Creak…
The air inside the sewer was extremely murky, especially the sensation of stepping into the silt, which was immensely torturous… A mix of rotting and foul odors continually surged up from below, and each step felt like sinking deeper.
As they progressed, Ling Mo constantly surveyed his surroundings, but the more he observed, the more his scalp tingled. Not just the ground, but the concrete walls on both sides also bore strange marks, which at first glance seemed like mold or moss, but upon closer inspection, turned out to be a mix of flesh and mucus… Even the walls were like this, not to mention the composition of the silt…
Despite the disgust, choosing this path meant they hadn’t encountered any more Centipede Men. Not only that, the sewer was almost eerily silent, a completely different world compared to the outside.
Before long, Ling Mo already had a sense of endlessness. The unchanging environment and oppressive atmosphere fully demonstrated that this was no place for humans to thrive.
Especially after recalling what Xia Na had said, Ling Mo felt even more like this was another space. A hidden, perilous, fear-filled place beneath the city.
“Zombies are no longer the only monsters…” Ling Mo silently repeated to himself, recalling the expression on Xia Na’s face when she said these words… He rarely saw such an expression on Xia Na’s face… It was complex, mixed with both zombie and human emotions, seemingly a bit relieved, yet somewhat joyful…
“Like having new kin? No… More like a sense of no longer being alone…”
Perhaps for Xia Na, these underground creatures represented the same curiosity humans once had about extraterrestrial beings. Not just extraterrestrial beings, but also those anthropomorphized story protagonists… Their frequent appearance in human fantasies and expectations might also be due to the loneliness of the human community…
What would it be like if there were other advanced life forms like oneself in this world… Recalling this, Ling Mo suddenly realized that he had also indulged in such wild thoughts.
But the appearance of zombies shattered these fantasies. The emergence of a new species brought about humanity’s brink of extinction…
“The humans who think about this topic now might not be many…” Ling Mo sighed to himself.
In the current environment, countless people were praying for the disappearance of zombies… New species. This was simply a disaster… To put it bluntly, it was a battle between two species for resources, but if you delve deeper, it was a collision between two civilizations… Humanity was being crushed, yet it still existed. Zombies were widespread globally, yet those who had truly evolved to an advanced stage were also very limited…
“But why don’t zombies think this way? The attitude of these Centipede Men towards zombies is also pretty clear… Food, and moreover, the kind that’s farmed. If the entire underground is theirs, then sooner or later, they will also develop to the surface…” Ling Mo thought with a headache.
Humans, zombies, underground creatures, mutation beasts… This was all he knew so far. But who knows what other new monsters might be emerging elsewhere?
Survival was hard not just for humans but for other species too. This was truly an era of “compete or die”…
“Ling Mo, look.”
Li Yalin suddenly stopped. She pointed towards a corner not far away and spoke softly.
Following her direction, Ling Mo immediately saw a concrete tunnel.
“It leads to another building, I guess…” Ling Mo speculated.
The one they had passed through earlier was probably Rosen Company’s drainage pipe…
However, after a closer look, Ling Mo noticed something off, which probably was the real reason it caught Li Yalin’s attention…
At the edge of the concrete tunnel, it seemed like a hand was sticking out…
“I’ll go check.”
Ling Mo quickened his pace, stepping through the silt.
Seeing him move quickly, Li Yalin and Xia Na also curiously approached.
All three seemed somewhat expectant, but uniquely unflustered… Clearly, this couldn’t be any living creature. The hand didn’t look like it belonged to a Centipede Man, and if it were a zombie, it wouldn’t just lie there quietly. ṟἈΝ𝐎𝐁Εŝ
“It’s a corpse.” Ling Mo had just reached the front of the concrete tunnel and glanced inside before speaking.
The corpse looked like it had been there a long time, its head bizarrely twisted, a pair of hollow eyes staring straight at Ling Mo. Even though his face was badly disfigured, it was still possible to tell from his teeth that he was once human…
“It hasn’t completely decomposed yet…” Ling Mo stared at his shriveled hand and said.
“Because all the blood has been drained, and also the temperature here is very low…” Xia Na analyzed.
“But since there’s a corpse here, it definitely means there are those creatures active nearby…” Ling Mo looked around.
Xia Na also turned her head to look around for a few moments, then turned her gaze back to the corpse.
