Chapter 48: Possessing Lin Mu

When he woke up, the car had already stopped.

There was no one inside the car. Lin Mu looked out the window and saw tall pine trees all around.

In the distance, he could hear voices. He rubbed his temples with his hand.

He had slept quite comfortably; judging by the sun, it was already noon.

Opening the door and stepping out, Lin Mu walked toward the source of the voices. The weather was still very hot, but it was quite pleasant in the forest.

After a few steps, he saw a stream ahead. Fu Jingmo was squatting on a rock with his back to Lin Mu. Although he seemed relaxed, he gave the impression of a leopard ready to pounce.

In the river, the miners were bathing, scrubbing themselves as if they were dumplings being boiled.

Indeed, after spending so long in the mine, not washing was really unbearable.

As if sensing his presence, Fu Jingmo turned his head. “Awake?”

“Yeah,” Lin Mu replied, looking at the clear water, feeling the urge to wash himself too.

He Ze just emerged from the water, shaking the droplets from his hair, and shouted to Lin Mu, “Mumu, come and bathe! Damn, it feels amazing here.”

This river, or rather a small stream, was only waist-deep with many large rocks scattered within it. They had found a spot where the rocks formed a pool.

The place was secluded, with clear water showing no signs of pollution.

Lin Mu couldn’t help but think that if someone lived in such a place, they might not fear the zombies outside.

He took a breath of the clean, pine-scented air and started unbuttoning his shirt, which was still Fu Jingmo’s camouflage jacket. “I’m coming, I’m coming.”

Although they had He Ze providing water, they could only wipe themselves down. Taking a proper bath was a luxury Lin Mu had longed for.

The two women had taken Xiao Yu to a more distant spot, out of sight. Here, it was just the men, and they didn’t mind.

Lin Mu’s skin was very fair. As he unbuttoned his shirt, he revealed a pale chest. He was a bit thin but not in a fragile way.

Fu Jingmo looked up at him. The dappled sunlight filtering through the pine trees fell on Lin Mu, his hair showing a faint chestnut hue.

Fu Jingmo tapped his fingers on the rock, then pulled a blade of grass and put it in his mouth, looking quite roguish.

Feeling Fu Jingmo’s gaze, Lin Mu turned his head and smiled slightly. “Aren’t you going to wash up?”

Fu Jingmo raised an eyebrow. Of course, he was waiting for Lin Mu to wake up so they could wash together.

“Hurry up, hurry up. Stop dawdling, Mumu. Do you think there are fish here? Let’s catch some for lunch,” He Ze yelled from the water.

Lin Mu chuckled. “Go ahead. Lunch is on you.”

After unbuttoning his shirt, Lin Mu bent down to take off his pants, but his arm was suddenly grabbed by a hot hand.

He looked up and saw it was Fu Jingmo, who had already stood up, spitting out the grass from his mouth. “Come on, let’s go over there. I have something to tell you.”

With that, Fu Jingmo started walking upstream, and Lin Mu followed.

“Always hogging Little Master’s time, so shameless,” He Ze muttered, picking up a stick to spear fish.

The two of them walked about a dozen meters before Fu Jingmo stopped and began to undress.

He wore only a black tank top, which he quickly pulled off, revealing a straight back and a lean waist.

Lin Mu couldn’t help but let his gaze fall on Fu Jingmo’s body. His solid chest was covered with a thin layer of muscle, and below that were well-defined abs, with prominent V-lines disappearing into his pants. It was… very sexy.

Though the word didn’t quite seem to fit him, Lin Mu could only think of it: this was what a powerful man looked like.

Fu Jingmo’s skin was a healthy wheat color, unlike Lin Mu’s fair complexion, making his muscles look even more defined and attractive.

When Fu Jingmo took off his pants, Lin Mu quickly turned his head, pretending to focus on taking off his own clothes. He glanced down at his own abs-less belly and coughed, feeling a bit self-conscious.

Fu Jingmo tossed his clothes aside and, wearing only a pair of shorts, approached Lin Mu. “Why are you so slow? Hurry up.”

With that, he made a graceful leap into the water, splashing Lin Mu.

Lin Mu quickly took off his pants and stepped into the river. The cool water instantly dispelled the heat from his body, and he let out a comfortable sigh.

Fu Jingmo submerged his head underwater and then suddenly emerged, his face covered in fresh water droplets.

The two of them stayed in one spot, still able to see the people downstream. While washing, Lin Mu asked, “What did you want to tell me?”

Fu Jingmo leaned against a rock, lazily tilting his head back and squinting into the sun.

“The guy who drives the motorcycle is also a special ability user.”

“Mm,” Lin Mu responded. It wasn’t hard to figure out; someone daring enough to go into the mining area alone with so many zombies at the gate must have some way to survive.

“But it’s nothing much. Yesterday, when the well ladder collapsed, he was the one pulling the miners up from above. Seems like he’s decent.”

Actually, it wasn’t anything important. Fu Jingmo just didn’t want to see Lin Mu bathing with those dirty miners.

“I just asked them about it. They said the guy can control paper figures. That’s kind of interesting.”

He splashed a handful of water on himself and looked at Lin Mu.

“Mm, but what about the guy in the black robe with special abilities?”

“That one had spatial abilities, I guess. He created several black boxes to trap me, but it didn’t work.”

He said it casually, and Lin Mu didn’t press further. Lin Mu grabbed their clothes from the shore and started washing them in the river.

His fair hands rubbed Fu Jingmo’s black tank top, making Fu Jingmo feel a bit strange.

Lin Mu wrung out the clothes and tossed them onto a sun-heated rock to dry.

After quickly finishing their wash, they climbed out of the river. Downstream, the miners, along with He Ze, were using pickaxes and iron rods to catch fish. Occasional exclamations suggested they were having some success.

Lin Mu looked around and said, “Fu Jingmo, I need to enter its consciousness and take a look.”

“Mm, I’m here,” Fu Jingmo replied.

The two of them found a shady spot and sat down on a rock. Lin Mu closed his eyes.

The familiar feeling washed over him as he entered that space. He wasn’t there to chat with the sapling.

Unlike usual, Lin Mu walked straight to the sapling without hesitation. The small tree could sense his emotions and trembled, its branches drooping and leaves hanging listlessly, looking pitiful.

Without hesitation, Lin Mu reached out and grabbed the entire tree. The sapling began to shake violently as a strong consciousness entered Lin Mu’s mind.

It wasn’t easy for him either; his head felt like it was splitting apart, the pain excruciating, and his grip tightened.

In his mind, he heard the sapling’s whimpering cries, “Wuwuwu, you’re bullying me.”

Lin Mu sneered, [Bullying you? Didn’t you want to take my life?]

The sapling felt extremely wronged, its body hurting from Lin Mu’s grip, “I didn’t…”

[Ignoring the zombies and drinking Wu Jin’s blood, were you trying to get me bitten by zombies?]

Lin Mu gritted his teeth. Their consciousnesses were linked, so the sapling knew exactly what he was thinking without him needing to speak.

Realizing that Lin Mu was genuinely angry, the sapling whimpered pitifully, “His blood had energy, I couldn’t resist, I really wanted to drink it.”

[I don’t care what you are,] Lin Mu mentally snapped. [If you’re going to be my special ability, you can only absorb the energy I provide. Otherwise, if you consume someone else’s energy, then stay with them! Don’t stay in my body!]

The soil around the sapling on the lawn began to rise, and with a little more force, Lin Mu could uproot it entirely.