“I don’t know why, but hearing you say that makes me inexplicably furious…” Butterfly’s body at this moment looked as if it had multiple fractures, constantly twisting into extremely contorted positions. Yet during this process, faint “click, click, click” sounds kept emanating from all over his body.
Tang Hao, standing to the side, immediately cried out in shock, “Could it be a secondary reassembly?”
“The cocooning process?” Ling Mo’s heart skipped a beat.
Logically speaking, this would be the best opportunity to attack. However, instinct stopped Ling Mo from making a move. For Butterfly to dare to reassemble his body at a time like this, he must have been prepared. Acting rashly wouldn’t likely harm him; worse, it might even create additional trouble for Ling Mo.
“Of course!” Ling Mo quickly realized. “It’s external stimulation! Butterfly’s reassembly is just like Tang Hao’s transformation-they both require a strong external trigger. The death crisis Yu Shiran created for him earlier was the catalyst for his first reassembly. If I attack now, would I inadvertently be aiding him instead?”
As hesitation flickered across Ling Mo’s face, Butterfly suddenly let out a sharp cry, his arms swinging wide before he abruptly wrapped them tightly around himself. His feet lifted onto tiptoes, and his head tilted back as though he were about to take flight. However, Ling Mo noticed something peculiar occurring on Butterfly’s chest, where his arms were crossed and clutching tightly-a disturbing transformation seemed to be underway.
“It really looks like something is emerging…” A chill ran up Ling Mo’s spine. While Butterfly may belong to the mutation system, could someone who has changed this much even be considered human anymore?
Superhumans possess a variety of unique abilities, but at their core, they remain within the bounds of humanity. At most, they’re just individuals with an innate, combat-oriented gift. Yet Tang Hao and Butterfly were different-they were outliers, edging closer and closer to becoming variation zombies, deviating further from the human species with every passing moment.
“Even though zombies and humans share a common origin… doing what they’re doing… Yes, Tang Hao even admitted it-they face repercussions far more debilitating than those seen in zombies. Those who become zombies directly through infection still have a chance of regaining their sanity over time through gradual evolution. But these people? They don’t stand a chance…”
Although Ling Mo wasn’t entirely sure what kind of method these people had adopted, one thing was certain-it was unlike any mutation process he had ever encountered. He vaguely sensed that perhaps this method was somehow connected to Fang Ying, that Progenitor Zombie he had encountered before…
Watching Butterfly undergoing reassembly, Ling Mo no longer hesitated.
As long as he avoided directly attacking Butterfly’s body, it should be fine… It was worth a try, at least!
At the very same moment Ling Mo was about to make his move, Yu Shiran, who had been floating in the air, landed gracefully on the ground. Her expression was odd as she looked at Ling Mo. The Zombie Loli’s eyes held a trace of confusion, and her tightly pursed lips made her seem somewhat conflicted.
“Even if I am a zombie, how can I let someone else snatch my prey halfway through a fight…” Yu Shiran muttered to herself in a rather serious tone. But then she shook her head vigorously, as if dispelling the thought. “No, no! I have to follow the Sausage Human’s instructions!”
The silver thread that had been trailing on the ground slowly retracted back around her neck. Sensing Black Silk’s movements, Yu Shiran immediately reached out her small hand to stroke it. She tilted her head as though listening intently, then nodded. “Alright, got it.”
The next moment, the Zombie Loli cupped her hands around her mouth as if making a microphone, took a deep breath, and shouted, “Sausage Humans, help me kill her!”
After shouting, Yu Shiran seemed satisfied as she lowered her hands. Turning around, she walked away while muttering quietly, “Hehe, how was that?… Hmph, what Black Silk suggested was too long-I couldn’t be bothered to say all that! This will do. I think he won’t lose anyway.”
“Huh? Why do I think that? Well… because… I couldn’t beat him, so… um, um! I don’t know! That’s just how it is!” By the time she reached the end of her ramble, Yu Shiran had lowered her head, her voice almost inaudible. Frustrated, she let out a couple of angry grumbles, though it was unclear whether she was mad at Black Silk or herself.
Finally, Yu Shiran turned her head and glared fiercely at Ling Mo. Then her figure abruptly shot forward and vanished in the blink of an eye.
