Chapter 247 – The Crimson Bloodstain in the Bathtub

Ling Mo had a rough idea of where Black Silk might be.

“You all stay here; I’ll go take a look.”

After giving this instruction, Ling Mo opened the door and slipped out.

The entire building was completely dark except for the lobby, which was lit by candles.

To avoid attracting attention, Ling Mo deliberately bypassed the lobby and walked down the hallway to the other end.

“Of all times to have a problem, it has to be now? Isn’t this just asking for trouble?”

Ling Mo felt frustrated, but he moved quickly. With his agility, he wasn’t completely silent, but he was swift.

Seeing a bit of firelight ahead, Ling Mo quickly and quietly pressed himself against the wall.

A whiff of smoke drifted over, followed by the faint sound of footsteps gradually fading away.

Once the footsteps had completely disappeared, Ling Mo darted to the other side of the Emergency Staircase.

It was clear that no one had been here for a long time; a thick, musty odor filled the air.

“It should be just down here. I hope that dumb dog hasn’t run off somewhere else and, ideally, hasn’t been seen by anyone…”

Ling Mo tried to use his Psychic Tentacle, but the dizziness forced him to abandon the idea of psychic probing.

“I just used it for something trivial, and now I’m paying the price… That dog sure knows how to pick the perfect time to mess with its owner. Consider this a lesson learned…”

Ling Mo slowly descended, sticking close to the wall. He then turned on his flashlight, covering most of the light with a corner of his shirt, leaving just enough to see the way.

This way, he wouldn’t be easily spotted. While Ling Mo didn’t plan to join them, he also didn’t want to make enemies.

Running to a place like this in the middle of the night, if someone found him, it wouldn’t be easy to explain that he was just out for a midnight walk.

The corner of the staircase was cluttered with various plastic mannequins. Ling Mo accidentally stepped on an arm, which made a “crack” sound.

“Good thing no one heard that…”

Using the faint light, Ling Mo slowly made his way down to the first floor.

There were a few storerooms, a kitchen, and a small bedroom…

When he had been controlling Black Silk earlier, Ling Mo had already familiarized himself with the layout here.

This area was separated from the main entrance by a lobby, so as long as he didn’t make any noise or light up the place, the sentries at the door wouldn’t notice.

“Where on earth did that dog go…”

Ling Mo pushed open each door to take a look, but he couldn’t find any trace of Black Silk. However, he did find clumps of dog hair on the floor.

Ling Mo didn’t feel any direct benefit from Black Silk’s upgrades and seemed to gain nothing from it.

After pushing open the door to a small bedroom and glancing inside, Ling Mo’s frustration began to grow.

He could still sense the Psychic Link with Black Silk, but he couldn’t pinpoint its location or switch to its perspective.

Just as Ling Mo reached the bathroom door of the small bedroom, he saw a shadow lying in the bathtub.

Covered in a layer of silver, it immediately turned its head at the sound, staring at Ling Mo with blood-red eyes.

“Thank goodness…”

Ling Mo breathed a sigh of relief. Although Black Silk had turned silver after being out of sight for an hour, at least nothing serious had happened.

Judging by Black Silk’s condition, it had not only completed most of its shedding process but also gained some Intelligence.

After absorbing a significant amount of the Virus, Black Silk had finally undergone a qualitative change through gradual improvement. However, it didn’t seem to have reached the Leader-Level stage yet.

Because Ling Mo didn’t experience any direct benefits, he hadn’t deepened their Psychic Link in time, which led to this situation.

If more time had passed, Black Silk might have developed a rebellious consciousness and completely broken free of Ling Mo’s mental Control.

“It seems that raising a Mutation Beast is much riskier than controlling a Zombie Puppet. Luckily, it hasn’t completely digested all the Virus and fully upgraded.”

Ling Mo quickly strengthened the Psychic Link. Soon, Black Silk’s eyes shifted from defiant to docile.

Its bristling fur gradually relaxed, and its tail began to wag submissively.

With a low growl, Black Silk jumped up and landed in front of Ling Mo, rubbing its head against his thigh.

“Her size has actually shrunk a bit… It’s the first time I’ve seen something grow smaller the more it grows.”

Ling Mo immediately noticed the change in Black Silk’s size. It was now closer to a normal wolfdog’s size, but its appearance was becoming less and less like one.

Moreover, Ling Mo felt that the dog seemed to move more gracefully, no longer as clumsy as before…

“Is this an additional effect of increased Intelligence? That’s actually a good thing… It’s rare you didn’t cause trouble, so I’ll reward you… What the hell!”

Ling Mo was halfway through his praise when he caught sight of a fair arm behind Black Silk.

He quickly shone his flashlight and found clothes fragments scattered all over the floor, even some hanging from Black Silk’s mouth!

“Damn it! How many times have I told you not to eat live people!”

Ling Mo’s heart raced as he frowned and slowly approached the bathtub.

