Chapter 10 – Misunderstood by a Girl

With Ling Mo’s assistance, the two quickly broke through the horde of zombies. By now, dozens of zombies had gathered in front of the supermarket, and they couldn’t afford to stay even a second longer.

“Brother, follow me.”

The guy flashed a grateful smile at Ling Mo and then turned to run down an alley.

Ling Mo glanced back at the street full of zombies and had no choice but to follow with Ye Lian. The girl, however, walked calmly at the rear, occasionally cutting down zombies that got too close.

Seeing her in action up close, Ling Mo was struck not only by her swift attacks but also by the long knife she wielded. It was incredibly sharp and seemed heavy, yet she swung it effortlessly with her slender arms at an astonishing speed.

What stood out even more was her expression and gaze as she killed the zombies—so calm that it was almost unsettling…

The guy led Ling Mo and Ye Lian through the alley for a good ten minutes before diving into a small building, finally shaking off the large group of zombies.

As the guy paused to catch his breath, Ling Mo noticed signs that the building had been cleared by someone. This was likely their residence.

“Bro… brother… thank you so much.” After running for his life for ten minutes, the guy’s face was completely flushed, and even his hair was drenched with sweat. He leaned on Ling Mo’s shoulder, speaking intermittently, “Really… thanks…”

Seeing the guy’s state, Ling Mo wanted to say there was no need to force himself, but the guy’s sincere expression made him nod reluctantly.

“You’re amazing…” The guy finally caught his breath and exclaimed with admiration, “And your girlfriend too, running so fast without even breaking a sweat… Were you athletes before? But you don’t look muscular… You’re on par with our Xia Na…”

“Liu Yuhao, aren’t you annoying!” Xia Na, who had been silent all this time, suddenly interrupted with a frown, looking somewhat displeased, “Who’s ‘ours’!”

“Come on, we’re classmates after all!” Liu Yuhao joked, then turned back to Ling Mo with a smile, “Thanks again for today. How about coming upstairs to sit for a bit?” As he spoke, he patted the backpack on his shoulder, “We’ve got beer!”

Ling Mo glanced back at Ye Lian, thinking that it was fortunate she looked no different from an ordinary person after her evolution. Judging by Xia Na and Liu Yuhao’s reactions, they hadn’t noticed anything unusual. However, for Ye Lian’s sake, he felt it was better to minimize contact with other survivors.

After considering for a second, Ling Mo decisively shook his head. “No, we have things to do.”

“Huh? What could you possibly have to do? Come on, just sit with us for a bit.” Liu Yuhao was taken aback. In his eyes, encountering other survivors in the apocalypse was something to be happy about. Even if they didn’t stick together, exchanging experiences would be beneficial. Besides, someone as skilled as Ling Mo must know a lot of information they were unaware of. Having him stay could be a huge help.

What could be more important than survival in the apocalypse?

Xia Na, however, seemed impatient. “Since they don’t want to, don’t force them… huh?” She suddenly directed her gaze at the short knife in Ling Mo’s hand. After a brief moment of surprise, she reached for Ling Mo’s waist with such speed that it was almost impossible to react.

Ling Mo hadn’t expected her sudden move, but when her fingers touched the knife handle, he quickly responded.

With a slight shift of his body, Ling Mo deftly avoided Xia Na’s grasp.

Xia Na was stunned, and Liu Yuhao’s mouth dropped open in shock. “Xia Na, what are you doing?”

Xia Na’s failed attempt changed the look in her eyes as she stared at Ling Mo, but her tone was less than friendly. “Where did you get that short knife?”

“That’s none of your business,” Ling Mo replied, frowning slightly at her abrupt question and unexpected action. He had saved them, after all, and there should be a limit to how rude someone could be. Liu Yuhao’s cautious attitude towards her suggested that her strong combat skills made her overly arrogant, but Ling Mo wasn’t going to tolerate that.

“You!” Xia Na glared at Ling Mo, clearly upset, but her frequent glances at the short knife showed how much she cared about it. After a few seconds of silence, she adjusted her tone slightly and asked again, “Where did you get that short knife? Can you tell me?”

It was rare for a girl like her to drop her pride so quickly, as evidenced by Liu Yuhao’s surprised expression.

Ling Mo had nothing to hide, so he briefly explained his visit to the handmade knife store to search for weapons, only making minor alterations regarding the mutation zombie, like the red gel…

Hearing about the mutation zombie, both Xia Na and Liu Yuhao showed no signs of surprise, which confirmed Ling Mo’s suspicion. Indeed, there were already quite a few mutation zombies in the urban area…

“You went to the Wang family’s store, didn’t you?” Xia Na suddenly asked.

“How did you know?” Although the short knife was a finished product, there were no inscriptions on the sheath or blade. How did this girl figure it out? On second thought, Wang’s Handmade Knives were quite famous in X City, so it wasn’t hard to guess…

Xia Na gave the short knife a complicated look. “So, everyone in the store is dead, right? Never mind, it’s nothing.”

“Since it’s nothing, could you stop staring at me…” Ling Mo felt a strange sensation from Xia Na’s persistent gaze at his lower body and couldn’t help but speak up.

Xia Na was initially stunned, then she laughed lightly, unconcerned. “What’s the matter? Your girlfriend doesn’t mind at all, does she?” She pointed at Ye Lian standing behind Ling Mo. “Right, sister?”

“I mind…” Ling Mo was speechless. Xia Na looked no older than seventeen or eighteen, yet her words were so sharp. However, when she started talking to Ye Lian, Ling Mo quickly interjected, “Uh, sorry, she can’t speak…”

“Huh? Such a pretty sister, and she’s mute? Oh, sorry, don’t mind me…” Liu Yuhao exclaimed in surprise, then quickly apologized with an embarrassed smile.

Ling Mo didn’t know how to explain, so he just nodded with a bitter smile.

To his surprise, Xia Na looked deeply at Ye Lian and suddenly grabbed her wrist. If Ling Mo hadn’t immediately restrained Ye Lian’s impulse to attack, Xia Na might have been torn to pieces in that instant.

Judging by her expression, Xia Na didn’t realize how dangerous her action had been. “Sister, come rest at our place for a while. You don’t look well.”

Her tone carried a hint of sympathy, and after she spoke, her gaze towards Ling Mo softened considerably. “You’re pretty good. Come up and sit for a bit; I’ll treat you to a drink.”

Misunderstanding!

Just as Ling Mo was about to refuse, Xia Na was already pulling Ye Lian upstairs. Liu Yuhao also moved behind Ling Mo, pushing him forward and urging, “Come on, come on, it’s rare for us to see other living people…”