Chapter 633 – The Zombie’s Contempt
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“Come out!” Along with Ling Mo’s shout, countless splatters of blood burst from Number 1 as it dashed forward.
Shen Le, who was hiding close to Number 1, was also driven out. Though unharmed, he was severely rattled by Ling Mo’s commanding “Come out!” and got caught off-guard, taking a hit to the face.
He was simultaneously relieved that his head had dodged in time and trembling with fury.
To think someone dared to mar his face…
But before the young man could retaliate or even utter harsh words, two tentacles shot towards him. The sudden gust of wind they brought frightened him into a quick dodge, immediately seeking cover.
Although Number 1 did not fall easily due to the injury, its movements were slightly hindered.
Li Ya Lin and Ye Lian seized this small opening, the two female zombies working together to corner it in front of Ling Mo, engaging in a struggle.
This time, its defensive capabilities were clearly not as monstrous as before, confirming Ling Mo’s suspicions even more.
The skin toughness and muscle strength of a high-level zombie are not gained through sheer fury but evolved over time as the virus gradually modifies the body.
Even if they are exhausted, such innate attributes do not simply vanish.
Destroying the corpse of a high-level zombie is no easy task, at least for a human without the right tools…
Yet this monster’s condition kept changing, a trait certainly not typical of zombies.
Adding to this the burst of offensive power it had just shown, the answer was almost screaming out in Ling Mo’s mind…
“Hiding won’t help you,” Ling Mo said as he launched dozens of tentacles once more, blasting Shen Le out of hiding again.
Shen Le’s expression turned unsightly as he sought cover once more, but his mood was one of extreme frustration.
Facing an opponent like Ling Mo, he felt somewhat powerless.
To cope with his indiscriminate attacks, Shen Le had intentionally hidden near Ye Lian, thinking Ling Mo would be hesitant to attack, thus rendering his a.s.saults ineffective.
Yet, against all odds, he was still flushed out.
“Idiot, didn’t you know mental power can turn corners?” Ling Mo said with a cold laugh.
Shen Le was so annoyed, his eyes rolled back in exasperation, “Are you using ‘idiot’ as my name now?”
But he knew this was Ling Mo intentionally provoking him to reveal himself or take action. So, anger aside, he still managed to hold back and continued to prowl around, looking for an opportunity.
Mu Chen, curious, asked Shana, “Mental power can turn corners?”
“Common knowledge, okay…” Shana replied with a helpless shake of her head.
“Since when is that common knowledge?” Mu Chen was flabbergasted.
Shana gave him a sidelong glance, somewhat impatiently saying, “Stupid humans… Since your brain can’t turn corners, of course, you wouldn’t understand such common knowledge.”
“…” Mu Chen was stunned for a couple of seconds, then raised his hand to smack his own mouth, “That’s for being a chatterbox…”
Being looked down upon by a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl was depressing enough for Mu Chen, but if he knew he was actually being despised by a zombie, he might have had a breakdown on the spot…
As time ticked by, Number 1’s condition rapidly deteriorated.
Ling Mo was handling the situation more and more easily, and he became more talkative: “Eh, you didn’t run out beyond thirty meters, did you? Is it really okay to just abandon your companion like that? It’s about to get mobbed to death.”
“Young man, where did all that momentum go just now? Ah, I actually admired you for a moment there, being so fearless isn’t easy…”
“Come out, young man, let’s fight to the death. Uh… that sounded too embarra.s.sing, forget I said it.”
“d.a.m.n it, d.a.m.n it, d.a.m.n it!”
Shen Le was driven to the brink of madness by the continuous taunting. He wanted to ignore it but didn’t have the composure to do so.
In fact, he often taunted others himself, and it usually worked very well during battles.
With Number 1’s bravery and his own ability to appear and disappear unpredictably, combined with some sarcastic taunts and threats, the enemy would typically crumble in terror within moments.
But now that he was on the receiving end of his own tactics, he realized just how unbearable it felt!
And as his concentration wavered, he stumbled and inadvertently revealed himself.
“d.a.m.n!”
Shen Le was startled and just as he was about to hide again, he was. .h.i.t head-on in the abdomen by a forceful blow.
A sharp pain surged through him and he was sent flying, landing on the ground with a loud “thud.”
“That’s more like it,” Ling Mo said as he quickly accelerated and chased after him. Two tentacles shot down from above and directly penetrated Shen Le as he struggled to get up.
“Ah!”
Shen Le let out a scream, but his mind was filled with shock.
Why was Ling Mo so fast? If it weren’t for his own decent physical condition, how could he have withstood Number 1…
This was totally unfair. Where did this kind of mental ability user come from?!
However, as Ling Mo swung another tentacle that hit the crouching Shen Le, he suddenly heard a crisp sound.
“Huh?”
After a moment of haziness, Ling Mo realized he had only attacked a trash can…
“An illusion? No, but I was sure that…”
Ling Mo quickly turned his head and after scanning the area, he caught sight of a figure turning a corner some thirty meters away.
