With the example of Lu Xin before them, no one dared make a peep about Ling Mo and Ye Lian staying.
But from the deliberately avoiding gazes of most people, Ling Mo could see that what they felt towards him was more fear than anything else. Although Shana was also very strong, she hadn't lashed out at them after all. Those people probably only realized in the instant when Ling Mo grabbed Lu Xin that it was best to behave themselves in front of Ling Mo.
Just as Ling Mo intended, although his slap was only on Lu Xin's face, the others who harbored dissatisfaction towards Ling Mo also felt that stinging pain on their cheeks, whether they openly agreed or just grumbled to themselves.
As for Lu Xin, as soon as he heard that Ling Mo was staying, he slunk off miserably to his room, not daring to show his face again.
Ling Mo didn't feel he had gone overboard at all. This was already a world without order to begin with. Since he had the strength, he wouldn't tolerate insults from others!
"You all remember those teachers and classmates still at the school, right?" Liu Yuhao arranged for Ling Mo to sit on the sofa, then excitedly said to the group, "Brother Ling has agreed to help Shana and I find them!"
Everyone was stunned for a moment, their gazes at Ling Mo instantly becoming extremely complicated.
That female middle school student spoke up hesitantly, "There are so many zombies there…"
Implicitly, she clearly didn't believe in the chances of success for this venture. Doubt could also be seen in the others' expressions.
"I already told you guys, I'm definitely going back to find them. If they hadn't helped stall for us back then, you would have long become zombie dung by now," compared to Liu Yuhao, Shana's words were not only direct, but completely unapologetic.
If not for her pulling Ye Lian along, looking exactly like a clingy little sister, she really had something of a leader's bearing…
"But…"
Just then, the bespectacled man sitting to Ling Mo's left suddenly spoke up, "Since that's the case, let's all go together then. Shana is right, they might all still be alive, waiting for us to meet them. If we just leave like this, it would be too selfish. What do you think, take us along?"
When he finished speaking, everyone's expressions turned a bit ugly, but strangely enough no one raised any objections.
"No!" Before Shana and Liu Yuhao could speak, Ling Mo already refused.
Although his proposal was rejected, the bespectacled man didn't get angry. He just turned his gaze to Ling Mo and asked, "Why not?"
"You guys have no combat ability, plus such a large group would be too noticeable of a target."
Although Shana had extorted him a bit, Ling Mo wouldn't be so kind as to play babysitter for this whole group. What's more, although the bespectacled man made it sound nice, Ling Mo felt that they only wanted to tag along because they lacked a sense of security, which could be seen from their reactions.
The distance between the middle school and here was quite far. Even if everyone there was dead, that would be one thing, but if there were any survivors, it would probably take Shana and Liu Yuhao two to three days just to get back. Getting through those zombie-infested areas was no simple feat.
Of course this group had zero qualms at all, their only role was to be good burdens.
"But there's not enough food!" The man who had agreed with Lu Xin suddenly spoke up glumly, and with this sentence, it was as good as confirming Ling Mo's guess.
"Ah, we didn't expect to run into Brother Ling today, so we didn't prepare enough food for them in advance…"
Liu Yuhao knocked his own head, turning pleading eyes towards Ling Mo.
"How about this, whether they live or die doesn't need to be your concern, you just need to help us out when we're in danger, okay?" After thinking silently for a while, Shana suddenly said to Ling Mo.
When she put it this way, everyone's expressions turned a bit awkward. They probably all knew their position clearly, but having it pointed out so bluntly was probably the first time, so embarrassment was inevitable.
In fact, it was precisely because they knew they were dead weight that they showed dissatisfaction at Ling Mo's arrival. Whether Ling Mo was dead weight like them or somewhat capable, to this group clinging together, he was still an "outside invader."
As for Shana and Liu Yuhao, they were like hosts in these people's eyes. They had to desperately exploit them, yet also monopolize them.
But burdens should know their place. As soon as the host spoke, even if dissatisfied, they could only swallow it down.
Since Shana had said it this way, Ling Mo indifferently nodded, "Okay."
"Great, Shana don't worry, as long as you give us weapons, we'll try our best to protect ourselves," the bespectacled man revealed a hint of joy in his smile as he spoke.
But judging by the others' complicated, awkward expressions, it was hard to take his words seriously.
After discussing some more details, Liu Yuhao took out all the food from his backpack and they sat together for a simple meal.
The food they had scavenged really couldn't fill anyone up. On the other hand, the taste and calories of the food in Ling Mo's backpack were much better. No wonder, with so many zombies in the city and many survivors, any supermarket was probably already ransacked who knows how many times…
But Ling Mo had no intention of sharing…
"Huh, sister's not eating?" Shana passed half a packet of instant noodles to Ye Lian, only to find Ye Lian completely unresponsive.
"Sister's not feeling well?"
Although it seemed Shana didn't notice anything, Liu Yuhao felt a hint of chill from Ye Lian's eyes and tentatively asked.
"No, she just doesn't interact much with strangers," Ling Mo hurriedly cut them off, feeling a big headache coming on.
"Ye Sister can sleep with us tonight," Shana suddenly suggested instead. "You and Liu Yuhao can bunk together. Guys on this side, us girls on the other."
As she spoke, she pointed across to the house opposite them.
Although Ling Mo really wanted to refuse, as his gaze swept past Shana and the other girls, he nodded against his better instincts, "Okay." Anyway they weren't far apart, so Ye Lian wouldn't slip out of his control. Since his psychic power had greatly increased, his control range had clearly expanded by a lot.
"Huh…" Ling Mo's readiness surprised Shana a bit, but it did change her impression of him for the better.
With the apocalypse, basically all entertainment activities were gone. After eating, although it had just gotten dark, everyone had already silently returned to their rooms to rest.
Shana also pulled Ye Lian along with the other girls to the house across from them, while under Liu Yuhao's arrangements, Ling Mo slept alone in a single bed.
This was special treatment in a sense, since he was going to help Shana and the others get to the middle school tomorrow, and with his combat strength, even if he only selectively helped out, it was still enormously meaningful to Shana and the others.
But what no one expected was that when Ling Mo lay down on the single bed, seemingly resting with eyes closed, his perspective had already switched over to Ye Lian.
"Letting Ye Lian stay alone with you, how could I feel at ease without watching over…"
Ling Mo secretly thought to himself.