âWhoâs there!â
Xia Zhiâs heart skipped a beat as he quickly turned his head around.
But there was still nothing behind him, just an empty space. Instead, a gust of night wind suddenly swept through at that moment, causing the weeds on the surrounding walls to shake vigorously, casting what seemed like countless shadows dancing in the alleyway.
A sense of unease suddenly surfaced in Xia Zhiâs heart, but he quickly shook his head.
It was impossible to mishear twice in succession, and the sound didnât seem to have come from as far away as the fire scene.
Something was definitely hidden nearbyâ¦
Could they have caught up to him? Impossible⦠unless they had a way to become invisible.
Or⦠zombies? No, that wasnât right either; zombies wouldnât make such noise if they were trying to ambush.
âShow yourself!â
Xia Zhi called out again in a lowered voice, but still, there was no response.
He bit his lip, his eyes darting left and right.
âPlaying this sort of trick with meâ¦â
A ferocious glint flashed in Xia Zhiâs eyes as he slowly raised his gun and then carefully pressed himself against the wall.
The alleyway was just so wide and the ends were clearly visible. Whoever was making the noise, the only place to hide would be behind the walls.
And by sticking to this spot, any attacker would have to show themselves if they wanted to surprise him.
The moment this person appeared, Xia Zhi would not hesitate to shoot.
âHaving lost your target, you must come out now, right?â Xia Zhi held his breath and quietly waited.
However, he didnât notice that under the moonlight, a slender shadow suddenly emerged from his own and slowly approached his âheadâ.
âGiggle⦠Saveâ¦â
The shadowâs hands suddenly covered its own neck, and its feet began to kick wildly.
The handgun fell to the ground with a light âclackâ.
Xia Zhi opened his mouth wide, his eyes bulging out, his hands scratching desperately at his neck, his feet involuntarily leaving the ground.
âSaveâ¦â
A deep fear was revealed in his eyes; this shouldnât be happening. He couldnât just die silently in a place like this!
As he was slowly being pulled up against the wall, a dark figure also appeared above his head.
Xia Zhi desperately rolled his eyes upward, only to see a little girl squatting on the wall.
The girl looked no different from a normal person, her expression even filled with curiosity.
But Xia Zhi clearly saw a silver thread stretching out from her neck.
âHelp⦠helpâ¦â
He reached out, trying to wave between himself and her, attempting to grab the nearly invisible thread.
âAh, so youâre that person. Iâve seen you before.â The little girl hugged her knees, suddenly smiled sweetly, and said something out of the blue.
âHelpâ¦â
Xia Zhi stretched his hand toward her, calling out with a voice that had completely changed its tune.
He didnât know where this little girl had come from, but how could he just die here because of a mysterious girl!
The frustration ate at him; he couldnât accept it!
âAh, right.â The girl glanced at Xia Zhiâs hand and tilted her head, âLing Mo sent me.â
âGiggleâ¦â Xia Zhiâs eyes widened even further. Ling Mo?!
âI donât really know what he meant, but he wanted me to deal with you. How do you like my way of handling things?â the little girl asked excitedly.
âHelpâ¦â
Xia Zhi stretched his hand as far as he could, his eyes bulging.
The little girl pondered for a moment and then had a sudden realization, âOh,â she exclaimed, extending her little hand.
After a thought, she pulled up her sleeve, wrapped it around her palm, and then slowly reached out.
âSlap,â the little girl gave him a high-fiveâ¦
And as the little girl withdrew her hand with a smile, Xia Zhiâs hand remained suspended in mid-air, motionless.
His eyes, wide with indignation and unwillingness, slowly lost their lusterâ¦
Watching Xia Zhiâs tense body go limp, the little girl brushed off her palms and stood up.
âThud!â
Xia Zhiâs corpse fell to the ground, and the little girl then hopped over the wall, landing precisely on a giant Panda.
âLetâs go, Xiao Bai, thanks to you and Black Silk for not losing track. Oh, did you see? This human was also very satisfied with how I handled things! Heheâ¦â The little girlâs voice quickly drifted farther away in the cold windâ¦
â¦
âHaâ¦â
Ling Mo, having just set down Xu Shuhan, suddenly looked up, his expression revealing a hint of contemplation.
âWhatâs wrong?â Mu Chen asked sensitively.
âWellâ¦â Ling Mo glanced back at Mu Chen and said, âYou wonât be seeing Xia Zhi again.â
âWhat?â Mu Chenâs eyes widened in shock.
He was stunned for several seconds before snapping back to reality: âButâ¦â
âHelp me out, go keep watch outside,â Ling Mo said.
Mu Chenâs mouth was still agape, but Ling Mo waved him off: âHurry up.â
As Mu Chen turned to head towards the door, his face still bore a dazed expression.
A single thought screamed in his head: âWhat happened?!â
âLing Mo, is this really okay?â Shana watched Mu Chenâs figure disappear through the door and turned to ask Ling Mo.
