Tang Hao stared at Ling Mo in shock, but Ling Mo, wearing a composed smile, continued, “You must be curious about when I first started having doubts, right?”
Without waiting for Tang Hao to respond, Ling Mo went on, “It was right after you finished explaining this plan.”
“That’s impossible…” Tang Hao instinctively thought.
“It’s true. From your demeanor, there didn’t seem to be any signs of lying-not even in your psychic fluctuation. On the surface, the plan sounds flawless, aligning perfectly with your interests and motivations.” Ling Mo remained in place, seemingly speaking to Tang Hao yet also explaining things to Xu Shuhan on the side. “However, even Zombies know how to conceal information instead of outright lying-let alone humans. After all, a Zombie’s nature originates from humanity, including these foundational truths, wouldn’t you agree?”
“What are you trying to say…” Tang Hao asked, his face pale.
“During your explanation, you deliberately omitted some critical details… Like the true purpose of this building, and your actual goal.” Seeing Tang Hao shiver involuntarily, Ling Mo let out a cold chuckle. “From your perspective, it doesn’t really matter how strong we are, does it? Of course, your confidence in your transformation ability plays a big role here. Otherwise, for such a significant operation, wouldn’t you have observed us for a while before taking action? When someone’s mindset and body undergo changes, their self-assessment shifts accordingly. It’s either overestimation or underestimation-there’s no in-between.”
“As for another reason, well, it’s something you can’t really help… The moment we arrived, we immediately scouted the vicinity of the Rosen Company. The place we chose to stay was clearly just a temporary resting spot. For you, this situation is both advantageous yet filled with more trouble and tension. But regardless, to someone like you hiding in the shadows, you’ve already deemed us as nothing more than convenient ‘helpers’ and decoys. Given your circumstances, naturally, cooperation wouldn’t even cross your mind, right?” Ling Mo asked.
Tang Hao gritted his teeth and retorted, “Would regular people even consider cooperating with someone like us? Even if they initially agreed, the moment they saw us transform, they’d pull the trigger without hesitation, wouldn’t they? So in that case…”
Xu Shuhan stood silently to the side. Hearing this, she couldn’t help but take two steps back. She looked at Tang Hao through her mask, as if wanting to say something, but in the end, she remained quiet.
“Because of this way of thinking, the choices in front of you narrowed down to just two options… The first was to wait for us to enter Rosen Company, and then sneak in right behind us. I imagine this was your preferred option, wasn’t it? After all, we not only have guns but also have a decent-sized group. If we successfully got into the company, we could clear out quite a few obstacles for you. The second option was to lure us here and then redirect all the Zombies into this location. There are plenty of ways to achieve this, especially the step where you bait us. You must have laid the groundwork for this quite early, didn’t you? For instance, deliberately letting our people notice your presence, intentionally lurking around our shelter to provoke our vigilance… That way, when you made your next move, our group would naturally pursue you. Honestly, I have to admit, I fell for it at first.”
Tang Hao said nothing, but from the look on his face, Ling Mo’s deductions were, if not entirely correct, at least close to the mark.
“The real challenge of the second plan lies in the second step… and that’s how to get us into Rosen Company.”
Ling Mo finished speaking slowly, and Xu Shuhan let out a startled gasp.
“That… that’s impossible, right? How would you get into Rosen Company after being cornered here? The distance between here and Rosen Company is about five hundred meters, and that’s not even a straight line!”
Ling Mo chuckled and glanced at Tang Hao. “Whether it’s possible or not, just ask him.”
Xu Shuhan immediately turned her attention to Tang Hao. At a glance, she noticed that he was trembling uncontrollably, entirely unaware of his own reaction.
Seeing the two of them looking at him, Tang Hao’s lips twitched a couple of times before he suddenly let out a few hollow laughs. “Haha… This is unbelievable. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe this is your first time here… Fine, you’re right. For us, it doesn’t really matter who’s stronger or weaker because the moment you showed up, you were already at an absolute disadvantage. You don’t know this place. You can’t transform. So long as the plan goes smoothly, you’re as good as dead. Even if somehow-no, there’s no way you won’t die.”
“You’re awfully casual about deciding other people’s lives and deaths…” Xu Shuhan suddenly interjected.
“What’s the point of saying this is casual or not… Haven’t enough people in this world already died? I’m sure they didn’t want to die either, but that’s just how the world is now…” Tang Hao raised his hand and wiped his face harshly before continuing, “The second plan… is exactly as this guy said.”
“But this place…”
“It has nothing to do with the distance.” Tang Hao glanced at the iron door in front of him with a complicated expression. Behind it, his companions were emitting furious roars…
“I didn’t expect there to be a hidden second entrance here… Originally, in my plan, Ling Mo was supposed to make a beeline for the main entrance, where he would have died. Even if he didn’t, I could’ve used the opportunity to escape… And of course, that’s the place where all of you were supposed to be lured. Monsters ahead, Zombies behind-you’d have no choice but to fight. But the more of them you kill, the more monsters would surface…” Tang Hao paused momentarily.
Xu Shuhan was momentarily stunned before she asked in bewilderment, “The monsters… they’re crawling out of Rosen Company?”
“Exactly,” Ling Mo confirmed. “The so-called ‘entrance’ is a passage that connects to Rosen Company. If we wanted to, we could also use it to head there. But once we go in, there’s no coming back alive. And they’ve likely rigged the building with traps to prevent anyone from escaping.”
Tang Hao nodded straightforwardly. “That’s right. We’d use Zombies to completely seal off this place. The two people inside are here to set everything up. They’ll splash the doors with copious amounts of fresh blood, which will draw a continuous flow of Zombies toward this place. Those two are also the ones responsible for opening the entrance. If you hadn’t disrupted them, it’s likely they would have already opened it by now.” R̃ÂＮǒΒÊS̩
“But now… now you’ve gone ahead and opened one yourself…” Tang Hao glanced at the iron door and suddenly let out a bitter laugh. “You don’t seriously think this door can hold them back, do you? We’re all doomed. Every one of us… doomed.”