Chapter 663 – Foolishness is an Incurable Disease

Whoosh!

As a gust of wind blew past, the billboard hanging by the roadside began to sway back and forth, producing a clicking sound.

Beneath the billboard lay an abandoned pedestrian street.

The shops that used to be bustling with people now had their doors wide open. Scattered along the roadside were shards of broken glass from shattered windows, mixed with patches of brown and other dirty fragments.

Inside the stores, it was dark and the goods were strewn everywhere.

A high-heeled shoe hung by the door of one shop, its decorations already rusted. It seemed to still be waiting for the foot that once wore it, but evidently, that wait would be eternal…

“Clink!”

A stone was suddenly tossed near the high heel, landing on the concrete ground with a crisp sound.

Click…Click…

Two nearby Zombies immediately turned their heads, following the direction where the stone had landed.

Just then, another stone dropped, this time a bit farther away.

The two Zombies, who had just lost their target, instantly found a new direction and almost simultaneously lunged forward.

Thud! Thud!

As if they had suddenly lost all their energy, the two Zombies collapsed to the ground and stopped moving.

A few seconds later, these face-down Zombies began to twitch, then slowly moved to the side, finally being dragged into a store by an invisible force.

“Got two more.” Ling Mo said, rubbing his temples.

The two Zombies, once dragged inside, were placed to the side.

The floor was already covered with Zombie corpses.

Gulp.

Ye Lian, who was staring wide-eyed at the corpses, couldn’t help but swallow hard.

Xia Na, meanwhile, kept one eye on the door and the other sneakily glancing at the corpses.

Li Yalin also stared at the scene intently, but the most pronounced reaction came from Xu Shuhan.

This half-converted Zombie was desperately trying to break free from Xia Na, her reddened eyes fixed intently on the Zombie corpses, her mouth occasionally emitting the sound of grinding teeth.

But every now and then, she would suddenly retreat, as if highly repulsed by the corpses.

Sometimes, a hint of struggle could be seen in her eyes, fleeting but very obvious.

Mu Chen, hiding in a corner, had a complex expression as he looked at Xu Shuhan.

It was his first time encountering such a situation. If a teammate was already infected, they’d usually kill them immediately for the safety of the team or to put them out of their misery.

There weren’t many who would face death so resolutely, but crying and shouting wouldn’t change anything.

But Xu Shuhan’s situation was difficult to judge—was she infected or still somewhat conscious and human?

“She seems more human from her expression and eyes, but this condition…”

This thought only stayed for a moment before Mu Chen shook his head to dismiss it.

Since Ling Mo had said he would try to help Xu Shuhan, he wouldn’t go back on his word.

Infection was almost always a death sentence for them. Any glimmer of hope was extremely precious.

Mu Chen thought that if Xu Shuhan could still think clearly, she would be grateful to Ling Mo…

Then again, she might go crazy from the embarrassment of showing these “ugly” sides to him…

“But why not just charge through?” Mu Chen suddenly asked.

He looked frustrated. Given Ling Mo’s speed, killing them one by one wasn’t slow, but with their abilities, they could probably find quieter routes and pass through easily.

Moving quickly and leaving before attracting more Zombies was the key.

They were now in the center of Xinlan Town, and once they crossed a few more streets, they’d enter Cuihu’s area.

Surely, speeding up was the best course of action!

After they entered Xinlan Town, Mu Chen realized he had underestimated the toughness of their journey.

Once they reached the town center, driving became nearly impossible, despite Ling Mo’s efforts in guiding Xia Na through several convoluted routes based on the map.

It seemed that the off-road vehicle was something Song Jinsen and his group had found nearby. When they reached areas navigable by car again, they might find more vehicles left by Song Jinsen’s group.

But the stretch that required walking was troublesome.

The area they were passing through hadn’t been traversed by Song Jinsen’s group. In this town, cleared roads tended to attract more Zombies.

“Oh, that? For more safety,” Ling Mo gave an answer that made Mu Chen want to bang his head against the wall.

Pursuing safety at a time like this? Couldn’t have figured that out before?

But this time Ling Mo wasn’t being dismissive; he was genuinely concerned about the safety of their operation.

According to the files they found at the Air Force Corps, Cuihu’s danger level was clearly marked.

Xinlan Town, being close to Cuihu, wasn’t listed in the files but was undoubtedly dangerous too.

Moreover, the files were several months old, and the current situation must be significantly different.

Although Ling Mo’s purpose in coming to Cuihu was to help Ye Lian and the others evolve and improve quickly before dealing with Niepan’s headquarters, caution was essential when the situation was unclear.

Currently, their approach also served as a means to probe the environment.

Such subtle actions might not attract the attention of ordinary Zombies but could easily be detected by Senior Zombies with their enhanced senses of smell and hearing.

Additionally, staying longer in Xinlan Town could increase the chances of Li Yalin recalling more memories.

Since they entered Xinlan, he had been observing Li Yalin’s reactions.

Li Yalin had been curiously looking around, lingering at some landmark buildings. Yet, it still seemed more like a zombie’s strong sense of novelty toward unfamiliar things.

Occasionally, Ling Mo would ask her a few questions, but her answers had nothing to do with her memories.

“Don’t rush, don’t rush…” Ling Mo silently chanted to himself twice, then turned to the helpless-looking Mu Chen, saying, “This is already the route with the fewest Zombies. Didn’t you not want to go to the headquarters before? Now you’re getting all urgent.”

“Of course, you’re not worried about being bitten! She’s like a tigress right now!” Mu Chen said, referring to Xu Shuhan.

At his low growl, Xu Shuhan got agitated again, lunging at him with her mouth open.

Although she couldn’t break free from Xia Na’s single-handed restraint, the frenzied look in her eyes still startled Mu Chen.

“See? When you talk bad about her, she reacts,” Ling Mo said.

“You’re a tiger too, the kind that eats people and leaves no bones!” Mu Chen retorted, feeling both frustrated and outmatched as the duo managed to double-team him even in such different situations.

“You’re all tigers!” Mu Chen grumbled, casting a resentful glance at Ye Lian and the others.

Xia Na scoffed, while Li Yalin and Ye Lian reacted simultaneously.

“Tigers? Can we eat them?”

“Tiger… tiger…?”

Mu Chen rolled his eyes. Were these people conspiring to drive him crazy? It seemed as if he was the only normal one among them!

While they were talking, Ling Mo noticed a few Zombies approaching from a distance and quickly dispatched them.

After throwing the last pebble into a dried-up fish tank inside the store, he clapped his hands, “Let’s go.”

Now the entire street was eerily deserted; there wasn’t a hint of blood, except for the store filled with corpses.

As they stepped out, Ling Mo closed the door behind him, sealing any lingering odor inside.

Ten minutes with no disturbances meant, at least, this route was safe.

However, this move puzzled Mu Chen. After thinking it over, he could only arrive at one conclusion.

A master is indeed a master, their method always differs, even in handling corpses with such caution…

But thinking further, Ling Mo’s actions seemed like he was wary of attracting something…

The more Mu Chen thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Realizing this, he felt he had fallen into yet another trap…

“Ahhhh!”

Ye Lian and Li Yalin both tugged at Xia Na, asking, “What’s wrong with him?”

Xia Na glanced at Ling Mo, who was walking ahead, then at Mu Chen, who was glaring at Ling Mo’s back while scratching his head furiously. She replied in a low voice, “Forgot to take his medicine? I remember some humans suffer from a condition called ‘being dumb’…”

“Ah… Can it be cured?” Li Yalin asked curiously.

Xia Na shook her head, “It’s a terminal illness…”