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The Zombie Puppet was being controlled to head towards the passage leading to Zone B, while Ling Mo himself retraced his steps with a puzzled expression.

Could it be that something was left behind on the way?

Even though the possibility was slim… Even if it were true, it wouldn’t just quietly go back to look for it…

Unclear of the situation, Ling Mo didn’t turn on his flashlight.

Having grown accustomed to this dim environment, with his current vision, although not as sharp as a Zombie’s, he could still make out the general shapes.

As Ling Mo was searching and moving through the mall, a figure silently slipped into the stairwell door.

The door gently closed and then began to sway slightly.

Creak… Creak…

Ling Mo immediately directed his gaze towards the stairwell.

The sound was faint; if it were a more crowded time, he definitely wouldn’t have caught it.

But now, fully focused, Ling Mo’s senses were much sharper.

He could only vaguely hear some noise, like the sound of furniture expanding and contracting in a large dark space.

Regardless of the source of the sound, under these circumstances, it had to be checked out.

Ling Mo quickly picked up his pace and soon reached the stairwell door.

The door was slightly ajar and had stopped moving.

Frowning, Ling Mo stared at the dark gap. Although he didn’t detect anything behind the door, a strange feeling of being watched crept over him.

“Could I have caught Xu Shuhan’s paranoia?” Ling Mo quickly snapped out of it, mocking himself inwardly.

Just as he was about to grab the doorknob, his hand suddenly froze.

“Blood?”

Although the light was dim, with a bit of attention, he could see that there were indeed some bloodstains on the doorknob…

And they were fresh.

Someone had just passed through here, and their hand was bleeding…

Glancing at the floor, Ling Mo indeed found a few drops of blood.

He quietly pushed open the door and looked at the floor inside.

Sure enough, the blood trail continued down the stairs…

“Is Mu Chen injured? Or did he hurt someone?” Ling Mo wondered, puzzled.

While inside the mall, he had stopped using his tentacles for further probing, focusing mainly on controlling the Zombie Puppet for the lower-level search.

But with Ye Lian and the other two women also in the mall, they should have noticed if anyone was bleeding to some extent…

Yet, there was no blood trail along the way until here…

The stairwell was located in a corner of the mall, so it was normal that Ye Lian and the others might not have noticed. Even Zombies, with their sharp sense of smell, had their limits; otherwise, there wouldn’t be any room left for human survivors…

“Could there have been some commotion in the stairwell? Did Mu Chen discover something and encounter a Zombie?” This was the only plausible explanation Ling Mo could come up with instantly.

After all, the chances of bumping into something by accident were incredibly slim. An ability user wouldn’t be so careless…

Especially for those with enhanced abilities, regardless of the type, their skin’s toughness was far superior to that of an ordinary person. And through years of close combat, even if they had no prior fighting experience, their physical reflexes would be quite sharp by now.

The kind of “ouch, I bumped my head” mishap would probably only happen to those with mental abilities…

But without seeing the facts, nothing could be concluded.

Before entering Cuihu, that report had given Ling Mo a preconceived notion… Cuihu couldn’t possibly have survivors.

Such true “human ghost towns” were actually not uncommon, especially in small towns. Along the way, it was rare to find survivors.

Ling Mo figured there were likely two reasons for this phenomenon. One was that it was increasingly difficult for lone survivors to make it, and the other was that Survivor Camps like Niepan’s headquarters were becoming more established, serving as the main gathering places for survivors.

For a moment, an eerie thought popped into Ling Mo’s mind.

Would there come a day when he walked down the street, and in the vast city, he was the only human left…

If that time came, what kind of feeling would it be?

“Focus, focus… Strange, why am I so distracted today…”

Ling Mo felt like slapping his forehead. Staring at the bloodstains, his mind wandered to such far-off places.

Moreover, once he started thinking, those imagined scenes kept popping up in his mind, each with an uncanny sense of realism.

When he thought about being the only human left in the entire city, an extremely complex emotion surged within Ling Mo…

“Maybe the pressure has been too much lately…” Ling Mo shook his head and focused his gaze back on the bloodstains.

There’s another possibility… a human survivor might be here too.

“That’s right, this place isn’t too far from Niepan’s headquarters…”

Ling Mo instantly became alert. He moved to the side of the door, carefully peeking inside, and then extended a few tentacles in before reaching out to the door.

As soon as his fingers touched the cold metal, a tingling sensation suddenly shot up his hand from the back of his wrist.

