Chapter 23: Big Trouble
Su Mo’s past life ability was electricity. Ten years of survival had made her extremely skilled, and her attacks were powerful and destructive, accompanied by thunder. Therefore, she chose silent, close-combat with her blades.
As expected, there weren’t many zombies on the right side, but there were supplies: flour, rice, and grains. Most people wouldn’t bother taking them without water and fire, but that wasn’t a problem for Su Mo.
She quickly stored the supplies in her space. A few zombies charged; she kicked one away and drew her butterfly knife, swiftly decapitating another.
A zombie with a blackened mouth lunged towards her. Su Mo had an idea. As the zombie approached, she raised her left hand, and a dark purple electric arc flashed, striking the zombie.
The zombie spasmed, as if electrocuted. Su Mo raised her knife and beheaded it.
It occurred to her that even zombies would be briefly incapacitated by electricity. What if she channeled her ability into her weapon?
She experimented several times, confirming her theory. Her eyes lit up, and she eagerly sought more “test subjects.”
The sun blazed, scorching everything.
The mall wasn’t overly large, but the three cleaned their assigned sections quickly.
After dispatching the last zombie, Su Mo moved to the meeting point. She found Su Hao already there.
Clad in black, he stood silently, his dark eyes gleaming with a cold aura. Hearing a sound, he turned to see Su Mo approaching, relief in his eyes. “Are you alright?”
“Fine,” she replied, assessing him, then glancing towards the left, her brow furrowing. “Where’s Peng Yu?”
“I haven’t seen him either,” Su Hao said.
Psychic abilities were powerful, but only with experience.
Su Mo worried. She didn’t know how many zombies were in his area. She was about to speak when Su Hao interrupted her. “Together.”
After two months of shared experiences, the boy had become a true companion. They wouldn’t abandon him.
Meanwhile, elsewhere…
“Right hook! Punch him!” a clear voice excitedly shouted.
Bang! A square play area was revealed in the center of the floor, with two zombies engaged in an improbable scuffle.
Peng Yu, brimming with excitement, was cheering them on.
A zombie swung its arm, but its opponent didn’t react, only its arm snapped off, falling to the ground. The zombie stared blankly at its missing hand.
“Damn it, you useless idiot! What are you doing? I told you to…kick him! Attack!” Peng Yu jumped up, shouting at both zombies.
One zombie responded with a kick, sending the other sprawling.
“Nice!” Peng Yu exclaimed, his eyes shining. “Take advantage of this!”
The sitting zombie remained unresponsive. Peng Yu was about to kick it when he yelled, “You idiot! Dodge! Roll! Jump! Then counterattack!”
Both zombies reacted simultaneously, mimicking his instructions perfectly.
One dodged a kick and countered with a slap; the other rolled away to avoid an attack. The attacking zombie lost its balance and fell.
“I…” Peng Yu froze, speechless for a moment, before yelling at the other zombie, “You fool! Attack! Do you want to let him get away?”
The zombie immediately charged.
As Peng Yu watched the fight, Su Mo and Su Hao arrived, guided by his voice.
They expected a tough fight, but instead, they found Peng Yu directing the two zombies’ bizarre bout.
Su Mo’s face darkened. She growled, “Peng Yu!”
“What? I was just about to finish these two…’ His words trailed off as he saw Su Mo’s grim expression.
“What were you ‘just about’ to do?” Su Mo snarled.
Peng Yu gulped, turning to face Su Mo’s furious expression. He trembled slightly and attempted a nonchalant smile. “I… uh… was just about to deal with these zombies when you arrived. What a coincidence, hahaha!”
He sensed danger.
Su Mo’s roar echoed. “I’ll make it a coincidence!” A dark purple lightning bolt flashed down.
“Whoa!” Peng Yu screamed, diving out of the way, his previously chosen spot now a crater.
Su Hao rubbed his forehead, speechless, as Peng Yu scrambled to his feet.
Peng Yu cautiously looked up at Su Mo, whose anger showed no signs of abating. He took a step back, muttering, “I… uh… I know you didn’t mean to, right?”
Su Mo’s eyes glittered. “Actually, I did mean to. I’m going to fry you, you little brat!”
A chaotic chase ensued. Su Mo relentlessly hurled lightning bolts at Peng Yu, who, despite his clumsiness, skillfully evaded them all, thanks to his enhanced psychic senses, a feat planned all along.
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Chapter 24 Behind the Scenes
A playful scuffle quickly ended under Su Hao’s intervention. By this time, the second floor of the mall was in ruins. Peng Yu, in particular, was a sorry sight, his eyes shining with resentment as he looked at Su Mo.
Su Mo mercilessly glanced at him, then walked past him without a word. According to the plan, the group quickly moved to the third floor.
As Peng Yu had said, the number of zombies on the third floor far exceeded those on the first and second floors. Toppled shelves lay scattered haphazardly, emitting a putrid stench.
These zombies, after several months, were beyond recognition, their horrifying faces accompanied by growls as they wandered through the mall.
“Hiss…” Even Peng Yu, who had once been chased through several streets by hundreds of zombies, couldn’t help but gasp at the sight before him.
The zombies were densely packed; there were easily several hundred. Even more bizarrely, as if sensing their presence, the zombies previously on the fourth floor were now frantically crowding down to the third floor—precisely towards them.
“Shit!” Su Mo cursed under her breath. Turning, she gritted her teeth and said to a certain dumbfounded fool, “This is what you called ‘easy’?”
Peng Yu responded aggrievedly, “When I was checking earlier, there weren’t this many zombies on the third floor. I don’t know why they suddenly all came down from above.”
“All of them?” Su Mo was surprised. “You mean they were all upstairs?”