A woman was lying in the tub, which still had some water in it. Her pants seemed to have been taken off by herself, but her top was clearly shredded to pieces by Black Silk.

Half of her undergarment was still hanging on her body, but there was no gruesome scene of disembowelment as Ling Mo had feared.

Her long hair draped over her body, and the flashlight revealed her well-proportioned figure.

However, her posture was somewhat peculiar. One leg was draped over the edge of the tub, while the other was slightly curled, exposing a certain private part completely.

Ling Mo had no intention of looking closely, but the large bloodstain made him take another glance: “Black Silk, you didn’t bite her… uh, no, I mean, that…”

Turns out the woman was on her period…

It was clear what had happened. The woman had snuck here to wash herself, and the scent of blood triggered Black Silk’s wild instincts.

Luckily, Ling Mo had arrived in time…

But just as he breathed a sigh of relief, he froze again.

The woman’s face looked familiar… Ling Mo shone the flashlight closer for a better look…

“Holy crap! Isn’t this Sun Zeya!”

Ling Mo quickly reached out to feel Sun Zeya’s carotid artery. Fortunately, she was still alive.

However, her tightly pressed lips and pale face indicated she had fainted.

There was also a large bruise on her forehead, with some visible blood clotting.

“You really have no self-control, huh? I haven’t starved you, yet a little blood makes you go crazy…”

Ling Mo glared at Black Silk. Unfortunately, the dog couldn’t speak and could only let out a low growl.

“Go out through the back window and hide in the building across the street. If it weren’t for the fact that you still listened and didn’t eat a live person, I’d definitely… We’ll talk about punishment later, just disappear now.”

“Woof…”

After sending Black Silk away, Ling Mo frowned and squatted down, grabbing Sun Zeya’s arm.

He hesitated before lifting Sun Zeya entirely and tossing her onto the bed in the bedroom with a thud.

The mattress on the bed was missing, leaving only the bed frame, which made a dull sound when she landed on it.

“Ugh…”

Ling Mo was about to pull the bed sheet over her when Sun Zeya groaned and opened her eyes.

Just as she opened her eyes, Ling Mo straightened up, and their gazes met.

After an awkward silence, Ling Mo tossed the bed sheet over and forced a smile: “Um… Don’t mention it, I’ll be going now…”

Sun Zeya suddenly sat up: “Where’s that dog?”

“What dog?” Ling Mo asked, feigning ignorance.

“You didn’t see a dog?” Sun Zeya stared at Ling Mo for a moment before asking, “How did you end up here?”

“…”

Ling Mo wished he had been gentler when tossing her; maybe she wouldn’t have woken up if he had.

“Is it your special ability?” Sun Zeya shook her head, touched her forehead, and immediately winced in pain, “That damn dog made me hit my head. If I hadn’t been knocked out, I’d have slaughtered it!”

“So you were almost eaten just now…”

Ling Mo admired Sun Zeya’s strong nerves. Most people would have an emotional breakdown after such a close call…

“But you saved me, didn’t you? What’s the point of crying now? I was careless, though. I didn’t expect a mutant dog to appear here, and I didn’t hear a thing. Plus, I was in a very inconvenient state for fighting… I guess I’ve been in safe places for too long, that’s why I was so careless. Zombie Beasts are rare in A City; I’ve never encountered one myself. I’ve made a fool of myself.”

Sun Zeya said helplessly.

“It’s not your fault…” Ling Mo said awkwardly.

It really wasn’t her fault. There were sentries here, lots of humans around, and all the nearby Zombies had been dealt with…

No matter how broad your thinking, you wouldn’t expect to get ambushed by a Mutation Beast while washing up.

Sun Zeya sighed and then extended her hand to Ling Mo: “Well, at least we got some intel. Thanks, without you, I’d have been eaten. Today really is my lucky day.”

As soon as Ling Mo grasped Sun Zeya’s hand, he felt a sudden force pull him forward, bringing him face-to-face with her, just inches apart.

“Two words,” Sun Zeya said seriously, looking directly at Ling Mo, “Keep quiet.”

Ling Mo stared at her wide-eyed, then nodded: “Got it, I didn’t see anything.”

Sun Zeya smiled slightly and was about to release Ling Mo when her head suddenly wobbled.

Losing her support, Ling Mo and Sun Zeya’s foreheads bumped together, and they both tumbled onto the bed.

The hard bed frame caused Ling Mo considerable pain. Coupled with his overexerted Psychic Power, he felt dizzy for a while before slowly getting up, rubbing his forehead.

“Hey, are you okay? Why did you pull me over if you weren’t okay… Hey!”

Ling Mo had only just started to complain when he noticed that Sun Zeya wasn’t responding at all.

He quickly turned her head to face him. Her eyes were tightly shut, her mouth slightly open鈥”clearly unconscious…

“Did she… faint again?”