Chapter 640 – A Horizontally Laid Winter Melon

Despite his intense anger, Scarface Ai Feng’s expression remained calm when the actual operation began.

Leading a few members, he advanced along the main staircase.

“Boss, should we spread out? This place is too big,” one of his members suggested in a low voice.

Ai Feng responded coldly, “Others can spread out, but we’ll stay like this. When they react, we need to be ready to support them immediately.”

The member, disheartened, coughed awkwardly and exchanged a helpless glance with the person next to him.

Without turning his head, Ai Feng said, “Don’t be thinking about earning merits right now! Didn’t you see what happened to Shen Le? The person who dared to invade our branch’s territory, took out Shen Le and that Monster from headquarters—do you think they’re easy to deal with? These aren’t just any Survivors. Drop your arrogant attitude!”

The group was taken aback, looking at each other with bewilderment.

“Don’t think about gaining credits now; think about how we’re going to explain this to headquarters. Otherwise, we’re all doomed.” Ai Feng said with barely concealed anger. “Understood?”

“Understood…”

They responded half-heartedly, but their footsteps became quieter, and their expressions grew more focused.

Since Ai Feng said so, being careful was necessary…

At that moment, the members dispersed throughout the Mall were also cautiously moving through the darkness.

“Why is it always us who have to take on the dangerous jobs…”

In a corridor, a man muttered softly to himself as he glanced around nervously.

The area was dead silent, filled with Dark Shadows. His barely audible self-talk gave him a bit of courage.

“But this is also an opportunity. If I can be the first to find them, I don’t even need to attack—just shouting out would still earn me credit.” The man took a deep breath, a look of anticipation flickering in his eyes.

Earning credits and promotions would improve his treatment, and he wouldn’t have to keep playing the front line…

Who knows, maybe headquarters would even reward him with a girl!

“Hehe, don’t blame me then, I’m just trying to survive. I can’t fight Zombies, but I can outwit you guys!”

The man approached a door, cautiously stepping to the side before slowly pushing it open.

Creak—

Before he could hold his breath and peer into the darkness, a Dark Shadow flitted past him, and he felt a hand grab his foot.

“Ahhh…”

Unable to suppress a low shriek, he swung his knife down towards it.

It took him a good ten seconds to regain his composure. He panted heavily while glancing down at the Dark Shadow near his feet.

The hand was still on his foot, but it already seemed decayed.

Beneath the tattered scraps of clothing was a rotted corpse, its gender indistinguishable.

“Damn, just a dead body… I can’t tell if it was a Zombie or a human.” The man shuddered with disgust. Carefully stepping over the corpse, he crept into the room.

After making a round in the small room, he found nothing of interest.

Disappointed, he spat to clear the dust from his throat and retreated toward the door.

The moment he turned around, a Dark Shadow appeared in the doorway.

In the instant he turned his head, their gazes locked.

It was a stunningly beautiful girl. He opened his mouth to shout but was left speechless, stunned.

“Beautiful…”

Before he could fully process the sight, her slightly bewildered eyes abruptly closed and then snapped open again, revealing a blood-red glare.

“Slash!”

Sharp nails sliced through his throat like a knife. Clutching his neck, he made futile gurgling sounds as he slid down the door frame, collapsing atop the corpse.

As he lay on the ground, staring down the pitch-black corridor, the last thing he saw was the girl’s silhouette slowly fading away in the dim light…

“Blub…blub…”

His lips moved, and a gush of blood spilled from his mouth as his eyes gradually dimmed…

At the same time, in another corner of the Mall, a man holding a knife suddenly turned his head sharply.

As soon as he turned, another shadow flashed behind him.

“Who’s there!”

He immediately turned back, but this time, the shadow darted past his side.

His eyes followed the movement, catching a quick glimpse of a slender figure.

“A girl trying to play tricks on me…” The man raised his kitchen knife, his eyes darting from side to side.

Suddenly, the shadow flashed by again, but this time the man reacted quickly, spinning around and slashing at the shadow.

As the blade sliced through the air, the cold light illuminated the face of the shadow.

He saw clearly the sharp features and the panicked yet beautiful eyes.

But instead of calming his nerves, a surge of murderous intent flared up inside him: “A beauty!”

The blade swung directly towards the beautiful face, freezing the panicked expression in place.

“Hehe…”

The man’s satisfied laugh was cut short as he realized the figure before him faded away like a Phantom.

At the same time, another figure appeared right behind him.

The face was identical, but the expression was different—a smile.

The man held his knife high in the air, his body swaying as blood foam started to spill from his mouth.

On his neck, a crimson line slowly spread…

“Dee-dee-dee-dee…”

The mixed-race girl hummed a rising tune, like her own background music.

