In the bedroom, Xia Na was still in a coma, while Ye Lian sat by the bed, her eyes unusually bright as they fixed intently on Xia Na.
Those ordinary foods, of course, were not for Ye Lian to eat; Ling Mo's actions were merely for show.
But since he had said he was coming in to deliver food, it was only normal to stay for a while. Taking advantage of this time, Ling Mo went to Xia Na's side and began to closely observe her reactions.
For someone who had ingested two pieces of virus gel in a row, Xia Na's reaction was incredibly calm. Her breathing was steady, her complexion normal, and not a hint of pain crossed her face. However, it was certain that beneath the calm exterior, a viral storm was raging within Xia Na's body. But nobody knew what the aftermath of the storm would leave Xia Na with.
After observing Xia Na for a full ten minutes or so, Ling Mo returned to the living room. By this time, the sky had gradually dimmed, and for safety, Ling Mo drew the curtains on the balcony completely and blocked the door with furniture. This way, even if an accident occurred, they could hold out for a while.
Wang Cheng and Liu Yuhao had also become tense. Staying overnight in this completely unfamiliar and uncleaned environment was a bit too stimulating for them. Who knew when a zombie might pass by the door?
"Don't make too much noise." Ling Mo's expression appeared much calmer as he simply instructed.
"How shall we arrange the night watch?" Liu Yuhao obviously regarded Ling Mo as the leader and after nodding, he immediately asked.
Ling Mo thought for a moment and then said, "Let's take turns every three hours. Ye Lian will watch over Xia Na, and I will also check on her during my shift."
"No, Wang Cheng and I will take turns instead. Ling, you and Sister Lian just take care of Xia Na," Liu Yuhao slowly shook his head and said, "It's too exhausting for you to do the night watch and look after Xia Na at the same time. There's nothing much for Wang Cheng and me to do now, and this is all we can do."
Wang Cheng also nodded on the side, indicating no objection. Seeing them insist, Ling Mo had no choice but to agree reluctantly.
In fact, keeping watch was truly not an easy task!
As night descended, various sounds began to emerge from the dead silence of the building, and occasionally noises could be heard from above! Not to mention the various sounds coming from outside. Sitting alone in a pitch-dark room, listening to all the faint sounds from all around, fear in one's heart would slowly magnify bit by bit—it was practically a form of slow torture!
Occasionally, a slightly louder noise would startle the watchkeeper like a frightened bird, who would then tense up trying to discern how far the sound was from their position and whether there was any danger...
However, even Wang Cheng felt that it was better to be alone in the living room, anxiously on edge, than to stay with the current Xia Na. Therefore, he not only volunteered to take the first half of the night watch but even moved a stool to sit closer to the door to avoid missing any sounds. After all, if anything went wrong, he would probably be the first to die.
Liu Yuhao, though preoccupied with many worries, was eventually worn out from a whole day's exhaustion and soon fell into a light sleep on the couch.
Ling Mo moved an armchair into the room and sat down in the farthest corner, closing his eyes to feign sleep. This day had been especially tiring for him as well; he couldn't compare with zombies. If he didn't take the time to rest now, he wouldn't be able to recover his strength. That was something strictly taboo in the post-apocalyptic world, for while one might manage to battle a few zombies, in the face of a horde, it was all about speed and stamina.
Though not truly asleep, in the process of feigning sleep, Ling Mo occasionally entered a brief deep sleep, only to awaken again within minutes. This way of sleeping was probably mastered by those struggling to survive in the apocalyptic world, but Ling Mo was particularly adept at it. The reason lay in his special ability, Puppet Control. More importantly, his spiritual power was stronger than that of the average person, and it had even undergone an evolution.
Spiritual power, as Ling Mo saw it, probably coined the likes of concentration and observation. His Puppet Control Ability involved allocating a part of his spiritual power to dominate zombies that lacked reason and acted solely on instinct. Multitasking was no easy feat, particularly when it came to combat. Life-and-death fights relied on the speed of nerve and bodily reactions. Without focused attention, how could he keep up with the zombies' movements?
Therefore, at the beginning, Ling Mo used to control Corpse Puppets to fight while he hid behind the scenes, only later emerging from cover to join the battle. It wasn't until he controlled Ye Lian that Ling Mo began to master the art of coordinating combat with a Corpse Puppet. During this process, Ling Mo's spiritual power was thoroughly honed, hence when Ye Lian evolved, Ling Mo, who was influenced by it, also enhanced his spiritual power and further evolved while trying to control two Mutated Zombies at the same time.
The evolution of spiritual power was a rather vague concept, one that only Ling Mo truly understood the sensation of. Simply put, when he controlled Ye Lian, especially during combat, he had to be fully alert, or else Ye Lian tended to slip out of control. Although Ling Mo's neural reactions were rapid, there was always a slight delay when transmitting commands to Ye Lian. If Ling Mo was seen as a command center, his spiritual power acted like a connecting hub, and there were always delays in data transmission due to the inadequacy of this hub.
However, after the evolution, this connecting hub instantly upgraded, and as a result, the command transmission became much more stable and swift!
For instance, right now, Ye Lian felt like an Avatar to Ling Mo, controlled without any hindrance. Of course, Ling Mo didn't actually consider her as an Avatar; in fact, he had always consciously trained his own ability in battle instead of relying entirely on Ye Lian. Most of the time, he led while Ye Lian assisted. Common people and zombies have their differences, but it's not as if humans are entirely incapable of resistance.
Zombies are fearsome because once they lock onto their prey, they attack like mad, undeterred by even severe injuries. Ordinary people, on the other hand, tend to be hesitative, fearing injury, and often get cold feet at the sight of zombies, thus losing the edge in terms of morale. Yet for someone like Ling Mo, who dealt with zombies all the time and even lived under the same roof as them, zombies weren't that scary!
Apart from their advantage in numbers, in the face of a single zombie, ordinary people actually have the upper hand! Zombies rely solely on instinct, therefore appearing mad and terrifying, but this is precisely their weakness. Humans, in contrast, employ tactics during combat and don't attack blindly.
However, Ling Mo was aware that this was just wishful thinking. Most people still needed to band together to eke out a living, especially in large cities where the number of zombies was overwhelmingly high. A single madman isn't scary, but what about a crowd of madmen? Millions of bloodthirsty madmen roaming the city — what a terrifying scene that was!
Even Ling Mo, relying on his Puppet Control Ability and the presence of the Mutated Zombie Ye Lian by his side, had no choice but to flee when encountering a large group of zombies. Just like the earlier encounter at the revolving doors of the mall, even though they managed to eliminate that group of zombies thanks to the topographical advantage, there were casualties in the team. Ling Mo admitted that in such situations, he and Ye Lian alone would not have managed to cope. If not for the frenzied fighter Xia Na...
"Eh?"
A sudden, unusual sensation completely awoke Ling Mo, who threw off the blanket on him and stood up, looking towards Xia Na lying on the bed.
Just now, under Ye Lian's watchful eyes, Xia Na's eyes had suddenly opened, eerily...