The reason Yu Shiran and Black Silk’s stamina had been depleted so drastically was obviously closely related to the combat strategy they were using. Especially for Black Silk, the physical strain she had to endure was even greater. On the other hand, their choice to avoid engaging Butterfly on the ground also indirectly revealed a fact-
Butterfly… was very powerful!
As for just how powerful he truly was, Ling Mo still wasn’t sure. But after realizing this, Ling Mo had already started to remain highly vigilant.
“You mentioned before that his superpower is essentially about transforming from a chrysalis to a butterfly, right?” Ling Mo asked as he took a step back, his eyes fixed intently on Butterfly.
Tang Hao’s pained cries had grown fainter, but judging from the blood he was continuously spitting out, it was clear that the shaking he just endured wasn’t only causing him pain-it was far worse. Hearing Ling Mo’s question, Tang Hao froze for a moment before answering nervously, “Y-yes!”
Oh, please stop shaking! Tang Hao silently wailed in his heart.
This youth was ruthless, and this panda was just too cooperative! At this moment, Tang Hao’s hatred for Ling Mo had lessened somewhat. Instead, he found himself silently defining Xiao Bai in his mind: Ling Mo’s sycophant! Without even needing eye contact, it could perfectly understand its master’s intentions… does being a pet really require this level of professionalism?
“Explain it in simple terms.” Ling Mo said.
Tang Hao glanced at Butterfly with a guilty expression. After hesitating for a moment, he spoke softly, “We’ve already missed the chrysalis stage in his transformation, but I can still reconstruct an approximate image of what might have happened… Basically, no matter what kind of attack he sustained, as long as it caused some kind of significant stimulation to Qi-Ge, it might trigger his chrysalis phase. If it’s something like a near-fatal injury, then it would definitely lead to the chrysalis state.”
“The so-called chrysalis stage… is essentially a process where his body is being restructured. Um… if I just say ‘restructured,’ you might not fully understand. But if you look at it in the context of his own situation, it’ll make more sense.” Tang Hao’s explanation was fairly detailed, though his occasional complex expressions hinted that his inner feelings were still profoundly conflicted.
At moments like this, Xiao Bai would remain silent and lean its enormous head down, softly exhaling warm breaths on the back of Tang Hao’s neck. Although Xiao Bai’s appearance was generally quite endearingly clumsy, just the thought of that bloodthirsty mutation beast’s maw right behind his head made Tang Hao utterly lose his composure.
“Ahhhh!! Survival comes first! At a time like this, we can only take it one step at a time!”
Tang Hao’s nature was undeniably quite timid…
“He can adjust his vocal cords, and maybe even restructure parts of his body. Do you think… is it possible he could adjust his internal organs? Like, relocating them or something…” As Tang Hao said this, his tone became rather strange, and after finishing, he quickly added, “This is just my analysis…”
“Whether it’s analysis or fact, I can judge for myself,” Ling Mo replied with a faint, knowing smile as he glanced at Tang Hao.
As soon as Tang Hao caught Ling Mo’s gaze, his heart skipped a beat.
“Alright, stop wasting your time trying to absolve yourself. I think I have a general understanding of the concept of transforming from a chrysalis. Put simply, it’s a way to avoid fatal injuries, right? But since there’s still a step where he becomes a butterfly, it probably means he’ll undergo another significant change after his body restructures, correct?” Ling Mo asked.
“Well… yeah.” Tang Hao was feeling a bit frustrated. How could this person’s deductions be so spot on? If not for Ling Mo’s age being so obviously off, he might have suspected this youth was some kind of biology or virology expert in a past life…
Of course, if Ling Mo knew what Tang Hao was thinking, he’d probably find it laughable and exasperating. Living among zombies for a year had naturally made his fundamental knowledge stronger than that of most people! But the price he paid to gain that knowledge was not something an ordinary person could endure. ℝ𝓪₦ＯꞖ̧
“Why do you think I worked to strengthen my body? Zombie girls aren’t something normal men can handle! Dying from… overexertion isn’t just some joke! Not to mention the constant risk of infection! Happy or not, they’ll eagerly charge at you and take a bite! And sometimes, they even target… well, certain protruding parts of the body! Sure, they never actually bit, but still, it’s enough to give anyone a scare, right? But through all that, I eventually got used to it, and now I can keep a straight face even when using the restroom…”
…Of course, these words remained unsaid by Tang Hao, and Ling Mo kept the same bittersweet reflections buried in his own heart.
