Chapter 88 – The Zombie Recipe

“Well, this should hold until we get to the School Hospital.”

Ling Mo’s bandaging skills weren’t great, but after wrapping the bandage, Lin Luanqiu’s arm looked much better than before. With Ye Lian and Xia Na helping out, it almost looked professional.

“You really didn’t have to do this. We’re just partners,” Lin Luanqiu said softly.

Ling Mo smiled, “It’s no trouble. Besides, let me just say, Shi Bin’s death wasn’t your fault.”

He could tell that even though Lin Luanqiu was trying to keep her expression calm, her eyes were slightly red. Losing her last companion so tragically was not only painful for Lin Luanqiu but also left her feeling lost.

Ling Mo had considered telling her about Shi Bin’s final betrayal but decided against it. Knowing the truth wouldn’t necessarily make her feel any better.

After a night of chaos, there wasn’t much time left until dawn.

The group took a brief rest and left the Gymnasium as soon as the sun rose.

After a simple breakfast, Lin Luanqiu asked Ling Mo where Shi Bin had died, then went alone to see him one last time.

Watching Lin Luanqiu walk out of the small storeroom, Ling Mo thought that after hours of contemplation, she had finally accepted Shi Bin’s death. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have had the courage to see his body.

After helping Ye Lian and Xia Na with their hair and cleaning their faces, Ling Mo took them outside too.

The two mutated female Zombies were already used to Ling Mo’s care. Even though Xia Na had recovered her memories and Ye Lian had developed true consciousness, giving them basic self-care abilities, they still preferred Ling Mo’s help. Ling Mo also enjoyed the process. Besides the minor perks, the most important thing was that having such peaceful moments in the Apocalypse was incredibly rare.

He deliberately slowed down. By the time they reached the staircase, Lin Luanqiu was already there, her eyes red.

“Let’s go.” Without waiting for Ling Mo to speak, Lin Luanqiu took the initiative.

Ling Mo felt a sudden sense of relief. If Lin Luanqiu had stayed silent, he wouldn’t have known how to comfort her. Besides, this kind of thing had to be resolved by the person themselves; no amount of words from others would help.

In front of the Gymnasium, the Zombies were still shuffling around slowly. In such open areas, any appearance of a person would immediately draw their attention. Fighting them could attract more Zombies hidden in corners, so Ling Mo chose to take a detour.

They carefully skirted the edge of the flowerbed to avoid the Square. Once past it, Lin Luanqiu pointed to a distant building with a slightly pointed roof. “That’s the School Hospital.”

Although they could see the roof of the School Hospital from afar, the saying “seeing the mountain is one thing, climbing it is another” also applied in this complex environment. The straight-line distance seemed short, but following the roads, it would take them a long time to get there.

Not to mention, there were many Zombies on the way. Sometimes, after dealing with a few, more Zombies would be drawn by the scent of blood. To avoid getting surrounded, Ling Mo would kill Zombies on the main road, then lead the group silently around the back of buildings while the nearby Zombies were distracted.

This method had its pros and cons. Some Zombies hiding in the corners of buildings would also be drawn by the scent of blood and would suddenly rush out, only to face Ling Mo’s group head-on.

Fortunately, with the formidable combat skills and quick reactions of the two mutated female Zombies, these Zombies were dealt with before they could get too close. Compared to them, Ling Mo’s tactics were much craftier. In places without obstacles for maneuvering and with limited space, Ling Mo would either use his Puppet Control Ability to control the Zombies and make them walk into a trap or use his Psychic Tentacle to mislead and manipulate them, then take them out when the opportunity arose.

While the difference between his Puppet Control Ability and Psychic Tentacle was hard for others to notice, Lin Luanqiu had been with Ling Mo and the two girls for over a day now and had started to sense something was off. Especially after the incident last night when they detected the scent of blood, Lin Luanqiu began to have further suspicions about Ye Lian and Xia Na’s identities.

No ordinary person would be so sensitive to the smell of blood, especially when she had used alcohol to mask and disinfect it.

