Chapter 546 – Changes in the Viral Hive

On the way back from the Oil Depot to the Helicopter, Ling Mo shared a lot of his insights with Xiao Ming.

What he talked about was actually quite straightforward, but all of it was accumulated through life-and-death battles.

Although Huang Duo and Guan He were listening as well, they were not superhumans, so their understanding was not as deep as Xiao Ming’s.

Despite being a bit slow, after a few pointers from Ling Mo, Xiao Ming’s knockoff “Dragon Style Qigong” actually became much smoother.

“Ahhh! Captain, it really works!” Xiao Ming shouted in delight.

“You still need to practice more.” Ling Mo wanted to ask how this kid had survived up until now, but thought better of it.

After all, there are all kinds of people in this world. Maybe he had become like this because he was too scared and lacked the courage to fight.

To ask such a question would be to rub salt in the wound.

“Yes, yes! Got it!” Xiao Ming nodded vigorously.

Although Ling Mo had spent a lot of effort explaining, Xiao Ming could share what he learned with the other superhumans, which might slightly improve their abilities.

This would also make Yuwen Xuan stronger, which was a good thing for Ling Mo.

Thinking of this, Ling Mo also felt that Zhang Yu had a tough job.

From his perspective, although Yuwen Xuan was a strong goofball, having him teach others would undoubtedly create more goofballs, so it was not even considered.

“Goofballs are really unpopular…” Ling Mo shook his head silently.

At this moment, the Helicopter they had taken earlier circled back not far away, followed by a large group of Zombies below, roughly estimated to be in the hundreds.

The nearby Zombies seemed to have been attracted by the Helicopter, except for Xiao Bai and her group who were lurking nearby.

However, while going upstairs, Ling Mo noticed that Huang Duo seemed to be intentionally or unintentionally blocking his way and was walking very slowly.

As a result, he and Ling Mo quickly fell behind the others, walking alone in the blood-scented hallway.

Ling Mo followed behind, watching Huang Duo’s back.

Finally, when the sound of the others’ footsteps was completely out of earshot, Huang Duo’s shoulders twitched, and he suddenly turned around.

He was holding a bayonet, staring at Ling Mo with a somewhat nervous expression.

“You…”

“No matter what you plan to do, I advise you not to act rashly,” Ling Mo said calmly.

It was obvious that this guy was trying to delay him, which Ling Mo had already anticipated.

The gap in their strengths was so vast that Ling Mo didn’t feel any sense of danger.

If Huang Duo had a grenade or a gun, Ling Mo might have been a bit more cautious. But a bayonet? It wouldn’t even matter if he stood there and let Huang Duo stab him.

Huang Duo’s face turned red again; he could feel Ling Mo’s indifference.

However, all the things he had witnessed before left him unable to even utter a threat.

“Do you know why I hate you?” Huang Duo asked through gritted teeth.

Ling Mo looked at him but said nothing.

“The pilot of the first helicopter you traded with was my close friend!”  Huang Duo shouted angrily.

“So? You want revenge?” Ling Mo didn’t try to reason with him. Some things are about loyalty, not logic.

Huang Duo should have clearly understood the rights and wrongs of the situation.

But to Ling Mo’s surprise, Huang Duo, who had been acting like he was on a rampage, suddenly fell silent.

He looked at Ling Mo with a complex expression for a long time, then slowly lowered the bayonet. “I can’t beat you, and I don’t want to fight you anymore.”

“Why?” Ling Mo asked.

“You saved us twice…” Huang Duo said heavily, looking down. “I can’t bring myself to hurt you.”

“Then why did you block my way?”

Huang Duo looked up at Ling Mo and said, “I don’t know, but doing nothing and saying nothing feels like I’m betraying my friend.”

“Oh…” Ling Mo nodded.

He could somewhat understand this kind of feeling.

“You and Commander Yuwen are relatives and have such a good relationship. You won’t have any conflicts with us in the future, right?” Huang Duo suddenly asked.

