A Fake Holy Mother in the Zombie Apocalypse

On the back of her small iron tag, a symbol was imprinted.

On a blue background, a white, three-petaled flower-like pattern was painted, with an eye in the center.

Even though a small part was cut off due to the cutting of the metal, it was still obvious that this was undoubtedly the same symbol Lu Xingchi had mentioned.

The edges of the small iron tag were rough, and its shape was crude, clearly made from scrap metal.

Bei Nuan had noticed long ago that the back of her own iron tag was painted white, while the back of Lu Xingchi's was blue, with a few white stripes.

Judging by the thickness and texture of the tags, they should all have come from the same sheet of metal.

And Xiao Shao’s tag happened to have the symbol printed on the back.

This is it! It had been hidden in plain sight all along.

Bei Nuan hurried out and called Lu Xingchi and the others waiting outside to come in.

After Lu Xingchi entered, he took Xiao Shao's iron tag and looked at it. After pondering for a moment, he asked, "These iron tags, they were all made by Old Hu, right?"

Xiao Shao replied, "Yes, he said he cut them all from scrap metal. His kind of sheet metal is unique to the island. No one else has it, and it can't be imitated."

So it was even counterfeit-proof.

Jiang Fei had already turned to leave. "We need to go see that Old Hu again."

Yesterday, the group had searched the entire island for Bei Nuan, practically turning the whole place upside down. Now they were much more familiar with the maze-like cave, and they navigated it with ease.

Old Hu was still in the same spacious cave as before.

Only this time, he wasn't playing cards with anyone. He was alone in the cave.

He was slumped in his chair like mud, drinking from a stainless steel cup, already half-drunk. His eyes were vacant, his gaze unfocused, staring blankly at the cave ceiling.

The liquor was probably the kind brewed on the island, with a strong smell that could be detected from afar.

Seeing Lu Xingchi and the others enter, he mumbled, "What do you want?"

"We have some questions for you."

Lu Xingchi raised his hand, his iron tag dangling from his slender fingers, swaying back and forth.

"Did you make this?"

Old Hu, having had quite a bit to drink, glanced at the tag and showed no respect for the formidable Lu Xingchi.

Busy drinking, he didn't want to bother with Lu Xingchi, reaching for his cup again. "Whether I made it or not, why should I tell you?"

Lu Xingchi remained impassive.

The cup suddenly slipped from Old Hu's hand.

As if snatched away by someone, the cup flew into the air and then stopped mid-air.

An invisible, violent hand seemed to crumple the perfectly good cup into a pathetic ball.

The remaining liquor in the cup spurted out, splashing Old Hu like rain.

"My patience is limited."

Lu Xingchi, still twirling the tag with his fingers, asked again, "Did you make this?"

This time, even though Old Hu was drunk, he knew something extraordinary had happened and dared not provoke Lu Xingchi any further.

He stared blankly for a moment before saying, "I made them all myself."

"Where did you get the sheet metal to make these?"

Lu Xingchi shook the tag again.

Old Hu struggled to recall through his alcohol-addled brain.

"From the boxes in the warehouse. There are a lot of these empty boxes in the warehouse. I took a few out and made several boxes of iron tags. I haven't even finished distributing them all yet."

"Do you have any empty boxes left?" Lu Xingchi asked.

"Yes."

Lu Xingchi didn't speak, giving him a look that said, "Why haven't you brought it to me yet?"

Old Hu quickly stood up.

Drunk and unsteady, he struggled to maintain his balance, staggering to the wall, and dragging out a metal box from a cluttered area behind a curtain.

The box was blue, with white stripes in some places.

Bei Nuan immediately saw the symbol Lu Xingchi had mentioned. It was painted on the corner of the box, along with a few letters and lines of small print.

Lu Xingchi squatted down and examined the metal box carefully.

"It's humanitarian aid," Lu Xingchi said to Bei Nuan and the others. "Donated by an organization called LBD."

"Have you ever heard of this LBD?" Lu Xingchi looked up and asked Old Hu.

Old Hu struggled back into his chair, trying to open his bloodshot, alcohol-infused eyes. "Huh?"

Lu Xingchi rephrased the question, "Has the island received humanitarian aid before?"

