Chapter 670 – Don’t Drool at a Time Like This!

In a daze, Ling Mo felt a continuous stream of coolness flowing throughout his body.

He had no idea how much time had passed, but Ling Mo finally snapped out of his haze.

His mind was much clearer, and the abnormal conditions of his body had significantly reduced.

Even the aftereffects caused by the Spider Queen had subsided quite a bit in an instant.

Upon opening his eyes, he found himself looking directly into Ye Lian’s slightly confused, yet heart-palpitating, black eyes.

“This is…”

Ling Mo was momentarily stunned, then suddenly came to his senses.

He grabbed Ye Lian’s shoulders, trying his best to control his excitement and asked as calmly as possible, “What… what is going on?”

Ye Lian blinked and tilted her head, “Hmm? What… what…”

Huh?!

Ling Mo was taken aback again. Is she still stuttering?

Even though this is not a physiological defect, it signifies a lack of synchronization between her thoughts and reactions.

To put it plainly, her reactions are a bit slow…

But…

“Ye Lian, did you advance?”

Ling Mo’s expectant gaze was fixed intently on Ye Lian as he shook her arm and asked.

Ye Lian followed his movements and swayed a bit before suddenly smiling dully, “Won’t… won’t fall…”

“This isn’t a wobble toy!” Ling Mo slapped his forehead.

Since asking wasn’t useful, he had no choice but to investigate himself.

Ling Mo moved Ye Lian around, examining her from all angles, and Ye Lian obediently turned her body as he did.

Just by looking at her exterior, nothing really stood out…

If anything, two aspects caught Ling Mo’s attention.

One was Ye Lian’s psychic fluctuation. Due to their psychic link, it didn’t present the same challenges as probing those dominant level Zombies, but there were some similarities.

For instance, when Ling Mo wasn’t concentrated enough, he felt as though a membrane surrounded Ye Lian’s psychic light cluster, preventing him from immediately sensing her psychic fluctuation.

The other was Ye Lian’s eyes.

Though they still had that usual dazed look, there was something hiding within that confusion…

But judging by Ye Lian’s behavior, it seemed like not much had changed at all.

“Has she truly advanced, or not?”

Besides this, another perplexing question for Ling Mo was: Even though Ye Lian had the lowest level of evolution, why was she the first to step towards the dominant level at such a critical time?

“Maybe it’s because she’s still in the transitional phase of advancing…”

As Ling Mo pondered, he reached out his hand towards Ye Lian’s cheek.

This move was rather sudden, and Ling Mo’s gaze turned sharply intense for a split second.

Ye Lian instinctively tilted her head to the side, effortlessly dodging the move.

“Just as I thought!”

Ling Mo, who was now quite excited, didn’t stop there. His missed hand continued downward, aiming for Ye Lian’s shoulder, while he warned, “Watch your step!”

Ye Lian’s attention was focused on Ling Mo’s hand, and when she suddenly heard him shout, she glanced down reflexively, “Huh?”

“Gotcha.” The corners of Ling Mo’s mouth curved into a grin as his fingers nearly touched Ye Lian’s shoulder.

Realizing there was nothing below, Ye Lian knew she’d been tricked.

Ling Mo’s physical condition was good, and his psychic reaction was top-notch. If Ye Lian were still at the Leader-Level Zombie stage, dodging this would have been challenging, and she would have at least been grazed.

Moreover, just as Ye Lian looked up, Ling Mo leaned forward suddenly, creating an interference. Even the quickest response would result in a split-second hesitation, which would be enough for Ling Mo to complete his “attack.”

With the improvement in psychic power and the slight enhancement of his physical abilities, Ling Mo felt that his coordination between body and mind seemed even better.

Performing the same action, he was now much smoother than before.

This difference might be imperceptible to others, but from Ling Mo’s own perspective, it was substantial.

As his fingertips were about to touch Ye Lian’s body, her pupils suddenly contracted sharply and then slowly dilated, resembling a true “Kaleidoscope.”

Immediately after, Ye Lian dodged to the side at an incredibly sharp angle, causing Ling Mo’s hand to miss completely.

