Chapter 98 – Making a Quick Exit

Ling Mo leaned forward and stared at Tang Xiaoxue. “Tell me more about that superhuman’s situation in detail.”

Although the total area of X City University was quite large, both his and the superhuman’s activity zones were confined to this central region, making it highly probable that they would run into each other.

From the brief descriptions given by Tang Xiaoxue and He Pengpeng, Ling Mo could already surmise that this was an ambitious and potentially ruthless individual. Dealing with such a person required caution.

On another note, Ling Mo was also very curious about this superhuman’s motives. Even if the central region had at most a thousand survivors, gathering them together was a highly risky and challenging task. The death toll during such a movement would be almost incalculable, and even if the remaining people managed to gather, it would be tough to sustain them.

A group of ten to twenty people could still manage to live in one building, but when the number reached hundreds, it would almost certainly turn into a disaster!

The superhuman must be aware of this. So what exactly was he planning?

Ling Mo had already realized the terrifying power of superhumans during his last encounter with Lin Luanqiu. If Lin Luanqiu hadn’t been severely ill, Ling Mo would have been injured for sure in that sudden confrontation.

Now, although he knew that Ye Lian could sense superhumans, greatly reducing the risk of being ambushed, the biggest issue in facing a superhuman was not knowing their abilities.

It’s always better to be safe than sorry, so Ling Mo decided that whether or not he would run into this superhuman, he needed to gather information about him first.

“I think he’s… a graduate student from some department, named Wei Junyan,” Tang Xiaoxue said, frowning. “They didn’t deliberately avoid us when talking, but they spoke so quietly that no one dared to get close. However, someone among us knew him and said he was a quiet type… Oh, and he has pretty long hair.”

Ling Mo rolled his eyes and thought to himself, What you’ve said is completely useless. Unwilling to give up, he pressed on, “Did you notice anything about his superpowers when he arrived or left?”

“Well… not really. He moved pretty swiftly, and there was no sound when he walked,” Tang Xiaoxue replied after thinking hard.

This provided some clues… swift movements and silent footsteps. This was quite similar to Ye Lian. Could it be that, like Ye Lian, he specialized in extreme speed?

If that were the case, there wouldn’t be much to worry about. While he might be fast and good at ambushes, Ye Lian’s ability to sense superhumans in advance could completely counteract that.

Although Ling Mo’s weakness was close combat, his Psychic Power had already reached a certain level. While he couldn’t control humans, he could distort their vision and affect their judgment using Psychic Power. Furthermore, with more improvement, it might even be possible to directly harm people with Psychic Power. However, reaching that level would take an unspecified amount of time.

As Ling Mo was lost in thought, he suddenly looked up and caught a glimpse of an unusual expression on Lin Luanqiu’s face.

Although Lin Luanqiu immediately trembled and lowered her head, Ling Mo had seen it clearly.

Judging by the faint trace of disgust in her eyes, she seemed to know Wei Junyan quite well.

Lin Luanqiu had mentioned this superhuman when they first met, but she had only briefly touched on it.

At that time, Ling Mo was somewhat curious, but he thought the chances of encountering him were slim. Besides, if Lin Luanqiu was reluctant to talk about it, what she said might not be entirely truthful, so he figured it was better not to listen.

But now, it seemed that there must have been some interaction between the two of them. It’s not unlikely, considering they were the only two superhumans at X City University, and Wei Junyan was clearly actively moving around. Seeking out Lin Luanqiu would be normal.

However, judging by Lin Luanqiu’s reaction, she still seemed unwilling to talk about Wei Junyan…

Upon learning that another superhuman was active nearby, Ling Mo and Tang Xiaoxue lost much of their interest in bargaining.

Ling Mo thought to himself that if he traded some food for three first aid kits from Tang Xiaoxue, it would be enough to last about a month, even if they got injured every day.

With that much time, Ling Mo could clear out the Mutation Zombies and even the Advanced Zombies at X City University. By then, Ye Lian might advance to the level of an Advanced Zombie, and her true consciousness would become more rational. The female Advanced Zombie had left a deep impression on Ling Mo; she clearly already had some self-judgment abilities.

As for Xia Na’s evolution… her situation was quite unique, and Ling Mo couldn’t predict how she would turn out. However, it seemed to be developing in a positive direction.