Old Hu knew about this.

"This area floods every year. A couple of years ago, there was a particularly bad storm. The Yan River burst its banks, flooding all the fields."

Bei Nuan knew about this; it was mentioned in the book that this area of Country N had suffered a disaster.

Old Hu continued, "After the flood receded that year, there was famine everywhere, and many people died. Later, someone brought in a lot of food and supplies."

Old Hu thought for a moment, then suddenly realized something.

"I remember now, these boxes seem to be from that time, right? The other boxes were cardboard, useless, and were thrown away later. Only these were particularly good. Someone in the group said they wanted to keep them for storage, so they've been kept in the warehouse."

Lu Xingchi asked, "Did they also donate vehicles when they donated the supplies?"

Old Hu looked surprised. "Yes, they donated two, saying they were for reconstruction. How did you know?"

This made sense.

Both the symbol on the iron tag and the symbol on the van came from the same source.

Lu Xingchi asked, "Have you had any dealings with the organization that donated the supplies?"

"No," Old Hu said, "These things were all distributed and handed out by local charities. They said many large companies from various countries donated them after hearing about our disaster. We just received them; we didn't know who they were from."

It seemed they had just stumbled upon the organization's supplies by chance.

Lu Xingchi had been observing him carefully and knew he wasn't lying.

Having obtained the information he wanted, Lu Xingchi relaxed and subtly questioned him further, but couldn't extract anything more useful.

What he cared about was what kind of organization this LBD actually was.

Bei Nuan thought, It's a pity we can't access the internet. Otherwise, finding out what LBD is would be a matter of seconds with a simple online search.

Since there was nothing more to learn from Old Hu about the symbol, Lu Xingchi began to question him about other things.

"What's the deal with your iron tags? What's the basis for the A, B, C, D, E, and F classifications?"

Old Hu's eyes suddenly filled with panic.

He glanced furtively at the stainless steel cup, now crumpled like wastepaper on the table, stammering much more than when he answered the questions about the box.

"This wasn't my idea. It was all Boss Qiu's."

"Oh?" Lu Xingchi's tone was casual. "Why did he tag the laborers?"

Old Hu was practically sober now from the fright.

That morning, news had spread across the island that Qiu Zhengxun had died unexpectedly in the casino, and now his younger brother, Qiu Ji, was in charge.

Old Hu considered this.

Qiu Zhengxun was dead. Even if he revealed all his schemes now, it shouldn't matter, right?

Old Hu told the truth.

"Boss Qiu said that the island is short of laborers, and more and more are being brought in."

"But there are too few people in our group. It's hard to manage so many people with so few of us. We can't give them the authority to manage themselves, for fear they'll become too powerful and cause trouble."

"Boss Qiu came up with an idea. He said the easiest way is to divide them."

Bei Nuan understood.

With just a small, broken iron tag, Qiu Zhengxun had created a hierarchy among the island's laborers.

From A to F, they didn't cooperate or communicate with each other, forming a perfect chain of contempt, looking down on each other.

AB looked down on CD, CD looked down on EF, and vice versa. EF didn't dare provoke CD, and CD didn't dare provoke AB, but they might still resent each other.

Although there were many people wearing these tags and eating cassava, they were essentially useless.

While they were busy despising and resenting each other, Qiu Zhengxun could continue to rest easy.

This Boss Qiu had truly malicious intentions.

With the speed at which rumors spread on the island, just a few examples would be enough to add a mystical element to the iron tags, making everyone firmly believe in their authority.

Lu Xingchi continued to ask, "Is that all? You haven't finished."

Old Hu trembled violently, glancing up at Lu Xingchi.

Lu Xingchi appeared relaxed, but his light-colored eyes were chilling, as if they could see through everything.

Old Hu stammered, hesitating for a long time before continuing.

"Boss Qiu also said that every summer there are strong winds and heavy rains. If the storms are severe, our crops might be ruined, and there will be another famine."

"This year, there are zombies everywhere. Even if there is a famine, there won't be any outside aid coming in, so by tagging the laborers…"

This time, even Bei Nuan shivered.

Old Hu continued.

