The rustling sounds grew closer and closer.
Something was rapidly moving through the dense bushes, branches scraping together while heavy breathing echoed through the silent forest.
The next second, a girl suddenly burst out from the woods in a miserable state.
Her light-colored jacket had been torn in several places, exposing bruised arms beneath. Dirt and grass clung to the hem of her skirt, while strands of black hair stuck messily to her sweat-covered cheeks. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, showing that she had been running for a long time.
The moment she saw Lin Mao, she froze.
Her pupils shrank slightly, clearly not expecting to encounter another person in this desolate forest.
But the danger behind her gave her no time to think.
The growls were getting closer.
She quickly waved at Lin Mao and shouted in a hoarse, tearful voice,
“Hey! You over there! Stop standing around and run! There are a lot of zombies chasing me!”
The moment her words fell—
Several terrifying roars rang out behind her.
Seven or eight large zombies burst out from the forest.
These zombies were much bulkier than the ones Lin Mao had encountered before.
Seeing the monsters still chasing her relentlessly, the girl’s face instantly turned pale.
Without hesitation, she sprinted toward Lin Mao.
When she reached him, she grabbed his wrist and tried to pull him away.
But no matter how hard she tugged, Lin Mao remained completely motionless, as if his feet were rooted to the ground.
The girl was nearly driven crazy with panic.
She glanced at the rapidly approaching zombies before glaring at Lin Mao.
“Is this guy an idiot?!” she cursed through gritted teeth.
“If you want to die, then I can’t save you!”
After saying that, she immediately let go and turned to flee in the opposite direction, stumbling as she ran but never daring to stop.
However—
Before she could run far, several deafening explosions suddenly erupted behind her, accompanied by the zombies’ miserable screams.
The sudden noise startled her so badly that she instinctively stopped and turned around.
The moment she looked back—
Her mouth fell open in shock.
The horrifying zombies from moments ago had completely disappeared.
Only several charred corpses remained on the ground, black smoke rising from them while the air filled with the smell of burnt flesh and scorched lightning.
Only then did the girl finally realize something.
This man had not stood there because he was stupid.
He simply possessed enough strength to kill the zombies effortlessly.
He never needed to run at all.
She swallowed nervously.
The shock in her heart refused to settle as she stared at Lin Mao with newfound awe and curiosity.
After dealing with the zombies, Lin Mao calmly shifted his gaze toward the stunned girl and asked casually,
“Little girl, why are you alone in such a dangerous place? Where are your parents?”
The girl instantly snapped out of her daze.
The moment she heard the words little girl, her face turned bright red like a boiled shrimp.
“I’m not a child!” she protested angrily.
“I’m already an adult!”
Lin Mao raised an eyebrow and looked her up and down.
The girl was petite, with a round face and large bright eyes. Combined with her youthful outfit, she really did look like an underage loli.
He chuckled softly.
“I didn’t expect to run into a legal loli out here.”
Seeing his unconvinced expression, the girl puffed up her cheeks angrily and placed her hands on her hips, preparing to argue back.
But suddenly, her expression changed.
After hesitating briefly, she walked quickly toward Lin Mao, nervously twisting her fingers together.
Seeing her behavior, Lin Mao spoke directly.
“You look like you want to ask me for something.”
The girl realized her thoughts had been exposed immediately.
She nodded rapidly, hope appearing in her eyes.
“Mister, you’re really strong. Can you please help me?”
“Our caravan was heading toward the abandoned city to trade supplies, but we were suddenly attacked by a huge zombie horde halfway there. We got separated, and my companions are still trapped inside the valley ahead!”
Lin Mao’s smile disappeared instantly.
His expression became indifferent.
“We don’t know each other. Saving you just now was already generous enough. And now you want me to rescue a group of strangers too?”
The girl froze.
The light in her eyes dimmed immediately.
But only a few seconds later, she suddenly seemed to think of something.
Her eyes lit up.
“I think you’re heading toward the abandoned city too, right?”
“And judging from the fact that you didn’t bring many supplies, this is probably your first time going there.”
Lin Mao’s eyes flickered slightly.
He had not expected the girl to be this observant.
Seeing the slight interest appear on his face, the girl became excited and quickly continued,
“If you help save my caravan members, I’ll tell you everything I know about the abandoned city.”
“The faction territories, trading rules, dangerous areas you shouldn’t enter — all of it.”
“And after the trade is finished, I’ll also give you part of our resources as payment. I definitely won’t let you help us for free!”
Hearing that, Lin Mao answered without hesitation.
“Deal.”
The girl instantly let out a long breath of relief.
Her tense shoulders finally relaxed as she smiled gratefully.
“That’s great! Thank you!”
“My name is Qian Yuxuan. What’s yours?”
“Lin Mao,” he answered calmly before urging,
“Can we leave now? If we waste any more time, we might only arrive in time to collect their corpses.”
Qian Yuxuan immediately realized the seriousness of the situation.
She quickly nodded.
“Right! I’ll take you there now! The valley isn’t far ahead!”
After speaking, she immediately ran toward a nearby direction while calling back,
“Follow me closely!”
Lin Mao followed behind her as the two quickly headed toward the valley.
Not long later, they arrived at the place Qian Yuxuan mentioned.
From a distance, the valley entrance was completely surrounded by zombies.
At a rough estimate, there were at least dozens of them.
Inside the valley, three men and two women stood back-to-back, desperately resisting the attacks.
Several mutilated corpses lay scattered nearby, already half-devoured by zombies.
The scene was horrifying.
The moment the zombies noticed Lin Mao and Qian Yuxuan — two new sources of fresh flesh — part of the horde immediately changed targets and charged toward them with savage roars.
Facing the incoming zombies, Lin Mao remained completely expressionless.
He casually raised one hand.
Instantly, several blue-white bolts of lightning descended from the sky like divine punishment.
BOOM!
With several deafening explosions, the charging zombies were instantly blasted into charred corpses, collapsing to the ground while black smoke rose from their bodies.
The sudden turn of events stunned the survivors inside the valley.
But soon, hope appeared on their faces.
Qian Yuxuan quickly ran toward Lin Mao with gratitude written all over her face.
She had just opened her mouth to thank him when Lin Mao suddenly spoke first.
“The attack from this zombie horde…”
“I’m afraid it wasn’t an accident.”
The smile on Qian Yuxuan’s face froze instantly.
Confused, she followed Lin Mao’s gaze toward the distant forest.
It seemed as though something was hidden deep within the shadows.