Left behind, Ling Mo stood frozen in place with a dumbfounded expression. At the same time, he couldn’t help but process the Zombie Loli’s parting look with some annoyance. “Was that her way of warning me to make sure I kill Butterfly? I didn’t expect this silly Loli to be so determined… although her methods are a bit too violent.”
“Swish!”
As Ling Mo’s gaze suddenly focused, a psychic tentacle shot out like a lightning bolt.
The invisible mental energy condensed into a semi-translucent crimson thread, radiating strong psychic fluctuations as it darted rapidly from Ling Mo toward the cocooning Butterfly. 𝘳ÃŊÖВËŚ
However, at that exact moment, Butterfly’s eyes snapped open. His glowing red right eye rotated within its socket, locking directly onto the oncoming Tentacle.
“He can sense it?” Ling Mo’s pupils contracted sharply. While he couldn’t perceive anything visually through the Tentacle, it was still an extension tightly connected to his consciousness. When Butterfly “stared” at the Tentacle, Ling Mo, as the main body, immediately felt an unsettling sensation-as if he himself were being watched.
That gaze… “How should I put it…? Just moments ago, Butterfly already seemed crazy, but that was limited to his outward appearance. And though he’s split into two distinct personas, he’s still using the same body. At most, his demeanor felt dissonant, but it never gave off anything like what I’m feeling now…”
Yet now, Butterfly felt like two entirely different people. His right eye was completely unfamiliar-nothing like what Ling Mo had seen before!
“Heh heh…”
Butterfly suddenly chuckled. The sound emanating from his throat was eerily reminiscent of when Xiao Yue Er, his previous Host Body, had spoken. It sounded as though two voices overlapped, speaking simultaneously. However, this unnerving impression dissipated almost immediately as Butterfly’s arm… lowered.
Not just his arm-his head tilted back to its proper position, aligning naturally as he straightened upright. With this movement, Butterfly’s entire form was fully revealed to Ling Mo.
The massive butterfly tattoo that had once decorated only part of Butterfly’s face now completely engulfed it. His eyes appeared as patterns on its wings, while the bridge of his nose formed the butterfly’s body. His slightly parted lips, which curved into a faint, eerie smile, lent the massive tattoo an unnerving and sinister quality. Most disturbing of all, the butterfly’s coloration had changed. One side of it remained an intense, blood-red hue, while the other half had turned an ominous shade of blackish green. His entire body was adorned with similar butterfly patterns; again, only one side retained the crimson tone, while the other side mirrored the darkened transformation.
The stark contrast between red and black made it difficult to focus on Butterfly’s other changes upon first glance. But there were notable differences… The red half of his body seemed visibly softer, almost delicate. The most striking transformation, however, lay… in his chest!
Though its combat potential appeared negligible at best, the fact remained-it was undeniably a chest! A real chest!
With the addition of this chest, and by selectively ignoring the black side of his body… Butterfly truly appeared as a woman!
This “woman” wore an expression of mischievous playfulness. Yet anyone who looked closer would see the venom and cruelty hidden within her gaze.
And as for the blackened half…
“Hmm, just a crazed siscon.” Ling Mo swiftly arrived at his conclusion.
A devilish younger sister paired with a maniacally overprotective brother… “What a terrifying combination!”
As for why the “younger sister” seemed so underdeveloped… “It must be because the reassembly process isn’t fully complete yet, right? Otherwise, just judging by her face, she should obviously have been given a larger chest! This just doesn’t match at all! Even Xia Na’s… Uh, forget ‘less than five,’ this is clearly a ‘level three’ at best…” Ling Mo made a quick visual assessment before shaking his head vigorously. “Wait, stop focusing on this pointless issue already!”
“Heh heh… Coming at me so harshly right from the start? Didn’t you say we should take this slow and enjoy ourselves? But let me correct you in advance… It’s not us playing with you. You’re the one being played with by us.” Butterfly let out a low chuckle, and in that instant, the red side of his body suddenly shifted with a violent tremor.
He dodged!
However, the Tentacle was controlled by Ling Mo’s psychic power, and at the very moment Butterfly evaded it, Ling Mo immediately directed it to whip around and strike again.
“Try dodging this, huh?” With a casual wave of his hand, Ling Mo unleashed even more Tentacles, sending them hurtling toward Butterfly in wild pursuit…