Chapter 139 – Xia Na’s Request

“Luo-Ge…”

Ding Yu’s voice sounded indifferent, and his expression didn’t show much excitement even when he saw that Luo Heng and Wang Lin were still alive.

This demeanor made Ling Mo feel a bit puzzled. Is this person too calm?

In contrast, Luo Heng was very excited. He exclaimed, “Ding Yu, I barely escaped death! It’s all thanks to this brother here, and Wang Lin was also saved by him! If it weren’t for him, the two of us would probably be…”

At this point, he remembered that he hadn’t had the chance to ask Ling Mo how exactly they were saved.

However, Ling Mo seemed a bit reticent, not responding much about his own matters… Well, since Ding Yu found his way here, he probably knows something. Instead of bothering Ling Mo and making him feel annoyed, it might be better to ask Ding Yu after they leave.

As Luo Heng spoke, he turned his gaze to Ling Mo, his eyes filled with gratitude.

Ling Mo cleared his throat, feeling a bit guilty. If he had been a little more careful, they might not have been so badly injured… But when controlling Zombie Puppets, Ling Mo tended to be bold. After all, a Zombie Puppet getting injured didn’t matter much to him—no pain, no harm, and it wouldn’t affect his body.

Using a Zombie Puppet as if it were his own body would be too restrictive and would defeat the purpose of controlling one.

“Forget it, saving them is good enough. As for the injuries… that’s just bad luck,” Ling Mo thought to himself.

Hearing Luo Heng’s words, Ding Yu looked curiously at Ling Mo. After a moment of contemplation, he simply said, “Thank you.”

Just as Ling Mo had guessed, Ding Yu had followed the blood trail to this building but didn’t enter immediately. Instead, he observed the surroundings from downstairs.

This was originally to avoid a direct confrontation with an Advanced Zombie, but to his surprise, he found the corpse of that zombie at the back door of the building.

The wounds looked very strange… Generally, survivors wouldn’t catch a zombie alive and then bash it against the wall… Looking at the large bloodstain on the wall and the zombie corpse with its forehead smashed, Ding Yu’s expression was quite peculiar.

So when he heard from Luo Heng that Ling Mo was their savior, the image of that corpse immediately came to his mind.

Very bold, very strong… This must be a superhuman with exceptional strength, Ding Yu silently concluded as he glanced at Ling Mo.

Even though Ling Mo’s ordinary appearance made it hard to connect him with the image of a brute forcefully smashing a zombie against a wall, in this era of superhumans, anything was possible. Ding Yu probably couldn’t have imagined that Ling Mo’s ability had nothing to do with physical strength. The whole situation was a result of his Puppet Control Ability.

At that moment, the unfortunate Zombie Puppet had taken several steps back before suddenly charging towards the wall. Just before the impact, Ling Mo severed his Psychic Link.

By then, the zombie couldn’t stop its momentum and crashed heavily into the wall, achieving a spectacular self-inflicted demise.

If any Survivors had witnessed this scene, they might have thought they were hallucinating.

Ding Yu thought this over and then looked at Ling Mo with a newfound respect. “You… must be very strong, right? Are you a superhuman?”

“Yes, I’m a superhuman,” Ling Mo replied with a nod. He wasn’t modest about it. They were strangers, and he didn’t want any conflict with Luo Heng’s group. It was better to show his strength from the beginning to avoid any misguided actions from the others.

While Luo Heng was a principled person, he wasn’t sure about this young man in front of him, so he remained cautious.

Ding Yu seemed a bit surprised, but then he nodded slightly. “Nice to meet you, I’m Ding Yu. And you are?”

“Ling Mo.”

“And they are…”

Ding Yu actually took the initiative to ask about Ye Lian and Xia Na, which surprised Ling Mo. After all, the two girls clearly seemed very aloof towards these people. Although Luo Heng had shown some interest in them, he hadn’t dared to ask directly.

Ling Mo didn’t suspect that Ding Yu had figured something out; he guessed that Ding Yu had probably sensed some hostility from Ye Lian and Xia Na.

“They’re my girlfriends,” Ling Mo stated confidently.

Both Ding Yu and Luo Heng were taken aback, especially Luo Heng, whose expression became somewhat awkward.

