Chapter 1023: Chapter 786: Illusion Projection

A few minutes later, Xu Shuhan was standing at the entrance of a hospital, following the “human scent.”

The strong smell of disinfectant wafted continuously from inside, causing her an immediate urge to turn around and leave.

In this environment, the “human scent” also became faint and indistinct, only allowing her to roughly determine that the target was within this hospital, but unable to pinpoint the exact location.

Ordinarily, zombies would give up in such a confusing situation, but Xu Shuhan was different.

She endured the ever-increasing hunger within her, gazing longingly at the building.

“No, I can’t take it anymore… I’ll even drink the disinfectant if I have to!”

Muttering to herself, she staggered inside.

As the hunger gradually took over her, Xu Shuhan’s thoughts became increasingly chaotic.

The only clear thought remaining was to find Ling Mo.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

This suburban hospital looked rudimentary, with only a Parking Lot in front of the main entrance and the main building itself.

The old-fashioned architecture seemed even more oppressive after being abandoned. Standing at the entrance and looking inside, the first thing she saw was a dimly lit lobby.

Most of the ceiling panels were missing, revealing dark, gaping holes in various places.

Aluminum panels mixed with wires hung precariously in the air, giving off a dangerous vibe.

The guidance desk was empty, the information board had long fallen to the floor, and the glass at the registration window bore large dark brown stains.

“Ling Mo?”

Xu Shuhan’s subdued voice echoed in the empty lobby as her gaze continuously shifted around.

“No one? That’s impossible…”

She slowly walked deeper into the lobby, and as she glanced around, she suddenly caught sight of a Dark Shadow from the corner of her eye.

The shadow flickered briefly in her peripheral vision, appearing insubstantial, and when she turned her head, she saw only an empty corner.

“Ling Mo?”

She tentatively called out again and moved towards the area.

In her chaotic state of mind, considering other possibilities was out of the question.

As if in response to her call, a faint clattering sound suddenly echoed from within the building.

“What is this…”

Xu Shuhan had already walked to the corner and slowly extended her head around it.

Behind the corner was an upward staircase…

“Did they go up?”

She sluggishly pondered, then slowly started to climb the steps…

“Have you found it?”

On the street, Ling Mo calmly avoided a zombie that was collapsing, while questioning in his mind.

“Hehe, I have good news and bad news for you. Which one do you want to hear first?” Black Silk’s voice quickly came through.

Ling Mo’s eye twitched, and he chuckled, “Actually, I have some bad news for you too… You really never tire of these outdated and insensitive jokes, huh?”

“I’m serious this time… The good news is, she has temporarily stopped moving. The bad news is her scent has suddenly become indistinct,” Black Silk replied.

“What do you mean?” Ling Mo asked, frowning.

“I think she might have entered a closed-off area with a strong scent…” Black Silk explained.

A strong scent? A closed-off area? Ling Mo quickly sifted through possibilities in his mind.

“A restroom?” Black Silk suddenly suggested, “After all, you can’t judge zombies by common sense…”

“Are you really qualified to say that? Never mind, just give me a general direction,” Ling Mo said, exasperated.

“A master who’s prejudiced against his pet, such an attitude truly makes one reflect…” Black Silk retorted smugly, “It seems I’ll have to show some real skills if I want you to see me differently.”

“You must’ve picked up that line from Yu Shiran’s childhood memories! It’s definitely from some cartoon that was on loop!”

“Don’t try to dampen my enthusiasm!” Black Silk said confidently.

“You really have abandoned your past entirely, haven’t you… Wait! What is this!”

Originally, Ling Mo didn’t pay much attention to Black Silk’s chatter. The entire journey, its mouth had been running non-stop, spewing all sorts of nonsense. However, a sudden image that appeared in his mind rendered him momentarily speechless.

It felt as though a projector had suddenly appeared in his brain, and scenes that didn’t exist in his thoughts and memories began to slowly emerge.

This sensation was akin to abruptly stepping into a dream. If not for the lingering sense of his main body’s presence, Ling Mo might have experienced a certain kind of delusion.

At the same time, Black Silk’s eerily toned voice resonated in his mind: “I’ve been thinking, the psychic communication between you and your pet, isn’t it pretty much like tuning our brain waves to the same frequency somehow? In this personal channel, the role you’re playing is actually a combination of signal receiver and transmitter, right? And those of us who can establish communication with you are essentially like extensions implanted in your brain, just not as powerful as you.”