“This kind of transformation… it’s the first time I’ve seen it…” Tang Hao started, but then he recalled Ling Mo’s earlier gaze and hurriedly corrected himself, “I mean, I’ve never seen him transform in this way before. Prior to this, his tattoos had never turned blood-red.”
Tang Hao sighed and said, “I’m not entirely sure what a blood-red Butterfly signifies, but if you think about it carefully, it might be a sign of him going all out, maybe even overexerting himself. Under normal circumstances, when he enters his butterfly form, his resistance to attacks and speed are nearly double what they are in his regular state, and his combat capabilities improve accordingly. You’ve probably noticed too- this transformation triggered by a crisis is essentially the prototype for my own transformation ability. In essence, it’s just a straightforward reaction to external stimuli. The more severe the damage he sustains, the more active the virus in his body becomes, and his cellular regeneration rate goes up. It’s kind of like how adrenaline works. But just like when too much adrenaline can kill a person, the virus works in a similar way. Granted, it won’t outright kill him… but once a mutation occurs, it’s not much different from erasing the person he used to be.”
As Tang Hao spoke, he suddenly noticed Ling Mo staring at him coldly. That piercing gaze made his heart skip a beat, and almost instantly, a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
“What’s up with this guy… His reaction seems way too intense every time I bring up zombies. Right… he’s got a mutation beast with him… So does that mean… this guy has some kind of peculiar fetish?” Tang Hao glanced again at Yu Shiran, who was hanging from the apartment building. A certain malicious thought crept into his mind. “Mutation beasts, little girls… This isn’t just your run-of-the-mill perversion…”
As for what Butterfly had said earlier, Tang Hao had been too shocked to register any of it.
“Xiao Bai, take him aside. If there’s even a hint of falsehood in the information you just shared…” Ling Mo left the rest of his sentence unfinished as he began striding forward. There had been some distance between him and the open space where Butterfly was standing, but now he was slowly closing the gap.
Tang Hao shivered immediately. Before he could respond, Xiao Bai let out a soft “MeGu” sound and, with one paw, grabbed Tang Hao and dragged him backward.
“Troublesome… Looks like it’s two against three now,” Butterfly said casually, his face still adorned with a faint smile as he kept his gaze fixed on Yu Shiran. After noticing Ling Mo’s approach, he raised his tattoo-covered arm and pointed lazily at both Yu Shiran and Ling Mo.
At first glance, his words seemed harmless. But Ling Mo’s expression darkened instantly. He furrowed his brows, and his pupils narrowed ever so slightly.
“Two against three…. The ‘two’ is obviously referring to himself, but as for the ‘three’…”
“He even detected Black Silk’s presence… And the zombie aura on this guy… it’s incredibly strong!” Ling Mo thought to himself, his guard rising further as he fixed a sharp gaze on Butterfly.
If the zombie aura emanating from Tang Hao at most equaled that of an Advanced Zombie, then this Butterfly was undoubtedly an Leader-Level Zombie that had undergone some kind of variation…
The strangest part was how, despite his clearly apparent weakness, the danger and coldness radiating from him hadn’t diminished in the slightest. If anything, it seemed to intensify after he caught sight of Ling Mo, as if his presence alone was fueling Butterfly’s aura.
In other words, while he appeared unprepared, his body was already eagerly anticipating the impending battle…
“And there’s something else-within his body, there are two distinct souls… Judging from what I just observed, it doesn’t seem as simple as mere split personality disorder. It genuinely feels like there’s another person living inside him. The personalities are completely distinct. This is fundamentally different from Xia Na. Nana and Black Na’s split, at its core, still shares a common foundation. Their differences are more of a divergence in personality traits, rather than two entirely separate existences. But this man…”
As Ling Mo continued to study him closely, Butterfly suddenly turned his gaze toward him. With a smile blooming across his face, Butterfly gently caressed his cheek and, in a lilting feminine voice, said, “You’ve got a strange scent on you too…”