Chapter 377 – A Sudden Test

“Ugh… don’t come any closer…”

Li Wei didn’t even glance at Ling Mo as she threw the alarm device and took off running, her screams of “ahh, ahh” echoing continuously.

Ling Mo watched in silence as the girl panicked and ran into the greenbelt, her steps awkward and unsteady…

“In this kind of situation, one would typically sprain an ankle,” Ling Mo thought to himself.

Just as Li Wei rushed into the greenbelt, her toes got tangled in the dry, dead grass…

“Ah!”

Li Wei let out a shriek, tumbling directly into the bushes.

“Okay, I overestimated you.”

Ling Mo unceremoniously pocketed the alarm device and walked over to pick up the glowing capsule.

He examined it closely for a moment, then tried giving it a gentle twist. The light dimmed bit by bit until it clicked off completely.

“This is quite handy, being able to adjust the brightness,” Ling Mo remarked, holding the capsule as he walked toward Li Wei, who was struggling in the bushes.

He had already put on his infrared night-vision goggles, which only made the environment look somewhat eerie through the lenses.

Surrounded by darkness, Li Wei could only see a dark figure slowly approaching her, which scared her into screaming wildly, her legs kicking instinctively.

But just as she was about to hit the shadow, something invisible seemed to grab her ankle.

Her legs were lifted high into the air, and as Li Wei clawed at the grass, her eyes widened in terror: “Ugh, what are you going to do…”

“Hey, don’t scream as if I’m going to do something bad to you. I’m just hanging your legs up to keep you from interfering with my actions. Such a fuss over nothing…”

Ling Mo crouched down and reached into Li Wei’s pocket.

“Ah!” Li Wei let out a brief shriek, her body trembling.

Fortunately, the dark figure didn’t tear her clothes; instead, he rummaged through various inner pockets.

In addition to several glowing capsules, there were about a dozen alarm devices, small and convenient for carrying. There were also a few other trinkets, the use of which was not yet known.

As Ling Mo stuffed his pockets, he cheerfully patted Li Wei’s suspended legs: “You’re like a human Doraemon…” He then mentally added, “a downgraded version.”

But she was young, and as long as she could stay in this human settlement, she would gain more resources and progress quickly. War and life-or-death challenges are the best sources of inspiration…

Li Wei had been frightened to tears. Ling Mo wanted to say a few words to her, but seeing her in such a panic, he sighed and turned to leave.

As he turned the corner, Ling Mo took a deep breath and slid his hands into his coat pockets. At the same time, Li Wei felt the force that had been suspending her legs suddenly vanish.

“Ugh…” Li Wei quickly scrambled up, checking her legs nervously, then looked in the direction Ling Mo had left.

For some reason, she thought of that sigh and his retreating figure.

“It feels strange…”

Li Wei furrowed her brow in thought, then suddenly realized something of great importance. “Ah! The Chief of Staff! Ah! My egg lamp! Sob, all plundered by that weird guy, how am I supposed to find my way in the dark…”

Expecting a battle, Ling Mo was surprised to find it was Li Wei, the young girl, following behind. He wasted no time and quickly returned to the massage parlor.

Su Qianrou was still unconscious. Ling Mo glanced at her for a moment before waving Yu Shiran over.

Based on their psychic link, Ye Lian and her companions had initially moved quickly, but now they had stopped. They were likely past the defensive line, waiting somewhere for them.

“Let’s hurry up too.”

Ling Mo led the way with Yu Shiran trailing, both sprinting along the edge of the street.

Meanwhile, at the edge of the city, Ye Lian and two other women leaned against a wall, while Yuwen Xuan sat on the ground, waiting for Ling Mo to arrive for the rendezvous.

All three women kept a deliberate distance from Yuwen Xuan, leaving him sitting alone in front of them.

He didn’t show any signs of being hurt, instead, his gaze shifted complexly from Li Ya Lin to Xia Na, then his hand, previously hidden behind his back, suddenly twitched, revealing a tactical knife.

After swiftly slashing his arm, Yuwen Xuan leaped to his feet and extended his bleeding arm towards Xia Na: “Look!”

Xia Na stared at Yuwen Xuan expressionlessly, then turned her face away in disgust, “Did you forget to take your meds?”

“You… you’re not interested?” Yuwen Xuan was stunned, then turned to Ye Lian, but she had already walked away towards the corner.

Before he could turn to Li Ya Lin, a long leg “whooshed” into action, kicking him in the waist: “Are you sick? Turning into a weird uncle luring kids with candy? It’s disgusting, you know! Watch out or Ling Mo will come back and skin you!”

“I… I didn’t mean to…” Yuwen Xuan fell to the ground, pale and weakly trying to defend himself before ultimately giving up.

