Chapter 7 – The Girl Behind the Window

As the body of the Mutation Zombie fell, Ye Lian immediately darted forward and extracted the Gel from its brain.

With her current hand speed, Ye Lian could even manage to retrieve the brain Gel without getting a single drop of blood on her. It wasn’t until she released her hold that the Mutation Zombie’s hindbrain, which had a large hole gouged out, began to slowly ooze out a mixture of red and white substances.

What surprised Ling Mo was that the brain Gel of the Mutation Zombie was entirely different from that of a regular zombie. While the Gel from a normal zombie’s brain was only slightly reddish, the Gel extracted from this Mutation Zombie’s brain was completely covered in red veins, resembling a beautiful red gemstone at first glance.

After issuing a brief command to wait, Ling Mo took the Gel from Ye Lian’s hand and examined it closely.

Ling Mo had previously speculated that this Gel was likely a Lesion caused by the Virus infection, akin to a soft stone within the body. It was probably because the Lesion was located in the brain that the infected individuals lost their sanity and turned into zombies.

Consuming the Lesion made the Virus in Ye Lian’s body purer, and she would gradually be more influenced by the Virus. This might be a way of fighting poison with poison…

As he brought the Gel closer to his nose, a faint yet extremely pungent smell hit him, causing Ling Mo to wrinkle his brow immediately and almost pass out from the stench. However, what was unbearable for a normal person was a delicacy in Ye Lian’s eyes.

Judging by the appearance of this Gel, the Virus concentration within it was definitely much higher than that in the Gel of an average zombie. Considering previous occurrences, Ling Mo decided to wait until they found a suitable place to rest before letting Ye Lian consume this Gel. Otherwise, if she passed out on the spot, it wouldn’t just be her; Ling Mo would also lose his ability to move, and even a single regular zombie could easily finish him off.

Stepping over the body of the Mutation Zombie, Ling Mo frowned as he walked into the workshop, which resembled a slaughterhouse. He left Ye Lian outside to prevent the smell of blood from attracting more zombies.

The floor felt strange underfoot, as if it were coated with a layer of flesh and blood, and the thick stench of decay made his brain throb in pain.

The thought that Wang Lin might be among the remnants of flesh and bones filled Ling Mo with rage, making him want to drag the Mutation Zombie’s corpse back and beat it up again.

The workshop contained many finished and semi-finished craft knives and swords, but none of these were what Ling Mo was looking for. After rummaging for a while, he finally found a box under a blood-stained sleeve.

When he opened the box, he found several daggers and short knives. Each one gleamed coldly as he drew them out. The blades looked extremely sharp and were of good quality, much better than the bulky kitchen knives and more convenient to carry.

After carefully testing the feel of each, Ling Mo chose a short knife and strapped it to his waist, then selected a handy dagger. With these two weapons, he hoped to have some help on his journey to the main city area.

Although Ye Lian was strong, the number of zombies they would encounter would increase as they moved closer to the city. Relying solely on Ye Lian was not feasible.

Moreover, being with Ye Lian gave Ling Mo a subtle psychological burden. He wanted to be stronger than Ye Lian, not just survive by relying on her. This way, when Ye Lian eventually regained her sanity, he could face her with dignity.

Establishing a Psychic Link with Ye Lian allowed Ling Mo to evolve alongside her, providing him an opportunity to become stronger. However, evolving together wasn’t enough. As a Mutation Zombie, Ye Lian’s physical strength far surpassed Ling Mo’s, but his advantage lay in learning and constantly refining his combat techniques.

In their battles together, Ling Mo had indeed learned a lot from practical experience. This was evident from his recent fight with the Mutation Zombie.

But it still wasn’t enough… Ling Mo walked out of the workshop and looked at Ye Lian’s back with a complex expression.

Ling Mo had already confirmed the existence of Mutation Zombies like Ye Lian. From Ye Lian’s astonishing growth rate, it was evident that they would soon encounter beings even stronger than Mutation Zombies. Especially in the zombie-dense urban areas, the number of Mutation Zombies would likely be significant. Given this, his pace of becoming stronger was still too slow.

“Let’s go.”

Seeing that there was nothing else of value in the shop, Ling Mo led Ye Lian away. Although Ye Lian received all her commands through Ling Mo’s Psychic Link, to him, she was still the same beautiful girl who used to act coy around him. He couldn’t help but talk to her.

What Ling Mo didn’t know was that as they left, a slender, fair hand pulled back a heavy curtain in a two-story building across the street. Clear eyes watched through a narrow gap as Ling Mo and Ye Lian disappeared at the corner.

“Wang Lin, what’s up?”

A man’s voice came from inside the room, filled with curiosity.

The girl called Wang Lin quickly let the curtain fall back into place. She turned her head towards the dimly lit room, her delicate face expressionless, appearing even more frail in the poor light: “That Mutation Zombie was taken down, and the short knife inside was taken, the best one.”

The man stepped out from the shadows, surprised, “Impossible! How did they do it?”

“They faced it head-on,” Wang Lin replied, her expression complex. “I had considered finding a suitable way to deal with it, considering it was a relative of mine, but I didn’t expect someone could confront a Mutation Zombie directly. I noticed them when they arrived—a girl with no combat ability and a guy who seemed familiar, but I couldn’t place him. He didn’t look particularly special…”

“Amazing! We had thought of so many ways, and someone beat us to it,” the man responded, his face showing shock but also frustration.

Wang Lin suddenly huffed in dissatisfaction, “The key is that knife! I crafted it myself, and now it’s gone! If it weren’t for that knife, I wouldn’t have come back here.”

“It’s already been taken, so just let it go…” The man paused before speaking, clearly resigned.

Wang Lin’s eyes flashed with anger, “No way! It took me over half a year to make it, why should he get to take it? Let’s just go after him now!”

“Don’t look for trouble…”

“You’re always so cowardly! Anyway, if I see him again, I’ll make sure he regrets it! Taking my stuff—what a thief!”

“Yes, you’re right…” the man said, exasperated. Then he cautiously asked, “The knife is gone, so what now? Should we check out your cousin’s shop? Maybe see if there are any survivors…”

“I hope they’re all dead!” Wang Lin’s face twisted with disgust as she muttered.

After a brief silence, she reluctantly nodded, “No choice. That family inherited my grandpa’s skills, their knives aren’t bad. Let’s go check it out. If I could use anything else but knives, I wouldn’t bother! Speaking of which, the more I think about it, the more that guy looks familiar…”

“In a small place like this, running into people is common. Don’t overthink it. Let’s prepare and head to your cousin’s place.”

Unlike Wang Lin’s cold demeanor, the man was visibly excited. Seeing his reaction, Wang Lin snorted, “I really hope they’re all dead! Especially that guy who took my knife—may he die soon!”

Meanwhile, as Ling Mo and Ye Lian hurried towards their temporary shelter, Ling Mo suddenly felt a chill run up his spine, as if a cold wind had blown from the ground to his head.

He quickly turned around, but saw nothing—just a few recently felled Zombie corpses.

“What the… Was that just my imagination?”

Ling Mo looked around suspiciously, finally shaking his head in resignation. He glanced at Ye Lian and then hurriedly continued on their way.