Chapter 32 – Schizophrenia

As midnight approached, the room plunged into total darkness. Suddenly, Xia Na, who had been motionless, opened her eyes.

From a distance, Ling Mo noticed Xia Na’s eerie red eyes glowing clearly in the dark. He also sensed a stir from Ye Lian’s instinctual reaction, a response she only had when facing her kind, especially Mutation Zombies.

Could Xia Na have completed her mutation? Ling Mo cautiously moved closer, wanting to observe Xia Na’s reaction more closely.

Just as he reached the bed, Xia Na suddenly flipped up and lunged straight at Ling Mo in the near pitch-black darkness.

An ordinary person would likely only feel a gust of wind before being torn to pieces without realizing what happened. In the dark, zombies are far superior to regular humans, especially in terms of vision.

Although Ling Mo couldn’t see Xia Na’s movements clearly in such darkness, he could see everything through Ye Lian’s perspective. He had been on high alert since he approached the bed.

The moment Xia Na moved, Ling Mo leaped to the side. Simultaneously, Ye Lian, who had been sitting quietly by the bed, sprang forward and grabbed Xia Na’s arm from behind. Although Xia Na reacted quickly, turning to attack Ye Lian, Ling Mo had already lunged and tackled Xia Na back onto the bed.

This is a zombie’s weakness—they lack judgment and rely purely on instinct to attack. Their attention can be easily diverted.

However, Xia Na’s struggles were incredibly tough for Ling Mo to handle. If he hadn’t immediately controlled Ye Lian to hold her down tightly, she would have broken free by now.

Just as Ling Mo was about to turn her over and take control, Xia Na suddenly spoke in a somewhat confused voice, “What are you doing?”

“Whoa!”

If Ling Mo hadn’t just witnessed Xia Na’s aggressive behavior, he might have thought she was still a normal person!

In shock, Ling Mo looked at Xia Na’s eyes, which had just been blood-red but now appeared normal!

At this moment, Ling Mo’s eyes had started to adjust to the darkness. Though his vision was still somewhat blurry, he could barely make out Xia Na’s expression and the look in her eyes from this close distance. From her reaction, she seemed a bit bewildered by the current situation. That hint of confusion in her eyes struck Ling Mo like a bolt of lightning!

After Ye Lian’s evolution, she had briefly shown a similar expression. It was as if she had regained a bit of her rationality or was beginning to develop a semblance of thought—no longer just a mindless Zombie! Although that expression had quickly faded from Ye Lian’s eyes, it had been deeply etched into Ling Mo’s heart. For him, it represented hope—the hope that Ye Lian might fully regain her sanity one day.

But now, he saw the same expression in Xia Na’s eyes. Unlike Ye Lian, however, Xia Na could speak…

“Xia Na, Xia Na?” It took Ling Mo a while to regain his composure. He quickly grabbed Xia Na’s shoulders and shook her urgently, calling her name in a low, hurried voice.

The noise inside the room also alarmed Wang Cheng, who was on guard in the living room, and even woke up Liu Yuhao.

“Ling Mo! Is something wrong with Xia Na?” Liu Yuhao asked anxiously from outside the door.

Without turning his head, Ling Mo replied, “Don’t come in!”

The situation was unclear, and letting them in would only add to the confusion. Ling Mo was desperate to figure out whether Xia Na was still a Zombie or had become more like a normal person.

Perhaps stimulated by the voices, the bewildered Xia Na finally showed a reaction. However, she didn’t answer Ling Mo. Instead, she began to struggle violently again, her eyes turning blood-red once more. The fierce Frenzy typical of a Zombie once again took over her mind.

Ling Mo quickly had Ye Lian hold Xia Na tightly, while he used his Puppet Control Ability to try to control Xia Na. Letting her continue like this would only lead to mutual destruction. It was crucial to make her lose her aggressiveness for now.

The Psychic Light Cluster belonging to Xia Na was indeed very different from Ye Lian’s. To be precise, in Ling Mo’s eyes, Xia Na’s cluster was a chaotic mess! Unlike the purely irrational Zombies, Xia Na’s cluster wasn’t blurry; in fact, it was quite bright. However, the alternating red and white visuals were something Ling Mo had never seen before! Currently, the red part was clearly dominant, making Xia Na extremely frenzied. When Ling Mo tried to control her, he encountered unprecedented pressure.

Luckily, his Psychic Power had evolved. Although it was extremely challenging, just as Ling Mo was about to pass out, he finally managed to suppress Xia Na’s instincts and seized control of her body!

Since Xia Na still seemed to retain some rationality, Ling Mo did not completely dominate her. Instead, he established a Psychic Link with her, similar to how he controlled Ye Lian before. This link prevented Xia Na from attacking, and allowed him to stop her if she tried to attack others.

Drenched in sweat from the struggle, Ling Mo finally managed to calm Xia Na down. He rubbed his temples and slowly climbed up from the bed, looking at Xia Na with a complex expression.

Xia Na’s behavior—oscillating between being a Zombie and showing signs of rationality—reminded Ling Mo of a term: Schizophrenia.

Infected and starting to mutate, Xia Na had consumed two pieces of Gel. The Virus in her body hadn’t been neutralized; instead, it had eroded her mind. However, because she had consumed the Gel, her body had withstood the Virus’s continuous assault and remained intact, unlike Lu Xin who had decayed. This was a small blessing amidst the misfortune.

Under Ling Mo’s control, with her aggressive urges forcibly suppressed, Xia Na gradually calmed down again. Even her eyes slowly returned to a normal state. However, her gaze still seemed a bit dazed, as if she hadn’t fully regained consciousness. Despite this, controlling her in such a state required a great deal of Ling Mo’s mental energy.

Given the circumstances, it was fortunate enough that she could maintain a Psychic Link with him. Controlling her actions would be much more difficult.

For Ling Mo, simultaneously controlling a Mutation Zombie and a Zombie with Schizophrenia was incredibly stressful.

At this moment, Liu Yuhao couldn’t hold back any longer and rushed into the room. However, as soon as he saw the scene inside, he was completely stunned.

He ignored the messy bed, but seeing Xia Na sitting dazedly on the bed made Liu Yuhao shout with joy, “Xia Na hasn’t turned into a Zombie! She hasn’t turned! Hahaha, Xia Na!” Saying this, he rushed to Xia Na, reaching out excitedly to pull her.

“Don’t touch her!”

Unfortunately, Ling Mo was a step too late. As soon as Liu Yuhao’s hand touched Xia Na’s arm, she immediately fell into Frenzy again. The blood-red color in her eyes grew brighter. If Ling Mo hadn’t been holding her back with all his might, she would have already attacked Liu Yuhao.

This situation scared Liu Yuhao into retreating several steps in fear before he looked at Ling Mo in horror, “What’s going on?”

Of course, Ling Mo couldn’t tell him about his Puppet Control Ability, but he did come up with a plausible explanation for Xia Na’s condition, “I guess she’s still experiencing some aftereffects… you’d better not provoke her, or she’ll lose her mind.”

“Aftereffects?” Liu Yuhao’s eyes widened, but he didn’t doubt Ling Mo’s words at all.

Indeed, aside from aftereffects, there wasn’t a better explanation for Xia Na’s current state. At this moment, Xia Na’s eyes were filled with a bloodthirsty aura, staring at him intensely, just like those mindless Zombies. But she remained seated without moving, which indicated that she still retained some semblance of rationality…