Luo Tianyu's mouth hung wide open, his eyes filled with disbelief as he stared at the quiet severed arm on the ground. He whispered, "Is its splitting time up? Is it dead?"
Before Luo Tianyu could finish his sentence, Zuo Feng shook his head, his gaze deep as he fixed on the severed arm.
"No, it's playing dead and lurking, while also accumulating power. Look at the blood-colored patterns on the surface of the arm."
If not for the subtle flow of the blood-red patterns on the arm's surface, Zuo Feng would have almost believed it was truly dead. This state was identical to what they had observed in the Laboratory before.
As Zuo Feng's words fell, everyone held their breath, nervously watching the severed arm.
The blood-red patterns flowed almost imperceptibly, as if some hidden power surged within them.
Everyone's eyes showed gravity and apprehension; even a split-off individual could play dead. The Six-Slash Zombie was truly terrifying.
The silence of the severed arm didn't last long. As if sensing that everyone had seen through its 'playing dead,' just as everyone held their breath, the blood-colored patterns, which had been subtly flowing on the surface of the seemingly lifeless arm, suddenly became exceptionally dazzling.
Then, the withered-looking, fresh red tentacles wrapped around the arm suddenly shot out. They were no longer the thick form from before, but had transformed into countless hair-thin, extremely fast blood-colored needles, carrying a sharp whistling sound, shooting like a downpour towards the Tiegada closest to it!
Tiegada's massive body reacted without delay. Facing this sudden, dense attack, its Metallic Skin body instantly burst forth with dazzling silver light. A layer of fine silver patterns emerged on its originally steel-hard skin, deflecting all the incoming blood-colored needles and sending sparks flying.
Zuo Feng's eyes narrowed. This was the first time Zuo Feng had seen Tiegada use this move. Tiegada's Metallic Skin defense itself was infinitely close to the Eight-Horizontal-Bar Zombie's defense. This move clearly enhanced its defensive capabilities. As for how much it enhanced, it was clear at a glance; the blood-colored needles shattered upon impact with Tiegada's defensive patterns, leaving no trace.
Zuo Feng watched Tiegada's silver patterns, his eyes filled with shock and confusion.
Because those patterns were extremely similar to the blood-red patterns on the Six-Slash Zombie, as if they were different manifestations of the same power.
Such patterns naturally didn't appear out of nowhere. Tiegada should have had them for a long time, but had simply never revealed them. Thinking about it, from the time Tiegada was subdued until now, it had never truly encountered an existence that could threaten it. Therefore, this hidden ability had never been displayed.
This also indirectly indicated the power of the severed arm's previous attack; Tiegada had clearly felt threatened, otherwise, it wouldn't have easily used this layer of defense.
But why were the blood-red patterns on the Slash Zombie so similar to Tiegada's silver patterns?
Was this some kind of connection in their power systems, or did Tiegada itself have some unknown link with the Six-Slash Zombie?
Everyone had clearly noticed this. It was no secret that Firefly had Xenomorph ; the leaders of these factions all knew and envied Firefly's ability to control them. But now, the Slash Zombie actually had patterns similar to those of the variant species, which surprised them and even made them subtly uneasy.
Did the Six-Slash Zombie also possess some kind of variant species characteristic? Or did their evolutionary roots intersect with the variant species in some way?
For a moment, countless speculations surged in everyone's hearts, but no one dared to draw conclusions easily.
Zuo Feng's brows were tightly furrowed. Since Tiegada had used this hidden ability, did it mean that other variant species also had this hidden ability, but had not yet encountered enough threat to display it?
As this thought appeared, Zuo Feng's gaze turned to Da Bai Tu beside him. Da Bai Tu seemed to sense Zuo Feng's gaze, and a look of pleasant surprise appeared in her charming phoenix eyes. She met Zuo Feng's gaze, then gently blinked.
Clearly, Da Bai Tu also speculated that other variant species possessed similar hidden abilities, but had never encountered a real threat, so they had never revealed them.
If this were true, it would mean that Firefly's overall strength would rise another level.
As for why they hadn't shown their hidden characteristics when they were subdued, it was probably because they hadn't felt life-threatening attacks during the subduing process, so they never displayed them. By the time Zuo Feng began to subdue them, their physical strength was exhausted, so they naturally couldn't trigger these hidden abilities.
As for when Kong Ling and Tiegada were subdued, they hadn't displayed their hidden abilities, likely because they hadn't yet evolved to the point where they could trigger those hidden characteristics.
It's estimated that these patterns appeared along with the companion beasts, and only appear when they evolve to a Two-Vertical-Bar stage.
However, now was not the time for individual testing. It wouldn't be too late to test them one by one after these leaders left. The most important thing now was to figure out why the Six-Slash Zombie had patterns similar to those of the variant species, and what this similarity truly meant.
With silver patterns appearing on its body, Tiegada seemed to have inherited primeval power, exuding an aura that made people's hearts palpitate.
Seemingly enraged by the severed hand, it directly pulled the severed hand in front of itself, grabbing the severed arm with one hand. No matter how the severed hand struggled, it was futile. Its eyes flashed with fierce light. Immediately after, it suddenly opened its mouth, revealing fangs. Zuo Feng clearly noticed that its four small canine teeth had also turned silver, the same color as the patterns, as if a mark of some evolution.
Tiegada bit down, and a piece of flesh was instantly torn from the severed hand by the silver fangs, then swallowed whole. Zuo Feng's pupils suddenly contracted. Zuo Feng clearly saw that after Tiegada swallowed the flesh, the silver patterns on its body brightened by a few points, as if absorbing some kind of energy.
This scene shook him. Then, under everyone's horrified gaze, Tiegada actually swallowed the entire severed arm whole, as if performing some bizarre evolutionary ritual.
As the severed arm was completely devoured, the silver patterns on Tiegada's body moved like a living thing.
The silver patterns moved across its body, flickering like a living thing, and the surrounding air seemed to be stirred and solidified by this strange power.
Zuo Feng's eyes widened, because he saw that the third vertical bar on Tiegada's forehead, which was originally about to fully form, had now completely formed, and there were even faint traces of a fourth vertical bar appearing.
Tiegada's aura surged again, as if breaking through an invisible restraint. The silver patterns became even more brilliant, shining like stars on Tiegada's body, as if its power was continuously being augmented by some mysterious energy.
An unspeakable sense of oppression permeated the air, sending chills down one's spine.
Zuo Feng's heart raced. The flesh and blood of the Slash Zombie could actually accelerate the evolution of variant species!
This discovery stirred up a storm in Zuo Feng's heart. Was it because of the layer of patterns on the Slash Zombie's body?
But no matter what, this was a good sign. Being able to accelerate the evolution of variant species meant being able to grasp higher-level power sooner, which would undoubtedly be a great help for the impending crisis.
After devouring the severed arm, Tiegada's gaze suddenly turned to the bound Six-Slash Zombie. Zuo Feng could feel a strong craving in Tiegada's consciousness—an impulse originating from the depths of its instinct, as if in its perception, devouring the Six-Slash Zombie would truly allow it to take a crucial step in its evolution.
Zuo Feng, Da Bai Tu, and Da Mi Tao exchanged glances, all seeing surprise and excitement in each other's eyes.
Tiegada let out a low growl, its heavy footsteps approaching the Six-Slash Zombie. The Six-Slash Zombie seemed to sense the threat of death, struggling violently, causing the chains binding it to emit a harsh scraping sound.