Chapter 231 – “Two” Xia Nas

In the evening, as the sun set in the west, a group of people quietly made their way through the amusement park.

At the back of the group walked a number of obviously pale-faced, thin survivors. Their expressions, initially filled with fear and anxiety, had now turned to excitement and enthusiasm.

Aside from a few scattered zombies, they hadn’t encountered any large groups of zombies blocking their path.

This outcome had them incredibly excited; it was clear that getting out of the amusement park was just a matter of time.

And all of this was because of Ling Mo.

Although Ling Mo was merely passing by and helping out of convenience, not considering it a big deal, the way this group looked at him had completely changed.

He had pulled them out of despair when they had lost all hope, rescuing them from the abyss…

Giving this group, who had been waiting for death, a glimmer of hope was enough for them to be deeply grateful to Ling Mo.

At the front of the group, Ling Mo was carrying a little girl in his arms, with a Tang Sword in his other hand.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to put the little girl down, but the physical condition of the survivors was very poor.

Naturally, the little girl’s stamina was even worse, so to avoid slowing down, he had to carry her for the time being.

However, this perfectly normal action made Ling Mo feel like a pervert whenever he met the gazes of Ye Lian and the three girls.

It had to be some kind of illusion…

Since leaving the castle on Huxin Island, Ling Mo had been leading this group for nearly half an hour.

Partly because they were moving slowly, and partly because Black Silk was working hard ahead to draw away the zombies.

To prevent them from seeing Black Silk, Ling Mo deliberately led them through the buildings, avoiding main roads and straight paths.

At first, the survivors were full of doubts, and there was even a hint of distrust towards Ling Mo, especially from the two survivors who often went out to search for food.

But as they got closer to the amusement park’s exit, those doubts completely disappeared, transforming into admiration for Ling Mo.

Although they rarely saw any corpses, this could be understood as Ling Mo deliberately avoiding those areas, the same areas he had fought through from the entrance.

Generally, blood-soaked areas would create some vacuum zones around them, as the nearby zombies would be drawn to those places.

But this required precise calculation and careful observation. The way Ling Mo’s group managed to avoid zombie hordes while seemingly moving leisurely was impressive.

In the survivors’ minds, Ling Mo’s group’s strength had reached an almost unattainable level.

“Ling-Ge… where are you planning to take these people?” Ye Lian asked curiously, glancing back at the survivors.

Ling Mo thought for a moment and replied, “Just to a place a bit farther from the amusement park.”

Although he didn’t plan to do much for them, he also couldn’t just leave them at the entrance.

Especially since they were all still quite weak, it was better to find them a temporary shelter.

With Black Silk around, finding such a place would be easy.

“Then why not help them a bit longer?” Li Yalin suddenly interjected, her eyes flashing.

She reached out and gently touched the little girl’s cheek, simultaneously licking her lips with her tongue.

This action made the little girl freeze for a moment, then she quickly turned her head and buried her face in Ling Mo’s chest.

“Senior Sister, scaring little girls isn’t right…”

Ling Mo sighed helplessly, then gently put the girl down for a moment. “Be good, go and take care of your mom.”

Watching the girl run towards the middle-aged woman who was leaning on a wooden stick, Ling Mo turned to glance at the group of survivors.

Bai Yu was supporting Zhang Jie at the front, followed closely by the two survivors with backpacks.

They weren’t idle either. Besides carrying the packs, they were helping the two elderly men.

“It’s not easy for anyone to survive in this world. There’s also a saying: ‘A favor of a grain of rice can become a grudge over a sack of rice…'”

Ling Mo said quietly.

Xia Na laughed and said, “I remember that one.”

“Really? I don’t seem to recall. What does it mean?” Li Yalin frowned, thinking for a moment before shaking her head and asking.