"He told me to give A tags to those who looked capable when they arrived on the island, and F tags to the old, weak, sick, and those who came alone without family. If there really was a famine, we would start with…"

Old Hu glanced fearfully at Lu Xingchi, his voice very low, "…we would start eating those with F tags…"

Bei Nuan bit her lip.

Lu Xingchi noticed this at a glance and interrupted Old Hu.

"It's too stuffy in the cave. You guys go outside and wait for me."

Du Ruo put her hand on Bei Nuan's back and pushed her out, saying, "Let's go, let's go. This kind of interrogation is too boring. Let him handle it. Let's go get some fresh air."

After Bei Nuan and the others had all gone out, Lu Xingchi signaled Old Hu to continue.

Old Hu went on, "Boss Qiu said that those people would get used to wearing the lowest F tag. They were weak, and in case of famine, eating them first would result in the least resistance."

"Those with higher-level tags would just be glad they weren't given an F tag. It wouldn't be their concern, and they probably wouldn't stand up for those with F tags. They would just join in and eat."

"After eating those with F tags, those with ABCDE tags wouldn't react much. After eating those with E tags, the ABCD tags wouldn't care either. By eating like this, the famine would eventually pass."

He finished speaking, and the cave fell silent.

Lu Xingchi walked over, pulled out the chair opposite him, sat down, leaned back, and stared at him for a while before suddenly speaking.

"Trying to absolve yourself completely."

Lu Xingchi smiled slightly.

"As if the idea of dividing people into different classes wasn't yours."

Old Hu was completely sober now, looking in terror at the frightening man sitting opposite him.

His eyes seemed to see through everything, as if he could read minds.

Lu Xingchi rested his elbows on the armrests of the chair, interlaced his fingers in front of him, and moved his thumbs slightly.

A dagger appeared out of nowhere, flying in front of Old Hu and hovering in the air.

"Are you going to tell me yourself, or do I have to open your head and see for myself?"

Old Hu trembled, staring fearfully at the dagger hovering a few inches in front of him, swallowing hard.

He finally confessed.

"I was the one who came up with the idea of dividing people into different levels, but I really didn't expect Boss Qiu to use it like that!"

"Oh?" Lu Xingchi was intrigued.

Old Hu glanced at the sharp tip of the dagger again and shrank back.

The dagger moved forward slightly, maintaining its relative position to him.

Old Hu was almost in tears.

"I'm in charge of registering the laborers on the island. Every time someone comes, I record their name."

"When registering their names, I would secretly write a number after each name, one, two, three, four, five, and so on. I did it all secretly, without telling anyone."

"Then one day, Boss Qiu came and casually flipped through my notebook, asking me what the numbers after the names meant."

"I told him that if someone looked strong and capable, I would write a one. If they were too old or too young, or weaker, I would write a five."

"Boss Qiu thought for a moment, praised me, and said it was a great idea."

"Then he asked me to change the one to five into A to F, saying that this way, the sense of hierarchy would be stronger. Then he asked me to make iron tags and give everyone one, and to give one to each person who came to the island in the future."

He finished and fell silent again.

Lu Xingchi's beautiful eyes showed impatience, and the dagger moved forward, stopping in front of Old Hu's eyes.

"Do you think I'm wasting my time sitting here just to hear you say this?"

Old Hu was now pressed tightly against the back of his chair, with nowhere to hide. Beads of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

Lu Xingchi stopped beating around the bush.

"Old Hu, what's your ability?"

Old Hu completely broke down.

This man really knew everything.

"I can see a kind of light."

Old Hu's eyebrows drooped, finally giving up completely.

"The light on everyone is different. Some people's is red, some are yellowish, and some are green."

Lu Xingchi deduced, "So you marked the greenest people as A, and the red ones as F?"

"Yes. From green to yellow to red, the redder it is, the lower the rank."

Lu Xingchi asked, "What does the color of the light represent?"

Old Hu confessed, "I don't know. But I've observed that the greener the light, the safer the person seems to be. They are less likely to have accidents and die less often. People with reddish light tend to die quickly."

Old Hu defended himself, "I didn't classify people according to Boss Qiu's method. I only gave F tags to those with red light. Anyway, they were about to die, so it didn't matter if they had an F tag."

