Chapter 628 – The Importance of Taking Sides

“Really?” The boy pretended to be surprised and then smiled. “We’ll find out soon enough.”

There was tension in the air.

Even though their conversation felt like a riddle, everyone could sense the underlying hostility.

Li Yalin tilted her head and whispered to Ye Lian, “Can we take him down, this human? Even if we can’t eat him, tearing him apart would be satisfying at least… there’s a saying about surviving on illusions. I think it’s made for us…”

Ye Lian glanced at Senior Sister and shook her head quietly.

“Is it that we can’t act now, or can we move once Ling Mo does?” Li Yalin pondered for a moment, then asked curiously.

“Mm… mm…” Ye Lian nodded twice seriously and then looked at the boy. “There’s something off…”

Not only did Ye Lian think there was something off about the boy, Xu Shuhan also refrained from firing her gun.

In fact, she reacted even more intensely than Ye Lian. Her finger was on the trigger, and sweat had started to form on her forehead. But no matter what, she couldn’t pull it.

Even though the boy was just standing there, he exerted immense pressure on her. It felt like if she made even the slightest move, something terrible would happen the next second.

It was like facing a beast ready to pounce, waiting quietly for its prey to show an opening.

While the two female Zombies whispered among themselves, Mu Chen and Xu Shuhan exchanged a glance, but neither looked particularly pleased.

Dongming, being the Niepan branch’s location and test ground, shouldn’t have any Survivors wandering around outside Niepan’s control. Even if there were, they wouldn’t show up at this particular time and place.

So even though the boy had a strange face, they both realized he was someone from Niepan.

At this moment, the boy seemed to be eyeing them with interest. His gaze swept across the group and suddenly settled on Mu Chen.

“Judging by your expression, you know me?” the boy asked.

As soon as Mu Chen opened his mouth, the boy clapped his hands. “Got it, got it. You don’t know me, but you know where I’m from, right? Let me introduce myself—I’m Shen Le. So…” He scanned the crowd again. “Which one of you is Mu Chen?”

Mu Chen glanced at Ling Mo. Seeing that he did not stop him, Mu Chen nodded and said, “That’s me. I’m Mu Chen,” pointing to Xu Shuhan, he added, “This is my team member.”

As the boy looked toward her, Xu Shuhan bit her lip and slowly lowered her gun.

“So, it’s true. And this is the person you’re here to find?” Shen Le shifted his gaze to Ling Mo. He was quick to deduce that since Mu Chen didn’t continue to introduce anyone else, the remaining people must not be members of Niepan. And if they weren’t from Niepan, then they were likely the target of Mu Chen’s mission.

Mu Chen looked at Ling Mo once more before replying, “Yes, he is Ling Mo. We have already reached a cooperative agreement…”

He spoke quickly, his mood somewhat tense. Although they were set up by Xia Zhi, running into a Niepan member early might not be a bad thing. This was an opportunity; he could turn the situation around before Xia Zhi could.

If when Shen Le encountered them, Ling Mo’s group was injured or in bad shape, then there would be no chance to say anything. But in their current state, it was clear that Ling Mo had the upper hand. Going by Niepan’s style, they would likely consider continuing negotiations with Ling Mo…

Xia Zhi might have had everything planned out, but he slipped up from the start. Xu Shuhan didn’t fire, and Ling Mo was prepared, so they were now unharmed.

“Heh.” Just as Mu Chen was getting into his explanation, Shen Le let out a laugh.

Mu Chen looked at him in astonishment, but Shen Le had already adopted a nonchalant expression. He even shifted his weight back and forth, rocking slightly on the spot. “Hmm… I’m not interested in what you’re saying. I left with just one order.”

Hearing this, Mu Chen’s heart jumped into his throat.

“So, here’s a multiple-choice question: a, you follow my orders and get a chance to move up a level when we return, or b, you follow his orders and…” he opened his arms with a smile, “I kill you all.”

“Bang!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Lian pulled the trigger of Thor’s Gun in a flash, and a spark flew from the barrel. The streetlight flickered, and an echoing crack was heard.

