“What’s more important is that it’s such an embarrassing superpower…” Ling Mo finally spoke again after a few seconds of silence.
As for the issue of side effects, he couldn’t figure it out in the short term. Making a hasty conclusion based on Tang Hao’s and Fang Ying’s situations seemed too reckless as well. So even though he felt a bit uneasy, Ling Mo decided to set it aside for the time being.
“As long as Fang Ying’s corpse and those pieces of equipment are sent back, and the research is handed over to Old Lan, we should be able to discover something…” Ling Mo muttered as he thought to himself. This kind of thing was better left to the experts…
On the other hand, Tang Hao found the entire progression baffling. Just moments earlier, he had heard an analysis so precise it sent chills down his spine, and in the next second, Ling Mo suddenly said something so deadpan and absurd that it completely left him stunned. Almost instinctively, he blurted out, “That’s the most important thing to you?”
“Of course!” Ling Mo unexpectedly replied in a serious tone. “Take you, for example… At first glance, you’re like a terrifying version of an inflatable burly man. Dive a little deeper, and you’re basically a living exhibit for a giants’ museum! Your appearance… tsk tsk, it’s truly an eyesore.”
“A giants’ museum, fine… But how on earth did you even come up with something as horrifying as an inflatable burly man?” Tang Hao’s eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes narrowed almost into slits. After Ling Mo’s words sank in, he actually started to feel a bit embarrassed. Inflatable burly man? Just the thought of it sent chills down his spine, let alone having it used as a description for himself! However, as he regained his composure, Tang Hao’s expression turned graver, and he started to view this young man before him with even deeper apprehension.
This person was impossible to read! One moment, he seemed calm and analytical, and the next, he was effortlessly spouting nonsense with the utmost seriousness. This made it even harder for Tang Hao to grasp Ling Mo’s intentions. What exactly was this man after? The fact that Ling Mo hadn’t killed him yet meant there must be something on him-Tang Hao-that Ling Mo wanted. But at this point, even Tang Hao couldn’t figure out which of his words might hold sway over Ling Mo.
And not knowing what bargaining chips he held meant that negotiating with Ling Mo would be an uphill battle…
What disturbed Tang Hao the most was Ling Mo’s earlier analysis. It left Tang Hao with the unsettling feeling that all his secrets-from head to toe-had already been laid bare.
Completely on the defensive… Tang Hao’s heart sank deeper as he slowly realized just how formidable Ling Mo was. Finally, he shifted all his focus to one thing-his survival. From the way Ling Mo was staring at him, Tang Hao could sense a distinctly dangerous signal… If he continued harboring any other thoughts, his outcome would undoubtedly be… death.
Tang Hao did not want to die. The closer he came to these life-or-death moments, the more he feared death. If it weren’t for his overwhelming desire to survive, he would never have transformed himself into what he had become. His transformation was for survival, and his madness was for survival. To stay alive, he was willing to stop at nothing and do anything.
Before crossing paths with the mutation panda, he had been confident and brimming with strength. But now, he was like a beaten dog lying helplessly on the ground, begging his opponent for a way out…
Yet, as he himself had once admitted, once you began down this path, there was no turning back.
The stronger his fear of death grew, the more he feared Ling Mo. In the occasional glances Ling Mo shot his way, Tang Hao always felt as if Ling Mo was looking him over with a faint, mocking smile…
“He knows too much! Even though it wasn’t a perfect explanation, he’s pieced together about eighty or ninety percent of how my transformation works! And not just that… He seems to know quite a bit about the Rosen Company too. How much does he really know? If I try to withhold anything, will he notice?” Tang Hao’s heart pounded wildly in his chest. He suspected the chances were slim, but he didn’t dare risk it. Because if he guessed wrong, it would cost him his life…
Just then, Ling Mo moved a bit closer. Smiling, he said, “But compared to shame or appearance, what you care about more is staying alive, isn’t it?”
“Is that even a question…” Tang Hao replied weakly. A flicker of struggle flashed through his eyes before he finally slumped into complete defeat.
No bets. He couldn’t afford to gamble anymore…
“You only get one life! I’ve fought so hard to make it this far. And I’m just one step away from ultimate victory! I don’t want to die-I refuse to die! No matter what it takes, I must survive. I will survive…”
“So… I’m sorry! No matter what it takes, even if I have to betray everyone, I’ll do it. I’m different from all of you. I once had a wife and a child. After the disaster broke out, I was weak-I even tried to take my own life… But somehow, I survived! Maybe no one would believe me, but when I woke up after falling unconscious and managed to drag myself out of that alley, I felt utterly consumed by fear. On the street, those zombies were barely a hundred meters away. They were gathered below the apartment building where my family lived, ripping apart and devouring something madly… But I couldn’t bring myself to look. I was terrified that among those zombies, I’d recognize my wife or my child… I didn’t even know how I’d react if I had to face them after they discovered me!”
