Chapter 239 – Black Silk or Meat Silk

The overwhelming stench of blood and rot made the visitor center feel like a massive garbage dump.

“If it were daytime, we might be able to look for snake eggs or something. I can’t even tell if this snake is male or female,” Ling Mo said, frowning.

Xia Na chuckled. “Snakes can give birth directly to baby snakes, you know. There are many kinds.”

“It’s a shame we can’t tell what species this one used to be. Its appearance has completely changed.”

“Why don’t we dissect it to check…” Li Yalin suggested.

“Forget it. This smell is already making me dizzy. I can’t imagine how much worse it would get after a dissection. Let’s go; we can’t stay here any longer,” Ling Mo said, pinching his nose and walking out first. As soon as he stepped outside, he eagerly took a deep breath.

Cold air filled his nostrils, bringing a refreshing chill that cleared his head.

There wasn’t much of a threat in the vicinity anymore, so Ling Mo turned on his flashlight.

“According to the map, there should be another commercial street up ahead. Let’s spend the night there. Too bad we can’t find any birds now; after all this commotion, any birds would have flown away by now.”

Ling Mo glanced at the map to confirm their direction.

The issue with the birds would have to wait. Acquiring one of these “Aerial Detectors” was no simple task.

Ling Mo had a good plan in mind, but it would have to wait until tomorrow.

He casually tossed a piece of Virus Gel to Black Silk. When Black Silk jumped up and caught the gel in its mouth, Ling Mo noticed something different.

“It looks like your fur is shedding…”

Ling Mo reached out and grabbed a tuft of fur from Black Silk’s head.

The fur was naturally falling out. When Black Silk jumped, a lot of fur scattered like dandruff.

Ling Mo immediately thought of the unfortunate “Test Subject No. 2,” the poor pigeon that lost all its feathers and showed no signs of regrowing them. Ling Mo had no choice but to release it.

He recalled how that pitiful, naked pigeon had frantically flapped its way into the grass, disappearing from sight. Ling Mo’s feelings at that moment had been quite conflicted.

Creating a new species is indeed a difficult task, even with the help of a virus. The success rate is just too low…

Seeing his hand full of dog fur, Ling Mo immediately thought of that pigeon.

Could Black Silk end up as a hairless dog?!

Xia Na reached out and pulled a strand of fur herself. “No, it looks like it’s just shedding. Look, this is newly grown.”

Under the light, the short fur appeared soft and slightly curly, with an important distinguishing feature: its color.

“It looks like silver…”

Ling Mo held it up for a closer look, then turned his gaze to Black Silk, who was whining from the pain of Xia Na pulling its fur.

“Maybe it really is evolving. Normal shedding wouldn’t look like this, right? Too bad I’ve never had a dog before. Hey, Xia Na, didn’t your family have dogs?”

Ling Mo recalled seeing a doghouse in Xia Na’s yard.

Xia Na scratched Black Silk’s ear as she spoke. “Yes, we did. In fact, I’ve had quite a few dogs.”

“Then you must have a lot of experience,” Ling Mo said with a hopeful expression.

Although Black Silk couldn’t be considered an ordinary dog anymore, it still retained some canine traits.

Instead of guessing, it would be better to leave it to Xia Na. That way, even if it didn’t achieve Ling Mo’s ideal outcome, at least it wouldn’t be a total failure.

Xia Na thought for a moment and then smiled. “Yes, I have a lot of experience.”

“Alright, it’s up to you then. From now on, you’re in charge of Black Silk’s diet,” Ling Mo said, smiling.

“Black Silk, you’ve done well today. Keep it up. Also, this lady here will be responsible for your food from now on. If you don’t want to end up as a hairless dog, you better behave.”

As he spoke, Ling Mo patted Black Silk’s head and started walking forward.

“Woof!” Black Silk growled softly, looking up at Xia Na.

At this moment, a faint red light flickered in Xia Na’s eyes, and a subtle smile played on her lips.

