Chapter 666 – They’re Here!

“Achoo!”

Ling Mo covered his nose and sneezed, then rubbed the tip of his nose. “Is someone talking about me?”

As he thought about it, he reached out his hand and caught something accurately above his head. Without looking at it, he slipped it into a preservation bag.

The bag was already half-filled with virus gel by now, all in irregular blood-red pieces, dazzling yet eerie.

A strong virus scent wafted from the bag’s opening, making Ling Mo involuntarily sniff a bit.

Although it’s strange for a human to have such a reaction, this scent was indeed…

Fragrant!

“At this pace, another two hours and we should be done…”

The hunt had been ongoing for over three hours by now, and its range had expanded to the entire city center.

The abundance of virus gel collected so far had pleasantly surprised Ling Mo.

This was also a result of the zombie horde’s evolution. Half a year ago, even collecting ten pieces of gel would have been quite an effort. Now, however, there were many mutation zombies emerging, and quite a few Advanced Zombies as well.

Although Leader-Level zombies were still rare, the likelihood of encountering them had increased significantly compared to before.

The evolution of zombies surely added insult to injury for the survivors, but for Ye Lian and the others, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

As he thought about it, Ling Mo felt somewhat conflicted.

On one hand, as a human, he didn’t want to witness such a scene.

On the other hand, he had gotten used to thinking on behalf of Ye Lian and the others and couldn’t help but consider their perspective on these matters.

Over time, even he didn’t know which side he leaned towards more.

“Forget it, forget it…”

Ling Mo shook his head, suddenly revealing a faint smile.

Another piece of gel, flying in from who knows where, was effortlessly caught by him and slipped into the bag.

Meanwhile, he wasn’t being idle. Several psychic tentacles were monitoring different directions, acting like surveillance cameras to prevent sudden danger.

Although he felt more at ease after the previous reconnaissance, he couldn’t afford to be complacent.

You could tell just by looking at Ye Lian and the others that the zombies’ ambush capabilities were terrifying…

While they were somewhat restrained around Ling Mo, they became increasingly adept in battles against zombies.

At the beginning, they might have seemed a bit less “wild,” but over time, their skills in stealth attacks had reached the level of Senior Zombies who spent their lives in constant killing.

This was also a form of training for them, though Ling Mo believed that staying with humans might not be a bad thing for them.

Perhaps they were inferior to Wild Zombies in terms of instincts and evolved at a slower pace, but they were more adept at using small strategies than the average zombies.

Often, just a simple trap would allow them to gain an instant advantage.

However, among the female zombies, Ye Lian was an exception.

Her attacks were more primitive and closely resembled those of Wild Zombies.

Ling Mo thought it might be because her Intelligence had recovered the least…

Maybe, precisely because of this, she could perform her gun techniques to perfection relying solely on instinct.

And Xu Shuhan, who deliberately tried to control her actions and had relevant superpowers, still couldn’t surpass Ye Lian.

Comparing the two, it was hard to say which method was better.

This was beyond Ling Mo’s control and could only be left to nature.

Moreover, according to Ling Mo, Leader-Level zombies seemed more like a transitional phase toward truly high-level zombies.

The real direction of their evolution might only become apparent when they reached the dominant level…

“Smack!”

Another piece of Gel flew over, and Li Yalin’s figure flashed in the distance.

However, this one was of much lower quality, indicating that it was becoming harder for them to find good prey.

Among all the Gel pieces Ling Mo had received, none were from Xiao Bai.

Considering it was just a mutation panda, this mode of operation was indeed a bit challenging for it…

It was rare to have the opportunity to unleash its instincts like this, and Xiao Bai was visibly excited.

Xiao Bai’s terrifying and ferocious nature as a mutation beast was fully on display. Its fierce and frenzied attacks once again reminded Ling Mo that it wasn’t just a rolling furball, but a fearsome white beast that could strike fear in anyone.

The more Xiao Bai fought, the braver it became, and over the course of these three hours, it had devoured quite a bit of Virus Gel.