At first, Tang Hao spoke in a low, trembling voice, but as he continued, his words erupted in a halting, raw scream. His body trembled violently, and blood trickled from his mouth as his fragile condition worsened. If someone else had seen this scene, they might have assumed Tang Hao had completely lost his mind.
But through Tang Hao’s endless flow of tears, Ling Mo saw something different. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but before he could say anything, Tang Hao suddenly began laughing and crying at the same time.
“But I didn’t dare run away either! And the strangest thing was… even though I was scared to death, I couldn’t stop myself from watching them every single day. I thought, if I ever found them, I’d just die alongside them… When I think back on it now, I must’ve been out of my mind. Every day, I prepared-I set traps, made weapons, and observed the zombies’ movements. But it wasn’t to survive-it was only to kill them. Looking back, why was I doing all that? Even if they’d become zombies, wouldn’t there still be the day they regained their intelligence? No matter how bad things get, living on is the most basic instinct for any creature, isn’t it? And who knows? Compared to me, they might’ve been the lucky ones…” RäΝộ𐌱ΕＳ
Tang Hao’s shouting gradually softened as he calmed down. He let out two harsh coughs. Then, almost as if speaking to himself, he muttered, “You probably think I succeeded in the end, don’t you? Ha… The truth is, I couldn’t do it. Back then, I was just an ordinary man, my body buried under layers of fat from years of inactivity. There was no way I could’ve killed a zombie. But that wasn’t even the most important part. The real truth is, I didn’t dare to act. No matter how much I prepared, I just couldn’t do it. I was afraid of dying. I was terrified of facing them. And back then… I actually began to envy them. Yes, their mutated forms looked terrifying, but at least they didn’t feel fear. At least they didn’t have so many messy, useless thoughts clouding their minds…”
“Humans envying zombies-isn’t that unbelievable? But it wasn’t until I met Qi-Ge and the others that I realized there are actually a lot of ordinary people who think like me… However, Qi-Ge’s case was a little different. Maybe it wasn’t fear in his case-it was for the fun of it, perhaps… I once heard him say, ‘Being human is exhausting. Maybe being a zombie wouldn’t be so bad.’ And honestly, I thought what he said made a lot of sense…”
Slap!
Before Tang Hao could continue, a sharp, invisible force suddenly struck his face.
His words came to an abrupt halt, and he stared in shock at Ling Mo.
Ling Mo stood there in the same position, his hand unmoved, but it was clear that some unseen energy had delivered the blow.
What alarmed Tang Hao even more than the slap, though, was the sudden change in Ling Mo’s expression. His face had become cold and terrifyingly unyielding-much colder than anything Tang Hao had seen during their earlier fight.
“Does that sound fun to you?” Ling Mo asked in a chilling tone.
Without waiting for a response, Ling Mo pressed on, his voice razor-sharp: “Do you think zombies have it easy? Do you think they’re nothing more than mindless walking corpses who simply exist and do nothing else?”
Tang Hao reflexively wanted to nod, but as he looked into Ling Mo’s frigid gaze, his neck froze mid-motion.
‘Isn’t that true though?’ Tang Hao thought to himself. But something felt strangely off… Did Ling Mo think differently? Ah, that’s right-Ling Mo wasn’t an ordinary person. After all, he had a mutation beast by his side…
Even though Tang Hao didn’t know much about mutation beasts, he understood that their behaviors were essentially the same as zombies. But from his perspective, since even he was on the verge of becoming zombie-like himself, it wasn’t that far-fetched for someone like Ling Mo to tame a mutation beast. In fact, Tang Hao believed that if he eventually succeeded in his plans, he’d be able to do something similar as well…
Ling Mo, of course, had no idea what was going through Tang Hao’s head. He simply stared at him emotionlessly. Then, without warning, Ling Mo grabbed Tang Hao by the collar and yanked him up. In a low voice, he said, “You know nothing about zombies. People like you, who only have half-baked knowledge and shallow ideas, think you can become some fusion of humans and zombies? Ridiculous.”
Thud!
Ling Mo flung Tang Hao back to the ground as if discarding something worthless. He straightened his shirt with an air of nonchalance, his expression returning to its usual calm. Then, with a faint smirk tugging at his lips, he said, “You’ve been rattling on all this time just to make excuses for yourself, haven’t you? That’s fine. But no need to overcomplicate things. I have only a few simple questions.”
“I… you say…” Tang Hao stammered, still looking dazed. However, when he heard the last sentence Ling Mo said, he immediately snapped back to reality.
Sure enough, Ling Mo and his group were clearly well-prepared. The fact that they only asked a few questions indicated that they had already understood most of the situation…