Chapter 126 – I Know You

“Squeak…”

After slowly pushing open the iron gate, Ling Mo cautiously walked into the hallway, holding his short knife.

There were very few communities near X City University, and as dusk approached, Ling Mo finally found this remote motel.

Much like Red Light Street, this motel clearly served as a rendezvous for the lovesick students of X City University. Although it was tucked away in a hidden alley, the suggestive pink neon sign hanging from the second-floor window was visible from quite a distance. Naturally, several zombies lingered in the alley, including a female zombie slowly wandering around in nothing but a tattered bathrobe that barely covered her.

When this scantily clad female zombie lunged at Ling Mo, he couldn’t help but find the scene rather bizarre.

Even though he hadn’t encountered many situations like this, it wasn’t his first time. After a few more glances, he regretfully took down the buxom zombie.

“Sigh, never had the chance to see such well-endowed breasts up close before…” Ling Mo mused to himself.

These ordinary zombies weren’t clustered together, so dealing with them individually posed no real threat to Ling Mo. He didn’t even need Ye Lian or Xia Na to step in; he could handle them easily on his own.

However, these two female zombies were far from content just following along. Whenever they had the chance, they would rush in front of Ling Mo, even competing with him to get the kills.

For instance, while Ling Mo was fighting a zombie, Ye Lian or Xia Na would suddenly charge in and finish off the zombie he was about to kill.

This was more of a pastime for Ye Lian and Xia Na. Rather than fighting, it seemed more like they were playing around.

Since becoming advanced zombies, ordinary zombies posed no threat to them at all. Given their inherent bloodthirsty nature, their behavior wasn’t surprising.

Ling Mo could only smile wryly in resignation.

Upon reaching the entrance to the motel, Ling Mo took the lead and went in first.

Based on his experience, the number of zombies inside the building was likely to be low. After all, no survivors would venture near this place, and the zombies staying inside the building, once hungry, would have no choice but to go outside and find trouble with their kind.

The sign at the entrance had long been trampled beyond recognition, covered in bloodstains. Behind the iron gate, a dimly lit hallway could be seen, with a wooden registration desk barely visible, accompanied by the nauseating stench of decay.

“Crack!”

As soon as Ling Mo stepped inside, he stepped on a piece of broken glass, producing a sharp sound. In the silence of the hallway, the noise was exceptionally loud and piercing.

“Roar!”

A low growl immediately followed, and a gaunt zombie suddenly charged down from the corner of the first-floor staircase. Its body was so covered in blood and filth that its original appearance was almost unrecognizable.

Despite the zombie’s fierce demeanor, Ling Mo remained calm. As the zombie was about to reach him, his psychic tentacle lashed out, causing the zombie to pause momentarily.

In that brief moment of hesitation, Ling Mo’s short knife had already pierced its heart. With a twist of his wrist, he thoroughly destroyed its vital organs.

As the light in the zombie’s eyes quickly faded, Ling Mo slowly withdrew his short knife, deftly avoiding the spurting blood.

With a thud, the corpse hit the ground, and Ling Mo stepped over it, heading up the stairs.

Ye Lian and Xia Na followed closely behind, trailing Ling Mo as they ascended.

As Ling Mo had anticipated, the motel seemed to house only that one zombie, making the interior relatively safe.

However, during his inspection, Ling Mo unexpectedly discovered the corpse of a small dog. It was only half of the dog, as the remaining skin lay on the ground with its flesh long gone. Ling Mo surmised that it was highly likely the zombie they had just encountered had consumed most of the dog’s body.

Though zombies prioritize hunting humans, it appears that in extreme hunger, any living being is fair game to them.

When Ling Mo previously saw that mouse, he had speculated that small animals likely couldn’t withstand the virus. Even if they were infected, they would rot and die almost immediately, posing no threat to survivors.

Without encountering the zombie virus, these animals would be just like any other ordinary creatures.

Seeing the dead dog now further confirmed Ling Mo’s hypothesis and put his mind at ease.

While larger animals might withstand the virus and mutate, how many large animals are there in the city?

Even if there were a few, their large size would make them prime targets for zombies, likely reducing them to bones long before they could mutate.

Even if there were a few that slipped through the cracks, their numbers would be too small to be of significant concern.

On the other hand, the evolution rate within the zombie population was astonishingly fast. In a city as vast as X City, there might already be entities stronger than advanced zombies.

Advanced zombies with intelligence were already tough adversaries. Ordinary survivors stood no chance against them. It’s terrifying to imagine how formidable zombies stronger than advanced zombies could be.

But merely thinking about it was futile. To survive safely, the best strategy was to quickly enhance his own and the two female zombies’ capabilities.

