X City University truly was a place that was worthy of housing 30,000 zombies. Even if they were in an area with relatively fewer zombies, the numbers they boasted would be enough to make a person’s hair stand on end.
In the past, X City University was widely known for its beautiful surroundings. But at present, walking along this exceedingly spacious path that was filled with greenery was an extremely painful affair.
There were zombies in the brushes, on the road itself and within the buildings at the side of the path…
It’s no wonder Lin Luanqiu’s injuries were so severe. Definitely wasn’t a place where an ordinary human could safely escape from!
What made Ling Mo most depressed was, due to him being unfamiliar with the surroundings, he had to adopt a more conservative approach and advance slowly so as not to attract the zombies in the vicinity.
In short, they had to watch every step they took! Lin Luanqiu leading the way did indeed allow them to proceed in a more relaxed manner as opposed blindly charging in, but the difficulty of the task at hand was still very high!
This was especially so after Ling Mo found that mutated zombies couldn’t completely disregard regular zombies. Now, for the sake of avoiding any mishaps, he was no longer willing to allow Shana and Ye Lian to charge forth in such an unrestrained manner.
Because of this, their advance was slowed. However, this was a safer approach. It also finally gave Lin Luanqiu, who still held some reservations about the strength of Ling Mo’s group, a peace of mind.
From her observations along the way, Lin Luanqiu realized that Ling Mo’s group of three not only had strength, they worked well together as well. Especially Ling Mo, who called the shots. The actions he took were both exceedingly calm and cautious.
And it was precisely this prudent attitude that gave Lin Luanqiu an ever increasing confidence in her decision.
Previously, in truth, Lin Luanqiu had joined up with Ling Mo to try her luck. As for her chances of success, she definitely had her misgivings.
After all, it hadn’t even been a few days since she escaped from X City University. She still held a lingering fear of traveling back and forth amongst a group of zombies. Although Ling Mo’s bearing gave her an easy-going feeling, in truth, he was a calm and cautious person. However, that was only her initial impression of him. One may know a person and how they look like yet not know their heart, so how could first impressions count for anything?
Only after seeing Ling Mo in battle was Lin Luanqiu’s fears put to rest. She felt that following Ling truly gave her an opportunity to live!
En route to their dangerous destination, they came to a fork in the road.
Originally, there weren’t even five zombies around. Ling Mo had planned on sneaking past them, but little did he expect to run into a mutated zombie after making his way towards one of the school’s buildings!
The shadow dashed out from the brushes at the back of the building with blinding speed, causing Ling Mo to immediately draw back. Lin Luanqiu’s reaction was swift as well. With a tug of her hand, Shi Bin and she rapidly retreated to the side.
Since they resided in a zombie nest such as X City University, Lin Luanqiu and Shi Bin had naturally seen a mutated zombie before. As a psychic, Lin Luanqiu had even engaged one before, but the battle wasn’t an easy one.
As for a regular person like Shi Bin, running into a mutated zombie meant death. It might even spell death for a group of people if they encountered one.
A mutated zombie like this wasn’t something they could handle. Even if they were a little further away, they might still perish in an instant. The speed of a mutated zombie’s attacks wasn’t something a majority of regular zombies could match up to.
Although Ling Mo was given a fright by this zombie that had been hiding in the brushes, his spiritual tentacles had seen continuous use for half a day. Faced with sudden danger, he almost instinctively used them, obstructing the mutated zombie’s frontal assault. While Ling Mo retreated, Ye Lian had already hurried to his side, her scimitar in hand as she hacked at the mutated zombie’s neck.
However, from the looks of it, this mutated zombie’s evolution was quite far along. It was probably just a step away from becoming an advanced zombie. It might even be on the same level as Ye Lian’s from the way it immediately retreated two steps back after it recovered from Ling Mo’s mental influence. However, this zombie had a natural defect, one if his legs were lame. In spite of this, he wasn’t an opponent most normal people could face.
With zombies all around their surroundings, Ling Mo didn’t have the energy to tangle the mutated zombie. In the event that they were surrounded by over fifty zombies, the chances of them escaping with their lives were far too small.
Which was why Ling Mo gripped his short saber and went around when Ye Lian charged forward to attack.
Shana also lifted her long saber as she attacked from the side, forming a two-pronged assault with Ling Mo.
Three blades simultaneously flew towards the mutated zombie. Although the mutated zombie attempted to evade, Ling Mo’s spiritual tentacles bound the zombie for a moment. This, coupled with his one unsteady leg, led to the zombie swaying on the spot.
Squelch!
The mutated zombie instantly became motionless when the three blades met flesh. Following that, immediately after pulling out her scimitar, Ye Lian had easily drawn out the gel within the mutated zombie’s brain, slipping it to Ling Mo as she turned around.
Ye Lian’s series of actions was done in a very natural and flowing manner. Most people probably wouldn’t be able to such a level of tacit understanding no matter how they practiced their coordination with others. But with the spiritual link between the three of them, the level of understanding they shared would naturally be high.
On the other hand, the number of mutated zombies that he’d hunted was no longer a small number. These mutated zombies, that could cause a regular person’s expression to change just from hearing about them, no longer evoked any sense of fear in Ling Mo’s heart.