At one point, it even dragged a mutation dog out from a corner. Using its massive size advantage, Xiao Bai managed to pin down the unfortunate mutation dog with a well-executed Panda Fall after a fierce struggle.

However, after swallowing this piece of mutation beast Gel, Xiao Bai suddenly became lethargic.

“MeGu~”

It whimpered, wobbling as it ran back to Ling Mo.

Ling Mo, who was eagerly counting the Gel pieces, was startled by the mutation panda’s shaky steps.

“Xiao Bai?” He rushed over and held Xiao Bai’s big head.

Xiao Bai lazily lifted its eyelids, then plopped down right where it was.

This alley wasn’t wide to begin with, and with Xiao Bai lying down, it was completely blocked by the fluffy mass.

“What happened?”

Ling Mo rubbed its head and examined it from top to bottom.

Xiao Bai simply laid its head fully on the ground, its eyelids drooping, and it kept making unclear noises.

Seeing Ling Mo come up empty-handed after checking it over, Xiao Bai suddenly lifted a paw, touched its head, and then slowly put it down again.

“Are you having a headache?”

Ling Mo’s eye twitched as he asked.

“MeGu…” Xiao Bai stared blankly ahead, its dark circles seeming even larger.

“Let me see.” Ling Mo hugged its big head and pressed his forehead against it.

After some close sensing, Ling Mo frowned. “The psychic fluctuations are fine. Could it be something physical?”

Thinking about the dormant Infection virus within its body and the large amount of Virus Gel it had just ingested, Ling Mo suddenly understood.

“Are you about to evolve or mutate? This reaction is quite different from zombies…”

Xiao Bai still looked weak and feeble. “MeGu…”

Ling Mo quickly pressed his hand against Xiao Bai’s neck and indeed felt the surface alternately heating up and cooling down.

His excitement grew immediately. He had witnessed Black Silk’s evolution multiple times, but never this closely.

Finally, he had a chance to observe the evolution process of a mutation beast firsthand.

However, the thought of the various mixed infections made Ling Mo a bit nervous.

With so many different viruses mingling, where exactly would Xiao Bai’s evolution lead?

“Anything’s fine, just don’t turn into a miniature version again!”

Though he thought this, Ling Mo knew he had no control over Xiao Bai’s evolution.

A few minutes later, under Ling Mo’s watchful eyes, Xiao Bai’s reactions became more intense.

It twitched and convulsed all over, letting out what sounded like pained whimpers.

Ling Mo kept stroking its head, trying to comfort it while bracing himself against the psychic pressure emanating from Xiao Bai’s evolution.

As the psychic fluctuation hit him, Ling Mo felt a wave of relief.

If he hadn’t recently experienced an upgrade, he wouldn’t have been able to withstand the intensity of this impact.

Moreover, the psychic waves grew stronger, coming in unrelenting waves, not giving him a moment of respite.

The threat posed by psychic links during a Zombie Puppet’s evolution was the greatest weakness of the Puppet Control Ability.

Without sufficient personal strength, one could easily become overly reliant on their Zombie Puppet.

If a Zombie Puppet evolved, it could result in severe trauma or even cause the puppet to break free from the psychic link.

Losing control of a Zombie Puppet under such circumstances meant facing the risk of being torn to pieces.

Ling Mo, of course, didn’t face this risk, but the dizziness and headache were still quite unpleasant.

Nevertheless, this was also a form of training and compression for his psychic power, beneficial for its growth.

However, the Intelligence boost a mutation beast could offer was limited, so Ling Mo wasn’t too concerned about how much his psychic power would increase. Instead, he was focused on Xiao Bai’s evolution.

The mutation panda seemed listless, its head drooping and its large body slowly writhing on the ground.

Ling Mo noticed sweat stains forming on the ground, and Xiao Bai’s eyes were red, almost as if they were about to drip water.

As Xiao Bai’s trembling intensified, Ling Mo’s gaze became more focused.

It’s happening! It’s finally happening!