This outcome thrilled Tang Xiaoxue. He had initially thought that Ling Mo would take all the first aid kits, leaving him with nothing to report back. But now, although Ling Mo took most of them, he left some behind.

Moreover, the amount of food used for the trade was substantial, enough to feed them for several days.

Tang Xiaoxue thought that while Ling Mo wasn’t exactly a good person and his actions carried a hint of coercion, in this morally collapsed world, Ling Mo’s willingness to trade fairly for the medical supplies was quite rare.

Besides, they wouldn’t have been able to use those supplies themselves; they would have had to hand them all over to that scumbag couple. When they first found the supplies, if Tang Xiaoxue hadn’t strongly advised against it, He Pengpeng would have mixed some zombie blood into the medical liquids.

In this sense, while Ling Mo didn’t seem very compassionate, he at least had some bottom line principles. Knowing Ling Mo’s limits, Tang Xiaoxue’s fear diminished significantly.

Once the trade was completed, Tang Xiaoxue and He Pengpeng started stuffing food into their mouths like starving ghosts.

But to avoid getting zombie blood on themselves, they had to stretch their necks awkwardly, which looked quite comical.

Ling Mo, with a faint smile, turned back to look at Lin Luanqiu on the bed.

However, before Ling Mo could speak, Lin Luanqiu took the initiative and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll draw a map of the nearby routes and the areas with the highest concentration of zombies.”

Though she pressed her lips together tightly after she spoke, Ling Mo still caught a hint of melancholy in her eyes. This tone made Ling Mo feel oddly nostalgic, as if they had gone back to when they first met.

“By the way, what are your plans for the future?” Ling Mo wanted to ask her about Wei Junyan, but seeing her expression, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly and asked this instead.

Lin Luanqiu glanced at him, then at Ye Lian and Xia Na, and countered, “What about you?”

“Well,” Ling Mo smiled and said, “I’ll survive with them, no matter how this world turns out.”

Lin Luanqiu’s eyes suddenly took on a strange expression. She looked deeply at Ling Mo, opened her mouth as if to say something, but then fell silent. It seemed like there was something she wanted to say but couldn’t bring herself to.

After a long pause, she said somewhat gloomily, “I’m not quite sure. I want to find my family, but I don’t have the strength to do it alone. I left the university to see what the outside world was like, to understand the situation in the city. Most importantly, I wanted to see if there would be any rescue.” She paused and looked at Ling Mo expectantly, “Have you ever thought about looking for a rescue team?”

Ling Mo was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head, “I haven’t planned on that. The situation in the city is too complicated. Even if there is a rescue team, it would be more feasible for them to settle down and then search for survivors. Ordinary people don’t have the means to look for them. Plus, with the dense buildings in the city, it wouldn’t be easy for a rescue team to search thoroughly.”

Ling Mo wasn’t very optimistic about the rescue Lin Luanqiu hoped for. The virus was highly contagious, it broke out suddenly without any warning, leaving no time for emergency measures.

While total annihilation was unlikely, by the time the authorities could regroup, establish so-called safe zones, and start searching for survivors, a significant amount of time would have passed.

During this period, it was indeed the darkest time for the survivors, as they had to rely on themselves to get through.

Even superhumans like Lin Luanqiu had stumbled, so how could ordinary people possibly find rescue by their own strength?

After hearing Ling Mo’s words, Lin Luanqiu’s expression didn’t change much. She smiled and said, “I’ve thought about all of this. One step at a time.”

Silence fell between them. Now that they had reached the school hospital, it seemed her life was no longer in immediate danger, but their transaction had come to an end.

From what Lin Luanqiu had just said, it was clear she wanted him to stay. However, their paths were different. Ling Mo, with two mutated zombies, was never going to seek out human settlements actively.

Parting meant saying goodbye, but how could Ling Mo tell a girl still lying in a hospital bed, “You stay here, I’ll be leaving with my girlfriends tomorrow…”? He couldn’t bring himself to say that.

And yet, Lin Luanqiu showed no intention of saying anything herself…

“Get some rest. We need to regroup as well. We can talk more in the morning. Sleep well. We’ll be in the next room, just call if you need anything.”

Seeing Ling Mo pick up his backpack and head out, Lin Luanqiu was initially taken aback. Then she couldn’t help but smile, though her eyes held a strange look amidst that smile…