The rustling sounds in the reed marsh grew louder, presumably from the zombies.
Qiu Ming's forehead beaded with cold sweat. Was he about to face a terrifying horde of zombies?
The most frightening thought was that if he didn't die, but was bitten by a zombie, he would become one himself. The idea was unbearable.
But how could he possibly fight so many zombies? And he couldn't run fast enough.
Just then, he suddenly recalled the note mentioning fire attacks.
It said zombies feared fire and would burn upon contact.
Qiu Ming decided to go all out. An idea sparked, and he quickly pulled out a flint and steel, setting fire to a pile of dry grass by the roadside.
The wind fanned the flames, and a large fire quickly erupted.
The zombies that appeared indeed seemed to fear the fire, letting out chirps and hesitating to advance.
Qiu Ming hid behind the bonfire. He wasn't foolish; he swiftly grabbed more dry grass from the side, bundled it onto branches to make torches, and then, holding a torch, began throwing them at the zombies.
With the bonfire as a shield and the continuous barrage of torches, the zombies truly ignited upon contact with a spark, rapidly exploding into black ash that scattered on the ground.
Qiu Ming intuitively felt that there were quite a few such monsters distributed within the reed marsh, so he simply tossed torches into the distant grass, fanning the flames.
As the fire grew larger, it indeed drove out more zombies. Soon, he saw bright flashes erupt from the burning areas. With his previous experience, he instantly knew there were zombies there too.
When zombies caught fire, they exploded, much like fireworks.
Fortunately, the zombies surrounding him were all eliminated. Qiu Ming wiped the sweat from his brow, realizing he had been saved by that mysterious note.
He needed to relay the information, as instructed by the note, to more people, to save the common folk from being harmed by zombies.
To make the common people more convinced and to make the divine intervention seem more real, striking a chord with their faith, the Gu family members could not release sky lanterns during the day.
If the commoners witnessed how these notes descended from the sky, their disbelief would significantly diminish the effect.
There was no other way; this was the current reality. They could only exploit the people's faith. Since it was considered doing a good deed, Gu Qingcheng felt no qualms about it.
As time went on, Gu Qingcheng grew more familiar with the local customs and personalities of the people, becoming increasingly adept at manipulating them.
As for whether this method was effective, Gu Qingcheng received the system reward of 22,000 satisfying points for eliminating zombies the next morning upon waking up.
For each zombie eliminated, the system rewarded one hundred satisfying points. So, 22,000 satisfying points meant 220 zombies had been eliminated?
Gu Qingcheng checked the source of the satisfying points. It turned out to be from an official named Qiu Ming who had eliminated so many zombies.
The system was quite clever; it did not reward Gu Qingcheng for actions unrelated to her participation or organization in eliminating zombies.
Looking at the official named Qiu Ming, who was an officer of Buye City, Gu Qingcheng could confirm that the method of spreading anti-zombie tactics via sky lanterns had taken effect. Gu Qingcheng was in a great mood.
The reason for this certainty was twofold: Firstly, without knowing how to combat zombies, Qiu Ming could only handle three or four at a time, but not 21. Gu Qingcheng guessed he likely used fire.
Secondly, if Qiu Ming hadn't used the tactic disseminated by the sky lanterns, the system wouldn't have rewarded Gu Qingcheng with satisfying points.
After reaching these conclusions, Gu Qingcheng felt quite pleased. This way, as long as anyone in the world used the sky lantern messaging method to kill zombies according to the plan, Gu Qingcheng would earn 100 satisfying points.
With such an endless stream of satisfying points, Gu Qingcheng could afford to bathe in mineral water every day, let alone drink it.
Early in the morning, after the entire family finished breakfast, they once again embarked on their journey to find Yin Zhiping.
The search for Yin Zhiping was urgent. Fortunately, they were now over 100 li away from Liantang Village, and if all went smoothly, they would reach it before noon today.
During a moment of leisure on the road, Gu Qingcheng curiously asked Gu Chaobei, "Dad, you always say finding Yin Zhiping is very important, why is that?"
There were no outsiders on the yacht, only their most trusted family members. So, Gu Chaobei recounted how he and Ge Hong had formulated medicine together, and how Yin Zhiping, as the food and drink official for Prince Xia, had recorded the prince's daily dietary information, and how crucial this was.
Gu Qingcheng understood with a sudden realization and said, "It seems Yin Zhiping is indeed the key person for the successful formulation of the antidote. But what if he doesn't have that document with him?"
"That's true. Yin Zhiping wouldn't carry that document around every day. The Prince's mansion was evacuated in a hurry. If people could only take a few personal belongings, they would think of valuables, not ordinary official documents," Gu Chaobei sighed.
"Then what do we do? Can the antidote not be developed?" Hu Lanfang asked nervously.
Having been mistakenly thought to have been infected by the zombie virus, she understood very well how important an antidote would be to both the infected person and their family.
The thought of having no antidote and having to watch a loved one turn into a zombie made her heart ache; she knew those feelings all too well.
"Alas, there is still a way, but it will be a slow process with much lower efficiency. In such a situation, who knows how many common people will lose their chance to survive," Gu Chaobei sighed.
The zombie virus, in essence, was still a virus that invaded the nervous system, so a way to overcome it could still be found.
"Dad, what is the direction for developing the antidote?" Gu Qingcheng asked, not understanding.
"After the virus invades the nerves, it certainly needs a period of latency and reproduction. During this time, the human body is still normal and shows no abnormalities.
If we can treat it with a targeted medicine at this stage, we will be hugely successful.
As long as one takes the antidote, even if bitten by a zombie, they won't turn into one. Thus, zombies will lack a new source, and they can eventually be eliminated," Gu Chaobei explained.
The family listened with heavy hearts, feeling the immense responsibility of finding Yin Zhiping.
The key to the antidote was in his hands; how could he not be important?
Gu Qingcheng couldn't help but curse inwardly. These damned nobles were truly something. Not only did they exploit the people's wealth and labor in normal times, but they also never cared for the common people while sitting in high positions.
Living too comfortably, they only wished to enjoy their wealth forever and dreamt of eternal life, excessively so.
Gu Qingcheng felt the key to it all lay with Prince Xia.
Prince Xia possessed wealth that could rival a nation, allowing Ge Hong to squander it on alchemy. And as Ge Hong concocted medicines for a long time, it was like a dog typing randomly on a keyboard; given enough time, it would eventually produce a Shakespearean quote.