Before Ling Mo could respond, Huang Duo continued, “When my friend died, I was terrified. What if I was sent to deal with you? I don’t want to be cannon fodder, I don’t want to be a pawn sacrificed by the higher-ups. After Li Hao’s team was annihilated, I became even more scared, unable to sleep night after night. I’m afraid of you, afraid of facing you. You’re like a nightmare.”

“Uh…” Ling Mo didn’t know how to respond.

He hadn’t expected to suddenly become this guy’s confidant; it was very strange!

“As it turns out, you are indeed a terrifying person. But when you’re on our side, I feel very safe…” Huang Duo seemed to sniffle. “I hope we can always be teammates and never become enemies. At least no one else should end up like my friend.”

“Hmm.” Ling Mo nodded.

Huang Duo’s last words were sincere and heartfelt.

As Huang Duo turned to leave, he suddenly remembered something and asked, “Did you know all along?”

“I had a hunch,” Ling Mo admitted honestly.

“Damn it!!” Huang Duo was frustrated again.

“Stop messing around, Huang Duo. Let’s get going,” Ling Mo urged.

“Don’t think we’re friends now! I’m telling you, if we ever face off again, I’ll be the first to charge at you!” Huang Duo exclaimed, “Hey! If we do end up against each other, it must be because you mistreated Li Yalin, right? Treat her well!”

“What’s it to you… bad influences… the world’s going downhill,” Ling Mo sighed.

…

After boarding the Helicopter, Guan He keenly sensed that the overall atmosphere had become much more harmonious.

Although Huang Duo still wore a sullen expression, the coldness in his eyes had significantly diminished.

Some things are like that; they don’t need to be done, but just talking about them releases a lot of tension.

Simply put, both sides were just in different positions, and from their own perspectives, both were victims…

“Here you go.” Ye Lian quietly handed two pieces of the viral hive to Ling Mo.

Ye Lian’s hands were quick and light. Ling Mo only felt his pocket get slightly heavier, while the chatty Guan He and Xiao Ming sitting opposite him didn’t notice a thing.

“Huh? Something’s not right…”

Ling Mo reached into his pocket and immediately frowned.

“Why is it so soft?”

Ling Mo had plenty of gels in his bag, including spoils dug out from the brains of variation zombies. He was an absolute gel expert.

But these two pieces of the viral hive felt different at first touch.

The hardness, size, and shape were all quite different from the usual viral hives…

He sneaked a peek and his heart skipped a beat.

Even the color was different…

Typically, viral hives, regardless of their level, always had some blood-red hue.

But these two viral hives were outright pink.

Had they changed color? Because they drank fuel? It didn’t make sense…

Ling Mo was puzzled for a while but had to set this matter aside temporarily.

To confirm if this change was an individual occurrence or a group phenomenon, he would need to find other variation zombies. Plus, he would have to dig out the viral hives from the brains of Senior Zombies to check.

…

An hour later, two Helicopters arrived at the TV Station in X City.

During this time, Ling Mo’s mental focus became even sharper than before.

It was easier in the wilderness, but moving stealthily through a city without Xiao Bai getting stuck on walls was quite challenging.

Fortunately, the biggest obstacle—zombies—were all lured away by the two Helicopters, causing no trouble for Xiao Bai and the others.

As the Helicopters landed, Ling Mo had already guided Xiao Bai and the others to find a hiding spot, finally allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.

He rubbed his temples and jumped out of the open cabin door.

This time, the two Helicopters took turns luring the zombies away, which caused some delay.

A few minutes later, a large group of people was already standing on the rooftop.

“Here we are again,” Lucy remarked, looking around.

The two Helicopters hovered nearby, seemingly observing the explosion marks on the opposite building and the crashed Helicopter below.

“That’s really impressive…”

The people in the Helicopters and the members of the F Team all marveled simultaneously.

But Ling Mo, who had been at the center of it all, looked a bit listless…