“It’s like this,” Xia Na began thoughtfully. “Ling-Ge occasionally gets dragged into doing those… things with you. His stamina is sufficient, and it makes you very satisfied. But if he could do those things with you every day… of course, he’s not that strong; this is just a hypothetical. Then suddenly, he strains his back and can’t do it for several days. Senior Sister, wouldn’t you be very angry?”

Li Yalin quickly caught on and nodded. “Yes, I would!”

“I would be too,” Ye Lian said seriously.

“But you haven’t done much yet, have you?” Li Yalin asked curiously.

Ye Lian looked down at her chest and corrected earnestly, “I have. Every day, my combat power increases…”

“Oh, right!” Li Yalin and Xia Na nodded simultaneously.

“What the heck, that’s not the same thing at all!” Ling Mo exclaimed in frustration.

Hearing these words from them, with such an air of casualness, was infuriating. And their serious expressions only made it worse.

This was bound to happen during the zombies’ recovery of rationality: memory gaps and cognitive biases…

“Uh… lacking stamina and straining your back aren’t exactly memory gap issues…” Ling Mo suddenly recalled some memories that made him want to dig a hole and hide.

He quickly shook his head and continued, “Anyway, I do plan to give them some advice.”

“What… advice?” Ye Lian’s attention was immediately diverted. Ling Mo wished he could rush over and hug her tightly.

Indeed, his childhood friend Ye Lian was the most understanding. He really hoped her memory would fully return soon…

“Are you… also going to teach them how to increase their combat power?” Ye Lian asked.

Xia Na showed a look of realization. “Could that little girl also undergo enhancement? But according to my memory, humans of that age haven’t started developing yet. Her combat power should be zero…” At this point, she looked regretful and turned to the little girl with a hint of sympathy.

“…No, just ways to survive. Also, Xia Na, as a girl with a combat power of only five, do you really need to pity a little girl?” Ling Mo said.

Xia Na raised an eyebrow and replied, “I’m still in my developmental stage. Besides, it’s just the pot calling the kettle black…”

“That’s not a compliment… when you have time, sort out your memories completely.” Ling Mo rubbed his temples.

A flash of something unusual appeared in Xia Na’s eyes. “It feels like there are two versions of me in my head, separated by a membrane. They’re always fighting, arguing about everything. It’s really annoying and makes my head feel chaotic.”

No wonder… Ling Mo had been a bit frustrated earlier, but seeing Xia Na like this, he couldn’t help but reach out and pat her shoulder.

What she described was likely the issue of integrating two personalities. Indeed, Xia Na’s subconscious housed two personas.

One was the kind-hearted but somewhat silly Xia Na, and the other was the little devil Xia Na, shaped by her family environment and upbringing.

However, there were many commonalities between the “two” Xia Nas. In reality, if she hadn’t been infected and mutated into a zombie, her personality wouldn’t have split so distinctly.

Many people in real life have dual aspects to their personalities and may even have internal conflicts over the same issue, but it doesn’t usually cause major problems.

But for zombies, it’s entirely different. Their intelligence awakening and memory recovery often come with an amplification of certain personality traits.

Xia Na’s evolution was towards the mental aspect, which is why she encountered this issue. Without breaking through this membrane, she couldn’t truly reach leader-level.

Ling Mo thought that if Ye Lian faced a similar problem, he might quickly find a solution because he knew her so well.

But with Xia Na, most of what Ling Mo knew about her came after her mutation…

“That Liu Yuhao probably knows a lot about Xia Na’s situation, but who knows if he’s still alive, and where he is in X City.”

Ling Mo couldn’t help but think of Xia Na’s classmate, a boy who wasn’t particularly skilled but was very determined and valued his companions greatly…

Back then, Ling Mo had left him with Wang Lin’s survivor group. But unexpectedly, Wang Lin, trying to prove herself, ended up following Ling Mo. She failed to return to her group and instead joined the armed police, Luo Heng, and his group.

Whether Liu Yuhao was still alive had become an unknown.

“We’ll just have to take it slow.” Ling Mo gave Xia Na an encouraging smile. “It’s going to be okay.”