Chapter 298 - 155: Natural and Artificial

Chapter 298: Chapter 155: Natural and Artificial

Just as Luo Li was about to continue, her expression suddenly changed.

Her gaze shifted from Xu Mo’s face, flickered toward a specific direction outside the window for less than a second, and then returned.

"Mr. Xu Mo," Luo Li’s tone became formal, the previous casual air vanishing completely. "I’m afraid our conversation will have to end for now."

Xu Mo froze for a moment.

"Hm?"

’We’ve only just begun,’ he thought. He still had so many questions—about that "naturally evolved" Scale Beast, about the presence to the east, about Luo Li’s true intentions for inviting him. The conversation had barely started, and it was already over?

Luo Li didn’t explain. She stood up, her movements clean and decisive, without a hint of hesitation.

"The one that was after you is here. And it’s decided to cause trouble for us, too."

Her voice was calm, but Xu Mo could detect the gravity beneath her composure.

Xu Mo’s pupils contracted slightly. That thing.

The thing that had cornered him, constricted his movements, and hunted him down like prey. It was now heading for this settlement.

Xu Mo asked no more questions. He stood up as well, his hand subconsciously resting on the Triangular Spike at his waist.

Luo Li glanced at him but said nothing before turning and walking toward the door. Xu Mo followed close behind.

Tiantian got up from her small stool and silently followed Luo Li. Her hollow eyes remained as vacant as ever, but her steps were surprisingly steady.

The three of them went downstairs.

As he walked out of the building, Xu Mo’s gaze swept across the surrounding residential complex.

Just like before, people were starting fires to cook, hanging laundry to dry, and a few children were chasing each other playfully in an open area. There was no panic on their faces, not even any undue curiosity. They simply went about their business as if nothing was wrong.

Xu Mo’s heart sank slightly.

’I don’t know if these residents are unaware of the coming danger, or if they’ve simply gotten used to it,’ he wondered.

Luo Li didn’t stop. She walked briskly deeper into the complex, seemingly in the direction where Xu Mo had seen the zombies gather last night. Tiantian stuck close to her side, her small figure looking somewhat frail in the morning light.

Xu Mo followed, his hand never leaving his Triangular Spike.

Halfway there, he noticed that the residents’ reactions were starting to change.

Some people stopped what they were doing and looked up in a certain direction. Others exchanged a few whispered words before hurrying back to their homes. The children who had been playing were called over by adults and dragged inside the buildings. Laundry hanging in the open was hastily collected, and the cooking fires gradually died out.

It wasn’t panic, but an orderly, well-rehearsed reaction, like an emergency drill practiced countless times.

’So that’s it,’ Xu Mo realized. ’It’s not that they didn’t know about the danger before, but that Luo Li hadn’t given the signal. Now that she’s on the move, they all know what to do.’

When they reached a relatively open area deep within the complex, Luo Li stopped, reached out to take Tiantian’s small hand, and closed her eyes.

Tiantian stood beside Luo Li, one hand held by her, the other clutching the hem of her own clothes. Her eyes were still hollow, but within their vacant depths, something seemed to tremble faintly.

Faintly, Xu Mo could feel something emanating from them—not a sound, not a scent, but an indescribable, mental wave. The ripple spread out in all directions, passing through walls, through buildings, through the post-rain morning mist, and extending into the distance.

Three seconds.

Five seconds.

A commotion arose in the distance.

It was the resonance that could only be produced by countless feet stamping on the ground at once. The vibrations converged from all directions, growing clearer and clearer.

Xu Mo tightened his grip on the Triangular Spike. Then he saw them. From every corner of the complex, grayish-black figures began to appear. They moved in silence, converged in silence, and lined up in silence. Agility Types, Strength Types, and other special mutated types he couldn’t name—they all emerged from their positions as if awakened by some invisible force, gathering in Luo Li’s direction.

Xu Mo did a quick scan. There were nearly a hundred Agility Types alone. The Strength Types were enormous, their every step making the ground tremble slightly. The Venom Types crawled at the rear, their hunched forms casting distorted shadows in the sunlight.

What made Xu Mo’s heart clench even tighter was the sight of the two Scale Beasts.

The two Level 2 water-type mutants that had run on two legs behind their vehicle were now standing at the very front of the ranks. Their dark green scales gleamed faintly in the morning light, their ferocious, under-jawed heads bowed slightly as if awaiting orders.

Luo Li opened her eyes. Her face was paler than before, and fine beads of sweat dotted her temples. It was clear that summoning so many zombies and controlling so many mutants was no easy task for her.

"Let’s go," she said. "Outside the complex."

She didn’t wait for Xu Mo’s reply, turning and heading toward the main gate. The newly assembled horde of zombies followed silently behind her, like a noiseless army.

Xu Mo kept pace.

As they walked out the complex’s main gate, Xu Mo saw that the guards had already taken their positions. People on the watchtowers had readied their weapons, faint silhouettes were visible behind the firing ports in the walls, and armed men and women were crouched behind the barricades on either side of the gate. Their faces showed no fear, only the focus that comes with facing danger.

But they weren’t looking in the direction of the approaching threat. They were looking at Xu Mo, Luo Li, and the great zombie army following behind them.