âAlright, letâs find a place to stay first.â
Ling Mo looked around for a moment, then suddenly suggested.
Ye Lian and the others had no objections, but Mu Chen found it a bit baffling.
âItâs still earlyâ¦â he tried to protest.
âItâs settled,â Ling Mo said, nodding as if he hadnât heard Mu Chen at all.
âLetâs keep goingâ¦â
âThereâs a hotel right up ahead!â Xia Na, with her keen eyes, pointed to a building in the distance.
From afar, the building indeed had a small sign on top, but with Ling Moâs current eyesight, he could only make out the general shape. As for Mu Chen, he squinted hard but could barely see the outline of the sign.
âAlright, letâs go there,â Ling Mo quickly decided.
Mu Chen nearly bit his tongue. âYou canât even see it clearly! And youâre just going?â
On the way, Ling Mo explained why he made this decisionâ
They needed to let Xu Shuhan take a break.
They had been rushing nonstop, and all they encountered on the road were bloody scenes of fighting zombies. By the time they reached the Niepan headquarters, Xu Shuhan might not be able to hold on.
âIs that so?!â
Mu Chen suddenly felt ashamed. How could he not have thought of thatâ¦
âTo avoid wasting time, while she rests, Iâll take the girls to clear the road,â Ling Mo continued.
âGood!â Before Ling Mo finished, Mu Chen was already nodding vigorously.
That made sense! It was rare for Ling Mo to think so thoroughlyâ¦
âThen youâll be in charge of guarding,â Ling Mo added.
âOkay!⦠Wait, what?!â Mu Chen had just agreed when he realized something was off.
Why was such a dangerous task assigned to him?!
And he agreed without thinking!
âWait, wait, waitâ¦â Mu Chen looked like he wanted to bang his head against a wall.
âKeep your promises,â Ling Mo said, patting Mu Chen on the shoulder.
With their speed and most of the zombies in the area already herded into shops by Ling Mo, it only took them four or five minutes to reach the hotel.
Ling Mo pushed Mu Chen inside and then pulled Xu Shuhan over. âGood luckâ¦â
âGood luck to meâ¦â Mu Chen was on the verge of tears.
âSheâs pretty calm now,â Ling Mo said, glancing at Xu Shuhan. âBesides, Iâll provide protection.â
Indeed, she seemed quite peaceful at the moment. Aside from glaring with those eyes, she appeared to have regained some sanity. But those eyes were a clear signal, warning them to stay away.
Looking around, the hotel was in a secluded area and didnât seem to have many zombies.
But when Mu Chen turned back, Xu Shuhan was the only one left in front of him.
âUmâ¦â
Mu Chen nervously swallowed and said in a low, appeasing tone, âCan we negotiate?â
âAhhhâ¦â Xu Shuhan suddenly let out a roar.
Mu Chen was so startled that he flinched. After the initial shock, he noticed that Xu Shuhanâs hands were tied behind her back.
âThank goodnessâ¦â Mu Chen sighed in relief.
But a few seconds later, he was shouting again, âIs this your idea of a safety measure?!â
In a small alley outside the hotel, Li Yalin withdrew her gaze from the hotel and asked, âLing Mo, what about that humanâ¦â
Xia Na interjected, âLing-Ge, youâre not just clearing the road, are you?â
âExactly,â Ling Mo admitted with a nod.
âAre we out of Gel?â Li Yalin asked, licking her lips in anticipation.
Ling Mo shook his head. âIf itâs just the usual consumption, I still have some. But⦠I hope to help you all advance further.â
Regularly consuming Gel was more like refueling their bodies, supporting their daily needs.
Although a small amount of the Virus could be absorbed and, over time, lead to evolution, this process was too slow for Ling Mo.
The three of them were now Leader-Level and had been at this level for a long time. Their foundations were solid.
Even if they couldnât directly break through the Leader-Level, it would be best to further enhance their strength.
This way, when facing the Niepan headquarters, Ling Mo would feel more confident.
Ling Mo didnât say it out loud, but he was indeed wary of the Niepan headquarters.
The other party was a colossal force, while he was just an ordinary survivor in comparison.
The disparity in strength between them was like one wielding a sword and the other holding a toothpick.
However, even a toothpick could cause unexpected damage if it struck the right spotâ¦
âOf course, before that, I need to forge this toothpick into the highest quality one,â Ling Mo thought to himself.
But expecting all three female Zombies to level up simultaneously was definitely unrealistic.
As long as their overall strength could step up a notch, they would at least have stronger self-defense capabilitiesâ¦
âThat sounds great!â
Xia Na immediately nodded, rubbing her hands together in anticipation.
Li Yalin and Ye Lian exchanged glances, seeming not to fully understand.
Seeing one excited and the other two looking puzzled, Ling Mo couldnât help but smile.
âSausage Humans!â
As they turned a corner, a white shadow suddenly leaped out, accompanied by a little girlâs shout.
The massive white shadow skidded to a stop less than two meters from Ling Mo, halting without any hesitation.
âMeGu!â
The mutated panda shook its head, trying to rub its face against Ling Mo.
âYouâve ruined the image of a national treasure,â Ling Mo said with a smile, patting its head.
âMeGu!â Xiao Bai proudly continued to shake its head. It suddenly sat down, then tilted its head to the side.
âWhat is it doing?â Ling Mo was stunned, then worried about Xiao Baiâs actions.
What was it trying to do?
âI told you, you canât roll!â
Yu Shiran shouted, jumping off Xiao Baiâs back.
Following behind them, Yu Shiran looked clearly annoyed.
Standing in front of Ling Mo with red eyes, she seemed ready to complain extensively.
But now, she hesitated for a long time, biting her lip, and eventually just asked, âWhat are you doing?â
This Zombie Loli didnât know how to start the conversationâ¦
Ling Mo explained his idea once more and then clapped his hands, saying, âNow that everyone is here, we can start. Thereâs only one rule: no bloodbaths.â
As he finished speaking, even he found it a bit odd.
A human giving instructions to a group of Zombies and Mutation Beasts on how to huntâ¦
âOh well, I should be used to this by now,â Ling Mo quickly shook his head and waved his hand, âLetâs begin!â
Compared to Ling Mo, these Zombies and Mutation Beasts had stronger hunting instincts and stealth abilities.
They could find those Zombies that had already formed Virus Gel faster than Ling Mo, silently approach them, and in a flash, seize the moment of weakness to pounce and grip their throats.
With just a squeeze of their fingers, those terrifying Zombies that would make ordinary people shiver would become helpless lambs in these seemingly delicate hands.
Then, they just needed to drag these Zombies to a nearby shop and, as quickly and accurately as possible, extract the Gel from their brains.
At first, Ling Mo thought this would take quite a bit of time, but after Ye Lian and the others sprang into action, he realized he had underestimated them.
After all, they were Leader-Level. Although not as savage as their wild counterparts, their actions were cleaner and more efficient.
Ling Mo had barely announced the start when he already had six Virus Gels of varying sizes and purities in his hand.
âAt this rate⦠the Senior Zombies in this area wonât be enough for hunting,â Ling Mo thought as he looked ahead, clutching the Gels.
â¦
âSwish!â
Li Yalin silently appeared behind a Zombie, her right hand reaching out at an impossible angle to grab its neck before it could react.
As the Zombie raised its arm, Li Yalinâs wrist twisted slightly.
It didnât look like she used much force, but the Zombieâs neck immediately tilted to the side, hanging limply. Its blood-red eyes widened, but they had already lost their light.