Chapter 120: Your Doomsday Has Been Delivered (3)

"When I woke up, she was still lying down, so it probably wasn't her," a young girl said, providing an alibi for Ling Qiong.

"Then who was it?"

The voice from just a moment ago had sounded very close.

"Could it be haunted?" Ling Qiong, now much more awake, stood up while patting her cheeks, her eyes darting around the room.

"..."

Zombies were terrifying enough—did you have to add a haunting to the mix?

Are you serious?

Fang Qian’s mind raced. "It must have come from downstairs. Are you all sure the doors are locked?"

Everyone nodded, certain that all doors and windows were secure.

They strained their ears to listen, but there was no movement outside; it was as if the sound had been a collective hallucination.

After a while, Fang Qian said, "Zhang Yang and I saw a lot of zombies outside the restroom earlier."

Ling Qiong remarked offhandedly, "They have meetings there every night."

"M-meetings? Zombies having meetings? What kind of meetings?!"

Ling Qiong corrected herself, "They just gather there."

She had noticed it as soon as she arrived at this shopping mall. However, as long as they didn't make any loud noises, the creatures didn't move, so she had simply ignored them.

The group: "..."

Gathering is one thing, but calling them "meetings" is terrifying!

"What are they gathering for?" Zhang Yang pressed.

Ling Qiong shrugged. "How would I know? I didn't major in Zombie Linguistics in college."

"..."

Fang Qian looked outside several times, still uneasy. "Zhang Yang and I are going to go downstairs to check it out. If there's any danger, we'll signal you."

Ling Qiong had already sat back down, yawning as she slumped onto the sofa. She reminded Fang Qian, "Don't just let anyone in."

Fang Qian acknowledged her and quickly disappeared toward the stairwell.

By now, everyone was wide awake. Unable to sleep, they waited anxiously upstairs.

...

Half an hour later.

Ling Qiong deeply regretted her actions.

She regretted being so blinded by the sight of a few humans who were more pleasing to the eye than zombies that she had foolishly taken them in.

Indeed, no good deed goes unpunished.

The mall was now brightly lit, and a group of burly, well-armed men stood across from them. These men were all large, rugged, and fierce-looking, appearing quite intimidating. The only woman in their group stood far back, looking trembling and apologetic.

Zhang Yang was clutching his arm, his face bruised and swollen. The two girls from their group huddled together, biting their lips to keep from making a sound, their shaking bodies revealing their terror.

Fang Qian’s expression was grim as he and the others stood their ground against the intruders.

Ling Qiong remained on the sofa. She let out a slow sigh. "Didn't I tell you not to let just anyone in? Which part of that didn't you understand?"

Fang Qian felt guilty and regretful. "I thought there was only one survivor..."

When he and Zhang Yang went down to check the area, they hadn't found anything at first. But just as they were about to head back up, a woman suddenly appeared outside, tapping on the glass and begging for help. She was all alone and looked desperate. Having experienced that same despair, they had felt pity, even knowing there might be danger.

So...

"You, get up," a bald man from the invading group pointed at Ling Qiong. "Hurry up!"

"Why are you being so fierce?"

Ling Qiong glanced at him and stood up from the sofa. She kept one hand behind her back and used the other to casually smooth out the wrinkles in her dress.

"Stop with the damn chatter." The bald man likely understood the "villain dies from talking too much" trope, so he didn't waste words, gesturing with his weapon. "Women to the right, men to the left. Move it, don't drag your feet."

Ling Qiong happened to be on the right, so she stayed put. The other two girls, paralyzed by fear, walked over tremblingly.

The bald man signaled to his companion. Aside from Fang Qian and Zhang Yang, the remaining men were roughly frisked. They were furious but dared not speak.

Once he was sure they had no weapons, the bald man asked, "Do you have any other accomplices?"

Fang Qian’s "No" was cut off by Ling Qiong.

"Yes, we do."

The bald man narrowed his eyes, looking at Ling Qiong dangerously. "Where?"

Ling Qiong answered honestly, "In the back."

Fang Qian: "..."

There were no accomplices back there. Only a group of zombies who were busy doing whatever it was they were doing.

In the bald man’s eyes, Ling Qiong looked like a delicate, non-threatening young girl. The only thing that seemed off was that she didn't appear particularly afraid. However, he didn't think she posed any real threat. He turned his head and ordered his men to go check.

Just then, Ling Qiong moved.

*Bang!*

*Crash!*

The bald man’s shiny head was struck, and a pungent scent of alcohol filled the air. Blood mixed with liquor flowed down. The bald man reflexively reached up to wipe it.

His hand was covered in blood, and everything before his eyes seemed to be covered in a red veil. A dull, throbbing pain surged, and his head felt like it was about to split open. The figure in front of him doubled.

Ling Qiong took the opportunity to grab the weapon in the man’s hand, yanked it with force, reversed its direction, pressed it against his head, and slammed it home.

The bald man’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed with a thud.

The others reacted, raising their weapons.

*Click-clack.* The sound of safeties being disengaged echoed repeatedly.

Ling Qiong immediately spoke up: "You’d better not shoot. There are quite a few 'treasures' downstairs; if you draw them here, we’ll all die."

Treasures? Zombies?

Firing a gun in the city wasn't a wise move. That was why they hadn't forced their way in earlier...

"Ah!"

*Bang!*

In the two seconds they spent deliberating, another man’s head was cracked open, and he fell to the ground.

"Damn it!"

"Get her!"

"Grab that bitch!"

...

Ling Qiong threw away the weapon, bent down to pick up some scattered tissues, and pulled out a clean one to wipe her hands. The snow-white tissue was stained a vivid red. Her slender, fair fingers released the tissue, which drifted to the floor, only to be stepped on by her shimmering high heels.

Aside from those who had fallen, Fang Qian and the others were also looking on in horror.

Is... is this humanly possible?

Ling Qiong had dispatched these men with such speed that they hadn't even had time to react before they were laid out on the floor, heads cracked open. She took them down one by one, as if she were harvesting radishes!

"Why are you staring at me?" Ling Qiong walked back to her 'throne'—the sofa—and sat down. She washed her hands with bottled water and commanded them quite naturally, "Tie them up."

"..."

Fang Qian exhaled, trying to calm his shock. It was a good thing he hadn't assumed she was truly as fragile as she looked just because she was a young girl. After all, she was a badass who dared to take walks alone in these times.

Fang Qian led the others to find rope and tied up the whole group, including the woman. The two girls instinctively ran over to Ling Qiong’s side, serving her tea, water, and fanning her.

Fang Qian collected all the weapons and piled them in front of Ling Qiong. She disassembled them for fun, her technique skilled and swift, as if she had been professionally trained.

The scene looked exactly like a mob boss and her subordinates looting and counting their spoils.

"Miss Xu, have you received professional training?" Fang Qian asked cautiously.

Ling Qiong glanced at him, tossed aside a component, and clapped her hands. "It’s not that hard."