Chapter 381 – Skinless Zombies

Returning to the gas station, Yu Shiran and Xia Na had already found the right gasoline and were filling up the tank of their flip-flop car.

When Ling Mo and his group dragged back a rabbit, both female zombies paused in surprise.

Xia Na glanced over, then calmly turned back to continue fueling, but Yu Shiran’s eyes lit up, and she excitedly ran over.

She stared at the vengeful rabbit, which Li Ya Lin had pinned down by the belly, gesticulating wildly, and then turned her gaze to Ling Mo.

Even though she didn’t intentionally make any pitiful expressions, Ling Mo still felt somewhat uncomfortable under the intense stare of the zombie loli.

“Alright, you may speak,” he allowed.

Immediately, Yu Shiran began to exclaim, “What is this? Does it move? Can we eat it?”

The vengeful rabbit shuddered all over, letting out another scream, “No! Don’t kill me!”

“See, you’ve scared the prisoner just by speaking,” Ling Mo said, shaking his head.

He squatted down and with some effort, pulled off the rabbit’s headgear.

Only then did he notice that the inside of the rabbit’s headgear was lined with a circle of wire—crude, but indeed effective as protection.

The true form of the vengeful rabbit was a skinny young woman in her twenties with a brightly shaven head. Her skin appeared pale due to being confined within the headgear for so long. Her features were quite ordinary, but the bald head was particularly eye-catching. Her voice was rough, leading Ling Mo to wonder for a moment if she might be male.

She stared at Ling Mo and his group with wide, terrified eyes. That’s when Ye Lian stuttered, “You… are you the one the rabbit ate?”

“Girl, come here,” Ling Mo quickly pulled Ye Lian to his side, then fixed his gaze on the bald woman, “Who are you? Why did you attack us?”

The bald young woman swallowed nervously, “I… I just needed gasoline, I wanted to leave this place… I came to this gas station a few days ago. In City S, there are only four gas stations. Two were blown up, one is overrun with zombies, only this one doesn’t have many zombies. My special ability is mainly for escaping…”

Through her rambling explanation, Ling Mo roughly understood the situation.

As a rabbit that excelled in escape, the bald young woman had been lurking near the gas station, seizing any opportunity to lure a zombie out and then killing it. According to her plan, it would take about four or five days to clear the area.

However, zombies kept wandering nearby, and in the end, she got trapped here.

The appearance of Ling Mo and his group today gave her a glimmer of hope.

“At first, I wanted to ask for help… But you suddenly walked towards me, and I thought you were going to attack me, because that’s how you looked when you were killing zombies… Do you have some kind of energy field around you… Anyway, I’m sorry, I was just too scared… You were too formidable when you killed those zombies…”

The bald young woman apologized profusely, mixing in various flattering remarks, until Ling Mo had to interrupt her, “Enough, you are our prisoner now. Do you know where the aluminum factory is?”

“I know… I know. But that place is pretty far from here. What are you planning to do there? There’s nothing but zombies. What are you going for?” the bald young woman asked, then noticed Ling Mo’s face had darkened, and a hint of embarrassment crept into her expression. “Forget I asked…”

Ling Mo handed the rabbit head back to her. “Don’t try to run again. Your name?”

“Heh… Just call me Rabbit. I won’t run anymore…” the young woman pleaded, glancing at Li Ya Lin with a begging look. “Miss… Miss, can you let go of me? How are you so strong…?”

In reality, the young woman had impressive escape skills. If it weren’t for Ling Mo’s mental interference, it might have taken quite an effort to catch her.

“Why are you dressed like that?” Ling Mo couldn’t help but ask, driven by curiosity.

Rabbit immediately showed a smug grin and patted the belly of her mascot suit. “It’s lined with steel wires, warm and safe inside. Plus, sometimes zombies won’t attack me, especially when I’m covered in zombie blood…”

“Got it. I thought it was some kind of weird fetish,” Ling Mo said, nodding his understanding.

