Chapter 60 – Once a Zombie, Always a Zombie

During the hour-long break, Ling Mo was focused on finding ways to better control his psychic power. In other words, he was trying to make his psychic tentacles more lethal…

With Ye Lian and Xia Na taking turns as sparring partners, Ling Mo quickly started to get the hang of it. He then shifted his focus to using his psychic power to control objects.

However, Ling Mo’s experience was limited to controlling living beings. Switching abruptly to objects left him a bit bewildered. It was also possible that his psychic tentacles weren’t powerful enough yet, as he failed several attempts.

The closest he came to success was when he managed to make a leaf move slightly. But even that small movement made his head feel like it was about to explode.

Despite this minor setback, Ling Mo was pleased to have discovered another potential use for his puppet control ability. He was confident that, with further improvement of his psychic power, his success rate would increase significantly.

Controlling his psychic power was extremely draining for Ling Mo. After over an hour of research, he had reached his limit. Pushing further would only exhaust him.

Feeling that his shoulder had healed considerably, Ling Mo decided it was time to move on with Ye Lian and Xia Na.

To Ling Mo’s dismay, a heavy downpour started on their way back.

Determined to reach the construction site before dark, Ling Mo decided to press on despite the rain.

Although zombies don’t mind getting wet, Ling Mo couldn’t bear to see Ye Lian and Xia Na soaked to the bone. So, he found raincoats for them in a small roadside shop.

The three figures, clad in dark blue raincoats, trudging through the heavy rain, must have been a unique sight in the city.

This was the first heavy rain since the apocalypse began. The large raindrops pounded the ground, washing away the blood that had almost congealed into a paste.

The rainwater formed small, red-black streams on the ground. It was a heartbreaking sight, a grim reminder of the countless lives lost to reach this point.

With Ye Lian and Xia Na leading the way, the trio made swift progress despite the rain. They reached the construction site before the sky grew too dark.

After quickly organizing the supplies they had gathered and having a bowl of noodles, Ling Mo took out the virus gel from the advanced zombie.

Originally, Ling Mo had planned to split the gel equally between Ye Lian and Xia Na. However, when he handed the gel to Xia Na, she hesitated. Then she divided her portion, keeping only about one-third for herself.

Seeing Ling Mo’s puzzled expression, Xia Na hesitantly explained, “Too much… it’s too pure.”

Ling Mo immediately understood. Xia Na’s level of evolution was not as advanced as Ye Lian’s; taking too much could be overwhelming for her.

To be safe, Ling Mo had Xia Na and Ye Lian consume the virus gel one after the other. Because their evolution had already reached a certain level, even though this virus gel was much purer than any they had taken before, neither of them passed out. Only their eyes turned red, awakening their instincts as mutation zombies. In this state, they struggled to withstand the virus’s further transformation.

What Ling Mo didn’t expect was that this enhancement process would last for a full three days. During this time, although Xia Na and Ye Lian did not lose consciousness, they were completely unaware of their surroundings. Ling Mo didn’t dare to probe their condition with his psychic tentacles, as both their physical and mental states were like tumultuous waves.

Meanwhile, Ling Mo also felt his own abilities improving. However, as before, his physical enhancements were minimal, with only slight increases in strength and speed. The significant improvement was in his psychic power. His psychic tentacles became more flexible and their color shifted closer to a blood-red hue.

This pleased Ling Mo greatly. He had now uncovered the true potential of his puppet control ability, and stronger psychic power was always better.

The first to consume the virus gel was Xia Na, and she was also the first to recover.

She looked at Ling Mo with a bit of confusion, but her gaze gradually became clearer. “It seems like I remember a lot of things.”

Hearing this tone, Ling Mo was momentarily stunned, then unbelievably delighted!

This tone was so much like the pre-mutation Xia Na! Although still somewhat cold and lacking in emotion, it was already very close! If someone unaware of the situation were sitting here, they wouldn’t be able to tell that anything was wrong with Xia Na, let alone guess that she was a zombie!

“What do you remember?” Ling Mo asked excitedly.

Xia Na seriously stared into Ling Mo’s eyes and said, word by word, “I remember you teasing me.”

Ling Mo’s expression suddenly became very awkward.

“You squeezed my chest, undressed me, and used the excuse of giving me a bath to touch me all over…” The more Xia Na said, the more complicated Ling Mo’s expression became.

What kind of situation is this?!

Shouldn’t the first thing after regaining sanity be reflecting on life, reminiscing about the past, and then being grateful for everything Ling Mo had done?!

Even if she didn’t offer herself to him, at least a kiss wouldn’t be too much, right?

Ling Mo had fantasized countless times about the scene when Xia Na and Ye Lian regained their sanity. Maybe it would be deeply touching, maybe a spark would ignite…

But definitely not this!

Although Xia Na’s tone was very calm, almost emotionless… ignoring what she said, she was basically the same as three days ago.

Previously, Xia Na remembered these things but never mentioned them, probably thinking they weren’t worth paying special attention to.

Could it be that Xia Na’s sanity had completely returned?

At this moment, Xia Na suddenly added in a flat tone, “This should be what you humans call teasing, right?”

“Uh, you humans?”

Ling Mo was momentarily taken aback.

This phrase caught his ear, and his gaze towards Xia Na became more complex.

Xia Na had previously said that she was no longer human, didn’t want to become human again, and didn’t want to remember everything from before.

Unexpectedly, even with her sanity restored to this extent, she still held this belief.

But this was also normal. If she truly considered herself human, that would be disastrous. Not to mention anything else, just the memories of consuming the virus gel would be enough to make her collapse.

After her mutation, Xia Na had become a different species, a zombie.

She could recover her memories but wouldn’t regain her nature. Essentially, no matter how much sanity she regained, she was still a zombie.

No matter how many human memories she recovered, she would now think in the way of a zombie.