âWhat on earth is this thing?â
Ling Mo pinched the âjellyfish,â inquiring.
It was somewhat soft, icy to the touch, and although it smelled similar to Mucus, there did not seem to be any visible similarities in shape.
âIs this what you all came here for?â Not waiting for a response, Ling Mo turned his attention to Yu Shiran.
Under Ling Moâs stare, Yu Shiranâs expression became awkward.
Even though she hadnât been scolded nor truly punished, her heart just couldnât shake off the discomfort.
Yu Shiran glanced down at her chest, perplexed. Perhaps this stifling sensation had nothing to do with physical exhaustionâ¦
But⦠it was indeed a strange feeling.
Sheâd never felt this way with Ban Yue.
And she had not anticipated this sensation when they decided on their course of action.
Betraying a teammate? Whatâs the big deal?
They werenât spouses, and besides, it wasnât her who laid hands on Xiao Bai!
But⦠why did she feel so lowered by Ling Moâs gaze?
And after a failed escape, shouldnât she be angry?
Yet, why did she find herself not really wanting to devour Black Silk once she had calmed down a bit?
Such a complex feeling.
Desperately wanting to run away, to be as far as possible from this human and these degenerate peers, wasnât that her strongest desire?
Zombie loli was bewildered; she suddenly realized that at least one thing the Sausage Humans said seemed not entirely wrong.
She didnât even know what she was thinking anymore.
This is not how a zombieâs mind should work! A zombieâs thoughts are supposed to be simpler, more straightforward!
Yu Shiran was inwardly frustratedâ¦
âHey, Iâm talking to you.â Ling Mo, still holding the âjellyfish,â tapped it against Yu Shiranâs head.
âAhâ¦â Yu Shiran snapped back to reality, replying awkwardly, âYesâ¦â
âSo what exactly is this?â Ling Mo asked.
âIâm not sure⦠it might be some kind of baby productâ¦â Yu Shiranâs gaze shifted to the juvenile zombie that Shana was holding.
Ling Mo followed her gaze and was momentarily taken aback.
He looked down at the jellyfish in his hand, then back at the juvenile zombie, his face a mix of confusion as he asked, âYou didnât get this from him, did you?â
âMm⦠It was also him that led us to discover this place. He made too much noise while hunting outsideâ¦â Yu Shiran replied softly.
âHaâ¦â Ling Moâs expression suddenly took on a meaningful depth.
After pondering for a few seconds, he suddenly burst out, âItâs clearly because you all didnât follow instructions and wandered around everywhere! How else could you have stumbled upon this?â
But since it had already happened, after roaring a couple of sentences, Ling Mo returned his focus to the jellyfish in his hand.
âSo, whatâs it used for? Feeding milk?â
Seeing Ling Mo looking at her again, Yu Shiran conscientiously answered, âIâm not very sureâ¦â
ââ¦â
âDonât hit me! I just said Iâm not sure, not that I donât know anything at all.â Yu Shiran quickly dodged back. She was now completely unrestricted, but in this situation, she temporarily had no thoughts of running away again.
âThat little monsterâ¦â Yu Shiran pointed at the juvenile zombie and said, âHe has a straw in his mouth, did you know that?â
âOf courseâ¦â Ling Mo nodded.
As Yu Shiran recalled, she continued, âHis straw can not only inject his own virus into the bodies of other zombies, but it can also extract something from themâ¦â
âWait, extract what?â Ling Mo immediately frowned.
Yu Shiran shook her head blankly, âI donât know that. When I first saw him, he was crawling on the head of another zombie. I thought at first that it wasâ¦â
âA zombie mother and child?â Ling Mo interjected.
âMmâ¦â Yu Shiran nodded, her expression turning strange and her voice even lower, âBut after watching for a while, I realized it was not the case at all. He was inserting his straw into that zombieâs head, sucking something. After he finished, that other zombie didnât even die.â
âThen, he put everything he sucked out into this thing.â Yu Shiranâs eyes burned with intensity as she gazed at the jellyfish and added, âThis used to be on top of his headâ¦â
âWhat?â Ling Mo held the jellyfish, his expression blank.
