Chapter 396 – Saying No, But Your Actions Tell a Different Story

Over an hour later, Ling Mo, with Ye Lian and the others, had entered the outskirts of City X.

However, it was just another industrial park, a considerable distance from the actual urban area.

Several industrial parks surrounded City X, but compared to the high-tech zone they had passed before, this place seemed rather rundown.

Ruins left by explosions and fires were everywhere, and occasionally, you could see a lonely office building standing amidst the destruction.

As Ling Mo and his group passed by a large gate, the blood-splattered walls and the golden letters of “XX Electronics Technology Company” appeared especially desolate amid the chaos.

A car reduced to a mere frame was blocking the entrance. Looking inside, one could see a charred corpse seated within, its head unnaturally tilted to one side.

“Can’t even find a vehicle… Should we look for a place to stay first?” Ling Mo pondered as he touched the inner pocket of his jacket.

He was eager to help Ye Lian evolve, but the prerequisite was finding a relatively safe place.

After all, this was a brand new attempt; who knows what might happen during the evolution process?

It might create a commotion that attracts attention, or it might draw a horde of zombies…

As for the people they had left behind, Ling Mo didn’t pay them much mind.

They were just passersby, after all. Would those people really go out of their way to find them?

“This industrial park should have dorm buildings, right? If all else fails, a secure office building could work. But finding supplies here will be tough… Thankfully, we have enough food in our bags to last a while,” Ling Mo said after taking down a few zombies.

He wasn’t lacking in daily necessities, but ever since his physical abilities had enhanced, his appetite had grown steadily.

To replenish the vast amount of energy he expended, he needed to consume more.

For now, zombie Glandular Fluid was more of a stimulant for him. Reaching the level where one could subsist on absorbing massive amounts of the virus, like Ye Lian and the others, was still far off for Ling Mo.

Even if he had developed immunity to the virus in small quantities, Ling Mo wouldn’t rashly attempt to consume gel…

“I should say I definitely won’t try it,” Ling Mo quickly concluded in his mind. “After Ye Lian’s evolution is complete, we’ll look for more food and hunt more Mutated snakes to help purify the virus in my upperclassman’s body.”

“Ugh, humans are such a hassle,” Yu Shiran interjected. But no sooner had she spoken than Ling Mo flicked her on the forehead with a swift knock.

“A mere human dares to hit me… Hey! You’re not done yet, are you?!”

The zombie loli bared her teeth and made a move to pounce, but under Black Silk’s control, her attack turned into a nuzzle…

“I’ll bite you! I’ll eat you!”

Ling Mo grabbed Yu Shiran by the back of her collar, lifting her up and away from his thigh: “Stop trying to cling to my legs all the time. Even for a zombie, shouldn’t there be some standards… No, that’s not right, some zombie dignity? My senior had it right, you say no, but your body is clearly telling me yes…”

“What did I ever do to you, human!” the zombie loli protested, maintaining her pose but with an angry expression on her face. “And what the heck is ‘zombie logic’ anyway? I never learned that term when I was still human!”

Xia Na cleaved through a zombie in front of her, then pointed to the side: “What about over there? Doesn’t look completely burned out, does it?”

The building she indicated seemed close, but in reality, it was a couple of turns away.

Upon approaching, they could see that it was an office building still in decent repair. The entrance was blocked by a wrecked car, and it looked like there had been an explosion; glass was shattered everywhere, with the traces of smoke and scorching all around.

Despite its unappealing appearance, the location was a fair distance from the main road and was relatively open from front to back.

Even if zombies were to surround them, it wouldn’t be much of a problem.

Perhaps because the first floor was mostly destroyed, there weren’t many zombies inside the building.

Although there were a couple of mutated zombies, they couldn’t make much trouble for such a formidable group of survivors. At most, they just added a couple more pieces to Ling Mo’s extensive gel reserves.

After clearing out the zombies in the building, Ling Mo chose a relatively clean office to settle into.

