Chapter 165 – A Girl’s Thoughts Are Hard to Guess

Ling Mo was quite straightforward in admitting his identity as a superhuman.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain how he managed to cut down a Mutation Zombie with a single strike. Especially among this group of Survivors, there was Meng Jiayu, a distant cousin who knew him.

As soon as he nodded, a wave of astonished murmurs swept through the Survivors. Meng Jiayu, in particular, looked at Ling Mo with eyes sparkling with admiration.

She never exactly disliked Ling Mo before, but there had never been much interaction between them.

Despite being distantly related, to put it bluntly, her parents were rather snobbish.

Ling Mo’s family was originally just an ordinary working-class household. After his parents passed away one after the other, their interactions became even less frequent.

Each year, during the New Year’s Eve dinner, when she saw Ling Mo, she would just greet him, but never exchanged any more words.

But now, with the outbreak of the disaster, someone as ordinary as Ling Mo in her eyes had awakened superpowers and became a superhuman revered by everyone!

Meng Jiayu herself couldn’t quite describe her feelings. Especially seeing her companions’ astonished expressions, her emotions grew even more turbulent.

“Ling Mo… You…”

She felt like she had a lot to say, but when the words reached her lips, she couldn’t articulate anything.

In fact, Ling Mo hadn’t deciphered her complex thoughts, but her earlier passionate and excited behavior had sparked a bit of his own nostalgia for family affection.

Seeing Meng Jiayu looking at him with reddened eyes, Ling Mo hesitated for a moment, then lightly patted her on the head: “Haha, don’t look at me like that. Am I not still your brother?”

“Still your brother…” Those words sent a shiver through Meng Jiayu’s heart, her eyes reddening again as tears uncontrollably streamed down her face.

She stared blankly at Ling Mo for a moment before suddenly snapping out of it. Hastily, she used her relatively clean hand to wipe her eyes.

Ling Mo felt a bit conflicted as he watched Meng Jiayu’s reaction. He thought to himself, “I finally managed to come up with some comforting words, and they ended up making her cry… A girl’s thoughts are truly hard to guess.”

“So you’re really a superhuman…” The stern-faced man was momentarily stunned, then quickly extended his hand. “Thank you very much for today. If we hadn’t met you here, Jiayu and the others might not have made it back alive, and Lian Lian’s fate would have been even worse… By the way, I’m Guo Chao, the leader of this Survival Squad. Though it’s called a squad, it’s really just the local Survivors banded together. We’ve all slowly gathered here; Jiayu was one of the first. She’s amazing and brave. It seems your family has a lot of good people.”

Ling Mo shook his hand and smiled, “No problem, it was just a small effort. My name is Ling Mo.”

“It may have been a small effort for you, but for us, it was a lifesaver. We can’t thank you enough…” Guo Chao said gratefully.

As they talked, Yang Jia was actually among the crowd. However, he didn’t plan to mention Ling Mo and his group sneaking in right now.

This place was originally Xia Na’s home, and they had returned to retrieve weapons, which was understandable.

Although there had been some unpleasantness between Yang Jia and Ling Mo, it didn’t seem like much now in hindsight.

Yang Jia even felt a bit fortunate. Attempting to fight with a superhuman and surviving without a scratch was something he considered very lucky.

“Today was unlucky; we lost several companions, sigh…” Guo Chao’s square face showed a trace of sorrow. “You guys chat; I’m going to check things out.”

With that, he waved to another Survivor, and the two of them, carrying weapons, went out the door—probably to see if there were any Zombies still roaming around nearby.

The remaining Survivors looked visibly exhausted. Some sat on the ground while others leaned against the walls, engaging in idle conversations.

However, as they talked, they frequently cast glances toward Ling Mo and his group, clearly showing a great deal of interest in them.

After chatting with Ling Mo for a while, Meng Jiayu returned to the group and started gathering small fabric bags from each Survivor. She then emptied their contents onto a designated spot.

Ling Mo watched closely from the side. These items were collected from other villas and included canned food, some snacks, and even rice and other provisions.

As the sky gradually darkened, one of the Survivors drew the curtains, and someone took out a flashlight to provide illumination.

The room instantly brightened, making the dark corners seem even blacker.

Li Yalin was already uncomfortable with so many humans around, and the sudden brightness made it even worse.

Ling Mo quickly found an excuse for her, claiming she wasn’t feeling well and asked a Survivor to guide her to a room for some rest.

These Survivors seemed to hold Ling Mo in high regard. They specifically tidied up Xia Na’s former room and had someone personally escort Li Yalin there.

Although Li Yalin’s demeanor was cold and somewhat peculiar, they didn’t seem to mind.

Of course, it was all out of respect for Ling Mo.

Ye Lian and Xia Na, however, refused to leave. Although both harbored a strong hostility toward humans, without a strong urge to attack, their predominant feeling at the moment was curiosity.

“I’m staying right here, don’t worry, I won’t do anything to them,” Xia Na said with a smile, tugging lightly on Ling Mo’s sleeve.

Ye Lian hesitated for a moment, then mimicked Xia Na’s actions, grabbing Ling Mo’s arm. “Ling-Ge…”

“Alright, alright, as long as you’re comfortable,” Ling Mo said dotingly, pinching Ye Lian’s cheek before discreetly patting Xia Na on her firm behind.