âWe pulled it off when we ambushed him, and heâs been chasing us ever since, leaving this thing in the parking lot. After thatâ¦â
âYou traded Xiao Bai, leaving it alone to face so many zombies while you took the chance to retrieve this?â Ling Mo interrupted her.
Yu Shiran lowered her eyelids and nodded, twisting her hands together.
Ling Mo looked at the zombie loli for a while, then sighed softly and stuffed the jellyfish into his bag, âSenior Sister is probably done by now, we should leave this place quickly.â
âBut Xiao Baiâ¦â Yu Shiran pointed at Xiao Bai.
However, her words were cut off as her eyes widened in shock.
The mutated panda, which had appeared half-dead moments before, suddenly flipped over and climbed to its feet.
Although it didnât seem fully recovered, it was a completely different creature compared to its previous state.
âYou, you, youâ¦â Yu Shiran was so shocked she couldnât close her mouth.
Ling Mo reached out and rubbed the head of the mutated panda, saying, âI do have some medicines here. Even though it got infected, a bit of strength recovery is still possible.â
âThat⦠just nowâ¦â Yu Shiran appeared completely stunned.
âIt was just to lure you in.â Ling Mo adjusted his backpack strap and added.
Before Yu Shiran could respond, Ling Mo continued, âHowever⦠itâs good that you came to rescue Xiao Bai.â
Yu Shiran seemed still somewhat bewildered as she watched Ling Moâs retreating figure.
But she did hear the muffled conversation between Shana and Ling Mo that reached her earsâ
âIf she completely gave up on Xiao Bai, would you have driven her away?â Shana asked.
âHm?â
âDonât be like that, give me a straight answer!â
âHey, Ling Mo!â
After being dazed for a few seconds, Yu Shiran suddenly snapped back to reality and slowly clenched her fists.
âWhy did I go rescue Xiao Bai! I could have been happily driven away!â Yu Shiranâs face was full of regret.
âBlack Silk, shut up! I donât want to talk to you right now! What do you mean âif I could do it all over againâ? If I could do it all over again, I⦠I probably wouldâ¦â
âAnnoying! Donât think just because you can get into my head you can do whatever you want!â
âAh! Donât pinch my face with my own hand!â
â¦
âRight.â Ling Mo suddenly turned to look at Shana and asked, âThe reason Black Silk has become so bizarreâ¦â
ââ¦â
âOkay, letâs change the subject. How smart has it become?â Ling Mo switched to a question that he found quite perplexing.
After pondering for a moment, Shana said, âSmart enough to curse people out.â
âLike?â Ling Mo was instantly intrigued.
âWoof!â Shana softly imitated, and with a pair of pitiful eyes stared at Ling Mo, almost as if she was ready to reach out a paw.
âAlthough thatâs cute⦠what does it mean?â Ling Mo asked, puzzled.
âWhat a bunch of foolish humans. Just act a bit pitiful in appearance and you can completely fool them⦠Hehehehe.â
Shanaâs expression instantly turned grim, and her tone became weirdly sing-song, especially jarring while she maintained that pitiable look. The stark contrast made it all the more eerie.
Ling Mo had a conflicted stare with Shana for a while, moved his lips, and then managed to say, âThatâs loaded with meaning.â
âRight?! â¦Actually, itâs all just chatter.â Shanaâs expression quickly returned to normal within a second, and as she shook her head in reflection, she started walking forward.
âIs⦠that so?â
Ling Mo frowned, turned his head, and shone his flashlight on Yu Shiranâs neck again.
That scarf⦠could it actually be a chatterbox?
â¦
Two minutes later, Ling Mo and his group saw the exit.
They must be at least a couple of streets away from the cell phone mall by now. Mu Chen and the others wouldnât be able to find this place.
âBut⦠we need to give them some kind of signal.â
Ling Mo reached into his bag and pulled out a small, round object, then took the lead crawling out through the exit.