âItâs fine,â Ling Mo said nonchalantly, âHe wonât understand, and even if he does, it doesnât matter. Bring that sofa over here.â
Shana immediately turned to help Ye Lian, but she kept talking: âIâm not worried about that, with that humanâs intelligence. Iâm talking about letting Yu Shiran do that kind of thing, is it okay?â
Ling Mo thought for a moment and frowned: âAlthough by age, she indeed is a little loli, sheâs not humanâ¦â
âAh? What are you talking aboutâ¦â Shana turned her head, her eyes suddenly narrowing slightly, âYou just let her have that good deedâ¦â
âAlrightâ¦â Ling Mo cleared his throat and said, âIn that situation, she was the only choice.â
âArenât you trying to make that human suffer more?â Shana asked.
Ye Lian looked up at them, a trace of curiosity on her face.
âGiven Yu Shiranâs personality, she probably infuriated him. Even if she didnât, just the fact that he was killed by a little girl is enough to make him die unwilling,â Shana analyzed.
Ling Mo thought for a moment and said, âI donât like being manipulated.â
âManipulated⦠whatâs that?â Ye Lian suddenly asked.
âItâs⦠well, itâs like doing certain things behind my back,â Ling Mo explained.
âUhâ¦â Ye Lian nodded blankly, then lowered her head.
She hesitated, touched her own head, and then slipped her hand into her pocket.
âWhat are you doing?â Li Ya Lin suddenly emerged from behind her.
âAhâ¦â Ye Lian quickly withdrew her hand, her eyes wide as she vigorously shook her head, âNothingâ¦â
âCome on, Ling Mo wants us to drag that over too,â Li Ya Lin said, pointing to Number 1 behind her.
Ling Mo carefully laid Xu Shuhan on the sofa and glanced at her before turning her head to the side.
There were five bloody holes in her neck, four on one side, still oozing blood and the area around them was turning black.
âHas it started alreadyâ¦â Ling Mo furrowed his brow and thought.
The powerful virus forces humans to experience the rotting of their bodies while still alive, a sensation that is probably much worse than death itself.
If she was just ordinarily infected, it would be a bit betterâ¦
Even if she didnât want to become a zombie, there would come a day when sheâd recover her memories. Although regaining memories doesnât necessarily mean regaining emotionsâ¦
âBut even if she Mutated, am I supposed to just take her with me?â Ling Mo thought for a second, then quickly shook his head, refocusing on the task at hand.
âSheâs now infected with the virus from Number 1âs body, which has gone through a new round of evolution and mutation within him, making it different from that in the mother body. But the origin should be the same,â Ling Mo pondered. âShe has her own virus inside her⦠but right now, Number 1âs virus is clearly suppressing hers.â
The virusâs origin could possibly be the only temporary solution to prevent Xu Shuhan from decaying.
Actually, Ling Mo only had an immature idea in his mind, but there was nothing else to try right now.
âXu Shuhan, can you hear me? Hey, wake up.â
Ling Mo crouched beside Xu Shuhan, calling into her ear.
âItâs me, Iâm Ling Mo.â He called out several times, but Xu Shuhan still just stared blankly at the sky.
âSheâs in despair,â Shana suddenly interjected.
But when Ling Mo looked at her, the girl had already walked away to prepare something else.
âAre you listening? Listen, I want to save you. If you agree, say something,â Ling Mo said.
This time Xu Shuhan finally showed some reaction. Her eyes moved slightly, then slowly turned towards Ling Mo: âWhat did you say?â
âI said, I have a way that might save you, but there are risks,â Ling Mo explained.
Xu Shuhan stared at Ling Mo, seemingly deep in thought.
At that moment, Ling Mo noticed that her eyes had begun to redden.
Indeed, she was infectedâ¦
âHow much worse could it getâ¦â Xu Shuhan nodded, âWell⦠thank you in advance.â
âYouâre thanking me a bit early,â Ling Mo remarked.
âI might not get the chance later,â Xu Shuhan said, managing a faint smile.
Ling Mo felt a pang of discomfort and couldnât help but look at Shana.
Shana must have felt this way at the time, right?
But Shana was different from Xu Shuhan. While Xu Shuhan was despairingly waiting for the verdict of fate, Shana was actively fighting against it.
Regardless, the girl who had wanted to kill herself before becoming infected and the girl now in despair were undergoing the same processâ¦
âJust so you know, I charge for this,â Ling Mo said softly.
Xu Shuhan closed her eyes but couldnât help a small smile: âOkay.â
Ling Mo turned his head to look at Ye Lian and Li Ya Lin, then glanced down at Number 1: âPry his mouth open.â
âShh!â
Li Ya Lin pulled out a screwdriver and squatted down.
Ling Mo blinked: âThat pry isnât the kind of pry⦠never mind, carry on.â