Chapter 2 – Crossing the Danger Zone

By the time the last glimmer of light disappeared from the horizon, Ling Mo had already returned to his shelter.

It was an inconspicuous little building. Apart from a sturdy iron door, there was also an escape route from the rooftop to the neighboring building. The front and back of the house had relatively open spaces. Since this area was in the suburbs, both Survivors and Zombies were far fewer in number compared to the city, making it relatively safer.

The most crucial factor was that this place was originally a small furniture factory’s warehouse, filled with the smell of cheap paint and wood. This completely masked Ling Mo’s scent.

Those creatures, infected by the Virus, had not lost their five senses; in fact, they had become stronger. Even at night, their vision remained sharp, and their hearing and sense of smell were far superior to those of ordinary people.

Before going to bed, Ling Mo fed his Zombie Puppet a piece of rancid frozen meat, then left it outside the iron door. He locked the door securely before finally resting.

Even in sleep, Ling Mo did not sever the Psychic Link between himself and the Zombie. Though it was exhausting, it served a dual purpose: it trained him and also acted as a sentry.

Balancing rest with maintaining the connection to the Zombie Puppet sounded simple, but it was incredibly challenging. Ling Mo had tried countless times to perfect this balance. Now, when he slept, he remained in a state of light sleep, able to hear the slightest sounds around him.

But tonight, Ling Mo found it hard to fall asleep. That figure kept appearing in his mind…

After his parents passed away, the only person he still cared about in this world was her—his crush and childhood neighbor, Ye Lian.

The last call he received before the disaster struck was from her.

“Ling Mo, run!”

A brief four-word message, followed by the busy tone…

Ling Mo knew deep down that Ye Lian was probably in grave danger. When the disaster struck, she was on her way to his place to cook him a proper meal, to help improve his life…

Because of this, Ling Mo had always been troubled. Whether she was alive or dead, he felt he needed to find Ye Lian.

“Tomorrow, I’ll go look for her tomorrow…”

After preparing for so long, Ling Mo felt that with his ability to control the Zombie Puppet, he should be able to make it through this part of the city.

Ling Mo had long mapped out in his mind the places where she might be. The distance wasn’t too far, but between here and there lay two residential communities, the most dangerous part of the journey.

To pass through as safely as possible, Ling Mo had prepared thoroughly. Everything was set for tomorrow…

At the break of dawn, Ling Mo opened his eyes and jumped off a half-finished soft bed. After repacking his backpack, he took a deep breath and headed downstairs.

The Zombie Puppet, under his control, had been standing obediently outside the door, its clothes damp with cold. Despite its appearance, it showed no signs of fatigue.

For some unknown reason, the Virus that had suddenly erupted on a large scale not only turned many living people into monsters but also made their bodies incredibly resilient. Ling Mo had also noticed that to maintain their high energy consumption, these creatures were driven by instinct to constantly feed, with the Survivors being their primary food source.

Gripping his Boning Knife tightly, Ling Mo opened the iron door and guided the Zombie Puppet along the pre-planned route.

As soon as he entered the Community, the number of wandering Zombies increased. In such an environment, using sound to distract them was not feasible because the complex surroundings could easily lead to dangerous situations.

The only way was to pick areas with fewer Zombies and pass through as quietly as possible.

For an ordinary person, navigating such an environment would be extremely difficult. Fortunately, Ling Mo had his Zombie Puppet.

With the Puppet’s help, Ling Mo managed to kill over a dozen Zombies, finally making it through the area and arriving at a once-bustling street.

This area marked the transition between the city and the suburbs. According to Ling Mo’s calculations, Ye Lian should have been somewhere along this street when she made that call.

The street was littered with abandoned cars, and the shops along the way were wide open, their interiors pitch black.

Aside from the ubiquitous bloodstains, the only things left here were Zombies.

Even though Ling Mo had killed many Zombies over the past few days, it was the first time he had seen so many gathered in one place. A rough estimate of the visible area alone revealed dozens of them, not to mention those hidden in the shadows.

Ling Mo planned to get a better view from a higher vantage point. He had just started toward an apartment building when he heard a scream not far off.

“Help!”

He hadn’t expected to find any Survivors here! Ling Mo quickly controlled his Zombie Puppet, cautiously moving toward the source of the sound.

Outside an apartment building, a dozen or so Zombies were frantically pounding on a security door at the entrance.

Behind the door were two terrified young men, desperately holding the door shut while screaming for help.

“Idiots…” Ling Mo frowned, nervously scanning the surroundings.

Shouting like that would only attract more Zombies. Initially, Ling Mo had hoped to help them within his capacity, but now it seemed that intervening rashly would only endanger himself.

Sure enough, more Zombies were soon drawn to the noise. The security door was repeatedly struck, emitting loud “bang” sounds, and the connection to the wall began to visibly weaken.

The two young men, faces ashen with fear, screamed even more desperately…

“Bang!”

With a loud crash, the security door finally gave way, and the screams of the young men were quickly drowned out…

However, this presented an opportunity for Ling Mo. While many Zombies were drawn to the commotion, he could slip through the area.

After successfully making it through the dense cluster of Zombies, Ling Mo barely had time to feel relieved before he encountered another obstacle. The road ahead was blocked by a bus and several smaller cars.

During the onset of the disaster, car accidents were rampant, especially involving buses packed with passengers. Whether the passengers had mutated or were panicked by the chaos outside, such tragic pile-ups were inevitable.

From the look of things, the bus had collided with these fleeing small cars in a chain reaction, resulting in a mangled mess.

There was no telling what had happened to the passengers inside. They might have been trapped and died, or they might have all turned into Zombies…

Ling Mo initially intended to bypass the bus, but as he stared at it, a thought suddenly struck him like a thunderbolt.

Every time Ye Lian came, it was by bus… With this thought, his gaze on the bus changed.

His heart started pounding wildly, filled with both anticipation and fear.

There was a significant possibility Ye Lian had been on that bus at the time. If she hadn’t managed to escape, she might still be inside.

Although Ling Mo had mentally prepared himself thoroughly, facing the reality of it still made him feel a surge of panic.

Would he find a decaying corpse, or nothing at all, or perhaps…

Taking a long, deep breath, Ling Mo controlled his Zombie Puppet to climb onto the deformed bus.

Controlling the Zombie Puppet felt peculiar, like having an extension of himself. Through the Psychic Link between him and the Puppet, he could not only manipulate its movements but also receive sensory feedback from it.

However, there was still a barrier between Ling Mo and the Puppet, preventing him from completely seamless control.

In Ling Mo’s view, the ultimate mastery would be to merge with the Puppet, achieving perfect synchronization…

Though the idea felt strange, Ling Mo was quite eager to reach that level of control.