âLet goâ¦â
The Bird Zombie delivered another fierce kick. Fragments of internal organs, mixed with copious amounts of blood, continuously flowed out from the Zombie Puppetâs mouth.
Its expression was somewhat frantic. Although zombies are naturally tenacious, this was taking it to an extreme!
Moreover, this zombie was not just relying on brute force. At this point, its actions displayed an unexpected level of skill.
Using its own body, it successfully blocked the angle of the Bird Zombieâs kicks, protecting its most vital chest and head.
In a fit of rage, the Bird Zombie twisted its body to grab the Zombie Puppetâs hair.
Just then, something caught its peripheral visionâa shadowy figure.
As soon as its gaze met those red eyes, a dark cylindrical object was hurled toward it.
âWhat is that?!â
Instinctively sensing danger, the Bird Zombie recognized this scene as eerily familiar.
From past experiences, the Bird Zombie had learned a crucial lesson: anything suddenly flying out from the darkness is best avoided!
âLet go!â
The Bird Zombieâs eyes were locked onto the cylindrical object, but its claw had already grasped the Zombie Puppetâs hair.
A surge of exhilaration coursed through it, causing its fingertips to tremble with excitement.
Finally! It was about to rid itself of this pesky nuisance!
If it werenât devoid of human-like emotions, the Bird Zombie might have shed tears of relief at this moment.
A dignified King-level zombie, reduced to such a stateâ¦
Could it get any more degrading?
Just as it was about to end this humiliation, the cylindrical object was about to reach its head, now hanging in mid-air.
The Bird Zombie let out a cold, grating laugh. Whatever that flying object was, it wasnât going to touch itâ¦
âSmack!â
A stick, emitting flames, was suddenly thrown from the shadowy figureâs hand.
âHuh?â
The Bird Zombieâs attention was immediately drawn to the stick, and at that moment, a âclangâ sounded from above. Then, a large bucket of foul-smelling liquid was poured directly over its head.
The Bird Zombie, still bent over, was drenched from head to toe.
Its nest-like, messy hair fell over its eyes. Before it could react to this sudden turn of events, the stick had already landed at its feet.
Just as the Bird Zombie caught a glimpse of a spark on the ground, a wave of heat surged up.
âAhhh!â
In the final moments, it managed to tear off the Zombie Puppetâs neck, but the head remained fixed to its leg, quickly turning into a fireball.
âAhhh!â
The Bird Zombie screeched frantically, but neither speed nor strength could extinguish the flames now.
As the flaming Bird Zombie stumbled around the spreading fire, with a burning head attached to its leg, the shadowy figure stood still, dazed.
âWhoo⦠whooâ¦â
Outside the mall, Ling Mo leaned against a utility pole, gasping for breath.
Sweat-soaked bangs clung to his forehead, and his face was pale as a ghost.
Juggling two demanding tasks at once was exhausting, but the real challenge had come when the first Zombie Puppet entered a near-death state. The intense survival instinct that kicked in made it even harder for Ling Mo to maintain control.
At the last moment, he barely managed to sever the Psychic Link.
The thought of almost experiencing the sensation of having his neck torn off alive made Ling Moâs eye twitch.
But⦠he had succeeded!
âIf heaven gives you wings, they should be braised⦠I never thought Iâd see a live version,â Ling Mo thought to himself, unable to resist a smirk.
âAhhh!â
The Bird Zombieâs screams continued, and the fire spread rapidly.
The area was already dry, filled with flammable trinkets and clothing. A tiny spark could ignite a blaze, let alone this inferno.
After a moment of stillness, the shadowy figure moved again, no longer throwing sticks but grabbing burning items and tossing them around.
Once the surroundings were nearly engulfed in flames, the shadowy figure charged at the Bird Zombie again.
The Bird Zombie, its eyelids scorched shut, was surrounded by heat and thick smoke, unable to sense which direction to run.
