Chapter 606 – The Temperature of Blood

“Hurry up, hurry up!”

Ling Mo urged as he pushed open the dark, grimy door in front of him.

Creak!

As soon as the door opened, a rush of cold air blew in.

“Whew!”

Ling Mo took a deep breath, his mind clearing up a bit. The ventilation here was decent, much better than in the parking lot. If he stayed in there any longer, he would seriously be worried about his respiratory system…

He quickly scanned the area with his flashlight and chose one of the crisscrossing paths: “This way.”

“There are more zombies chasing us, and their numbers have increased,” Xia Na said, glancing back.

“It’s okay; the shield strength here has begun to weaken. Even if another brain mutant shows up, we can handle it,” Ling Mo replied, walking ahead and pushing aside a clothing rack that was blocking the path.

The rack was already quite decayed; with a light push, its lower part collapsed, crashing into a pile of what looked like old, tattered clothes.

A white, skeletal figure emerged from the clothes, and when Ling Mo shone his flashlight on it, he met its hollow eyes.

“There’s a body here too…” Ling Mo muttered, a shiver running down his spine.

“This place must have been bustling before. It’s not surprising to find bodies. Besides, you’ve seen plenty already…” Xia Na shook her head, taking a large stride past the body as she spoke.

Ling Mo composed himself and quickly walked around the body, muttering, “I just thought this place hadn’t been opened yet. And… I’ve seen a lot, sure, but it still makes me uncomfortable every time.”

“Why?” Li Yalin, following behind, asked.

“I guess it’s empathy. Always wondering if my relatives or friends have ended up like this…” Ling Mo replied softly.

“But you kill, don’t you? Humans feel a sense of satisfaction when they see their enemies fall, right?” Xia Na asked incisively.

Ling Mo was momentarily stunned, then gave a self-mocking laugh: “Yeah, that’s why humans are complicated.”

“Both compassionate and cold-blooded? Yes, that is quite complicated,” Xia Na said.

This left Ling Mo momentarily speechless. So this is how zombies see humans…

Just then, Ling Mo felt a slight tug on his sleeve.

He turned to look and saw Ye Lian’s eyes faintly glowing red in the darkness. They didn’t seem gory, but rather held a mysterious aura.

She blinked, seemingly observing Ling Mo carefully.

“What’s the matter?” Ling Mo asked softly.

“Ling-Ge, you…” Ye Lian still spoke a bit haltingly, but her words were clear, “are… very good as you are.”

“Mm.” Ling Mo couldn’t help but smile slightly.

Why did that sound so familiar?

“Oh, right!” Xia Na suddenly turned around, “Be careful not to step on…”

Creak…

Ling Mo’s body instantly froze as if hit by a binding spell, his facial expression included.

“A body…” Xia Na innocently spread her hands.

“Thanks… for the reminder…” Ling Mo squeezed out through gritted teeth.

The zombies that had followed them from the underground parking lot numbered at least a dozen. This many variation zombies were troublesome no matter where they were.

Fortunately, most of them were freshly transformed. They weren’t yet familiar with their own bodies and hadn’t evolved much.

These zombies were basically all the remnants from the zombie factory. Thanks to Xia Na, the zombie infants had been quite loud…

“Don’t rush to leave just yet. Lead them around here a bit. Oh, Yalin, quickly find those things I told you about earlier,” Ling Mo instructed.

“Got it!” Li Yalin responded and disappeared in a flash.

“They’re coming!” Xia Na whispered urgently.

A sound of a door being smashed open echoed from not far behind, accompanied by the growls of zombies.

“Let’s go!”

Ling Mo hoisted his backpack higher and grabbed Ye Lian by his side, sprinting through the darkness.

The flashlight’s beam only faintly illuminated a short distance ahead, and Ling Mo’s pace wasn’t fast.

Pulled along, Ye Lian looked up at Ling Mo, appearing suddenly curious.

With zombies chasing them from behind, how could Ling Mo still have a smile on his face? Weren’t humans supposed to be terrified of danger and death?

Speaking of which, it was rare to see him lose his temper over the hardships of life. He never seemed to complain about anything…

Even when he cursed, there was always a hint of amusement in his eyes…

“Humans… are so strange,” this thought suddenly popped into Ye Lian’s mind.

Some fragments of memory vaguely flashed before her eyes…

Hadn’t they known each other for a long time?

Although whenever she tried to recall those memories, she couldn’t feel any emotions or psychological reactions, for some reason, she still enjoyed thinking about them.

…

Back then, this man always had a stubbly face and bloodshot eyes. Whenever he opened the door, a cigarette dangled from his mouth, and he looked utterly exhausted.

But the moment he saw her, his face would instantly light up with a relaxed smile.

“What goodies did you bring me?” That big hand would reach out and mess up her carefully groomed hair.

