Chapter 549 – The Internal Composition of Zombies
....
As the two of them were causing a ruckus, the Zombie Puppet that had been rolling on the ground suddenly began to stir.
Its neck stretched out abruptly, emitting a strange noise from its throat.
“Ugh~”
“Is it going to throw up?” Ling Mo wondered, as he set Yu s.h.i.+ran back on the ground from his arm, his curiosity piqued while watching the Zombie Puppet intently.
The Zombie Puppet’s neck kept elongating, and after its body shook violently, a series of m.u.f.fled “crack” sounds kept emanating.
It seemed as though it was a rusted machine that hadn’t been lubricated for ages, now every joint appeared exceedingly stiff.
Crack!
The Zombie Puppet’s waist lifted up while its upper body and legs continued to tremble on the ground.
Crack, crack, crack!
A succession of explosive muted sounds followed, and Ling Mo suddenly widened his eyes.
Wait a minute…
If there wasn’t something wrong with his eyesight, then this extraordinary event was truly unfolding right before him.
He hadn’t seen Black Silk’s eerie evolution.
He hadn’t noticed the change in Xiao Bai’s fur color.
But the spectacle currently before him was crystal clear to his vision.
At the elongated neck of the Zombie Puppet, the skin began to bulge as if something was burrowing out from within.
As the skin stretched thinner and thinner, spikes of bone started to emerge.
Not only that, but there seemed to be changes happening to its coccyx as well…
Under Ling Mo’s astonished gaze, the Zombie Puppet was slowly undergoing a transformation…
“Click, click, click…”
Amidst the brittle sounds from its throat, the Zombie Puppet leaped into the air under Ling Mo’s control.
At its tail end, a segment of bone protruded out, as if it had sprouted an extra tail out of nowhere.
And its head… it could actually turn 360 degrees!
Its cervical vertebrae seemed to have become a set of components capable of free movement and a.s.sembly, not affecting its actions in the slightest.
In this state, it could observe every direction, its field of view immensely widened in an instant!
As for that tail…
Ling Mo controlled the Zombie Puppet to run a few steps and then leap, quickly discovering the secret behind it.
With an additional tail, this zombie could maintain excellent balance even while sprinting at high speeds, such as when it suddenly turns while running without causing a fall due to loss of balance.
Moreover, the extra tail seemed to have become an appendage capable of delivering stronger attacks.
However, the most terrifying aspect was that its upper body could now twist freely, the principles of which were difficult to fully investigate without a dissection.
Maybe it had grown an extra segment of bone, or perhaps some abnormal internal mutation had occurred…
Also, during the process of leaping, a flick of its tail could help it transform freely in mid-air.
What’s most crucial was that these bones could be retracted…
Once retracted, apart from some torn skin and bloodstains, there was no hint of anything unusual.
It’s believed that as the evolution and refinement continue, the skin of the relevant parts would probably grow to resemble zippers, separating when needed and closing when not, outwardly appearing at most like a scar.
“d.a.m.n impressive… This is the fusion with a mutated zombie…”
Ling Mo reflected.
The mutations of mutated zombies are external, while the mutations that result from the fusion of ordinary zombies with mutated zombies are clearly internal.
From their appearance, these new varieties of zombies look exactly the same as ordinary zombies, but they also possess the mutated abilities of mutated zombies.
Stronger in attack, higher in survival rate…
“The zombie species… is just too powerful.”
Ling Mo clenched his fist and then slowly opened his palm in front of his eyes.
The evolution process of zombies was like fast-forwarded in front of him; he was seeing it in advance, but in reality, for the group to change into something like the Zombie Puppet, it might still take some time.
Even if he foresaw this outcome, it was unstoppable.
The reason Ling Mo was so concerned was for survival and also for Ye Lian and the others.
They would eventually mutate as well, but what would they turn into? That was unpredictable.
After learning from Jian Qi about the h.o.m.ology of the virus, Ling Mo couldn’t help but wonder about humanity.