Peng Yu nodded. He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he felt like a pair of eyes in the shadows was constantly watching them.
Su Mo rubbed her forehead. It was clear that the commotion they’d caused on the second floor had alerted the zombies. Although they were lifeless, their sense of smell and hearing were far superior to humans’.
Drawn by their scent, the zombies surged forward with excited growls, the putrid smell intensifying.
Peng Yu felt a prickle on his scalp. He swallowed hard, “So many zombies… how do we fight them?”
“Fight? We run!” Su Mo gritted her teeth, looking at the horde of zombies. She wasn’t crazy; she wouldn’t engage them head-on. Besides, she wasn’t mistaken—among the hundreds of zombies, more than ten had changed eyes.
Colored eyes often meant they were low-level zombie spirits; even more alarming, the speed at which they became zombie spirits suggested they might have abilities.
Fighting hundreds of zombies was already a disadvantage; if there were powerful ones among them, they risked losing everything. She wasn’t that foolish.
Immediately, the three tacitly agreed to flee.
However, as if sensing their intention to escape, the zombies immediately blocked their path, a large group flanking them from behind.
“Damn it, are these things sentient?!” Their escape route was quickly blocked by a wave of zombies, and Peng Yu practically screamed.
Observing the zombies’ movements carefully, Su Hao’s face darkened as he pointed out, “Their actions and objectives seem coordinated.”
“That’s right, they’re being controlled,” Su Mo said, her eyes narrowing. If she’d been unsure before, now, observing the zombies, she was certain.
Indeed, there was a big fish in this building.
“Controlled?” Peng Yu exclaimed in surprise.
Even Su Hao was taken aback; his face grew serious. So many zombies under control… how powerful must the one controlling them be?
“We’ve bitten off more than we can chew. We need to find a way to clear a path and get out of here,” Su Mo frowned, surprised by how quickly the zombies in the apocalypse had evolved.
After glancing at the surrounding zombies, Su Mo instantly found a weak point in the zombie horde—the closest hallway to the exit. Without hesitation, she used her abilities to create a path.
Seeing this, the other two didn’t hesitate. In an instant, crimson fire and thunderous sounds echoed throughout the third floor.
Wherever they passed, corpses lay scattered, limbs severed. Soon, a gap was torn in the zombie horde.
Fifth Floor
At this moment, a rather delicate-looking boy was surrounded by a group of people. His eyes were wide, his entire demeanor one of shock.
His expression worried the surrounding group. A girl in tattered red clothing stamped her foot impatiently, “What’s going on?”
The boy seemed unable to recover, staring blankly at the girl without speaking. His face was a picture of astonishment. If not for the images in his mind, he wouldn’t believe what he’d seen.
“Zeng Ya, tell us what you saw.” The speaker was Lu Chen, his tone simple, direct, and leaving no room for refusal.
Only now did Zeng Ya seem to snap back to attention, looking at the man who’d spoken. He swallowed, his lips cracked from dehydration. Recalling the scene he’d witnessed, he seemed hesitant, “There were three of them, two men and a woman, all ability users. The zombies on the fourth floor and outside the fifth floor were all drawn to the third floor.”
“Really?” The girl in red was overjoyed, exclaiming, “So we’re safe now?”
Ignoring the girl in red, Lu Chen’s mouth parted in surprise, “You mean three people are fighting the zombies?”
“No way? Aren’t they asking to die?” Another boy’s eyes widened in astonishment. So many zombies; not even thirty people, let alone three, would dare to confront them head-on, even if they were ability users.
“No,” Zeng Ya shook his head, thinking of the images in his mind, his eyes wide, “They’re strong, incredibly strong.”
Seeing their disbelief, Zeng Ya continued, “Their abilities… one is the most destructive thunder ability, incredibly powerful. The girl used one skill, and a whole bunch of zombies died. Another one is fire-type, with extremely high explosive power. And another one, like me, has psychic abilities, but his ability is stronger than mine. He could even control the zombies. Most importantly…”
Zeng Ya paused, his gaze fixed on Lu Chen. “We know that girl.”
Everyone was stunned. Qian Li reacted first, a flicker of emotion swirling in her eyes as she tentatively asked, “What’s the girl’s name?”
“Su Mo,” Zeng Ya replied. Then, his eyes fixed on Lu Chen again as he repeated, “Su Mo, the one who likes Lu Chen.”
Lu Chen was startled, a hint of surprise flashing across his face. “She’s a thunder-type controller?”
“Yes, and very powerful. I think she’s the strongest ability user I’ve ever seen,” Zeng Ya’s eyes flashed with awe. After so long, a glimmer of hope seemed to appear on his grim face.
“Brother Lu Chen, that’s great! I believe, for you, she’ll definitely save us,” another shorter boy’s eyes lit up with excitement.
Lu Chen didn’t speak, his gaze unreadable. Qian Li, on the other hand, her eyes flashing with jealousy, wore a gentle expression, “Mo Mo is really that strong? Are you sure she can get us out?”
“I’m not sure about her alone, but the three of them definitely can,” Zeng Ya said, using his psychic abilities to sense the battle below.
Suddenly, a look of surprise appeared in his eyes, “They have weapons, guns.”
“What? They have weapons?” Several people exclaimed in surprise, their excitement surging.
They all began urging Lu Chen to make a decision. Qian Li’s eyes flashed with darkness, her heart filled with resentment, but she had to cooperate; no one wanted to die here.
“Brother Lu Chen, if we don’t go down now, they’ll leave,” seeing the gap widening in the zombie horde, Zeng Ya urged, growing anxious.
“Pack up, let’s go,” hearing this, Lu Chen didn’t hesitate.