Chapter 32 Zombie Trapping

When Lin Mu woke up, it was barely dawn. He glanced sideways and saw that Fu Jingmo was no longer in the room.

He got up and left the room, finding people practicing in the hall.

After absorbing the “R1 element” in the air, Fu Jingmo’s body was filled with energy. He glanced at Lin Mu as he came out and said, “Awake.”

“Mm.”

Lin Mu washed his face and called for He Ze. The three of them had a casual meal.

They were preparing to go to the house below the highway to see if there was anything unusual, and if not, they would continue their journey.

He Ze shouted that he was going to the field to find two cucumbers and quickly headed down the stone path towards the highway.

Lin Mu shouted to him from afar, “Be careful, don’t go too far.”

He Ze waved his hand and ran straight to the vegetable field.

Fu Jingmo carried a few things in his hands and loaded them onto the car.

“Let’s go, let’s go check out the house below.”

He said as he slammed the car door shut and walked side by side with Lin Mu down the road.

The houses here were all typical mud-brick and tile houses. They looked at several houses, all of which were empty.

There was nothing missing in the houses, but strangely it seemed like they had left suddenly. Some homes even had half-cooked meals left behind.

They looked at two more houses below. The whole village, not to mention people and zombies, didn’t even have a single chicken.

The two of them had a serious look on their faces. Lin Mu’s heart was pounding, and the tree in his chest felt restless. He looked around vigilantly.

In the distance, the mountains were continuous, and although the sun was shining, there was no warmth on their bodies. The mountain breeze brought a hint of decay.

They were standing on the ridge outside the house at the moment. Fu Jingmo looked around and pointed his chin towards the direction of the vegetable field, “The smell is coming from over there.”

Lin Mu instantly thought of He Ze and hurried towards the vegetable field.

Just then, they heard He Ze’s terrified cry from afar, “Damn it, Mumu!! Brother Fu!! Come over quickly, what the heck is this!! Oh my god!”

Hearing his vigorous cry, the two of them felt slightly relieved and quickly ran towards the direction of the sound.

It was that lotus pond, the lotus pond in June. Layers of lotus leaves stood in the pond, swaying with the wind.

He Ze stood far away from the lotus pond, and only when the two people came over did he sneak up and hold Lin Mu’s arm.

Pointing at the lotus pond, he whispered, “Mumu, take a quick look under those lotus leaves. Oh my, what on earth is all that densely packed stuff! Could it be ghosts?”

The tense atmosphere was somewhat diluted by his nervousness. Lin Mu chuckled and said, “Can there be ghosts in broad daylight?”

The lotus pond was about sixty or seventy meters long and wide. As they got closer, the stench grew stronger.

Fu Jingmo condensed a black crystal in his hand, and with a snap, the black crystals were thrown out, slicing through a patch of lotus leaves that was blocking the view. His eyes darkened as he turned back and said, “It’s the villagers, all dead.”

Lin Mu, who had been pulled along by He Ze, finally broke free and walked up. When he saw the scene, he furrowed his brows.

Underneath the lotus leaves, were densely packed “people” with half of their bodies sunk into the mud.

They looked like they were indeed villagers from this village. Some still resembled human beings, while others had already taken on the form of zombies, but without exception, they were all dead.

No wonder He Ze thought they were ghosts. The exposed limbs and arms outside the mud were wrinkled tightly against the bones, ghastly and terrifying, as if all the blood had been drained from them.

He Ze gasped and stood three meters away, too afraid to approach.

“What… what’s going on…” He Ze muttered.

Lin Mu also felt a tingling sensation on his scalp. They had only seen zombies biting living people before, but never ones that could drain blood.

Fu Jingmo looked solemnly at the lotus pond. In addition to villagers, there were also the bodies of chickens, ducks, and dogs in the mud. It could be said that all the living creatures in this village died in this small area.

“It’s trapping…” he coldly uttered two words.

Lin Mu understood instantly. Indeed, it resembled the tactics seen in nature, where many animals and even plants trap their prey through camouflage, scent attraction, and other means.

But for an entire village’s worth of creatures, unless…

Psychic manipulators? Or zombies with abilities?

“The Academy of Science has speculated that after being continuously exposed to the ‘R1 element’ in the air, zombies will also evolve and exhibit certain mutations.”

Fu Jingmo said in a deep voice. “All the creatures here have been consumed by it, and now it has moved its operation elsewhere.”

Lin Mu agreed with Fu Jingmo’s speculation. Thankfully, the mutated zombies had already left; otherwise they might have been in danger last night.

Fu Jingmo took out the black box he always carried with him, and with a few taps, entered the coordinates of this location and pressed the red button to transmit.

The black box had only simple numbers. Whenever there was an anomaly, he would transmit the coordinates back to the Academy of Science.

They would then arrange for researchers to conduct research there. The Academy of Science never lacked researchers who would delve into the madness of mutated zombies.

But also because of them, many problems of the apocalyptic can be quickly resolved.

The three didn’t delay much longer; the zombies that had set up this trap were no longer here. It had obviously gone to the next place with living creatures. So, they drove away from the village…

“Is this zombie a vampire? It has sucked the villagers dry!”

He Ze volunteered to drive, still shaken by what he had just witnessed.

Lin Mu glanced at the rearview mirror, seeing Fu Jingmo focusing on his practice in the back seat.

Ever since Lin Mu learned about the enhancement of abilities, he realized that what he used to think was Fu Jingmo resting with his eyes closed was actually him absorbing the ‘R1 element’. It seemed Fu Jingmo was truly a disciplined person.

He finished his diversion, withdrew his gaze, and analyzed, “If it’s just blood-sucking, there’s no reason to capture the villagers who have turned into zombies; their blood has already rotted and stinks.”

“I suspect that what it is sucking is the ‘R1 element’. Whether it’s humans, zombies, or animals, they all have the ‘R1 element’ inside them. It lures these living beings as if driven by instinct.”

“Of course, this is just my speculation.”

Lin Mu touched his nose, feeling like it sounded a bit far-fetched; perhaps it was because of the tree inside him that he always associated everything with the R1 element.

However, He Ze nodded suddenly, as if enlightened. Even though he didn’t quite understand, it didn’t matter. He proudly boasted, “Sure enough, my Mumu is the top scorer in the whole neighborhood!”

Seeing Lin Mu ignoring him, he continued muttering, “Fortunately, it runs fast; otherwise, I would’ve taken it down last night, letting it know about my bravery and heroism, elegant and dashing…”

“Shut up, did you practice today?”

Lin Mu interrupted in time, that chatterbox could kill someone.

“Unsafe driving leads to tears in the family… Mumu, don’t disturb me while I’m driving.”

He Ze turned his head, smiled, and closed his mouth.