Chapter 629 – You Can’t Stand Me, Nor Can You Beat Me
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Xu Shuhan slowly edged to the side, her back to another fork in the road.
As she retreated, she freed one hand and waved it lightly toward Ling Mo and the others.
“Goodbye,” she said, corners of her mouth lifting to reveal a smile.
But this smile seemed tinged with bitterness and a touch of helplessness.
Even on the path to survival, everyone must choose their own direction.
For Xu Shuhan, she could no longer continue on the path she had once taken.
“Brother Ling,” Shana turned her head to look at Ling Mo, asking with confusion, “What’s wrong?”
“Huh?” Ling Mo snapped back to reality, shaking his head, “Nothing, just thinking about some people and things…”
“Is that so…” Shana didn’t quite understand. But she still felt that Ling Mo’s eyes seemed different from usual.
Within their depths and brightness, there seemed to be a mix of other emotions.
“Human emotions really are complicated…” she muttered to herself.
As they watched Xu Shuhan leave, Ling Mo’s mental power was locked onto Shen Le.
The young man didn’t show any unusual behavior; he just stood there, grinning at Xu Shuhan.
But the moment Xu Shuhan fully retreated into the fork, about to turn away, Ling Mo caught a glint of coldness in Shen Le’s eyes.
Startled, he blurted out, “Watch out!”
At the same time, a shadow suddenly leaped from a nearby building and, with a “boom,” landed heavily in front of Xu Shuhan.
Although Xu Shuhan had heard Ling Mo’s warning, she had no time to react.
As the shadow hit the ground, she felt a hand grip her throat tightly, her feet leaving the ground as she was thrown violently backward.
It all happened too fast!
Ling Mo’s mental tentacles, controlled by his will, had already reached near the shadow, but the figure deftly dodged to the side.
Gritting his teeth, Ling Mo made the tentacles take a sharp turn, quickly catching up to Xu Shuhan as she was about to crash into a wall, pulling her back just in time.
The moment the mental tentacles touched Xu Shuhan, Ling Mo felt a tremendous force collide with his mental energy, causing an immediate throbbing pain in his temples.
“What kind of monster is this!”
Ling Mo couldn’t help but pale; had he not reacted swiftly, his mental tentacles likely would have been dispersed the instant they made contact.
Relying solely on physical strength to reach this level, even the two dominant level zombies they had encountered earlier seemed slightly inferior to this dark figure.
“Thump!”
Ling Mo extended his arm to catch Xu Shuhan, who was pulled back by the tentacles, and asked, “Are you okay?”
But as soon as he spoke, Ling Mo was struck dumb.
In just the blink of an eye, the once smiling Xu Shuhan had transformed into this state…
Her eyes were wide open, mouth slightly ajar, a faint coughing sound coming from her throat.
On her neck, there were now five b.l.o.o.d.y holes, from which fresh blood continuously flowed, already staining her collar red.
Considering the depth of the wounds alone, they were not fatal, but the familiar scent of the virus emanating from them made Ling Mo’s expression turn extremely grim.
He turned back to see the dark figure slowly emerging from the shadows, its right hand hanging by its side, blood droplets falling steadily from its fingertips onto the ground.
“I…” Xu Shuhan’s strained whisper began, as she looked at Ling Mo, seemingly coming to an understanding, her eyes beginning to redden.
“I don’t want to…” Before she could finish, tears started rolling down from her eyes.
“It’s okay, it’s going to be okay,” Ling Mo quickly rea.s.sured her.
Xu Shuhan stared blankly at Ling Mo, unable to speak any further.
“Feed her the gel,” Ling Mo hesitated for a moment, then handed the limp Xu Shuhan over to Shana, who was by his side.
He couldn’t quite explain why he made that decision; perhaps he just didn’t want to watch her die in front of him. The scent of the virus was potent, vastly different from the concentration found in ordinary zombies. If left unchecked, it wasn’t just infection she faced, but a particularly gruesome death.
Although they had been more like adversaries than friends, Ling Mo wouldn’t stand by and let her die, especially not after the choice she had just made.
