Chapter 189 – Sudden Crisis

Variation in appearance?

Leaving Ye Lian and Xia Na aside for now, Li Yalin’s body contains the Mutation Snake Virus!

The venom surely contains the virus, and once inside Li Yalin’s body, it combined with her existing virus to create a new variation. As for the current situation, no one knows for sure.

From the subtle changes on Li Yalin’s body, it’s evident that she has indeed taken on some characteristics of the Mutation Snake.

Does that mean…

Images of his Senior Sister transforming into a beautiful snake-woman instantly flashed in Ling Mo’s mind, causing him to shiver involuntarily.

Although it sounds somewhat exciting, the thought of his Senior Sister wrapping her snake body around him and requesting to mate…

“No! As a human being, I have my limits…”

Ling Mo felt goosebumps all over.

The more he thought about it, the more he couldn’t stop himself from looking at Li Yalin. His imagination ran wild as he visualized her lower body morphing into a snake’s tail…

Moreover, after the mutation… who knows if Li Yalin would still retain human consciousness? There are just too many uncertainties…

No way, he had to find a way to prevent this!

As for the Foreign Girl’s theory about the virus source… it did align with Ling Mo’s suspicions.

Over the past few days, he had noticed some changes in the viruses within Ye Lian and Xia Na’s bodies, understanding this through his Psychic Link with them. However, this was nowhere near as accurate as the professional insights of the Foreign Girl.

Though her tone wasn’t entirely confident, Ling Mo’s heart was already pounding with excitement.

She might find it hard to confirm, but Ling Mo knew that what she said was very likely the truth!

If that’s the case, the reason why the virus gel hasn’t had much effect on Ye Lian and Xia Na is because they no longer need to absorb large amounts of the virus.

Their bodies are, in fact, producing viruses themselves!

Ling Mo speculated that the true virus factory would be the virus gel in the hindbrains of Ye Lian and Xia Na.

That piece, originally thought to be merely a combination of virus, similar to a stone, would actually gradually turn into something akin to a “mother hive.”

No wonder the virus gel would devour each other, becoming increasingly smaller and purer.

The virus gel in an Advanced Zombie’s brain is already very small, so the gel in a Leader-Level Zombie’s brain might be no larger than a fingernail.

But the smaller the volume, the more terrifying the concentration of the virus contained within.

So, Ling Mo’s previous feeding method was correct initially, but he went wrong later on.

Reliance on external forces alone has become insufficient for quickly boosting their advancement. To produce more virus within their bodies, it has to come from their own internal development!

While everyone was chatting, Ye Lian and Xia Na had stepped outside the room, seemingly uncomfortable with staying with strangers.

However, through the Psychic Link, Ling Mo learned that they had a vague sense of something unusual.

Out of curiosity, the two girls naturally wandered the hallway outside the door, but unfortunately, they found nothing.

“That’s all I can think of regarding the virus for now. After all, we lack suitable samples for research, and we really don’t have the equipment and capability. This virus is completely beyond my knowledge.”

The Foreign Girl shrugged. She had a comfortable way of speaking, and with an inadvertent flick of her hair, she exposed a deep white cleavage, mesmerizing anyone who looked her way.

At least Zhang Haoyu was momentarily entranced.

“You sure have a thing for large breasts,” a subtle voice suddenly came from beside him, startling Zhang Haoyu awake.

He turned to see 2 staring straight ahead with a serious expression.

“Ahem, what are you talking about…?”

“Don’t be afraid, I won’t judge you. Liking busty mature women is the righteous path,” 2 said, eyeing the Foreign Girl seriously before turning back to Zhang Haoyu. “But she didn’t reach the ideal cup size, so I’m giving her a negative review! Keep standing there like a deer in headlights, I’ll cover for you.”

“We didn’t come here for this…”

The busty Foreign Girl, after speaking, seemed to remember something. She smiled apologetically and said, “I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Stella, and this here is the guard.”

The soldier lifted his head and glanced at everyone casually, “Zhang Teng.”

“You can call me Old Luo.” For some reason, Old Luo appeared quite nervous, nearly biting his tongue as he introduced himself.

His nervous demeanor didn’t arouse much suspicion from the group, except for Ling Mo, who gave him a second look.

The earlier warning look from Mo Da Hai had already clued Ling Mo in that something was amiss here.

But on the surface, there really seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary…

“I’m sorry we couldn’t help you much. It’s rare for you all to take the risk to come here,” Zhao Zhi said with an apologetic smile.

At this moment, Meng Jiayu shook her head and said, “It doesn’t matter. We were just trying our luck. At least we’ve learned something about the virus from you, which is better than knowing nothing. By the way, would you be willing to leave with us? Actually, we have a Base with a well-sealed granary and plenty of stored food…”

“But aren’t they planning to go to X City?” Ling Mo interrupted Meng Jiayu without showing any signs of emotion.

Meng Jiayu’s Base was indeed in desperate need of people, but these individuals might have issues, so it was better not to reveal too much about the Base.

“Yes, I do have that idea, but we need to think about it first. If you’re willing to stay for a night, we can discuss it today,” Zhao Zhi said amicably.

Stella stared at Ling Mo for a moment but didn’t say a word.

Ling Mo thought that if these people might have problems, it was better to leave as soon as possible.

Anyway, it seemed unlikely to get more information from them.

“No, we’d better not bother you…”

“I… I’ll escort you.” Old Luo suddenly said.

Mo Da Hai took a step forward, but Old Luo had already approached Ling Mo, “I’ll take you back to the elevator.”

As they left the room, Ling Mo couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

After walking some distance, Old Luo seemed to make up his mind about something and suddenly took two quick steps forward. But just as he opened his mouth to speak, the lights unexpectedly dimmed.