The Bird Zombie, trying to charge its way out, was suddenly tackled by the shadowy figure.
As they hit the ground, the two Zombies rolled through the flames.
âCrack!â The Bird Zombie, now a blazing fireball, still had the ability to move. It grabbed a part of the other Zombie and tore it off, then gave a powerful kick, sending the Zombie Puppet flying.
Struggling back to its feet, the Bird Zombie charged forward.
âBang!â
It crashed into a wall, quickly turned around, and charged in another direction.
Ling Mo instinctively patted himself down, shaking off the mental remnants of controlling the Zombie Puppet through the inferno.
He squinted towards the mall entrance and saw Ye Lian running out, holding Thor.
âOver here!â Ling Mo waved at her.
Ye Lian ran towards him, glancing back over her shoulder.
âDonât look back. With this fire, itâs dangerous for us to go in too,â Ling Mo said as Ye Lian reached him.
Black smoke was already billowing out of the windows, and faint flames could be seen.
Ye Lian nodded and circled around him, inspecting.
Ling Mo smiled, âIâm fine.â
Ye Lian stopped in front of him, her big eyes staring into his, and suddenly raised her hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead with her palm.
âThank you, girl.â
Ling Mo grabbed Ye Lianâs wrist, pressing her cool hand to his cheek.
Ye Lianâs movements halted, her deep eyes locked with Ling Moâs, but she said nothing.
âThat shot was perfectâtiming, angle, everything,â Ling Mo praised with a smile.
If not for their flawless teamwork, setting a King-level Zombie on fire would have been nearly impossible. Simply setting a fire would have been detected before it could even burnâ¦
So many factors contributed to their success.
Even so, Ling Mo had to sacrifice two Zombie Puppets.
Ye Lian smiled softly, her fingertips gently caressing Ling Moâs face.
Reluctantly, Ling Mo released her wrist and glanced back towards the mall.
âBang!â
The glass window suddenly shattered, and a massive blast of flames, accompanied by thick black smoke, burst out.
âNo, we need to get out of here.â
The fireâs duration was uncertain, and the flames and explosions would attract a horde of Zombies.
Ye Lian looked visibly tired, while Ling Moâs condition was even worse.
âWeâll come back once the fireâs out.â Ling Mo glanced one last time at the window, his psychic sense already picking up numerous approaching Psychic Light Clusters.
âLetâs go!â
He grabbed Ye Lianâs hand and ran towards the other end of the street.
But after only a few steps, Ling Moâs vision went black, and he collapsed forward.
The continuous high-intensity exertion had left him utterly exhausted.
Having escaped successfully and set the Bird Zombie ablaze, a wave of relief washed over Ling Mo, finally allowing his mind to relax.
Ye Lian caught Ling Mo as he fell, pulling him back. Upon inspecting him anxiously, she realized that although his eyes were closed, his breathing was steady.
He had fallen asleep in this situationâ¦
Supporting Ling Mo, Ye Lian looked around somewhat bewildered.
On the empty street, it was just her and Ling Mo standing thereâ¦
âWaitâ¦â
Meanwhile, a few minutes later, Mu Chen, dry-mouthed from talking, suddenly stood up and rushed to the window in the hotel.
Though the view was blurry, he could faintly see a plume of black smokeâ¦
âFire? Did Ling Mo and the others do that?â Mu Chen frowned and asked.
Xu Shuhan, of course, didnât answer him; she didnât even bother to get up and check.
Mu Chen stared at the smoke, puzzled.
At that moment, he caught a glimpse of the street below out of the corner of his eye.
âTheyâre back!â
Mu Chenâs face lit up with excitement as he saw familiar figures helping each other, moving along the street towards the hotel.
Hearing this, Xu Shuhan finally reacted, lifting her eyes.
âGreat!â Mu Chen exclaimed, but then noticed Xu Shuhan staring at him.
He quickly cleared his throat and said, âI didnât mean it like thatâ¦â