…" The low growl in its throat changed tone, no longer ear-piercing, but instead carrying an eerie rhythm.
Immediately afterwards, the second, the third…
Hundreds upon hundreds of zombies simultaneously stopped attacking.
They turned in unison, pairing up.
The once bloody laboratory instantly transformed into a bizarre, grand dance floor.
"What...what the hell is this?!" Scarface dropped his gun. He stared at the zombie writhing in front of him, feeling his sanity plummeting.
Shen Qingqiu ignored the terrified veterans.
She stood in the center of the dance floor.
A horde of zombies danced around her, moving to her will. The rotting limbs, in that moment, possessed a decadent beauty.
She turned to Seventeen behind her.
Seventeen stood in the shadows.
His purple eyes had been fixed on her. From beginning to end, whatever she did, he trusted her unconditionally.
"Seventeen." Shen Qingqiu extended her hand to him.
Though her red dress was tattered, at that moment, she was more noble than any queen.
"The music here is too loud (zombie growls)."
"But I'd like...to dance with you."
Seventeen hesitated for a moment.
Then, he stepped forward.
His broken, withered mechanical right hand gently grasped her slender fingers.
"It's my honor."
Deep within the Hive, hundreds of meters underground.
At the heart of the chaotic horde of zombies.
The two embraced.
Golden code flowed from Shen Qingqiu's fingertips.
The code, like living vines, spread through the air.
Any zombie touched by the code began to **"bloom"** from its rotting wounds.
Those weren't real flowers.
They were holographic data, pale blue spider lilies.
One, two, millions.
The entire laboratory transformed into a sea of blue flowers.
The zombies, adorned with flowers on their heads and bodies, swayed and twirled in the floral spectacle.
Terror transformed into romance.
Death transformed into rebirth.
Seventeen, his arms around Shen Qingqiu's waist, slowly spun in the floral sea.
He looked down at her.
"You...turned them into flowers?"
"Yes." Shen Qingqiu leaned against him, her eyes glazed.
"Because you said it was too filthy here."
"I didn't want filth...to pollute your eyes." Seventeen's heart (core) trembled violently.
He looked at the blooming corpses around him.
This was probably the most insane, yet most affectionate, obsession with cleanliness in the world.
"Qingqiu."
He whispered in her ear.
"I also want...to bloom a flower for you."
He raised his broken mechanical right arm.
Although the energy was depleted, although the armor was shattered.
He forcibly activated the last trace of **[Nano Divine Gold]** activity.
Crack.
The mechanical fingertip cracked.
A small, exquisitely crafted silver rose, made of pure metal, slowly rose from his palm.
It was a flower he had carved for her using his own bones.
"For you."
"Although it has no fragrance, it...will never wither."
Shen Qingqiu looked at the metallic rose. Tears fell without warning.
She took the flowers, stood on tiptoe, and kissed his lips.
The zombies around them were still dancing.
The veterans were still questioning the meaning of life.
But they, in this apocalyptic ruin, in this sea of flowers made of code, exchanged an eternal vow.
The T-virus?
No.
It was a love letter she wrote to him…
Modified zombie virus, flowers blooming from withered bones.
This dance not only disrupted the main god's plot,
but also entered… Seventeen's soul, which was rebooting.