Chapter 106 – Changes

Psychic Power fatigue isn’t something that recovers easily. By the time Ling Mo opened his eyes again, the sun was already shining brightly outside.

He sat up, feeling sore all over, and it took several seconds before he felt his strength slowly returning.

“Grumble, grumble…”

His stomach growled, and his throat felt so dry it was as if it might catch fire.

Judging from these physical reactions, it seemed that two or three days might have passed.

However, Ling Mo’s first instinct was to look around. When he found Ye Lian and Xia Na, he finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

Only then did he quickly take out a bottle of drink and gulp down several mouthfuls, which finally eased his discomfort somewhat.

“Ye Lian…” Ling Mo felt a bit more energetic and wobbled to his feet before turning to look at Ye Lian beside him.

At that moment, Ye Lian was curled up on the sofa, her deep black eyes glinting with a hint of coldness as she looked at the Curved knife in her hand.

But when she heard Ling Mo’s faint call, she immediately turned her gaze towards him. At first, her eyes were filled with a trace of confusion, but soon, they lit up with joy. She quickly set the Curved knife aside, and her figure blurred. Ling Mo instantly felt as if a nimble cat had leaped into his arms, toppling him back onto the sofa just as he had sat up.

“Ouch!”

Although Ye Lian’s movements were deft and light, the quality of the sofa was quite poor. After being pounced on, Ling Mo felt as if his body might fall apart.

However, Ye Lian in his arms clung to his waist, refusing to let go, as if she was highly dependent on him.

Once Ling Mo came to his senses, he immediately felt Ye Lian’s surprisingly elastic chest pressed tightly against his own, her face nestled against his shoulder, and her arms wrapped tightly around him.

Such a display of reliance made Ling Mo feel a wave of gratitude! All his persistence for so long hadn’t been in vain!

“Ye Lian, have you remembered anything?” After holding Ye Lian for quite a while, Ling Mo finally couldn’t help but ask.

When Ye Lian heard him speak, she reluctantly let go, allowing him to sit up.

Ye Lian hesitated, her lips moving slightly. After a long moment of gathering her thoughts, she finally managed to stammer out two words: “Ling… Ling-Ge…”

At this moment, Ling Mo felt a sting in his eyes.

He could see that Ye Lian hadn’t recovered much of her memory, but she had regained some initial sense of reason. Most importantly, from the moment she regained her reason, the first person she remembered was him, Ling Mo!

How could Ling Mo not be overjoyed?

He stared at Ye Lian in a daze for a while, then suddenly pulled her into a tight embrace.

It wasn’t until he heard a cough from beside him that Ling Mo snapped out of his daze.

“Ling-Ge? I remember I didn’t call you that before.” Xia Na, who had been sitting at the other end, had taken advantage of the moment when he and Ye Lian were embracing to slide over. Her chin rested on Ye Lian’s shoulder, and she was now face-to-face with Ling Mo, no more than three centimeters apart. Ling Mo could even see the faint trace of blood in Xia Na’s seemingly normal pupils.

For some reason, a strange thought popped into Ling Mo’s mind at that moment: perhaps it was only zombies like Ye Lian and Xia Na, who had established a Psychic Link with him, that could gradually suppress their zombie nature and behave almost like normal people? After all, other Advanced Zombies always had blood-red eyes due to their constant Frenzy state.

So, not only was his psychic state being influenced by the Zombie Puppets, but he was also influencing the Zombie Puppets…

But what about the blood glow in Xia Na’s eyes? Though it was faint and almost imperceptible unless one looked closely, it was definitely there.

Ling Mo leaned in and lightly pecked Xia Na on the lips, smiling as he said, “Then let’s start calling me that from now on.”

Upon hearing this, Xia Na’s lips curved into a smile that Ling Mo found incredibly familiar. It was the very smile he had first noticed when he saw her, that faint, delighted smile she wore during battles.

For a moment, Ling Mo felt a strange illusion: could it be that this girl had never mutated at all?

