Chapter 804 – Respect the Elderly and Cherish the Young

Even though Ling Mo had issued a warning, by the time the motel had quieted down again, it was already close to midnight.

After carefully disguising Xu Shuhan, Ling Mo turned his attention to another important matter.

Merely racing against Niepan like this was not a particularly effective strategy. The more people he had, the slower their progress. In contrast, Niepan might still be on the move day and night and could even employ some special tracking measures. Considering their familiarity with the route, it might not even be safe to leave Heishui City.

Moreover, the reason Ling Mo was buying time wasn’t just to temporarily widen the distance…

In a corner of the motel, inside the storage room.

The sunglasses man, or rather one of the Big Boss’s avatars, was currently slumped against the wall, looking dispirited.

His hands were tied to the plastic piping above his head, and his feet were tightly bound together with ropes.

In this uncomfortable, bound position, he had to exert himself just to remain standing… according to Ling Mo, this was conducive to his thinking…

“Click.”

The sound of the door opening suddenly rang out, followed by a blinding flashlight beam probing inside.

The sunglasses man painfully turned his head away, listening to someone entering from outside.

Next, the voice that had been endlessly echoing in his mind once again sounded in his ear, “You’ve been alone for a few hours, have you thought things through?”

“Cough…” The sunglasses man blinked laboriously, straining to look at Ling Mo.

As the figure in his eyes gradually became clear, a trace of a manic smile appeared on the sunglasses man’s face.

“Do your words count?” he asked in a muffled voice.

Ling Mo toyed with the flashlight and seemed to smile, “About that… you’ll just have to wait and see.”

…

Five days later.

On a somewhat deserted road, a group of figures was running wildly.

Suddenly, the leader of the group halted. He turned to look at a shop on the side.

“Go check it out.”

He gave the brief order, already making his way over.

The instant he opened the door, a hand reached out from inside.

Accompanied by the sound of someone behind him pulling back the slide on a gun, the hand drooped lifelessly along the doorframe.

“Don’t be nervous, it’s just a corpse.”

The person who opened the door remained unusually calm, pushing the door wide open, and then heard exclamations from those behind him.

“They’re all…” The person who nearly fired his weapon still held his arm up, muttering in fear.

“Zombies.” said the leader, picking up the conversation.

His somewhat sinister eyes kept peering into the depths of the shop, and he furrowed his brow slightly.

Inside this barren shop, corpses lay scattered all around… and those blood-red eyes seemed to be “staring” at them.

However, he seemed oblivious as he crouched down to examine one of the corpses: “These zombies have been dead for at most a little over an hour… Their eyes look blank, which means, like before, they were lured here by an Illusion and killed without any resistance… There are blood holes here, just like the method used by that person.”

Having said this, he stood up, took out a handkerchief, and wiped his hands. “The distance is getting closer; they can’t escape. But…” He paused abruptly, pondered for a moment, and then continued, “I don’t know why they are taking a route so similar to ours.”

“Old Seven, are you saying… this shortcut?” asked the one holding the gun.

“Exactly…” the man called Old Seven nodded affirmatively, “Didn’t they capture a captive? I think that person gave them directions. But if they took the route, wouldn’t they realize we might take it as well? While they’ve saved time, this way, they are bound to be caught by us…”

As he was contemplating, someone in the team remarked, “Isn’t that a good thing? It shows they’re foolish!”

“Hopefully. Once this mission is successful, we won’t have to undertake any tasks for half the year, and the treatment we receive will improve too. Everyone needs to stay focused,” Old Seven said cautiously. “In any case, once we get close, we initiate strangulation, make sure to eliminate them.”

“What about the captive?” someone asked.

“Their strength isn’t weak; how could they possibly rescue the captive alive? Don’t hesitate, when the time comes… go all out!” With that, Old Seven glanced down at the corpse at his feet and then waved his hand forcefully, “Quick, pursue!”

Meanwhile, on a relatively remote highway in the distance.

Several figures were dragging their weary steps, slowly moving forward.

Not far ahead of them were three girls who appeared to be quite at ease, followed by a young man who seemed to be in decent shape.

“Ling Mo…” one of the figures suddenly let out a wail, then feebly shouted, “I’m so tired…”

“Hang in there a little longer.”

The young man was fiddling with an inconspicuous small machine in his hand, and without turning his head, he responded.

Throughout the journey, he had been tinkering with the device multiple times, as if he were searching for something.

But in this city of ruins, what could he possibly find?

“I’m really tired…” the person continued to shout.

Soon, the repetitive complaints brought about a roar of anger.

“Damn! I haven’t even complained about being tired, and you’re shouting so eagerly!”

The person sighed again, “Respect the elderly and cherish the young…”

“Come on! You’re clearly on my back!” Mu Chen said, his face flushed with exertion.

And on his back, Old Lan was sighing with a look of distress…

It had been too long, and even with someone carrying him, he felt like his bones were going to fall apart.

“You have to understand the weakness of a shut-in…” Old Lan called out again.

“Don’t insult shut-ins. At most, you’re just an old pervert!”

“Ling Mo, why don’t we take a break?”

Wang Lin walked a few steps faster, then spoke to Ling Mo.

“Soon,” Ling Mo replied, looking up.

“We’ve been rushing tirelessly for five days. Even if we’re not moving that quickly, it’s still hard on everyone. We might be fine, but those three are quite weak…” Wang Lin turned her head with concern, and among those she glanced at were not only Old Lan but also the sweat-soaked Lan Lan and the unsteady Old Zheng…

There was also the stumbling sunglasses man, but Wang Lin chose to selectively ignore him.

“We’ve saved time, but we’ve also made some sacrifices. Trust me, we won’t have to go much farther…”

About ten minutes later, Ling Mo suddenly pointed to a building ahead and said, “We’re here.”

Hearing his voice, everyone immediately looked up.

Lan Lan took a breath and asked, “It’s just a building… Do we just walk in and we’re there?”

“Did you secretly place a space-time portal inside?” Old Zheng joked.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Ling Mo replied.

The sunglasses man squinted at the building, a hint of doubt flashing in his expression.

“Does he truly not know his situation, or can he really find some turning point here?”

But as Ling Mo picked up his pace toward the building, the man no longer had the energy to continue pondering.

“Hurry up, everyone, just hang in there a little longer!”

Not long after they entered the building, a group of figures sprinting at full speed appeared at the other end of the street…

“What do you mean hang in there… this is downright exhausting! We’ve got to climb over twenty floors…” Old Zheng groused miserably, looking ahead at Ling Mo with a dejected expression, “We’re both of the mental ability, but our physical conditions are worlds apart!”

“Hmph, can’t figure it out? Can’t you see the biggest difference between you two?” Mu Chen snorted from the side.

Old Zheng gazed at him with some surprise, then asked expectantly, “You know?”

“Of course!” Mu Chen glanced at him dismissively and said, “The reason is simple… you’re single!”

“…Can’t argue with that…” Old Zheng was left speechless.

As the group continued climbing the stairs, a faint noise suddenly echoed from below.

Almost immediately upon hearing the sound, the stairwell became silent, and everyone came to an abrupt halt…

Lan Lan, who was at the back, slowly turned her head to look at the darkened staircase…