Shana and Ye Lian had attacked from angles that were obstructed by their field of view, giving Lin Luanqiu and Shi Bin no chance to witness any of the battle from the start till its end.
Lin Luanqiu was filled with shock when she saw their flawless coordination, which allowed them to rapidly dispatch a zombie that had clearly reached a high level of evolution. Shi Bin was even worse off. His jaw hung agape, completely incapable of saying anything.
When he recovered, he turned to Lin Luanqiu and planned to say something, but realized she was looking at Ling Mo with the intent to speak.
Shi Bin clenched his fist tightly in response and a trace of coldness flashed across his eyes, “He only managed to do all this because he’s a psychic. He wouldn’t amount to anything if he didn’t have an ability!”
But Lin Luanqiu took no notice of Shi Bin’s abnormality. After recovering her composure, she asked with astonishment, “Have you fought with these kinds of zombies in the past? The coordination you displayed just now was truly beautiful.”
Ling Mo quietly noted the girl’s meticulous observation. Thankfully, he’d intentionally obstructed her line of sight when they battled with the zombie.
“That’s right, I call them mutated zombies. But, even if all mutated zombies fall under the same category, there are differences between them. This one counts as having a very high level of evolution amongst them. As for newly promoted mutated zombies, they don’t pose much of an increase in threat aside from their increase in speed and strength, so winning against them isn’t impossible.”
“Mutated zombies… What a fitting name.” Lin Luanqiu nodded her head. Her eyes twinkled once again and she said, “It looks like the three of you…are not only lovers but also comrade-in-arms.”
Her words were spoken rather abruptly, but Ling Mo understood her meaning in an instant.
With two beautiful women by his side, coupled with the scene she saw early in the morning, she probably came to the conclusion that the trio was living a life of debauchery.
But now, with their fates tied together as they fought shoulder-to-shoulder in battle, the meaning behind it was completely different.
Bonds formed during the moment of life and death would naturally be very firm and, as a result, there wouldn’t be any estrangement between them…
As for the matter of Ling Mo involving himself with these two girls, Lin Luanqiu still had some objections about it.
However, after seeing the amount of concern he had for Shana and Ye Lian when they fought, almost as if he feared even the slightest mishap befalling them, her way of looking at Ling Mo gradually began to change.
X City University’s land area was far too large, Ling Mo’s group had only just reached the vicinity of the gymnasium after more than half a day of traveling. However, a large distance still separated them and the heart of the campus — C3 teaching block.
The gymnasium was a plaza and no hiding spots existed to the left and right of the group. However, not many zombies were present. There wasn’t much danger as long as they were careful.
The non-stop battling Ling Mo had been subjected to ever since he entered the campus had mentally fatigued him. He, on his own, had carved his way through almost a hundred zombies, and this was after the group had done their best to conceal their presence.
He’d cut through nearly a hundred zombies, not a hundred cabbages! The slightest mistake on his part could lead to an unfortunate end for him. Which was why Ling Mo had to consider various methods of assistance for himself when he fought. The amount of concentration required when Ling Mo paid attention to his surroundings, coupled with the drain on his spiritual strength as he fought had led to him being overcome with fatigue. Fortunately, after several rounds of improvements, his body was much stronger than it was before, otherwise, he’d long since be sprawled out on the floor.
But even if that were the case, Ling Mo was already feeling light-headed when they neared the gymnasium.
Even Ye Lian and Shana had shown signs of fatigue. Although their status as mutated zombies afforded them plentiful amounts of physical strength, it still wasn’t enough to withstand prolonged periods of battle.
However, the one who looked the most miserable wasn’t Ling Mo’s trio, nor was it Lin Luanqiu who had the worst physique amongst them all. Rather, it was Shi Bin.
At the start, Ling Mo had even intentionally lured some of the zombies over to Shi Bin, preventing him from resting. But with the ever increasing number of zombies, Shi Bin no longer had the chance to rest, even if Ling Mo didn’t take any action.
Shi Bin was covered in sweat from head to toe of his body throughout their journey. His hair was a mess, clinging to both his forehead and cheeks. His gigolo-esque face was flushed red and his lips continuously trembled. In his hands, the sharpening steel stick faintly trembled in tandem with his lips, painting an overall picture of a truly battered and exhausted individual.
“There’s too many zombies along the way. Everyone’s tired, we might as well rest in the gymnasium. Are there many of them inside?”
Ling Mo wasn’t clear of the circumstances within X City University, so he wouldn’t shrink back when the time came to ask the appropriate questions.
Throughout their journey, Lin Luanqiu had taken her role very seriously and there weren’t many inaccuracies in the information she provided.
“There usually aren’t many people in the gymnasium. Many clubs didn’t have activities on the day of the disaster as well. A majority of the students had also chosen to go to the larger gymnasium. After all, the facilities there were more complete. So in my opinion, there shouldn’t be many zombies within.”
Lin Luanqiu presented a clear and logical analysis, which Ling Mo immediately agreed with, “Then let’s go in and rest for a while.”