Chapter 678 – Built-In Scent Concealer

Snap!

The moment it landed, there was a crisp sound from the Zombie Puppet’s shoulder.

The series of actions just now had exceeded the limits of what this Zombie could endure.

Even Zombies would display some adverse reactions when overexerted.

But to contend with the Bird Zombie, Ling Mo had to control the Zombie Puppet and keep it sprinting forward at such a speed.

“If this continues, the Zombie Puppet’s body will collapse soon… I have to shake it off before then.” Ling Mo thought as he slowly edged towards the elevator door.

When he moved to an angle where he could see the Bird Zombie, he immediately stopped carefully.

The Bird Zombie was standing behind the railing, seemingly staring down in shock.

A Zombie actually running away during a challenge was something it had never encountered before…

“It actually… just ran away?”

The Bird Zombie muttered to itself, still seemingly in disbelief.

Just as it finished speaking, a Dark Shadow suddenly shot up from below.

Originally, this thing wasn’t going to hit it, but out of reflex, the Bird Zombie slapped it aside.

Splat!

A mess of liquid, mixed with scattered plastic shards, splattered all over the Bird Zombie’s face.

“What is this?” the Bird Zombie shouted as it wiped its face.

It had clearly no concept of an electric kettle, but the feeling of being messed with successfully triggered its anger.

“Low-level! Ugly… humans!”

The Bird Zombie cursed using the most vicious words it could think of while mimicking the Zombie Puppet’s movements and flipping downwards.

Although it was inexperienced, it managed to use its wings to barely hook its toes onto the railing of the lower floor and swung itself in.

Ahead was the Zombie Puppet, still madly sprinting.

“Just threw something at me, and now it’s run so far already?” The Bird Zombie’s intelligence finally came into play, but after thinking for 0.1 seconds without an answer, it immediately cast the question aside.

“Whew!”

Ling Mo leaned inside the elevator, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

It was quite challenging for Ling Mo to exhaust a significant amount of psychic power while controlling his tentacle to find objects to throw.

Under normal circumstances, when he was full of energy, Ling Mo could have smashed the Bird Zombie’s head with that kettle.

But now he was utterly exhausted, and with the additional effort of controlling a Zombie Puppet, managing to even throw it was already quite an achievement.

However, the fact that the kettle was filled with water turned out to be an unexpected bonus.

“Consider it a freebie…” Ling Mo thought to himself, then shifted his focus back to the Zombie Puppet.

The Bird Zombie, consumed with rage, saw the Zombie Puppet and immediately gave chase.

In this environment, it lost its gliding capability, but when it spread its arms, they acted like sails.

Ling Mo turned to look back through the eyes of the Zombie Puppet and was momentarily speechless.

The Bird Zombie was tiptoeing, arms fully extended, and with the help of its thin wings, its speed had increased considerably!

Given its light weight, it could probably even play “water strider” on a lake…

“A weirdly shaped Zombie pretending to be a martial arts master! You’ve ruined the tranquil and otherworldly grace!” Ling Mo cursed inwardly while controlling the Zombie Puppet to grab the nearby railing.

Abruptly braking at high speed, the Zombie Puppet’s feet experienced intense friction, even sparking a bit.

“Jumping again?” The Bird Zombie’s eyes widened, learning from last time.

Before the Zombie Puppet could flip over, it gracefully twisted its body, executing a mid-air spin to leap over the railing.

Ling Mo’s Zombie Puppet had just grabbed the railing and jumped outside, but seeing this, it turned around and jumped back in.

“Why didn’t it come down?” The Bird Zombie waited below for a second before irritably realizing it had been tricked again.

“You don’t even deserve to be a Zombie!”

The Bird Zombie screamed in frustration, climbing back up while cursing angrily.

“You’re getting better at cursing… But at this rate… it won’t hold up until it gets out. And even if it did, as soon as I step out, I’d be smelled…”

Thinking of this, Ling Mo held his breath again and slowly moved toward the crevice.

Before stepping out, Ling Mo looked back at the hollow-eyed corpse.

“Hey buddy, borrowing this for a bit.”

