Chapter 531 – The Counterattack Against No.⓪

“Whoosh!”

Ling Mo quickly freed up a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. At the moment he was attacked, he had already withdrawn in time, suffering no significant damage.

“No.0…”

Although he had temporarily invaded the opponent’s psychic realm and seen some things through the opponent’s vision, it was as if he was looking through frosted glass blurry and indistinct.

From those dark, instrument-like objects and the flashing little lights everywhere, it could be inferred that the place was likely a ward, a laboratory, or even a factory…

“That hand… could I have been mistaken?”

The perspective Ling Mo had at that time should have been No.0’s main body.

Judging from the angle and distance, that hand was very likely No.0’s.

Since he had taken a couple of glances and the distance was close, Ling Mo saw it quite clearly.

Covered in wrinkles, deathly pale as if just pulled out of preservative fluid, and most critically… it was very small!

Ling Mo glanced at his own hand and then turned to look at Ye Lian’s hand beside him.

“A child’s hand… and that crying… impossible!”

Ling Mo’s mind raced; just seeing a hand made him so curious!

Moreover, it seemed that No.0 was either unable to move or simply didn’t move…

And then there was that face he saw last. Although it was only for an instant, Ling Mo’s neural reflexes captured it immediately.

Covered in scars, eyes full of shock.

He didn’t know if it was an illusion, but Ling Mo felt that at the moment he withdrew, he seemed to have made eye contact with this person…

“It was just psychic power; the opponent didn’t invade my psychic realm, so it’s impossible they saw me… It’s a pity I couldn’t eliminate No.0.”

This thought was just a fleeting one. No.0’s psychic power was beyond Ling Mo’s imagination.

Adding to that the ability to implant this kind of “surveillance” in someone’s mind, and allowing for two-way communication, it was far more effective than the Communicator painstakingly developed by Falcon.

Superpowers truly come in various forms, and just psychic power alone has so many types…

“The downside is that its attack power isn’t strong enough, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to counter it.”

Ling Mo quickly analyzed No.0’s basic situation. Additionally, during the Devour process, Ling Mo also learned some information from both Jianqi and No.0.

When No.0 first appeared, Ling Mo felt an immense pressure for a moment.

But when he successfully counterattacked No.0, Ling Mo immediately realized something.

The opponent was a deeply hidden, intricately connected major force. However, no matter how strong their overall power was, it was impossible for them to mobilize everyone to form a single, cohesive force to attack Ling Mo.

Ling Mo’s advantage lay in his own formidable strength, and he wasn’t fighting alone…

Moreover, it was still the Cataclysm period, with communication and transportation extremely underdeveloped.

Overall, he was in the dark while the enemy was in the open. Who would end up outsmarting whom was still uncertain…

So while there was danger, it wasn’t enough to scare him.

He glanced down at Jianqi, who was now only capable of spasms, a peculiar look flashing in his eyes.

…

Jianqi was a very strong person, not in terms of power, but in terms of strength.

Initially, he sought the respect of the other Team members, but later, he began to simply enjoy that feeling.

Even when facing a horde of zombies, he had a chance to survive.

Even if everyone around him died, he would still be alive…

This feeling fascinated him immensely, making him feel that he was the most special…

“Who would’ve thought he’d have such a dark past… Doesn’t he feel foolish looking back?” Ling Mo muttered to himself.

However, as time passed, Jianqi began to realize how foolish he had been.

As his strength grew, zombies were also constantly evolving.

But what truly changed his mindset was an encounter with a Senior Zombie…

“Hey, Jian-Ge, there’s a dried goods store over here!”

In a narrow, secluded street, a group of people was cautiously advancing, carrying various weapons.

One sharp-eyed man suddenly pointed ahead and shouted. After glancing around and seeing no danger, he excitedly ran over.

“Don’t run off, hey!”

A girl shouted nervously and chased after him.

Not just her, but others also ran over.

From their unsteady steps, it was clear they hadn’t had a full meal in a long time. Any food could ignite their intense interest.

Jianqi was walking at the end of the group. Whether he grabbed anything or not, these people would willingly hand over the best items to him.

His presence was the guarantee that this group could survive.

However, at that moment, a chill suddenly crept up from his feet.

He immediately turned around and looked behind him.

The empty street showed nothing but some scattered trash.

“Wind?”

He slowly shifted his steps, his gaze sweeping across the shop entrances on either side of the street.

Still, he found nothing… and from the Dried Goods Store came sounds of cheering and scuffling.

The girl’s shrill cries annoyed him a bit, even though there were no zombies nearby, her shouting was still very irritating…

“Damn! Can you stop yelling! It’s just some food…”

Jianqi had just turned around when he froze in an instant.

The girl who had been making noise just moments ago was now staring at him with lifeless, gray eyes.

She was covered in blood, her neck nearly severed from her head, like a rag doll, held by her hair by a pale hand.

And from the Dried Goods Store that had been noisy just moments before, there was now complete silence, with only a stream of blood flowing out from the collapsed shelves…

The owner of that hand was a disheveled woman, around thirty years old, with stark red and white eyes fixed on him.

For days after, Jianqi would always remember those eyes…

“A Leader-Level Zombie…” Ling Mo said.

Those red pupils were like knives, deeply piercing Jianqi.

Two seconds? No… one second?

This Senior Zombie had taken just one second to wipe out five or six survivors, and they hadn’t even had time to cry out for help…

The speed and strength were far beyond Jianqi’s imagination.

A Senior Zombie! More advanced than any zombie he had encountered!

“Being this shocked, it seems it was quite early… From the survivors’ clothing, it was probably a few months ago,” Ling Mo analyzed.

“Gulu…”

Jianqi swallowed hard, which annoyed Ling Mo, who was seeing everything from Jianqi’s perspective.

But considering it was Jianqi’s memory, even if Ling Mo punched him right now, it wouldn’t change his reaction. So, Ling Mo had to endure it.

“Bang!”

The female zombie threw away the body in her hand, then brought her blood-stained fingers to her mouth and licked them.

“Phew…”

Jianqi’s breathing grew heavy. He had realized that the power gap between him and the zombie was possibly even greater than he had imagined.

Every move she made heightened his tension, his nerves stretched to the breaking point.

“Hu… Human,” the female zombie spoke, scrutinizing Jianqi with a look.

Her gaze was like a cat eyeing a larger rat holding a small piece of brick—

Jianqi was holding a hatchet, which in the eyes of the female zombie probably looked like a brick.

“Intelligence…”

Jianqi’s heart pounded wildly. A zombie with Intelligence didn’t mean it would spare him; it just meant it was more dangerous and harder to deal with.

“What do you want? You can tell me,” Jianqi tried to buy some time, slowly retreating.

“Mm…” The female zombie, however, had no intention of conversing. She simply uttered a sound before suddenly leaping at him.

“You’re freaking crazy! At least tell me what you want!”

Jianqi screamed as he retreated towards a nearby building. Fighting a Senior Zombie in an open space was less appealing than jumping off a building.

…

The female zombie seemed to be toying with him, chasing Jianqi and occasionally pretending to swipe at him without actually attacking.

As Jianqi sprinted through the abandoned building, he cursed desperately in his mind: “Damn, damn, damn! I’m gonna die!”

Just then, an Iron Chain suddenly whipped past him, clashing with the female zombie with a loud “clang.”

At the same time, a shadow zipped past his side.

Seven or eight figures leaped from their hiding places, each holding an Iron Chain in one hand and a gun in the other.

They didn’t even glance at him. One of them simply said a single word: “Run.”