Having been on the move for several days, it was a relief to be able to rest in one place for a while, and Ling Mo felt a sense of comfort wash over him.

The female zombies seemed quite excited too, wandering around the room, leaving Ling Mo with the task of organizing their new living space.

“Watch the dart…”

Xia Na found a pen on the desk and tossed it forward with a flick of her wrist, sending the pen flying straight towards Yu Shiran.

“Clang!”

Yu Shiran caught it in her mouth and, with a crunch, bit it in half.

However, she didn’t expect the pen to still contain some leftover ink…

“Ah… nice to meet you, ‘spotty’,” Xia Na said with a smile.

Yu Shiran licked her lips in confusion: “What is this? It tastes weird…”

“That’s what I mean by ‘zombie logic’…”

Ling Mo shook his head as he pushed the room’s two sofas together.

Suddenly, Yu Shiran’s mouth turned down, and her ink-stained cheeks showed a hint of forlornness: “I miss Ban Yue.”

“Do zombies miss too?” Ling Mo asked casually.

“Mmm. Ban Yue’s scent…” Yu Shiran sniffed, then hopped onto the desk, swinging her legs over the edge. “Don’t you guys miss her?”

Li Ya Lin shook her head: “We’ve never been apart from Ling Mo. Even if we’re not together for a short time, our… our… our… Xia Na, you finish.”

“Even if we’re briefly apart, our souls are still together,” Xia Na finished for Li Ya Lin.

“Yep!” Ye Lian nodded in agreement.

The three female zombies were getting along better and better, with a high level of understanding between them.

At first, Ling Mo thought it was because of the psychic link, but now he preferred to believe that even zombies could have feelings…

“Perhaps the psychic link played a… secondary role!”

Ling Mo nodded to himself in the quiet of the office.

“Hmph, you all are weird anyway, one of you filled with a hodgepodge of viruses, and the other… seems like half a human, like a zombie person…” Yu Shiran muttered.

“Hey, just a few more words with you and you’re already getting carried away, huh!”

Li Ya Lin’s pupils instantly changed color, the ring of amber looking particularly eerie, and a strong sense of oppression followed.

Xia Na leapt forward abruptly, landing right in front of Yu Shiran, one foot on the edge of the table, her face close to Yu Shiran’s, her pupils slowly turning blood red. Her expression was extremely cold, but the corner of her mouth revealed a sly smile, “Little girl, try saying that again, what do you mean by ‘half a human’?”

A typical bratty kid would probably have been scared witless by this display, but Yu Shiran leaned in, gritting her teeth, “Want to make a move? Come on…”

Before she could finish, her eyes rolled back and she “thump” fell face-first onto the desk.

“You wouldn’t really hit her, why the scare…”

Ling Mo walked over and took a look, then reached out to touch the scarf around her neck, which was the actual body of Black Silk, “Probably Black Silk was stimulated by your pressure, I guess its evolution is about to start again.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the scarf eerily inflated, the translucent silver threads extending and wrapping Yu Shiran inside layer by layer.

“Not only evolving but… hey, don’t bind this little girl to yourself, her ‘husband’ is going to come to redeem her! Hey, she hasn’t even washed her face!”

But Ling Mo’s shouting couldn’t stop the spread of the silver threads, and soon Yu Shiran’s body was completely enveloped, leaving behind a cocoon layered in silver.

“Wow.”

Li Ya Lin exclaimed in surprise, looking curiously at the cocoon.

Xia Na poked it with her finger, seemingly wanting to kick it around like a ball to test it, but ultimately she restrained herself, her tone returning to normal, the red in her eyes fading away, “Since it’s Black Silk’s evolution, let’s spare her for now. When she comes out, we’ll let Black Na deal with her.”

“It seems that Black Na is quite sensitive to the term ‘half human’…” Ling Mo thought to himself but didn’t voice it out loud.

He knew Xia Na’s current state; at best, it was stable, not a complete resolution of her personality issues.