Ling Mo’s scalp tingled, and almost reflexively, he wrapped his tentacles around while quickly pulling his hand back.

The tentacles didn’t catch anything, and there were no marks left on the back of Ling Mo’s hand.

However, the sensation he felt was too real, as if someone had lightly grazed his hand with their fingertips.

Ling Mo stood still, taking a moment to steady his breathing.

The tentacles had searched the stairwell thoroughly but found nothing…

Yet Ling Mo was certain it wasn’t his imagination.

Xu Shuhan might have hallucinations due to fear, but as a mental ability user who survives on willpower, he shouldn’t experience this…

“Something’s wrong…”

Ling Mo pressed against the wall, his eyes glancing towards the dark gap.

In this situation, he should probably call Ye Lian and the others…

However, Xu Shuhan’s condition was very unstable. Even if she could control herself, the adrenaline rush from fear might make her lose control entirely.

That would be more trouble than it’s worth…

Also, as Xia Na mentioned, splitting them up and leaving only one or two behind made Ling Mo worry about their safety.

“Call Yu Shiran…”

After sending the mental command, Ling Mo stood by the door for a few more seconds.

Soon, a glimmer of red appeared in the darkness, swiftly approaching Ling Mo.

When the eerie version of the little zombie approached, Ling Mo’s main body and the Zombie Puppet exchanged a glance, sending chills down his spine.

That twisted expression…

No wonder zombies are driven to evolve—all for the sake of escaping that ghastly face…

The little Zombie Puppet once again reached for the iron door. After waiting for two seconds without any incident, it slipped inside.

This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.

A minute or two later, Ling Mo himself followed suit…

Rustle…

After a slight rustling sound, a black nose emerged from the dense grass.

Sniffing the air twice, a pair of blood-red eyes soon appeared through the grass blades.

The sharp, serrated grass leaves brushed against the thick white fur but didn’t manage to pull out a single hair, let alone cause any harm…

“Be careful. Don’t let those of your kind discover you.”

A small hand parted the grass, revealing Yu Shiran sitting atop the Mutation panda, staring intently at the iron door not far away.

This was Ling Mo’s arrangement. If there was something in the employee passage, they could execute a pincer movement.

Additionally, they could search outside to see if Mu Chen had already left.

“No fresh blood scent… but lots of food smells…”

Yu Shiran took a deep breath, a look of delight crossing her face.

The panda, Xiao Bai, also shook its head, closing its eyes in enjoyment.

Smack!

A quick slap to its head made Xiao Bai behave instantly.

“I told you to be careful. It’s called… stealth, you get it? Stealth…”

After a brief lecture, Yu Shiran glanced at the door and then down at Xiao Bai.

“Wait a minute! You can’t fit through that door!”

Given Xiao Bai’s size, squeezing through the iron door would require it to slim down by two or three sizes.

Right now… it could barely fit its head through…

Forcing it was an option—after all, a mere door would fly off with a single hit.

But Ling Mo’s instructions were for them to sneak in quietly…

Feeling annoyed, Yu Shiran jumped down and patted Xiao Bai: “You guard here. I’ll go in myself.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Yu Shiran rolled her eyes and added in an annoyed tone, “I… I’ll go in with Black Silk… Seriously, you pay attention to these details, but go tell that to the Sausage Humans if you dare. It’s their fault, not yours…”

Even after entering the door, Yu Shiran continued to mutter under her breath…

Upon first glance, she saw no sign of anyone, nor any trace of Ling Mo.

Yu Shiran sniffed the air, and a few strands of silver thread appeared around her, flickering in and out of sight.

She glanced around, gently closed the door behind her, and began to walk slowly down the passage.

Passing by a mirror hanging on the wall, Yu Shiran actually stopped to make a face at the dusty mirror.

“Bite me, bite me… You keep saying my Ban Yue isn’t good, and that human is a better master… Just because you get better food with him? Hmph, all you think about is eating. Look at what you’ve become now… Me? I’m not here just for the food!”

Yu Shiran shook her fist at the mirror: “Stop arguing, or I’ll tell the Sausage Humans it’s all your fault… Just a mere pet… Hey!”

The zombie Loli suddenly pinched her own nose. She was about to use her other hand to grab her wrist, but that hand quickly moved to the side and tugged at her ear.

“Stop it, stop it…”

After playfully slapping her hands together, Yu Shiran wrinkled her nose and looked at the mirror again.

Just as she was about to walk away, she stopped suddenly.

“Huh?”

