Chapter 945: The Vanished Corpse
Ling Mo hadnât gone far before a rusty blue iron door appeared in front of him. The door was shut and secured with a large lock. In front of it lay a âConstruction in Progressâ warning sign, splattered with dark brown bloodstains.
He paused for a moment in front of the door, then turned his head and asked, âThis is what you guys sealed off, right?â As he spoke, Ling Mo pointed to the gap at the bottom of the door. âThereâs blood everywhere here, along with some torn pieces of clothing⊠So, even if someone managed to escape, itâs highly unlikely they wouldâve had the time to turn back and close the door. Unless, of course, they were stronger than a zombie.â He gestured with his eyes toward the area around the lock. Near the spot where the two doors met, there were no fewer than five or six bloody handprints.
Even though the handprints had now taken on a rust-like hue, they still conjured up eerie images of what might have occurred there. Like survivors helplessly watching in despair as several blood-soaked hands reached out through the gap, clawing at the doorâŠ
âDonât you think so?â Ling Mo asked.
With no room for excuses, Tang Hao sighed in reluctant defeat. âYeah, someone did report to me back then, saying they had sealed off a place. I didnât pay much attention to it.â
He truly hadnât paid it much mind. Even now, Tang Hao was only interested in this spot because of Ling Moâs particular actions.
In fact, the situation had deviated completely from what Tang Hao had anticipated. Things were supposed to proceed in a completely different direction. Like Ling Mo-he wasnât supposed to be here right now. He shouldâve been off somewhere elseâŠ
But Ling Mo just had to show up here.
âMessing with others and messing with himself!â Tang Hao thought bitterly to himself.
âDo you know whatâs sealed in here?â Ling Mo asked as he grabbed the lock.
Tang Hao couldnât help but roll his eyes. âThe roomâs probably full of either corpses or zombies. But that was months ago-whatever was in there is likely nothing but rot by now.â
âYou discovered this spot months ago, yet you neither used it nor abandoned it. Instead, you went out of your way to process everything around it⊠You guys sure know how to kill time.â Ling Mo said offhandedly, his tone surprisingly neutral.
ââŠâ Tang Haoâs face twitched violently.
At this moment, Tang Hao finally understood. While Ling Mo hadnât hurt him physically, his actions and words were a continuous, naked form of torment.
What made it worse was the subtle yet layered meaning in Ling Moâs words. Tang Hao was left endlessly guessing just how much Ling Mo knew, what his stance was on all this, or what plans he might have in mindâŠ
Ask him? Not an option. Speculate? Maddening⊠This guy was doing it on purpose.
Clang!
With a soft metallic sound, the padlock clicked open.
Tang Hao was momentarily stunned. Standing this close, he hadnât seen Ling Mo do anything at all.
Mental ability could do that? But heâd never seen anyone in their team with such a skillâŠ
Screeeech-
The door creaked as it was pushed inward, the rusty edges grinding against the frame and producing a tooth-aching sound. As the door slowly opened, a strange smell wafted out from the room.
âDamn!â Tang Hao exclaimed, immediately wincing in discomfort.
Ling Mo, meanwhile, waved a hand in front of his nose, suppressing the smell until the door was fully opened.
At first, the room appeared pitch black, but as their eyes adjusted to the darkness, they began to make out the contents of the space.
âWhat is this?â Ling Mo blurted out, his brows furrowing the moment he took a quick glance inside.
The floor of the room was slightly lower than the corridor outside, and the place was surprisingly spacious. Perhaps because it had been sealed off for so long, the air carried a chilling, oppressive presence. The ground was almost entirely covered in dried brown bloodstains, and even the scattered equipment along the walls was heavily splattered with blood. âĂĄÎá»ÎČÄĆ
But none of that was what truly shocked them.
âThe corpses are gone!â Tang Hao exclaimed, visibly startled.
When they had sealed this place, there had been a significant pile of corpses inside!
Ling Mo immediately turned his gaze to Tang Hao, who still stood frozen, wide-eyed in disbelief.
He understood what Ling Moâs look meant⊠Ling Mo was suspicious now. But where was Tang Hao supposed to direct his doubts? There was no reason for anyone in their group to lie about something so inconsequential.
âThere were definitely corpses in here! Every single corpse we could find back then⊠even the zombies we came across shouldâve all been stored hereâŠâ Tang Hao stammered, his voice tinged with unease. âWait! Maybe one of the zombies wasnât actually dead and ended up eating all the corpses here⊠So that would mean thereâs still one alive zombie in this room. Zombies are good at masking their presence, after all. If it realized people were coming, it mightâve hidden itself somewhere in the corner. It could be watching us right nowâŠâ
By the time he finished speaking, he felt a bit of relief himself.
That must be it. Most likely, that was what happened. Even if the sheer number of corpses and their decomposition rate didnât make sense for this time frame, what was two or three months of hunger to a zombie?
Tang Hao tried to reassure himself with this thought as his anxious gaze darted to Ling Mo, closely observing his reaction.
The other man had warned him more than once: if he lied, the result would be⊠death! So, while Tang Hao might have withheld certain details, heâd never dare to fabricate anything about what he had already said.
He just wasnât that braveâŠ
âBut what about the bones?â Ling Mo asked, pointing to the floor.
The question landed like a hammer, and Tang Hao felt an overwhelming urge to bang his head against the wall.
Why hadnât he thought of that?
There had been so many corpses-what had become of their bones?
But Ling Mo didnât wait for his reply. Instead, he turned back and pushed the door partially closed again. He pointed to the back of the door and said, âThere arenât any fresh impact marks here, either. Look-itâs all covered in dust.â
He rubbed his fingers together and gave a quick glance out the door before adding, âEnough. Letâs move deeper inside.â
âMeGuâŠâ
Xiao Bai let out a low grumble just then, earning a glance from Ling Mo. Something stirred in his mind.
âLetâs go.â
Ling Mo shut the door quickly, then led the way toward the far end of the Distribution Room.
As the last sliver of light disappeared, the entire room plunged into darkness. It wasnât until several seconds later that Tang Hao felt his eyes begin to adjust, faint outlines of the surroundings slowly emerging from the shadows.
CreeeakâŠ
The sound of a door being pushed open echoed from somewhere distant. Tang Haoâs eyes widened in alarm, but before he could react, something cold and metallic pressed against his temple.
âShhh.â Ling Moâs voice came from beside him.
Tang Hao immediately held his breath, his body freezing in place. Then, all at once, a troubling realization dawned on him.
Where was the panda?
From the moment he was set down to when the panda vanished-it had all happened in the blink of an eye. Only now did he grasp that Xiao Bai was no longer with him and had seemingly been handed off to Ling Mo.
What was happening?
He turned his head slightly, catching a glimpse of Ling Mo, who was entirely focused on the direction of the doorway. A chill ran down Tang Haoâs back.
âWhy do I get the feelingâŠâ he thought to himself in mounting dread, âthat he didnât just come here to find something, but also to turn this place into a cageâŠâ
If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.