Chapter 101: You’re Cuter Than That Ye Xing

Fu Jingmo paid another visit to Shao Yingjie and explained the general plan to him.

Shao Yingjie’s ability was an earth-based one. It seemed that Shancheng not only had an advantageous geographical location but also excellent feng shui, as everyone’s abilities were quite useful in their own ways.

Firearms and ammunition were essential, as well as explosives. If the giant zombie python could be trapped, it was likely that only explosives could blast through its body.

Even with special abilities, the powerful thermal weapons created by generations of human intelligence still held a critical position in the apocalypse.

After discussing some additional arrangements, Fu Jingmo finally left the mission hall.

As he left, he glanced at the LED screen displaying the missions. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he memorized a somewhat peculiar mission.

When he got home, the faint aroma of food lingered in the living room. He Ze was sprawled on the sofa, rubbing his stomach and groaning, “Aiyo, aiyo,” while the other two weren’t in the living room.

“Brother Fu, you’re back?”

Seeing him, He Ze scrambled to his feet with a gossipy grin and said, “Hehehe, meeting your old lover, uh, I mean, old friend, was it fun?”

Fu Jingmo withdrew his cold gaze and asked, “Where are they?”

“Mumu is probably resting in his room. Xiao Chenchen kicked me out, boohoohoo. Oh, have you eaten? Mumu said we didn’t need to save you any food, so I ate too much… ended up finishing three bowls!”

He Ze chattered non-stop, but Fu Jingmo ignored him and left the living room, heading toward the rooms.

After finishing his meal, Lin Mu was leaning against the window, his eyes under long lashes quietly gazing outside. He had noticed Fu Jingmo returning earlier.

An old friend’s reunion, yet they didn’t even have lunch together? Isn’t Wunan Tower supposed to be well-stocked with supplies…

Choosing to ignore the inexplicable low-pressure atmosphere from the morning, he had spent some time in his spatial ability, checking on Xiao Yuan and eating a few strawberries. Only then did he feel his mood improve slightly.

“You’re back. How was it?” Lin Mu asked without turning his head, his voice calm and steady, devoid of any fluctuations.

The tall figure approached the window, resting a hand on the window frame behind Lin Mu, but didn’t answer his question.

Glancing outside, he saw nothing of interest. Lowering his gaze to look at Lin Mu, he remarked, “What, you didn’t even save your big brother a meal?”

“…”

Lin Mu turned his head, and the two of them suddenly found themselves very close. He leaned his head back slightly to create some distance, frowning as he glanced at the hand propped above his head.

“I thought you’d at least have lunch with… your friend before coming back.”

“Hmm, what’s there to eat? I came back a while ago and even stopped by Shao Yingjie’s place.”

Recalling the thought that had briefly crossed his mind earlier at Wunan Tower, that Lin Mu was both adorable and well-behaved, he withdrew the hand resting on the window frame. Unable to resist, he pinched Lin Mu’s cheek and said, “Hmm, you’re cuter than that Ye Xing or whatever.”

…

Lin Mu slapped his hand away and glared at the person in front of him. Stunned, his lips moved as if to speak, but it took him a while to squeeze out a few words. “What are you even talking about?”

Feeling uncomfortable, he stepped away from Fu Jingmo. “…What do you want to eat?”

“Cook some noodles, and I want the fried egg from this morning too.”

Fu Jingmo watched as the tips of Lin Mu’s ears turned red in an instant. Truly adorable.

After finishing their meal, the two of them went to the riverside in the afternoon. During the day, the surface of the Lucong River was remarkably calm.

Occasionally, a breeze would pass by, causing ripples to spread across the water in gentle rings.

If one could ignore the zombies on the opposite bank, snarling with open mouths, the scenery could almost be described as beautiful.

“So, Chen Yu has a lightning-based ability, and Shao Yingjie has an earth-based ability?”

After listening to Fu Jingmo’s explanation, Lin Mu thought these abilities seemed to suit each person’s personality traits quite well.

