Chapter 26 – The Gradually Decaying Body

Lu Xin’s mutation didn’t surprise Ling Mo, but the fact that he took Xia Na and even threatened him verbally indicated that he still had some semblance of rationality.

This piqued Ling Mo’s interest immensely. His greatest wish was for Ye Lian to regain her rationality as soon as possible. However, except for a slight sign of self-awareness after her last evolution, there had been no further progress.

This left Ling Mo somewhat dejected. Although he knew this wasn’t a problem that could be solved overnight, he immediately began hunting Mutation Zombies, hoping to accelerate Ye Lian’s evolution and restore her true consciousness sooner.

But the anomaly in Lu Xin made Ling Mo think that he might find some new clues from him!

As long as there was a possibility, Ling Mo didn’t want to give up. Moreover, Xia Na had been captured by Lu Xin, who also made a direct threat. To Ling Mo, the threat from a Mutation Zombie was insignificant. Lu Xin naively thought that turning from a mouse into a sick cat would allow him to take revenge, which was overly optimistic.

“Ling Mo! Please, we’ve fought side by side all this way, we have some camaraderie. I beg you…” Liu Yuhao pleaded repeatedly, his expression growing increasingly anxious.

“Where are they?” Ling Mo made up his mind and asked.

Liu Yuhao was overjoyed and quickly dragged Ling Mo downstairs, “They’re in the boys’ dormitory! Hurry, I’m afraid Lu Xin might lose his mind suddenly, and then Xia Na will be doomed!”

“Indeed!” Ling Mo’s scalp tingled, and he hastened his pace. Naturally, Ye Lian followed closely under his control.

In his desperation to save Xia Na, Liu Yuhao ran at a decent speed despite his exhaustion. Ling Mo and Ye Lian found it easy to keep up, but Wang Cheng was already gasping like an ox. If it weren’t for the need to save his own life, he might have collapsed by now. Unfortunately, none of the people ahead showed any intention of waiting for him…

As Wang Cheng looked at the backs of the three people in front, his gaze turned somewhat unfriendly, although he quickly masked this hint of hostility.

On the way to the boys’ dormitory, several zombies appeared, attracted by the fresh corpses on the ground. Ling Mo made an unexpected discovery: although ordinary zombies do not attack each other, they will devour a zombie corpse when it appears…

The zombies in front of the boys’ dormitory were feasting on several zombie corpses. If it weren’t for the intact heads and the blood-red eyes, Ling Mo would have doubted his own eyes.

So that’s how it is… But wouldn’t this lead to more Mutation Zombies?! The entire zombie population might slowly evolve to become stronger!

Although their evolution rate is much slower than the Mutation Zombies that emerge from mutual slaughter in enclosed environments, this gradual overall evolution would eventually become significant.

“Damn!” Ling Mo cursed inwardly as he swung his short knife and charged at the zombies rushing towards him. With his Puppet Control Ability and increasingly skilled attack techniques, he took down the zombies in the blink of an eye.

These zombie corpses would likely attract others to devour them… But as a Survivor, Ling Mo had neither the time nor the energy to deal with the bodies. The slow evolution of the zombie population was unstoppable.

“Didn’t expect zombies to eat zombies!”

Ling Mo looked up at the mutilated zombie corpses and frowned.

Liu Yuhao glanced at Ling Mo in confusion and said matter-of-factly, “Of course they do. How come you’re just finding out, Ling Mo?”

Ling Mo closed his mouth in resignation. Liu Yuhao and the others had always lived among zombies, so it wasn’t surprising they knew this. Ling Mo, on the other hand, had stayed away from zombies and controlled Zombie Puppets when foraging. Even if he killed zombies, he wouldn’t return to check on their bodies, so he had no way of knowing.

This further confirmed his hypothesis: only by quickly increasing his strength could he survive in the increasingly harsh environment.

After dealing with a few more zombies, Ling Mo and the others finally entered the boys’ dormitory.

The narrow dormitory corridor was like a passage through hell. The walls and floor were splattered with dark brown bloodstains. The half-open, half-closed dormitory doors added an eerie atmosphere, and walking through such a place required constant vigilance to avoid zombies that might suddenly emerge from the rooms.

This building had five floors and roughly a hundred dormitory rooms, making it seemingly difficult to find Lu Xin and Xia Na.

But Ling Mo wasn’t worried. With just a glance, he immediately spotted the traces left by Lu Xin.

He reached down and lightly touched some fresh blood on the ground, then asked, “Did Lu Xin’s wound reopen, or is Xia Na injured? There was blood on the stairs earlier, and I saw some along the way too. I wasn’t sure because there were zombie corpses nearby. But there’s nothing around here, so this blood must be from one of them.”

“It’s Lu Xin,” Liu Yuhao quickly replied. “I just saw him covered in blood. I have no idea what’s going on with him.”

“Good, it’s not Xia Na,” Ling Mo nodded thoughtfully and looked in the direction of the blood trail.

These occasional drops of blood, blending in with the brown-stained floor, were hard to notice for most people. If not for Ling Mo’s keen observation, they would have gone unnoticed. It seemed Lu Xin didn’t try to hide his tracks. As Ling Mo led Liu Yuhao and the others following the blood trail up to the third floor, they spotted Lu Xin in the corridor.

It had only been a couple of hours since they last saw him, but Lu Xin’s appearance was now utterly revolting!

Previously, he was merely annoying, but now he was downright disgusting! His skin was not only scratched to shreds but also festering, with cloudy pus and blood occasionally dripping down his pant legs. The thought of having touched that blood made Ling Mo want to wash his hands immediately.

But the expression in Lu Xin’s bloodshot eyes was the same as before—arrogant and repulsive.

“Lu Xin! Where’s Xia Na?”

Liu Yuhao, seeing Lu Xin, was about to rush at him if Ling Mo hadn’t held him back.

Ling Mo, however, found Lu Xin’s appearance unusual. He didn’t look like he was turning into a zombie; it was more like he was… decomposing!

Yes, decomposing! His eyes and his change in strength resembled a zombie’s, but his bodily changes were entirely different. Could it be that direct contact with a Mutation Zombie’s Virus was too much for his body to handle?

Compared to ordinary zombies, the Virus from a Mutation Zombie was purer and more potent!

Lu Xin’s condition suggested that when an average person is infected by the zombie Virus and doesn’t die immediately, they indeed turn into zombies. But if directly infected by a Mutation Zombie, the sudden exposure to the high-purity Virus could be fatal.