“A dog’s average lifespan is about ten years. I’m only eighteen, but I’ve had many dogs… What do you think that means?”

Xia Na patted Black Silk’s head and said, “Hmm… Well, your male owner didn’t think of that, so it’s not my fault. I really do have a lot of experience…”

As Ling Mo and his group left the zoo, the dimly lit visitor center saw a sudden movement at the tail of the Mutation Python.

Moments later, a thin membrane was pushed aside, and a gelatinous mass squeezed out.

After this mass wriggled for a bit, a small, flat head emerged from it…

Walking along the eerie streets for about half an hour, they finally saw some dark silhouettes ahead.

“That’s the commercial street,” Ling Mo said with some relief.

Under the night sky, the commercial street was deathly quiet, with only the creaking of signboards in the wind breaking the silence.

Occasional faint sounds echoed, caused either by wandering zombies stepping on debris or by shards of glass finally falling from precarious positions.

For safety, Ling Mo turned off his flashlight and shared Ye Lian’s field of view.

Her eyes had a slight glow in the darkness, barely noticeable unless you looked closely.

Zombies had excellent night vision, and Black Silk was no slouch either, but its sense of smell was its strongest suit.

With Black Silk leading and diverting the zombies ahead, Ling Mo and his group didn’t need to exert themselves much.

The entrance to the commercial street was littered with car wrecks, some bearing the marks of explosions.

One building had been burned down to ruins, with a fallen barbecue grill barely visible on the ground floor.

The other side was mostly restaurants, all showing signs of past fires to varying degrees.

A half-charred corpse lay in the flowerbed in the middle of the road, its identity—zombie or human—unclear.

“Looks like we’ll have to go further in,” Ling Mo said softly, looking down the street.

The buildings here were uninhabitable…

But then he noticed something odd—there were surprisingly few zombies around. Black Silk had only led away about a dozen.

“This isn’t right. In a commercial street like this, there should be at least a few hundred, if not a thousand, zombies…”

The deeper they went into the commercial street, the more puzzled Ling Mo became.

Black Silk suddenly stopped ahead, growling softly. It turned back and quickly dispatched two zombies that it hadn’t yet shaken off, then cautiously moved along the corner of the wall.

Through his Psychic Link with Black Silk, Ling Mo immediately sensed something was wrong. He gestured to his companions, and the four of them quickened their pace.

At this point, Ling Mo was within about a kilometer of Black Silk, with several buildings in between.

The zombies were being lured into the narrow alleys between these buildings. Black Silk, using its agility, would then lose them, leaving the disoriented zombies to wander aimlessly.

Following behind on the main street, Ling Mo and his group could avoid many unnecessary battles.

With their increased speed, they could reach Black Silk’s location without clearing any obstacles.

By now, Black Silk had reached the corner of the street and was cautiously peeking out.

“What is it…” Ling Mo also took a look and was stunned.

No wonder there weren’t many zombies on the way鈥”they were all gathered here…

Hundreds of zombies crowded around a large building, frantically pushing against the doors. Some zombies on the outskirts were even climbing on top of each other, trying to leap to the second floor.

However, lacking proper footholds and faced with a completely glass exterior, they couldn’t succeed.

“There must be survivors inside…” Ling Mo muttered, frowning as he looked up at the building through Ye Lian’s enhanced vision. But the one-way glass made it impossible to see inside.

“Who would draw all the zombies from the entire street here? That’s suicidal.”

A few hundred zombies could easily bring down the building. Judging by the situation, it seemed the survivors hadn’t been trapped for long.

With so many zombies, it was impossible for Black Silk to lure them all away.

Even Black Silk had its limits. If it got surrounded, the zombies would tear it to pieces in seconds.

The same held true for Ling Mo and his group. The biggest threat posed by zombies was their sheer numbers, and here, the numbers were clearly enough to pose a significant danger.