But after waiting for about ten minutes, Xia Na was still just staring blankly at Ling Mo, with no response whatsoever. Fortunately, other than her eyes turning blood-red, her body didn't undergo any further changes, and there were no signs of decay, which somewhat relieved Ling Mo.
"There's no other way, let's leave this place first."
Ling Mo sighed helplessly, pulling Xia Na up. Of course, before moving her, he first attempted to control her, to test whether she retained any rationality. A strong rebound made Ling Mo's head hurt but also filled him with a glint of joy. As long as some rationality remained, it meant she hadn't completely turned into a zombie.
After all, the mental differences between normal people and zombies are significant; normal people can think and experience emotional fluctuations, but zombies are like machines controlled by instinct, lacking any autonomy. Although Ling Mo's spiritual power is strong, it's not yet overpowering enough to suppress another's thoughts. Previously, his instant control over Xia Na was only possible because she was almost entirely driven by instinct at the time, with her self-awareness at its weakest.
Even though Xia Na wasn't reacting, her consciousness was not impaired; it was impossible for him to manipulate her under these circumstances.
For safety's sake, Ling Mo controlled Ye Lian and himself to each grab one of Xia Na's arms and hoist her up. This way, even if she went berserk en route, he and Ye Lian could act together to prevent her from hurting anyone.
"Ling, where are you planning to take Xia Na?" Liu Yuhao was completely at a loss now and asked somewhat helplessly.
Ling Mo glanced back at him and said, "This place is dangerous; the smell of blood will attract the zombies from the school. If something were to happen to Xia Na, how would we cope? Let's find somewhere a bit safer first."
"Yes, you're right..." Liu Yuhao was startled and then hurriedly nodded his head, adding very sincerely, "Ling, and Sister Lian, thank you."
This "thank you" contained a lot, and Ling Mo smiled but said nothing. As for Ye Lian, being a Mutated Zombie herself, she didn't show any reaction to Liu Yuhao's words.
Luckily, Liu Yuhao didn't mind, probably seeing Ye Lian as a shy and pretty older sister in his mind.
As they passed a dormitory building, Liu Yuhao suddenly asked Ling Mo to wait a moment, ran into the building, and soon after, came out panting with Xia Na's long sword in his hands, "This sword was made by Xia Na herself; it's of great quality. It would be a pity to let it get lost; she would be very upset about it."
Indeed, firearms are hard to find, and even if found, there's the issue of whether ordinary people can shoot and their accuracy, to say nothing of the direct problem that arises: using guns in an urban area densely infested with zombies is nearly suicidal if there isn't a silencer.
Under such circumstances, melee weapons are more practical. However, good quality melee weapons are scarce, and chopping zombies is not like slicing through pork; they are easily worn down, and too much force could split them. Ling's short knife, for instance, is not only lightweight with a sharp blade but also of decent quality.
Xia Na and the Wang craft of sword-making share a lineage; her skills are expected to be adept, and that long sword appears quite extraordinary. She took great care in its maintenance whenever she had a chance, clearly cherishing it.
Liu Yuhao was showing deep feelings for Xia Na, and it was natural for him to retrieve this long sword for her, even though it was still uncertain what Xia Na might become...
"You are quite good to Xia Na, you have loyalty and affection..." Ling Mo remarked with a touch of sentiment. He felt the same towards Ye Lian: even though she had turned into a zombie, even a Mutated Zombie, he hadn't given up hope.
Liu Yuhao, however, showed a strange expression, "You might have misunderstood, Ling. Xia Na and I are not in that kind of relationship. Um, Xia Na... she doesn't have those feelings for me..."
So that's how it is... During their time together, Ling Mo had already noticed that Liu Yuhao had unusual feelings for Xia Na, but Xia Na was much colder towards him.
"I'm not doing this just because I like Xia Na..." Liu Yuhao hurriedly explained again.
"I know," Ling Mo nodded understandingly. He figured that gratitude and admiration probably played a larger part in Liu Yuhao's feelings for Xia Na, considering that in that parasitic team, it was almost entirely supported by Xia Na. No matter how hard Liu Yuhao tried, as an ordinary young man, his fighting abilities couldn't compare to Xia Na's.
Seeing Liu Yuhao's physical strength failing, yet still holding onto that long knife, his face pale and breaths short, but stubbornly not asking for help, Ling Mo felt somewhat moved. He had a fairly good impression of this righteous and kind-hearted young man, so he let Ye Lian take over the long knife.
As for Wang Cheng, though he was also as exhausted as a dead pig, he was much smarter than Lu Xin. Gritting his teeth, he persevered without a word, closely following behind Ling Mo.
The group quickly exited the campus and entered a high-end residential complex opposite. The good thing about these apartment buildings was that they were semi-closed off, and there weren't many zombies roaming inside. However, for Ling Mo, such a place was not an ideal foothold, but now that he was with Xia Na, they would just have to make do.
After looking around, Ling Mo led the group into a residential building that had open ground in front and behind, making it easier to escape, and then he found a safe staircase.
Since they were only looking for a temporary shelter, Ling Mo didn't bother to clear out the zombies in the building and instead entered a residence on the second floor.
The door to the residence was wide open and the interior was in complete disarray, but there were no zombies lingering inside. After locking the door and checking everything carefully, Ling Mo placed Xia Na in one of the bedrooms.
At the moment, Xia Na's emotions were still fairly stable, to the point that her mind seemed to be in a blank state. If it wasn't for her eyes turning redder and redder, Ling Mo might even think that she had completely returned to normal. But as Ling Mo was carrying her to the **, she suddenly began to struggle madly again, her eyes firmly fixed on Ling Mo's chest.
"I... I need..."
"Need more?"
A chill passed through Ling Mo's heart, but Xia Na's hand reached out, and he had no choice but to take out another piece of gel with a lower purity.
As soon as the gel appeared in front of Xia Na, she grabbed it eagerly, swallowed it, and then her eyes suddenly widened before she collapsed, her eyelids slowly closing.
This sudden change startled Ling Mo. Out of urgency and without much thought, he pressed his ear against Xia Na's chest.
Thank goodness, there's a heartbeat... So this reaction, could it be that she's about to undergo Evolution like Ye Lian? But she hasn't fully turned into a zombie yet!
What exactly is going on here? Ling Mo looked up at Xia Na with a complex gaze, his mind filled with questions. But now that Xia Na had passed out, there was no telling how long it would take for her to wake up, and for the time being, they could only stay here.