Shen Le, clutching his shoulder, was desperately trying to run forward.
And after making eye contact with Ling Mo, although he tried to speed up, he could no longer hide as he had before.
“Planning to abandon Number 1?”
Ling Mo sneered and started running after him.
Shen Le’s heart raced with fear, but with his physical condition and the current situation, how could he outrun Ling Mo?
The only way was to hide as soon as Ling Mo got within thirty meters, then keep running before being discovered…
But Ling Mo clearly wasn’t going to give him that chance. When he was about thirty meters away from Shen Le, several tentacles shot out, tripping Shen Le and sending him tumbling to the ground.
Before Shen Le could get up, he was suddenly dragged backward and in the blink of an eye, Ling Mo had stepped on his back.
Now there was no use in hiding; Shen Le’s face was pale and his body trembled uncontrollably.
Ling Mo crouched down, grabbed him by the collar, and pulled the red-haired young man to his feet.
“You… just kill me…” Shen Le’s lips quivered uncontrollably, and his voice trembled as well.
Ling Mo glanced at Shen Le, then, under Shen Le’s horrified gaze, he reached down to his leg and pulled out a tactical knife.
The gleaming blade flashed in front of Shen Le, and the young man couldn’t take it anymore.
He opened his mouth and screamed, “Don’t kill me! Please, I beg you, don’t kill me!”
“Keep it down…” Ling Mo said, still holding the knife, looking emotionlessly at the screaming Shen Le.
After yelling for a while, Shen Le seemed to realize something and slowly closed his mouth.
His expression was a mix of embarra.s.sment and fear.
“You… you’re not going to kill me?” Shen Le asked, a hint of hope in his voice.
“I need to clear something up,” Ling Mo said.
“It wasn’t me who wanted to kill you. I’m not the one who gave the order; I was just sent to carry it out! If you kill me, more people will come after you. If you let me go, I’ll tell them you’re already dead. How about that?” Shen Le spoke hastily.
Ling Mo stared at him for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Was it just you and Number 1 who came?”
Shen Le’s expression froze for a second, but as Ling Mo’s knife began to move again, he quickly shook his head and said, “We came quickly… it was just me and Number 1.”
“So Number 1 is indeed quite fast… Were you so eager to kill us to take the credit?” Ling Mo asked with a smile.
Shen Le didn’t reply this time; that was something he dared not answer.
As Ling Mo dragged him back the way they came, he asked, “Actually, that’s not what I want to know.”
“What?” Shen Le was stunned. If he didn’t want to know that, then what did he want to know?
And… wait, wasn’t he inadvertently spilling all the information himself?
“What exactly is Number 1?” Ling Mo turned his head to look deeply at Shen Le.
Shen Le’s face changed color again, he opened his mouth and slowly shook his head, “It’s… a zombie… ah!”
Ling Mo remained still, but another b.l.o.o.d.y hole appeared on Shen Le’s shoulder.
“My patience is limited,” Ling Mo said coldly.
In reality, it was time that was limited…
The intense fight that had just taken place had already lasted over ten minutes. And the next ten minutes could very well be Xu Shuhan’s last moments of clarity.
The only reason Ling Mo spared Shen Le for the moment was to find out the true nature of Number 1.
“It…” Shen Le was dumbfounded; he could see in Ling Mo’s eyes not a probing question, but certainty.
Ling Mo knew it wasn’t a zombie…
But how could he know that?!
Those eyes, that appearance, it looked every bit the part of a zombie!
Even the virus experts at headquarters wouldn’t be able to tell without a thorough dissection of Number 1.
Moreover… in reality, Number 1 had become almost indistinguishable from the zombies…
But he never even considered Xu Shuhan, because in his mind, there was no way Xu Shuhan could have survived.
Maybe Ling Mo’s inquiry about Number 1 was just out of curiosity?
“Don’t beat around the bush,” Ling Mo said, slightly frowning.
Although Ling Mo wasn’t threatening him, the sharp pain from his wound was a clear reminder to Shen Le.
He was extremely fearful. Dealing with someone like Ling Mo was terrifying because he never knew when Ling Mo might suddenly resort to torture. It was impossible to gauge how to handle him…
“You… you can’t kill me…” Shen Le said, his voice trembling.
“Conditions?” Ling Mo squinted.
Shen Le nodded vigorously, then quickly added, “That Mu guy, he won’t be in trouble either. I can let him go, just say he’s dead too…”
“Wait, stop. That’s useless. Talk about Number 1 first,” Ling Mo said.
Shen Le wanted to hold out a little longer, but the cold light in Ling Mo’s eyes made him swallow the words that had reached his lips.
If he didn’t speak now, he might die immediately. He couldn’t be sure whether Ling Mo cared about Mu Chen’s wellbeing or not, but judging from his current expression, it seemed he cared very little…