“How would one normally drag a body?” Xia Na suddenly muttered.
“By the hands!” Li Yalin quickly answered.
While Ling Mo looked at the corpse and thought for a moment, then said, “From the perspective of making it easier for oneself to move, it should be by the feet… Oh!” Ling Mo said this and suddenly showed a look of realization, “Could it be…”
“Exactly!” Xia Na softly snapped her fingers and said, “The body must have been dragged in here, that’s why the hands got stuck at the edge. And thinking back, the group of monsters we encountered before also lived beneath Rosen Company, which means these creatures probably don’t stay in these passages but go to more enclosed spaces…”
Saying this, Xia Na looked expectantly towards the concrete tunnel: “Which means, there’s a group inside here too… Ling-Ge,” she looked up at Ling Mo, “Shall we go in?”
He didn’t really want to go in… But leaving just like that felt somewhat unsatisfying…
“Ling-Ge, I want to confirm more.” Xia Na said somewhat coquettishly, “Is that okay?”
“Confirm what?”
“Whether Humanoid Monsters are a single species.” Xia Na tilted her head.
“Single… Right!”
Humans already had superhumans, zombies had distinctions between Advanced and Low-Level, as well as common zombies and variation zombies. What about underground creatures?
Being able to deepen their understanding of them a day earlier could help find prevention methods sooner… At least before they emerge from underground, there should be means to handle them on the surface!
“I’ll do it.”
Ling Mo turned away and stepped forward, grabbing the corpse’s clothing.
“Sorry…”
After muttering, he forcefully pulled down the body.
Most of the corpse’s body was already gone, so when it came out of the tunnel, it didn’t fall into the silt but was barely held up by Ling Mo. He found a relatively flat place to lay it down and also took out several broken bones scattered in the tunnel and placed them next to the corpse.
Xia Na and Li Yalin silently watched this scene until Ling Mo was completely done, then looked towards the tunnel.
“Can you smell anything?” Ling Mo asked.
Li Yalin shook her head: “Feels like there’s nothing on that side.”
“That’s right, it means there’s only mucus there.” Ling Mo cautiously looked deeper, but apart from a hazy view, there was nothing visible.
“I’ll go first.”
He moved his body a bit, then climbed in first.
However, just as he entered the concrete tunnel, he suddenly heard Xia Na ask, “Ling-Ge, what were you just thinking?”
“Ah?” Ling Mo half-knelt in the tunnel, turning his head around with some difficulty.
“You seem preoccupied.” Xia Na said.
She also climbed into the tunnel, her red eyes flickering dimly, staring deeply at Ling Mo.
Not sure if it was an illusion, Ling Mo suddenly noticed her black eyes had also turned into a profound gemstone, seemingly constantly reflecting light, dazzling anyone who looked directly.
Although this sensation was fleeting, it made Ling Mo pause for a moment.
Seeing Ling Mo not answering, Xia Na smiled slightly and said, “Actually, you don’t have to say it, I can feel it. Are you worried? About these Humanoid Monsters? But that’s understandable, Ling-Ge, you’ve always been worried about us, even this time. Even though it’s about fighting zombies, you didn’t let us directly participate…”
“Right, I still haven’t settled this…”
“Are we that weak?” Xia Na suddenly asked.
Ling Mo paused, then smiled wryly: “Of course not… The Progenitor Zombie was killed by Ye Lian, the other two Advanced Zombies were taken care of by Senior Sister and me together, and Xia Na, you also quietly found this place…”
“Cough cough… Your compliments won’t make me happy…” Xia Na rolled her eyes and awkwardly touched her Hair, then said somewhat awkwardly, “I didn’t mean that… How should I put it…” She bit her lip and thought for a moment, then said, “Anyway, we’re different from other zombies! We have a human protecting us! If you think about it from another perspective, Ling-Ge, you’re also different from others because you have… Ye Lian, Yalin… around you… So there’s really no need to worry, just surviving together is enough… Having new species doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad thing…”
Her voice became softer and softer, then suddenly, under Ling Mo’s gaze, she grabbed the Scythe and thrust it forward, “I hate this, hurry up and get out! It smells so bad!”
“Damn… Who insisted on talking here! Isn’t that unreasonable…”
“Stupid humans… Have you ever seen a reasonable zombie?”
“What are you guys doing, I want to go in too…” Li Yalin’s voice weakly came from behind…