Despite her suspicions, Lin Luanqiu, though smart, couldn’t fathom that the two girls who seemed so normal were actually Mutation Zombies.

However, she did notice some clues about Ling Mo’s Superpower.

Even though she wanted to ask and confirm her suspicions, she realized that Ling Mo was always vague and ambiguous when talking about his abilities, so she decided not to press the issue.

Probably because Shi Bin’s death had made her more aware of her precarious situation, Lin Luanqiu would sometimes help out when the Zombie numbers were higher. Despite her poor physical condition, with her unique Bullet Time ability, she managed to kill several Zombies successfully.

When they passed a Laboratory Building, Ling Mo became very interested in the possible Mutation Zombies inside and, under the guise of taking a break, led the group inside. Leaving Xia Na and Lin Luanqiu on the first floor, Ling Mo took Ye Lian upstairs.

After all, his purpose in coming to X City University was to hunt Mutation Zombies and collect as much Virus Gel as possible to promote further evolution for Xia Na and Ye Lian. Especially for Ye Lian, who was at a critical point for another evolution. If she could overcome this barrier, she could become an Advanced Zombie.

Although it would have been more convenient to do this after escorting Lin Luanqiu to the School Hospital, it was hard to pass up an opportunity when encountering a Laboratory Building with so many Zombies.

In fact, since she had some guesses about Ling Mo’s Superpower, when he suggested taking a “break,” Lin Luanqiu found the excuse a bit flimsy but didn’t voice any objections. She didn’t know that Ling Mo planned to hunt Zombies—such a shocking idea wouldn’t even cross her mind. She assumed that maybe Ling Mo intended to search the building for some special items.

There were quite a few Zombies in this Laboratory Building, and several Mutation Zombies had appeared. If he had encountered Mutation Zombies in an open area, Ling Mo might have been a bit nervous. However, in a place like this, even if Ye Lian didn’t step in, he could rely on the terrain and his Superpower to wear down the Mutation Zombies.

To save time, Ling Mo didn’t actually go head-to-head with these Mutation Zombies. Instead, he had Ye Lian use her formidable close combat skills to hold them off, while he continuously used his Psychic Tentacle to influence them and then strike when they least expected it. With their seamless cooperation, this method was extremely effective. Often, the Mutation Zombies were taken down before they could fully display their strength.

In just about ten minutes upstairs, Ling Mo had collected five Virus Gels. Although their purity was a bit low, he was quite satisfied with the haul.

Indeed, in such a densely populated and semi-enclosed campus, the number of Mutation Zombies was quite high.

Ling Mo had considered that, with his abilities, he could potentially cultivate Mutation Zombies. However, it was time-consuming and labor-intensive. By the time he successfully cultivated a Mutation Zombie, Ye Lian and Xia Na might be starving.

In fact, Ling Mo had inadvertently cultivated a Mutation Zombie before, though it was the lowest level.

The Zombie Puppet he initially controlled was considered a Mutation Zombie, but the Virus Gel in its brain was pitifully small. This was because Ling Mo had been feeding it scraps of rotten meat.

Through this experience, Ling Mo realized that Mutation Zombies could survive on meat, but it wouldn’t allow them to evolve further. Moreover, such rotten meat could not sustain the energy needs of a Mutation Zombie. As a result, the Zombie Puppet he had back then was only as strong as an ordinary Zombie. Even ordinary Zombies prioritized human flesh.

Simply put, in the Mutation Zombie’s diet, Virus Gel was the main course, human flesh was a dessert, and regular meat was just filler.

For ordinary Zombies, since they couldn’t consume Virus Gel, human flesh became their main course, and regular meat was still just filler.

Reflecting on his past lack of understanding and the wasted opportunity for his Zombie Puppet to evolve, Ling Mo couldn’t help but find it amusing. But there wasn’t much he could have done differently. These Zombies were essentially a new species, and the mysteries within their bodies were beyond comprehension. At least for now, Ling Mo’s understanding was limited to knowing that they would keep evolving and could develop consciousness.