Chapter 714: Some Words Shouldnt Be Used Lightly
Late at night, in a suburban house on the outskirts of Cuihu.
In a dimly lit room on the second floor, two figures sat in opposite corners.
Xu Shuhan was curled up in a corner, hugging a blanket, with her eyes closed in a light sleep.
At this point, she was half a zombie, able to recover her strength through the virus in her body. Sleeping two or three hours a day was enough for her.
Mu Chen, on the other hand, was leaning by the window, lifting the curtain to stare at the street outside.
There were almost no zombies here, but the occasional piercing howl could still be heard from afar.
Thinking of the corpse-strewn Mall, Xu Shuhan couldn’t help but shrink back a bit.
Tonight, that place was destined to be a b.l.o.o.d.y feast…
Compared to Xu Shuhan, Mu Chen’s expression was much simpler.
Frustration!
Mu Chen couldn’t help but feel frustrated… He had only just woken up, only to find himself dragged to this place after opening his eyes. He had no idea what had happened in the few hours of blank time. Just as he was about to ask Ling Mo a few questions, he was a.s.signed to keep watch here…
Keeping watch was one thing, but he also had to look after Xu Shuhan.
This was too much of a mess!
“Xu…”
“Shut up,” Xu Shuhan quickly interrupted Mu Chen.
“d.a.m.n, you guys are too heartless!” Mu Chen said angrily.
Xu Shuhan, however, puckered her lips in annoyance. Heartless? How was that fair? She didn’t know anything either!
To be honest, she already felt something was off when Ling Mo insisted on coming to Cuihu.
Collecting supplies? What kind of supplies required a detour to Cuihu? There wasn’t any armory here…
As soon as they reached Cuihu’s central area, a sudden change occurred. Xu Shuhan definitely didn’t believe there was no connection between the two events.
Ling Mo’s subsequent arrangements also clearly intended to leave her on the outskirts. On one hand, it was certainly to protect her, but on the other hand, it completely excluded her.
When she reunited with Ling Mo, he brushed it off casually, insisting that nothing major had happened…
If nothing major happened, why was he smiling so happily?
When they got here, Ling Mo couldn’t wait to rush upstairs with the female zombies…
Xu Shuhan looked up at the ceiling, feeling quite frustrated. What on earth were Ling Mo and the others doing upstairs?
Ling Mo’s actions must have some reason behind them, right?
“This one is for Xia Na.”
Ling Mo first handed the viral hive from bighead to Xia Na. The transparent “amethyst” in her hands made Xia Na’s face light up with a hint of excitement.
For a zombie driven by the instinct to pursue continuous evolution, a Senior Zombie’s viral hive was the most coveted treasure. Even a tiny piece of this hive, if taken outside and waved around, could lure half the zombies in Cuihu out of hiding.
Even though Low-Level Zombies didn’t have the ability to devour, they would still mindlessly throw themselves at it.
A zombie’s pursuit of the virus was as natural as breathing, driven by instinct.
Even though Ye Lian and the others followed Ling Mo, their zombie instincts hadn’t been completely eradicated; it was only suppressed somewhat under Ling Mo’s continuous influence and initial control.
But now, looking at the viral hive of the King level Zombie, not only Xia Na but also Ye Lian and Li Yalin couldn’t take their eyes off it, their gazes even starting to change color.
“If it weren’t for our teamwork, we couldn’t have obtained this viral hive. Judging by bighead’s evolutionary mutation, this is the most suitable for Xia Na. Xia Na now has a mutation direction, but the final mutation result is hard to say. Although bighead said the mutation direction is influenced by the subconscious, the virus devoured also has a certain impact…”
While speaking, Ling Mo took out the viral hive from “Wig.”
Even at the King level, the color of mutation creatures’ viral hives didn’t change much, but the value of these two hives was comparable.