If he had encountered other Survivors who had two girlfriends at once, Luo Heng would likely have looked down on them. But the man before him was his savior, and despite his conservative mindset, he could only accept it begrudgingly.

However, Ding Yu quickly regained his composure. His thoughts were entirely different from Luo Heng’s.

With the arrival of the Apocalypse, all order had collapsed, and strength had become the ultimate currency. A man with skills and power naturally deserved more.

Moreover, Ling Mo was far better than those scum who forcibly took women, as he could tell that Ye Lian and Xia Na were not as fragile as they appeared.

The fact that two strong-willed girls were willingly with Ling Mo spoke volumes, didn’t it?

In any case, Ding Yu felt even more wary of Ling Mo… “By the way, Ding Yu, how is Zhang Ning?” Luo Heng asked anxiously.

Though the fire at the Mall was still raging and there was no immediate urgency, Ding Yu had arrived here, and only Zhang Ning hadn’t shown up yet. Naturally, Luo Heng was worried.

Given Zhang Ning’s personality, she wouldn’t do something foolish like going back to look for him, right? Ding Yu glanced at Luo Heng, and a strange expression appeared on his face. “She should be fine…”

“Should be?!” Luo Heng’s face changed instantly. “So you’re not sure about her situation? Damn, what are you doing? You didn’t even meet up with her before running off…”

He stopped mid-sentence and immediately shut his mouth, casting an apologetic glance at Ding Yu. “Sorry, I got a bit anxious and started rambling.”

Ding Yu had obviously left on his own initiative to find them, and Luo Heng realized that his complaints were somewhat inappropriate.

However, Ding Yu seemed indifferent. Most of his attention was on Ling Mo and his group, as if he was more interested in his fellow superhuman than in his own companions.

“Uh, Ding Yu, could you do me a favor?” Luo Heng, knowing he couldn’t move himself, looked at Ding Yu with a hint of pleading.

“I got it. I’ll go get her,” Ding Yu replied. “But as for gathering supplies, I think we should wait until the fire dies down. Zombies are being attracted from afar, but they’ll mostly gather near the intersection. The streets will actually be quite safe as long as we’re careful. Overall, the situation is better than we expected.”

With that, Ding Yu gave Ling Mo a nod and turned to go downstairs to fetch Zhang Ning.

Luo Heng watched Ding Yu leave with a worried expression, then turned to Ling Mo with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, we still need to bring over one more companion. It seems Wang Lin and I have taken over your place.”

“No problem…” Ling Mo didn’t correct him. After all the commotion today, and with zombies likely being drawn from afar, rushing off now might lead to encountering quite a few zombies.

Besides, he also wanted to get a share of the spoils from this street. With only four members in this group, the supplies they could carry away were limited.

Since they couldn’t travel today, Ling Mo planned to wait until the situation outside stabilized, gather some supplies, and then leave.

Sure enough, even before Ling Mo could speak, Luo Heng took the initiative and said, “Ding Yu was right. We should wait until the fire is out before searching the street for supplies. As a token of our gratitude, you can join us in the search. Take whatever you find useful.”

“Then I won’t be polite,” Ling Mo replied with a smile.

“Once Ding Yu and Zhang Ning get here, Wang Lin and I will leave first. There are many places to stay on this street. Although I’d love to have a long chat with you, there’s only one bed here…” Luo Heng added.

Ling Mo thought Luo Heng was quite considerate and was about to nod when Xia Na suddenly spoke up, “You can come back tomorrow to take Wang Lin.”

Her tone left no room for negotiation, which stunned Luo Heng. Ling Mo glanced at Xia Na in surprise before turning to Luo Heng and saying, “Actually, they are relatives…”

Hearing this, a look of realization appeared on Luo Heng’s face. So this was the “connection” Ling Mo had mentioned earlier.

Since this girl and Wang Lin were relatives, her request was quite reasonable. To be honest, Luo Heng had even considered that Wang Lin might choose to stay with Ling Mo’s group… Despite his concerns, Luo Heng could only nod and say, “Alright, that’s fair.”

Footnote:

Luo-Ge(罗哥): A respectful way to address an older male friend.