Chapter 199 – The Unique Taste of the Spider Queen

After another ten minutes of searching in B3, Ling Mo and his group finally discovered the Spider Queen in a room.

The surrounding walls were almost completely covered with densely packed holes, and tentacles were scattered everywhere.

Blood was splattered all over, making the place look like a total mess.

Ling Mo used a Psychic Tentacle to probe the area. Once he confirmed there were no Psychic Fluctuations, he excitedly walked closer.

“Soo, you’re the Spider Queen, huh? Let’s see what we can get from you…”

Ling Mo pulled out two glass bottles he had just grabbed from Lab 8 and prepared to take action.

“What are you planning to do?” Stella asked from a distance, her eyes wide with fear. She dared not get too close to the Spider Queen.

Ling Mo didn’t answer; his attention was entirely focused on the Spider Queen.

Is she really dead?

Ling Mo tried lifting one of the tentacles, giving it a tug to see if there was any reaction. There wasn’t.

The tentacle was incredibly smooth, cold to the touch, and it was hard to believe such a limb could wield so much destructive power.

No wonder it managed to mess up Zhang Teng and Mo Da Hai so badly. Zhao Zhi, who had clearly overdosed on the serum, was almost completely paralyzed as well…

At that moment, Ling Mo noticed a fan above, covered in blood, still dripping “plop plop” down.

“So that’s how it is…”

Ling Mo sighed, thinking he had hoped the Spider Queen had completely annihilated Zhao Zhi, but it seemed she had been outdone by technology.

The Spider Queen’s body was completely entangled in the tentacles. Ling Mo gritted his teeth and reached through the tentacles.

“This should be it.”

As Ling Mo pulled one of the tentacles, he felt his hand touch some fabric.

He pulled at the fabric and slipped his hand inside.

This should be her abdomen, he thought, and moving up should lead to an arm.

Then he could draw some virus from her body… basically, he needed to draw some blood.

However, these tentacles, now lifeless, were really tangled. It felt like his hand was lost in a bundle of knots.

He could only vaguely see parts of the Spider Queen’s skin, unable to see her whole body.

Reaching in, he was groping entirely on instinct…

Watching Ling Mo’s actions, Stella was already in shock. She even covered her mouth and turned her head away in disgust.

“Oh my God, it’s terrifying! Why does he have such a…fetish?”

Xia Na and Ye Lian, on the other hand, curiously leaned in, even Li Yalin grabbed a tentacle and gave it a pull.

Her strength was so great that she moved the Spider Queen’s body a little.

Ling Mo immediately felt his fingers touch something vaguely moist.

“Please tell me this is a wound, it has to be a wound! My instincts wouldn’t just lead me into her… Oh, damn it, this really is her…”

It was because Ling Mo had randomly grasped and felt a smooth hair between his fingers…

He slowly withdrew his hand and noticed his fingers were covered in a red sticky liquid.

Initially, Ling Mo’s first reaction was to wipe it off immediately, but he froze for a moment.

“Hey, this color is quite peculiar!” Ling Mo turned to Ye Lian and the three girls by his side, instantly making a mental comparison.

The peach juices of regular female zombies are transparent, while those of mutated female zombies are the same color as the Virus…

Indeed, as expected of a mutated species—though still zombies, they must be considered a more terrifying branch.

The question remains whether they will regain their sanity, and by the looks of it, it seems very unlikely.

Overall, the countless zombies are still the most terrifying group.

“Ling-Ge, what is this?” Xia Na reached out, intending to touch Ling Mo’s fingers, but he quickly pulled away.

“Nothing.”

Ye Lian came closer from the other side and took a sniff from a distance: “The smell… It’s very unique…”

“Uh… really?”

A bit of curiosity surged in him. Ling Mo looked at his fingers and then at the Spider Queen.

“No, I can’t completely lose my sense of decency!”

Ling Mo quickly grabbed a few tentacles and wiped his hand clean on them.

Facing the Spider Queen now, Ling Mo no longer felt that inexplicable attraction. Steeling himself with a deep breath, he decided to approach from a different angle.

Removing all these tentacles would take a lot of time, and the heavy smell of decay here could potentially harm the human body if exposed for too long.

Thus, Ling Mo opted for a relatively simpler method.

This time, as he reached inside, Ling Mo quickly felt clothing. Elated, he started exploring around the fabric cautiously.

Inevitably, his hand brushed over a soft, squishy area, and when his fingers grazed a nub, he wasn’t sure if it was his imagination…

Why did it feel like something moved slightly?

It shouldn’t have…

There were no Psychic Fluctuations, and even when he’d accidentally touched an intimate part, she didn’t wake up.

“Must’ve been my imagination.”

Ling Mo finally found an arm and quickly pulled it out.

He then realized how the Spider Queen’s tentacles actually formed. Her wrist looked as though it had split, with numerous tentacles emerging from within.

Strangely, it didn’t look too repulsive—almost as if she was naturally meant to be this way, despite being a variation zombie.

