In The Shadows

While traveling, they could see the deserted houses where most people had run away, probably to escape mutants but there were also houses that looked the same and strangely clean but were barricaded or locked by a fence.

Lilian Mo had no doubt that the residents were eaten in those houses when a certain half-mutant had sneaked in.

She could smell and taste the strong scent of the blood in the air. Judging from the faces of everyone who had reached Level two, they also seemed to have detected the weird stench. Zhang Youji trembled slightly as he walked. There is probably no one as nervous as the child.

They had talked over the plan. Until they reach Zhang Youji's house, they would pretend to be lured by him just to catch the half-mutant off guard. As for Zhang Youji, Lin Jiaojiao was given the task of protecting him since her barrier calls for emergency situations like this.

They couldn't rely on a child to fight and it was already cruel for the child to have to see his own mother killed.

Lilian Mo clenched his fists as she felt the heavy aura on the surrounding. She felt that something was wrong and that she was missing some very important detail. Half-mutants were almost as smart as humans since they could still retain a bit of their intelligence.. maybe even their memories. They were only half-transformed but their beastly instincts ruled over them, making them extremely dangerous.

The half-mutant wouldn't have survived for a year and a half unless it had a trump card. Afterall, there were many tigers in the wild pretending to be pigs. Maybe, this half-mutant was only pretending to be weak so it could catch them off guard...

Furthermore, the half-mutant was smart enough to learn how to conceal its abilities which makes the information given to them a bit flawed. Lilian Mo gazed at Zhang Youji.

'Xiao Ji as his mother's child probably made contact with the half-mutant...' She thought while pondering over this matter but as she caught Lu Jingren's shiny hair, she also pondered over the fact that he wouldn't accept this kind of task if he wasn't confident with it.

With his survival instincts, Lilian Mo had faith that they could take the half-mutant on.

Passing through streets, cars, and abandoned houses, their group stopped when they felt the feeling of being watched. Zhang Youji also tensed up but in accordance with the plan, he tugged at Lu Jingren's sleeve and showed a face of urgency.

"Big brother, my friends are over there!" Zhang Youji said while gesturing in the direction of his house. Lu Jingren shook the hand away and instead, placed it on the child's head.

He hummed in acknowledgment and thankfully, he did not hurt Zhang Youji. Lilian Mo really felt that she would age fast if she was to stay in a group with him because she would always end up watching his every move, anticipating if he goes ballistic on the child so she could stop him.

Lilian Mo couldn't be blamed for thinking this way. Afterall, she had been with this man in her previous life, before and during the apocalypse. The time she had been with him had lasted three years, maybe even more if she hadn't escaped.

When it comes to having skewed morals, Lilian Mo could confidently say that among the team, it was Lu Jingren who was the most coldblooded among them. Lilian Mo was different from him in a way that despite being annoyed with the people that had bothered her, wouldn't necessarily kill them unless they've hit her bottom line.

Since the apocalypse, she had only killed the convicts and Feng Ran since they were all scummy people in this life and her previous life. She had injured a hotheaded teenager but for the most part, she ignored all other humans, not wanting to waste time or stain her hands with unnecessary blood from people that didn't know what's best for them.

Lilian Mo's fingers twitched as she felt the feeling of being watched again, her senses telling her of an enemy that needed to be killed.

In the corner of her eye, she could see a dark figure darting in the shadows and her heightened ears could hear heavy breathing.

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