Blood was spurting everywhere, severed limbs flying about, and a large number of zombies were continuously rushing forward.
At a glance, the area was packed with zombies-it was enough to send chills down anyoneâs spine.
Senior Zombies were terrifying, but a horde of common zombies could be just as dreadful once they reached a certain number.
Ling Mo was being stared at by countless blood-red eyes, surrounded on all sides by swinging claws. The sheer pressure of this situation alone could drive anyone to the brink of collapse.
As Ye Lian jumped to avoid a zombie, Ling Mo caught a glimpse of the main entrance.
A path wide enough for easy passage had been torn open there, and many zombies were squeezing in from the outside.
The zombiesâ roars echoed clearly within the Mall, but sounded faint to Ling Moâs main body.
Ling Mo vaguely felt the scentâs influence; although he no longer had hallucinations, his sensory acuity was significantly dulled.
After all, it was an almost sealed-off passage, with the scent being stronger near the Restroom, but other areas were also affected to some extent.
To be precise, from the moment Ling Mo entered the passage, he was already within the scentâs range.
In his heightened state of focus, he didnât notice the subtle changes in himself and unknowingly wandered into the key area, where hallucinations began.
âWhat kind of zombie evolves into a Hallucinogen Production Machineâ¦â Ling Mo thought, âThis evolution is quite creative, just like the watery corpsesâ¦â
As for the basement, it was obvious that all the zombies there had also rushed out.
The zombiesâ roars had an effect of attracting their kind, with the waves of shouts probably drawing all the zombies on the street into the Mall.
Not all zombies had their sights set on Ye Lian and the others; blood was spurting from other areas as well, indicating battles had broken out there too.
Yet, the zombies near Ye Lian and them charged fearlessly one after another. Under normal circumstances, this would be unimaginableâ¦
Xu Shuhan, being a half-formed zombie, might provoke attacks from other zombies, but Ye Lian, as a dominant level zombie, should have caused common zombies to keep their distance once she fully released her aura!
However, the zombies here kept coming in waves, refusing to retreat even if they had to trample over bodies to advance.
The terrain was quite unfavorable for Ye Lian and the others. To provide mutual support, they deliberately positioned themselves in a corner, with their backs against the wall.
Xia Na and Li Yalin were both fiercely battling, but Xu Shuhan remained motionless.
Ling Mo couldnât see Ye Lian since she didnât turn around, but he could hear her rapid breathing.
Such a bloody battle right before her eyes naturally stirred the virus within herâ¦
âSheâs not in immediate danger, but at this rate, she might be provoked into a full mutationâ¦â Ling Mo thought with a frown.
âHuh⦠What are you doing here? Wait a minute, Iâ¦â Mu Chen staggered to his feet, squinting and looking confused.
But Ling Mo had no time to answer his questions. He waved his hand and said, âWeâre surrounded by zombies.â
âHuh? What do you meanâ¦â As Mu Chen questioned, a figure quietly opened the Iron Door at the other end of the Corridor.
The location was quite concealed, and being a Leader-Level Zombie, the loli zombie could easily move in and out without attracting other zombiesâ attentionâ¦
Since they had external threats, Ling Mo planned to have Yu Shiran and Xiao Bai stay hidden nearby to secure the perimeter.
They could also use Yu Shiranâs eyes to see what was happening outside.
However, Ling Mo noticed that both Yu Shiran and Ye Lian seemed somewhat restless and agitatedâ¦
And his own sense of unease hadnât dissipated eitherâ¦
Senior Zombies could be affected by this; common zombies, unable to suppress their instincts, would naturally fall into a state of rampage.
But the cause of this situation wasnât the Hallucinogenic Virus he found in the Restroomâ¦
âWhatâs going on with Cuihu Cityâ¦â Ling Mo had a vague idea of why Cuihu City was rated as a high-risk level area. But just zombies going on a rampage wouldnât be enough to impact the Air Force Corps. There had to be other issues at play.
âLing Mo, donât you feel incredibly hot?â¦â Mu Chen suddenly tugged at his collar, sounding dazed.