“Alright.” Xia Na’s smile quickly softened, adding a touch of liveliness to her expression, though her overall demeanor had completely changed.

If she used to be a girl who appeared strong and confident when calm, now there was a hint of a slightly evil allure about her.

Ling Mo could sense that Xia Na should also have reached the stage of being an Advanced Zombie, but the physical changes in her were still not very obvious. Instead, her Psychic state had significantly altered.

“Xia Na, what do you remember?” Ling Mo asked tentatively.

Xia Na gently rubbed her cheek against Ye Lian’s until Ye Lian, feeling a bit ticklish, pulled back. Only then did Xia Na slowly speak, “Pretty much everything. Including how I became a zombie.”

Ling Mo’s heart skipped a beat, but he quickly calmed down. Xia Na’s nature was no longer human; otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to speak so calmly about such matters. After all, when she was first about to mutate, she had planned to end her life.

Before Ling Mo could bring this up, Xia Na mockingly said, “Why was I so narrow-minded back then? It’s really strange.”

Ling Mo thought to himself, “Back then, your nature was still human, so of course, you couldn’t accept turning into a zombie. Now that you’ve completely become a zombie, you start to blame your former self…”

“Oh, right,” Xia Na suddenly said, “You were asleep for a long time, so I went out for a bit…”

At this, Ling Mo was stunned, but he quickly realized that the Psychic Link between him and Xia Na still existed, though he had almost no control over her. However, one thing was certain: Xia Na couldn’t be too far from him. Given his current Psychic Power, the range was at most about a kilometer.

Seeing Ling Mo’s momentary daze, Xia Na immediately smiled, “Don’t worry, I just went out to take a look. After all, Ye Lian was here watching over you. But unfortunately, apart from some zombies that were attracted over, there wasn’t much fun to be had.”

Although Xia Na’s tone didn’t reveal any disappointment, her slightly smiling expression made Ling Mo feel a headache coming on.

Even though she had turned into a zombie, this girl’s interests hadn’t changed. Could fighting really be that enjoyable?

“By the way,” Xia Na said, suddenly fumbling around below. Her movements made it seem like she was unbuttoning her clothes. Ling Mo’s heart raced, thinking, “Is this girl planning to let me touch her chest right here?”

“Here…” Xia Na quickly raised her hand, and when she opened it, a small piece of Virus Gel lay in her pale palm.

Ling Mo broke out in a cold sweat, having never seen Xia Na reach into her pockets before, so his thoughts had instinctively strayed…

“Did you find this?” Ling Mo slowly released Ye Lian and put the Gel into his pocket, then asked.

Xia Na nodded, while Ye Lian stared blankly at the Gel for a few moments but said nothing.

Ling Mo immediately thought of a crucial question and quickly asked, “What do you two think of this Virus Gel now?”

The question was a bit complex. It wasn’t until Ling Mo shook the plastic bag in his hand that Xia Na showed a look of realization. She turned to look at Ye Lian, snuggling up to her affectionately, and absentmindedly said, “Food.”

As expected… Neither Xia Na nor Ye Lian showed much interest in the Virus Gel. So, what would they rely on for their evolution moving forward?

Zombies, by their nature, should be considered a mutated biological species. The Virus had transformed their bodies and affected their brains, which could be described as brain infection or brain mutation. But this reversal didn’t necessarily mean degradation.

Ling Mo thought that his Psychic Power enhancement, while partially benefiting from Ye Lian and Xia Na, fundamentally depended on his continuous practice.

Could it be the same for Advanced Zombies? Continuous learning and growth might lead to improvement? Or perhaps only the Virus Gel in the brains of Advanced Zombies could accelerate this process?

Seeing Ling Mo deep in thought, Ye Lian hugged him again and softly called out, “Ling-Ge.”

That familiar voice instantly melted Ling Mo’s heart, making all his worries vanish in an instant.

Xia Na, not wanting to be left out, also snuggled up, and the three of them soon ended up in a playful tangle…

Footnote:

Ling-Ge(凌哥): A respectful way to address an older male friend.