Chapter 149 – The Snake Hidden in the Grass

Leaving the central area near X City University, the number of zombies began to dwindle, though this was only relative.

The farther they walked towards Baihua District, the sparser the buildings became. Instead, green spaces increased, making the environment much better compared to the central city area.

Most of the structures here were tall office buildings, with fewer shops below, and the streets were very spacious.

From a distance, one might even think it looked no different from normal times.

However, the abandoned cars on the roads and the occasional zombie added a sense of fear to the scene.

Traveling in this environment, Ling Mo was in a relatively good mood. They had killed nearly three hundred zombies along the way. Although Ling Mo rarely fought personally, the consumption of his Psychic Power was still considerable.

If it were just Ye Lian and Xia Na as before, Ling Mo wouldn’t have been too concerned. But his bond with Li Yalin was not yet strong. If he exhausted his Psychic Power, Li Yalin might attempt to break free from his control.

This was something he had to guard against, especially since Li Yalin had been showing increasingly excited behavior after battles, with her eyes often turning blood red.

“Xia Na, we’re already near here. Do you have any impressions?” Ling Mo asked as he wiped the blood off his Short Knife and walked over to Xia Na.

At the same time, he noticed that Xia Na’s Long Knife was completely broken, the tip long gone. What used to be an imposing weapon was now utterly ruined.

If Xia Na still had human emotions, she would probably be extremely upset about this… However, at this moment, Xia Na didn’t seem to care at all, holding the Short Knife and shaking her head. “No, I used to travel by car!”

“So you never looked at the road?” Ling Mo felt helpless. It turned out Xia Na was also a young lady after all!

But her personality was much better than Wang Lin’s. Since she became an Advanced Zombie and experienced a second memory awakening, it seemed that another side of her personality had been completely unearthed.

Now, although Xia Na still showed some traces of her former self, this only happened when she was around Ling Mo and Ye Lian.

When it came to others, even Wang Lin, she had a completely different personality.

A little evil witch… Ling Mo silently defined the current Xia Na in his mind.

However, this trait had actually manifested before. For example, during battles, the faint smile that always lingered on her lips as she slashed zombies…

“Here…” Ye Lian suddenly spoke at this moment. “It feels like… I’ve been here before… but also like I haven’t…”

It seemed her memory was still very fuzzy. But given that office buildings looked pretty much the same everywhere and this place wasn’t too far from X City University, it was possible Ye Lian had been here before.

Seeing Ye Lian actively trying to remember made Ling Mo happy. Ever since meeting Li Yalin, Ling Mo had been wondering if Ye Lian, like Li Yalin, wanted to recover all of her memories.

Although she had no issues with self-awareness, the hazy memories probably still bothered her a lot.

“Is that so? Then try to remember more. There aren’t many zombies here anyway,” Ling Mo said tenderly, reaching out to ruffle Ye Lian’s hair.

Ye Lian looked somewhat confusedly at the distant tall buildings, then nodded, “Okay…”

Since Xia Na still had no memories, they had to continue in the vague direction Li Yalin had indicated.

If they hadn’t come across a bus stop sign pointing towards Baihua District, Ling Mo might have been even more skeptical of Li Yalin’s memory.

Her memory recovery was even less complete than Ye Lian’s. She struggled to find the right words for a simple sentence, often taking half a minute to get it out.

After fighting all the way, her baseball bat was almost completely covered in blood, dyed a dark red-brown, with various cracks and splinters. Ling Mo couldn’t help but think, rather wickedly, that if she used it a bit more, it might start to resemble a spiked club.

But just as Ling Mo was lost in thought, Li Yalin, who was walking at the front, suddenly tripped and fell to the ground with a thud.

“Whoa!”

Ling Mo was taken aback and quickly rushed over to help Li Yalin up. But just as he was about to reach her, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“What the hell is this…”

Li Yalin hadn’t fallen—she had been attacked!

And what attacked her made Ling Mo’s scalp tingle with fear, his body breaking out in goosebumps.

A thick snake, the size of a bowl, was coiled around Li Yalin’s ankle and was rapidly slithering up her long legs. But this snake was unlike any Ling Mo had ever seen before.

Its body was a bright red color, even its eyes were red, and there was a large bump on its flat head, making it look very eerie. Staring at it gave a distinctly dangerous feeling!

Whether it was venomous, Ling Mo didn’t know, but he was sure of one thing—it was very bold and strong.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t have dared to attack an Advanced Zombie, nor would it have been able to easily knock Li Yalin down!

“Wow!”

Xia Na quickly came over to take a look, her eyes turning red as she exclaimed in amazement. Of course, it wasn’t because she felt it was eerie or scary, but because she found it amusing.

Ye Lian had a similar reaction. She felt no fear either and certainly didn’t care about Li Yalin being entangled.

However, the snake wasn’t like a typical python that would constrict its prey first. It seemed more intent on going straight for Li Yalin’s neck.

Ling Mo wasn’t sure if there were pythons that attacked their prey this way, but the snake’s behavior immediately reminded him of zombies.

The zombie virus had fundamentally altered the brains and instincts of zombies, deeply affecting their nature. If given the chance to bite the neck first, they absolutely would avoid ripping their prey apart. However, as survivors became more resistant, biting the neck first had become increasingly difficult. But just as Li Yalin had previously ambushed Ling Mo, when given the chance, the preferred attack spot was still the neck.

The red python was so insistent on climbing towards Li Yalin’s neck that it felt eerily similar to those zombies.

It must have been hiding in the roadside bushes, remaining undetected even by the three Advanced Zombies, indicating it had been aware of Ling Mo’s group for some time and had prepared for an ambush, concealing its presence.

Entangled and slightly injured from the fall, Li Yalin felt an intense sense of danger as the snake slithered up her leg.

However, the strengths of an Advanced Zombie were fully displayed at this moment. With lightning-fast reflexes, she suddenly grabbed the snake’s body and simultaneously rolled on the ground, using her knees for leverage.

This two-pronged approach not only freed her from the snake’s grip but also allowed her to catch it in her hand.

“Throw it away!”

Ling Mo shouted, but just as he did, the snake coiled its body and struck Li Yalin’s wrist with a fierce bite.

Two puncture wounds appeared instantly, blood gushing out, and Li Yalin, as if electrocuted, released her grip. Ling Mo noticed that her blood started off black but quickly returned to a normal red color.

It was venomous!

This blood-red snake was clearly no ordinary serpent; it showed no signs of retreat. Instead, after hitting the ground, it lunged directly at Ling Mo.

Raising its head, it shot towards Ling Mo’s face like an arrow.

Ling Mo felt his scalp tingle with fear. There was no way to dodge; no matter how fast he was, he couldn’t outpace the snake’s attack.

Suddenly, his Psychic Tentacle lashed out, causing the snake to slam into an invisible barrier just centimeters from his face, falling to the ground right at Ye Lian’s feet.

Ye Lian showed no signs of panic. She simply lifted her foot and, as the snake began to raise its head, stomped down hard, crushing its flat head underfoot.

Ling Mo, ignoring the stabbing pain in his head and the dizziness in his vision, rushed forward, slashing down to sever the snake’s body.

“Don’t lift your foot yet…” Ling Mo spoke too late, as Ye Lian had already stepped aside.

However, as Ling Mo quickly pulled her back, he realized his caution was unnecessary. The snake’s head had been completely crushed, and to his shock, something seemed to drop out of the flattened bump on its head.