After a night of repeated collapses, Xia Na's condition finally stabilized in the morning.
As Ling Mo had guessed, Xia Na had indeed become a zombie, but she still retained a sliver of rationality. Compared to before, her "schizophrenia" had improved quite a bit, but only just that much! The current Xia Na was on the brink between a mutated zombie and a regular zombie, but her strength was greater than that of an ordinary zombie.
Ling Mo actually found a pattern in her "schizophrenia." As long as she wasn't in danger, Xia Na would maintain the state of a normal person, albeit a bit confused and rarely responsive to others, she still retained basic language skills and occasionally took the initiative to speak. However, once she felt threatened, that remaining sliver of rationality would be immediately replaced by instinct, transforming her into an extremely aggressive zombie.
Under Ling Mo's control, her emotions gradually became more stable, and her hostility toward Liu Yuhao and Wang Cheng had weakened. But because of the special spiritual connection with Ling Mo, Xia Na seemed closest to him.
For example, Xia Na was now looking at Ling Mo with a slight daze, holding onto him tightly...
"Xia Na, do you recognize me?" After calling out her name hundreds of times overnight, she indeed remembered her name and would react whenever it was called. However, in response to his questions, it was less that she didn't understand the meaning and more that she was completely confused, not knowing what the other party was asking.
However, Xia Na showed a strong interest in her long sword. When she saw Xia Na holding the long sword, she seemed confused for a while, then suddenly drew her sword with a vigor even stronger than before!
But then she was unwilling to put down the long sword, and Ling Mo always felt that, like Ye Lian, Xia Na might have a chance to fully regain her sanity, so he did not forcibly control her to hand over the long sword. Having an obsession was better than completely falling into an irrational zombie state.
This situation with Xia Na decisively strengthened Ling Mo's confidence. Zombies were indeed terrifying, but ultimately, they were influenced by the virus. Moreover, with the current situation, Ling Mo already had a formed idea in his mind. As the virus continued to evolve, the zombies' strength would also increase, and at the same time, they would gradually become rational monsters! Xia Na's case proved this point! She had absorbed too much virus in one go, hence her current condition, while Ye Lian, after undergoing evolution, also showed signs of regaining rationality.
Therefore, unlike the sorrowful Liu Yuhao, Ling was filled with vigor at this moment!
"Ling... Xia Na is like this now..." Liu Yuhao didn't dare to come too close to Xia Na anymore and could only sit far away, watching her every move. It was not difficult to see from his expression that he was full of doubts and also felt sorry for Xia Na.
No normal person wants to become a zombie, even if it's not complete...
Ling Mo looked at him deeply and said, "Rather than letting Xia Na die, or become like Lu Xin, don't you think the current outcome is already quite fortunate?"
"This..." A hesitant expression appeared on Liu Yuhao's face, then he nodded heavily, "Yes, this is better than being dead... and, she at least doesn't show malice towards you, Ling."
When he said the last part, Liu Yuhao's tone was somewhat bitter. Ling Mo hadn't told him about his Puppet Control Ability, so Liu Yuhao thought Xia Na's closeness to Ling was purely from instinct, yet she had no memory of him, a classmate who had fought alongside her for a long time, which really frustrated Liu Yuhao.
"Eh..." Ling Mo fumbled for words and touched his nose, saying, "Maybe, I mean maybe, Xia Na will slowly regain her sanity."
"What?" Liu Yuhao was startled and immediately focused his gaze on Ling Mo's face without minding his own disappointment.
Ling Mo spoke slowly, "You've seen it too, Xia Na is now different from ordinary zombies, not to say she's fully rational, but at least she's not entirely controlled by instinct. This condition might not have appeared in any other zombie... Anyway, as long as her mind isn't completely erased, there's hope for recovery. However, this could take either a very short or long time."
Although his words were mere speculation, Liu Yuhao's eyes lit up with eagerness!
"There's hope, that's good! But... now Xia Na only recognizes you..." After his excitement faded, Liu Yuhao became downhearted again. Given Xia Na's current state, he couldn't even get too close to her, let alone interact with her like before.
Just as Ling Mo was about to say something, he suddenly saw Wang Cheng running over, then stopping at a distance from Xia Na, his face beaming with excitement as he said, "There are people on the street! Survivors!"
"Survivors?"
Following Wang Cheng to the balcony and peeking out from between the curtains, Ling Mo indeed saw the survivors he mentioned.
However, after just one glance, Ling Mo couldn't help but twitch. Below wasn't just one survivor, but an entire survivor team!
About twenty young men and women, all with various types of backpacks and wielding a variety of weapons. They seemed to have come out early in search of food, but they were currently under siege by a dozen zombies. After watching for a while, Ling Mo noticed that although they were all ordinary people, a few of the young men were particularly skilled and struck more fiercely than the others.
What caught Ling Mo's attention the most, however, was their method of dealing with zombies. The few vigorous young men charged at the front while the others quickly dispersed in pairs or trios, using cars and other cover to engage the zombies. Though their combat strength was not strong, their strategic positioning allowed them to support each other, not confronting the zombies head-on like the few young men, but managing to eliminate the remaining zombies during the skirmish.
Seeing this, Ling Mo couldn't help but want to cheer; such a team, in his view, was a true survivor team.
However, their combat strength was in fact insufficient, and amid a place overrun with zombies, they quickly found themselves in peril. Attracted by the scent of blood, more and more zombies emerged from all around and madly rushed towards them. After holding out for a while, these individuals had to retreat while fighting, eventually pulling back into this residential area and heading straight towards the building where Ling Mo and others were located!
Soon, a dull "thump" sound came from downstairs, indicating the people had rushed into the safe stairwell. But then a loud noise immediately followed; it was the sound of zombies frantically banging against the stairwell door. From the sounds of it, it wouldn't be long before the stairwell door was breached, and when that happened, a swarm of zombies would rush in, posing a potential danger to Ling Mo and others hiding inside.
The best approach at such times was to stay silent and hidden inside the house, but as messy footsteps approached, Ling Mo suddenly felt a sense of frustration.
These people, unexpectedly upstairs, had even charged into the second-floor corridor!