Chapter 408 – Taking Advantage of the Situation

Ye Lian, quick as lightning, darted forward and caught him: “Ling-Ge… are you alright?”

“How is he?”

Xia Na also jumped forward, anxiously checking on Ling Mo’s condition.

However, as soon as they bowed their heads, Ling Mo, who seemed unconscious, suddenly opened his eyes. He quickly lifted his head and kissed both of them on the cheek.

“Ah!”

Xia Na was stunned for a moment, then smiled: “You sly human… And also, you need to shave!”

Ye Lian stared blankly at Ling Mo for a couple of seconds, then suddenly raised her hand to cover her face: “Why do you always do that suddenly…”

“Thud!”

As soon as she let go, Ling Mo lost his balance and fell flat on his back.

“Ouch, my back…”

“Are you… are you alright? You look… terrible…”

Ye Lian quickly helped Ling Mo up again, her expression a bit anxious.

Ling Mo’s face was very pale, and a fine layer of cold sweat had appeared on his forehead.

“As expected, both my physical strength and psychic power are completely drained. Hmph, who told you to play the hero?” Xia Na grumbled.

“Cough cough…” Ling Mo’s voice was weak. “Such details…”

“Another boring trait of humans, risking everything for something that’s not even that important,” Xia Na snorted again.

“Y-Yes, exactly.”

Ye Lian nodded, and in her usually blank eyes, a trace of tenderness suddenly flickered…

“…So silly.”

The battle dragged on intermittently until dawn. After dealing with the first batch of zombies attracted by the brats, more zombies were drawn in by the sound of gunfire and the smell of blood.

Although there weren’t too many, it felt like playing whack-a-mole; as soon as you knocked one down, another would pop up somewhere else.

Moreover, each one posed a deadly threat, and some even crawled in hanging upside down from the ceiling.

In this kind of situation, you had to stay constantly alert. A moment’s inattention could turn you into zombie fodder.

If it weren’t for the sturdy structure of the building and the fact that the front door was blocked by a broken-down car, it would have been very difficult for Lucy and the others to hold the stairway.

Of course, ordinary survivors wouldn’t have such concentrated firepower either.

But even so, by dawn, the four of them, including Lucy, were so exhausted they could barely lift their arms.

“So… so tired!”

Liu Baodong dragged his gun, crawling back to the large office like a dead dog.

As soon as he saw Ye Lian and the others, he started yelling: “Hey, you guys didn’t come down at all last night!”

But no one paid him any mind. Ling Mo was lying on a sofa, with Ye Lian and Xia Na sitting beside him.

Although he wasn’t actually injured and had taken a potion immediately, the energy Ling Mo had spent needed rest to fully recover.

Moreover, he needed to sleep…

“He looks utterly exhausted…”

Liu Baodong recalled the terrifying attack power of that monster, shuddered, and his complaining voice softened significantly.

He turned to Xia Na and Ye Lian, muttering under his breath: “But why didn’t you come down? You guys are clearly strong too.”

When they first entered the building, it was Xia Na who subdued him.

To use the word “subdue” is actually putting it mildly.

In reality, he didn’t even see Xia Na’s face before the flat of her blade struck his forehead, making him dizzy on the spot.

When he came to, he was already face-down, being dragged back to the large office by his feet.

“Hmph, why should I help…” Xia Na was about to say “humans,” but paused and reluctantly changed her words, “You mean, you guys shoot while we fight them hand-to-hand?”

“Uh…” Liu Baodong was stunned.

“That’s not right. No matter what, we dragged them into this mess. They’ve already saved our lives…” the female team member said.

Ling Mo had saved her from Ah Sheng’s hands, so naturally, she was grateful.

The monster’s combat strength was evident to all. Without Ling Mo, they probably wouldn’t have survived until morning.

“Captain, saying that is very ungentlemanly…” the male team member added.

“Hmph.” Lucy snorted, her disdain evident.

