Chapter 104 – Two Zombies Fight, the Third Gains

A hand suddenly reached out from the door and yanked the Zombie Puppet inside, just as the Advanced Zombie charged outside.

“Damn it…”

Anyone who appeared in such a place surely wasn’t a Survivor. Now, faced with attacks from both sides, he was definitely doomed.

But what kind of zombie would dare to snatch food from an Advanced Zombie? Was it tired of living?

Ling Mo seemed to foresee the upcoming conclusion: the Zombie Puppet and the food snatcher would be torn to pieces by this Advanced Zombie.

However, to Ling Mo’s surprise, the Advanced Zombie stopped at the doorway without any intention of rushing in. Instead, a hint of caution and wariness flashed in its blood-red eyes.

It let out a threatening growl from its throat and slightly crouched as if about to launch an attack, but it never entered the room.

“What’s going on?”

Ling Mo quickly manipulated the Zombie Puppet to turn and look at the zombie behind it, only to discover that this zombie wasn’t a local.

It had a typical white face, short and stocky build, with half of its large nose missing, exposing one nostril, which looked quite terrifying.

A few strands of white hair on its head were matted with blood, and combined with its dirty suit, it appeared somewhat comical.

However, its round, blood-red eyes revealed an extremely fierce expression. For some reason, Ling Mo vaguely felt that this White Zombie seemed even stronger.

Using the Zombie Puppet’s perspective, he scanned the room and indeed found many corpse remnants, presumably all eaten by this White Zombie.

But it had only eaten the hindbrain of these corpses, leaving the bodies mostly intact. To Ling Mo’s surprise, there were even two or three relatively fresh-looking bodies among them.

“Could this zombie actually go out to hunt?”

Ling Mo quickly scanned the room and indeed found a window on the other side of the dressing room, leading outside. The window glass had long disappeared.

Advanced Zombies that know how to go out hunting naturally possess a certain level of intelligence. This one had even made this place its lair.

These two Advanced Zombies—one in front of the stage and the other behind it—likely avoided each other under normal circumstances. They seemed to have coexisted for quite some time, probably because the presence of the other kept them from leaving this place.

However, the appearance of the Zombie Puppet disrupted this balance.

If the outside Advanced Zombie hadn’t been chasing the Zombie Puppet, it likely wouldn’t have recklessly faced the White Zombie. But it hadn’t expected the Zombie Puppet to be so agile and behave so unusually.

At this moment, it eyed the White Zombie warily but was unwilling to retreat, leading to a standoff between the two.

Advanced Zombies with intelligence no longer engage in mindless slaughter. When their strengths are balanced, they prefer to confront rather than immediately fight.

Mutation Zombies enhance themselves by devouring each other, but the Virus Gel of Mutation Zombies has little effect on Advanced Zombies. Since these two weren’t in a hurry to kill each other, it indicated that their evolution wasn’t solely reliant on devouring.

Zombies could now be considered a new species, and their evolution wasn’t simple.

Such rapid growth was already astonishing. There might even be beings stronger than Advanced Zombies within X City University.

The White Zombie inside the room held Ling Mo’s Zombie Puppet in its hand, with blood continuously dripping down its back, quickly forming a pool on the floor. The Advanced Zombie outside, stimulated by the blood, appeared restless and uneasy.

The White Zombie let out a series of “cluck-cluck” sounds from its throat, the noise urgent, seemingly warning the other.

Ling Mo vaguely heard an English word: “Out… get out? Get out?”

The White Zombie repeated it two or three times, but Ling Mo couldn’t quite catch it, perhaps because the creature’s nose was half missing.

Ling Mo snapped back to reality and instantly realized this was a golden opportunity. These two Advanced Zombies were equally matched in strength. They both seemed to want to devour the other but hadn’t dared to make a move. Both were waiting for the right moment.

Although the Zombie Puppet couldn’t break free from the control of the Advanced Zombie, under Ling Mo’s manipulation, it forcefully turned around. Using the zombie’s superior strength, it twisted its own arm off. Simultaneously, it clenched its other fist and punched the White Zombie in the eye.

The White Zombie hadn’t expected its prey to pull such a move, let alone take a punch. It was momentarily dazed.

However, its reaction was quick. As Ling Mo’s Zombie Puppet was about to throw a second punch, the White Zombie kicked out.

But Ling Mo was determined to draw blood no matter what. Instead of dodging, the Zombie Puppet grabbed the Advanced Zombie’s ankle.

“Thud!”

As the Zombie Puppet was kicked away, its sharp nails left a gash on the White Zombie, and blood quickly soaked through its pant leg. Meanwhile, the Zombie Puppet had several ribs broken, nearing death. Ling Mo fought against the Zombie Puppet’s instinctive death throes, focusing on the movements of the two Advanced Zombies.

Seeing the Advanced Zombie outside still hesitating, Ling Mo couldn’t help but curse inwardly: “Serves you right for getting yelled at by that White Zombie. I helped you, and you still won’t act!”

The White Zombie, now self-aware, immediately retreated vigilantly after being injured. But Ling Mo’s desperate attack had inflicted significant damage, nearly tearing off its pant leg and leaving a long, bloody gash on its hairy calf.

