Chapter 226 – The Qualified Lure Master

As evening approached, Ling Mo realized he couldn’t find any more Mutation Zombies and decided to stop hunting and head back the way he came.

Initially, he wanted to check out the Zoo, but he discovered that an artificial lake separated the Amusement Park from the Zoo.

The distance was too great; he could only see a corner of the Zoo, so Ling Mo had to give up reluctantly.

He silently cursed the map for being misleading and not marking such details.

However, on the other hand, this was a good thing.

If the Zoo was essentially in a semi-isolated state, the Mutation Beasts inside wouldn’t stray too far.

“On the way back, let’s take those people out of here; then it’ll be up to their luck. As long as they leave this dead zone, their chances of survival outside will be much higher.”

Ling Mo still let Black Silk run ahead, while he followed behind with Ye Lian and the three girls.

In Ye Lian’s arms was a pigeon. Ling Mo had just dropped a small dose of medication into its beak.

If it couldn’t handle this dosage, Ling Mo would have to try with a larger bird.

At first, Black Silk left some zombies behind, causing unnecessary trouble for Ling Mo and the others. But now, it had become a qualified lure master.

The flaw of ordinary zombies was their low Intelligence. As long as Black Silk successfully attracted their attention, leading them away was not difficult at all.

The challenge was that these zombies were faster than regular humans and tireless…

But no matter how fast they were, they couldn’t compare to a Mutation Giant Dog with the strength of an Advanced Zombie…

As the group headed toward the Castle on Huxin Island, You Yuntian and the others had already returned to the Castle.

They emerged from a small forest and then climbed onto Huxin Island along tracks laid in the water.

These tracks were shaky underfoot, and midway, there were two-person track cars, making the crossing quite difficult.

However, this was indeed a safe route, as ordinary zombies wouldn’t specifically come to climb such places.

“They’re back. Since we’ve all agreed, make sure not to give anything away.”

Inside the room, Bai Yu was quietly peeking out the window. As soon as she saw You Yuntian and his group, she immediately spoke up.

The other survivors instantly showed signs of nervousness. A middle-aged woman couldn’t help but ask, “Can we really keep this from them?”

Bai Yu frowned and replied, “We have no choice. Since everyone has decided, we must follow through. No one can back out now. After today, we’ll have to rely on our own strength.”

The result of an entire afternoon of discussion was that this group of survivors planned to secretly follow Ling Mo’s group and leave without You Yuntian and the others knowing.

This wouldn’t be easy, but Bai Yu believed that as long as You Yuntian’s group remained unaware, they had a chance.

Reaching this decision wasn’t easy because all the survivors knew that leaving You Yuntian’s group meant facing danger directly.

But staying with You Yuntian meant enduring long-term humiliation.

In the end, it was an old man who first made the decision: “I’d rather die quickly…”

Bai Yu knew that some people in their group were still torn, but that didn’t matter.

After tonight, everything would be decided.

The biggest challenge was keeping their plan hidden and then leading them away.

Some people still wanted to ask questions, but just then, a knock came from the back.

Bai Yu gave the nervous survivors a deep look, then turned and walked into a small room, opening the back door.

You Yuntian and his group immediately filed in, their bodies more or less stained with blood, their expressions weary.

As soon as Bald Man Yang Tianxin entered, he started cursing: “Damn it, what’s up with those zombies today? And there seems to be another Senior Zombie in the park. Remember how much effort it took to kill the last one? We lost five or six people!”

“Food is getting scarcer too,” a survivor said, putting down his backpack.

“None for you today!” Yang Tianxin glared at the survivors and sneered.

The survivors seemed afraid to meet his gaze and quickly looked down. The little girl even hid behind, terrified.

Bai Yu opened her mouth and said, “This isn’t right…”

“Why not!” Yang Tianxin started to retort, but You Yuntian interrupted, “Share it.”

“Yuntian!” Yang Tianxin growled in discontent.

You Yuntian glanced at Bai Yu, then turned to the survivor and said, “Reduce the usual portion a bit…”

Everyone seemed to have anticipated this outcome; it was probably a daily occurrence.

Fortunately, they had already eaten once today, so getting a bit less wouldn’t matter much.

Besides, once they were outside, there would be more food to scavenge.

Whether it was a supermarket, a shop, or an ordinary person’s home, food could be found.

Some granaries, if well-sealed, wouldn’t spoil even after half a year.

Some had been anxious, but upon hearing Yang Tianxin’s words and seeing the food thrown to the ground like a handout to beggars, their hesitation vanished.

Staying here meant certain death, but escaping offered a slim chance of survival.

The survivors’ silent acceptance surprised Yang Tianxin, but he soon showed a smug expression.

However, he failed to notice that the relatively pretty woman occasionally locked her gaze on him…

Bai Yu took the initiative to walk over to You Yuntian, a move that surprised him.

A hint of delight flashed in his eyes as he set down the kitchen knife he was wiping: “What’s up?”

“Um… I wanted to ask about the situation around here,” Bai Yu said, her mind busy thinking of ways to divert them, though her tone was casual.

You Yuntian was momentarily stunned but then gave a wry smile: “Not good. Supplies are dwindling, and there seems to be another Senior Zombie.”

“Really? That sounds terrible…” Bai Yu sighed.

You Yuntian glanced back at the survivors, then quietly handed Bai Yu a bag of thin pancakes: “Eat this. It’s still good. But don’t give it to that little girl again.”

Ordinarily, Bai Yu would have refused, but this time she hesitated and accepted it.

Once outside, there might not be immediate food to scavenge, and she didn’t want to upset You Yuntian at this moment.

“Thanks,” Bai Yu accepted the pancakes, but You Yuntian took the opportunity to squeeze her hand.

This made Bai Yu frown instantly, a flash of disgust crossing her eyes as she couldn’t help but curse inwardly: “Hypocrite!”

Seeing Bai Yu’s submissive demeanor, You Yuntian felt quite pleased.

However, he was also pondering how to solve the current predicament.

Even though they weren’t on the brink of starvation yet, that crisis would soon arrive.

At that point, abandoning everyone else wouldn’t help, because the dozen or so people only consumed a small portion of their daily harvest.

You Yuntian continued to share food with them partly because of Bai Yu and partly because he wasn’t that ruthless yet.

Letting them starve was different from directly starving them to death. You Yuntian couldn’t bring himself to do that.

During the previous food crisis, instead of following Yang Tianxin’s suggestion to kill some off, he chose a more “subtle” method: relocation.

That way, those who were eliminated were killed by zombies, not by his own hands…

“Alas, unfortunately, with our strength, we can’t leave here. The roads are filled with zombies, not to mention more powerful low-level zombies. And now there’s another Senior Zombie. If it comes to it…”

You Yuntian glanced at the group, a harsh glint in his eyes.

But then he shuddered: “No, I can’t become like a zombie myself…”

“Do you want to rest early today?” Bai Yu asked tentatively. Although it was a simple question, her heart was racing.

This was crucial to whether they could successfully shake off You Yuntian and the others and quietly leave…

As for them, they should also experience what it’s like to be abandoned.