Chapter 678: Built-In Scent Concealer
Crack!
In the instant it hit the ground, a sharp sound emanated from the Zombie Puppet’s shoulder.
The flurry of actions just now had pushed this Zombie beyond its limits.
Even a Zombie can exhibit adverse reactions when overexerted.
But to contend with the Bird Zombie, Ling Mo had to keep manipulating the Zombie Puppet, maintaining its frantic sprint forward.
“If this keeps up, the Zombie Puppet’s body won’t last long… I need to shake it off before then,” Ling Mo thought as he slowly edged toward the elevator door.
When he maneuvered to a spot where he could see the Bird Zombie, he immediately stopped cautiously.
The Bird Zombie was standing behind the railing, seemingly staring in shock below.
A Zombie actually running away during a challenge—this was a first for it…
“Really… just ran away like that?”
The Bird Zombie muttered to itself, still looking puzzled.
As soon as it spoke, a dark shadow suddenly flew up from below.
Originally, this thing wouldn’t have hit it, but out of reflex, the Bird Zombie swatted at it.
Splat!
A large ma.s.s of messy liquid, mixed with scattered plastic shards, splattered all over the Bird Zombie’s face.
“What is this?” the Bird Zombie shouted while wiping its face.
It had no concept of an electric kettle, but the feeling of being mocked successfully ignited its fury.
“Vile! Ugly… and that thing’s kin!”
The Bird Zombie cursed with the most vicious words it could think of, then mimicked the Zombie Puppet’s movements and jumped down.
Though inexperienced, it managed to hook its toes onto the railing of the lower level and swung itself in, thanks to its wings.
Ahead, the Zombie Puppet was still sprinting wildly.
“Just threw something at me, and now it’s so far ahead?” The Bird Zombie’s intelligence served it well for a moment, but after 0.1 seconds of thought with no answer, it immediately discarded the question.
“Whew!”
Ling Mo leaned against the elevator, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Under the heavy strain of his psychic power, controlling the tentacles to find objects to throw was quite challenging for Ling Mo.
Normally, when fully energized, Ling Mo could have used the kettle to smash the Bird Zombie’s head.
But now, exhausted and also manipulating a Zombie Puppet, being able to throw it at all was already commendable.
The fact that it was still filled with water was an unexpected bonus.
“Consider it a freebie…” Ling Mo thought to himself as he s.h.i.+fted his focus back to the Zombie Puppet.
The Bird Zombie, burning with rage, immediately gave chase upon spotting the Zombie Puppet.
In this setting, it had lost its ability to glide, but with its arms spread wide, they served as sails!
Ling Mo controlled the Zombie Puppet to look back, and he was speechless.
The Bird Zombie, balancing on its toes with arms fully extended, was now moving even faster with the aid of its thin wings!
Given its light weight, it might even pull off some “water strider” trick on a surface…
“A weird-looking zombie trying to act like a martial arts master! You’ve ruined the whole ethereal vibe!”
Ling Mo cursed inwardly, manipulating the Zombie Puppet to grab the nearby railing. freēReadNovelFull.com
Coming to an abrupt stop from high speed, the Zombie Puppet’s feet immediately felt a strong friction, even sparking a bit from the soles.
“Jumping again?” The Bird Zombie widened its eyes, but this time, it was smarter.
Before the Zombie Puppet could leap over, the Bird Zombie gracefully twisted its body, performing an aerial spin to vault over the railing.
Ling Mo’s Zombie Puppet had just grabbed the railing and jumped outside, but seeing this, it spun around and jumped back in.
“Not coming down?” The Bird Zombie waited below for a second, then angrily realized it had been tricked again.
“You don’t deserve to be a zombie!”
The Bird Zombie climbed up furiously, cursing in exasperation.
“Your insults are getting smoother… But at this rate… it won’t hold out until it gets out. Plus, if it goes out and I follow, I’ll be detected the moment I step out…”
With this thought, Ling Mo held his breath again and slowly moved to the gap.
Before stepping out, Ling Mo turned back to look at the hollow-eyed corpse.
“Buddy, I need to borrow this.”
Suppressing his disgust, Ling Mo extended two tentacles to hook a piece of tattered cloth from the corpse.
