By the time the last glimmer of light disappeared on the horizon, Ling Mo had already returned to his residence.
It was an inconspicuous little building, with a sturdy iron gate and the ability to jump to the neighboring building from the rooftop for emergency escape. The front and back had relatively open spaces. Plus, it was originally in the suburbs, so there were far fewer survivors and zombies compared to the main part of the city, making it relatively safer.
The most important thing is that this place was originally a warehouse for a small furniture factory. It was filled with the smell of low-quality paint and wood, which could completely mask Ling Mo's presence.
Those monsters have not lost their five senses after being infected by the virus, but have become stronger. They can maintain clear vision even at night, and their sense of hearing and smelling are incomparable to ordinary people.
Before going to sleep, Ling Mo first fed the zombie puppet a piece of rotten frozen meat, then left it outside the iron gate, locking the gate before laying down.
Even in his sleep, Ling Mo did not sever the mental connection between himself and the zombie. Although it was more tiring, it was like having the zombie on guard for him on one hand and training himself on the other.
Maintaining the connection while also getting rest was simple to say but difficult to do. Ling Mo had tried countless times before grasping the right balance. Now, he was in a light sleep state and could hear even the slightest movements around him.
But tonight, Ling Mo just couldn't fall asleep. The image of a certain person kept reappearing on his mind...
After the death of his parents, the only person he missed most in the world was her. His crush, Ye Lian, the girl next door who was also his childhood sweetheart.
When the disaster broke out, the last call he received was also from her.
“Brother Ling, run away!”
Four short words, followed by a busy "beep" tone...
Deep down, Ling Mo knew Ye Lian was most likely in grave danger. When the disaster struck, she was on her way to his place, intending to make him a decent meal and improve his living conditions...
Because of this, Ling Mo always had this knot in his heart - whether she was alive or dead, he felt that he had to find Ye Lian.
“Tomorrow, I’ll look for you tomorrow…”
After all this preparation, Ling Mo felt that with his ability to control the zombie puppet, he should be able to cross that area of the city.
He had already mapped out in his mind the places where Ye Lian might be, not too far from here, but the middle section was the most dangerous, with two residential neighborhoods.
However, to pass through as safely as possible, Ling Mo had made thorough preparations. Everything was ready, the only thing left was to wait for tomorrow...
At the first light of dawn, Ling Mo opened his eyes and jumped off the half-finished soft bed. After re-checking his backpack, he took a deep breath and went downstairs.
Under his control, the zombie puppet had been staying outside the door in an orderly manner, and the cold air soaked its clothes. Looking at it, the puppet doesn't look tired at all.
For unknown reasons, the sudden large-scale outbreak of the virus not only turned many living people into monsters but also made their bodies very strong. However, Ling Mo also noticed that it was precisely to maintain the high-intensity consumption of their bodies that they were instinctively driven to eat continuously, and the source of food was uninfected survivors.
Gripping his bone-cutting knife tightly, Ling Mo opened the iron gate and controlled the zombie puppet to follow the pre-planned route.
As soon as they entered the residential neighborhood, the number of wandering zombies increased. In this kind of environment, the method of attracting them with sound wouldn't work, as the surroundings were too complex, easily trapping oneself.
The only way to cross was to choose a place with fewer zombies and pass through it as quietly as possible.
The difficulty for ordinary people to move in such an environment was unimaginable, but fortunately, Ling Mo had a zombie puppet.
With the cooperation of the zombie puppet, Ling Mo killed more than a dozen zombies in succession before finally passing through this area and reaching a section of the street that used to be more prosperous.
This is the transitional area between the city and the suburbs, and according to Ling Mo's prediction, Ye Lian should have been somewhere on this street when she made that phone call.
Abandoned cars were scattered all over the street, and the shops along the way were all wide open, pitch black.
Apart from the bloodstains that can be seen everywhere, the only ones left here are zombies.
Even though he had killed many zombies these days, this was the first time that Ling Mo had seen such a large number of zombies gathered together. At a glance, there are probably dozens of them within his field of vision alone, let alone those hiding in the dark.
Ling Mo planned to observe from a higher vantage point first, but just as he approached a residential building, a scream rang out in the distance.
“Help!”
Unexpectedly, there were still survivors here! Ling Mo quickly controlled the zombie puppet and cautiously approached the source of the sound.
Outside a residential building, more than a dozen zombies gathered, and they were frantically banging against the security door at the door of the unit.
Behind the door were two young men with frightened expressions, clinging to the door while desperately calling for help.
"Idiots..." Ling Mo frowned and looked around nervously.
Such loud cries would only attract more zombies, and although Ling Mo had initially wanted to help them within his means, now it seemed that recklessly intervening would only endanger himself.
As expected, some zombies were quickly attracted. The security door was constantly pounded on, making a "bang bang" sound, and its connection to the wall began to loosen rapidly.
The two young teens turned deathly pale, their cries becoming more and more agonizing...
"Bang!"
With a loud crash, the security door was finally knocked down, and the screams of the two young men were quickly drowned out...
But this was an opportunity for Ling Mo. He was able to pass through this area while many zombies were distracted.
After successfully passing through this zombie-dense area, before Ling Mo could feel happy, he found that the intersection ahead was blocked by a bus and several cars.
During the disaster, there were numerous vehicle accidents, especially in a crowded bus. Whether the passengers inside had mutated or were terrified by the situation, tragedies were bound to happen.
It seemed the bus had collided with other fleeing cars, leaving the entire scene mangled.
Ling Mo wasn't sure about the condition of the passengers - perhaps they were trapped and died, or perhaps they had all turned into zombies...
Ling Mo originally planned to go around, but as he stared at the bus, a thought suddenly struck him.
Every time Ye Lian comes, it seems that she comes by bus... As soon as this thought passed through his mind, Ling Mo's eyes changed when he looked at the bus.
He felt his heart beating very fast all of a sudden, feeling both anticipation and fear.
There was a high chance that Ye Lian had been on this bus at the time. If she hadn't escaped in time, she should still be there now.
Although he felt that he was fully mentally prepared, when it came time to face it, Ling Mo still felt a little panicked.
Would she be a rotting corpse or nothing left, or...?
After letting out a long breath, Ling Mo controlled the zombie puppet to climb onto the front of the deformed car.
The feeling of controlling the zombie puppet was quite peculiar, like having an additional body. Through the mental connection, he could not only control the zombie's movements but also receive feedback from its senses.
However, there was still a barrier between Ling Mo and the zombie puppet, preventing him from controlling it with complete ease.
In Ling Mo's view, the pinnacle of control should be merging with the zombie puppet...
Although it felt a bit strange, Ling Mo was quite looking forward to that level of integration.