“Bang!”
As the first dull thud echoed, the restaurant was soon filled with a torrential storm of rapid, intense sounds. Ling Mo stood to the side, controlling his Tentacle while instinctively cringing at the brutal display before him. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed that beating someone up could look like… well, this. The human punching bag being hurled back kept returning faster and faster, receiving increasingly greater impacts. Meanwhile, the mutation panda stood its ground with unyielding stability thanks to its massive weight and extraordinary resilience. It roared in low growls as it relentlessly swung its claws, hitting Tang Hao over and over with tremendous force.
At first, only muffled grunts escaped Tang Hao’s lips. But as the wounds on his body multiplied and deepened, those grunts morphed into suppressed screams of pain. Within just ten seconds, Tang Hao’s mouth began spewing large amounts of blood, and his cries became utterly agonized.
This highly efficient method of attack not only allowed for a continuous increase in speed and force but also delivered a terrifying level of impact. Every time Tang Hao’s body collided with Xiao Bai’s claws, an overwhelming force surged through him – a force that only grew stronger with each hit.
“Even if you’ve strengthened your muscles, skin, and even your blood vessels, what about your internal organs and bones? That Flesh Monster only has one weak spot. But as a knockoff version, your entire body has basically turned into one big weak point,” Ling Mo thought as he observed Tang Hao coughing up blood nonstop.
“Ahhh!” Tang Hao finally let out a furious howl. As the havoc wreaked inside him intensified, his Superpower gradually failed… The excruciating pain radiating from his insides felt as if his abdominal cavity was being churned by a rapidly spinning blender. And now, as the sharp agony jolted him into an agonizing lucidity, it only made the torment cut deeper.
“Stop… Stop it already! Don’t you care about that little girl? And your companions? Very soon – no, by now, they might already be in grave danger!”
Tang Hao shouted desperately, but Ling Mo showed no signs of relenting. As for the panda, it continued its ruthless assault with unwavering energy, even letting out a couple of gleeful roars along the way. What baffled Tang Hao the most was that the kind of destructive force that was utterly dismantling him from the inside out seemed to have absolutely no effect on this panda…
At this moment, Tang Hao finally understood: while this mutation panda might be slightly lacking in reflexes and agility, when it came to killing him, only this panda could do it so effortlessly! Every time its claw swung down, the force not only increased but also compounded repeatedly. To Tang Hao, its claws felt like an endless stream of cannonballs, raining down on him with no pause or mercy.
Even if someone were to fire a literal cannonball at him right now, it would pale in comparison to the horror this panda unleashed upon him!
And then there was that kid with the mental ability… Crafty. Lethal. A manipulator pulling strings from the shadows. Words like these surged into Tang Hao’s mind almost instantly. The sight of Ling Mo standing there calmly, without lifting a finger, brought forth an overwhelming tide of hatred and despair.
It was him! It was all because of him! If not for Ling Mo, he wouldn’t be in such a pitiful state. Tang Hao had extensive experience in combat and could usually handle even tough opponents with ease. Yet this cunning bastard had orchestrated every beat of this torment. Not only did he seamlessly cooperate with the mutation panda, but-most infuriating of all-he hadn’t even been to the Rosen Company and somehow already knew his deepest secrets…
“He’s the real freak! He’s the Zombie! Hiding God knows how many tricks up his sleeve, and yet he still acts so cautious! And, for crying out loud, you’ve got this kind of power, but you’re ganging up on me in a two-on-one?! What kind of BS is this?”
Tang Hao cursed furiously in his mind. The escalating pain and his utter inability to resist filled him with not just rage but also something disturbingly close to a sense of grievance…
“Ling Mo, screw your ancestors! Even if you kill me, that little girl is done for! And your comrades-every single one of them is destined to die! You call me a cheap knockoff? Just wait-you’ll all meet horrible ends! I’ve spent ten months getting to where I am today! You’re just some outsider-you know nothing! Go to hell! All of you, go to hell!”
His curses spilled out violently, running on for almost ten seconds before his voice began to falter.
The blood he spat had already soaked a massive patch of ground within a ten-meter radius, staining it bright red. His body was visibly caving in. Once the physique of a “burly man,” his body now seemed hollowed out, as though his chest was pressed so tightly against his back that they almost touched. The brutal beating had reduced his insides to an unimaginable mess. It was likely that his ribcage had been entirely shattered, leaving him in this bone-crushed, grotesque state.
Amid the blood Tang Hao spewed, there were also traces of filth and fragments of his internal organs. Eventually, his body became so battered he couldn’t even cough anything up anymore. At that point, slipping into a near-unconscious state, Tang Hao finally stopped hurling insults. Instead, he instinctively began to beg for mercy.