Blood poured out, and the Advanced Zombie outside finally couldn’t hold back any longer. With a furious roar, it charged inside.

Ling Mo finally let out a sigh of relief, retracting his Psychic Tentacle. He thought to himself that dealing with zombies with intelligence was indeed much more troublesome!

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ling Mo immediately controlled the remaining four Zombie Puppets to enter the theater. The noise from backstage earlier was minimal, so while these zombies were slightly agitated, they didn’t rush towards the backstage. The appearance of the four Zombie Puppets didn’t attract much attention either. However, when Ling Mo had them swiftly kill four zombies at close range, the remaining zombies went into a frenzy.

The scene of nearly thirty zombies engaging in a chaotic slaughter was truly astonishing. Despite Ling Mo’s control, two of the Zombie Puppets were instantly destroyed, but the remaining two weaved through the zombies, striking them intermittently.

At this moment, Xia Na and Ye Lian also sprang into action. These two Mutation Zombies charged in with an unstoppable momentum.

Although these zombies were much stronger than ordinary ones, they still fell short compared to Mutation Zombies, especially since Xia Na and Ye Lian were armed.

As the number of zombies in the theater rapidly decreased, Ling Mo also stepped in to help finish off the last few.

In the brains of over thirty semi-evolved zombies, about two-thirds had produced Virus Gel. Though the quantity was small and the quality poor, it was better than nothing.

This confirmed Ling Mo’s hypothesis: during the zombies’ progression to Mutation Zombies, there was a chance of Virus Gel forming. Just like humans with varying physical strengths, these zombies also had individual differences. Some only produced Virus Gel after fully evolving, while others began slowly generating it during their progression. However, the Virus Gel produced during the progression was usually defective, and only when they reached a qualitative change could they truly evolve into Mutation Zombies.

These twenty or so pieces of Virus Gel, when combined, were only as pure as five pieces of Gel from an average Mutation Zombie.

The same applied to Advanced Zombies. The two Advanced Zombies from earlier clearly evolved in different directions, with varying strengths and weaknesses. The White Zombie had an advantage in speed, while the one outside was stronger in power.

Ye Lian’s evolution also seemed to favor speed. As for Xia Na… Ling Mo still had no clear idea.

Guessing that the two Advanced Zombies inside should be nearly done fighting, Ling Mo cautiously led Ye Lian and Xia Na into the backstage area.

Once inside, both of them appeared restless, clearly sensing the intense battle between the two powerful Advanced Zombies.

Ling Mo quickly reassured them, “Don’t be afraid, we’re just here to pick up the spoils.”

Ling Mo, accompanied by Ye Lian and Xia Na, had just entered the backstage corridor when a series of muffled thuds echoed through the empty space, sending chills down their spines.

The two Advanced Zombies, each with their own strengths, were locked in a fierce battle that would not be easily decided. Ling Mo didn’t rush in but instead waited from a distance until the noise subsided. Only then did he cautiously approach.

The dressing room was in complete disarray, with the door completely smashed to pieces, showcasing the ferocity of the Advanced Zombies’ attacks. Ling Mo was secretly astonished, thinking that if he hadn’t let them fight each other first, it would have been nearly impossible for him and the two Mutation Zombies to take them down.

When he carefully approached the doorway, he saw the two Advanced Zombies locked in a fierce struggle. The White Zombie, with a clear advantage in speed, was gaining the upper hand. Although he was covered in wounds, he was faring much better than the other Advanced Zombie.

Despite his leg injury affecting his agility, the White Zombie’s small stature allowed him to dodge the other Advanced Zombie’s attacks at critical moments.

The other Advanced Zombie, though lacking somewhat in intelligence, relied on brute strength and was holding his ground for the time being.

Ling Mo could see that the White Zombie was constantly circling his opponent, landing hits when the other wasn’t paying attention. Though each hit seemed minor, it wouldn’t be long before the Advanced Zombie succumbed.

“Pathetic,” Ling Mo thought, shaking his head. He then extended his invisible Psychic Tentacle, wrapping it around the White Zombie. While he couldn’t bind him completely, he disrupted the White Zombie’s movements, causing a series of mistakes and hesitations.

This shift allowed the other Advanced Zombie to gain the upper hand. Just as he was about to unleash a powerful attack on the White Zombie, Ling Mo intervened again with his Psychic Tentacle, causing the Advanced Zombie to stumble and allowing the White Zombie to regain the advantage.

After several such interferences, the two Advanced Zombies were left severely injured, both bleeding profusely, with the dressing room covered in their blood.

“Almost there. Xia Na, Ye Lian, get ready to finish them off,” Ling Mo said with a hint of a smile. His final interference caused the White Zombie to fail in dodging. The White Zombie was struck head-on by the Advanced Zombie, sending him flying.

The Advanced Zombie, seizing the opportunity, pounced on the White Zombie before he could get up.

“Boom!”

A loud thud accompanied by the sound of breaking bones echoed through the room.

“That’s real brute strength,” Ling Mo thought, impressed. But now was the perfect time to strike. Without needing further instruction, Xia Na and Ye Lian dashed forward. Before the Advanced Zombie could get up, they delivered the killing blows.