Chapter 109: Partners

Ding dong—the elevator arrived.

Liang Bing stepped in almost with her eyes closed. From the 50th floor down to B1, she had to endure quite some time in this confined space!

The elevator descended. She felt a tingling on her scalp and, helplessly, pressed herself into the corner.

On the day the black rain fell, her father turned into a zombie, leaning halfway out desperately trying to claw and bite her, but was crushed by the elevator doors... That scene still haunted her mind and had not faded with time.

Lu Yu did not notice Liang Bing’s unease; his attention was fixed on the blackened lynx at their feet. Fortunately, the lynx appeared calm and showed no strange behavior.

The atmosphere was a bit eerie, and he thought it best to talk about something to ease the tension.

“How did you meet Yi Chen?”

“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you when there’s a chance,” Liang Bing answered weakly.

She was quite good at keeping secrets! Lu Yu suddenly felt a surge of curiosity.

Although Liang Bing looked young, she was undeniably beautiful, and her mysterious, icy aura was quite captivating.

Recalling Yi Chen’s evasive manner when he met Mu Qing last time, Lu Yu began to suspect: could this be Yi Chen’s official girlfriend? When did that guy become so popular with women?

Lost in such wild thoughts, the elevator dinged, arriving at B1.

Liang Bing felt a wave of relief and hurried to escape the moment the doors opened, but her legs were weak, and she stumbled, nearly falling.

Quick as a flash, Lu Yu caught her and frowned, “Are you hypoglycemic?”

“No... thank you,” Liang Bing tried to push him away, but her hands were too weak.

The lynx stood motionless at the restaurant entrance, seemingly waiting for the two to enter.

Liang Bing rallied her spirits, sensing the two infected were deep inside the restaurant. They neither hid nor fled, as if expecting them.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves.

Besides Yi Chen, she had not encountered other infected before, so she did not know how strong they might be.

She had read the profiles of five infected; their special abilities were quite peculiar.

As a physically fragile girl, even if she could predict an opponent’s moves ten seconds in advance, she couldn’t handle two at once. This was a battle with no chance of victory.

But Yi Chen had made her drag Lu Yu into this, so she was no longer alone.

Lu Yu was clear-headed, quick to react, agile, and physically superior to most; he should make a good partner.

Liang Bing had worked with Ling Zhe multiple times; they had decent synergy against ordinary zombies. By comparison, Lu Yu was stronger in every aspect, as long as he followed her instructions, things should be manageable.

She suddenly asked, “Did you hear the whistle?”

“No,” Lu Yu replied.

Liang Bing understood then.

The whistle that controlled ordinary people didn’t actually emit sound. It was a form of mental influence, interfering with brainwaves to issue commands, subtly prompting the listener to act according to the wielder’s will.

The infected who blew the magical flute must be a hypnotist.

Knowing one of their identities gave Liang Bing some peace of mind.

Lu Yu was immune to hypnosis—either his innate mental strength was powerful with strong resistance, or his brainwaves were unique, making him uncontrollable. Either way, this gave them an advantage.

“Why did you bring me here? Is Yi Chen really here?” Lu Yu still hadn’t grasped the gravity of the situation; he hadn’t yet entered combat mode.

Liang Bing was a little helpless. This makeshift team might not be more than the sum of its parts, but Yi Chen was in deep trouble, and she had to fight for him.

“Find a weapon.”

“Huh?”

“There are two bad guys here. We have to take them down to rescue Yi Chen.”

Lu Yu stood dumbfounded. Liang Bing’s tone was like telling a kindergarten story, yet she wore a completely straight face, not joking at all.

“I’ll give you instructions. You do exactly as I say,” she added.

“...Okay,” Lu Yu surrendered. Whatever she said, he’d follow.

He looked around and found a brick in the corner, bending down to pick it up.

“Let’s go in,” Liang Bing glanced at the brick but said nothing. Something was better than nothing.

The lynx led the way as Lu Yu entered through the cafeteria door, with Liang Bing following closely behind.

The cafeteria was neatly arranged with tables and chairs crammed tightly, making the aisles narrow. Since it wasn’t mealtime, only a few fluorescent lights were on, casting a dim, oppressive glow.

In a corner sat two people: one dressed in a colorful clown costume, the other wearing a black-gray sack-like garment—very eerie.

The most surprising thing was that they looked exactly alike—both had acne-covered faces, square jaws, and small eyes!

The clown held a bright green flute horizontally at his lips, seemingly engrossed in playing, though no sound came out.

“The flute player is the hypnotist; the one in the sack is the puppeteer,” Liang Bing said. She recalled the files stating they were twins.

“Ah?” Lu Yu was utterly confused.

“The puppeteer is about to move,” Liang Bing focused on the figure in the sack. She dared not underestimate the odd attire; according to Yi Chen, these were specially designed combat suits developed by the Future Group.

Sure enough, the puppeteer stood and slowly walked down the aisle.

“Your ability is precognition? Interesting. Ouyang Hong didn’t tell us you existed,” he said, eyeing Liang Bing with interest.

Precognition? Ability? Lu Yu was filled with question marks. He realized the situation was far more complicated than he had thought.

These two, dressed so bizarrely and hiding within the Ivory Tower, were certainly not good guys. Who were they? Where was Yi Chen?

“We just have to take them down, right?” Lu Yu swung his arms. He hated trouble and wanted to end this quickly.

The puppeteer grinned exaggeratedly. An ordinary person like him wouldn’t last two seconds here, yet he dared speak so boldly?

He was about to teach this ungrateful fool a lesson.

The puppeteer raised his arms, pulling two hands from the sack-like garment. He wore black leather gloves, and faint silver threads glimmered at his fingertips.

“To the right!” Liang Bing suddenly shouted.

Lu Yu instinctively followed her command. They watched as chairs and tables on the left were pulled by the silver threads, flung wildly into the air, and hurled toward where they had just stood!

The timing was perfect—if a second later, the consequences would have been disastrous!

Liang Bing could predict the opponent’s moves ten seconds in advance but couldn’t warn Lu Yu beforehand.

The infected were intelligent, unlike instinct-driven zombies. If she had alerted Lu Yu too early, the opponents might have shifted their tactics, changing the attack’s direction, potentially turning the tables against them.