“You’re eating instant noodles again? How many times have I told you that’s bad for your stomach? Can’t you cook something for yourself?” She would push his hand away and say.

“I can’t cook as well as you do!”

“I have classes, you know. I can only come over on weekends!” She would grumble while walking inside.

“I did cook.” He would follow her, and without looking, she knew he was eyeing the lunchbox in her hand, drooling.

“What did you cook?” She would start tidying up the messy coffee table and toss the jacket on the sofa into the washing machine.

“Noodles…”

“Instant noodles, right?”

“But with vegetables.”

She would sigh softly, turn to look at him, and say, “You’re always like this…”

“Well, as long as you’re here to take care of me, my little housekeeper,” he would say with a grin.

She’d pretend to be angry. “I can’t always take care of you!”

“Hey, hey, that won’t do. You promised my mom you’d take care of me for life,” he’d shamelessly reply.

“You… you’re just being shameless! Fine, you’re good as you are now, but don’t get even more unruly…”

Back then, he always seemed so relaxed too…

Ye Lian recalled some other fragments—memories that she had intermittently remembered these past few days, but had never spoken about to anyone.

Maybe… it was from when she first started having the ability to remember…

She felt a constant haze—sometimes able to remember things, other times knowing nothing at all.

But no matter what, as soon as she opened her eyes, amidst a layer of blood, his face would always appear.

She wanted to tear him apart, to see his blood spurt from his neck, to rip out his organs…

So hungry… so thirsty…

But… why couldn’t she move?!

She wanted to move, but couldn’t control herself…

It was so excruciating!

“Ahh…” She struggled with all her might, staring intently at the human in front of her.

“Ye Lian, don’t move. Let me help you wipe your face.” The human cautiously approached her, holding a cloth.

“Roar!” The intense agitation drove Ye Lian crazy, but she could only watch helplessly as he drew closer.

That scent she craved so desperately wafted into her nose and even sprayed onto her face and neck.

“My Ye Lian is still the prettiest, but it’s not good with blood on you… Hey, hey, don’t move. When you flail like that, my head hurts a lot.”

So noisy… such an annoying voice…

But his movements were gentle, and his gaze was soft…

Why? Clearly, he was prey…

Sometimes, when his palm touched her face, it would bring a warmth that made her feel restless…

…

“Right, that’s the warmth of humans.”

Ye Lian’s thoughts drifted back to the underground mall, to this corridor.

She still looked at the hand Ling Mo held, and in her dazed eyes, a trace of a different color flashed.

“Body warmth…” She slightly moved her fingers and slowly, very gently, reversed her grip to hold Ling Mo’s fingers.

In the dim light, Ling Mo continued to run, oblivious to Ye Lian’s small action.

However, he vaguely felt that her hand had become even colder. Yet, he didn’t let go; instead, he gripped her hand even tighter.

“The warmth of a human… feels so comforting.” Ye Lian gently moved the corners of her mouth. For the first time since becoming a zombie, she wanted to genuinely learn from this human and show a relaxed smile.

In the darkness, her smile appeared somewhat forced, but her eyes were softer than ever before…

She suddenly thought that for a cold, bloodthirsty zombie, human warmth—whether from organs or blood—might be what truly attracts them.

They had lost these things, yet continued to pursue them…

“Ling-Ge.” Ye Lian suddenly spoke.

“Hmm?” Ling Mo asked without looking back.

The zombies were relentlessly chasing from behind, and the sound of “thud thud” could be heard intermittently.

However, in such a complex environment, it would take a while for the zombies to catch up.

“Are you… taking care of me now?” Ye Lian asked softly.

“Ah? Why suddenly ask that? Not really…” Ling Mo tightened his grip on Ye Lian’s hand, leading her around a quick turn, and said, somewhat out of breath, “I wouldn’t have survived until now without you guys. Plus, the more you evolve, the less you’ll need my care, right? Now you can even dress yourself, including your underwear!”

The last sentence clearly carried a hint of resentment…

“…We… can take care of…” Ye Lian said in broken phrases.

As she spoke, a loud crash echoed from behind. A large glass cabinet smashed just ten meters away from them.

“Shit!”

Ling Mo instinctively pulled Ye Lian into his arms and immediately spread out his psychic tentacles.

The shards of glass shattered against the tentacles and fell back to the ground.

“Are you okay?” Ling Mo, his chest heaving, frowned and asked, “By the way, what were you saying?”

Ye Lian lifted her head from Ling Mo’s chest and shook it slowly: “No… I said, we can take care of you.”

“Eh? You’ve become obedient, huh? Hehe, listening to me obediently is already taking care of me…” Ling Mo chuckled oddly.

From ahead came Xia Na’s voice: “Ling-Ge?”

“Yeah?”

“You know we can’t be cut by glass, right?”

“…Hahaha, wasn’t that just instinct?”