The next moment, the zombie tiger charged forward, the electricity hitting it as if it were just a tickle.
Seeing the zombie tiger closing in, Born flipped out of the way.
Lightning Strike!
A concentrated bolt of electricity struck with even greater power.
But the zombie tiger didn't dodge or flinch; it only had a charred spot on its body, with no impact on its movement.
"Damn!" Born exclaimed.
He had planned to show off a bit, but the zombie tiger wasn't giving him any face at all.
After all, he was a Level 39 ability user now—couldn't it respect his power just a little?
Born kept dodging, his eyes flickering with thought.
Zombie cats and dogs had gained massive enhancements, their sizes increasing drastically.
As for a tiger, already the king of beasts, its mutation had obviously made it even stronger.
The mutation process turned humans into zombies but seemed to be kinder to pets and wild animals.
The zombie tiger roared, its speed increasing again.
[Oh dear, can't watch this anymore. Host, activate detection.]
The system prompt suddenly echoed in Born's mind.
Born was taken aback but immediately followed the system's suggestion to activate the detection skill.
Immediately.
A line of information appeared above the zombie tiger's head.
[Zombie Tiger: Female, Non-human, Tiger Species]
[Non-human: Allows the host to overcome racial barriers for in-depth communication and interaction.]
[Tiger Species: Has a certain suppressive effect on feline mutant animals.]
Born was stunned.
The "female" attribute seemed interesting, and the "non-human" attribute—what was that supposed to mean?
Overcoming racial barriers—was this serious?
Born, distracted, was swatted away by the zombie tiger, feeling his internal organs churning as he flew through the air.
The zombie tiger's strength was not to be underestimated.
But since it was "female," did that mean it could be recruited?
Recruitment activated!
[Points -80, possesses resistance consciousness, unable to recruit, recruitment failed.]
Born quickly retreated. Could it be that this zombie tiger retained some level of consciousness and could only be recruited after being defeated?
Suddenly, he noticed a red light flashing on the zombie tiger's body.
An idea flashed in Born's mind.
Program, thawing?
Executing commands?
The so-called resistance consciousness might be some kind of program attached to it. It didn't necessarily have to be killed; if he could disable the program, recruiting it might be possible.
"Well, I'll have to ride it," Born muttered, his lips twitching. He really had to get on top of this zombie tiger?
Lightning Activation.
His stamina boost meant an increase in both speed and strength.
Electricity crackled around Born, and his speed surged. With a leap and dodge, he jumped onto the zombie tiger's back.
He drew two daggers and plunged them into the zombie tiger's back, gripping them tightly to stabilize himself.
The zombie tiger bucked and thrashed, trying to throw Born off.
Born held on to the daggers, swinging wildly but managing to stay on the tiger's back.
He noticed strange wires running to the top of the zombie tiger's head, leading to a peculiar device.
With a quick gesture, a bolt of electricity shot out, striking the device.
Bang!
The device sparked, and the flashing red light disappeared.
"Warning, warning, program damaged, rebooting!"
An electronic voice emanated from the zombie tiger's head.
Born realized that damaging this device alone wasn't enough; there must be more intricate machinery inside the zombie tiger controlling its actions.
Roar!
The zombie tiger roared, its movements growing even more violent.
Born lost his grip on the daggers and was thrown off, flipping in mid-air to land steadily on his feet.
But the zombie tiger didn't attack Born; instead, it began rampaging around.
With the zombie tiger causing chaos, Mia and her team couldn't continue fighting and gathered around Born.
The people from the Starry Night Laboratory did the same.
The zombie tiger stood between the two groups, and after a brief hesitation, it charged toward Born and his group.
"Damn, what bad luck," Born muttered.
He nodded to his team, and they quickly dispersed.
The zombie tiger missed its target and then turned towards the people from the Starry Night Laboratory.
Seeing this, Born understood the situation better.
The malfunctioning program caused the zombie tiger's erratic behavior, but it hadn't completely eliminated its resistance consciousness.
More electricity was needed.
The zombie tiger now only wanted to hunt, instinctively targeting the larger group.
With Born's team dispersed, the tiger naturally shifted its focus away from them.
Seizing the opportunity, Born circled to the side of the zombie tiger, continuously sending bolts of electricity to the device on its head.
Sparks flew with each hit.
The electronic voice went from clearly audible to garbled gibberish.
Suddenly!
Boom!
A loud explosion sounded, and a large hole appeared in the zombie tiger's head, causing it to collapse.
The people from the Starry Night Laboratory held a remote control, their expressions cold.
With the zombie tiger down, a standoff ensued between both sides.
Born's lips curled into a slight smile. This was a good opportunity.
Recruitment activated!
[Points -80, recruiting, no resistance consciousness, recruitment successful]
[Brainstem damaged, body immobile. Host, please repair promptly]
A number flashed before Born's eyes.
[Current recruitment: 112/110]
Recruitment count exceeded?
Born clearly remembered his previous recruitment count was 102, meaning this zombie tiger alone took up 10 recruitment slots.
[Alert: Recruitment count exceeds the limit. Please upgrade recruitment level or clear current recruits promptly.]
Born didn't have time to dwell on it.
The people from the Starry Night Laboratory were already approaching, led by the man who previously used fire.
He walked up to Born, sizing him up.
"Born?"
Born was surprised that they knew him. Had Angelica leaked his information?
Impossible!
The first thought that flashed in Born's mind was that Angelica, who occasionally called him a jerk and seemed like an underdeveloped girl despite being 21, couldn't have leaked his information.
The girl who mumbled in her sleep when she had a fever.
She couldn't have betrayed him!
Born had once tricked Angelica, leading to her getting bitten, but ultimately, he failed to recruit her. He felt a pang of guilt towards her.
As Angelica had left without saying goodbye, that guilt gradually faded and wasn't much of an issue now.
"Since it's you, the lady seems quite interested in you. How about coming back with us to the Starry Night Laboratory?" the man said again.
"By the way, I'm Fern. You guessed it right, I'm related to Angelica and Aileen."
Fern's lips curved into an enigmatic smile.
Born narrowed his eyes.
Family?
What did Fern mean by suddenly bringing this up?