He seemed somewhat disoriented, and the fact that they were surrounded by zombies didnât seem to provoke much of a reaction from him.
âHot? What are you talking aboutâ¦â Ling Mo responded absentmindedly without turning his head.
He was not only deep in thought but also had to switch his vision between Ye Lian and Black Silk frequently.
Especially regarding Black Silk-its control over Yu Shiranâs body was about to end, which meant Ling Mo soon wouldnât be able to switch his vision to the zombie loli.
Hence, Mu Chenâs odd behavior didnât catch Ling Moâs attention.
âItâs just reallyâ¦â
Mu Chen shook his head vigorously and reached up to touch the back of his neck.
Was it dizziness?
But that disturbing restlessness seemed to become more and more apparent.
Mu Chen stared at the black crack, suddenly feeling a pang of unease.
âLet me go in and checkâ¦â Mu Chen said as he reached out to pat Ling Moâs shoulder.
Ling Mo slightly turned his head, saying, âWe canât go in now. Let me assess the situation firstâ¦â
However, Ling Mo didnât realize that Mu Chen wasnât paying attention to his words at all.
Mu Chen was looking at him with a shocked expression. Just a moment ago, when Ling Mo turned his head, he had caught a glimpse of blood-red eyes, filled with ferocity and crueltyâ¦
âNo, is this a hallucination?â
Mu Chen shook his head hard, but the intense restlessness felt like it was destroying his rationality.
He fixed his gaze on Ling Moâs neck, with his peripheral vision glancing towards the ground.
A knifeâ¦
When Ling Mo had his Little Zombie Puppet drag him back, he also brought the knife along, which now lay on the stairs below.
Mu Chen glanced at Ling Mo once more, then slowly and cautiously backed downward.
âThump!â
The sound of his heartbeat was like drumbeats, resounding directly in Mu Chenâs headâ¦
He grabbed the knife, and his gaze remained locked on the back of Ling Moâs neck.
At this moment, Ling Moâs attention was entirely focused inside the Mall. Ye Lian and the others could still hold their ground, but they needed to be removed from this dire situation as soon as possibleâ¦
Swish!
Mu Chen stood silently behind Ling Mo, raising the knife without making a sound.
His expression looked peculiar-both blank and somewhat fanatical.
With a flash of cold light, he swung the knife down with a blank faceâ¦
âClick, click, clickâ¦â
The knife halted a short distance away from Ling Mo, its blade trembling violently, evidence of Mu Chenâs struggle to bring it down.
But⦠he just couldnât manage to strike.
A small hand grasped Mu Chenâs arm from the side. Before he could react, a swift blow to the back of his knee made him collapse to the ground.
âBang!â
The world went dark for Mu Chen, and he fell unconscious once again.
Ling Mo turned his head to look at the Little Zombie Puppet who had intervened, then shook his head at the fallen Mu Chen. âA superhuman without mental abilities falls quicklyâ¦â
He hadnât been completely off guard. Even Ling Mo was experiencing a mysterious influence, so how could he ignore Mu Chen behind him?
When Mu Chenâs psychic activity started showing abnormalities, Ling Mo had already been cautious.
However, he was curious to see what kind of bizarre actions this influence would provoke, so he pretended to be oblivious. In reality, the Little Zombie Puppet had been on standby around the corner.
âIn the end, itâs ultimately meant to drive people to turn on each otherâ¦â Ling Mo pondered thoughtfully.
It seemed the influence was just beginning to spread. Mu Chen, already disoriented and not possessing any mental abilities, was the first to succumb.
The reason this place could make the Air Force Corps so wary was likely due to this peculiar influence.
To confirm, they would just need to look around for any wreckage of downed planesâ¦
Having found Xiao Bai, Black Silk stealthily moved to the edge of the street, peering out through the underbrush.
As Ling Mo had suspected, the street was practically devoid of zombies.
The nearby zombies had all been attracted to the Mallâ¦
The surroundings of the Mall were packed with zombies, some even climbing on top of each other, attempting to squeeze through any available gaps.
Black Silk glanced left and right, then swiftly darted out, deftly weaving through the cover of abandoned vehicles.