Shadow In Your Mind [ARC 1- 5]

Chapter 10 - Use her as an excuse to reject them

XG 10 - Use her as an excuse to reject them

This security room was free from blood or destruction as every security guard had gone out to deal with the outbreak. Their outcome was unknown, but it would not be pretty if they were committed to their job.

"How do you plan on leaving this place safely?" Suzie Yap asked after finishing looking through the monitors. The only figures that passed by the CCTV were all zombies. None of the survivors, if hiding inside the stores, could be seen visibly.

"Do you agree to team up?" Vihaan questioned.

"Guo Guo, what do you think?" Surprisingly, Suzie Yap asked for her daughter's thoughts.

Although her mother acted differently than she used to, Wong Xue Guo could not believe that she would ask her opinion on such an important matter. Her parents always treated her as a child, and only let her choose on her own when it comes to small matters. Big issues like letting the man and boy into their group usually never had the chance for her to make comments.

Am I being tested?

Regardless, she replied perfunctorily. "I will follow whatever mother decides."

Suzie Yap blinked her eyes to stop them from tearing up. How could she only notice how thoughtful her baby was after she had left her side? With her eyes no longer covered by cobwebs that increasingly grew thicker with the help of her own brainwashing, she could finally see how obedient her baby was.

Why did she always think her daughter was plain and unable to meet her standards? Or that she was a child that could never understand her parent's suffering?

"Baby, mommy knows you are an obedient girl, but this time, mommy wants to hear your thoughts. Let mommy know if I have thought of everything that needs to be considered."

Wong Xue Guo paused in surprise, and even Vihaan too, but he quickly calmed down, thinking that the teenage girl would not be that against teaming up. Suzie Yap's appearance was younger than her age thanks to her genetics and routine skin care, and Vihaan guessed her daughter would at least be a high schooler.

A high schooler would not think too deeply and still have an innocent mind.

On the other hand, Wong Xue Guo was not optimistic. Her mother's words were plausible, and she seems to be treating her like an adult whose opinion matters, even if she excused it as an act of ticking off her checklist.

Could it be that her mother wanted to use her as an excuse to reject them? No matter the reason, she would just do what her mother wants.

"Frankly speaking, I'm a weak chicken and new to the killing business," Wong Xue Guo started, but her words left one to ponder over her words that seem to hold self-criticism. "That boy will likely be weaker than me, judging by appearance. If we team up, there will be one powerhouse, one ordinary person, and two weak chickens that will drag the entire team down. Other than knowing the way to leave this place safely, what else can they offer? With my mother's strength, she does not really need you to get us out."

Of course, Wong Xue Guo did not bother saying that teaming up would likely help her mother share her burden, but what if her mother had to work more if Vihaan was also a weak chicken that was stuck in the office from Monday to Friday with no time to exercise?

Suzie Yap nodded and did not refute any of her daughter's words. Her expression revealed that she strongly considers the choice of rejecting the partnership.

Vihaan's heart slowed down. Had he wrongly deduced who was the one in power between the mother and daughter duo?

This teenager was surprisingly someone that assessed the situation deeply.

Vihaan was about to voice out more of his capabilities when Suzie Yap asked another unexpected question from her daughter.

"Are there any other good points?"

Facing her mother while working hard to keep her face neutral, Wong Xue Guo wondered if she had wrongly misunderstood. Was her mother actually hinting at her to provide benefits in accepting new team members?

On the other side, Vihaan's mouth was already twitching as he wondered if this was a mother-teaching-daughter session. If yes, this leaves a bad taste for the involved parties.

Since her mother was speaking so forwardly, how could the filial daughter Wong Xue Guo not do as she wished? She sighed in her heart and dug up the good points she barely thought of, no matter how superficial they would sound.

"They look like they are people with a sensible mind and would not cause trouble without good reason. Helping them will be beneficial for us to have extra helping hands and ease our burden. They could also help us scout the area for any dangers first." Wong Xue Guo shifted her gaze to the boy. "He is a poor boy who had lost his parents and had no one else but us to protect him. What would his parents in heaven think if we left him behind?"

Vihaan thought, 'That is laying it way too thick, isn't it?'

"I know the staff passageway and the passwords to bypass the locked doors," Vihaan finally spoke of an acceptable reason even if Suzie Yap had shown her desire in accepting them. Her daughter's reasons were a little hard to accept.

"Guo Guo's words are right, Mr. Vihaan will be a good help to us." Suzie Yap smiled. "Then we will form a temporary group until we reach safety."

Relieved even if Suzie Yap seemed to ignore his words, Vihaan started to share his findings. "I managed to hear from one of the people that they will have a helicopter land on the rooftop to pick them up. If we reach there before the helicopter takes off, they might take us with them."

He did not say it was also a possibility that the person the helicopter was supposed to pick up would not survive or failed to arrive at the rooftop that was locked from outsiders' access.

They could not possibly just leave the survivors on the rooftop to die, right?

"There might not be enough space for all of us. And if that owner will allow strangers to hitch a ride. It's too risky," Suzie Yap countered.

"We still had to try. That is the only way out without taking a great risk." Vihaan continued on. "The way to the rooftop is only known by the internal department staff working for the shopping mall. The staff with the key are less than three people. Coincidentally, I have one of them. The rooftop is just above this floor and the stairs to it are beside the elevator at the center location of this floor."

"There's a large number of them in front of the elevator." Suzie Yap hummed in understanding as she eyed one particular screen. That was why Vihaan wanted to form a team.

There were no living humans around the elevator, but the zombies still gathered at the area, as if they were sure that their food was around there.

"I think they were attracted by the sound made by the elevator." Vihaan pointed at the display screen on top of the elevator. The numbers were changing as if there were passengers riding in it.

"I can clear the way to the staircase, but we will part ways after that. I prefer leaving with my own trusted vehicle," Suzie Yap said.

Vihaan also preferred that, but he does not have the capability of fighting his way to the parking lot with a young boy with him. "It will take a long time and be too exhausting for you to fight on every floor."

"Not if I take the elevator."

"I suggest not to," Vihaan said grimly. "Every time the elevator stops at a floor, it will let out a sound that attracts those monsters over. It will stop on every floor, likely because those buttons on every floor should have been pressed, with the people thinking of escaping through the elevator. Could you stop those monsters from charging into the elevator without a way to escape?"

The arrival music was purposely picked by the management to be loud in order to attract the attention of the distracted visitors while they were waiting for their rides.

But now, it has become a dangerous tool to attract zombies.

A/N: Our little fruit might be the least relatable female lead we ever read?

Guo = fruit by the way :D