Chapter 60: Death Stare

"Do not look away!!"

"Ugh..."

At this moment, the two of them were each facing one of the mannequins, covering the entire corridor perfectly.

It's just that...

After standing for only a short while, Zhang Yunfan was already panting heavily, his body swaying.

His injuries were truly too severe; even though Ding Mo had already treated them, the intense pain still surged in wave after wave.

This caused him to be constantly distracted, unable to focus his attention.

And the "mannequin" he was facing, if he was inattentive for even a second, would immediately "teleport" closer, not giving him a single chance to catch his breath!

"..." Ding Mo's side, however, was restricted; since just a moment ago, there had been no sign of any movement.

Ding Mo even noticed that its face was becoming increasingly blurred, as if it were faintly retreating! As if it were vanishing into the darkness!

His line of reasoning was correct!

The reason they were attacked by the "mannequins" after leaving the Snack Shop was likely because Zhang Yunfan, who had been checking on them from time to time, had forgotten to do so due to the experience in the Snack Shop.

He hadn't "looked" every interval, which was why the "child mannequin" had moved!

This might also be the reason why they were placed in the Central Plaza of the Shopping Mall—perhaps it was just to ensure that all customers would notice them from time to time, so as to prevent them from suddenly disappearing!

It's just that,

The current speed of this retreat, compared to the speed of the approach on Zhang Yunfan's side, was like heaven and earth.

If this continued, they would be attacked before it completely retreated.

This was also not a solution!

"Hold on, Zhang Yunfan! As long as you can hold on, you can survive!"

"Mm..." Ding Mo's low, urgent reminder reached his ears, but the dizziness from blood loss was already surging in waves, constantly battering Zhang Yunfan's consciousness.

Even back-to-back, his body swayed more and more frequently, his pupils becoming increasingly unfocused.

No, he wasn't going to be able to hold on... As these thoughts raced through Ding Mo's mind, he suddenly opened the simple Medical Kit slung at his waist and began to rummage through it.

—The Bandage and Hemostatic Spray from earlier had come from here.

Risking the danger of shifting his focus, after searching for a while, Ding Mo indeed discovered a tube of something!

Adrenaline!

Although the Processing Bureau didn't act like human beings, they did indeed provide the necessary items.

Pfft~

One injection went in.

Very quickly, Zhang Yunfan's legs stopped shaking, his waist stopped feeling weak, and his eyes brightened.

On his face, which looked like it had been coated in anti-freeze wax, the color returned, and he was full of vigor!

Although it was only temporary, it was enough to face the current situation.

"Hahaha..." Zhang Yunfan's breathing quickened; a large amount of oxygen and latent energy were stimulated by this injection.

He stared at the "mannequin" in front of him, becoming focused.

This also caused both "mannequins" to stop their actions.

Thus, in the corridor, the four "people" stared at each other with eight eyes, the air seemingly stagnant at this moment...

Time was passing, second by second.

Pfft~

Ding Mo threw away the Injection Syringe in his hand.

He didn't know how much time had passed, as there were no clocks in the corridor. But including the first time, this was already the third time he had injected Zhang Yunfan with Adrenaline!

The effect of the Adrenaline was becoming weaker and weaker.

Zhang Yunfan's body began to sway again, and at this time, although they had retreated quite a bit, they still hadn't given up on the encirclement.

Sweat flowed down from Ding Mo's cheek.

However, something even more heavy-hearted happened to him soon after!

The Flashlight in his and Zhang Yunfan's hands suddenly flickered—was it running out of power!?

Sure enough, the next second, the Flashlight went black.

"Fuck..." In the darkness, Zhang Yunfan's panicked and helpless curse rang out.

There was no other way! Ding Mo had already prepared to face these "mannequins" head-on.

But, another second later, the Flashlight actually recovered?!

The beam of light shot straight through the darkness, reaching the end of the corridor.

"Eh?" A sound of confusion came from Ding Mo's throat.

