Chapter 105: Shancheng – Stay Close to Brother, Don’t Get Lost

Due to its massive size, the scales of the zombie giant python were also very large, oval in shape.

Under the sunlight, the giant python’s body shimmered, and between those scales, there were faint gaps about as wide as a forearm.

Just as a dragon has its reverse scale, the giant python was covered in scales with a similar weakness.

If one could get closer, perhaps with a knife or some other tool, it might be possible to pry open its scales. At that point, breaking through its body to kill it would become much easier.

Lin Mu’s mind was racing wildly, to the point where he even forgot about the zombies around him. Fu Jingmo sliced through a zombie with precision, grabbed Lin Mu’s wrist, and pulled him behind him.

“Lin Mu! Stop spacing out!”

“Fu Jingmo, I know how to kill it!”

Lin Mu’s delicate face was already dampened by splashes of water. His bright, clear eyes looked at Fu Jingmo, with a hint of excitement hidden in his light-colored pupils. “Look, its scales.”

Fu Jingmo took a closer look and instantly understood Lin Mu’s point. However, the scales were layered in reverse, and they could only be pried open from the bottom upward.

The giant python certainly wouldn’t be unaware of its own weakness, so it was almost always facing them directly. As a result, there was no chance to pry open those scales.

“We need to get closer to it,” Lin Mu took a deep breath and looked at the person beside him.

His slender wrist was still held in Fu Jingmo’s palm. At that moment, what crossed Fu Jingmo’s mind was surprisingly: Why is Lin Mu’s hand so cold?

Fu Jingmo looked at Lin Mu. “I’ll go. You stay here and deal with the zombies.”

The river was deep, and if one were to fall in, the giant python could crush them with a single roll of its body. Not to mention, the water was teeming with countless zombies floating and sinking…

Lin Mu frowned, the excitement from earlier instantly fading. “We go together. You said I’m your teammate.”

Fu Jingmo stared into his eyes. With a flick of his hand, he took care of a few nearby zombies. After a long pause, his thin lips parted slightly, and he said helplessly, “Together.”

“Commander Shao, this area is up to you!”

Fu Jingmo shouted toward Shao Yingjie, who was on the street, then scanned his surroundings. Spotting the three iron cables still stretched across at the top, he said to Lin Mu, “We’ll go across from there.”

“Got it.” The two quickly ran up the iron tower. The giant python was very close to the cables; once they reached the middle of the river, they would be able to leap onto its back.

He Ze looked up and saw their movements, shouting, “Lin Mu!”

Lin Mu glanced down and gave He Ze a reassuring look.

Fu Jingmo pulled out his belt, hooking it onto both sides of the iron cable. He glanced at Lin Mu. “Can you do it?”

Lin Mu nodded, extending vines that hooked onto the cable and secured him. The two of them slid along the cable toward the center of the river.

Golden talismans flew into the air, and Shen Rangchen, quick to react, slapped two protective charms onto them.

The two figures on the iron cable grew smaller and smaller, eventually becoming just tiny dots in the distance. To the giant python, they were like insignificant little bugs that not even worth paying attention to.

What puzzled it was the sudden disappearance of the energy entity on the rocky shore that had been persistently attacking it. Leisurely, it flicked zombies into the air with its tail.

The closer they got to the giant python, the more they realized how insignificant they were. They weren’t even as large as one of its eyes. The python’s head resembled a massive platform, big enough to hold more than a dozen people.

The foul stench was nauseating, making them want to retch. Its grayish-white eyes loomed less than five meters away, sweeping over them. The murky gaze shifted slightly, seemingly unaware of their presence.

Humans naturally feel fear when faced with creatures many times their size, and Lin Mu struggled to suppress the dread welling up in his heart.

“I’ll go first.”

Fu Jingmo swung on the iron cable, twisting his waist into an almost inhuman arc. A section of his taut waist was revealed, muscles tense like a sleek and powerful leopard. Silently, he landed on the giant python’s head.

He extended his hand, looking at Lin Mu, gesturing that he would catch him.

