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Chapter 693: Abnormal Behavior Patterns

The wide street outside the mall now exuded an overwhelming sense of desolation.

The street was clogged with abandoned cars, and signs of car accidents and even explosions were occasionally visible among them.

Through the dust-covered windows, one could see blood splatters inside the vehicles, and even some mangled bones.

Many zombies shuffled slowly through the gaps between these vehicles, their arms hanging limply, heads tilted at bizarre angles, mouths slightly agape. Their blood-red eyes seemed devoid of any spirit.

But the occasional flash of ferocity in their eyes reminded others that they were all dangerous beasts.

On the other side of the street, there was a park and greenbelt overgrown with wild gra.s.s.

The plants, once meticulously trimmed, now looked like monstrous creatures with clawing branches.

The branches were covered in thorns, and even the leaves had serrated edges…

Upon closer inspection, one could see a path temporarily cleared through the greenbelt next to the mall.

However, the trampled weeds quickly regained their vitality and were slowly starting to lift their heads again.

Soon, there would be no trace of anyone having pa.s.sed through.

Rustle, rustle…

Suddenly, the dense foliage parted, and a figure emerged from the greenbelt.

He had red eyes and stared blankly at the tracks on the gra.s.s.

Sniffing the air, the zombie’s gaze gradually lifted, finally resting on a nearby iron door.

The iron door was tightly shut, but there was a clear handprint on the door handle.

“Cluck, cluck…”

He opened his mouth and made a harsh sound.

It sounded like laughter, but it was extremely grating…

As this zombie slowly walked towards the iron door, in the bas.e.m.e.nt level of the mall, the little zombie under Ling Mo’s control continued to explore in the darkness.

“Click, click, click…”

In the darkness, faint sounds could be heard from time to time, as if something was hidden in every corner, whispering secrets.

The little zombie occasionally turned its head to look around. The red glows that were easily visible represented dozens, if not hundreds, of “kindred” that were also slowly moving on this floor.

“Roar!”

Suddenly, a roar echoed, followed by a series of m.u.f.fled thuds.

The scent of blood quickly spread, immediately causing a stir around.

The little zombie deftly leaped onto a table, then jumped behind another counter, hiding there.

The sounds of collision persisted, and the smell of blood became increasingly pungent.

The little zombie covered its nose with one hand, completely concealing its presence.

“What was that sound?” Xu Shuhan emerged from behind a shelf and asked.

“Shh, the zombies below,” Ling Mo pointed to the ground.

Xu Shuhan’s scalp tingled momentarily, but seeing Ling Mo’s calm demeanor, she gradually relaxed.

“Aren’t you used to this by now?” Xu Shuhan asked as she adjusted her clothes.

“Used to what?” Ling Mo retorted.

His Zombie Puppet was avoiding the temporary skirmish below. In such relatively enclosed environments, it was normal for zombies to fight each other. However, the fact that there were still so many zombies after all this time… it was unimaginable how many zombies must have been crammed in there when the disaster first struck.

Of course, the zombies’ extremely low energy consumption when not in combat was one reason for their sustained numbers.

And then there’s reproduction…

But he hadn’t found the source on the bas.e.m.e.nt floor, which surprised Ling Mo.

Logically, any strange occurrence would usually be found in such dark places.

Although zombies weren’t afraid of light, Senior Zombies often chose relatively enclosed s.p.a.ces as their short-term nests. They would only leave once there were no suitable prey around.

Wait a minute!

Ling Mo suddenly realized something.

According to records, enhanced zombies, meaning King level zombies, were supposed to appear in Cuihu City, but he encountered one in Xinlan Town.

Xinlan had plenty of suitable prey, but so did Cuihu City!

Moreover, the zombies in Cuihu City were of higher quality and greater in number.

In other words, they should taste better…

So why leave Cuihu City and head to Xinlan?

What caused this change in Cuihu City?

“Not afraid of zombies, huh.” Xu Shuhan’s words pulled Ling Mo out of his thoughts.

Ordinary people wouldn’t dare to leisurely change clothes knowing zombies were beneath their feet…

She even had a crazy thought: could Ling Mo have an immunity to the Virus?

If that were the case, any faction or powerful survivor who found out would definitely capture him.

Xu Shuhan suddenly understood the reason for Ling Mo’s deep concealment. Firstly, humans hated zombies, but secondly, Ling Mo himself was like a precious commodity…

“Of course I’m afraid, but for now, we’re within the safe zone,” Ling Mo said.

