Chapter 287 - 151: Luochuan City

Chapter 287: Chapter 151: Luochuan City

Xu Mo listened quietly to the sounds in the darkness, as if he were listening to the city breathe.

He thought back to the Level 2 zombie he had killed that afternoon. He hadn’t even gotten a clear look at its face, only catching a vague glimpse of a burly, human-like silhouette.

But at least Xu Mo had confirmed one thing: Level 2 zombies were indeed present in Luochuan City, and there were likely quite a few of them!

This was very important!

In the pre-dawn hours, rain began to fall outside.

At first, only a few scattered drops spattered against the glass, but ten-odd minutes later, the drizzle had become a torrential downpour. Rainwater scoured the dust-caked city of ruins, drawing dense curtains of water between the buildings.

The sound of the rain woke Xu Mo. He stood and walked to the window; the visibility outside was so poor he could barely see the building opposite.

There was good news, however: the heavy rain would wash away scents and muffle sounds.

Xu Mo had originally planned to head back during the day, but the downpour gave him a new idea. He would use the cover of the rain to make his escape.

After gathering his things, Xu Mo quickly headed downstairs.

On the ground floor, Xu Mo pressed himself against the wall behind the stairwell door and pushed it open a tiny crack.

The rain was a waterfall, hammering the ground outside the office building’s entrance and kicking up a white mist. Water streamed down broken steel rebar, creating endless ripples in the accumulating puddles.

There weren’t many zombies. Their numbers were clearly lower than when he had first charged in.

The downpour had scattered the scents and interfered with their already dull hearing. Only a few zombies wandered aimlessly at the edge of the entrance, occasionally tilting their heads up as if wondering why the deafening roar of the rain hadn’t brought any prey.

Xu Mo took a moment to observe. The nearest zombie was about eight meters away with its back to him. Two others were further out at the edge of the rain, their attention completely elsewhere.

Sensing his chance, Xu Mo threw the door open and accelerated into the curtain of rain.

The instant the Mountain-Cutting Saber left its sheath, rain spattered against the blade, creating a fine spray. There were no gunshots, no roars, not even the sound of hurried footsteps—Xu Mo kept his movements to a minimum, moving like a shadow melting into the darkness under the cover of the rain as he closed in on the zombie with its back to him.

With a flash of steel, the blade sliced into the back of the zombie’s neck and through its spine in one clean motion. The zombie didn’t even have time to turn before its body slumped limply to the side.

Without pausing, Xu Mo sidestepped the corpse and was already sprinting toward his destination.

The rain was even heavier than he had imagined.

This wasn’t just a heavy rain; it was a nearly suffocating deluge that seemed to merge heaven and earth. Visibility was reduced to less than twenty meters. Anything farther was just a flowing, blurry darkness.

It was the perfect cover, but also the most dangerous trap.

But Xu Mo didn’t hesitate. He had already mapped out the route in his mind: cut diagonally from the north side of the office building, through a stretch of low, abandoned shops, across the small, ruined parking lot he had scouted during the day, and then around a half-collapsed warehouse district to his destination.

He was now running a route he had only confirmed by sight during the day, relying entirely on instinct and memory.

He kept his body low, synchronizing his breathing with the rhythm of the rain. At his level in the Iron Bone Realm, he could fully conceal his aura. His blood flow slowed, and any zombies that emerged from the curtain of rain were utterly unaware of him.

Only when he absolutely couldn’t avoid one would Xu Mo strike with his Mountain-Cutting Saber.

One slash, two steps, a quick sidestep, and he was running again.

Xu Mo never lingered or got drawn into a fight. Any zombie blocking his path was met with a single, momentary flash of his blade before being left behind to be swallowed by the endless, rainy night.

About forty minutes later, Xu Mo passed through the half-collapsed warehouse district.

The sheet-metal shed hiding his SUV was less than fifty meters ahead.

Just then, Xu Mo froze mid-stride. A chill, like a physical icicle, shot straight up his spine.

It wasn’t a change in temperature or even a specific aura, but the feeling of being targeted. Xu Mo was all too familiar with this sensation—it was the unmistakable feeling of a Level 2 zombie locking onto him.

’A Level 2 zombie!’

Xu Mo’s heart hammered for a split second before he forced it back under control. He didn’t look back, didn’t make any sudden moves, and didn’t even stop running. He maintained his speed and direction, pushing his senses to their absolute limit to try and pinpoint the source of the gaze.

’The left?’

’No, my front right!’

A blurry silhouette was moving through the curtain of rain.

It was fast. Incredibly fast. Its speed was completely different from the more agile zombies—it wasn’t skittering on all fours but running upright, each stride covering a shocking distance. Raindrops shattered against its body into a fine mist, leaving a nearly transparent wake in its trail.

Xu Mo only had time to get a rough impression. The Level 2 zombie was about six feet tall but powerfully built, with shoulders far broader than a normal person’s. Its skin emitted an unnatural, dark green glow in the rainy night, as if covered in a layer of fine, wet scales.

Twenty meters.

Ten meters.

In the blink of an eye, the figure was on him!

Xu Mo’s pupils contracted. His Mountain-Cutting Saber carved a brilliant arc through the rain as he channeled all his vital energy. The power of the Iron Bone Realm flooded his right arm like a torrent from an open sluice gate!

"SCREEECH—!!!"

The piercing shriek of metal on metal actually managed to drown out the roar of the downpour!