Chapter 422 – Retrieving with Interest

In the dimly lit mall, Ling Mo and his group spread out, slowly searching but finding very little.

This department store had already been raided multiple times. Many items were destroyed in the initial shock of the Cataclysm, or they had rotted away bit by bit under the remains of corpses.

The slightly more presentable packaged food had almost all been scavenged by the locust-like survivors.

Lucy pulled a flattened chocolate bar from a pile of suspicious congealed substances, held it up to her eyes for a closer look, and then reluctantly debated with herself for a moment.

When she finally regretfully discarded it, she looked up to see Ling Mo’s slightly amused expression.

“What are you looking at? Did you find something better?” Lucy said irritably.

“Not really, I just suddenly understood why you guys came all the way to X City,” Ling Mo said with a smile. “You really are short on supplies.”

Lucy snorted and said, “X City isn’t much better off. When it comes to food, it’s scarce everywhere. I just think it’s wasteful. When you eat the same things all the time, seeing a favorite food from the past is tempting… But other things, like consumables such as batteries, are more plentiful in X City. After all, it’s the provincial capital. The number of factories and shops far exceeds that of other towns…”

“You guys could have asked the Air Force Corps to scout the route for you. It wouldn’t have been so hard,” Ling Mo said casually, kicking aside a pile of electronics.

Lucy shook her head and said, “The Air Force Corps is quite domineering in their cooperation, relying on their planes. Both our F Team and Falcon are more accommodating when working with them. They have a huge advantage in intelligence gathering. Although they aren’t as strong as us, they have planes, but how do you seize pilots? Taking them over without bloodshed is currently impossible. We might not have any ideas, but Falcon might. So the Air Force Corps working with us this time is also a warning to Falcon. You understand what I’m saying, right?”

“You really don’t hold back when talking to me… So, there’s no such thing as absolute fairness in this world. Everything is based on strength,” Ling Mo responded. “However, in the past, ‘strength’ could mean many things. Now, it all comes down to one thing, which makes it much simpler.”

“Are you talking about money and power? Indeed, money doesn’t work anymore fighting for your life is the only way.”

Lucy pondered for a moment and then said, “But… most people probably still wish they could go back to the way things were… Let’s not dwell on that. If you’re short on food, you can come with me to Fire Base. I can offer you more rewards. You might not know, but F City is a food processing base. There’s still some stock, though the taste and variety…”

“No need to be so polite, Lulu…” Ling Mo said with a smile. “If we don’t find anything here, there are plenty of opportunities to scavenge along the way.”

When this woman made a point to come over to him, Ling Mo knew she had something to say. He hadn’t expected that, given her personality, she would bring it up so tactfully. In Ling Mo’s imagination, he thought she would bluntly ask, “Do you want to join us?” If she had, he might have felt a bit embarrassed to refuse outright…

“Alright then, I won’t force you.” Lucy tugged at the corner of her mouth, which could be considered a smile.

Seeing that there was nothing much left to find in the department store, Ling Mo and the others left half an hour later.

As they exited through the back door, two figures slipped in through the front door.

“Quinn, what do you think?”

The Tattooed Man, wearing a leather vest, stood in the shadows with his muscular arms crossed, looking down at the body of the Armored Man.

His gaze lingered on the wound at the top of the Armored Man’s head for a moment before he frowned and looked up at the ceiling.

“What do I think…”

Quinn, hands on her hips, squinted at the small hole and then sneered, “Someone formidable killed these two idiots… Interesting.”

“Have you figured out what kind of superpower it is?”

The Tattooed Man nudged the Armored Man’s head aside with his toe, then reached up to touch the small hole, bringing his fingers to his nose for a sniff. “No gunpowder smell, and it doesn’t seem like it was pierced by rebar. What could it be?”

“Can you stop asking me everything? Just by looking at the wound, how would I know what kind of superpower it is? It might be a very strong ordinary human, or maybe just an assassin…” Quinn snapped irritably.

The Tattooed Man frowned and looked up at the ceiling again, pondering for a moment before slowly saying, “Are you sure an ordinary assassin could pierce through the floor? This isn’t like stabbing through tofu… Even if this place is poorly built, it wouldn’t be that easy…”

“Can you stop ignoring me at times like this? Even if you ignore me, you can’t ignore the fact…” the Tattooed Man cried out in vain.

But Quinn had already turned her attention to the walkie-talkie and called out, “Tiger.”

The walkie-talkie crackled for a while before the Fatty’s voice came through, intermittently, “Did you find Yan Shang Feng and the others?”

“They’re already dead,” Quinn replied.

There was a brief pause on the other end before the Fatty asked, “What happened? We scouted carefully before. Those people only had guns. With Yan Shang Feng’s superpower, there shouldn’t have been any problems…”

“Judging by the wounds, two people were likely involved. One used some kind of sharp weapon, the other is unclear. Also, the zombies nearby are gone, so a helicopter has definitely been here. They might have already left…” Quinn’s voice grew cautious towards the end.

Tiger remained silent for a moment before asking through gritted teeth, “Are you saying we’ve lost everything?”

“It seems… so…”

“Uh… Quinn, that might not be the case…”

The Tattooed Man walked to the window, gazing down the nearby street, and stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Quinn, holding the walkie-talkie, slowly walked over and glanced down the street. Her eyes flashed as she spoke slowly, “Tiger, there are six of them. We need reinforcements…”

“Very well. Keep a close eye on them. This time, we need to recover all our losses with interest!”

After putting down the walkie-talkie, Quinn and the Tattooed Man exchanged a glance and then quickly turned to run downstairs…

Through the window, they could see Ling Mo and his group slowly walking along the deserted street…

After seeing off Liu Baodong and his group, Ling Mo’s next goal was to escort Lucy to Century City.

However, since Lucy needed to survey and record the route along the way, it wasn’t just about making the journey.

Forty-eight hours later, Liu Baodong would bring Ling Mo’s reward, arrive in Century City by helicopter, and take Lucy away.

“Thinking about being with you all for so long… it makes me a bit depressed,” Lucy said as she walked beside Ling Mo.

“You just have to endure it for now, there’s a first time for everything…” Ling Mo said, holding Ye Lian’s hand.

“Can you not say such things so matter-of-factly?” Lucy sighed, then glanced at Yu Shiran and the three girls with Ye Lian.

Their skin was soft and fair, and each of them exuded a faint but intense aura of frenzy. Their gazes towards Lucy carried a hint of coldness…

Lucy slowly lowered her head, a thoughtful look appearing in her eyes.

“Um… can I ask how you all ended up together?” Lucy finally couldn’t resist asking tentatively.

Ling Mo stroked his chin, seriously pondering for a moment before saying, “Because I’m very charming…”

“…” Ye Lian nodded beside him. “Hmm…”

“Irresistibly so,” Li Yalin added.

“So much that one wishes to merge into one…” Xia Na said with a smirk.

Yu Shiran stared at Ling Mo for a while, then showed an extremely eager expression, licking her lips…

Lucy stared at the group in shock and said, “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have asked…”