As long as their side was strong enough, they wouldn’t have to worry about any zombie they might encounter.

“Huh? This room is interesting…”

Just then, Xia Na’s voice came from one of the rooms. Ling Mo followed the sound and was momentarily stunned.

Unexpectedly, even in such a remote motel, they had set up something like this… A swing bed hung in the room, and the walls were adorned with red rose wallpaper and a suggestive picture of a couple embracing.

After a few more glances, Ling Mo felt a rush of heat rise from his lower abdomen.

It seemed that the pent-up frustration over this period was too much, and even a picture had stirred his thoughts. Back in the day, he could watch adult movies without batting an eye, but now he was completely losing his composure… Ling Mo cleared his throat and was about to call Xia Na out, but Ye Lian had already curiously slipped past him into the room.

“Ye Lian, come sit here,” Xia Na said as she grabbed Ye Lian and pushed her onto the swing bed.

The swing bed immediately began to sway, giving Ye Lian a fresh and entertaining experience. Before long, she didn’t want to get off.

Xia Na’s curiosity was also piqued, and soon the two girls were playfully tumbling around on the swing bed.

Naturally, Ling Mo took the opportunity to enjoy the sight for a moment. However, since the rest of the motel hadn’t been checked yet, he had to leave the two female zombies there and continue his inspection.

“Don’t wander off, I’ll be back soon,” he reminded them before heading towards the third floor with his short knife in hand.

Although he was fairly certain there were no zombies here, maintaining caution had always been one of Ling Mo’s survival strategies.

When he was ambushed by Li Yalin earlier, Ling Mo realized a crucial issue: if an advanced zombie’s strength was comparable to, or even exceeded, that of Ye Lian and Xia Na, they would have difficulty sensing it in advance.

There was also the possibility that if an advanced zombie or superhuman deliberately hid their presence, Ye Lian and Xia Na’s ability to detect them would become ineffective.

However, these issues could only be properly understood through repeated encounters, though Ling Mo thought it would be better to encounter such situations as infrequently as possible. With these thoughts in mind, he stepped into the third-floor hallway.

The third floor hadn’t been converted into a motel area; instead, it served as a storage space filled with numerous cardboard boxes.

To Ling Mo’s pleasant surprise, the boxes contained various small goods, including quite a few snacks, drinks, and even cigarettes. Most of them seemed still consumable.

It looked like this motel also operated as a shop, which explained the inventory.

“Pretty lucky!” Ling Mo exclaimed as he excitedly began to sort through the boxes for food. His supplies at X City University were almost depleted.

He had initially planned to search for food tomorrow while heading to Xia Na’s house, but this unexpected find meant they could head straight there without any delays.

Compared to the number of zombies, survivors are indeed few. Although all forms of production have completely collapsed, there is still quite a bit of food to be found in a city.

However, most survivors lack the strength to search for food everywhere. Venturing to such remote places is akin to gambling on luck, something ordinary survivors wouldn’t dare to do.

As Ling Mo kept stuffing food into his backpack, he caught a glimpse of a fleeting shadow from the corner of his eye.

Even though it was just a moment, Ling Mo’s hair stood on end. He immediately set down his backpack, gripped his short knife tightly, and slowly straightened up, turning towards the direction where he saw the shadow.

The large warehouse was silent, with only the faint sounds of the food he had just moved slowly settling.

“Who’s there?” Ling Mo asked in a low voice.

Though he had only glimpsed it from the corner of his eye, he was certain he hadn’t imagined it.

A survivor? Impossible… With zombies around, no survivors would be here.

When no one responded, Ling Mo tightened his grip on the short knife and cautiously walked toward the door.

But just as he took two steps, a figure suddenly appeared at the doorway. Upon seeing the figure clearly, Ling Mo froze for a moment, then felt his heart leap into his throat.

“Damn it, is this stalking or holding a grudge?”

Standing there, blocking Ling Mo’s way out of the warehouse, was none other than the advanced zombie he had encountered at the A1 Teaching Building in X City University—his senior sister, Li Yalin. This time, however, she was holding a wooden stick, seemingly pried off from somewhere.

It seemed that after suffering from Ling Mo’s weapon, she had learned to arm herself as well.

A zombie with intelligence was indeed formidable! And she had specifically chosen to confront him when he was alone!

Ling Mo immediately used his psychic link to contact Ye Lian and Xia Na. There was no way he could take on an advanced zombie by himself!

But just as Ling Mo was on high alert, watching Li Yalin closely, she suddenly made a strange “gurgling” sound in her throat. Then, in a very strained voice, she uttered a few words: “I… I know… you…”