Chapter 224 – Gradually Filling Out

A dozen cans of food meant little to Ling Mo, but to this group of people, they were invaluable.

Seeing these people looking at him with immense gratitude, Ling Mo felt a bit emotional.

Although he never saw saving others as his duty and even disliked those who took relying on others for granted, he didn’t mind lending a hand to these old people, women, and children.

In his mind, freeloaders were those who had the ability to help themselves but chose to leech off others, and even felt proud about it.

These people neither had the ability to help themselves nor did they see Ling Mo’s aid as an obligation.

In fact, if Bai Yu hadn’t stopped them, they seemed ready to come up and express their gratitude.

“By the way, the ones who go out to gather food, what kind of people are they?”

After Bai Yu finished explaining things to the survivors, Ling Mo tentatively asked her.

Bai Yu hesitated slightly and then said, “It used to be that all the men in the group would go out, but after we moved here three months ago, many died. The people you see now are less than a third of the original group…”

“The two leading the team are staff members here; they are very familiar with the environment. But even they don’t gather much food, and we have to ensure they get enough to eat first…”

Ling Mo nodded. This approach was quite reasonable.

After all, the food was gathered by them, and the main labor force needs to be well-fed to continue gathering more food.

“So many people died just to move here? Where were you hiding before? Was the move necessary?”

Ling Mo frowned slightly, asking in confusion.

This area didn’t seem any better for scavenging food. If it was just for safety, there were probably plenty of similar places within the amusement park.

Losing two-thirds of the people just to switch to a similar shelter?

Bai Yu’s expression suddenly turned very somber. She said in a low voice, “If we didn’t do this, how would we have enough food…”

“Clang!”

The sound of an empty can hitting the ground immediately caught Ling Mo’s attention. He looked over and saw a woman nearby.

She was trembling all over. When she noticed Ling Mo looking at her, she quickly crouched down to pick up the can.

“Her sister died on the way here…”

Bai Yu’s voice was even lower now.

Ling Mo felt a bit uncomfortable hearing this, even though such things were all too common…

It seemed those two leading men were quite ruthless, willing to use such methods to reduce the population and save food.

Bai Yu continued, “Don’t worry, I’ll talk to them. I don’t think anyone wants to be trapped here. I’ll be waiting at the gate when you return.”

“Uh… alright then.”

At Ling Mo’s current pace, they could loop back by the afternoon.

As Ling Mo’s group was leaving, Bai Yu wanted to see them off, but Ling Mo declined.

Black Silk was still at the bridgehead, and its presence would probably scare these ordinary survivors half to death.

The other survivors stood up. A little girl timidly approached and asked, “Will you really come back?”

Ling Mo smiled and said, “Really. If you have any belongings, start packing them now.”

The little girl was stunned for a moment, then turned to hold a middle-aged woman’s hand: “I only have my mom.”

As she spoke, she cracked a small smile.

“Then hold your mom’s hand tight, and we’ll all leave together.”

Ling Mo hesitated slightly, then reached out to touch the girl’s cheek.

Although the other survivors didn’t speak, they looked much more spirited than when Ling Mo first saw them.

When people have hope, the light in their eyes changes completely.

However, no one noticed that amid the crowd, a relatively pretty woman clenched her fists tightly at that moment…

After Ling Mo’s group left, Bai Yu’s smile slowly faded from her face.

She glanced around at everyone and said in a low voice, “Hurry up and throw away the cans.”

A survivor was the first to snap out of it and threw the can he was holding out the small window.

“Splash.”

The sound of the can hitting the water outside was immediately heard.

The other Survivors followed suit. Even the little girl went over, stood on tiptoe, and threw the can out with all her might.

“When they come back, I’ll explain everything. Don’t worry, everyone. This is a good opportunity; they won’t miss it,” Bai Yu said, only after making sure everyone had thrown away their cans.

“Why…” The woman who first approached Xia Na suddenly asked, “Why not ask them to take us with them now?”

“He has other things to do and can’t take us along as a burden. He’s already kind enough to help us and give us food. Besides…” Bai Yu hesitated slightly, “I want to ask everyone, can we really survive without them?”

It was clear that “them” referred to those men.

Her words brought silence to the group.

The little girl, however, spoke up, “That man…”

“He said he’d only help us escape. Our future survival depends on us,” Bai Yu’s words brought another round of silence to everyone.

Except for the rather pretty girl, who glanced down at her hand.

She had hidden the lid of the can in her hand…

By this time, Ling Mo and his group had already left the vicinity of Huxin Island and entered another area.

Black Silk had rested enough, and it seemed that the virus from the Leader-Level Zombie and the Virus Gel it had just consumed were starting to take effect.

Ling Mo couldn’t help but feel that Black Silk’s body seemed to have swollen a bit more.

“Could it grow into some kind of giant beast in the future?” Ling Mo mused, then glanced back at Li Yalin.

Since Li Yalin had consumed the Mutation Snake’s gel and exhibited snake-like traits, perhaps continually feeding Black Silk with zombie gel would cause it to evolve human-like features?

“What are you thinking about?” Li Yalin noticed Ling Mo’s strange look and immediately asked.

Ling Mo coughed and said, “Since your memories are almost fully integrated, besides the process of getting to know me, have you remembered anything else?”

His question piqued the curiosity of Ye Lian and Xia Na, who both turned their heads to listen.

With Black Silk diligently leading the way and diverting the zombies, Ling Mo and his group found themselves in a rare moment of leisure before the Mutation Zombies could be separated out.

“During a flag-raising ceremony, I was standing below the stage, preparing to speak on behalf of the student council, while you were on stage receiving a warning,” Li Yalin recalled. “I think it was for fighting with students from another school.”

Ling Mo had a clear memory of that incident. A boy from their school had been persistently bothering Ye Lian, and Ling Mo had given him a thorough beating. That boy later brought a few friends to ambush Ling Mo, but Ling Mo had never mentioned this to Ye Lian.

Hearing Li Yalin bring it up now, Ling Mo felt a wave of nostalgia.

“How do you remember such things so clearly? Nothing else?” Ling Mo asked, frowning.

Li Yalin thought for a moment and added, “I saw you being punished for being late.”

“Uh… why are all these things…” Ling Mo was surprised that this seemingly distant Senior Sister remembered him so well.

Li Yalin’s eyes took on a mischievous glint. “Maybe it’s because I advanced when I was with you, so all the memories I recall are related to you. I don’t usually remember these things, but they left an impression…”

Ling Mo was momentarily stunned but then understood.

Li Yalin had reached the Leader-Level during their intimate moment together.

Could that have influenced her memories?!

This brief conversation deepened the bond between Ling Mo and Li Yalin.

As her memories fused, Li Yalin’s image in Ling Mo’s mind became more vivid. Although her nature remained that of a zombie, her human memories and emerging personality traits made her seem more like a woman with her own individuality to Ling Mo.

This made Ling Mo even more eager to see how Xia Na’s personality would evolve and what changes would come with Ye Lian’s advancement.

“I…” Ye Lian tugged on Ling Mo’s sleeve, excitedly saying, “I remember… Ling-Ge, you once showed me how far you could pee… uh.”

Ling Mo’s scalp tingled, and he quickly covered Ye Lian’s mouth. “Let’s not talk about things from when we were kids…”

Unfortunately, Xia Na and Li Yalin had already heard it.

Xia Na’s eyes gleamed with interest, and the smile on her lips hinted at a bit of her mischievous nature. “Ling-Ge, want to show us now?”