Chapter 652 – Close Your Eyes if You’re Looking for Trouble
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No sooner had the words left his mouth than people began emerging from the buildings on both sides.
Ling Mo silently counted them; together with Song Jinsen, there were exactly nine people guarding this spot.
“Quite the lineup,” Ling Mo commented, his expression unchanged.
“We’ve been waiting here especially for you,” Song Jinsen said with a confident smile, as if he held all the winning cards.
Ling Mo thought for a moment, then asked, “The front and back entrances—did you arrange them on purpose?”
Song Jinsen didn’t bother to hide it: “Not entirely. I brought only a few people; this branch doesn’t have that many who can be of use. Rather than spread our forces thin at the doors and risk you escaping, it’s better to wait like this for the rabbit to come to us. After all, whether you take the front or back door, you’d have to pa.s.s by here.” After saying this, he even winked at Ling Mo, adding, “See, I guessed right.”
This man’s speech exuded an air of superiority, as if he was on top of the situation, which even Mu Chen, hiding behind the wall, found infuriating.
“d.a.m.n! So what if it’s the headquarters!” Mu Chen cursed under his breath.
“Quiet,” Shana gave him a sharp look, “We’ll wait for Ling Mo’s plan.”
As they spoke, Ling Mo opened his mouth again, responding to Song Jinsen coolly: “However, Ai Feng didn’t antic.i.p.ate that you wouldn’t save him.”
“Heh…” Song Jinsen’s smile stiffened momentarily, but he quickly regained his composure, “If he’s meant to survive, he’ll escape even with serious injuries. Besides, we’ve only just arrived. No one knows the situation inside the building; rus.h.i.+ng in recklessly could be suicidal.”
“And what about those guarding the doors? Your plan sounds good, but in reality, aren’t they just bait meant to be sacrificed?” Ling Mo continued evenly, “What I’m curious about is, why the members from the headquarters who came here to ‘observe,’ are so easily sacrificed?”
“What are you talking about?”
This time Song Jinsen couldn’t muster a smile. He hadn’t expected Ling Mo to think so deeply in such a short time.
However, after a glance at the people behind him, Song Jinsen took a deep drag on his cigarette and said, “What headquarters members? They’re just reservists…”
“You’re admitting it then,” Ling Mo shook his head and said.
Song Jinsen clenched his teeth, and after a while managed to force out, “Enough with the pointless talk!”
Mu Chen, unable to hold back, whispered, “He’s not usually this talkative! But saying ‘easily sacrificed’ isn’t right, considering they were actually taken down by zombies…”
“Shut… shut… what was it again?” Li Ya Lin also leaned closer to Shana, whispering while sneakily peering around.
“It’s ‘shut up’, Senior Sister,” Shana quietly corrected her.
Mu Chen felt like crying; life was just too hard…
Although Ling Mo hadn’t pried out much, Song Jinsen really didn’t want to keep bantering with him.
What kind of probing was this?! It was clearly just exposing his weaknesses!
And the words he spoke, every one of them was filled with malice, and at first listen, they seemed to make a lot of sense.
Whether or not those were Song Jinsen’s true intentions, they could easily convince the other eight people they were true!
Song Jinsen didn’t want to idle chat with Ling Mo any longer. With a wave of his hand, he simply commanded, “Attack.”
The eight men exchanged glances, a few hesitated for a moment, but still, the look of ferocity flashed in their eyes.
“Go on, this is a great opportunity to make a big achievement.”
“If we don’t take action, we can’t even go back to the branch.”
“d.a.m.n, is there even a branch left?”
The consequences of Ling Mo’s actions that night were severe. Not only did he destroy Niepan headquarters’ important experimental products and their guides, but he also killed the branch leaders and the core members.
From the moment Number 0 died, the Niepan Branch in Dongming City had lost its foundation to continue existing. Ling Mo had wiped out the essence of this branch, and what remained were just people who had been living off it.
To say they weren’t intimidated would be a lie.
But for these people present, fighting it out meant they could continue living a relatively comfortable life at headquarters, something they wouldn’t have dared to dream of before.
However, if they didn’t fight, they would have to return to the ruins and live under the constant threat of zombies.
