Ling Mo fiddled with his cell phone for a moment and quickly found the built-in offline map pack.
âThereâs no marking on thisâ¦â Ling Mo muttered as he flipped through the maps.
âHere, let me see,â Shana said, taking the phone from him, âHavenât you used this kind of app before?â
Ling Mo felt a bit embarrassed. âI havenât changed my phone in years.â
âPhones with offline maps typically come with a navigation system. Although they wonât have the latest traffic updates, getting a general sense of the route isnât a problem,â Shana explained, âLook, once you open the navigation, you can see the recordsâ¦â
âYou handle it.â Ling Mo scratched his head.
Shana looked up at him and shook her head, âYou really are a homebodyâ¦â
âItâs for work!â Ling Mo insisted.
âAlright,â Shana ignored his explanation and handed the phone back to him, âYou can see that before reaching Dongming City, he passed through Xinlan Town, Heishui Cityâ¦â
âWait, Xinlan?â Ling Mo quickly looked at the phone screen and pointed to a black dot near Xinlan Town, âIsnât that Cuihu City?â
âYes, Xinlan is a town under the jurisdiction of Cuihu City,â Shana confirmed.
âHeishuiâ¦isnât that out of the province?â Ling Mo continued to trace the points on the map.
âYes, thatâs in the central provinces, densely populated, surrounded by bustling neighboring provinces, unlike the mountainous areas here,â Shana described.
Ling Mo stared at the map for a moment, genuinely feeling fortunate.
It was good to have such a knowledgeable person by his side, who also remembered everythingâ¦
âHowâs it going?â Mu Chenâs voice came from outside the door; he couldnât wait any longer.
Ling Mo quickly tucked away the Virus Nest and waved to Li Ya Lin and the others.
The female zombies understood and immediately dug out the Virus Gel from Number 1, then dragged the corpse to the side.
As the smell of blood emerged, Xu Shuhanâs breathing became rapid again.
Shana, holding the corpse, thought for a moment and decided to throw it out of the window.
With a splash, it hit the ground.
The sound of the corpse hitting the ground carried from afar, startling Ling Mo.
âHey!â Ling Mo exclaimed.
Shana nudged Xu Shuhan with her mouth, âIsnât there a new variety zombie that canât control itself? Itâs currently in heat for human flesh.â
âWhat do you mean âin heatââ¦â Ling Mo began to retort only to see Xu Shuhan biting her lip in agitation, her body squirming and struggling under the restraint of the tentacle, hands scratching wildly on the sofa.
âIt really isâ¦â Ling Mo nodded and then realized something was off.
This suggested that Xu Shuhan had gone into heat for him?
âWhat am I thinkingâ¦â Ling Mo snapped back to reality and reached out to adjust Xu Shuhanâs jacket.
An urgent knocking came from the door: âHurry up, will you!â
âJust a sec,â Ling Mo called out, but Mu Chen, unable to wait, pushed the door open, his face etched with urgency: âHurry! Niepanâs here!â
âHow did they find us?â Ling Mo was startled and suddenly thought of something. He rushed to the window to look down.
What he saw left him speechless.
Number 1âs corpse was lying on the ground, and next to it stood a group of people, one of whom was looking up.
That person must have had good eyesight because as soon as Ling Mo appeared, he immediately pointed upwards.
âLetâs go,â Ling Mo quickly turned around and called out.
Passing by Shana, he playfully scraped her nose: âRemember this lesson!â
âI know⦠I wonât throw things randomly anymore,â Shana said, pouting her lips.
âNever mind, itâs not like we could have hidden forever,â Ling Mo helped Xu Shuhan to her feet, then looked around and said, âThis way.â
It was only a matter of time before the people from Niepan, who were deliberately searching, would find them.
Logically, after killing Shen Le, they should have gotten as far away as possible, but because of Xu Shuhan, they had to stay nearby temporarily.
The location was not far from the scene and just outside the fire zone, making it a natural place to be thoroughly searched.
âWho are the people coming?â Ling Mo led the group towards the stairwell, asking as they ran.
Mu Chen clutched his stomach and hurriedly followed, quickly replying, âI donât know, I just saw a few familiar faces, theyâve already caught up to us. Ai Feng is still down there.â
âAi Feng?â Ling Mo remembered the name Mu Chen had mentioned before, and also thought of the man downstairs.
âThe head of the branch, basicallyâ¦,â Mu Chen said, âAnd those other guys, theyâre all pretty strong.â
âSo much for cooperationâ¦â Ling Mo sighed.
Mu Chen rolled his eyes, âYouâre still thinking about cooperation! You handled that kid pretty smoothly just now, didnât you?â
âIsnât this kind of thing usually just laughed off for you guys?â Ling Mo said.
âHe wasnât some irrelevant Level nine member!â Mu Chen shouted, âThat was someone from headquarters, and you also killed an important experimental product.â
âI see⦠then thereâs nothing we can do,â Ling Mo sighed again.