The evolution of psychics indicates that the virus inside them is also evolving, but what about ordinary people? Will they evolve too?
Some things are hard to consider without understanding them, but since Ling Mo discovered that humans also have a virus inside their bodies, although different from the zombie virus, he noticed some issues.
Ordinary people, although they have neither mutated nor have special abilities, have actually gained some benefits.
The tough life after the Disaster Outbreak, the lack of nutrition, didn’t cause these ordinary people to generally suffer from certain diseases.
Even in a harsh environment full of corpses and blood, no plague broke out…
Their resistance clearly increased, and even their physical and endurance strengths grew.
Most people didn’t notice this, thinking it was only through long-term exercise that they grew.
Exercise is one aspect, but the body becoming increasingly resilient is an undeniable fact.
But why is there no substantial evolution? It’s probably because humans are still mostly on the receiving end of attacks, rather than actively attacking like zombies.
Zombies complete their evolution in battles, fighting not only against humans but also against Mutated Beasts, and the fights among themselves are also extremely fierce.
“Could it be… humans are really destined to be a thing of the past?” A heaviness suddenly filled Ling Mo’s heart.
“No… No, that’s too pessimistic of me.” Ling Mo suddenly shook his head, “Falcon, Team F, Niepan… The numerous human organizations, both large and small, aren’t they proof of humanity’s strengths? Cooperative collaboration, unity, using all available resources, that is the real strength of humanity.”
“Ordinary people are the foundation of human survival, psychics are the warriors responsible for fighting and protection, and the remnants of various human civilizations are our weapons… Thinking this way, humanity is not without resistance. Although zombies are evolving, human strength is also integrating bit by bit, like the restructuring of the Air Force Corps…”
“I guess I was being too much of a worrywart, but if Team F could become a base that shelters a large number of ordinary people, wouldn’t it be able to play a better role? It seems like I should discuss this with Lucy.”
Even Ling Mo himself might not realize that this kind of thinking shows that he still cares deeply about the development of humanity.
Aside from Ye Lian and the others’ evolution, as a member of humanity, he is also very concerned about the survival of his own species.
These two concerns aren’t contradictory; they are simply considerations for the people and things that Ling Mo cares about.
“At least having seen it in advance, I can prepare ahead of time! No matter how you look at it, it’s a good thing, haha…”
Yu s.h.i.+ran, watching Ling Mo chuckle to himself, couldn’t help but touch the scarf around her neck and mutter, “What a strange human being, frowning one moment and laughing the next, just like when he and his senior sister do those strange things, right Black Silk?”
Zzz—
Ling Mo’s body instantly stiffened as if struck by electricity, his expression frozen on his face.
A few seconds later, he stiffly turned his head to look at Yu s.h.i.+ran: “You… you were spying?”
“No way.” The zombie loli quickly shook her head.
Ling Mo had just breathed a sigh of relief when he heard her continue, “I am upright in my actions and watch openly, don’t underestimate me, human!”
“What’s there to be proud of! Why are you so righteous about it! You’re still six or seven years from adulthood, can’t you be a bit less precocious, I can barely look you in the eye!”
Ling Mo’s frantic roar was met with a smug eyeroll from Yu s.h.i.+ran: “You could always look askance…”
“d.a.m.n!!!”
Seeing that he couldn’t observe anything more, Ling Mo dealt with this prematurely appeared new variety zombie and had Black Silk drag the corpse away.
Although his tentacles could do the same thing, Black Silk’s silver threads only required physical strength, not mental power…
Of course, the one expending the effort was her symbiote, Yu s.h.i.+ran…
And so, in a corner of this terrifying city, a very bizarre scene unfolded.
A human with hands in his pockets walked ahead, followed by a little loli humming a song. Not far behind the little loli, a downed zombie corpse slowly slid forward along with her…
“Hey, human, I have a question for you…”
“Ask.”
“Why didn’t you wait to kill him until after we got back?”
“…It’s a nice day today, isn’t it?”
“Stupid human…”