Chapter 677 – Hiding Method: Under the Lamp is Darkest

Thunk!

Ling Mo curled his body and crashed into a mall.

After landing amidst countless shards of glass, he immediately sprinted forward, leaping over toppled displays and charging into the center of the mall.

“Staying outside doesn’t seem to be enough to shake it off. But… I’d like to see you try flying in here!”

Ling Mo agilely navigated through the broken half of a glass door and entered the corridor.

Once inside, unfamiliar with the layout, he had to stop and quickly assess his surroundings.

The lighting inside the mall was dim but still sufficient for Ling Mo to see.

The entire interior was like a hollowed-out mountain.

The corridor spiraled up like a mountain road, reaching from the ground floor to the roof.

Shops on both sides were semi-open cubicles crammed into the limited space.

The transparent elevator, which allowed customers to move between floors, stood right before Ling Mo.

The elevator door was slightly ajar, a skeletal hand still draped with tattered cloth wedged in the gap.

One glance showed the interior of the elevator was smeared with nearly black blood, a stench of rot permeating the air.

Evidently, ventilation wasn’t great here.

Ling Mo gave the elevator a quick look, then pressed against the railing to peer down.

Shadows flitted along the corridor beneath, clearly zombies drawn by the recent noise.

In a mall of this size, zombies were bound to be numerous.

Even if many had wandered outside to hunt, some zombies would surely still be lingering here.

Crunch!

The sound of glass shards being stepped on suddenly came from behind.

“Persistent little…”

Ling Mo glanced behind, then to his sides.

No time!

He sharply turned back to the elevator, then squeezed his body through the narrow gap.

The moment Ling Mo entered the elevator, the pungent scent hit him so hard that his brain felt like it was being pierced, and his eyes stung fiercely.

It was impossible to tell how many skeletons were underfoot; even standing on the ground felt like stepping on a macabre “carpet.”

But now wasn’t the time to feel disgusted. Fresh innards and blood? He would step on them too if he had to, let alone dried ones.

Ling Mo had just taken two steps deeper into the elevator when he met a pair of eyes.

Dark holes stared intently at him, a gaping mouth seeming ready to lunge and bite at any moment.

With a stoic expression, Ling Mo glanced at the corpse, covered his mouth and nose, and carefully moved to a corner of the elevator, avoiding the gap.

From his vantage point, he could see a small section outside the elevator clearly.

Thud!

Footsteps approached, soon appearing in front of the elevator.

Ling Mo’s scalp tightened, and he quickly held his breath.

Thud, thud!

A Bird Zombie paced back and forth outside the elevator, sniffing heavily.

Ling Mo’s body was taut, eyes locked on the gap.

He hid here because there was no time, but more importantly, due to an age-old truth: under the lamp is darkest!

The Bird Zombie didn’t possess high intelligence and had been fooled by him several times before; it wouldn’t think that Ling Mo would hide so casually, right in front of its eyes.

Though using human wit to outsmart zombies wasn’t particularly brag-worthy, for this King level Zombie, it was its greatest weakness.

Even so, Ling Mo prepared a few psychic tentacles, ready to shatter the glass behind him at any moment.

Always have a backup plan!

Thud, thud!

The Bird Zombie continued to roam outside, clearly displeased by the sudden loss of its target. Ling Mo’s ears were filled with the grating sound of its claws scratching its own skin.

Each scratch sent a jolt through him, goosebumps popping up all over.

He forced himself to remain calm. The fact that the Bird Zombie hadn’t immediately found him indicated that this method was indeed effective.

The overpowering smell and nearly enclosed environment completely masked Ling Mo.

It would be a real pity if everything fell apart at such a critical moment…

Suddenly, a dark shadow flitted past the gap.

Ling Mo’s heart leaped into his throat, his eyes widened, and he stared intently at the crack.

Thud!

The Bird Zombie’s footsteps came to a halt, and Ling Mo watched as the dark shadow gradually filled the entire gap.

Blood-red tentacles rose like venomous snakes, poised to shatter the glass with just a thought from Ling Mo.

“Wait a bit longer! Just a bit longer…”

Ling Mo’s temples throbbed wildly, but in his heightened tension, his focus became razor-sharp.

The surrounding sounds grew incredibly clear, and his vision brightened significantly.

He could clearly see the shadow outside the door outlining the Bird Zombie’s form, and it was inching closer to the elevator, step by step.

“Damn, it’s really coming this way?”

Ling Mo calculated the distance between them. If it took just a couple more steps, he would have to make a run for it!

Otherwise, given the Bird Zombie’s speed, he wouldn’t escape safely.

“Roar!”

A faint zombie howl echoed from below, catching Ling Mo’s attention. Silently, he extended a psychic tentacle.

The nearest psychic light cluster was in the corridor one level down. Normally, without sound stimuli, these zombies would resume their aimless wandering.

However, the presence of a senior zombie’s aura had agitated them, causing extreme fear and making them circle nearby.

The zombie that had made the noise was desperately darting around, as if needing to tear something apart to release its terror.

Unaware, it did not notice a tentacle silently approaching from behind.

“Grrr…”

Suddenly, the zombie’s eyes widened, its body tensing up instantly.

An invisible tentacle had “pierced” its brain, deeply embedded in its psychic light cluster.

Within seconds, the zombie’s frenzied eyes turned vacant.

Its rage swiftly calmed, and its blood-red eyes turned upward.

“Click, click!”

After twisting its neck, the zombie suddenly bent down and then launched off like a spring.

Just as it was about to crash into the railing, it leaped, pushing off the railing with its feet.

At the peak of its jump, the zombie’s body began to descend.

But it reacted quickly, grabbing the upper railing and pulling itself up, effortlessly throwing itself into the corridor above.

“Zombie bodies are indeed agile and strong…” Ling Mo, hiding in the elevator, couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.

His body had been modified with a small amount of virus for quite some time, but it still couldn’t compare to a true zombie.

However, to avoid losing his sanity due to infection, he could only proceed slowly.

Even though he couldn’t compare with zombies, at least he was luckier than ordinary humans.

“Roar!”

As soon as the zombie landed, it spread its arms, shook its body, and let out a challenging roar.

Thud!

Outside the elevator, the feet that had appeared in the gap instantly came to a halt.

“Chuckle, chuckle…”

A weird laugh escaped the Bird Zombie’s mouth as it slowly shifted its steps, turning towards the zombie.

To the Bird Zombie, a common zombie was no different from an ant.

Yet the audacity of this insignificant ant to challenge it activated its killing instinct immediately.

Those purple eyes locked onto the zombie, and with a flick of its fingers, it began to move.

Being stared at with such a gaze, Ling Mo felt a wave of relief wash over him.

The attention had been diverted!

Bang!

The Bird Zombie leaned slightly forward, its foot tapping the ground before it charged towards the common zombie.

Its movements were somewhat casual; after all, it believed that absolute superiority in strength was more than enough.

No need for any techniques; this pesky insect could be squashed effortlessly.

After dealing with this weakling, it would then find and track down the human!

The Bird Zombie was fast, but with Ling Mo’s current psychic power, he was able to synchronize his neural responses with the actions of his Zombie Puppet.

He had planned this. As soon as the Bird Zombie lifted its heel, he controlled the common zombie to flip over the railing, grabbing it mid-fall to swing back to the lower level.