Suppressing his disgust, he extended two tentacles to hook a piece of torn cloth from the corpse.

The cloth, originally stuck to the body by dried blood, fell off with a light touch.

However, with the tentacles in play, the rag hovered mid-air as if twirling in the wind instead of dropping to the ground.

Ling Mo took a shallow breath and quickly pinched his nose. “Perfect, the scent is strong enough to mask my human odor.”

Carefully squeezing out through the crevice, the piece of cloth floated along behind him.

“So this counts as carrying around a built-in scent concealer? Though it works well, the smell is just unbearable…”

Holding his nose, Ling Mo cautiously made his way back to where he first entered.

His Zombie Puppet was still playing cat and mouse with the Bird Zombie downstairs. However, due to rapid exhaustion, the common zombie was visibly struggling.

By the time Ling Mo reached the shattered floor-to-ceiling window, the Zombie Puppet had gotten scratched on the back by the Bird Zombie’s claws during a downward flip.

The deep gash and gushing blood caused the Puppet’s already limited stamina to plummet further. Its muscles, having reached their limit, began to stiffen, and ligaments, like overextended rubber bands, started to creak in distress.

“The difference between a common zombie and a King level Zombie is substantial… and the movement in this wound…”

Although common zombies’ pain receptors were numb, Ling Mo could still clearly sense the Puppet’s physical condition, though he couldn’t feel the pain.

The wound didn’t hurt but conveyed a wriggling sensation, as if countless bugs were burrowing inside out.

This certainly wasn’t the zombie’s regenerative capacity at work…

“Could it be the virus?” Ling Mo thought, feeling a chill down his spine as he recalled the red slime on the Bird Zombie’s claws.

For lower-level zombies, the virus concentration in a King level Zombie must be like a deadly toxin.

The Zombie Puppet wouldn’t last much longer. Ling Mo quickened his pace, stealthily moving toward the large, broken hole.

Once he was out, the Bird Zombie would remain in the heavily scented area and wouldn’t detect him.

By the time the Puppet was dealt with, Ling Mo would have already fled far away. Although there was a chance of being chased again, at least he had bought himself some time.

Just as Ling Mo was about to reach the broken hole, his body suddenly tensed up.

“Ye Lian?!”

He whipped his head around, eyes wide, staring deeper into the Mall, or more precisely, at the Mall’s main entrance.

Due to excessive psychic power consumption and the ongoing urgent situation, Ling Mo couldn’t divert his attention to sense Ye Lian and the others.

But now that Ye Lian was this close, the psychic link naturally sprang to life.

However, this distance… was too short…

“No, no, no…”

Ling Mo hurriedly issued a psychic command, but it was already too late.

Bang!

A loud crash emanated from below the Mall, accompanied by large chunks of flying glass. A slender figure appeared at the entrance, illuminated by the incoming sunlight.

As the glass shattered to the ground with a clattering sound, the figure walked into the Mall.

When a Zombie leaned over the railing, eyes glowering, the figure immediately raised a long-barreled gun.

Pop!

The bullet accurately exploded on the Zombie’s face, sending blood and bits of flesh splattering around.

The Zombie was flung backward, smashing into a large pile of merchandise.

As more noises ensued, Ling Mo, now upstairs, slapped his forehead with exasperation.

“Ye Lian, why did you come back…”

Still, despite his frustration, warmth surged through Ling Mo’s heart.

As a Zombie, Ye Lian was even more aware of her body’s condition, and resisting a psychic command was an unthinkable act for her, who had always been obedient and sensible.

Her ability to come meant a lot to Ling Mo, filling him with a complex mix of emotions.

The commotion Ye Lian caused, along with her undisguised dominant level Zombie aura, immediately drew the Bird Zombie’s attention.

Excitedly, the Bird Zombie turned its head while chasing, letting out a bizarre laugh, “Hehehehe… it’s here, food has arrived!”

A sudden wave of anger surged through Ling Mo.

“Damn it! I’ll give it my all!”

Just as Ling Mo was about to step out, he sensed a slight ripple emanating from Ye Lian.

First, he was taken aback, then his eyes widened, and gradually, a subtle joy spread across his face.