After a slight hesitation, these men looked at Ling Mo again, their eyes now filled with murderous intent.
Ling Mo remained calm, his gaze sweeping over the group that was slowly converging on him.
Simultaneously, a flurry of mental commands was sent out swiftly.
“There’s someone with him, be careful,” one of the members whispered.
“If they don’t dare to come out, ignore them for now. Kill him and everything falls into our hands,” another spoke.
Most of the Niepan members were psychics, and their way of coordinating in battle was quite different from those with military backgrounds.
They tended to gather in small groups and waited cautiously for the right moment.
Song Jinsen, with a cigarette between his teeth, felt somewhat helpless.
His bold shout had not inspired anyone to really charge forward.
He didn’t need Ling Mo’s mockery to feel embarra.s.sed; he was already there.
These people wanted to achieve something, but they didn’t want to die for it.
“I guess I have to take the lead! The quality of people from the branch really is lacking. I thought Ai Feng would amount to something, but he turned out to be a disappointment as well. Even Shen Le just knows how to cause me trouble. If I don’t take this guy down, there’s no point in going back,” Song Jinsen murmured to himself, flipping open his jacket to pull out two guns from behind his waist.
His posture, cigarette in mouth and guns in hand, was das.h.i.+ng, but it still failed to boost morale.
Everyone was watching him, making Song Jinsen wonder if Ling Mo’s “nonsense” had indeed had some effect…
“A bunch of idiots!”
Song Jinsen’s facial muscles twitched as he raised both hands simultaneously, his eyes narrowing sharply: “You’re not going to leave here alive today!”
The faint noise of the silenced pistols being fired was completely drowned out by Song Jinsen’s sudden shout.
Most people need to aim when they shoot, but Song Jinsen’s hands had just been raised when he fired.
In such a situation, even those on high alert could likely be hit.
However, as Song Jinsen was shouting, he realized that Ling Mo had already disappeared from his original spot.
A series of bullets. .h.i.t the ground, creating a soft sound and sparking a few embers.
“Where did he go!”
Song Jinsen’s eyes quickly swept around, but then he suddenly heard a m.u.f.fled grunt from behind.
Behind a utility pole, a mental ability user suddenly became dazed. Moments later, a bullet hole appeared in his knee, and he was now bending his leg with a painful expression.
“Where is he!”
As Song Jinsen cursed to himself for their stupidity, he quickly turned around, searching for Ling Mo: “Stay alert, this must be visual deception or some kind of mental suggestion!”
The mental ability user was in too much pain for it to be an illusion, so when Song Jinsen shouted, he actually eliminated that possibility.
But as soon as his words faded, another mental ability user let out a cry of agony.
This individual was also a mental power user but couldn’t keep up with Ling Mo. Taking Song Jinsen’s words to heart, he thought it made sense and promptly closed his eyes.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he shut his eyes, a surge of mental energy rushed toward him.
The mental ability user was secretly pleased, thinking this tactic was indeed effective and immediately concentrated his mental power to counter it.
Even if he couldn’t kill Ling Mo, playing a restraining role would still be valuable!
Besides, once he engaged in combat, credit was bound to come his way; all he needed to do next was focus on survival.
Could Ling Mo really take down so many mental ability users?
But to his surprise, when the mental energy reached him, it suddenly vanished, and instead, a burning pain spread across his face.
He screamed in agony, quickly opening his eyes to cover his cheek, which was now covered in blood.
Another mental ability user nearby turned pale, but he reacted quickly. Feeling a hint of danger approaching, he immediately dodged to the side.
If not for his quick response, he and the injured mental ability user would have been skewered together.
“So he was aiming for a two-for-one shot!” the mental ability user thought to himself, breaking into a cold sweat.
“This madman…” Song Jinsen gritted his teeth. From Ling Mo’s attacks, it was clear that in his current state, he could only carry out these hara.s.sment-type strikes.
Although no one had died, he had dealt a fierce blow to the morale of those who were already fearful of him.
In the process, he had also slapped Song Jinsen’s face metaphorically.
After the mental power user was injured, everyone, including Song Jinsen, looked at him with a complex expression that clearly said, “Visual deception my foot!”