“Don’t kill me… Please, don’t kill me… I didn’t choose to become like this. I didn’t want any of this… But once it starts, you can’t stop it. If we don’t get our hands on that, we’ll all eventually turn into full-fledged Zombies. And not the kind that can keep some semblance of rationality, but the kind that’s lost forever…”
“I didn’t mean to do anything to you! I just wanted to use your strength… to find a way to survive…”
“Please, spare me! I’ll tell you everything! Oh, right! Don’t you want to know how we transform? I can tell you! I can even explain how the others underwent their transformations. I don’t know about everyone, but if you don’t know anything about Qi-Ge, you have no chance of saving that little girl! I know you think that little girl is strong, but Qi-Ge… Qi-Ge isn’t someone a kid can handle! Please, just let me go!”
“Ahhhhh!”
As Tang Hao’s body was hurled toward Xiao Bai’s razor-sharp claws once again, a chilling wave of despair consumed him. It was as if he were watching himself being tossed into a literal blender, helpless to stop it. But just as he was on the brink of passing out, a sudden, sharp pain ripped through his shoulder.
The agony snapped Tang Hao’s fading consciousness back into focus. He realized his arm had been grabbed mid-air, stopping his trajectory. What followed was the sensation of being flung to the ground like a ragdoll. As he lay sprawled on the floor, gasping like a fish out of water, he felt the panda’s massive paw slam down onto his almost-dead arm, pinning him to the ground.
Then, the youth named Ling Mo stepped forward, his fingers rubbing his temples lazily as he looked down at Tang Hao. A sardonic smile played on his lips.
“You want to tell me the method for transforming?” Ling Mo said with a cold chuckle. “Didn’t you just finish saying that ‘transformation’ is what’s doomed you all to such a miserable end? And now I’m supposed to believe you’re trying to help me?”
“Gah… Huff… Huff… No… I’m not lying to you,” Tang Hao stammered, gasping for air as he spoke frantically. “Sure, it’s not perfect yet… But if we could just get to the Rosen Company… and retrieve that…”
“Ah, now I see…” Ling Mo mused, a thoughtful expression crossing his face.
Surviving the ordeal, Tang Hao had a blank expression but still eagerly nodded, “Yes, if we can get our hands on that thing, we can use this transformation ability without any worries… With it, the human survival rate would significantly increase… You must be part of some major team, right? If you can retrieve this ability, I’m certain your status will…” ȑἁＮȮꞖƐȿ
At that moment, Ling Mo crouched down and smiled mischievously at Tang Hao, “At this point, why are you still thinking of using me?”
Tang Hao’s face suddenly changed, and Ling Mo continued, “But even without the fatal flaw you mentioned, I’m not interested in your leaky transformation ability. And if I’m not mistaken, only superhumans can use this power, right?”
Ling Mo glanced at Tang Hao’s muscles and clicked his tongue, “After the loss of blood and physical strength, your muscles return to their original state, which indicates you are an Enhancement ability superhuman, aren’t you? Your so-called transformation is just using some unknown method to greatly stimulate your potential for a short time, and then forcefully enhance the scope and intensity of the enhancement to a level close to that of higher-tier zombies… But that alone wouldn’t drive you all to madness…”
“The ‘advantage’ of this transformation ability,” Ling Mo said, “is that it allows you in a short time to come infinitely close to becoming a zombie, even nearly indistinguishable from one. Moreover, you have found some way to acquire some abilities of variation zombies during the transformation… In other words, your transformation involves using unknown stimuli to distort your own superhuman abilities…”
Pausing, Ling Mo pinched the bridge of his nose, “Based on the principle of the virus having a common origin, theoretically, this is possible. Simply put, it’s a distortion of superhuman abilities; more complexly, it involves mutating the virus within your body… Although I don’t know how you manage to maintain your sanity, any random alteration in the virus in a human body is bound to pose certain risks. The greater the change, the greater the risk… This is true for zombies as well. Retaining some human emotions leads to personality issues… But now, I understand how you and others like Fang Ying have managed to infiltrate and even survive within Rosen Company…”
At these words, Tang Hao’s body began to shake violently. He looked at Ling Mo in shock, stuttering, “How… how did you…”
Ling Mo, deep in thought, mused that this group, including Fang Ying, was like a magnified version of himself and Ye Lian… He had the virus, and Ye Lian and the others would eventually regain some human emotions… Could the symptoms this man represented be the future side effects they would encounter…