Chapter 36 – Give Me Back My First Time

From the moment Ling Mo stepped into that bloody workshop, which still housed a Mutation Zombie, he thought that the pretty girl he had occasionally seen—whom he remembered as gentle and delicate—had long since turned into bones and fragments. He never imagined he would find Wang Lin alive in this place!

Wang Lin initially just glanced up indifferently, but upon seeing the group standing at the door, her eyes widened, and she jumped up from her chair. Pointing at them with a slender arm, she nervously stammered, “Y-you-you…”

“Hey, do you guys know Wang Lin?” Li Yu, with his sharp eyes, immediately noticed something was amiss and asked in surprise.

Ling Mo looked at Li Yu with an incredulous expression.

Li Yu blushed under Ling Mo’s gaze and whispered, “Wang Lin is really strong. Sometimes even the Leader can’t control her. Last time, she even led the Leader back home…”

Before he could finish, Wang Lin had already taken a deep breath and eerily regained her composure. She walked slowly towards Ling Mo and the others, scrutinizing them with a peculiar look.

While Ling Mo was still racking his brain for an opening line, Wang Lin spoke first in a slightly disdainful tone, “Oh, Xia Na, you’re not dead yet?”

Ling Mo’s heart skipped a beat! He had been so shocked that he forgot this girl was Xia Na’s relative! But from Wang Lin’s tone, it seemed she harbored some subtle hostility towards Xia Na. Yet her earlier expression had clearly been one of great excitement. Now that she spoke, she sounded so indifferent. Wang Lin was indeed a bit contradictory…

Hearing her name called, Xia Na actually showed some reaction. Her somewhat vacant eyes turned to Wang Lin, and after a brief glance, she silently averted her gaze again.

It wasn’t due to arrogance, but rather the aftereffects of her infection and transformation into a zombie.

However, Wang Lin was oblivious to this. Seeing Xia Na’s reaction, she immediately flared up, “Always with that sour face? Well, I guess someone like you wouldn’t die so easily. But seeing me alive, doesn’t it make you feel disappointed?”

Xia Na naturally didn’t respond, but Ling Mo’s expression turned a bit strange.

From Wang Lin’s tone, she sounded not only bitter but also slightly aggrieved. Could it be that Xia Na’s calm reaction was the cause of this? If it were Ye Lian, Ling Mo could control her to make some reactions, like nodding or shaking her head. But with Xia Na… it was already a feat to restrain her from acting out randomly. Forcing her actions only extended to making her follow him. Though she wasn’t a Mutation Zombie, the difficulty of controlling her was not any less, if not more complex.

If Ling Mo’s Psychic Power hadn’t evolved, he wouldn’t have been able to control both Ye Lian and Xia Na simultaneously and continuously.

Seeing Xia Na remain silent, Wang Lin snorted heavily again. When she turned her gaze to Ling Mo and the others, her expression grew hostile, “Who are you people?”

Ling Mo was momentarily stunned but then gave a wry smile. He had quite a clear impression of this neighbor girl and had even mourned her “death,” but he hadn’t expected that she wouldn’t recognize him at all!

It made sense, though. Ling Mo was as ordinary as could be. In a crowd, no one would give him a second glance. Even though this girl had seen him face-to-face a few times, it was normal for her not to remember him. He was just an unremarkable person, after all.

Unexpectedly, Liu Yuhao suddenly exclaimed, “Wang Lin… I think Xia Na has a cousin named Wang Lin!”

“Hmph!” Wang Lin snorted in displeasure and shot another glance at Xia Na, who still showed no reaction. Her eyes flared with anger. But just as she was about to lose her temper, she caught sight of the short knife at Ling Mo’s waist.

At this point, Wang Lin’s attention shifted from Xia Na to Ling Mo. From the moment Ling Mo entered, Wang Lin hadn’t given him a proper look, but now her gaze was locked onto him. “Hey, you’re the one who stole my short knife! How come you’re with Xia Na?”

Stole? What did she mean by stole? In the Apocalypse, any completely abandoned shop was fair game for anyone. Did she mean to imply that the Mutation Zombie was the shopkeeper?

But there was more to Wang Lin’s words! Could it be that when he went to Wang’s Handmade Knife Shop that day, this girl was hiding somewhere, secretly watching?

With this thought, Ling Mo’s gaze at Wang Lin revealed his suspicions.

“What are you looking at! Just give me back my knife! I made it, so why do you have it?” Wang Lin glared at Ling Mo and demanded rudely.