She let out a low yelp but quickly smiled, turning sideways to block others’ view, and placed her hand on Ling Mo’s chest, gently gliding it downward.

“Hey, don’t do that in front of so many people!” Ling Mo quickly stepped back to evade her.

Xia Na’s eyes sparkled brightly in the dim light. “Hmph, not like I’m the one getting bigger.”

“If it gets bigger, people will laugh…”

“Well, they won’t be laughing at me, right, Ye Lian?”

“Huh? … Yeah…”

“Don’t corrupt Ye Lian! Just wait, I’ll deal with you two later for this!”

Ling Mo took a couple of deep breaths to calm his stirred emotions.

Fortunately, no one had seen or heard their little exchange.

Fortunately, Xia Na, though a female Zombie, still considered Ling Mo’s human identity and didn’t let anyone see. Ling Mo felt relieved that he had dodged in time. Otherwise, had anyone seen him getting aroused, he’d have wanted to dig a hole and disappear on the spot.

“Our group is large, so we have to go out daily to gather food,” Yang Jia said, walking over nervously and glancing at Ling Mo.

“It’s indeed dangerous, but there’s no other choice,” Ling Mo coughed to hide his embarrassment and then nodded. He was all too familiar with the dangers of scavenging for food.

Sometimes, just for a bag of snacks, one had to be prepared to risk their life.

When Yang Jia started talking, Xia Na subtly pulled Ye Lian aside, and the two female Zombies quietly moved away.

“I originally thought meeting you was my bad luck today, but now it seems like today is actually my lucky day,” Yang Jia said with a bitter smile.

“Are you all from this neighborhood?” Ling Mo asked curiously.

“Not all of us. For example, I’m from the next neighborhood. When the disaster broke out, I fled here. After surviving for about a week, I met Meng Jiayu and Captain Guo.”

“At first, I thought staying hidden in my apartment would be safe. But I didn’t expect the Zombies to break down doors. The beauty that lived across from me was someone’s kept woman. When she mutated and couldn’t use the elevator, she desperately tried to break my door…” Yang Jia’s expression showed a hint of lingering fear. “I held out inside for an hour and couldn’t take it anymore. I pushed my desk against the door and opened it just a crack. Despite her broken hands, she wouldn’t give up. When she stuck her head through, I desperately slammed the door shut and… well, let’s not get into that.”

Recounting the ghastly experience seemed to make Yang Jia’s own face turn a bit paler.

Ling Mo nodded understandingly. Just as he was about to comfort Yang Jia, Captain Guo and Meng Jiayu reentered the villa. They had made sure the perimeter was clear of any immediate threats.

Captain Guo walked up and said, “Ling Mo, once again, thank you for your help today. Meng Jiayu and I were discussing the food shortage. Maybe tomorrow you could guide us on a safer route for scavenging. Your knowledge could save lives.”

Ling Mo considered for a moment before replying, “Sure, I can do that. But we’ll have to be extremely cautious. It’s always risky out there.”

Meng Jiayu smiled, her eyes filled with gratitude. “Thank you, Ling Mo. Your help means the world to us.”

Ling Mo felt a surge of responsibility. In this chaotic world, offering even a bit of hope made a significant difference.

“You’ve got some serious skills,” Ling Mo genuinely admired. Surviving through this period was no easy feat, something Ling Mo knew all too well.

“Oh, don’t say that. I’m actually quite a coward. Truth be told, I still get nervous whenever I see a Zombie. But if you want to stay alive, you don’t really have a choice,” Yang Jia admitted.

If only you knew you were standing next to two female Zombies, and not just any Zombies, but Advanced Zombies… Ling Mo thought to himself.

After finishing his conversation, Yang Jia smiled at Ling Mo and went over to take care of Ouyang Lian. Ling Mo understood that this was his way of showing goodwill—not mentioning how they had sneaked in or asking to get his crossbow bolt back.

As night completely set in, Guo Chao and the other Survivor returned.

Meng Jiayu had already sorted and categorized all the food, packing it into several large backpacks. Their supplies, though not abundant, weren’t exactly scarce either, but most of it wasn’t very filling. However, at a time like this, who could afford to be picky? Having something to eat at all was fortunate enough.

Once everything was organized, Meng Jiayu distributed portions of the food to the Squad members. They took their shares and mostly sat under the light, eating and chatting. However, tonight’s conversation topics were centered around being chased by Zombies and Ling Mo’s heroic rescue.

“Brother, this is for you and Sister-in-law,” Meng Jiayu handed Ling Mo four portions of food and then pulled a small can from her bag, handing it over as well. “Consider this a little treat.”

Ling Mo didn’t hesitate and took all the food. Of course, the female Zombies wouldn’t eat any of it, but fortunately, they weren’t eating together, so no one would notice anything unusual with him sitting in the dimly lit area.

“Ling Mo, after you finish eating… could you talk to Captain Guo?” Meng Jiayu asked Ling Mo expectantly before leaving.

Ling Mo nodded, giving her a reassuring look. “Sure, I’ll talk to him.”

As he watched Meng Jiayu walk away, he sighed softly. The weight of responsibility on his shoulders felt more real with every passing moment. In a world so chaotic, providing even a shred of hope meant everything.