Chapter 76 – Warm Fragrance, Soft Jade in His Arms

A few minutes later, Ling Mo and his group emerged from the wide-open doors of the Yin Huang Bar.

Lin Luanqiu and Shi Bin walked at the back. Despite her weakened condition, Lin Luanqiu insisted on walking by herself, only allowing Shi Bin to stay close in case of any unexpected situations that might slow Ling Mo down.

Ling Mo was quite pleased with this arrangement. Being overly strong-willed or overly weak were both undesirable traits.

Autumn had arrived, and dawn was coming later and later. Although the sky was only slightly bright, it was probably already six or seven o’clock.

However, the early morning wind was still very cold. Ling Mo, whose physical condition had improved several times, didn’t seem to mind, but Shi Bin and Lin Luanqiu couldn’t help but shiver.

Seeing Ye Lian and Xia Na dressed lightly but seemingly unaffected, Lin Luanqiu couldn’t help but take a few more glances at them.

To have two such strong girls by his side, just how powerful was this Ling Mo? Lin Luanqiu couldn’t help but wonder.

“Which spot did you say we should climb over?” Ling Mo didn’t notice Lin Luanqiu’s gaze; he was frowning as he examined the high wall.

Lin Luanqiu glanced deeper into Red Light Street and said, “Let’s go from the same spot we escaped from last time. Although we’ll have to take a longer route once we’re inside, at least the road is relatively safe. By the way, could you return the Sharpening Stick to Shi Bin? It was originally my weapon…”

“Did you sharpen this yourself? You must be very patient.” The Sharpening Stick had remained in Ling Mo’s possession ever since it was confiscated, but it was indeed of little use to him.

“Don’t worry, I’m not here to die alongside you. At the very least, I won’t do anything that would lead to my own death. Right, Shi Bin?” Lin Luanqiu added, then turned to look at Shi Bin.

Shi Bin, having stayed up all night, had reddened eyes and a pale, ashen face. Hearing Lin Luanqiu ask for his weapon back, a flash of anger crossed his eyes, but he had to swallow this frustration.

“Mm!” He grunted heavily in agreement.

Ling Mo thought to himself, “If you really want to die, I don’t mind…” With that thought, he threw the Sharpening Stick directly towards them. Seeing a dark shadow hurtling towards him, Shi Bin was so scared that every hair on his body stood on end, and he quickly stepped back. But as the Sharpening Stick fell straight down, Lin Luanqiu calmly reached out and grabbed the handle, holding it firmly in her hand.

Shi Bin’s face turned beet red from embarrassment. When he angrily looked at Ling Mo, he found that Ling Mo hadn’t even glanced at him.

“Let’s go.”

Ling Mo wasn’t intentionally trying to mess with Shi Bin; it was just a casual move. He adjusted his backpack, twisted his neck, and then started walking in the direction Lin Luanqiu had indicated.

Xia Na and Ye Lian followed closely behind, and after giving Ling Mo a glance, Lin Luanqiu slowly followed as well.

Although Shi Bin’s face was still flushed with embarrassment, no one laughed at him, so he sulkily walked beside Lin Luanqiu, taking the Sharpening Stick from her hand.

On the way, they inevitably encountered a few zombies, but it seemed they had been attracted from elsewhere, as there were blood-stained clothing fragments and relatively fresh human bones on the ground. Even the rain hadn’t washed away the traces.

Ling Mo stepped around a half skull, which still had some flesh not completely gnawed off. Now, it was rotting, with deep-set black holes and a layer of taut skin.

Seeing several zombies, which had been slowly swaying in place, suddenly accelerate towards them, Shi Bin’s face changed drastically, and he quickly moved to block Lin Luanqiu.

But Lin Luanqiu remained calm as she watched Ling Mo’s group. With their strength, dealing with a few zombies was no problem. Besides, Ling Mo was a superhuman.

As the group of zombies charged, Ling Mo took a slow step back, and his Psychic Tentacles were immediately released.

To avoid revealing his ability to control zombies, Ling Mo didn’t use his usual attacking method. Instead, he used his Psychic Tentacle to distort the zombies’ vision. Just as their movements slowed, Ye Lian and Xia Na flanked them from both sides, swiftly taking down four zombies with clean strikes. The remaining zombies, just recovering, were once again affected by Ling Mo, making them stumble and nearly fall.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ye Lian thrust her Curved Knife into one zombie’s Hindbrain, while Xia Na’s Long Knife flashed coldly, leaving a long gash on another zombie’s chest. Only when it fell backward did a fountain of blood spray out.

“So bloody…” Shi Bin’s eyelids twitched as he watched, while Lin Luanqiu’s eyes lit up.

What great teamwork… Two girls with exceptional close combat abilities, and they showed no hesitation in killing zombies, clearly possessing extraordinary mental resilience. Ling Mo’s superpower was obviously psychic, similar to her Bullet Time, both relying on their own Psychic Power. On the surface, their abilities seemed similar. Lin Luanqiu’s Bullet Time could slow down an opponent’s movements in her vision, without actually affecting their movements, meaning this superpower only worked on herself.

