Chapter 59 – The Future is Indeed a Tentacle Monster

When Ling Mo came back to his senses, he suddenly displayed a look of astonishment.

After staring blankly at the Virus Gel for a moment, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. He slowly brought his nose closer and took a deep breath.

Waiting with wide eyes for two seconds, Ling Mo’s expression became somewhat peculiar: “Why do I also find this stuff fragrant?”

This was an extremely serious and rather grave question!

As a normal human being, Ling Mo was very surprised. Why did he find the Virus Gel, extracted from a zombie’s brain, to be fragrant?!

Previously, just smelling the Virus Gel would make Ling Mo’s stomach churn. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that if he sniffed a bit more, he might pass out from the stench.

Only Ye Lian and Xia Na, these two zombie girls, found the Virus Gel extremely delicious.

Ling Mo had often thought that it would be great if the smell could be a bit milder… but he had never imagined that one day he would find it fragrant!

This was zombie food!

Ling Mo stared at the Virus Gel in a daze for a long while before suddenly stuffing it into his pocket, his eyes filled with complexity.

No, this is just an illusion. I haven’t turned into a zombie!

It couldn’t be that just because he spent every day with zombie girls, his sense of smell had changed too, right?

Although Ye Lian and Xia Na were Mutation Zombies, they didn’t have any foul, bloody smell. In fact, Ling Mo was sure they were cleaner than most Survivors. Whenever they found extra water, he would wash these two zombie girls. Of course, this was absolutely not for admiring their impressive figures…

The only influence Ling Mo could receive from Ye Lian and Xia Na was through their Psychic Link.

The more he thought about it, the more questions filled Ling Mo’s mind.

When Zombie Puppets fought or progressed, he would feel a sense of Frenzy, as if he too had become a zombie. However, this was within his control; as long as he restrained himself a bit, it wasn’t a problem.

The only time Ling Mo lost control was last time at the Teahouse in the Square, when Ye Lian ingested a pure Gel to evolve.

But Ling Mo didn’t pay much attention to it, thinking that his willpower wasn’t strong enough, which is why he was so heavily affected.

However, upon careful reflection, it seemed that it was after that incident that his reaction to the pungent smell of the Virus Gel began to change.

At that time, he was so immersed in the anxiety of possibly being infected that he didn’t notice this detail at all.

If that alone couldn’t explain the issue, then how about the fact that he had been continuously enhancing his Psychic Power through the Psychic Link?

Although his appearance hadn’t changed, and his rationality remained intact, it seemed that his psychic abilities and even his five senses had been undergoing subtle changes.

Could it be that utilizing Puppet Control was slowly turning him into a “zombie” among humans? Ling Mo’s heart skipped a beat.

“No, it shouldn’t be like this…” Ling Mo frowned, thinking deeply. He vaguely felt that he had grasped a crucial point.

The Psychic Link with the zombies had brought about the greatest change in his Psychic Power, with physical alterations being secondary.

To Ling Mo, Psychic Power was a general term for concentration, observation, and willpower.

If that sense of Frenzy could be considered an impact on willpower, then the strength to control zombies should stem from concentration. But what about the change in his sense of smell? Could it be related to observation?

Perplexed, Ling Mo took out the Gel again and observed it closely.

At this moment, a thought suddenly flashed in Ling Mo’s mind: Could he try to observe the Gel with his Psychic Power, just like he observed the Psychic Light Clusters of zombies?

Energized by this thought, Ling Mo focused intently.

As time ticked by, the Virus Gel still appeared to be just an ordinary Virus Gel to him.

However, Ling Mo soon noticed that his Psychic Tentacles seemed to have taken on a faint reddish hue.

Could this be the reason why he no longer found the Virus Gel repulsive?

After all, Ling Mo’s Psychic Power had grown through controlling Zombies, and with the continuous Psychic Link with Zombies, his own Psychic Power had also been “infected.” Mutation Zombies like Ye Lian, weren’t their Psychic Light Clusters all a mass of blood-red?

Thinking this way, the Frenzy he experienced and the changes when facing the Virus Gel seemed to be related to his Psychic Power being “infected.”

Indeed, although Ling Mo was still human, his Psychic Power had been influenced by Zombies.

However, as long as his rationality remained intact, this influence was insignificant compared to the strength of his Psychic Power.

Without paying a certain price, how could one gain anything? Ling Mo quickly understood this point.

He even thought one step further: his ability to share vision and hearing with Zombie Puppets might be because his Psychic Power and the Zombies’ Psychic Light Clusters belonged to the same category.

Previously, his Psychic Power was too weak to manifest this, or perhaps he already had Psychic Tentacles but couldn’t perceive them.

Although he realized this, he still hadn’t made any progress in controlling the Virus Gel.

Just as Ling Mo was losing confidence and starting to curse himself for being a fool, a sharp pain suddenly pierced his mind, and then the Virus Gel in his eyes changed abruptly!

Ling Mo’s eyes widened instantly!

A Psychic Tentacle extended and wrapped around the Gel, and Ling Mo immediately felt a strange sensation.

This Gel was alive!

This realization startled Ling Mo so much that he almost threw it away.

The Gel… no, to be precise, the Virus within it was still alive…

The host had already died, but the Virus was still alive. What incredible vitality! No wonder its infectivity was so strong!

But then, Ling Mo suddenly realized something, and a smile quickly appeared on his face.

Indeed! The Puppet Control Ability wasn’t that simple. His previous thoughts had been too narrow, which was why he hadn’t connected the dots!

What did the Puppet Control Ability rely on? Psychic Power!

Since they couldn’t continue traveling at the moment and needed a break, Ling Mo enthusiastically began experimenting with controlling the Virus. He could control Zombies by transforming his Psychic Power into Psychic Tentacles, invading their mental world to achieve control.

If he could invade a Zombie’s mental world, couldn’t he use his Tentacles to interact with other organisms as well?

Take the Virus Gel, for instance. Its main component was the Virus, and his Psychic Tentacles could certainly interact with it. Going even further, living organisms are also a form of matter. If he could interact with living organisms, perhaps he could interact with other objects as well!

Once in contact, could he control it?

With Ye Lian and Xia Na on guard, safety wasn’t an issue for now.

Viruses were different from Zombies. Although Zombies lacked rationality, they still had some mental fluctuations. In contrast, Viruses had no Psychic Power at all, so Ling Mo’s Tentacles encountered no resistance.

It could be said that he was injecting his Psychic Power into the Virus Gel.

The Tentacles entered smoothly, but once inside, he couldn’t make the Virus Gel exhibit any special changes.

Move? No, the Virus obviously couldn’t move… Ling Mo felt a bit disappointed.

But soon, Ling Mo sensed something unusual.

Given the volume of the Virus Gel and its lack of mental energy, Ling Mo’s Psychic Tentacles were evidently very powerful.

This power manifested when Ling Mo slowly retracted his Tentacle, and he felt the Virus Gel move slightly.

This was definitely not Ling Mo’s illusion. While eyes might deceive, his Tentacles hadn’t completely left the Gel, and the mental feedback was unmistakable.

Although he couldn’t control the Virus Gel, he could move it with his Tentacles…

After the initial shock, Ling Mo’s face lit up with excitement!

It turned out that the Tentacles generated by the Puppet Control Ability could be used this way!

Even if he couldn’t control the object, his Tentacles could still influence its movements, potentially affecting its senses and distorting its judgment!

This was the real way to use the Puppet Control Ability! He could control more than just Zombies; he could control his own Psychic Power…

So, my future is indeed heading towards becoming a Tentacle Monster?

Ling Mo’s expression suddenly became a bit complicated…