“Huh?”

Ling Mo was momentarily stunned. Although he saw clearly what happened and could keep up with Ye Lian’s speed, he just couldn’t adjust his own movement in time.

Ye Lian had completely chosen an angle he hadn’t anticipated, executing the dodge in such a manner.

This was a perfect dodge!

Even though Ling Mo knew he would miss and had the time to change his movement, in his current state, he simply couldn’t adjust to the direction Ye Lian had dodged to.

Under normal circumstances, Ling Mo might think this was a coincidence.

But he had just clearly seen Ye Lian’s eyes…

Could this be a form of ocular evolution?

Unlike superhumans, the partial mutations of Zombies were not permanent. As they continued to evolve, they might eventually completely transform their organs into something entirely different from what they were initially.

Although Ling Mo had been mentally prepared for something like this, actually witnessing physical mutation in the Zombie girl beside him still left him in disbelief, rendering him momentarily speechless.

“Ling-Ge… why did you trick me…” Ye Lian said, pouting slightly.

“Dominant level…”

Ling Mo was completely overwhelmed with shock. After a while, he regained his senses and suddenly stretched out his arms, pulling Ye Lian into an embrace.

“Ye Lian!”

Though he had much to say, when he opened his mouth, only these two words came out.

Ye Lian’s chin rested on Ling Mo’s shoulder, her eyes wide open, staring forward.

She stayed like this for a moment, then slowly raised her hand and gently patted Ling Mo’s back.

“Phew~”

Ye Lian took a deep breath, greedily burying her head into Ling Mo’s shoulder.

This moment seemed both fleeting and infinitely prolonged.

As Ling Mo felt his shoulder becoming damp, he released Ye Lian, and with a gentle smile, wiped the corner of her mouth, “Don’t drool on me at a time like this…”

Meanwhile, his eyes never left Ye Lian’s.

The change happened in just an instant. Looking at Ye Lian now, Ling Mo found that she almost looked the same as usual…

But “almost” wasn’t entirely the same. If you looked closely, there was still a subtle, almost dizzying illusion.

This marks the biggest difference between Zombies, Mutation Beasts, and superhumans. Superhumans appear entirely normal when they’re not using their abilities, and even when they do, it’s only for a short moment.

Whether it’s the sudden muscle growth seen in those with Enhancement ability or the psychic power in the minds of mental ability superhumans, these aren’t visible to the naked eye in their dormant state.

But the mutations in Zombies are physiological and always present.

“At least it’s not too noticeable…”

Ling Mo scanned Ye Lian from different angles for a moment, feeling a secret sigh of relief in his heart.

He had imagined various scenarios, but this one was better than he expected.

“But what dictates these mutations? Is the virus random? Or could it be…”

Ling Mo furrowed his brow, lost in thought, and then a sudden realization hit him.

Could it be due to Ye Lian frequently using the Sniper Rifle?

No matter how precise her shooting was, she still fundamentally relied on her eyes to aim.

After a lot of use, could her instincts have selected this body part for enhancement?

It’s quite possible, as any mutation or enhancement is to facilitate further evolution.

The mutations that occur during this process are inevitably aimed at improving the main body’s survival and competitive capabilities.

“Yes, that must be it…”

Ling Mo couldn’t help but smile. He pulled Ye Lian along for another look around, “What should we call it? ‘Kaleidoscope Eyes’?”

“No… no.” Ye Lian shook her head vigorously.

Even with her Zombie sense of aesthetics, that name was horrendous!

Realizing his naming skills were being dissed by the usually innocent Ye Lian, Ling Mo couldn’t help but feel awkward…

“Well, we can think about it some more later. But these eyes, they let you see in all directions and pick the best angle quickly, right?” Ling Mo asked tentatively.

Ye Lian thought for a moment, then slowly nodded.

“So it’s true…” Ling Mo mused, glancing at her. He had seen how these eyes worked defensively in dodging, but it was unclear how they would perform in offense.

But now wasn’t the best time to test it. Ye Lian was out, but the other three female Zombies and the Mutation Beast were still inside, struggling to evolve.