“But my theory is based solely on Yu Shiran’s memories. If you think it’s wrong, feel free to say so… If you say so, I will definitely go on strike immediately!”

After a brief fluctuation, Black Silk’s tone quickly returned to calm: “I think there are two main reasons for this situation. One, your psychic power is not strong enough yet to handle a large amount of information instantly. And two, the limitations of the implanted individual’s conditions. The extent of an extension’s ability depends not only on its connection to you but also significantly on the recipient’s condition. So when Yu Shiran takes her turn, I hide in the psychic realm for development and modification. But don’t worry, your implants are already deeply rooted, and these modifications won’t affect them… tch.”

“I think I just heard something…” Ling Mo suddenly snapped back to greater clarity.

He immediately recalled the slight abnormality he had sensed earlier. Upon reflection, it must have been caused by Black Silk’s so-called “modifications”…

Regardless of what Black Silk had tinkered with, one thing it didn’t lie about was the unshakable nature of their psychic link.

Unless something happened to Ling Mo himself, or there was a significant difference in psychic power or strength between the two parties, the only way to sever this connection would be for Ling Mo to cut it off himself.

Moreover, during Black Silk’s tinkering, Ling Mo had never sensed any problems, which indicated that Black Silk had consciously avoided that particular tentacle.

“What I’m about to tell you is the main point.”

Black Silk’s voice suddenly fell silent, and simultaneously, a melody emerged in Ling Mo’s mind.

“Dun dun dun dun…”

“Holy crap! Don’t randomly transmit weird information to me!” Ling Mo was startled.

However, accompanying the melody, which seemed like some background music, a complete scene vividly appeared before Ling Mo’s eyes.

Except for the lack of physical sensation, the entire scene made Ling Mo feel as if he were truly there.

It was similar to a dream but entirely different.

“This is the higher realm of psychic communication, illusion projection!”

Black Silk’s voice timely interjected, and the scene stabilized from its movement.

“Illusion?” Ling Mo keenly picked up on the word.

“Yes, it’s essentially delivering my thoughts wholly to you. This includes my voice, my ideas, and the images I project in my mind. Both the main body and the extension must possess robust psychic power to achieve this…” Black Silk explained.

At that moment, Ling Mo suddenly noticed that the contents of the scene were becoming somewhat odd…

“Ling Mo” was hugging “Ye Lian,” and a silver thread burst from behind…

“Ling Mo” was staring at “Xia Na,” with another silver thread appearing above his head…

Senior Sister was looking at “Ling Mo’s” cheek, as a silver thread silently emerged from the shadows…

“Ling Mo” was smoking alone, when suddenly a silver thread popped out from behind…

The final scene showed “Ling Mo” holding a leash, with a silver thread below…

“…Why are all your mental images messing with me!” Ling Mo was instantly furious.

“Darn, I forgot to switch…”

With a startled cry from Black Silk, the scene instantly vanished.

It eagerly asked, “So, how was it?”

“Impressive, indeed…” Ling Mo genuinely praised.

“Thanks to Yu Shiran…” Black Silk modestly replied for once.

“Why?” Ling Mo was somewhat surprised. Could she have been offering advice all along?

Black Silk chuckled, “She loves watching TV.”

“Straightforward and simple, huh… You mean to project Xu Shuhan’s location to me?” Ling Mo was more concerned about the present situation.

“Yes, the environment here is complex; using projection is the most suitable method. However, I was planning to fully develop this ability before using it…”

As Black Silk spoke, images began to surface in Ling Mo’s mind.

However, this time there was no background music, and the visuals seemed much cruder…

“Why did it suddenly turn into a sketch!” Ling Mo instantly freaked out.

The difference was massive!

A few crooked lines and countless ‘x’s were supposed to pass as a map?

“What you saw earlier was a rendered image, and this is what it’s actually like… it’s still in the early stages of development,” Black Silk explained matter-of-factly.

“…What do the ‘x’s signify?” Ling Mo asked, barely holding back his frustration.

“Roughly where zombies might be. With mutual verification from Xiao Bai and me, the accuracy should be decent…” Black Silk became smug once again.

“The whole thing is covered in ‘x’s!” Ling Mo finally exploded.

“Uh… take the rooftops. That’s a shortcut.”