…

“Ling Mo, can they really handle it?” In the stairwell, Mu Chen, following closely behind Ling Mo, asked nervously.

Ling Mo impatiently glared back at him, “Don’t worry, they’re good at this kind of thing.”

“But…”

“No buts! Xia Na has to keep an eye on Xu Shuhan. Ye Lian and Yalin will take out those who’ve spread out and create some chaos. We’ll take this chance to ambush Ai Feng,” Ling Mo said with a frown. “Isn’t this the plan?”

“You agreed? When did that happen?” Mu Chen hissed, lowering his voice. “You were the one who decided unilaterally and said, ‘It’s settled!'”

“That’s just the way it is. Let’s go,” Ling Mo cut him off.

Mu Chen suddenly grabbed Ling Mo, his expression complicated. “You know I can only provide you with some Intelligence at most, right? Ambushing Ai Feng is clearly more dangerous, yet you won’t let them do it and instead you want me to…”

Ling Mo glanced at him and said, “As a man, I can’t let my women take the front line and risk their lives.”

“Actually, I respect you for that.” Mu Chen released Ling Mo’s arm and patted him on the shoulder, adding, “But why drag me into it?”

“Come back, come back. Why are you running?” Ling Mo didn’t need to move a muscle; a Tentacle tripped Mu Chen, causing him to fall to the ground.

Mu Chen got up, covered in dust, only to be dragged back by another force.

“Does Ai Feng have anyone with mental abilities around him?” Ling Mo asked in a low voice.

“He does…” Mu Chen replied, seemingly resigned to his fate.

“Good, that makes things easier,” Ling Mo nodded.

Mu Chen looked at him in surprise, “You have a plan?”

“Have you ever heard of fishing1?” Ling Mo asked, his eyes gleaming.

Mu Chen stared blankly at Ling Mo, and soon, he felt as though the “rope” around him was being tugged. Ling Mo’s meaningful gaze was fixed on him…

“Damn it, damn it!”

Mu Chen’s muffled curses quickly faded into the darkness, while on another staircase, Ai Feng and his group continued to move upward.

“Thud!”

A Dark Shadow suddenly tumbled down from above, rolling down the stairs and crashing towards them.

Startled, the group jumped back. One of them quickly intercepted the falling Dark Shadow.

He glanced down and, with a grim expression, turned to the others, “It’s one of our searchers. He’s dead.”

Another person quickly ran upstairs, returning a few seconds later shaking his head, “Didn’t see anyone. Judging by the blood, they crawled out and then fell to their death.”

“Too arrogant!” Ai Feng confirmed with a glance, growling in anger.

“Indeed, it’s tricky. If they were scared and just kept running, we’d have the upper hand. Now they’re in the dark, and we’re out in the open…” another member said uneasily.

“Luo Yulong!” Ai Feng called out suddenly.

A Shortie immediately stepped forward, responding in a sharp voice, “Here.”

This person’s height was not much, but his weight was seriously over the limit, making him look like a horizontally placed winter melon.

“Find them for me. Also, someone go down and notify the guards. I want every exit watched. Don’t let a single one of them get out!” Ai Feng commanded.

“I’ll handle it,” the person who had intercepted the body said immediately. “By the way, should we get some gasoline…”

“Do you want to force them to run? Do you really think fire can stop them?” Ai Feng snapped again. “Just keep them here. They want to play? We’ll play with them! Weren’t you just eager to win some merit? Don’t chicken out now; the enemy is trying to create an opportunity! We can’t retreat and we have no room to retreat.”

“Okay…” the man nodded and turned to run downstairs.

Luo Yulong, standing to the side, was then glared at by Ai Feng. Startled, he quickly nodded and said, “I’ll start searching right away.”

He then took a deep breath, his eyes turning focused.

“By the way,” Ai Feng added, “link up with No.0.”

Luo Yulong nodded. Through his other pair of “eyes,” as his psychic power extended outward, countless invisible waves, like signals, appeared around him.

These were bioelectrical waves that Luo Yulong “saw,” or perhaps brain waves; he wasn’t exactly sure himself.

But by following these “signals,” he could track those people down…

“Alright, hurry up. I can only maintain this for a limited time,” Luo Yulong urged anxiously.

Behind him came a stifled laugh, “You never last very long.”

But in such a moment, no one laughed along with him; instead, they all frowned and glared back at him.

Footnote:

1. Fishing(钓鱼): In this context, ‘fishing’ is a metaphor. It means to lure or bait someone into a trap or a situation where they can be caught or dealt with. Just like in fishing, where you use bait to catch fish, here it implies using a strategy to attract the target into a vulnerable position.