Chapter 5

At around midnight, a sudden flutter of emotion made Ling Mo suddenly wake up.

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Ye Lian, who had been sitting in the corner all along.

Ye Lian, after cleaning her body and changing into clean clothes, looked no different from before... The only difference was the pair of eyes that glowed with an eerie red light...

The abnormal feeling that Ling Mo had just experienced came from Ye Lian's instinctive craving. If Ye Lian could speak, the first thing she would say now would probably be: "I'm hungry."

And the food she needed was the special gel found in the brains of zombies.

From Ye Lian's behavior, it was clear that this special gel could cause the virus in her body to mutate further, and the effect was obvious. Since she had a craving, he naturally had to satisfy it.

Thinking about it, his mood was quite complex. Ordinary survivors couldn't avoid zombies fast enough, but he had to actively seek out trouble with zombies. Most importantly, he had a mutated zombie by his side.

After taking some food, Ling Mo took out a new sharp knife from his backpack. The bone knife was already somewhat worn out and would affect his performance in battle, so he couldn't use it anymore.

He tried to feed Ye Lian a sausage, but found that she was completely uninterested. It seemed that the only food she needed was that gel.

"Let's go, I'll take you out to find something to eat." He pulled Ye Lian up and took her downstairs.

The city was now completely desolate, lacking everything except zombies. However, places where many zombies gathered were still very dangerous for Ling Mo. He could only take Ye Lian to find those that were "alone."

While searching carefully, Ling Mo couldn't help but think about a question. For the zombies wandering outside, their only source of food was the survivors who risked their lives to find food. And most survivors, if they were careful enough, could barely manage to survive even if they couldn't gather much food.

Would these zombies, like Ye Lian, start to cannibalize each other when they couldn't find food? Perhaps in some places, there were already zombies like Ye Lian who had undergone mutations.

This would truly be a disaster for the survivors...

After the mental connection was strengthened, Ling Mo found it much easier to control Ye Lian compared to yesterday. And after a night of exploration, he had also mastered the knack of controlling her.

Unlike ordinary zombies, Ye Lian had not only instincts but also a strong desire to attack, and she could convey her needs to Ling Mo. Given her considerable strength, complete control would only constrain her and provoke her resistance. Therefore, Ling Mo only maintained a mental connection with Ye Lian to ensure she wouldn't attack him, without restricting her freedom of movement.

Because of the mental connection, even though Ye Lian could act on her own, she still didn't leave Ling Mo's sight and even closely followed him.

Fortunately, they were in the suburbs, where the population was not dense. Ling Mo quickly found a few zombies wandering at the intersection.

As soon as she saw the zombies, Ye Lian pounced on them eagerly, moving extremely fast and attacking fiercely. After a moment of hesitation, Ling Mo also rushed over with the sharp knife.

In just a minute, the few zombies were eliminated, and Ye Lian's eyes, after consuming the gel, became even more lively.

At the same time, Ling Mo felt his mental power become stronger, and his strength increased. Although the change was not obvious, it was a significant improvement for him.

As Ye Lian fought, the sense of savagery he experienced became more and more intense.

They spent the morning hunting in the area, killing dozens of zombies, and finally, her needs were satisfied.

However, what surprised Ling Mo was that after consuming the gel from dozens of zombies, Ye Lian appeared very tired and her mood became extremely unstable. If not for the increasingly tight mental connection between them, she might have broken free from his control.

Seeing the situation was not good, Ling Mo quickly found an apartment building and took Ye Lian to an unoccupied room.

At this point, Ye Lian was already clenching her fists in frustration, but her body seemed to lack strength, and she completely collapsed. Ling Mo carried her to the bed and felt her body as if it were burning, with a frighteningly high temperature.

Could it be that the virus became unstable due to overeating?

Just as Ling Mo was worried, a wave of savagery swept over his mind, and everything he saw seemed to be covered in a layer of blood.

Clearly, when the virus in Ye Lian's body changed, it also affected him through the mental connection.

The pain was unbearable... If he severed the mental connection, he could free himself from the savagery, but the uncontrolled Ye Lian might attack. Ling Mo could only grit his teeth and endure.

His body felt increasingly hot, and he was drenched in cold sweat, as if he were about to explode. The throbbing in his head was like something trying to burst out. If not for the strong willpower he had developed from controlling the zombie puppet, he might have already fainted.

Ye Lian, on the other hand, was breathing rapidly with her mouth open, and her pale cheeks had a faint abnormal redness. The red in her eyes became increasingly bright. Under Ling Mo's watchful gaze, she finally closed her eyes and fell onto the bed without a sound.

Ling Mo was initially startled but then calmed down. He had no knowledge of this special virus, let alone its mutations. Even if he was anxious, he couldn't do much to help. At least through the mental connection, he could feel that Ye Lian's vital signs were still normal. Her body had just initiated a self-protection mechanism due to the growing power within her, causing her to temporarily faint.

While waiting for Ye Lian to wake up, Ling Mo endured the physical torment...

It wasn't until a few hours later that Ling Mo finally felt the heat spread throughout his body and then calm down. The power that remained in his body seemed to permeate every cell, making him feel refreshed and invigorated. He clenched his fist and felt his strength had increased significantly. As for other changes, they would likely only be evident in battle.

At this moment, Ye Lian slowly opened her eyes. What made Ling Mo instantly freeze was that after this mutation, Ye Lian's eyes had returned to a normal human appearance!

To be precise, they had changed from the eerie blood red to a clear black, making her eyes deeper and her entire person appear colder. However, the dangerous aura was hidden, and if someone didn't know her strength, they would probably think she was just an ordinary survivor girl, never imagining she was a mutated zombie!

The viral mutation in her body was more like an evolution! An evolution achieved through the consumption of her kind!