The cloth, originally stuck to the body with dried blood, fell off at the slightest touch.
However, with the tentacles’ help, the cloth hovered in mid-air, spinning as if caught in the wind.
Ling Mo took a shallow breath and quickly pinched his nose again. “Great, this smell is strong enough to mask my human scent.”
As he carefully squeezed through the gap, the piece of cloth floated out with him.
“Is this like carrying a built-in scent concealer? It’s effective, but so foul-smelling…”
Pinching his nose, Ling Mo cautiously moved toward the spot where he had entered earlier.
His controlled Zombie Puppet was still playing hide-and-seek with the Bird Zombie downstairs. But due to rapidly depleting stamina, the ordinary Zombie was showing signs of fatigue.
As Ling Mo approached the shattered floor-to-ceiling window, the Zombie Puppet, during a downward leap, had its back slashed by the Bird Zombie’s claws.
The deep wound and gus.h.i.+ng blood caused the Zombie Puppet’s already limited stamina to plummet further. Its muscles, long past their limit, began to stiffen, and its ligaments, like overstretched rubber bands on the verge of snapping, emitted creaking sounds.
“The difference between an ordinary Zombie and a King-level Zombie is huge… and the wriggling in the wound…”
Though the ordinary Zombie’s pain nerves were paralyzed, Ling Mo could clearly sense the condition of the Zombie Puppet’s body, even if he couldn’t feel the pain himself.
The wound, though not painful, felt as if countless bugs were burrowing inside, sending a writhing sensation throughout.
And this was definitely not a sign of a Zombie’s regenerative abilities…
“Could it be the Virus?” Thinking of the red mud on the Bird Zombie’s claws, Ling Mo felt a chill run down his spine.
For lower-level Zombies, the Virus concentration in a King-level Zombie must be like a deadly poison, right?
The Zombie Puppet clearly wouldn’t last long, so Ling Mo quickened his pace, trying to approach the gaping hole as silently as possible.
Once he got out, the Bird Zombie, still in the heavily scented area, wouldn’t notice him.
Once the Zombie Puppet was dealt with, Ling Mo had already escaped to a distance. He knew he might be pursued again, but at least he had bought himself some time.
Just as he was nearing the broken hole, his body suddenly froze.
“Ye Lian?!”
He whipped around, wide-eyed, looking back towards the interior of the mall—more precisely, towards the main entrance.
Due to the excessive consumption of his Psychic Power and the urgency of the situation, Ling Mo hadn’t been able to spare any focus to sense Ye Lian and the others’ conditions.
But now that Ye Lian had come this close, their Psychic Link automatically responded.
But this distance… it was too short…
“No, no, no…”
Ling Mo hurriedly sent a mental command, but it was already too late.
Boom!
A loud crash echoed from below the mall, accompanied by large shards of gla.s.s flying out. A somewhat slender figure, illuminated by the incoming sunlight, appeared at the entrance.
As the sound of shattering gla.s.s filled the air, the figure stepped into the mall.
When a Zombie leaned over the railing, howling, the figure immediately raised a long-barreled gun.
Bang!
The bullet exploded on the Zombie’s face, sending blood and chunks of flesh everywhere.
The Zombie was sent flying backward, cras.h.i.+ng into a large pile of merchandise.
Another loud crash followed, and Ling Mo, upstairs, slapped his forehead.
“Girl, why did you come back…”
Despite his exasperation, Ling Mo couldn’t help but feel a warmth in his heart.
As a Zombie, Ye Lian was acutely aware of her own condition. Resisting a mental command was something unimaginable for her, who was always so obedient.
Her coming here had Ling Mo feeling a mix of emotions.
The commotion Ye Lian caused, along with her unabashed dominant-level Zombie aura, immediately caught the Bird Zombie’s attention.
It turned its head excitedly amidst the chase and let out a strange laugh, “Heh heh heh… here it comes, food is here!”
A surge of anger flared up within Ling Mo.
“d.a.m.n it! It’s now or never!”
Just as Ling Mo was about to step out, he suddenly sensed a ripple from Ye Lian.
He was momentarily stunned, then his eyes widened, and he couldn’t help but show a hint of joy.