Chapter 314 - 160: Confrontation

Chapter 314: Chapter 160: Confrontation

Xu Mo’s Triangular Spike pierced the last ordinary zombie that lunged at him. He habitually flicked his weapon clean, ready for the next wave, but then he froze.

The space before him was empty.

Not the emptiness of having killed all the zombies, but the kind of void where more should have been charging, yet none were.

A dozen or so meters ahead, at least thirty or forty zombies were packed densely together. Their mouths hung open, revealing rotting gums and broken fangs. Low growls rumbled in their throats, but they didn’t charge.

Xu Mo instinctively glanced to his left and right. It was the same situation—the zombies maintained a distance of two or three meters, surrounding him, Luo Li, and Tiantian. They snarled and bared their teeth, posturing as if to attack, but never took that final step.

Xu Mo’s grip on the Triangular Spike tightened slightly as a subtle sense of unease rose from deep within him. The recent, relentless waves of battle had ingrained a certain muscle memory: a zombie would charge, he would stab, the zombie would fall, and the next wave would come. It was a mechanical, repetitive, almost instinctual rhythm of slaughter.

Now, that rhythm was suddenly broken. It was like throwing a full-force punch, only to hit empty air. That feeling of pent-up force with no outlet was more unsettling than facing the zombie horde itself.

Xu Mo took a deep breath, forcing himself to break free from the slaughter’s inertia. His gaze swept over the surrounding zombies as he quickly analyzed the situation.

There were at least a hundred zombies, mostly ordinary ones, interspersed with a few Level 1 mutants. With his current strength, he could deal with them quickly if they actually charged, but they didn’t.

Xu Mo instinctively turned to look at Luo Li.

Luo Li’s face was still pale, but the exhaustion in her eyes had been replaced by a grave vigilance. She held Tiantian’s hand tightly, and that invisible psychic wave was still spreading from her.

"Was that you?" Xu Mo asked.

’Did you just seize control of these zombies?’

But the moment the words left his mouth, Xu Mo knew the guess was wrong. If Luo Li were controlling them, the zombies wouldn’t be snarling at them. Zombies under Luo Li’s control, even if only being driven away, were obedient. The posture of these zombies, however, was clearly threatening. This was an enemy’s will at work.

Luo Li shook her head.

"It wasn’t me."

Her voice was soft, but clear.

Xu Mo’s brow furrowed slightly, his gaze instinctively falling on Tiantian. The little girl was still clinging to Luo Li, her blood-red eyes staring vacantly ahead. Xu Mo stared at her for two seconds, but Tiantian didn’t react at all, not even glancing his way.

’It’s not her, either. Then there’s only one possibility left.’

Xu Mo looked back at the snarling zombies around them, his gaze gradually turning cold.

’It’s the entity that can control the Level 3 naturally Evolved Zombie. It’s watching the three of them right now through the eyes of these zombies.’

Xu Mo’s pupils contracted slightly.

’What is it waiting for?’

"Can you sense it?" Xu Mo asked, keeping his voice low.

"Yes."

Luo Li’s voice carried a hint of gravity, along with an emotion Xu Mo couldn’t quite decipher.

"It’s close."

Xu Mo’s heart sped up slightly, his alertness pushed to the absolute maximum.

’How close is "close"?’

Xu Mo didn’t ask the question out loud. He just tightened his grip on the Triangular Spike and strained his ears, trying to pick out any unusual sounds from the chorus of zombie growls.

But there was nothing, only the rising and falling growls of the zombies, like some kind of eerie background noise.

Xu Mo felt a movement in his left hand. It was Luo Li’s. Her hand was cold and still trembling slightly. He gave it a gentle squeeze, a silent signal.

"Powerful one from afar, you have proven your strength. I acknowledge you. You may leave now."

The voice suddenly came from the depths of the ruins ahead.

It wasn’t a growl, nor a psychic wave, but the actual voice of a man—low, hoarse, and with a strange intonation, the unpracticed awkwardness of someone who hadn’t spoken to another person in a long time.

"Hm?"

A short grunt escaped Xu Mo’s throat. His expression turned a little strange as he turned to look at Luo Li.

Luo Li’s expression was equally complex, an indescribable glint flashing in her weary eyes. She had obviously heard the sentence, too, and had also picked up on a certain key phrase within it.

Powerful one from afar.

Xu Mo had heard this phrase from Luo Li’s lips before. Just yesterday evening, in a clearing in the wilderness far from Luochuan City, they were the first words Luo Li had said to him while holding her black umbrella.

Now, the same phrase was being uttered from the mouth of another "person."

This subtle repetition gave Xu Mo an indescribable sense of strangeness. ’It’s as if they’re both using the same opening line, following the same script?’

Xu Mo shook his head, pushing the ridiculous thought from his mind. He looked back toward the shadow-shrouded ruins ahead, took a deep breath, and spoke.

"Come out and talk."

His voice wasn’t loud, but it was clear enough.

"I don’t feel safe when I can’t see who I’m talking to."

The depths of the ruins fell silent for a few seconds.

Then the male voice rang out again, this time with a strange undertone.

"The weapon on your back can threaten me. I don’t dare to come out."

Xu Mo’s gaze sharpened.

He instinctively tightened the strap of the Barrett on his back. That thing knew about the Barrett, knew the rifle could threaten it. What did that mean? It meant it had been watching, ever since Xu Mo entered Luochuan City, ever since he’d used the Barrett to kill the first Scale Beast. It had been watching the entire time.