Chapter 426 City Cleanup?

Noticing her emotions, Ling Mo walked over and gently wrapped his arm around her, saying softly, “It’s okay, I’m here.”

Xia Xinyan paused and nodded.

Although Ling Mo had probably said this countless times, each time felt stronger than the last to Xia Xinyan; now, every time she heard him say it, it seemed to calm her heart entirely.

It was a sense of reassurance.

In these moments, she could feel the benefit of having someone by her side, unlike before when she was lonely, with no one to give her even a semblance of comfort.

“Ahem!” The gradually ambiguous atmosphere between them was suddenly interrupted by Monica, “Hold up, you two! Didn’t we come here to do serious work? Let’s not get lost in our own little world!”

Upon hearing this, Xia Xinyan’s face flushed slightly, and she subtly pulled away from Ling Mo.

She still had a thin skin.

After all, her past experiences were there, especially since Monica knew her history, which always made her feel a bit strange.

But this only left Ling Mo feeling displeased.

He didn’t care about face; he just thought Monica and that meat can were a bit annoying.

If it weren’t for having to bring these two along, he would have preferred to go on this mission with just Xia Xinyan.

To put it bluntly… the world for two that he wanted was still a long way off…

With a sigh, he manifested battle armor for both himself and Xia Xinyan and said, “So, Xia Xinyan, what’s the plan next?”

Since Xia Xinyan had died in this place last time, she should be quite familiar with it—definitely more than he was—and since this mission didn’t have a strict task, he planned to follow her lead.

Xia Xinyan glanced around and then continued moving forward: “Let’s head into the city; we should be able to gather more information there.”

She hadn’t even gotten into the Old Town during her last life; she had only been on the outskirts of Shen City. Naturally, she hadn’t encountered the demon strongholds that might exist in the city. If she could discover one this time, it would be a gain.

As for the location where she died last time… she wasn’t really fixated on revisiting it. After all, the circumstances of their two lives were completely different; last time was a decisive battle during a campaign, while now it was an exploratory mission starting much earlier. It was unlikely that there would be as many demons as there were last time, which eased Xia Xinyan quite a bit.

At most, she felt somewhat nostalgic.

After all, the past was the past.

Ling Mo didn’t say much more: “Alright, then let’s go into the city.”

This time, they chose a less aggressive method compared to the last time in Cang Hai City. An armored vehicle was still too flashy. Even with the disguise that meat can was confirmed, it might not guarantee complete safety. So Ling Mo switched to a more low-key option—a little electric bike.

Two little electric bikes: one for him and Xia Xinyan, and one for Monica. As for the meat can… it couldn’t ride, so it ran.

However, the little electric bike wasn’t fast to begin with, so chasing after it was no problem for the demons. Since that was the case, Ling Mo felt even less guilty.

Thus, amidst the ruins on the outskirts of Shen City, a bizarre scene unfolded—like something out of an apocalypse, two little electric bikes were racing each other at high speed, with a large, imposing demon behind them, seemingly in hot pursuit.

If this were in a movie, it would definitely be a bit heart-pounding.

But at this moment, in reality… it just brought some comedic moments.

Monica had twisted the little electric bike’s handlebar to the max, yet still felt unsatisfied: “Hey! Can’t it go any faster? Speed up, speed up!”

Ling Mo leisurely followed behind her, his expression a little odd: “Did you forget our purpose for coming here?”

They had said to act low-key, but this girl was making the little electric bike fly; what would happen if she switched to a motorcycle?

“Ha! Don’t you think this is exciting?” Monica seemed thrilled, “I used to race these things on starships; I’m really feeling nostalgic now!”

This wasn’t merely about speeding on a little electric bike or a motorcycle—it also required the right environment. In an apocalyptic setting, with living corpses and demons everywhere in the distance, it was this sense of imminent danger that truly made one’s adrenaline soar.

Monica, of course, wasn’t immune to it either.

Ling Mo: “…”

He genuinely thought this girl was a bit weird.

Sitting behind Ling Mo, Xia Xinyan was observing the living corpses and demons around them.

Most of the living corpses began moving closer upon seeing them, but the occasional demons only glanced their way and lost interest, some even running away.

The living corpses could easily be seen as ordinary zombies, instinctively drawn by the presence of the living, which made sense. But why were these demons… running away?

After considering this, she turned to the meat can behind them: “Why are those guys running away?”

“Weaklings naturally fear the strong,” the meat can, despite its wild running as if bringing doom, had a tone that bore a hint of compassion, “They might think we’re here to seize their territory, so they choose to flee.”

Xia Xinyan frowned slightly.

From the aura of the demons that had just fled, she could tell they were about as strong as those on the outskirts of human strongholds. So… had even these demons evolved to be on par with animals now…?

What level of evolution might the demons within Shen City have reached?

If there were demons akin to the meat can inside, already capable of speech and possessing intelligence similar to humans, would they recognize who they were?

These were the concerns Xia Xinyan harbored.

But no matter how worried she was, if she wanted answers, she still had to head into Shen City—and with the little electric bikes moving at such a frantic pace, it didn’t take long to enter.

The building density in Shen City was much higher than in Cang Hai City, but now, like before, most of the structures had collapsed. The streets were a mess, with lots of weeds and vines creeping out from the cracks, giving the ruined city a touch of green.

Xia Xinyan noticed that the streets of the Old Town in Shen City were almost littered with corpses that seemed to be living dead, and most of them… didn’t appear to have been dead for long.

“Is someone cleaning up these living corpses?” She scanned the surroundings and frowned slightly.

Ling Mo nodded: “It appears that way; the closer we get to the Old Town, the fewer living corpses there are on the road.”

By the time they reached here, they hadn’t seen a single living corpse.

Could it be that those demons were cleaning up this city?