“Hmm.”

“Lightning-based abilities must be pretty powerful, right? High destructive capability.”

“…” Fu Jingmo, driving the car, glanced at him and replied, “It’s alright, only level two.”

“Yeah, but once he levels up in the future, he’ll definitely be a formidable mutant on his own. Add Ye Xing’s healing ability into the mix…”

“Hmm…”

The car pulled up beneath the cableway. Last night, they had only glanced at it in passing without taking a closer look.

Now, as the two got out of the car and walked toward the riverbank, they saw that each end of the cableway was anchored by an iron tower. Six steel cables connected the towers, but the carriages that had once hung from them had long since fallen into the river, leaving behind only the bare, rusted cables.

“These steel cables should be strong enough to restrain the river monster, but we’ll need enough strength-based ability users,” Lin Mu said thoughtfully.

“Hmm, Shao Yingjie and Chen Yu will figure something out,” Fu Jingmo replied.

He glanced at the empty river-view building behind them, lost in thought.

The biggest challenge was figuring out how to lure the zombie python here. They still didn’t know where it would appear.

After surveying the area and noting a few key spots, Fu Jingmo said, “Let’s head back. Tomorrow, we’ll have someone lower three of the steel cables here.”

“Hmm,” Lin Mu replied, following him back to the riverbank.

“But why does that zombie python prefer to appear at night? Can’t we catch it during the day?” Lin Mu found it inexplicably odd. “If it were daytime, it’d be an advantage for us. At least the visibility would be better, and we wouldn’t risk missing any zombies climbing up.”

“Some nocturnal pythons have very poor eyesight. They rely on a heat-sensing mechanism to locate their prey at night. During the day, the higher temperature reduces the effectiveness of their ‘heat vision.’” 

Lin Mu explained casually. It was something he had learned during one of his outdoor sketching trips.

The person walking ahead of him stopped in his tracks, raised an eyebrow, and turned to look at the “next-level genius” behind him. “Lin Xiaomu, how are you this smart?”

“…” Lin Mu sighed speechlessly. How had he ever thought Fu Jingmo was mature, steady, and reliable?

Shoving him aside, Lin Mu strode up the steps in a few brisk steps, and said with a cold voice, “Fu Jingmo, are you seriously addicted to acting like my big brother?”

Boring.

From behind came the sound of muffled laughter.

After glancing at the cableway and noting that it was still early, the two of them drove back to the residential complex at a leisurely pace.

—

As night fell, the person on the bed lay stiffly with eyes closed. He Ze observed him for a while. Shen Rangchen always slept like this, as if he’d stopped breathing.

Lying straight, hands folded over his stomach, with his loose hair spread softly on the pillow.

He Ze rubbed his waist, then his backside. The floor was truly too hard to sleep on.

Seeing no reaction from the person on the bed, he quietly got up and bent down, crawling toward the inner side of the bed.

Halfway across, a small white head poked out from Shen Rangchen’s collar. He Ze froze and, upon closer inspection, realized it was a little paper figurine.

“Shh,” he whispered. “Lucy? Tina? Shh, don’t make noise.”

The paper figurine tilted its head as if examining him, then suddenly, with a loud smack, it mustered all its strength and slammed straight into He Ze’s face.

“Whoa, damn! Damn, damn, damn…”

The little paper figurine had surprising strength, causing He Ze’s hands to give way, and he fell right on top of Shen Rangchen.

When he looked up, a pair of cold eyes filled with anger were staring at him. In the blink of an eye, He Ze quickly rolled over to the inner side of the bed.

“Damn it, I’m not sleeping on the floor! You’d have to kill me before I sleep on the floor again. It’s so cold—”

His voice abruptly cut off as a talisman was slapped onto his forehead. Shen Rangchen closed his eyes again, completely unbothered.

He Ze was on the verge of tears. Fine… At least he was on the bed!