Lu Xingchi nodded. "When did you get this ability? From your rebirth?"

When the word "rebirth" came out of Lu Xingchi's mouth, Old Hu stopped looking at the dagger and stared at him in surprise.

"Yes, from my rebirth." Old Hu was defeated.

Lu Xingchi glanced at him indifferently. "You've died before?"

Old Hu answered honestly, "I died once. It was seven years after the zombie outbreak. Many zombies had mutated, the lake became useless, the island couldn't be defended, and we escaped by boat."

"Just as we were about to reach the shore, everyone else got off, but my leg was grabbed by a zombie in the water."

Old Hu shuddered.

He seemed to recall the terror of being dragged away by the zombie, subconsciously reaching for his stainless steel cup on the table, then suddenly remembering it was gone.

He sheepishly withdrew his hand.

Lu Xingchi thought, If Bei Nuan were here, she would definitely ask a question.

Lu Xingchi asked for her, "The little girl who sells roasted sparrows on the island, Xiao Shao, did she also die?"

"Xiao Shao?" Old Hu said, "I know her. She had grown into a young woman by then. Several months before the island fell, she climbed over the wall and left with a young man."

Lu Xingchi listened absentmindedly, clutching the iron tag in his hand.

He had asked all sorts of questions, but in the end, he still had to face the question he had been avoiding.

Lu Xingchi said, "You initially gave the man who was with me a B tag, and later changed it to an A tag. Why?"

Old Hu thought for a moment and replied, "I remember that. I initially saw his light was a bit yellowish, but when I looked again later, for some reason, it had turned completely green. I don't know why the light changed; I'd never encountered that before."

Lu Xingchi paused for a moment before continuing to ask calmly, "What about the girl who was with me? You gave her an F tag."

Old Hu swallowed, glancing at the dagger.

"As long as you tell the truth, I won't kill you," Lu Xingchi said indifferently.

Old Hu finally spoke timidly, "She was…pure red."

"In my experience, those with greenish light might also die, and those with reddish light might have a chance to survive, but someone like her, with pure red light, is definitely doomed."

When Lu Xingchi came out, the sky outside was already filled with stars.

Bei Nuan was standing with her back to the cave, waiting for him.

The ends of her long hair were gently lifted by the night breeze. Before her was the vast, unpolluted night sky, across which stretched the brilliant Milky Way.

Hearing him emerge, Bei Nuan turned around, her face breaking into a smile under the starlight.

She asked, "Did you find anything new?"

"Nothing," Lu Xingchi said. "Those iron tags are just something they made up to deceive people."

Bei Nuan looked as if she had expected this all along. "I told you, it couldn't be that mysterious, that 'survival rate' thing. How did they even come up with that?"

Du Ruo and the others also came over. Du Ruo put an arm around Jiang Fei and Tang Tang's shoulders. "Let's go, let's go back to sleep. I'm exhausted."

Bei Nuan also turned and skipped ahead.

Lu Xingchi caught up with Bei Nuan in a few strides and suddenly reached out, taking the F tag off her neck and casually tossing it into the grass.

It was too dark in the grass; the tag disappeared as soon as it was thrown.

Bei Nuan was puzzled. "Why did you throw away my tag?"

Lu Xingchi replied indifferently, "What's the point of wearing such useless, superstitious things? Isn't it pointless?"

He also took his own tag out of his pocket and threw it into the grass.

Du Ruo heard this and immediately turned around, clutching his iron tag. "Just so you know, I don't want to throw mine away. I finally got an A."

Tang Tang asked, "Will there be trouble if we don't wear them?"

Bei Nuan thought for a moment. "I don't think Qiu Ji is as keen on people wearing tags as his brother was."

Lu Xingchi looked down at her in the starlight. "You seem to know him quite well?"

Author's Note:

Werewolf Game Cast List:

Lu Xingchi: Seer

Bei Nuan: Hidden Wolf

Xiao San: Cupid

Zhou Cang: Silenced Elder (Eliminated)

Jiang Fei: Guardian

Du Ruo: Hybrid

Xie Yuanqing: Piper

Old Hu: Fortune Teller

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