Not only did the Flashlight recover, but the "mannequins" were gone!

Only then did Ding Mo realize; he examined the Flashlight in his palm and found its light was incredibly strong, with no sign of the power being exhausted at all—

So the abnormality of the Flashlight just now wasn't because of the batteries, but because of these "mannequins."

Did they run away?

However, they were not completely out of danger yet, so Ding Mo led the equally surprised Zhang Yunfan toward the outside.

Two minutes later.

Creeeak~

The slightly old double-door safety gate made a teeth-grinding friction sound on its hinges. But when they arrived outside and were bathed in the bright, warm sunlight, Ding Mo felt only joy in his heart.

They had finally escaped!

Closing the door, the two of them had arrived at the back door of the Shopping Mall from the Fire Escape that led directly outside.

Walking outward for a while, keeping as far away as possible from this eerie Shopping Mall,

Ding Mo placed the grimacing Zhang Yunfan onto a nearby Wall, surveyed the surroundings for a moment, and seeing nothing unusual, could not help but sit down to rest.

Having circled with those few "child mannequins" for nearly an hour, he was also exhausted.

But after looking at the vending machine by the street, Ding Mo still gave up the urge to grab an iced drink, sat silently in place, and took out his dry rations and water.

Zhang Yunfan beside him did the same.

It was just that because his arm was completely broken, he had lost quite a bit of fluid, and his lips appeared somewhat cracked at this moment.

Ding Mo glanced at him and sighed softly.

With such a severe injury, he did not know if he could even survive until the Task ended.

After all, he was a companion who had just fought side-by-side with him; if not for him, even if Ding Mo could have thought of a way, it would have been impossible to drive away two "child mannequins" at the same time.

Moreover, Ding Mo was not a pervert who liked to watch others die, so naturally, he hoped he could survive.

The two rested in place for a while, but not daring to stay long, they soon had to hurry toward the assembly point.

As for searching for the Task target, in fact, when he was in the Security Room just now, Ding Mo had already watched the footage of every place in the Shopping Mall.

There was nothing, not a single clue.

Although it was somewhat rash to determine the location of the Task target based on this, the Shopping Mall was too dangerous, and it was truly daunting to stay any longer.

If after returning, the others also had no results, then they would only be able to deliberate further...

In the afternoon,

Intense heat ravaged the earth; the firepower of midsummer had already baked the ground, which had been dampened by a light Xiao Yu, until it was dry once again.

Within the deserted city, it remained silent and desolate, as if the eternal, unmoving scorching sun had already burned away all life in this place!

On the unchanging street, several figures arrived at this moment.

At the Security Booth by the roadside.

Ding Mo arrived at this assembly point and discovered that someone was already waiting there.

"Gu Zixu? Did you find the target?" Ding Mo looked in surprise at the young girl who was hugging her chest and hiding in the shade of the booth.

She was completely unharmed.

And at this moment, there was another, even more petite figure hiding behind her petite body.

The figure had black hair tied into several cute little braids resting on her shoulders, and her large, dark eyes looked at Ding Mo timidly.

It was clearly the little girl from the photograph!

"Yes, I found her in the playground equipment of a Residential Complex," Gu Zixu said, her gaze falling upon Zhang Yunfan, whom he was supporting.

Ding Mo noticed her gaze and, not bothering with the little girl, only said:

"We had better get out quickly."

Whether it was Zhang Yunfan's injuries or the eeriness hidden in this city, he did not want to spend the night here!

"You are right; there are many Watermelon People nearby, the dark-skinned assistant is also so severely injured, and the Task target has already been found; this place is not suitable for a long stay," the young girl agreed deeply.

"Hmm... Watermelon... People?" After Ding Mo responded, he still could not help but express his confusion.

"Huh? You don't even know about Watermelon People?!"

She seemed to loathe the so-called 'Watermelon People' very much, and upon hearing this, a trace of disgust even appeared on her face as she said: