Chapter 15 – The Real Plan

Early the next morning, the seemingly ordinary small building was bustling with activity.

Liu Yuhao divided the stored food equally among everyone and distributed it, even to Ling Mo and Ye Lian.

Of course, for Ling Mo, who had a backpack full of food, the two bottles of mineral water and a few snacks were hardly useful. As for Ye Lian, she was completely uninterested in regular food.

However, when the others received their meager rations and saw Ling Mo’s indifferent expression, they were visibly displeased.

Lu Xin, whose cheeks were still swollen, muttered to the person next to him, “He doesn’t care about us at all, and he even takes our stuff!”

“Stop it, do you want to get beaten again?” Glasses Man turned around and frowned as he spoke.

“It’s because you guys are cowards!” Lu Xin’s face turned red with anger. He lowered his voice and cursed before abruptly shutting his mouth.

Even though Ling Mo didn’t even glance at him, Lu Xin clammed up the moment he saw Ling Mo walk in.

“What weapons do you have?” Ling Mo ignored people like Lu Xin and walked straight to Liu Yuhao, asking him directly.

Liu Yuhao was rummaging through several large backpacks. He looked up, somewhat embarrassed, and pulled out a kitchen knife. “This is the best we’ve got.”

With an ordinary person’s strength, it would be very difficult to decapitate a zombie with a single blow from a kitchen knife. Inflicting a fatal injury to stop a zombie’s movement would also be challenging.

Moreover, close combat, even with a weapon, is a significant test of an ordinary person’s willpower and reaction speed. If it weren’t for the help of the Zombie Puppet, Ling Mo would have found it hard to improve his combat skills.

Still, it’s better than nothing. Having a kitchen knife in hand is certainly better than being unarmed.

“Try to make sure everyone has one. A lone zombie is just slightly stronger than an average person. With a little courage, it’s not impossible to put up a fight. Ultimately, zombies win by their numbers.”

Ling Mo said somewhat nonchalantly. A single ordinary zombie is indeed manageable for a normal person. It was precisely for this reason that Ling Mo despised the able-bodied, physically fit people in this room who relied on a little girl.

“Easier said than done!”

Despite someone muttering discontentedly, everyone quickly gathered around Liu Yuhao to collect their weapons.

Judging by Ling Mo’s attitude, they figured he wouldn’t help even if they were in danger. If Xia Na and Liu Yuhao were too busy to protect them, they couldn’t just sit and wait to die.

Soon, the food and weapons were distributed, and Xia Na returned, holding a long knife stained with blood.

She had gone out early to clear the nearby zombies, paving the way for their journey.

“Let’s go. We must reach No. 3 High School by the afternoon,” Xia Na said, standing by the door with a determined look on her stubborn, proud face.

As soon as Xia Na spoke, the group exchanged glances and followed Liu Yuhao downstairs. Ling Mo and Ye Lian brought up the rear.

When they pushed open the door, the sight of two zombie corpses lying outside immediately met their eyes, causing several girls to scream.

“Quiet! You’ll attract more zombies!” Xia Na frowned and turned to scold them.

The girls quickly covered their mouths, while the expressions of the boys, though silent, were equally uneasy. Ling Mo shook his head in disapproval. These people had been freeloaders for so long that they were less competent than ordinary survivors. By now, most survivors wouldn’t be startled just by seeing corpses.

“No. 3 High School is in this direction. We’ll have to pass through three residential communities, two main streets, and a hospital. There will be many zombies along the way. Just help out when I can’t handle it,” Xia Na said, turning to Ling Mo.

Ling Mo nodded calmly and discreetly held Ye Lian’s hand. Agreeing to Xia Na’s request involved many factors. While he admired and sympathized with this girl, he also wanted to do something for Wang Lin. After all, the short knife Wang Lin had given him was very useful. But Wang Lin was already dead, so helping her relatives was the least he could do…

On the other hand, this was also an opportunity for Ling Mo. Not only could he use this chance to understand the situation in the city, but he could also hone his Puppet Control Ability in practice, gaining valuable combat experience.

Actually, while working with Ye Lian and attempting to control multiple zombies simultaneously yesterday, Ling Mo had a faint realization. Although his Puppet Control Ability was becoming increasingly proficient, there was always a sense of a barrier—what is typically referred to as a bottleneck.

He wondered what kind of realm he could reach after breaking through this bottleneck. The faster his abilities improved, the quicker he could help Ye Lian evolve, and perhaps she could regain her consciousness sooner.

Since consuming the brain gel of a Mutation Zombie, Ye Lian had shown signs of developing consciousness. She was no longer interested in the brain gel from regular zombies, and the effects of consuming it were minimal.

This meant that Ling Mo had to find more Mutation Zombies for Ye Lian.

Based on his experiences with Mutation Zombies and his analysis, Ling Mo believed that Mutation Zombies typically appeared in relatively enclosed places with a substantial number of people.

Places like hospitals or schools, especially full-time boarding schools, were likely spots for Mutation Zombies!

The moment he agreed to Xia Na’s plan, Ling Mo had already decided that once they reached the school gates, he would part ways with Xia Na and the others. They would go for the rescue while he and Ye Lian searched the campus for Mutation Zombies.

With a large group of dead weight, Xia Na and the others moved forward slowly. However, seeing Xia Na’s relaxed expression as she effortlessly decapitated zombies helped reduce their fear. Although Liu Yuhao’s combat skills were not as strong as Xia Na’s, he was adept at coordinating with her attacks. Whenever Xia Na repelled several zombies, he would seize the opportunity to rush forward and take down one or two, then quickly retreat behind Xia Na.

In contrast, the others, even if armed, didn’t dare to take action.

After successfully passing through the first residential area, they finally encountered their first casualty.

As they passed by a store, a hand suddenly shot out from behind a collapsed shelf, grabbing one of the boys.

The boy barely had time to let out a scream before he was yanked into the shelf with a thud.

Ling Mo, who was the closest, kicked the shelf aside only to find that the boy’s throat had already been bitten by a small Zombie, no more than seven or eight years old. The boy’s eyes were wide open, and blood gurgled from his mouth, preventing him from speaking. In just a second, his neck had been torn open, with even his windpipe pulled out.

The small Zombie, its mouth smeared with blood, looked up at Ling Mo through its dirty, matted hair. Those red eyes stared at him with a chilling, deathly gaze before it lunged at him.

Dealing with a single Zombie was easy for Ling Mo, especially since he had learned to use his Puppet Control Ability for instant influence.

The moment he locked eyes with the small Zombie, Ling Mo briefly controlled it. Even the lunge that seemed like an attack was actually orchestrated by Ling Mo.

As the small Zombie was about to collide with him and the people behind him began to scream, Ling Mo remained expressionless and swung his short knife.

“Thud!”

A stream of blood splattered onto the wall with Ling Mo’s motion, and the small Zombie fell heavily from mid-air, landing at Ling Mo’s feet.

“He’s dead.”

Without sparing the Zombie’s body a second glance, Ling Mo stepped over it and looked at the boy lying in a pool of blood, then stated briefly.

The group fell silent immediately. A few seconds later, a girl suddenly burst into tears but quickly covered her mouth in fear of attracting more Zombies, turning her sobs into muffled whimpers.

The other girls stared in horror at the still-twitching corpse, their eyes almost red with tears. The boys didn’t fare much better.