Chapter 2

When the last trace of light at the horizon disappeared, Ling Mo had already returned to his residence.

It was a seemingly unremarkable small building. Apart from having a sturdy iron gate, it also allowed for an escape to the neighboring building from the rooftop, and there were relatively open spaces both in front and behind the house. Moreover, this area was originally a suburb, where the number of both survivors and zombies was much fewer than in the city, making it relatively safer.

Most crucially, this place was originally a warehouse for a small furniture factory, filled with the smell of low-quality paint and wood, which could completely mask Ling Mo's presence.

Those monsters, after being infected by the virus, not only did not lose their senses but became even stronger. They maintained clear vision even at night, and their hearing and sense of smell far surpassed those of ordinary people.

Before going to sleep, Ling Mo first fed a piece of rotten frozen meat to the zombie puppet, then left it outside the iron gate, and locked the gate tightly before resting with peace of mind.

Even in his sleep, Ling Mo did not sever the mental connection with the zombie puppet. Although this was tiring, it served to both train himself and act as a guard for him.

To get rest while maintaining the connection with the zombie puppet was simple in theory but very difficult in practice. Ling Mo had tried countless times before mastering the balance. Now, when he slept, he was always in a light sleep, able to hear even the slightest sounds around him.

But today, Ling Mo found it hard to fall asleep, as the image of that person kept floating in his mind...

After his parents passed away, the person he most cared about in this world was her, his secret crush and childhood friend, Ye Lian.

When the disaster broke out, the last call he received was from her.

"Brother Ling, run quickly!"

Four brief words, followed by a series of busy tones...

In his heart, Ling Mo knew that Ye Lian was most likely dead. When the disaster broke out, she was on her way to his place, intending to cook him a decent meal to improve his life...

Because of this, Ling Mo always had a knot in his heart. Whether she was alive or dead, he felt he should find Ye Lian.

"Tomorrow, I'll go look for her tomorrow..."

After preparing for so long, Ling Mo believed that with his ability to control the zombie puppet, he could cross this urban area.

He had already mapped out the places where she might be in his mind. It was not too far from here, but there were two residential areas in between, making it the most dangerous segment.

However, to pass through as safely as possible, Ling Mo had made thorough preparations. Everything was ready for tomorrow...

As soon as the sky brightened at dawn, Ling Mo opened his eyes and jumped off the half-finished soft bed. After reorganizing his backpack, he took a deep breath and went downstairs.

The zombie puppet, under his control, had been obediently blocking the door, its clothes damp from the cold. Despite its appearance, it showed no signs of fatigue.

For some reason, the virus that suddenly broke out on a large scale not only turned many living people into monsters but also made their bodies extremely strong. However, Ling Mo also noticed that to maintain their high-intensity physical state, they were driven by instinct to constantly eat, and their food source was uninfected survivors.

Gripping the bone knife tightly, Ling Mo opened the iron gate and controlled the zombie puppet to walk along the predetermined route.

As soon as he entered the residential area, the number of zombies wandering around increased. In such a place, using sound to attract them was not feasible, as the environment was too complex and could easily put him in danger.

The only method was to choose areas with fewer zombies and pass through as quietly as possible.

For ordinary people to move in such an environment was extremely difficult, but fortunately, Ling Mo had a zombie puppet.

With the help of the zombie puppet, Ling Mo successively killed over a dozen zombies before finally passing through this area and reaching a bustling street.

This was the transitional area between the city and the suburb. According to Ling Mo's prediction, when Ye Lian made that call, she should have been somewhere on this street.

The street was littered with abandoned cars, and the shops along the way were wide open, looking dark and gloomy.

Apart from the bloodstains visible everywhere, the only thing left was the zombies.

Even though he had killed many zombies in recent days, this was the first time Ling Mo saw so many zombies gathered together. A rough estimate showed that there were dozens of them within his line of sight, not to mention those hiding in the shadows.

Ling Mo planned to observe from a high place first. Unexpectedly, just as he approached a residential building, he heard a scream nearby.

"Help!"

He didn't expect there to still be survivors here! Ling Mo quickly controlled the zombie puppet and cautiously moved toward the source of the sound.

Outside a residential building, over a dozen zombies were crazily ramming the security door of the entrance.

Behind the door were two young men, their faces pale with fear, desperately pushing against the door and screaming for help.

"Fools..." Ling Mo frowned, looking around nervously.

Such loud shouting would only attract more zombies. Originally, Ling Mo wanted to help them within his capabilities, but now it seemed that acting rashly would only harm himself.

Sure enough, some zombies were soon attracted. The security door was repeatedly rammed, making a "bang, bang" sound, and the connection with the wall began to loosen.

The two young men, their faces ashen with fear, screamed even more desperately...

"Bang!"

With a loud noise, the security door finally gave way, and the screams of the two young men were quickly drowned out...

But this was an opportunity for Ling Mo. Taking advantage of the many zombies being attracted, he could pass through this area.

After successfully crossing the area with a high concentration of zombies, Ling Mo didn't have time to celebrate when he discovered that the road ahead was blocked by a bus and several cars.

When the disaster broke out, many vehicles were involved in accidents, especially those full of passengers. Whether the passengers inside had mutated or were frightened by the situation, such tragedies could occur.

From the looks of it, this bus had collided with several cars that were desperately fleeing, causing it to deform.

It was unknown what had happened to the passengers inside. They might have been trapped and died, or they might have all turned into zombies...

Ling Mo originally intended to go around, but as he stared at the bus, his mind suddenly "buzzed."

Ye Lian always took the bus when she came to see him... This thought made Ling Mo look at the bus differently.

His heart beat violently, filled with both anticipation and fear.

There was a high possibility that Ye Lian was on this bus at the time. If she hadn't managed to escape, she might still be inside.

Although he thought he was mentally prepared, when the moment of truth arrived, Ling Mo still felt a sense of panic.

Would he find a rotting corpse, nothing at all, or...

After a long exhale, Ling Mo controlled the zombie puppet to climb onto the deformed front of the bus.

The feeling of controlling the zombie puppet was quite peculiar, as if he had an additional body. Through the mental connection with the puppet, he could not only control its actions but also receive sensory feedback from the puppet's senses.

However, there was still a barrier between Ling Mo and the puppet, preventing him from controlling it as freely as he wished.

In Ling Mo's view, the realm of complete control was probably when he and the puppet merged...

Although it felt a bit strange, Ling Mo was quite looking forward to reaching that level.