“Maybe I heard it wrong? I can’t possibly take out my kidney to test their reactions. Besides, except for being… absurdly strong, they don’t seem like zombies. In fact, they’re a bit dumber than before, but that might be due to the initial shock causing their personalities to change. Aren’t I also completely different from before… Moreover…”

Yuwen Xuan zoned out for a while, then slowly got up from the ground. While tearing strips of cloth to bandage himself, he thought, “Zombie or not, she’s still my sister. I can’t see her as a zombie, and she can’t possibly be one.”

At that thought, the image of the girl appeared before his eyes: “If she turned into a zombie, what would I do… would I let her eat me?”

He hadn’t reacted when he first heard Zhu Xuejun’s shouts. Now, with Ling Mo away, he had wanted to test the waters.

But to his dismay, he was met with disdainful glares and treated like a pervert…

Despite coming up with many reasons to explain the situation, he somehow missed the only one that actually mattered…

“Ugh… he smells awful. Does this guy really share… blood relations with my senior?” Ye Lian thought to herself, facing the corner of the room with one hand on the wall, her lips puckered in distaste.

Xia Na cast a sympathetic glance at her, then silently extended her hand, patting Ye Lian on the back, “I get it… Our tastes have been spoiled by Ling Mo’s unique scent.”

“Phew!”

It wasn’t more than two minutes before Ling Mo flipped over a surrounding wall and landed nimbly on the ground: “All set.”

After his announcement, he sensed an odd tension in the air and turned his gaze to Yuwen Xuan.

But Yuwen Xuan was already approaching with a smile, clapping his hand onto Ling Mo’s shoulder, “I bet the defenses are in chaos now, huh?”

“Huh? Oh…” Ling Mo’s heart, previously held in suspense, finally settled. He didn’t know if Yuwen Xuan had any suspicions, but since he didn’t say anything, it seemed like the matter could be left behind.

Ling Mo rarely made friends, and now, having been through life-and-death situations together, he didn’t speak of it, but he truly valued this friendship.

“Will you be able to get back smoothly?” Ling Mo asked.

Yuwen Xuan wore a smug expression, “Don’t worry about that. Getting past these defenses is a piece of cake for me!”

“Just stop showing off with your regional-accented English already…” Ling Mo said after a brief pause.

Xia Na’s response was frosty, “No one is worried about you.”

“Just burn all those inflatable dolls when you get home, it’s embarrassing,” Li Ya Lin suggested.

Ye Lian turned her head to glance at Yuwen Xuan’s arm, then silently turned away.

“As for you guys…” Yuwen Xuan seemed to ignore their reactions, tousled his hair, and said, “City X is going to be a mess, just like you’ve seen in the zombie zone of City A. Sooner or later, City X will end up the same way. That was just a small part of City A, and in terms of population and area, City X dwarfs City A by several streets – and that’s just counting the permanent residents. So…”

Yuwen Xuan took a deep breath, his expression suddenly becoming very serious, “Take good care of Li Ya Lin… You’re stronger than me, in every sense of the word.”

“I…”

“Ahahaha, oh, and,” Yuwen Xuan pointed to a compact car parked nearby, “I found this on my way out of the defense line. You guys can take it. I put the experimental subjects in there for you too. Also, if you need anything, just come find me at the City X station. I’ll be heading back to the front lines tomorrow.”

When Ling Mo walked over to the slipper car, he indeed saw the body bag with the experimental subjects inside the vehicle.

However, as he approached the car door, his expression immediately turned dark.

“This is obviously a two-seater; can’t you see there are four of us?” Ling Mo turned back and glared, only to find that Yuwen Xuan had already disappeared from where he’d been standing.

“Hmph, quick escape. Anyway, better to have something than nothing, thanks anyway.”

Ling Mo waved towards the direction Yuwen Xuan had left in, then turned his head to look at the slipper car, “Hey, Xia Na, you’re not old enough to have a driver’s license, are you? Why have you taken over the driver’s seat again?”

Xia Na had always wanted to drive, but Ling Mo, considering her zombie nature, had never agreed. But now, her intelligence seemed high enough…

“Alright, you win. But, senior sister…”

The remaining co-driver’s seat was occupied by senior sister who held Ye Lian in her arms, and the two of them squeezed in just right.

Seeing Ling Mo approaching, senior sister stuck out her tongue and asked, “According to human customs, ladies… ladies…”

“First…” Ye Lian hesitantly added.

“I only have one request,” Ling Mo said, looking towards the car, “Can you drive slower?”

Glancing back at Yu Shiran, who had already run out from her hiding place, Ling Mo thought, after all, he wasn’t the only one who’d be feeling the breeze…