Chapter 18

Why did we even come to this base?

Oh, right. So Wen Yu and Yang Mo could stay connected to normal humans, not lose touch with society. Not so they could tiptoe around, hiding me, the zombie.

"Idiot! I thought you genuinely craved meat!" Yang Mo snapped, annoyed.

Well... that was part of it. Yang Mo wasn’t moved. I didn’t dare move. Meat is important! Look at Wen Yu! Shooting up like a weed! I bet he’ll be taller than me this year!

Yang Mo was speechless. "So, what now? Just leave?"

I was puzzled. Couldn’t the mind-reading pick up what the district leader was planning earlier?

Yang Mo shook her head. "He really was thinking about finding us a dorm."

Did I misread him? What about the kid?

Yang Mo tapped Wen Yu’s head. "Hey, why do you want to leave too?"

Wen Yu looked sickly pale. "I... I saw something."

Oho?? Foresight?? Intriguing.

Yang Mo was curious. "What did you see?"

Wen Yu’s lips trembled. "I... I saw Second Sister... die..."

…………

Thank you, but no thank you for the excessive concern.

Yang Mo dismissed it outright. "Hallucination. Definitely a hallucination."

After a brief silence, she made her decision. "Let’s go. Honestly, there’s nothing worth staying for anyway."

Liar. Her job gave her such a strong sense of accomplishment. Her patients made her. She couldn’t cut that off so easily.

Yang Mo’s eyes widened, caught out and flustered. "Dummy! All of them put together aren’t as important as you!"

Many thanks for your esteemed regard, Your Grace.

She slung a bag over her shoulder. "Let’s go. Before it’s too late."

Wen Yu and I grabbed some things too.

But we weren’t leaving just yet.

"Teacher Yang." The district leader had returned. "No suitable dorm space for you right now. But we have somewhere better." He looked straight at me. "Can we talk?"

Of course. I was a threat, but also a hot commodity. Fine, I’d stop pretending. These colored contacts were uncomfortable anyway.

"Hmm..." The district leader paused. "Best keep them on. Wouldn’t want to scare the children."

I glanced at Wen Yu. That scary? Wen Yu shook his head.

Yang Mo was impatient. "Get to the point. If not, we’re leaving." Hard to believe she listened patiently to patients all day.

The district leader tried to soothe her. "Could you come to my office first?"

"Normally, sure," Yang Mo scanned the heavily armed guards at the door. "But bringing these guys? Not cool. Did you really think you could stop us if we wanted to leave?"

The district leader’s face hardened. He raised a hand. Their guns snapped up, trained on us.

If only he’d said they were here to clean the room…

"Cooperate with us," he said coldly, "or die right here."

Oh my. So scary. I don’t like him. What if... we replaced him?

Yang Mo shook her head, wanting no part of it. "No interest. Don’t want the job."

I thought Wen Yu had potential, though.

The district leader didn’t like our calm demeanor. His face darkened dangerously.

Yang Mo and I exchanged a look. "Wen Yu," she called softly. "Turn around."

Wen Yu obediently turned his back.

Simultaneously, I moved. A few lethal strikes later, the guards were sprawled beside Little Green Lotus.

"Stop!" a voice yelled urgently.

It was Elder Mu. Too late.

Seeing Elder Mu look at her, Yang Mo shrugged innocently. "Not our fault, Teach. They started it."

Elder Mu’s expression was unreadable. "Forget it. They were fools."

Applause. Elder Mu, keeping it real.

"I rushed over to tell you," Elder Mu said gravely. "I just received orders from above. They implore you to stay and help. The people here need Xiao Yang. And I believe... Li girl’s participation would be a crucial asset."

Wen Yu tugged Yang Mo’s sleeve anxiously. "Sister..."

Yang Mo considered it. "Elder Mu," she said politely but firmly, "I admit I like my work. But I don’t believe everyone can accept Le Tian being... what she is. So... we intend to leave. But rest assured," she vowed, "as long as we face no threats, we won’t become humanity’s enemy."

Elder Mu sighed, but ultimately let us go.