“Don’t get excited, I haven’t even made a move yet.” Shen Le had already appeared in another location. As soon as he spoke, Ye Lian adjusted her aim and fired again.

Another miss, but this time Ling Mo saw it clearly.

“It’s a Phantom, not the main body,” Ling Mo stopped Ye Lian, saying.

This power was similar to one used by a superhuman Ling Mo had encountered before, but the level of skill was worlds apart.

Before, he could detect the Phantom with a psychic probe, but this time he hadn’t sensed anything. This could only mean that it wasn’t merely a Phantom, and the boy was far from simple.

Sure enough, another figure flashed in a different spot, identical in detail to the previous one. Through a psychic probe, Ling Mo could indeed see his psychic light cluster…

After closely observing, Ling Mo still couldn’t find anything wrong.

For this boy to boast so boldly by himself, he must have some serious skills.

“Don’t be so aggressive.” Shen Le still had a smile on his face, “But why aren’t you shooting? This time, it might be the main body.”

“Bang!”

The figure disappeared again, but Ye Lian didn’t fire. Instead, a small hole appeared on the ground.

This time, it was Ling Mo who struck, materializing his psychic tentacle and targeting Shen Le’s body.

But to his confusion, he neither hit something tangible nor detected any mental energy.

“This Ling Mo is really ruthless…” Shen Le reappeared, shaking his head in regret. Then once again, he turned to Xu Shuhan and Mu Chen, “Are you just going to watch him attack me?”

Hearing this, Ling Mo also looked at them but remained silent.

Xu Shuhan and Mu Chen both remained silent. Clearly, they were also experiencing an intense inner conflict.

“Or perhaps you’d like to play the fisherman1?” Shen Le said with another smile, but this comment sent a chill down the spines of both Xu Shuhan and Mu Chen.

Play the fisherman? Shen Le certainly didn’t seem like the type to sit back and watch the snipe and clam fight. And knowing Ling Mo’s character, there was no way this was a possibility.

As for taking action… Ling Mo’s strength had completely impressed them, but Shen Le didn’t seem easy to deal with either. Plus, this was Niepan’s territory…

No matter which side they chose, once they made a decision, there would be no turning back.

Which side should they pick?

“I…” Xu Shuhan suddenly took two steps back.

“What are you doing?” Mu Chen asked, shocked.

She glanced at Mu Chen and then took a deep, long look at Ling Mo. “I choose… to leave.”

In that instant, her eyes carried a deep significance that Ling Mo couldn’t quite understand how to respond to.

Her expression seemed tired, perhaps weary from tonight’s events—events she would never want to record and relive.

“What is this…” Mu Chen was also caught off guard.

Xu Shuhan’s words meant not only leaving Niepan but also choosing to survive on her own.

The difficulties she would face were unimaginable.

This choice surprised Ling Mo as well. Was this the same girl who had been trembling in fear at the mall?

She knew that everything she had in Niepan—temporary safe shelter, clean food, good living conditions—was coveted by many other survivors. And she had earned it all through dangerous missions.

Was she giving it all up so easily?

“You…” Mu Chen furrowed his brows so tightly they almost came together. How was he supposed to choose now?

From Mu Chen’s perspective, Xu Shuhan’s choice boiled down to one reason: she didn’t want to fight Ling Mo.

“But I don’t like Ling Mo either!” Mu Chen was growing frustrated. He didn’t want to let Xia Zhi take his place or face a miserable life but didn’t want to die today either…

On second thought, Xu Shuhan’s decision was actually quite clever.

She chose to leave but didn’t choose to help Ling Mo. This way, it no longer forced Mu Chen into making a choice.

Even if he decided to stay with Niepan, he wouldn’t have to face the situation of fighting against his teammate…

Footnote:

1. Fisherman(渔翁): The Chinese idiom “鹬蚌相争，渔翁得利” translates to “When the snipe and the clam struggle, the fisherman profits.” It means that when two parties are engaged in a conflict, a third party can take advantage of the situation and benefit from it.