As soon as Lin Mao returned to the shelter, he saw Wen Rou walking quickly toward him from another tunnel.
The moment her eyes landed on him, she immediately noticed the torn corner of his clothes. A trace of concern flashed through her eyes before turning into curiosity.
Stopping in front of him, she asked softly,
“Earlier, I saw a blood moon appear in the sky, but it disappeared not long after. Lin Mao, do you know what happened?”
Lin Mao glanced at her calmly.
“We encountered a Blood Moon Boss outside. But it’s already been dealt with.”
Wen Rou nodded lightly, the confusion in her eyes disappeared instantly, as if everything now made sense.
Just as Lin Mao was about to leave, Wen Rou suddenly remembered something important and quickly grabbed his arm.
Lin Mao stopped and looked back at her with a puzzled expression.
Realizing what she had done, Wen Rou hurriedly let go and said a little awkwardly,
“I almost forgot. A girl from my team said she has important information about Boss Huang. Since you’re back now, I’ll call her over immediately.”
“Boss Huang?”
Lin Mao’s eyes instantly sharpened.
Back then, he had already forced quite a bit of information out of the cowardly old man. He thought Boss Huang had revealed everything he knew, but apparently, he had still been hiding secrets.
That immediately caught Lin Mao’s interest.
After all, Boss Huang had survived in the apocalypse for a long time. He likely knew far more than he had admitted.
While Lin Mao was thinking, Wen Rou waved toward a corner nearby.
A thin and timid-looking girl was standing there nervously, clutching the edge of her clothes.
After noticing Wen Rou’s signal, she hesitated for a moment before quickly running over.
When she stopped in front of Lin Mao, she lowered her head nervously and only dared to glance at him briefly before looking down again.
Lin Mao rubbed his chin and said,
“Wen Rou told me you have important information about Boss Huang. Is that true?”
The girl nodded gently and took a deep breath.
“When our team was captured by Boss Huang’s men, I accidentally overheard him talking to his subordinates. He said that beyond the forest border, there’s an abandoned city filled with supplies.”
She paused and licked her dry lips before continuing.
“But… I also heard him say that the abandoned city is extremely dangerous. There are many powerful survivor groups occupying the area. If you’re careless, you could lose your life there.”
After saying that, the girl immediately fell silent.
Lin Mao smiled faintly.
“I understand. Thank you for the information. It’s very useful. You can go back to your work now.”
Hearing his response, the girl visibly relaxed.
A shy smile appeared on her face as she nodded toward Lin Mao and Wen Rou before quickly leaving.
After she left, Wen Rou was the first to speak.
“Lin Mao… What do you think about that abandoned city? Should we send someone to scout the area first?”
Before Lin Mao could answer, Li Ruyue suddenly spoke first.
“If there are large amounts of resources in that city, then over time, it’s very likely that an underground trading market has formed there — a place where rare supplies are exchanged.”
Lin Mao nodded in agreement.
“Exactly. Wherever resources gather, different forces will gather as well. Not only might we find the supplies we need there, but we may also uncover more clues about the apocalypse itself.”
He paused briefly before continuing,
“So I think it’s necessary for me to personally go there.”
Following his words, Wan Yuyan, who had been silent the whole time, finally spoke.
“Do you want us to go with you? Having more people means more support.”
As soon as she said that, Wen Rou and Li Ruyue also looked toward Lin Mao. The three women clearly wanted to accompany him.
But under their gazes, Lin Mao slowly shook his head.
“No.”
“The abandoned city is too complicated. There are too many unknown dangers and intertwined factions there. More people would only attract attention and make movement inconvenient.”
Then he looked toward the busy shelter behind them and continued,
“Besides, if all of us leave, the shelter’s safety will become a problem.”
His words immediately silenced the three women.
They all understood that he was right.
Lin Mao said nothing more and turned to walk deeper into the shelter.
…
The abandoned city was located on the other side of the forest.
So early the next morning, while the sky was still dim, Lin Mao packed a simple bag and set off alone toward the forest.
Wen Rou stood quietly in the distance, silently watching his departing figure.
Deep within her eyes was undisguised concern.
Only after Lin Mao completely disappeared beneath the dense forest canopy did she let out a soft sigh and return to the shelter, pretending nothing was wrong as she resumed handling daily affairs.
Not long after entering the forest, the surrounding light became noticeably dimmer.
The towering trees blocked out most of the sunlight, their branches intertwined overhead. Only scattered beams of light managed to shine onto the leaf-covered ground.
Suddenly—
A sharp roar shattered the silence of the forest.
Several hunched zombies with grayish-blue skin burst out from the bushes.
Their eye sockets were deeply sunken, and foul-smelling saliva dripped from their mouths. It was obvious they had been starving for days and had long since lost their sanity.
The moment they spotted Lin Mao — a living human target — greed flashed through their eyes.
They immediately charged toward him with bloodthirsty growls, opening their rotten mouths as if eager to devour him alive.
However, before the zombies could even take a few steps—
Lin Mao’s eyes turned cold.
He clenched his right hand lightly.
Instantly, invisible telekinetic force exploded outward like a giant unseen hand, crushing the charging zombies.
Crack! Crack!
Several sickening snapping sounds echoed through the forest.
The zombies’ bodies were instantly crushed apart, flesh and bones exploding everywhere and splattering across the nearby trees and ground with a nauseating stench.
Fortunately, Lin Mao had already stepped backward before using his power. Otherwise, he would have been covered in filth by now.
After dealing with the crazed zombies blocking his path, Lin Mao brushed the dust from his clothes and prepared to continue onward.
But at that moment—
A frightened cry suddenly echoed through the forest.
“Help…! Somebody… Please save me!”
Lin Mao frowned and stopped walking.
The voice sounded like a young woman.
But Lin Mao was not some kind-hearted saint.
In the apocalypse, human hearts were more dangerous than monsters.
The first people to die were always those who meddled in other people’s problems.
Thinking that, Lin Mao ignored the cry and continued forward.
Yet the desperate voice grew closer and closer.
Along with it came frantic footsteps and the sound of snapping branches, as though the person was running directly toward him while being chased by something terrifying.