Shana looked up at Ling Mo with a hint of surprise and leaned in to sniff, “This isn’t an ordinary virus…”
“Just watch her for now,” Ling Mo instructed before standing up and turning away.
There would be about twenty minutes from infection to outbreak…
Ling Mo’s gaze suddenly became very focused, and even brighter than before.
At this moment, the dark figure stepped out of the building’s shadow, revealing its true form.
Despite being mentally prepared, Ling Mo was still taken aback when he saw it.
He had thought it was a high-level zombie, but… it looked like a human…
A male in his thirties, physically fit with a muscular build, and wearing a clean tracksuit.
Except for the blood-red eyes, he appeared no different from a normal person.
But his gaze, despite the abnormal color, was very different from that of zombies.
Ordinary zombies look at humans with bloodthirsty and brutal eyes, as if sizing up an ant or eyeing a delicious meal.
But his stare at Ling Mo and the group was dull and vacant…
This was somewhat similar to the expression shown by the Zombie Puppets controlled by Ling Mo, but after a mental probe, Ling Mo’s confusion only deepened.
Judging by the chaos of the Mental Sphere, it should be a zombie.
But the strength of its Mental power was something only a human would possess.
In this situation, it seemed that “it” was the only appropriate way to refer to this creature.
“What is this…” Mu Chen finally snapped out of his daze, his eyes wide and voice low with disbelief.
He looked at Xu Shuhan, who was resting in Shana’s arms, with an expression of incredulity.
Everything had happened in the blink of an eye, and he hadn’t even seen it clearly.
But Xu Shuhan’s blood-stained neck was a clear testament to what had occurred.
At this time, Shen Le had already appeared beside the creature, smiling as he looked at them.
The expressions on the faces of Mu Chen and Ling Mo seemed to please him.
“You… you motherf…” Mu Chen’s eyes reddened, and he roared incoherently.
“Shh, don’t draw the zombies here. Let’s not get too excited,” Shen Le said with a smile, placing a finger to his lips. “She brought this upon herself. With my level, dealing with one or two traitors shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
“She never opposed Niepan!” Mu Chen gritted his teeth.
“Hmm…” Shen Le pondered for a moment before shaking his head. “What’s the difference between leaving Niepan now and betrayal? I gave her a chance; she chose the wrong side, took the wrong path, and now she has to live with the consequences. So, what about you? How will you choose?”
He clenched his fist, looking expectantly at Mu Chen.
“You…” Mu Chen’s grip on the knife handle tightened, veins bulging on his forehead, “What’s wrong with leaving? She’s risked her life for Niepan time and again, and you just attack her on a whim?!”
“She did it for herself, didn’t she? If you make the wrong choice, I won’t hesitate to kill you either.”
Shen Le’s indifferent tone and relaxed demeanor greatly angered Mu Chen.
He felt his blood boiling with rage… To h.e.l.l with consequences! I’ll cut this kid down!
Seeing the look in Mu Chen’s eyes, Shen Le immediately understood, but instead of anger, he seemed amused. “Ah, I see now. I do enjoy watching people like you lose their cool. You can’t stand me, yet you can’t beat me… Haha.”
“But…”
Shen Le then turned his gaze to Ling Mo, his interest piqued. “You’re quite impressive. I was hoping to see the traitor smashed into a pulp, ah… but no matter, it’ll be the same if it happens later. Do you think, if everyone turned into a mess of flesh, we could still tell who was who?”
He laughed excitedly, as if he could already envision the scene.
Mu Chen felt a s.h.i.+ver down his spine watching this seemingly “cheerful” young man reveal such a twisted side.
“How about you experience it firsthand?” Ling Mo replied with a cold smirk.
The excitement in Shen Le’s eyes faded slightly. He straightened up, squinting at Ling Mo, and provocatively tilted his chin upward, “You can try, but your chances are slim…”
“Bang!”
Before he could finish, Ling Mo’s mental Tentacles shot out, striking him squarely and sending him flying backward.
“Stop showing off!”