In the instant she turned around, it seemed like a shadow appeared in the mirror…

The Zombie Puppet was being controlled to head towards the passage leading to Zone B, while Ling Mo himself retraced his steps with a puzzled expression.

Could it be that something was left behind on the way?

Even though the possibility was slim… Even if it were true, it wouldn’t just quietly go back to look for it…

Unclear of the situation, Ling Mo didn’t turn on his flashlight.

Having grown accustomed to this dim environment, with his current vision, although not as sharp as a Zombie’s, he could still make out the general shapes.

As Ling Mo was searching and moving through the mall, a figure silently slipped into the stairwell door.

The door gently closed and then began to sway slightly.

Creak… Creak…

Ling Mo immediately directed his gaze towards the stairwell.

The sound was faint; if it were a more crowded time, he definitely wouldn’t have caught it.

But now, fully focused, Ling Mo’s senses were much sharper.

He could only vaguely hear some noise, like the sound of furniture expanding and contracting in a large dark space.

Regardless of the source of the sound, under these circumstances, it had to be checked out.

Ling Mo quickly picked up his pace and soon reached the stairwell door.

The door was slightly ajar and had stopped moving.

Frowning, Ling Mo stared at the dark gap. Although he didn’t detect anything behind the door, a strange feeling of being watched crept over him.

“Could I have caught Xu Shuhan’s paranoia?” Ling Mo quickly snapped out of it, mocking himself inwardly.

Just as he was about to grab the doorknob, his hand suddenly froze.

“Blood?”

Although the light was dim, with a bit of attention, he could see that there were indeed some bloodstains on the doorknob…

And they were fresh.

Someone had just passed through here, and their hand was bleeding…

Glancing at the floor, Ling Mo indeed found a few drops of blood.

He quietly pushed open the door and looked at the floor inside.

Sure enough, the blood trail continued down the stairs…

“Is Mu Chen injured? Or did he hurt someone?” Ling Mo wondered, puzzled.

While inside the mall, he had stopped using his tentacles for further probing, focusing mainly on controlling the Zombie Puppet for the lower-level search.

But with Ye Lian and the other two women also in the mall, they should have noticed if anyone was bleeding to some extent…

Yet, there was no blood trail along the way until here…

The stairwell was located in a corner of the mall, so it was normal that Ye Lian and the others might not have noticed. Even Zombies, with their sharp sense of smell, had their limits; otherwise, there wouldn’t be any room left for human survivors…

“Could there have been some commotion in the stairwell? Did Mu Chen discover something and encounter a Zombie?” This was the only plausible explanation Ling Mo could come up with instantly.

After all, the chances of bumping into something by accident were incredibly slim. An ability user wouldn’t be so careless…

Especially for those with enhanced abilities, regardless of the type, their skin’s toughness was far superior to that of an ordinary person. And through years of close combat, even if they had no prior fighting experience, their physical reflexes would be quite sharp by now.

The kind of “ouch, I bumped my head” mishap would probably only happen to those with mental abilities…

But without seeing the facts, nothing could be concluded.

Before entering Cuihu, that report had given Ling Mo a preconceived notion… Cuihu couldn’t possibly have survivors.

Such true “human ghost towns” were actually not uncommon, especially in small towns. Along the way, it was rare to find survivors.

Ling Mo figured there were likely two reasons for this phenomenon. One was that it was increasingly difficult for lone survivors to make it, and the other was that Survivor Camps like Niepan’s headquarters were becoming more established, serving as the main gathering places for survivors.

For a moment, an eerie thought popped into Ling Mo’s mind.

Would there come a day when he walked down the street, and in the vast city, he was the only human left…

If that time came, what kind of feeling would it be?

“Focus, focus… Strange, why am I so distracted today…”

Ling Mo felt like slapping his forehead. Staring at the bloodstains, his mind wandered to such far-off places.

Moreover, once he started thinking, those imagined scenes kept popping up in his mind, each with an uncanny sense of realism.

When he thought about being the only human left in the entire city, an extremely complex emotion surged within Ling Mo…

“Maybe the pressure has been too much lately…” Ling Mo shook his head and focused his gaze back on the bloodstains.

There’s another possibility… a human survivor might be here too.

“That’s right, this place isn’t too far from Niepan’s headquarters…”

Ling Mo instantly became alert. He moved to the side of the door, carefully peeking inside, and then extended a few tentacles in before reaching out to the door.

As soon as his fingers touched the cold metal, a tingling sensation suddenly shot up his hand from the back of his wrist.