Return the knife? Ling Mo was initially stunned, but his shocked expression gradually faded, replaced by a hint of cold indifference and a touch of gloom. Yes, the short knife was made by Wang Lin, but Ling Mo had risked his life to retrieve it, and in the process, he had killed a Mutation Zombie! Now this girl casually stood in front of him and demanded the knife back. It wasn’t that simple.

Moreover, for this knife, Ling Mo had already paid a certain “price,” which was helping Xia Na and the others break through to No. 3 High School. Emotionally and rationally, he owed Wang Lin nothing.

Looking at Wang Lin’s impatient expression, Ling Mo asked coldly, “Why should I return it?”

Wang Lin was momentarily stunned, while Li Yu beside her looked at Ling Mo with an expression of disbelief, tugging at his sleeve discreetly. “This is Wang Lin’s stuff. You dare keep it? Just give it back to her.” His expression was also filled with regret, thinking that if he had known these people would clash with Wang Lin as soon as they arrived, he wouldn’t have bothered.

Ling Mo merely snorted, not replying. But his expression clearly showed his stance. He had no intention of handing over the short knife.

“What do you mean, why?” Wang Lin snapped back, her anger flaring. “This knife is mine, and it’s the first product I was satisfied with! You went into my shop and took something I made. How is that different from stealing? Now the owner is asking for it back, and you dare ask why?”

Wang Lin’s tone left Ling Mo feeling quite displeased. There was a strong sense of superiority and an air of arrogance about her, making it clear that this seemingly frail girl was every bit the spoiled princess.

Not just Ling Mo, even Liu Yuhao’s gaze towards Wang Lin turned somewhat discontented. He couldn’t help but think, despite being cousins, Wang Lin was far inferior to Xia Na…

As for Wang Cheng, he watched Wang Lin warily and took two silent steps back. He didn’t want to get involved in this dispute. Wang Lin seemed to hold some status in this Survivor Camp, but in the past few days, Ling Mo’s strength had left a deep impression on Wang Cheng.

He even had a hunch that despite Wang Lin’s rude and fierce demeanor, Ling Mo wouldn’t back down…

Just then, the door to the inner room suddenly opened, and a man of about thirty years old stepped out. Clearly disturbed by Wang Lin’s shouting, he asked irritably, “Wang Lin, who are you arguing with now?”

Upon seeing Ling Mo and the others, the man was momentarily stunned, especially when his eyes fell on Xia Na. His expression turned rather dramatic.

Much like Ling Mo’s reaction upon seeing Wang Lin, the man’s gaze at Xia Na was one of utter shock.

“This… Wang Lin’s cousin… when I went to her house a few days ago, weren’t there no survivors?” he blurted out, not noticing Wang Lin glaring at him with a dark expression.

Ling Mo raised an eyebrow, thinking that this girl did indeed have a cold exterior but a warm heart towards Xia Na…

However, this didn’t mean Ling Mo would be moved. No matter what, he wasn’t going to return the item he had risked his life to obtain to Wang Lin.

“You’re here too!” The man quickly shifted his gaze to Ling Mo and spoke as if they were acquaintances. “I saw you take down that Mutation Zombie the other day. Impressive! I didn’t expect you to come to our Camp with Wang Lin’s cousin… and this must be the beautiful lady who was with you that day, right?”

Li Yu took this moment to interject, “This is our Leader. Leader, these folks are the ones we met today at the No. 3 High School area.”

“Leader? Just call me Song Tian,” Song Tian said with a smile.

Ling Mo intentionally ignored Wang Lin’s angry glare and returned the smile. “I’m Ling Mo, and this is Xia Na… Wang Lin’s cousin. We’re…”

At this point, even Ling Mo felt a bit conflicted. Xia Na had become a Zombie, and without his control, she was just a monster. But given Xia Na’s strength and the faint trace of tenderness he felt, Ling Mo didn’t want to give up on her.

So, for now, the relationship between him and Xia Na should be… “Friends. I’m Xia Na’s friend. And these two guys are Xia Na’s classmates,” Ling Mo said.

“Well, isn’t this a coincidence!” Song Tian clapped his hands exaggeratedly before his face turned slightly troubled. “Wang Lin, are you still hung up on that Short Knife?”

“Of course!” Wang Lin raised an eyebrow, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “Ling Mo, right? Hand over the Short Knife!”

“No way!” Ling Mo retorted firmly. “You made the knife, but I risked my life to retrieve it. You can’t just demand it back. That’s robbery logic!”

Hearing Ling Mo’s outright refusal, Wang Lin’s expression immediately soured.

However, Song Tian laughed heartily and tried to defuse the situation. “Wang Lin, let’s not argue about the knife right now. It’s rare to see your cousin. Let’s invite them to stay first. What do you think, Mr. Ling?”