Chapter 845: Loneliness

Standing in the military camp behind the base's core, Lin An leaned against a wall of floorboards about to be torn down.

It was already nearing evening.

The sunset sinking behind the rear mountain could not fend off the chill of the approaching night.

Behind him, the floorboards' exposed rebar showed rust color seeping out from the white-gray.

The rubble underfoot that hadn't been demolished clashed with the spirit-energy alloy buildings around.

Here, this was once the teaching building of Linjiang Academy.

With the base's expansion, in just a few months, no trace of the past could be seen.

The world's changes are far faster than humanity imagined.

The academy has vanished.

In its place stands a large military base that is strict and somewhat oppressive.

No greenery, no entertainment facilities, and not even the colorful neon lights and bustling traffic.

But there are no complaints.

After the apocalypse broke out, people seemed to obsessively latch onto various military facilities, as if to fill their inner unease.

Black, gray, and army green are the main hues of human gathering places.

Not far ahead is a small metal bungalow.

That is where Mo Ling lives.

The pitch-black metal house, like a stone jutting from the ground, looks lonely compared to the surrounding built-up area.

A huge black shadow lying beside it unconsciously scrapes the metal plates on the ground with its sharp claws.

The sound is grating.

A few minutes later.

Watching Mo Ling approach, leading the licker by its tongue, Lin An couldn't help feeling a bit strange.

The mutant faithfully following behind little Mo Ling constantly drips viscous slime from its mouth, its massive crawling body trailing slowly.

The stark contrast in size actually gives an absurd feeling.

"Do you really live here?"

"Why don't you stay with Mo Yu and Anxia?"

Looking at Mo Ling with her head held high, having just changed into her combat uniform, Lin An asked curiously.

Speaking of which, it's funny.

In name he is the supreme executive officer of Long'an Base, but in reality he holds the power.

But the base's development is too fast; he, who hasn't spent much time in Long An, doesn't even know where he himself lives.

He deliberately walks slowly, suppressing the excitement in his heart.

Mo Ling tugged at the iron chain nailed to the licker's tongue, then replied with an indifferent, raised head:

"Mo Yu is timid."

"I'm fine living here alone."

She glanced back at her home in Long'an Base, then calmly added:

"I don't come back to live here much either."

"Anyway, no zombies bite me in the wild. When I'm tired, I can sleep anywhere—it just gets a bit smelly."

"Roar.."

A low growl; the licker being led seemed to sense the power within Lin An's body, and out of instinctive hostility it couldn't help but howl.

"Clatter"

The iron chain jerked suddenly, and a faint special power spread out.

This seems to be the key to Mo Ling's control over mutants.

After the wave spread, the somewhat agitated licker calmed down again.

She turned her head, couldn't help blinking at Lin An, and swayed the iron chain in her hand twice.

Usually silent and taciturn in front of outsiders, she only shows somewhat childlike behavior in front of Lin An.

Although she didn't say anything, her raised little face practically begged the question 'What's going on?'

"Clatter"

Watching the iron chain that Mo Ling tugged, making clattering sounds, Lin An couldn't help but smile.

"Alright."

"How are you controlling it? I recall you could only summon mutants."

"What about the other two blood corpses?"

If I recall correctly, after Mo Ling became a Necromancer Lord, although the effect was heaven-defying, at First Rank she could only command Undead Bodies (zombies transformed into spiritual entities).

Not only is the consumption enormous, but she can only control the weakest kind.

Yet the mutant before us is clearly outside her control range.

Even if it were, the consumption of summoning three creatures would be more than little Mo Ling could handle.

"Smack!"

She handed the iron chain to Lin An, a flash of slyness in her eyes.

"Idiot!"

"I can't control it, but the Heartless Puppet can! That guy's stomach is about to burst from eating!"

"It's a special kind of mutant, right? I've observed many times—lots of zombies and mutants are afraid of that guy."

"Anyway, it can help me control it!"

As soon as the words ended, Lin An's eyebrows twitched. He remembered that Jing Tian had previously told him that Mo Ling often roamed around alone with blood corpses.

"Didn't I tell you? The strength of a blood corpse must never exceed yours!"

"What if you let it keep feeding and it gets out of control?"

Although the mindless puppet is special, he now fears nothing.

But the fear is that once this thing slips from control and lurks, it could devour up to Third Stage or even Fourth Stage in one go!

Listening to Lin An's somewhat stern tone, Mo Ling met his gaze without showing weakness.

Only, behind that harsh questioning, she also knew that Lin An was mostly worried about her.

After a while, she suddenly lowered her head, feeling a bit aggrieved:

"Why are you so fierce..."

"It won't get out of control... I let it feed, then convert the energy into spiritual power to help me control the Mutant."

"I've toiled for a long time to figure this out..."

"You haven't taken me along for a long time..."

On her pale little face, Mo Ling's nose twitched; she lowered her head as if abandoned.

She doesn't like dealing with people at the base, and everyone doesn't like her either.

Or rather, many people are afraid of her.

Just like in her Past Life, every symbiote is an outlier wandering between humans and monsters.

They are destined to keep only solitude as company.

Someone who mixes daily with the Corpse Horde and keeps Zombie companions always makes many Survivors feel dread.

Even if people need her ability.

But in many people's eyes, she has already been equated with Mutants.

During this recent period.

An Jing Tian and Gao Tian are busy, Zhang Tie is absent, Wen Ya... she doesn't like her much either.

AnXia, because of her half-Mutant status, rarely appears in the outside world, and regarding Chu Da Bian Tai, Mo Ling is even less inclined to approach.

And Mo Yu, her own sister...

Mo Ling can also feel that she is actually afraid of her... it's not blameworthy, after all, the restored‑human Mo Yu naturally fears monsters.

She spends the whole day mixing in the tide of corpses, drawing away the Zombies around the base.

After a long time, Mo Ling even feels she is like a Zombie—a Zombie that doesn't bite.

Fortunately, she has gotten used to it.

One big and one small stand in place.

After a brief silence, Lin An's expression turned complex as he looked at the somewhat aggrieved Mo Ling.

In a daze, he seemed to see an exhausted little girl crawling out of the Corpse Horde.

"Sorry..."

"I don't think you're useless..."

He sighed, looking over with a hint of apology.

He could feel Mo Ling's loneliness and grievance, and the unease of fearing being "abandoned".

"What apology!"

She lifted her head, let out a light hum, and glared fiercely.

As if the earlier grievance wasn't hers.

"Mo Ling doesn't need pity!"

"Chu Da Bian Tai said! This time you must take me! Without me, if you encounter a supernatural entity on the road, you'll die instantly!"

"I'm far more capable than Tie Han Han!"

She still wore that stubborn look.

Lin An was stunned by what she said, and couldn't help a dumbfounded laugh.

"Alright."

Chu An indeed said that, that he must take Mo Ling himself.

He only hoped that when heading to the Eastern Third War Zone, he could complete some Supernatural Incidents to help her advance.

Seeing little Mo Ling's defiant expression, Lin An couldn't help but pat her head.