Chapter 90: This is Evolution?
“Gulp—”
The mutated zombie swallowed the green “goo.” Alian could even see what it was.
Wei’s head, not yet fully dissolved, sliding down the translucent esophagus, reaching the zombie’s stomach, dissolving, becoming a part of it.
Like a game of Snake.
“Motherfucker…” A wave of rage washed over Alian, the zombie’s casual, almost mocking act of consumption igniting her fury.
Fueled by the “stamps” and her desire for revenge, her heart pounded, her eyes bloodshot.
Ignoring the three vials she had already consumed, she ripped open her waist pouch, grabbed the remaining seven or eight vials, and poured them into her mouth.
“Crack—Crack, crack—”
The bones in her body snapped and reformed, her form shifting constantly as the different bone powders battled for dominance, each vying for control over her mutation.
Her frenzied transformation forced the caterpillar-like zombie to take her seriously.
It turned to face her, its thin bone spikes supporting its fleshy body as it crawled out from under the car.
“RAAAAAH—”
Seeing the approaching zombie, Alian clenched her fists, the skin on her hands tearing, revealing the grayish scales beneath.
“Boom—”
She slammed her fists together into the hood of the SUV.
The force of the impact shattered the axles, the vehicle splitting in two, the front half crushing the caterpillar zombie.
“Gurgle—”
A squelching sound from beneath the wreckage, green fluid splattering onto Alian’s feet.
And then the fluid began to sizzle.
It was corroding her skin.
Even her scales couldn’t protect her. A normal person would have retreated from the pain.
But Alian, consumed by rage, her body swelling, bone spikes erupting from her joints, a pair of bull-like horns sprouting from her head, didn’t flinch.
She bent down, gripped the front bumper of the car, and, with a mighty heave, lifted it.
The two-ton SUV flipped over, revealing the crushed zombie beneath.
Ignoring the green blood, she reached for the zombie’s head.
The crushed zombie, its body riddled with bullet holes, couldn’t stand.
As Alian grabbed its jaws, pulling them apart, the zombie, sensing the danger, thrashed, its body coiling around her like a snake.
“Sizzle…”
The zombie, its dissolving body twisting and writhing, tried to melt through her neck.
But Alian, oblivious to the danger, roared, drool dripping from her distorted, blackened mouth.
“Crack—Crack, crack—”
Consumed by madness, her strength increased. She tore at the zombie’s recently regenerated jaw, ripping it open.
A desperate struggle, a battle to the death. Either she would be burned through, her body severed, or it would be decapitated, its brains splattered.
The zombie’s body had completely coiled around Alian’s scaled and increasingly hairy neck.
And Alian’s hands, having ripped off the zombie’s lower jaw, gripped the upper jaw and pulled.
“Crack—”
A crack appeared in the zombie’s skull, between its teeth and its nose, spreading towards its forehead as Alian pulled harder.
If the crack reached the top of its head, the skull would split open like a Poké Ball, revealing the brain within.
“Gasp—”
Just as the crack was about to reach the top, Alian choked, her legs giving way, and she fell to her knees.
On the verge of victory, the flesh, scales, and fur on the back of her neck had been burned through, the green blood seeping into her spine, creating charred holes.
“Thump, thump, thump—”
“Boom—”
The other Voodoo Cult members were still fighting the growing horde, the gunfire and explosions fueling their adrenaline; no one noticed what was happening behind them.
Even if they had, it would have been too late.
Alian’s body had been dragged under the SUV by the zombie head, her grotesque, inhuman form oozing blood crystals from its neck.
The blood, pooling on the ground, the crystals fusing together, forming blood crystal stones.
Three blood crystals materialized in front of the dying zombie, their surfaces cloudy and dark, as if aged for centuries.
The mutated zombie, with effort, moved its head, its jaw touching the blood crystals, the blood and mucus on the ground clinging to it.
The blood crystals melted upon contact, seeping into its skin, rapidly rebuilding its body.
Having consumed two human blood crystals, it could now evolve towards a human form.