After laying her arm on the ground, Ling Mo drew his short knife and swiftly sliced a small cut on it.

Blood started to ooze out slowly. Ling Mo quickly grabbed a bottle and began collecting the blood.

To prevent Stella from making any more fuss, Ling Mo signaled Ye Lian and Xia Na to block her view.

From Stella’s perspective, all she could see were the four of them huddled around that mass of tentacles, engaged in some unknown activity.

Even though the tentacles were completely still, she couldn’t shake the eerie chill running down her spine.

Her hand gripped tightly around the two vials of serum in her pocket.

“All done!”

Had the blood not stopped flowing, Ling Mo would have collected another bottle. Unfortunately, one and a half bottles seemed to be the Spider Queen’s limit.

Moreover, whether due to her death or the high Virus content, her blood was thick and had a strong odor—identical to her Juices.

“It smells kind of sweet,” Xia Na said as she took a bottle, gave it a sniff, and then slowly screwed on the cap.

Ye Lian also took a deep breath and showed a hint of interest.

Ling Mo immediately warned, “You guys should not touch this. What if it causes a mutation? That goes for you too, Senior Sister.”

Ling Mo grabbed Li Yalin’s hand as she was sneaking it over and said, “I’ll help you find Mutation Beast gel. For now, you have to keep eating that. We still have half a bottle of Venom as a backup. Don’t be interested in this.”

Since he already knew how they evolved, Ling Mo thought it was time to push them towards reaching Leader-Level.

Otherwise, dealing with tough enemies would be troublesome. This time, their progress was largely hindered by having ordinary people with them.

If it weren’t for worrying about Meng Jiayu and the others, they would have fared much more smoothly.

But what if they reached Leader-Level? Three Leader-Level Zombies would be far more powerful than they were now—a significant leap in quality.

After storing the variation zombie blood properly, Ling Mo led Ye Lian and the others away from the area.

He didn’t bother with taking Virus gel, as he definitely wouldn’t let Ye Lian and the three girls consume it.

Stella still walked at the back. Unbeknownst to her, when she accidentally stepped on a tentacle, it slightly moved. After a brief pause, it began extending in Ling Mo’s direction.

However, it quickly lost its target, slowly retracting again…

Upon returning to A1, Ling Mo noticed that besides Meng Jiayu and 2 still anxiously waiting by the entrance, the others were nowhere to be found.

“Where are the others?” Ling Mo asked, glancing around in confusion.

“Ling-Ge, are you guys okay?” Meng Jiayu, her eyes red from worry, rushed up and hugged Ling Mo. Realizing she was being too emotional, she quickly let go.

“Mo Da Hai left, and Old Wang and the others are keeping an eye on him to prevent any sabotage on our vehicle,” Meng Jiayu explained.

“Has Zhang Haoyu recovered?” Ling Mo asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Pretty much. He didn’t mutate, but he feels like he’s gotten a bit stronger. That’s a good thing, right? Still, I wouldn’t dare try it myself,” Meng Jiayu replied, her face flushing slightly, likely feeling a bit embarrassed.

2 approached with a smile, excitedly asking, “So, what happened to the Spider Queen? How did she turn out? Can she talk? Can I be friends with her?”

“Go ask her yourself,” Ling Mo said, unable to resist kicking him lightly.

He took a water bottle from his backpack to wash his hands and then glanced at his shoulder.

Was it the repeated exposure to the blood fumes that made it feel slightly better? It seemed like the bruises had been forced out…

Originally, Ling Mo thought Stella would choose to stay with them, but she surprised him by finding her own car.

Curious, Ling Mo asked why, given that a Foreign Girl like her might struggle to survive alone.

Stella claimed she was planning to find a friend in a nearby village and was very resolute about it.

“I don’t want to go through any more betrayals. I hope to find someone I know and safely live with them.”

“Suit yourself,” Ling Mo said, not really keen to argue with someone he wasn’t close to anyway.

However, the next moment, Stella did something that left everyone stunned. She walked up and kissed Ling Mo on the lips, saying, “Ling Mo, thank you. Even though you have those…habits, you’re quite remarkable.”

Ling Mo touched his cheek, feeling a little dazed.

Isn’t it customary for foreigners to just kiss on the cheek…?

Not only was Ling Mo stunned, Meng Jiayu and the others also widened their eyes in surprise. Even Ye Lian and the three girls seemed taken aback.

Stella then smiled at Xia Na and blew her a kiss.

Revenge… Ling Mo immediately showed a helpless smile. It seemed she still remembered what Xia Na said just before they left the elevator…

But this could count as her way of getting back at Ling Mo. Too bad she didn’t know that female zombies don’t get jealous.

As Ling Mo was feeling a bit smug, suddenly he felt his arm being gripped tightly.

Turning around, he met Ye Lian’s intense gaze: “I… I’ll kill her…”

“Calm down…” Ling Mo quickly reassured her.