In that instant, Ling Mo felt a sharp, twisting pain in his shoulder.

It didn’t feel like an external injury but more like his internal flesh was being twisted around.

He nearly blacked out, his eyes rolling back, but fortunately, Li Yalin caught him in time.

At that moment, he sensed extreme danger and quickly shouted, “Watch out!”

Simultaneously, he heard several “thud” sounds, like people collapsing.

Despite the intense pain, he managed to use a Psychic Tentacle to probe the surrounding Psychic Fluctuations, but he couldn’t shift his vision to Li Yalin’s perspective.

Moreover, even Li Yalin seemed to be in considerable pain. However, being an Advanced Zombie, she reacted quickly and immediately dashed back.

But just then, the sound of a door closing echoed, and although Li Yalin was fast, she missed her target.

Ye Lian and Xia Na, enduring their own discomfort, helped Ling Mo, while the light completely faded away.

The power had been cut off.

Finally catching his breath, Ling Mo realized he was in a dire situation. It was his first time suffering so severely and, worse, even Ye Lian and the three girls were being suppressed.

That sensation of boiling blood wasn’t just felt by Ling Mo; it affected Ye Lian and the three girls as well.

After Li Yalin turned on a flashlight, she saw that 2 and the others had all collapsed, gasping for breath, their skin slightly flushed, evidently from the surging blood heat.

Their eyes were dazed, almost in a state of over-excitement. Ironically, Ling Mo remained somewhat conscious due to his injury, the pain keeping him alert, though he was still exhausted.

“This superpower is really something. It might not have direct killing power, but it significantly reduces everyone’s fighting capability…”

The door was closed, and Ling Mo felt that even if they broke it open, the room would likely be empty.

With the power cut, taking the elevator was no longer an option either.

Could this be their plan? To trap and ultimately kill them here?

Ling Mo thought to himself that these people were far more complex than Zombies. Who could have imagined that one moment they were having a friendly conversation, and the next, such a drastic turn of events would occur?

No, from the current situation, it was clear they had planned this well in advance.

The reason they met and conversed with them for so long was likely because cutting off the power took time.

Old Luo leaned against the wall, his eyes wide open, gasping for air like a bellows.

“What’s going on?”

Ling Mo finally noticed there was something peculiar about Old Luo. It was similar to the feeling he got from Mo Da Hai.

However, earlier, everyone was in one room, so Ling Mo hadn’t detected it.

It took a while before Old Luo managed to catch his breath. His eyes were filled with terror. “I shouldn’t have acted so rashly… No, I don’t regret it… but you all might die here.”

“Why? What’s happening?” Zhang Haoyu scrambled over, nearly falling in his panic.

Old Luo, his voice trembling, said, “Because when they found you, they decided to use you as Nutrients.”

“Nutrients?” Ling Mo felt incredibly uneasy. He realized that their current situation couldn’t be worse.

His shoulder was injured, making his right hand unusable for the moment, and they were trapped here.

Old Luo nodded. “Yes! Zhao Zhi, he’s a madman. The frozen bodies have been mostly used up. They can still sustain for a while, but Zhao Zhi said that feeding on living people would be better, so he decided to lure you down here. As fellow Survivors, you would never suspect this, would you?”

“So it was Zhao Zhi who attacked? What’s his Superpower? And when you say Nutrients, what exactly are they feeding?” Ling Mo anxiously inquired. The biggest disadvantage right now was their lack of information. Although Ling Mo had suspected something might be wrong, he never imagined they would resort to such tactics.

On one hand, the conversation had seemed to go smoothly; on the other hand, Ling Mo had been overly confident!

In a direct confrontation, Ling Mo and his group would absolutely prevail!

But he never expected the other side to pull such a stunt!

Old Luo was just about to answer when Ling Mo suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. Simultaneously, Ye Lian, Xia Na, and Li Yalin all turned their gazes towards the depths of the corridor.

Even 2 got up from the ground, touched his forehead, and said, “Usually, in situations like this, it’s because something bad is about to happen…”

Of course, it wasn’t a ghost that appeared, but judging from Old Luo’s look of despair, it was definitely nothing good!

“You decided to come out and guide us, whether it’s to save yourself or because you couldn’t bear to see us die, it doesn’t matter. Either way, you know this place well. Take us to find that Zhao guy first!” Ling Mo grabbed Old Luo and pulled him up with a stern voice.

Even though his arm was injured, the aura of ferocity that came with hands stained with fresh blood was enough to intimidate anyone.

“I… I saw that you’re soldiers and armed… I wanted to save myself, too. They’ll sooner or later throw me in as Nutrient anyway,” Old Luo babbled a few incoherent sentences before finally steadying himself. He pointed down the other end of the corridor. “It’s too late. There’s a staircase behind that room that leads to B3. They’ve already gone down there. Their plan is to lock the doors layer by layer, and unless you have a bomb, you won’t be able to open those doors. Come with me. We need to find a place to hide first, and then I’ll explain the situation.”

“Hmph, if you had told us from the beginning, or even given us a hint, we wouldn’t be in this mess,” Old Wang said with some dissatisfaction.

Old Luo, however, showed a terrified expression, prompting Ling Mo to shake his head. “Forget it. The other side had planned to trap us. Even if Old Luo had warned us, this would still have happened. The only way to avoid it would have been never coming here or killing Mo Da Hai the moment we saw him. But who could’ve seen this coming? Things have come to this point, and there’s no turning back. No one could have anticipated this.”

Old Luo clearly looked like a very timid person. How could he dare to speak in front of Zhao Zhi and his group? He would only dare to speak after he had distanced himself from them.

He probably decided to volunteer to guide them on an impulse and realized the gravity of his actions only after speaking up.