Liu Baodong looked embarrassed, but inside he was shouting, “No matter what, I’m still the captain! Did you all agree to turn against me just because he took down the monster? Are you conveniently ignoring his despicable actions just because of that? They treated us like prisoners before!”

“By the way, there are so many zombies here probably because he intentionally provoked that monster! Have you all conveniently forgotten all the shouting he did outside the door?”

Frustrated, Liu Baodong hugged his gun and found a corner to sit in, glaring resentfully in Ling Mo’s direction.

Unfortunately, no one paid him any attention…

A few hours later, everyone felt their strength slowly returning to their bodies.

However, the soreness in their arms wouldn’t go away anytime soon. Except for Lucy, the other three couldn’t use their guns for the time being.

But what shocked them was that Ling Mo, who had looked pale and exhausted the night before, was now full of energy, stretching his body and looking completely fine.

“This… this recovery is way too fast!”

Liu Baodong, awkwardly leaning against the wall with his arms hanging limply, munched on a compressed biscuit and exclaimed in amazement.

“Here, take this. The taste is so-so, but it fills you up.”

The female team member handed a few packs of dry rations to Ling Mo.

Seeing the shy smile on her face, Liu Baodong almost spat out his food: “This isn’t just turning against me; she’s practically being won over!”

“Ling Mo.”

Lucy also walked up to Ling Mo, her face stern, and asked, “So, what are your plans now?”

“Survive, what else?” Ling Mo said with a smile, biting into the dry rations.

As soon as Lucy saw Ling Mo’s expression, she knew he wasn’t being honest. However, she didn’t press further and instead said, “I’ll be straightforward. As you can see, after a night of fighting, my team is temporarily out of combat capacity. Actually, I am too… but my return schedule is fixed, and I can’t delay any longer. Plus, X City… who knows how many more monsters like the one last night are out there.”

“Not many. Just bad luck to encounter one…”

“Anyway,” Lucy ignored Ling Mo’s comment and asked, “Are you willing to help me?”

“The rendezvous point is Century City, right…” Ling Mo recalled the map of X City in his mind and finally nodded. “Our routes overlap for a bit… But, what about the reward?”

“Ah?” Lucy was momentarily stunned, and her icy facade cracked. “What… what do you want?”

It took them a full five minutes to negotiate the terms of the reward.

In addition to a payment from Lucy’s Fire Base, Liu Baodong’s Air Force Corps also had to contribute a reward.

“Why do you want a sniper rifle!” Liu Baodong immediately shouted after looking at the list. “Your marksmanship is terrible, isn’t it?”

“It’s not for me.” Ling Mo glanced at Ye Lian, and they exchanged smiles. “With a sniper rifle, dealing with the guy we met yesterday might have been easier. Even if it didn’t work, it wouldn’t hurt to try.”

The lack of effective long-range attack capabilities was currently a shortcoming for Ling Mo’s group.

When facing enemies like that brat, they were inevitably at a disadvantage.

Dealing with zombies was fine—a small trap could lure them in—but what if they encountered a superhuman with long-range attacks?

“Crossbow bolts… we don’t have those! Besides, don’t you already have one?” Liu Baodong shouted again.

“We’re out of bolts,” Ling Mo replied calmly. “No bolts? Fine, then give us an extra hundred rounds of ammunition.”

“…Alright,” Liu Baodong reluctantly agreed after carefully reviewing the list. “We’ll accept! When the helicopter comes to pick up Lucy, the items on the list will be delivered as well.”

They wouldn’t be entering the city themselves, just delivering to the outskirts before returning, and the helicopter would handle the extraction.

As the captain of the special operations team, Liu Baodong had the authority to authorize such supplies.

Finally, Liu Baodong added reluctantly, “You’re practically taking advantage of our crisis!”

“You’re too kind.”

“That wasn’t a compliment!”

Lucy also reviewed the list carefully and raised an eyebrow, “The items you’ve requested are all within my current capability to provide.”