Regarding Ling Mo and Ye Lian's decision to stay, with Lu Xin's example before them, this group of people dared not whisper any criticisms anymore.
However, from most people's deliberately avoiding gazes, Ling Mo could tell that they were more fearful of him. Although Xia Na was also strong, she, after all, had never struck them. Perhaps it was the moment Ling Mo caught Lu Xin that this group of people finally realized being honest in front of Ling Mo would be wise.
Just as Ling Mo wanted to achieve, although his slap was only on Lu Xin's face, the rest of the people who harbored dissatisfaction towards Ling Mo felt the burning pain on their faces, whether they voiced their agreement or just murmured internally.
As for Lu Xin, upon hearing Ling Mo was going to stay, he scurried into his room not daring to show his face again.
Ling Mo didn't think he had gone too far; after all, this was a world without order, and with power, he would not tolerate any insults!
"Everyone remembers the teachers and classmates we left at school, right?" Liu Yuhao had Ling Mo sit on the sofa and then said excitedly to the group, "Ling has agreed to help Xia Na and me find them!"
Everyone was taken aback for a moment, and the looks they gave Ling Mo suddenly became extremely complicated.
The female middle school student from before hesitantly said, "There are too many zombies there..."
Her implication was clear; she doubted the success rate of this mission. And from the others, suspicion was visible in their eyes.
"I told you before, I have to go back and find them. If it wasn't for them covering our retreat, you would have become remnants in the zombies' stomachs long ago." Compared to Liu Yuhao, Xia Na spoke not only directly but also sparingly.
If it weren't for her clinging onto Ye Lian, looking very much like a needy little sister, she almost resembled a leader...
"But..."
At this moment, a man with glasses sitting to the left of Ling Mo suddenly spoke, "In that case, let's all go together. Xia Na is right, they might still be alive, waiting for us to rescue them. If we just walk away, it's too selfish. How about you take us with you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's faces turned somewhat unpleasant, but oddly, no one raised any objections.
"No!" Before Xia Na and Liu Yuhao could speak, Ling Mo interjected.
The man with glasses wasn't upset when his suggestion was rejected, he just turned to Ling Mo and asked, "Why?"
"You all lack combat abilities, and such a large group will be too conspicuous."
Being blackmailed by Xia Na was one thing, but babysitting a group like this, Ling Mo asserted, he wasn't that kind-hearted. Besides, the glasses-wearing man put it nicely, but Ling Mo felt they only wanted to come because they lacked a sense of security, a sentiment clearly reflected in their reactions.
Middle School No.3 was far from here; if everyone there was dead, it wouldn't matter, but if there were survivors, it would probably take Xia Na two or three days to return. Passing through areas dense with zombies was no simple task.
Of course, this group faced no pressure at all; they just needed to play their parts as burdens.
"But we don't have enough food!" The man who had sided with Lu Xin earlier suddenly interjected with a pained expression, and his statement essentially confirmed Ling Mo's suspicions.
"Yeah, we didn't expect to encounter Ling today, so we didn't prepare enough food for them in advance…"
Liu Yuhao slapped his forehead and turned a pleading gaze towards Ling Mo.
"Here's the thing, you don't need to worry about their life or death, just help us during a crisis. How about that?" Xia Na mumbled to herself for a while, then suddenly proposed this to Ling Mo.
When she said that, everyone's expressions became a bit subtle. They probably all clearly understood their own roles, but having it pointed out so directly was likely a first, making awkwardness inevitable.
In fact, precisely because they understood that they were burdens, they showed discontent towards Ling Mo's presence. Whether Ling Mo, like them, was also a burden, or had some abilities, to those who were clinging together, he was an "external invader."
As for Xia Na and Liu Yuhao, in their eyes, they were like hosts. They wanted to desperately squeeze them dry, yet also monopolize them.
But a dead weight must have the consciousness of a dead weight; once the host spoke up, even if they felt dissatisfaction internally, they had to endure it.
Since Xia Na said so, Ling Mo indifferently nodded his head: "Okay."
"That's great, Xia Na, rest assured, as long as you give us weapons, we will try our best to protect ourselves." The man with glasses showed a hint of a joyful smile as he spoke.
But seeing the complicated, tangled expressions of the others, it was hard to take these words seriously.
After discussing the details for a while longer, Liu Yuhao then took out all the food from his backpack, and they sat together simply eating a meal.
However, the food they had scavenged was truly not enough to satisfy hunger, whereas the food in Ling Mo's backpack, in terms of both taste and caloric content, was much better. No wonder, considering how many zombies and survivors there were in the city area, every supermarket had probably been scavenged several times...
But Ling Mo had no intention of sharing...
"Eh, are you not eating, Sister?" Xia Na held out half a package of instant noodles to Ye Lian, but noticed that Ye Lian had absolutely no reaction.
"Is Sister in a bad mood?"
Although Xia Na seemed completely oblivious, Liu Yuhao sensed a hint of chill in Ye Lian's eyes, and tentatively asked.
"No, she just doesn't interact much with strangers." Ling Mo immediately felt a headache coming and quickly interrupted their conversation.
"Ms. Ye should sleep with us tonight," Xia Na suddenly suggested, "You and Liu Yuhao can stay together. The boys stay here, and we girls will stay across from here."
Saying so, she pointed her hand at the house across the way.
Although Ling Mo wanted to refuse, when his gaze swept across Xia Na and the other girls, he inexplicably nodded his head: "Okay." It wasn't far apart anyway, not enough to let Ye Lian out of his control. Since his spiritual power had increased significantly, the distance he could control had also visibly extended.
"Eh…" Ling Mo's readiness surprised Xia Na, but it somewhat changed her view of him.
After the apocalypse arrived, basically all entertainment activities had vanished. After dinner, although it was only just getting dark, everyone had silently returned to their own rooms to rest.
Xia Na also pulled Ye Lian with her, and several other girls to the place across, while on one hand Ling Mo maintained the Spiritual Connection with Ye Lian, and on the other hand, he was arranged by Liu Yuhao to sleep on a single bed alone.
This was also a special consideration, given that he had to help Xia Na and the others go to Sanzhong tomorrow, and even if he only selectively helped, it meant a lot to Xia Na and her group.
But what no one expected was that while Ling Mo lay on the single bed, seemingly resting with closed eyes, his perspective had already switched to Ye Lian.
"Letting Ye Lian stay alone with you, how can I be at ease, I have to watch…"
Ling Mo silently said to himself in his mind.