"Oh… I refuse," Ling Mo decisively shook his head. He had saved them out of helplessness to begin with, and after the unpleasantness earlier, he now only wanted to leave with Ye Lian as soon as possible before it got dark, and they really couldn't get away.
"You're so difficult!" Shana bit her lip in frustration, grabbing Ling Mo's sleeve as if she had no intention of letting go. Although her expression was stubborn, looking at her up close, Ling Mo realized for the first time that she had a doll-like face that made her look much younger than her actual age. He had only noticed her fierceness when killing zombies earlier and had completely failed to notice that she was actually a cute little girl.
Maybe because she was bearing the survival hopes of so many people and had gone through too much fighting, she gave off a more mature vibe than her looks suggested.
"Hey, stop staring at me!" Noticing Ling Mo's gaze fixed on her face, Shana suddenly raised her eyebrows and shook his arm off, "We're all survivors, and you seem pretty capable too, so why are you unwilling to help?"
If you're so capable, why do you still need my help… Hearing Shana's tone, clearly unwilling to admit she was inferior to Ling Mo, Ling Mo couldn't help but mutter to himself silently.
"Let me put it this way, I won't help with anything related to those parasites," Ling Mo coldly snorted. He really didn't have any good feelings towards those freeloaders, and ever since Shana and Liu Yuhao came back, they hadn't cared about their safety at all, just their own self-interest and exclusionism. Slapping Lu Xin was also an indirect slap in the face of those parasites to some extent.
However, this was ultimately Shana and Liu Yuhao's own choice, and Ling Mo didn't intend to say much more. But wanting him to get involved with those people was out of the question.
Unexpectedly, after hearing his words, Shana revealed a profound smile, "So you're willing to help as long as it's unrelated to them? Good, because this really has nothing to do with them."
"I didn't say that…"
"Liu Yuhao told you just now, we're students from X City No. 3 Middle School. You know that school, right?"
"I know… mainly that it's a boarding school…"
No. 3 Middle School was very famous in X City, but for Ling Mo who had always been an average student, he had only heard of the school, never attended it. On the other hand, Ye Lian had just graduated from No. 3 Middle School two years ago before entering X City University. However, he never expected that snobbish Lu Xin was actually from No. 3 Middle School as well…
Liu Yuhao then helpfully added, "That Lu Xin got in with money."
"You're so annoying!" Shana glared at him, then continued, "When we escaped, some classmates were left behind at the school. We had agreed to go back for them after finding a foothold, but when we went back once, we couldn't even get close. You just need to help me get into the school, what do you think?"
To be honest, Ling Mo didn't have that kind of self-sacrificing spirit, but he also wouldn't hold others to his own standards.
He looked at Shana meaningfully for a moment, then suddenly stretched out his hand, "What about payment?"
"Huh?"
"You can't possibly think I'm free labor, right?" Ling Mo asked matter-of-factly.
Liu Yuhao's eyes instantly twitched as he asked in exasperation, "Who told me that after a disaster strikes, everyone will help each other! Brother Ling, I suddenly feel the world is so dark!"
"Well, it depends on what kind of disaster it is. Do you think there's still order and morality now?" Ling Mo just coldly snorted in response.
Indeed, the outside world was full of zombies, and living people were hiding like rats, struggling to survive in the cracks. The entire world order had completely collapsed. A week ago, perhaps they still hoped for rescue, but now they fully understood that in this situation, other than saving themselves, there was no other way.
When the disaster struck, anyone could turn into a zombie in an instant, and no one could even say for sure how the virus was transmitted. But to cause such a massive collective outbreak and sweep across the globe in just one day, it was probably through the air…
And these mutated zombies, upon encountering living people, would immediately tear them apart and devour them, not even giving them a chance to mutate.
Shana stared at Ling Mo for a good while, then suddenly revealed a smile, "Reasonable request, but haven't you already received payment?" Shana pointed at the short knife at Ling Mo's waist, "That one was made by my relative."
"Wang Lin is your relative?!"
Ling Mo was shocked; it really was a small world! But this did explain how a little girl like her had such a sharp long knife that was probably already beyond the scope of ordinary regulated knives in China, and could be called a murder weapon!
But when Ling Mo looked at the long knife on her, he noticed the engraving on the hilt was slightly different, it didn't say Wang's knife shop…
Probably noticing Ling Mo's confusion, Shana reached back and touched the exposed knife hilt over her shoulder, and coldly snorted, "Don't look, I made this myself. And that short knife you have was made by Wang Lin."
"Wang Lin?" Now Ling Mo really was surprised. He never expected that seemingly weak Wang Lin in his impression could make hand-forged blades, and with such good craftsmanship… But on second thought, the Wang family ran a handcraft workshop, so it wasn't that strange for the craft to be passed down to her.
But to have such good skills at such a young age, yet die such an early unjust death without even leaving a corpse behind… Ling Mo couldn't help but tighten his grip on the knife hilt, and his expression darkened for a moment.
Shana didn't notice the subtle change in Ling Mo's expression, and continued, "Although not as good as I can make, that short knife is still pretty valuable, right? So let's just say we have a deal? If you're worried about your sister's safety, you can leave her here and my classmates will take care of her…"
"No need." Ling Mo directly cut Shana off. What a joke, Ye Lian was a mutated zombie. Once out of his control, they'd probably come back to find nothing left but shreds of flesh and bones.
"You're pretty annoying, but you really care well for your sister. Although she can't speak and seems quite introverted, she's so beautiful. Keep cherishing her!"
Shana raised her eyebrows and suddenly patted Ling Mo on the shoulder, saying earnestly.
So you really misunderstand… But knowing of the relationship between Shana and Wang Lin, Ling Mo's heart also softened a bit. A place as densely populated as a school campus would naturally also be crawling with zombies. The group left behind was very likely already mostly dead. Shana must have considered this possibility, yet she still didn't give up.
Should this be called persistence or recklessness…
"I'll only take you to the gate." After careful consideration, Ling Mo felt that with his skills, breaking through to the main gate should still be no problem. In case of any unexpected situations, Ye Lian would still be by his side.
"Great! Brother Ling, it's rare for you to stay and help, we'll definitely drink well tonight! Hahaha…" Liu Yuhao secretly gave Shana a thumbs up, then familiarly hung his arm over Ling Mo's shoulder, laughing.
"Since this is a deal, I won't say thanks."
Shana smiled slightly and also grabbed Ye Lian's hand. She seemed to really like this beautiful older sister who didn't speak at all and had no expression…