Reverting to its Hunter form would have been more efficient.
But after a moment of hesitation, it chose the human path.
Its newly formed bones, organs, skin color, and overall shape were all shifting towards a human form.
To impress a certain someone.
The fusion of two devouring abilities had given it an incredible regeneration rate.
Within ten seconds, its skeleton and internal organs had regenerated, and muscle was forming.
Ten seconds later, it could breathe again, its heart beating, like a skinless anatomical model, lying on the ground, gasping for air.
Its grotesque head also began to reshape itself, becoming more human.
Compared to its initial Hunter form, this was a regression, but compared to its recent insect form, it was an evolution.
And most importantly, its core ability had fused with Alian’s, creating a new, evolved ability.
“Hoo—”
Another ten seconds, and the mutated zombie, lying under the SUV, exhaled deeply, as if clearing its lungs.
And then it didn’t inhale again.
Long, golden hair sprouted from its bald head, falling around it, the soft strands matted with blood.
“Rustle—Rustle—”
It slowly crawled out from under the car, its crimson eyes fixed on the Voodoo Cult warriors fighting the horde, their backs to it.
Small, yellowish scales spread from its chest, covering the most vulnerable parts of its body.
And its right hand slowly rose, green and red veins intertwined, the stark contrast unsettling.
“Shhh—”
The veins pulsed beneath its skin, and a long, sharp bone blade, almost as long as its arm, erupted from its hand, the bone slicing through the flesh, as if replacing its hand with a crescent-shaped blade.
If Lin Jiayao could have seen this, she would have exclaimed, “Holy shit! An A-rank!”
It tilted its head, flexed its shoulders, getting used to its new body.
Looking at the backs of the Voodoo Cult members, it crouched down, its left hand forward, the curved blade in its right hand held back.
“Crack—Boom!”
Suddenly, it kicked off the ground with its right leg, the concrete shattering beneath the force.
It blurred into motion, a gust of wind as it lunged towards a nearby pickup truck.
“Huh?”
The machine gunner on the pickup truck turned and saw a pair of crimson eyes and a long, slender leg.
What is…?
“Boom—”
“Screech—”
The mutated zombie kicked the front of the pickup truck. The tires screeched, and the vehicle, carrying a stunned Voodoo Cult warrior, slid towards the horde.
“Rumble—”
The pickup truck crashed into the horde and stopped, the machine gunner thrown from the vehicle.
“AAAAH!!!”
“Shit!”
“What happened?!”
“Where’s Wei?!”
“Where’s Sister Lian?!”
They stopped firing their overheating weapons and stared at the tall, unfamiliar woman standing amidst the chaos.
Although her figure and appearance were captivating, the blade in her right hand and the crimson glow in her eyes warned them – this wasn’t human.
“A mutated zombie! It’s attacking!”
“Bang, bang—Bang—”
The man who shouted had his rifle explode in his hands, the plastic fragments slicing his throat, silencing him.
But his warning had alerted the others, who scrambled to reload.
But the horde was closing in, and they were now caught between two threats.
“Boom—”
The mutated zombie, while they were reloading, kicked another pickup truck.
“Rumble—Rumble—Rumble—”
The truck flew through the air, crashing into the others like dominoes.
As the Voodoo Cult members struggled to get out of the wrecked vehicles, the mutated zombie leaped into the air, its bladed hand slashing down at the crowd.
“Boom—”
…
So this is what modification does?
Lin Jiayao slightly lifted her shirt, exposing her flat stomach, and fanned herself with the hem.
She was operating the system’s modification interface, a slight frown on her face.
Being cuddled while sleeping was too hot, she was sweating, but she didn’t want to disturb her sister, who had been up all night.
She had just spent 100g of blood crystals, three modifications, experimenting with the Workbench.
It was like evolving a weapon. Perhaps because of the switchblade’s simple design and small size, each modification only cost 10g.
A small price to pay, even for her, with only 9.5 blood crystals remaining.
After ten modifications, she looked at the switchblade and paused.