However, Ling Mo’s superpower could directly affect the enemies, influencing their movement speed and attack direction.

At first glance, they seemed similar, but Lin Luanqiu felt that Ling Mo’s superpower was much stronger than hers.

If she knew that Ling Mo’s superpower was actually Puppet Control Ability, she would be even more shocked.

“Your superpower is very impressive,” Lin Luanqiu couldn’t help but say.

Ling Mo turned to look at her and smiled, “Actually, your superpower is quite good too. But…” Ling Mo hesitated slightly before continuing, “If it evolves further, it should become even stronger.”

To be honest, Ling Mo wasn’t usually inclined to offer advice to others, but Lin Luanqiu was a girl who genuinely impressed him.

Ling Mo could understand Lin Luanqiu’s determination to survive. She had a Superpower, excellent mental preparation, and good judgment in various situations, yet she still ended up in such a dire situation. Despite being so gravely ill, she hadn’t given up.

Hearing Ling Mo’s words, a strange look flashed in Lin Luanqiu’s eyes, and then she fell into deep thought.

Along the way, there weren’t many Zombies blocking their path, but with so many corpses lying around, it wouldn’t be long before more Zombies were attracted.

After walking a significant distance along Red Light Street, Lin Luanqiu finally spoke up, “It’s from here.”

Ling Mo immediately stopped. The section of the wall Lin Luanqiu pointed to was stained with dark brown blood, which was particularly striking against the white wall.

“This is where someone had their arm torn off by a Zombie, leaving these bloodstains. That classmate didn’t last long after that. Among the bones we saw earlier, some of them probably belonged to him,” Lin Luanqiu said softly, a hint of sadness in her eyes.

Shi Bin also showed a trace of sorrow. It seemed that revisiting this place was quite a psychological shock for both of them.

The wall of X City University wasn’t very high, and the broken glass on top had all been knocked off, presumably by Lin Luanqiu and her group. Ling Mo took a few steps back, then, after a running start, he leaped up, grabbing the top of the wall with both hands and pulling himself up.

He crouched there for a moment, observing. Behind the wall was a small grove, with no immediate signs of Zombies. After jumping down, Ling Mo helped Ye Lian over the wall. Her movements were much more agile than Ling Mo’s; she didn’t even need a running start. With a high jump, she pressed one hand on the wall and gracefully flipped over, landing beside Ling Mo. Her impressive agility left Lin Luanqiu and Shi Bin momentarily stunned. They thought to themselves that this Campus Belle was truly not as she appeared鈥”seemingly delicate, yet surprisingly agile.

However, Xia Na didn’t immediately climb over the wall. Instead, she turned to look at Lin Luanqiu and Shi Bin.

Lin Luanqiu coughed. Given her weakened state, climbing the wall would obviously be difficult for her. But mimicking Ling Mo’s run-up, she managed to jump up, barely grasping the top of the wall before slowly pulling herself over.

As she landed, she stumbled and fell directly toward Ling Mo.

Without thinking, Ling Mo caught her, a faint fragrance immediately filling his nose, causing him to pause for a moment. He hadn’t expected that, despite staying in such a warehouse, she still smelled so nice…

However, he didn’t dwell on it and quickly steadied Lin Luanqiu, asking, “Are you okay?”

This scene was witnessed by Shi Bin, who had just jumped down behind them.

His expression changed dramatically, and he quickly pulled Lin Luanqiu away, glaring at Ling Mo, “What are you doing!”

Ling Mo rolled his eyes, ignoring him. Lin Luanqiu smiled apologetically at Ling Mo, “Thank you.” Then she spoke softly to Shi Bin, “Don’t make a fuss. Ling Mo just helped me; otherwise, I would have fallen.”

After climbing the wall, Lin Luanqiu’s face turned even paler, and her breathing became heavier. Shi Bin glanced at Ling Mo suspiciously but kept his mouth shut.

With Xia Na’s agility, she easily leaped over the wall, landing almost silently. Although her movements weren’t as smooth as the more Advanced Zombie, Ye Lian, they were still more graceful than Ling Mo’s.

During this time, Ling Mo had realized that no matter how much he improved his physical abilities, he would at most be stronger than an average person. It would be very difficult to reach a level where he could directly confront an Advanced Zombie. His strength lay in his Psychic Power, and with Ye Lian and Xia Na, these two female Zombies complementing him, he could freely use his Puppet Control Ability in battle without worrying about close-quarters combat.

This was the correct way to use the Puppet Control Ability: to control Zombie Puppets to compensate for his close-quarters weaknesses while maximizing his powerful Psychic Power.

However, improving his physical abilities wasn’t the wrong direction either. After all, without sufficient stamina, relying solely on his Psychic Power would be disadvantageous, and he still needed some self-defense capabilities.