“It’s… it’s sort of a hobby. This outfit scares a lot of people,” Rabbit said as she put the head back on and asked in a muffled voice, “When are you leaving?”

“Now.”

The vengeful rabbit’s bulky figure could only sit in the cargo area of the vehicle, where Ling Mo, Ye Lian, and Ban Yue also took their seats.

“Is this your way of keeping an eye on me? Putting this rabbit in front of me is your idea of a joke, right?” Ban Yue suddenly asked.

“Uh-huh,” Ling Mo replied without looking away.

“You admit it too quickly!”

The rabbit shifted uneasily and asked Ban Yue, “Are you a captive too?”

“No…” Ban Yue frowned, feeling even less comfortable with human contact than Ye Lian and the others. If it weren’t for her concern about what Ling Mo might do to Yu Shiran, she would have torn the rabbit apart already.

Ling Mo had deliberately arranged them together, which was a sort of deep spiritual torment for Ban Yue.

Her mind was fixated on flesh, and yet this delicious meal was voluntarily speaking to her.

The atmosphere on the road was tense, except for Ling Mo, who looked completely at ease.

City S’s urban area was small, so following the rabbit’s guidance, they drove towards the industrial park along the bypass, avoiding the massive hordes of zombies gathered in the city center.

Most of the vehicles they passed were trucks, though not densely packed. Despite the slippers cars winding around, it was still possible to get through.

Many containers labeled “Hazardous” were toppled over, staining the ground and filling the air with an odd smell. But with the stench coming from Rabbit in front, Ling Mo didn’t notice the abnormality in the air.

Through Rabbit, Ling Mo also learned a lot of new information.

Just like City A, the zombies in City S had distinctive local characteristics…

The environment influenced their evolutionary paths, and many factories in City S had experienced explosions or leaks during the Disaster Outbreak, leading to severe pollution and causing many zombies to mutate.

While they weren’t as exaggerated as the mutated zombies from City X, their strength was certainly out of the ordinary.

“I wouldn’t have come to the industrial park on my own if it weren’t for leading you guys,” Rabbit said, hugging her knees.

Unable to see her face, the sight of this bloodstained rabbit talking was still quite eerie.

“By the way, this suit helps protect against toxic air,” Rabbit added. “I suggest you all put on masks too.”

“Do you think you’re wearing a biohazard suit?”

The slipper van soon approached the industrial park, which connected to several other parks teeming with highly polluting factories.

The area was backed by mountains and devoid of residents, but the thought of how many workers might be inside those factories gave a clear indication that there would be no shortage of zombies.

Those who worked in such factories generally faced significant occupational health risks and heavy workloads. But to survive, people kept coming to work here relentlessly.

“The aluminum plant you’re looking for is towards the back, by the river. It has about… over a thousand employees.”

As we entered the industrial park, Rabbit’s voice grew much lower, showing her wariness of this place.

As soon as the vehicle turned a corner, a skinless zombie that looked as if it had been flayed leapt down from the wall, lunging straight at Ling Mo.

“Why are they always attacking me!” Ling Mo thought angrily as he shot a mental Tentacle in defense.

Unexpectedly, the zombie, which didn’t seem very strong, caught hold of the top of the wall just before the attack hit and swung back up.

Ling Mo’s mental Tentacle only left a bloody hole in its stomach. Its eyes had been burned away, but this didn’t seem to affect its strength.

“Hisss!”

The skinless zombie had many parts of its body fused together, yet its movements were surprisingly agile. It let out an indistinct hiss and followed after the slipper van in pursuit.

Its running posture was bizarre, with hands flailing behind and short strides, but it was incredibly fast!

“This zombie brother seems quite sensitive to mental energy.”

But psychic interference can’t be dodged. After being disturbed once, the skinless zombie’s body staggered, and then a blood hole appeared in the center of its forehead.

“Ling Mo… watch out ahead!”