Chapter Nineteen: The Death of Li Mo

Ever since Qin Yu discovered the power of her little poisonous mist, whenever she encountered low-level zombies, she would use it to attack them. To Zhao Meng and the others, she merely claimed it was an evolution of her supernatural ability—after all, in the apocalypse, nothing seemed out of the ordinary anymore.

Each time she struck a zombie, Qin Yu felt as if the poisonous mist grew a little larger, though it remained just a small cloud. She guessed it must be absorbing something from the zombies, and as the change seemed beneficial, she didn’t dwell on it further.

Although Li Mo had taken some of their supplies, fortunately, they hadn’t stored everything in her vehicle, so they could still manage to stay fed. But Qin Yu kept the secret that she had an abundance of food hidden in her spatial pocket. She didn’t think the time was right to reveal it, so she acted in concert with the others.

Since they were traveling by car and gasoline was a precious resource, the group scavenged what they could from abandoned vehicles along the roadside. However, after two days, there were almost no cars left, and their fuel was depleted. After a short discussion, they decided to take a break and look around for a gas station.

Luck was on their side—they found a small, secluded gas station. The reason for building it in such a desolate place was a mystery, but now was not the time for questions.

As Qin Yu prepared to collect some gasoline, two figures suddenly burst out of the gas station. She fixed her gaze and recognized them immediately—it was Li Mo and Wang Yan.

"Help! Please, help me! There's a mutant zombie behind us..." Li Mo, seeing that it was Qin Yu, was momentarily puzzled that she was still alive, but there was no time for questions. A mutant zombie was on their heels!

He had been feeling quite pleased with himself after stealing Qin Yu’s car, but the vehicle ran out of gas after just a day, forcing him and Wang Yan to search for fuel. Who could have known that a mutant zombie would be lurking at this gas station?

"Yes! Please, save us! We can trade food for your help! I’m a spatial ability user—I can carry plenty of supplies! If you save me, I’ll join your group from now on…" Wang Yan, hearing Li Mo’s plea, quickly added her own, even revealing her supernatural power.

Zhang Kuang, standing nearby, caught the glint in his eye at Wang Yan’s words and was about to say something to Qin Yu when she declared, "Take that woman and go ahead, I’ll cover the rear!"

With that, Qin Yu yanked Wang Yan over to Zhang Kuang, then stepped in front of Li Mo, flashing him a small smile.

Zhang Kuang and Wang Bing exchanged glances, understanding each other without words. Zhang Kuang grabbed Wang Yan, said quietly to Qin Yu, "Be careful!" and withdrew.

Wang Bing, after a look at Zhang Kuang, swiftly took the gasoline and left as well, calling out to Qin Yu, "Be careful! Come back to us!"

Li Mo glared furiously at the figure blocking his path, eyes wide with rage. Qin Yu summoned her poisonous mist and hurled it at the approaching mutant zombie. Yet, this time, the poisonous mist failed to annihilate it completely, confirming much of what Qin Yu had suspected.

Li Mo, witnessing Qin Yu’s sudden display of power, thought she was trying to protect him. He was still contemplating whether to push her toward the zombie again when he suddenly felt his body lurch backward and a sharp pain. He looked at Qin Yu, his eyes filled with shock and terror.

Qin Yu’s face wore its usual faint smile. She gazed at Li Mo, now wounded by the zombie, surprised and afraid. She wondered if, in her previous life, she had worn the same expression when betrayed by someone she trusted.

The low-level zombie, after scratching Li Mo, paused in confusion. Qin Yu raised her dagger and said, "Thank you for sparing me the trouble… but—" Before she finished speaking, the zombie’s head had already been severed. Fortunately, the little poisonous mist had weakened it enough to make the kill easy; otherwise, things would not have gone so smoothly.

Watching the poisonous mist swirl joyfully around the fallen zombie, Qin Yu thought wryly that it truly was a creature born of poison.

She extracted a crystal core from the zombie’s skull. Ever since she’d woken up last time, Zhao Meng had told her about the existence of these cores, which was one of her reasons for hunting mutant zombies.

Li Mo lay on the ground, feeling his body go numb. His powers were depleted; he was no different from an ordinary man now. He watched Qin Yu’s figure recede into the distance… and suddenly realized he had misunderstood so much.

In a daze, it seemed as if he glimpsed his past life…