A second or two later, Xu Shuhan finally regained her composure with a shiver, while Ling Mo had already put his mobile phone back in his pocket. The two crouched in the black fog, falling silent for a moment.
Observing just one eye doesn’t reveal much, but a careful examination of the contours and details reveals the astonishing appearance of these monsters. First, they have no eyelids… and second, they are devoid of any hair. Not even eyebrows remain, making it hard to imagine what other hair could possibly still be on their bodies…
With their unique appearance, extreme speed, formidable killing power, and group behaviors, the most crucial point is that they all hide within this black fog. Ling Mo and the others not only suffer sensory impairments but even their basic breathing is restricted. The situation is dire…
For Ling Mo, the situation feels even worse. These monsters are different from the Centipede Men he had seen through the Zombie Puppets before. Although he initially thought they were similar, seeing this eye made him realize he was completely wrong. These monsters are clearly more evolved than the Centipede Men, and the level of danger is not even comparable. Just as Xia Na could drag a Centipede Man back with her Scythe, Ling Mo couldn’t easily capture one of these creatures.
These monsters can’t be temporarily suppressed with psychic interference either. Even if he could handle one, other monsters would quickly react. In fact, Ling Mo had already tried this during a counterattack. These creatures lack almost any form of thought process; they are purely biological weapons. Driven by their battle instincts, they are entirely loyal to their group behavior. As soon as one of them is attacked, the others immediately swarm in. Facing them in direct combat would almost certainly result in a low chance of victory.
“No, there must be a weakness,” Ling Mo suddenly said.
Xu Shuhan looked up and asked despondently, “What is it? From when they attacked to when we escaped. How long did that take? You’re quick to react; if you had hesitated even a moment, what would our fate be now?” She didn’t dare to think about it. The thought alone was frightening. But remembering that Yuwen Xuan’s fate was still unknown, she mustered her spirits and managed a weak smile at Ling Mo: “But we escaped, didn’t we? I think…”
“No, no, I mean it seriously,” Ling Mo said, frowning as he stood up and paced back and forth. “These creatures, could they be considered a kind of mutation creature? Just one year from being human to mutating into another form of life. Even Zombies have given up many things: emotions, memories, rationality… Sacrificing their brain to enhance their physical abilities, in a sense, isn’t that also a kind of evolutionary side effect? What the Senior Zombies do is to gradually alleviate this side effect.”
It’s alleviation, not elimination… At least for now, completely eliminating these negative effects seems almost impossible… But Ling Mo didn’t voice this thought because what he intended to do seemed utterly improbable to others. And regardless of whether others believed him or not, Ling Mo had already started to sense that he was gathering more and more clues…
He paused, then continued, “So, these Humanoid Monsters must be in a similar situation. In fact, their method of evolution is already full of flaws, and quite obvious ones at that. But these guys hiding in the black fog are really troublesome…”
Xu Shuhan suddenly appeared contemplative… Casterway is fast, but its behavioral patterns are simplistic; the ‘Giant God Warrior’ has high defensive capability and intelligence, and its transformation abilities are quite impressive, yet its attack power is problematic. What about these black fog monsters… What exactly is their issue? Intelligence? For these group-acting creatures, do they really need intelligence? They can overwhelm their opponents with sheer numbers…
“Wait! Maybe I’m thinking in the wrong direction…” Ling Mo quickly paced a few steps, pinching his brow, “Maybe it’s not a flaw, maybe it’s something more important…” After a few seconds of thought and recollection, he stopped in his tracks and suddenly turned to Xu Shuhan, “What was your most profound impression from that video just now?”
“Huh? That… ferocious? No, that’s not right… they don’t distinguish between friends and foes?” Xu Shuhan blurted out.
“That’s it!” Ling Mo exclaimed.
What does that mean? Xu Shuhan was confused. This trait merely seemed to enhance their ferocity, and it didn’t seem beneficial to them at all. In fact, it was even worse… This meant that all their strategies would hardly work because these monsters were indiscriminate.
But since he mentioned it, there must be a reason. While she was skeptical, Xu Shuhan couldn’t help but become curious and couldn’t resist asking, “What exactly did you think of?”
Ling Mo didn’t answer her directly but instead said, “Why did that ‘Giant God Warrior’ bring us here?”
“To feed those monsters?” Xu Shuhan guessed with a frown. It was an unsettling thought…
“I know what you’re thinking, but remember, was that ‘Giant God Warrior’ eaten?” Ling Mo spoke faster, “I think the real purpose and mission of that monster was just to bring us here, and then let those black fog monsters deal with us…”
Deal with… The image of a meat grinder suddenly popped into Xu Shuhan’s mind. According to Ling Mo’s words, the function of these black fog monsters was essentially no different from a meat grinder. They would kill the people brought to them… Realizing this, Xu Shuhan’s eyes suddenly widened. “It seems you’ve figured it out, yes, they kill the target, and then? Since they don’t eat themselves, who would the food be left for? It certainly wouldn’t be that ‘Giant God Warrior’ because it’s merely part of the serving process, think of it as procurement…” Ling Mo explained.
Xu Shuhan’s mouth twitched… Did he have to describe it so aptly? The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became… At this moment, she could almost imagine herself being plated…
However, the fact that she felt this way also indicated that Ling Mo’s speculation was very reasonable. If one thought about it even deeper, these monsters might also play an even more important role, which was also the reason for their evolution…
“The point is not this passage but the area behind the passage… They are acting as guards!” Xu Shuhan said excitedly. She finally understood the issue for once! And when she voiced this thought, she truly felt as though she had become human again… The thought process of a Zombie is really straightforward! And this had become an instinct! Thinking about it was truly overwhelming…
But amidst the excitement, Xu Shuhan couldn’t help but marvel silently. Ling Mo’s observational skills were indeed very strong… No matter the situation, he always noticed all the details, which was probably why he had survived among the Zombies for so long… In theory, everyone understands, but actually implementing it is quite difficult.
She was still silently praising him when Ling Mo suddenly nudged her shoulder and said with some satisfaction, “It wasn’t easy…”
Xu Shuhan fell silent for a second, then internally roared, “Go to hell!”
Of course, after his praise, Ling Mo continued, “And I have a feeling that Yuwen Xuan might be behind there too… So, I plan to cross that area and see what’s beyond this passage.” 𝖗𝓪ℕǑ𝖇ĚŞ
Cross it? Go and see?
“Are you crazy?” That was Xu Shuhan’s first reaction, and she shouted it out without hesitation, “You can’t just hold your nose and go through there! Once you’re discovered, you’re definitely dead!” She didn’t mention herself, for as a Zombie, she was much better at holding her breath than Ling Mo. That was the advantage of her kind.
“No, actually, now is the perfect time,” Ling Mo said with a slight smile.
“Ah…” As he said this, Xu Shuhan also calmed down, “You mean all those monsters are gone? That’s hard to confirm?”
“Even if they haven’t all left, their numbers have definitely decreased? And most importantly… we should go back and look at the ‘Giant God Warrior’s’ corpse…” Ling Mo said, his tone full of implication.