Ling Mo’s scalp tingled, and almost reflexively, he wrapped his tentacles around while quickly pulling his hand back.

The tentacles didn’t catch anything, and there were no marks left on the back of Ling Mo’s hand.

However, the sensation he felt was too real, as if someone had lightly grazed his hand with their fingertips.

Ling Mo stood still, taking a moment to steady his breathing.

The tentacles had searched the stairwell thoroughly but found nothing…

Yet Ling Mo was certain it wasn’t his imagination.

Xu Shuhan might have hallucinations due to fear, but as a mental ability user who survives on willpower, he shouldn’t experience this…

“Something’s wrong…”

Ling Mo pressed against the wall, his eyes glancing towards the dark gap.

In this situation, he should probably call Ye Lian and the others…

However, Xu Shuhan’s condition was very unstable. Even if she could control herself, the adrenaline rush from fear might make her lose control entirely.

That would be more trouble than it’s worth…

Also, as Xia Na mentioned, splitting them up and leaving only one or two behind made Ling Mo worry about their safety.

“Call Yu Shiran…”

After sending the mental command, Ling Mo stood by the door for a few more seconds.

Soon, a glimmer of red appeared in the darkness, swiftly approaching Ling Mo.

When the eerie version of the little zombie approached, Ling Mo’s main body and the Zombie Puppet exchanged a glance, sending chills down his spine.

That twisted expression…

No wonder zombies are driven to evolve—all for the sake of escaping that ghastly face…

The little Zombie Puppet once again reached for the iron door. After waiting for two seconds without any incident, it slipped inside.

This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.

A minute or two later, Ling Mo himself followed suit…

Rustle…

After a slight rustling sound, a black nose emerged from the dense grass.

Sniffing the air twice, a pair of blood-red eyes soon appeared through the grass blades.

The sharp, serrated grass leaves brushed against the thick white fur but didn’t manage to pull out a single hair, let alone cause any harm…

“Be careful. Don’t let those of your kind discover you.”

A small hand parted the grass, revealing Yu Shiran sitting atop the Mutation panda, staring intently at the iron door not far away.

This was Ling Mo’s arrangement. If there was something in the employee passage, they could execute a pincer movement.

Additionally, they could search outside to see if Mu Chen had already left.

“No fresh blood scent… but lots of food smells…”

Yu Shiran took a deep breath, a look of delight crossing her face.

The panda, Xiao Bai, also shook its head, closing its eyes in enjoyment.

Smack!

A quick slap to its head made Xiao Bai behave instantly.

“I told you to be careful. It’s called… stealth, you get it? Stealth…”

After a brief lecture, Yu Shiran glanced at the door and then down at Xiao Bai.

“Wait a minute! You can’t fit through that door!”

Given Xiao Bai’s size, squeezing through the iron door would require it to slim down by two or three sizes.

Right now… it could barely fit its head through…

Forcing it was an option—after all, a mere door would fly off with a single hit.

But Ling Mo’s instructions were for them to sneak in quietly…

Feeling annoyed, Yu Shiran jumped down and patted Xiao Bai: “You guard here. I’ll go in myself.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Yu Shiran rolled her eyes and added in an annoyed tone, “I… I’ll go in with Black Silk… Seriously, you pay attention to these details, but go tell that to the Sausage Humans if you dare. It’s their fault, not yours…”

Even after entering the door, Yu Shiran continued to mutter under her breath…

Upon first glance, she saw no sign of anyone, nor any trace of Ling Mo.

Yu Shiran sniffed the air, and a few strands of silver thread appeared around her, flickering in and out of sight.

She glanced around, gently closed the door behind her, and began to walk slowly down the passage.

Passing by a mirror hanging on the wall, Yu Shiran actually stopped to make a face at the dusty mirror.

“Bite me, bite me… You keep saying my Ban Yue isn’t good, and that human is a better master… Just because you get better food with him? Hmph, all you think about is eating. Look at what you’ve become now… Me? I’m not here just for the food!”

Yu Shiran shook her fist at the mirror: “Stop arguing, or I’ll tell the Sausage Humans it’s all your fault… Just a mere pet… Hey!”

The zombie Loli suddenly pinched her own nose. She was about to use her other hand to grab her wrist, but that hand quickly moved to the side and tugged at her ear.

“Stop it, stop it…”

After playfully slapping her hands together, Yu Shiran wrinkled her nose and looked at the mirror again.

Just as she was about to walk away, she stopped suddenly.

“Huh?”

In the instant she turned around, it seemed like a shadow appeared in the mirror…