“The most suitable one for Yalin would definitely be the viral hive from the mutation snake, but mutation beasts are too hard to find. The viral hive from mutation creatures can also suffice. Although Black Silk and Xiao Bai could use them, Black Silk evolves too quickly, making it harder for me to control. As for Xiao Bai… its mutation direction hasn’t revealed itself yet, and I’m worried it might lead to some strange changes if it consumes it…”
Ling Mo rubbed his nose and handed the mutation creature mother hive to Li Yalin. “So this one goes to Yalin. ‘Wig’ was a virus-secreting type, and among the two King level Zombies it produced, one was like this as well…”
Li Yalin stared at the mutation creature mother hive and lightly licked her lips. “So, maybe what I secrete… can also have various effects…”
“Do not compare it to yourself; it makes it even weirder…” Ling Mo’s eye twitched.
“Secretions?” Xia Na suggested.
“That’s not helping at all…” Ling Mo felt that the serious atmosphere he had just created was completely wasted. It seemed impossible to stay serious with zombies around!
However, after Xia Na opened the preservation bag and took a sniff, she said, “You can’t devour this all at once. It actually works better if you’re at the dominant level; eating it then gives the best effect with the least impact. But if it’s for breaking through to the dominant level, it requires slow, gradual consumption over time.”
Since that was Xia Na’s advice, Li Yalin would definitely be the same.
Ling Mo nodded. Hastily devouring it would disrupt the virus balance in their bodies, causing significant harm.
Zombies could also suffer from infections, particularly from other mutated zombies, or they might even collapse and rot if they couldn’t bear it…
With a certain level of intelligence, zombies had developed a set of judgments and wouldn’t recklessly pursue power.
In comparison, human superhumans could only progress through constant effort, and their evolution was almost indistinguishable from that of zombies.
“That’s settled then. Let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow we head to Heishui City. According to the navigation records, the Niepan headquarters should be near there…”
…
Heishui City.
As a gateway city to the largest province in the West, this prefecture-level city had a population roughly half that of X City, but its area was only about a quarter of X City’s.
To accommodate such a large population in such a small area, Heishui City was an extremely prosperous modern city before the Cataclysm.
But now, a large population meant a high number of zombies.
Places like Heishui City could definitely be considered highly dangerous zones.
However, the numerous Industrial Parks built around Heishui City made it resource-rich. Its status as a central-western transportation hub also indicated abundant supplies and convenient transportation.
But the main routes to the city, such as highways, were absolutely out of the question. Instead, it’s these old roads, which were replaced during the city’s rapid development, that could still be utilized.
These types of roads are quite common in the country and are often well-connected.
However, that doesn’t mean there won’t be zombies on the old roads. In fact, many vehicles also travel these roads, and there are often numerous buildings along the way, so the number of zombies is still significant.
But for survivors, it’s quite obvious which route has a higher survival rate.
At this moment, on an old road leading to Heishui City, a white blur was moving forward.
As zombies on the roadside lunged, they were quickly entangled by silver threads and flung away before they could get close.
Zombies attacking head-on were swiped down by a giant, sharp claw the moment they leapt.
“Crunch!”
The sound of bones breaking echoed, and the zombie burst like a popped, b.l.o.o.d.y sack…
“I didn’t expect this journey to be quite so easy,” Mu Chen said.
Ever since leaving Cuihu City, Mu Chen had been in a foul mood, but the ease of this trip had improved it considerably.
Although they still encountered some zombies, not being in constant battle was a delightful surprise for him.
Xu Shuhan glanced at him, showing disapproval, but she too was in a good mood.
In b.l.o.o.d.y situations, she had a harder time maintaining control…
Ling Mo gazed into the distance, feeling a sense of satisfaction.
After Black Silk and Xiao Bai evolved, their strength had indeed increased significantly.
They were perfect for leading the way, whereas having them follow behind felt like a waste.
Especially Xiao Bai, with the ability to instantly enlarge its body, could easily handle a large number of zombies.
Ling Mo estimated that Xiao Bai’s strength was comparable to the latter stages of the Leader-Level, although it was hard to pin down an exact level since mutation beasts varied so much in their combat abilities.