Chapter 27 – Infected

“Have you seen enough? Do you think I look scary like this?”

Lu Xin glared maliciously at Ling Mo and the others, shouting hysterically, “Ling Mo, this is all your damn fault! If you hadn’t left me to die, I wouldn’t be in this state!”

As he spoke, he clawed at his own face, tearing off a piece of skin mixed with rotten flesh. Everyone present felt their scalps tingle with horror.

“Do you see this? This is all your fault! You could have saved me, but what did you do instead?”

“You really think the whole world revolves around you, don’t you? I’m done arguing with you. I’m here now, where’s Xia Na?” Ling Mo snorted coldly, his voice stern.

Lu Xin laughed maniacally, “Xia Na… You want to see her, right? Fine! First, chop off your hand. The hand you slapped me with, chop it off!”

Hearing this, Ling Mo couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

Lu Xin was really dumb! Not to mention that Ling Mo’s relationship with Xia Na hadn’t reached the point where he’d chop off a hand for her, just Lu Xin’s ridiculous demand was laughable! This guy clearly watched too many movies and thought a little power made him invincible.

But Liu Yuhao, out of concern, looked at Ling Mo in panic, then turned to Lu Xin, shouting anxiously, “Lu Xin, how can you do this? Without Ling Mo, we’d all be dead by now!”

“That’s none of my damn business!” Lu Xin spat out a mouthful of blood viciously. “If it weren’t for you and Xia Na insisting on bringing Ling Mo into our group and going back to the school for those people, things wouldn’t have turned out this way! Don’t think I don’t hate you all; you abandoned me!”

Liu Yuhao was stunned and, gritting his teeth, suddenly raised the kitchen knife in his hand, “How about you chop my hand instead?!”

As he said this, he was about to swing the knife, but Ling Mo quickly stopped him. Before Liu Yuhao could react, Ling Mo had already rushed towards Lu Xin.

The distance between them was just over ten meters. With Ling Mo’s current speed, it took only a breath’s time to close the gap and reach Lu Xin.

Lu Xin only saw a dark shadow rush towards him, followed by a flash of cold light in front of his eyes.

Lu Xin, despite being in a state of mutation, had decent reflexes and considerable speed. At the critical moment, he managed to tilt his head slightly. Even so, he immediately felt his right shoulder being sliced open, and the sheer force almost brought him to his knees.

Ling Mo struck Lu Xin’s shoulder with a short knife, but he didn’t stop there. He followed up with a horizontal slash aimed directly at Lu Xin’s neck.

A strong sense of impending doom enveloped Lu Xin, but driven by instinct, he managed to retreat just in time to avoid the fatal blow. However, the knife still nicked his neck, causing blood to spurt out from the wound.

Lu Xin’s eyes turned increasingly red. Despite his severe injuries, he screamed and lunged at Ling Mo.

But at the end of the day, he was just an ordinary person, no match for Ling Mo, who had survived countless life-and-death battles. Seeing Lu Xin’s desperate charge, Ling Mo simply leaned forward and, with a swift upward flick of his short knife, a spray of blood erupted.

The sharp blade had opened a large gash in Lu Xin’s abdomen, and Ling Mo kicked him to the ground. As Lu Xin struggled to get up, Ling Mo stomped on him.

“Looks like you can’t feel pain?” Ling Mo remarked with interest, looking down at Lu Xin.

Lu Xin’s skin was almost entirely rotten and peeling off, and he had scratched himself into this state. Despite being struck twice by Ling Mo, he showed no signs of pain. He was clearly not a tough guy; the only explanation was that he couldn’t feel the pain.

Lu Xin glared at Ling Mo, gritting his teeth. Though he couldn’t feel pain, the large gash in his abdomen had caused his intestines to spill out; he wouldn’t survive much longer.

“You isolated Xia Na and still dared to threaten me? You’re really overestimating yourself!” Ling Mo snorted coldly.

“Oh, you think I’m stupid?” Lu Xin’s eyes suddenly took on a strange look, and he began to laugh wildly, “You really think I’m that stupid? I know I’m as good as dead, but I won’t let you have it easy. Even though I didn’t kill you, it’s still worth it! Hahaha… You abandoned me, right? I just wanted you to feel what it’s like when the same thing happens to you! Hahaha…”

As Lu Xin laughed maniacally, blood sprayed from his mouth, making his already disgusting face look even more deranged.

However, Ling Mo felt an extremely bad premonition. He swiftly decapitated Lu Xin, ending his grating laughter, and then turned his gaze toward the row of dormitories behind him.

Xia Na should be in one of those dormitories, but for some reason, this thought made Ling Mo even more uneasy.

Liu Yuhao, on the other hand, didn’t think much. Seeing Ling Mo dispatch Lu Xin so quickly, he rushed over and started frantically searching each dormitory for Xia Na.

Wang Cheng followed with a frown. After casting a grim glance at Lu Xin’s corpse, he joined Liu Yuhao in the search. However, he displayed a bit of cunning; though he appeared very concerned about Xia Na’s safety, he actually stuck close to Liu Yuhao, never approaching the dormitory doors himself. In emergency situations, few would notice his opportunistic behavior.

Ling Mo, accompanied by Ye Lian, also began searching along the corridor. However, the dormitories he checked contained only remnants, with no sign of Xia Na.

Before long, Liu Yuhao’s voice rang out from one of the dormitories: “She’s here! Xia Na is here!”

Ling Mo’s heart tightened, and he hurried over.

Upon reaching the door, he saw Xia Na simply tied to the bed leg with what appeared to be clothesline. Her head was bowed, and she seemed unharmed. However, recalling Lu Xin’s earlier words, Ling Mo felt that something must have happened to her.

“Xia Na, are you okay?”

As Liu Yuhao anxiously worked to untie her, Ling Mo caught sight of her hand, and his heart sank.

He grabbed Xia Na’s left hand, and Liu Yuhao also turned his puzzled gaze towards it. Needless to say, Wang Cheng, standing nearby, noticed immediately as well.

A silence fell over them. Aside from Ye Lian’s expressionless face, the other three were instantly stunned.

Ling Mo glanced at the pale-faced Xia Na and cursed under his breath, “Lu Xin, you bastard!”

A fresh wound was clearly visible on Xia Na’s left hand. It was evident that after cutting her hand, Lu Xin had forcibly grasped it with his own blood-soaked and rotting hand. The blood stains and bits of flesh on her palm made this clear.

Under the horrified stares of the others, Xia Na slowly raised her head. Her once resolute eyes were now filled with despair: “I’ve been infected…”