Chapter 267 – You Look Like an Easy Target

The girl looked quite young, probably around fifteen or sixteen years old. The black-framed glasses she wore were wrapped with white tape several times.

The frightened look on her face made Ling Mo think of a rabbit. If her eyes were a little redder, she’d look even more like one…

“Do I look like a zombie?” Ling Mo asked, signaling her to raise both her hands. He then walked over and took the steel fork from her.

The steel fork was entirely homemade and lacked sufficient killing power, but it was quite effective when paired with a flamethrower.

“Ah… no, we rarely have strangers here, so I… I’m sorry…” The girl watched helplessly as her weapon was taken away, and even the sprayer she was carrying was removed.

“What’s inside this?” Ling Mo curiously pressed the nozzle, and with a click, a burst of flame shot out. “This thing is pretty interesting. Do you have a smaller one?” he asked, glancing at the girl.

The flamethrower was effective, but its downside was obvious—it wasn’t convenient to carry. If it could be made as thin as a small flashlight, it could essentially be used as an improvised Molotov cocktail and be more effective than ones made with beer bottles.

“I… I also want to make it smaller… but I don’t have enough materials…” The girl nervously glanced at the blade resting across her neck, trembling as she spoke.

“Senior Sister, let her go.” This girl was just an ordinary person. Without her weapons and equipment, she posed no threat.

Li Yalin smiled slightly and blew a breath gently into the girl’s ear as she moved the blade away. The girl immediately went limp, her face turning a bit red. However, regaining her freedom made her very excited, and she even raised her hand to touch her neck.

Li Yalin’s control was precise enough to let the girl feel the presence of the blade on her neck without actually cutting her skin.

“Did you make this?” Ling Mo asked in surprise.

The girl nervously glanced at Ling Mo and then nodded vigorously. “Yes.”

“And the traps?” Ling Mo asked again.

The girl pressed her legs together and rubbed her hands. “Those too…”

Ling Mo’s eyes filled with curiosity and amazement as he looked at the girl.

This girl… she’s so smart!

However, despite her high intelligence, she seemed overly nervous when talking to people. Even if she hadn’t interacted with strangers for a long time, she probably wouldn’t be this anxious. It was purely a personality issue.

The girl, somewhat curious, quietly observed Ling Mo and his three companions. She asked in a low voice, “How did you all end up here?”

“We’re looking for someone. Do you know Zhang Teng?” Ling Mo replied.

The girl shook her head and asked, “Are you specifically looking for him?”

“Not exactly. I’m looking for his son,” Ling Mo explained.

“But it’s very dangerous outside,” the girl said, looking at Ling Mo with some surprise. Then she seemed to have an epiphany. “Maybe you should ask Miss Pei! She used to live here.”

Ling Mo actually didn’t want to have too much contact with other survivors, but this bespectacled girl could barely speak coherently…

After some questioning, Ling Mo learned that most of the survivors weren’t in the building; only a few stayed behind to keep watch. She was one of them, along with a woman named Miss Pei and an old man surnamed Zhu.

Many of the survivors’ names she didn’t even fully know, let alone the names of their parents.

“What do you think about every day?” Ling Mo couldn’t help but ask.

The bespectacled girl thought for a moment, then said, “How to make more traps, and… memorizing things, stuff I learned before…”

“Girl, that’s not going to work.”

Their group’s gathering point wasn’t on the 18th floor, which saved them a lot of time climbing stairs. The higher they went, the more traps there were. It was clear that a lot of effort had been put into it.

To be able to create these things with limited materials was already quite impressive.

Ling Mo casually praised her, not expecting the girl to look so fearful.

“I… people always scold me for just making these useless things,” the girl said, waving her hand. “Please don’t praise me…”

“Who says that about you?”

Ling Mo was a bit surprised. Being able to create these things could at least save many survivors. How could she still get scolded for it?

However, looking at the girl’s panicked expression, Ling Mo began to understand a bit more.

She looked way too easy to bully鈥”so honest and so timid…

Even Ling Mo couldn’t help but tease her a little. “You’re just going to take me up there like this? Aren’t you afraid I’m here to rob you?”

The girl looked at Ling Mo in surprise and then said, “You didn’t kill me just now. If you were going to rob us, you would have killed me.”

Such a simple way of thinking… Ling Mo felt a little embarrassed.

“This is the place,” she said, leading Ling Mo and his group into an apartment on the ninth floor.

Pointing to a small room filled with various parts and tools, she excitedly said, “This is my room.”

“Where do you sleep?” Ling Mo asked, looking at the floor covered with parts.

“Huh? I usually just hug my blanket and sleep,” the girl said, pointing to a chair.

The living room was filled with a lot of stuff, mainly bottled water, with less food. There were also various miscellaneous supplies.

Apart from the traps, there were no other defense measures along the way, so it seemed she was telling the truth. Unless someone intentionally came in, most survivors would never notice this place.

However, there was no sign of Pei Fenghong or Old Man Zhu, whom she had mentioned.

The bespectacled girl went to check the rooms with a puzzled look. Just then, Ling Mo heard a faint but familiar sound coming from behind one of the bedroom doors.

“Where’s Miss Pei?” he asked.

The bespectacled girl had already reached the door. As Ling Mo called out, “Don’t open it,” she had already turned the handle and pushed the door open.

After a brief moment of silence, a scream rang out, followed by a woman’s angry voice: “Li Wei! Didn’t I tell you not to come up here during the day?”

A dark shadow immediately flew out of the room towards Li Wei, who was completely stunned by the scene inside and didn’t react to dodge.

Ling Mo quickly pulled her aside, and the shadow flew past her ear, landing on the floor.

“Clang!”

A stainless steel cup fell onto the tiles, making a crisp sound.

Immediately after, an angry woman stormed out of the room.

She was wearing a robe, one shoulder bare, and the slit below revealing glimpses of her upper thigh. Her disheveled hair and the flush on her face indicated she had just been interrupted from some intense activity.

It was clear she initially intended to come out and give a good scolding but was taken aback to see four strangers in the room.

She stood there, mouth agape, stunned for a moment before coming to her senses.

“Who… who are you?”

Li Wei explained, “They’re here looking for someone…”

Pei Fenghong glared at Li Wei, then looked warily at Ling Mo, paying particular attention to the various weapons they held. “Who are you looking for?”

“Zhang Teng’s son. Just want to know if he’s still alive,” Ling Mo said, glancing teasingly at her exposed thigh.

Pei Fenghong quickly pulled her robe tighter and looked at Ling Mo in surprise. “You know Zhang Er?”

Zhang Er… that must be Zhang Teng’s son’s name.

Ling Mo nodded. Just as he was about to speak, a half-bald man, about fifty years old, walked out from the room.

His expression was also sour, likely due to being interrupted at such a moment.

“Pei Fenghong, who are they?” the man asked as soon as he came out, frowning.

His gaze lingered on Ling Mo for just a moment before quickly focusing on Ye Lian and the three girls. His murky eyes instantly lit up.

This expression ignited a flicker of anger in Ling Mo.

“Where are you looking?” Ling Mo asked.

The man, still staring at Ye Lian’s face, froze for a second.

Noticing the Tang Sword in Ling Mo’s hand, his gaze became slightly more restrained. However, his pent-up irritation made him blurt out, “Aren’t they there to be looked at?”