His Psychic Link could measure distance, and since his Zombie Puppet hadn’t discovered anything, as long as they didn’t alarm the zombies, they were safe.

Being able to mult.i.task to this extent was something Ling Mo had thoroughly trained himself to do.

If someone else tried it suddenly, they would probably go insane…

“Sure, sure, whatever you say.” Xu Shuhan shook her head.

She didn’t believe things were as simple as Ling Mo made them out to be. Just like how this floor was cleared so quickly—Mu Chen thought it was because Xia Na and Li Yalin were strong, but she knew it was because they were zombies.

Anyway, Ling Mo was now shrouded in mystery in her eyes, and for some reason, she found the scent on Ling Mo particularly appealing.

But when she tried to savor it, it didn’t smell like a zombie…

However, compared to Mu Chen’s scent, it was also different.

Though she didn’t want to admit it, Xu Shuhan indeed preferred staying close to Ling Mo.

“Forget it, if you don’t want to talk, I won’t ask. Besides… don’t worry.” Xu Shuhan suddenly said. “I won’t say anything to anyone.”

“Huh?” Ling Mo was taken aback. After a few seconds, he waved his hand dismissively, “You’re a zombie, where would you get the chance to tell anyone…”

“Hey…” Xu Shuhan was speechless. At least show some grat.i.tude for her promise to keep quiet!

And… can’t you be a bit more tactful?

“If you were the kind of person who would blab, I wouldn’t have saved you,” Ling Mo added.

Xu Shuhan sighed. Was he complimenting her, or praising his own ability to judge people?

“I just feel like something’s off here,” Ling Mo suddenly changed the topic.

“Hmm?” Xu Shuhan didn’t catch on immediately.

“It’s too quiet,” Ling Mo continued.

“Quiet?” Xu Shuhan’s eye twitched. How was it quiet? The bas.e.m.e.nt was in chaos.

Even though there was a floor between them, she could still hear faint noises. It was obvious that things were pretty intense down there.

“Yeah, you see, even though it’s chaotic downstairs, the scale isn’t that big,” Ling Mo said with a frown.

Xu Shuhan stared at the floor. She couldn’t see through the thick layer to gauge any “scale” and had no idea how Ling Mo knew…

“Anyway, once we’ve replenished our supplies, let’s get out of here,” Xu Shuhan said, uneasily lifting her head.

The thought of zombies below gave her the creeps.

This feeling was hard to control. Just because she was mutating didn’t mean she suddenly felt indifferent about zombies.

After all, she hadn’t fully transformed yet…

“Alright.” Ling Mo still felt uneasy but didn’t want to waste time here either.

If he couldn’t find anything, he’d have to accept that he was just being paranoid…

But the sense of unease was so strong that Ling Mo even felt his Psychic Fluctuations becoming odd.

It was like he sensed some threat or was excited by some stimulus.

Most importantly, he could feel the suppressed rage inside him subtly resurfacing…

This feeling usually only emerged when he was enhancing himself alongside the female zombies or when he was thoroughly provoked.

So why was it surfacing now out of nowhere…?

To put it more mystically, Ling Mo felt like something was attracting him.

When he said the scale wasn’t big, he had a basis for it. The little zombie peered out from behind the shelves and could clearly see a dozen zombies pouncing on and devouring another zombie.

Based on the scent of blood, the Virus concentration in that zombie was low, even lower than that of a typical zombie.

In a zombie horde, such weaklings are naturally marked for elimination.

What’s strange is, in this scenario, zombies on this floor would usually crowd around.

Then, due to unequal feeding, more zombies would start fighting, and the newly emerged weakest zombies would likely become the next victims.

Though many would die, the zombies that got a chance to evolve would increase.

Zombie hordes improve overall through such fierce compet.i.tion.

The powerful zombies emerge bit by bit in this process.

But here, zombies farther away, seeing the body already surrounded, didn’t come over…

It was the same when Ling Mo and his group first encountered zombies…

In such a situation, they could completely abandon the body of an ordinary fellow.

And when the Big Guy was taken down, not all the zombies swarmed over.

These zombies’ behavioral patterns… were indeed a bit odd.

Wouldn’t their evolution be slow this way?

This doesn’t fit the characteristics the Virus gave them…

Seeing the distant zombies never intended to crowd over, the little zombie slowly came out again.

They had almost searched the entire bas.e.m.e.nt; the sense of unease was always nearby, but when they actually looked, they found nothing…

This situation was really a first…

“Creak…”

The tightly closed iron door was slowly being pulled open, and a pair of red eyes suddenly peered through the crack, staring straight inside.

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