Chapter 294 - 154: Luochuan City Settlement

Chapter 294: Chapter 154: Luochuan City Settlement

The car was quiet, save for the faint scraping of the wipers sweeping back and forth across the windshield and the swish of the tires rolling over puddles on the road.

Xu Mo leaned against the back seat, outwardly relaxed, but every nerve in his body was pulled taut. His right hand rested by his side, less than ten centimeters from the Triangular Spike at his waist.

The little girl sitting beside him was perfectly still. Xu Mo glanced at her from the corner of his eye. She looked to be about seven or eight, with jet-black hair and a round face. She would have been an adorable child—if one ignored her eyes.

At that moment, her eyes were a vacant, hollow black, like two dull glass beads with an unfocused gaze. She just sat there blankly, looking neither at him nor out the window, like a soulless husk.

Xu Mo pulled his gaze away and looked out at the rainy nightscape rushing past the window.

A few minutes later, Xu Mo sensed a change.

Xu Mo tilted his head slightly, his gaze meeting a pair of eyes that had turned blood-red.

The little girl had turned her head at some point and was now staring straight at him. Her eyes were no longer a vacant black but a vibrant, blood red. Her pupils had contracted into thin slits, looking especially eerie against the dark red of her irises.

Seeing Xu Mo look at her, the corners of the little girl’s mouth curled up slightly into an innocent smile. But paired with those blood-red eyes, the expression was nothing short of indescribably creepy.

"Tiantian."

The woman driving didn’t turn her head, merely calling out the name softly. Her voice wasn’t loud—it was even gentle—but it carried an authority that could not be questioned.

The smile on the little girl’s face froze. Her blood-red eyes blinked, a hint of grievance and defiance in them. She slowly turned her head, tearing her gaze away from Xu Mo.

But before she turned away completely, she lowered her head, extended her tongue, and gave the back of Xu Mo’s hand a light lick where it rested on his lap.

A wet, slippery, ice-cold sensation spread across the back of his hand.

Xu Mo: !!!

It took all his self-control not to draw his Triangular Spike. For a split second, Xu Mo had been certain that deceptively cute little mouth would suddenly fly open, revealing a maw full of fangs, and bite down hard.

But nothing happened. The little girl had already turned back around, once again becoming the dazed child from before. Her eyes had reverted to black, and she stared blankly ahead.

Xu Mo looked down at the back of his hand.

No wound. No bite marks.

He lifted his head and looked toward the driver’s seat.

"That’s a... unique way for a kid to say hello," Xu Mo said. He tried to keep his voice steady, but it came out a little stiff.

The woman behind the wheel chuckled softly.

"Tiantian is no threat to people," she said, her tone like a parent explaining away a mischievous child’s antics. "She’s just a little curious about you."

’No threat to people?’

Xu Mo didn’t reply, thinking to himself, ’No threat to people? In that case, does that mean all those things behind the car are your handiwork?’

He tilted his head slightly and glanced at the rearview mirror.

Following the car was a silent, advancing horde—an army composed entirely of zombies.

At the forefront were Agile Zombies, scrambling on all fours and darting through the rain with the agility of cheetahs.

These Agile Zombies varied in form. Some were clearly tier-one variants, only a size larger than common zombies, their limbs corded with muscle. Others were even sturdier and faster, each push of their legs sending them soaring forward—a speed clearly beyond the reach of any tier-one Agile Zombie.

A quick scan told Xu Mo there were at least a hundred of them.

Leading the Agile Zombies were two figures he recognized all too well: dark green scales, burly physiques, and ferocious heads with jutting underbites.

Aquatic Zombies!

The same type of tier-two variant with incredible defenses that he had killed before. They ran on two legs, jogging behind the SUV with a gait so composed it was almost leisurely. They weren’t chasing at full speed, merely matching the vehicle’s pace as if on an after-dinner stroll.

Farther back, Xu Mo’s view became unclear. But he could vaguely discern even more massive silhouettes. Those were Strength-Type Zombies, many of them a full size larger than the tier-one variants. Mixed in among them were a few hunched Venom-Type Zombies with bizarre, unsettling movements.

They were slower and had fallen behind, but Xu Mo knew they were still there.

’If this army of zombies were to attack me, how long could I last?’

Xu Mo didn’t know, and he had no desire to find out.

The woman driving, of course, noticed Xu Mo’s gaze in the rearview mirror.

"Tiantian helps me amplify my abilities," she offered, her tone calm, as if stating a simple fact. "Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to establish a settlement in Luochuan City on my own."

Xu Mo froze for a second.

He glanced at the little girl beside him. She was still sitting there blankly, her eyes vacant, as if she had nothing to do with the terrifying army of zombies behind them.

’This dazed, creepy little thing can amplify abilities?’

"She is..." Xu Mo chose his words carefully. "Where did you find her?"

"From a horde of zombies," the woman said, her voice faltering for a moment. "She was on the verge of turning when I found her. By the time I saved her, it was already too late. I had no choice but to use..." Her voice trailed off, glossing over the details. "I used certain methods to get her under control. Afterward, I discovered she had actually awakened a Superpower. It allows me to expand the range of my own abilities and stabilize... those things."