Lin Mu didn’t have such strong core strength. With a flick of his hand, the vines extended and hooked onto Fu Jingmo’s arm, and the latter yanked him over forcefully.

The two crouched down, studying the dark, smooth scales beneath their feet, which provided little traction.

On the shore, the others had noticed their actions. Chen Yu boarded the yacht anchored in the distance, ready to assist them at any moment.

The flamethrower had ceased its attack, fearing that enraging the giant python might cause it to thrash wildly, throwing the two atop its head into the river.

“Where is its weakest spot?”

Lin Mu stared at the massive body of the snake. Looking down now, they were at least 15 meters above the river surface.

The giant python’s body was almost entirely submerged in the water, leaving only a dark shadow visible.

“You look for it—find where its energy core is.”

“Got it,” Lin Mu steadied his thoughts, spreading his energy outward. He had initially assumed that tracing the energy core of this hundred-meter-long giant python would require significant effort. However, he found the energy core just a few meters beneath its head.

“It’s not far, barely even submerged. It’s about ten meters down from here.”

“To strike a snake, you aim for seven inches below the head—that’s where its heart, hidden in its abdomen, should be. That must be it.” Fu Jingmo nodded and walked to the edge of the python’s head. “From here, go down. Without the scales in the way, just use the vines to dig out its energy core directly!”

The two acted decisively, wasting no time. The snake’s body was covered in slippery scales, and they carefully gripped the gaps between the scales as they slowly made their way downward, gradually approaching the location of the energy core.

Feeling the odd sensation on its back caused by their movements, the giant python twisted its body slightly. Even such a minor motion was a massive upheaval for the two, leaving them dangling in midair in an instant.

Only when the python finally stopped moving were they able to regain their footing on the scales.

The texture of the scales was truly unpleasant, coated in a foul-smelling, slimy liquid that made their hands constantly slip. If not for the vines Lin Mu used to secure himself, he couldn’t even count how many times he would have fallen into the water by now.

“This is the spot.”

In front of them was an area with over a dozen scales arranged side by side, each the size of a washbasin. The gaps between them were wide enough to fit a hand through.

Fu Jingmo’s eyes narrowed in focus. They only had one chance—pry open the scales, then use the vines to pierce the giant python’s body and extract its energy core.

No one was thinking about what might happen afterward. Beneath them, countless zombies in the river stared upward, their heads tilted back.

The best outcome would be the death of the giant python and them being rescued by the yacht. Otherwise… they would meet their end in the river.

The black blade was poised in Fu Jingmo’s hand, but he suddenly froze. Lin Mu looked up and met those eyes that were usually cold and sharp, but often carrying a faint hint of amusement.

Those inky black eyes were like a deep pool, as if they could pull him in, carrying an inexplicable allure. “What’s wrong?” Lin Mu asked.

Fu Jingmo flicked his wrist, retracting the black blade, and leaned in closer, his warm breath brushing against the tip of Lin Mu’s nose.

From the small courtyard in Mountain Jiao (Jiaoshan) to the mines, then Wushi, and finally Shancheng, they had braved storms and chaos together in this apocalyptic world, surviving countless life-and-death trials.

Through all the chaos and battles, Lin Mu had always followed behind him with unwavering determination and courage, trusting him unconditionally.

Slowly, Fu Jingmo raised his hand and gently touched Lin Mu’s pale face. The movement was incredibly tender, and Lin Mu could feel the rough calluses from guns and the faintly coarse scars from small knives on Fu Jingmo’s palm.

“Stay close to your brother, don’t get lost.”

Lin Mu’s cheeks stiffened slightly, and before he had time to process his thoughts, the black blade, wrapped in a fierce force, pierced straight into the giant python’s scales.

Infused with the immense strength of a Level 4 mutant, the blade tore through the row of scales, ripping flesh apart and sending them flying into the air.

The foul-smelling, dark red blood splattered all over both of their faces in an instant.

“Roar-!!”

A deafening cry of agony tore through the air!

Amid the mess of torn flesh and blood, Lin Mu acted without hesitation. He extended his vines, driving them deep into the exposed wound where no scales provided cover.

……