Was it even a switchblade anymore?
The original wooden handle was now blood-red, like a ruby, gleaming in the light of the Workbench.
She mentally pressed the button, and the blade sprang out with a click, a smooth, off-white surface with blood-red speckles, gleaming coldly.
A system prompt appeared above it.
「Switchblade +10」
「Modification effects: Cutting Lv.3, Hemolysis Lv.4, Ergonomics Lv.3」
Cutting, as the name suggested, increased sharpness.
Hemolysis, like certain snake venoms, caused uncontrolled bleeding and tissue damage.
And Ergonomics seemed to improve the grip, weight, and overall design, making it more comfortable for Lin Jiayao to use.
But that “+10” gave it a distinct… MMORPG feel.
“System, can I… break a weapon… by over-modifying it?”
She asked mentally.
No response.
The system was becoming increasingly unreliable.
Having figured out the modification function, Lin Jiayao dismissed the Workbench and opened the Training Grounds.
Her sister would probably sleep for another two or three hours; she could use this time to practice Mask’s new abilities and prepare for her next login.
She didn’t want to lose either Mask or Goldie; they were her main sources of combat power now.
The second zombie had been remade, and the fourth was unlikely to survive. She had to hone Mask’s abilities.
Thorough preparation meant a higher chance of survival.
Inside the Training Grounds, Lin Jiayao controlled Mask, simulating battles against various enemies.
She even simulated a tank, but Mask was no match for it, easily destroyed. Its speed was no match for a tank shell.
And even if it managed to dodge and reach the tank, it couldn’t penetrate the armor.
Just as she dismissed the tank simulation and was about to exit the Training Grounds, she saw a “①” on the login screen.
What happened? Had the fourth zombie died?
Curious, she opened the login interface.
「No.1: [Mask] (Available for login)」
「No.2: 【❌ (23:27:33)】」
「No.3: [Goldie] (Available for login)」
「No.4: [Unnamed] (Available for login)」
Huh?
She stared at the fourth slot.
It… it had survived?
“System, did the autopilot succeed?” she asked mentally.
「Barely」
Just two words, but Lin Jiayao sensed a hint of… disdain?
“Oh… so it wasn’t anything major.” She was about to select Mask when another prompt appeared.
「The system recommends checking on No.4’s status. Autopilot mode does not automatically store loot.」
“Oh, right…” After a moment of thought, she moved her cursor from Mask to the fourth zombie.
But just as she was about to click, she stopped.
“No, the fourth zombie would just consume any blood crystals and hide them somehow. There might not be anything left.” She sighed inwardly, her cursor hovering over Mask again.
「During autopilot, a large amount of blood crystals and equipment were scattered around, along with a group of ordinary Biters. The system deemed them non-threatening and entered sleep mode…」
Before the system could finish, Lin Jiayao quickly selected the fourth zombie.
Blood crystals? Why didn’t you say so earlier?!
Before logging in, she used her pheromones to control the older of the two little girls.
The description said it affected any creature with blood crystals, so it should work on humans, right?
She issued a simple command: wake her up.
If it worked, she would have the tendrils withdraw; they weren’t good for the human body.
Then, Lin Jiayao’s consciousness plunged into darkness, waiting to be woken up and then letting the fourth zombie run on autopilot while she slept.
Perhaps it would collect more blood crystals than it could consume, and she could scavenge the leftovers?
Lin Jiayao slowly opened her eyes and then froze.
She… she had opened her eyes?
She blinked, realizing she was in a basement, sunlight streaming in from above.
She looked down, examining her body in the sunlight.
AAAAH, I’m…
Naked?
Wait, that wasn’t the main issue. Why was she in a human body?
A familiar urge to hunt surged through her, but it stopped short of consuming her, just a heightened sense of excitement.
The fourth zombie had… changed?
Was this evolution, or devolution?
She closed her eyes, focusing on her body’s abilities.
As she focused, yellowish scales shimmered on her skin in… certain areas.
Concept sketch of 4th zombie, Sister A:
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