But Mu Chen felt that, although Ling Mo seemed regretful in his words, his tone didnât seem to carry any real sorrow.
He thought about it and then exclaimed in realization, âYou never had good intentions from the start, did you!â
Seeing that Ling Mo didnât respond, Mu Chen had to move on from the topic. He glanced at Xu Shuhan and asked anxiously, âHow is she doing?â
âNot completely clear yet, but at least she wonât rot right away,â Ling Mo said.
âWell, thatâs good. But how did you do it? What exactly are you?â Mu Chen followed, full of confusion.
The place they were in was also a shopping mall, with three sets of stairs aside from the non-functioning elevators.
Ling Mo was using his mental detection to monitor the situation ahead while leading them through the mall in a winding path.
At the moment, Mu Chen was injured and had lost his combat ability, and Xu Shuhan was an unstable factor; Ling Mo definitely did not want to have a direct confrontation with them under these circumstances.
But running non-stop was certainly not the solution. This was Niepan Branchâs turf; they had the advantage in both terrain and numbers.
âLetâs assess the situation first,â Ling Mo said as he tied up Xu Shuhan once more.
âIâm guessing the exits are blocked,â Mu Chen said, âIt would be bad if they start a fire.â
âFire isnât something to worry about,â Ling Mo thought for a moment before suddenly asking, âBut do you have any way to delay them? Likeâ¦making use of the residual heat from your days as a member of Niepan?â
Mu Chenâs eyes widened in responseâ¦
â
âDid you guys see that man just now?â Downstairs, a man shifted his gaze from above and asked.
Under the moonlight, the scar on his face looked particularly ferocious, resembling a writhing centipede.
The people around him shook their heads: âDidnât noticeâ¦â
âIt might have been himâ¦â Scarface Ai Feng lowered his head, glancing once more at the corpse at his feet.
Number 1 had fallen from the sky, and although it was some distance from him, it had indeed given him quite a fright.
When he got close and saw it, he felt like he was about to run headfirst into a wall.
Even though he despised this monster, the fact that an experimental product was killed on his turf was alarming!
Not to mention getting any credit for this, headquarters might even demand he take the fall for it!
Compared to a successful experimental product, what was a senior branch member like him worth?
The issue with Number 0 being injured wasnât resolved yet, and now a treasure had been lost under his watchâ¦
âGo, you all chase as well! Block all the exits! We must catch this person! Dead or alive, it doesnât matter!â Ai Feng clenched his fists and roared.
The people looked at each other, nodded, and then hurriedly ran towards the building.
Ai Feng, catching his breath in haste, then coldly lifted his head towards the window from before.
Although it was just a fleeting glance, the young manâs face was now firmly etched in his memory.
âWait, come back.â
Ai Feng called one of the men back and said darkly, âInform headquarters to send reinforcements. And⦠get Number 0 involved in the action. If I canât catch him, preserving it is pointless. Itâs time it did something for me.â
The man looked at Ai Feng in surprise, then rapidly nodded: âOh, right away.â
Ai Feng watched the member leave, then pulled out a shiny knife from his waist: âThis time itâs truly a fight to the death.â
With that, he held the knife and approached the building, slipping into the pitch-dark doorway.
â
âClick.â
In the darkness, a beam of flashlight light swung in, accompanied by a faint sound.
The member was startled at first, but then looked down at his feet.
After moving his foot away, a piece of plastic that had been stepped on and cracked appeared before his eyes.
After letting out a slight sigh of relief, he vigilantly turned the flashlight left and right, scanning the area ahead.
It seemed to be a jewelry counter up front, the flashlightâs beam catching glimmers of gold.
But he was more concerned with the dark corners and the unseen spaces behind the counters.
With a firm grip on the sharp steel rod in his hand, he slowly moved forward, step by step.
âBang.â
A sudden noise from the shadows made the memberâs hair stand on end, and almost instinctively, he turned off the flashlight and darted to the side, pressing himself against the wall.
As his eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, the surroundings faintly emerged from the shadows.
With wide eyes, he inched along the wall towards the source of the sound, steel rod raised and ready.
âBang.â
Another sound, this time accompanied by the heavy breathing of someone else.
In the silence, the sound was both clear and creepy.
The member held his breath, silently inching closer.
Closer and closerâ¦
He slowly moved behind a counter, then carefully poked his head out to take a peek.
The moment he saw a head, he didnât hesitate to âBangâ smash down.
Accompanied by the sound of shattering glass, the head wobbled and then âthudâ fell to the floor.
The member quickly turned on his flashlight, shining it behind the counter.
However, what the pale light revealed was a plastic mannequin with a dented head, staring back at him with hollow eyes.
Meanwhile, a dark shadow was lunging at him from behindâ¦