Chapter 141 - 105: Evolution

Chapter 141: Chapter 105: Evolution

He strode to the communications console, switched it on, and tuned it to the reporting channel. Xu Mo took a deep breath, then spoke. "C-07 to Command, C-07 to Command. Submitting a supplementary report on an urgent situation."

"Command received. C-07, go ahead." The voice on the other end was as steady as ever.

"This morning, within the C-07 observation zone, I confirmed sightings of zombies viciously attacking and devouring one another. Report complete."

After speaking, Xu Mo listened intently for a response. He had expected that intelligence concerning such a major shift in the zombies’ fundamental behavior would be taken seriously by Command.

However, the radio on the other end was silent for only two seconds before the same calm voice replied, "Command received, C-07. Your observation report regarding competition between individual zombies and the generation of Evolved Zombies has been logged. Continue to monitor closely. Focus on recording the frequency and types of Evolved Zombies, as well as their potential triggers. Thank you for your hard work."

The response was so calm it caught Xu Mo by surprise. They didn’t ask for details or express any shock, as if they were merely logging a routine matter they had long anticipated.

"C-07, understood," Xu Mo replied, though realization had already dawned on him.

It seemed Jiang City wasn’t completely in the dark about this. He recalled how, back on the line, drones would be deployed immediately after a battle to spray fuel and incinerate the piles of zombie corpses in front of their positions. At the time, he’d thought it was just to prevent the virus from spreading or to keep the bodies from obstructing their line of fire. Now, it seemed the more important purpose of those flames was to stop the corpses from being devoured by other zombies, thereby preventing the creation of more Evolved Zombies.

’Jiang City knew all along...’ Xu Mo mused.

That also explained why these observation posts had been established after the main forces pulled back. They weren’t just for monitoring zombie numbers and movements, but more importantly, for studying this evolutionary mechanism up close to assess its threat level and patterns.

Ending the call, Xu Mo’s gaze returned to the Agile Zombie, which was partially hidden at the edge of the ruins. It had just finished evolving and seemed to still be adapting to its new body. Its movements held a hint of nascent excitement and restlessness as it scrambled nimbly between the broken walls.

’Now that it’s confirmed, I won’t be letting you live.’ Xu Mo’s eyes went cold. He turned, walked to the weapons rack, and took down a well-maintained AWM sniper rifle. The cool touch of the metal was reassuring, a tangible strength in his hands.

Moving to a firing port with the best line of sight, Xu Mo carefully extended the AWM’s long barrel through the opening and braced it. He pressed his cheek against the cold stock, brought his eye to the high-powered scope, and settled the crosshairs squarely on the Agile Zombie, which was crouched on a concrete slab, surveying its surroundings.

BANG!

The heavy report of the rifle echoed through the fortress.

Through the scope, the Agile Zombie’s head exploded like a watermelon struck by a sledgehammer. Dark green blood and grayish-white brain matter sprayed across the ruined wall behind it. The headless body twitched once, then toppled from the concrete slab and crashed into the rubble below, unmoving.

The gunshot echoed through the desolate ruins, stirring the shambling zombies nearby. They turned sluggishly toward the sound, letting out meaningless, guttural groans.

Soon, some of the zombies were drawn to the fresh corpse of the Evolved Zombie, which radiated the rich scent of blood. They shambled over and crowded around it, stooping to tear at the flesh of their own kind with rotting teeth.

Xu Mo calmly observed this through his scope. He saw that a regular zombie, larger and more robust than the others, seemed to have secured the best spot, devouring the most flesh from the Evolved Zombie.

Barely ten minutes later, a sudden transformation began.

The robust zombie’s body began to convulse violently. Beneath its ashen skin, it looked as if countless small mice were scurrying about as its muscles spasmed and swelled unnaturally.

It let out an agonized roar. Its once-sluggish movements became frantic, and it violently shoved aside another zombie competing for the scraps. Its bones emitted a sickening CRACKING sound, as if they were stretching and warping, and its very joint structure was undergoing a subtle transformation.

’It’s starting!’ Xu Mo tensed. This was the first time he had witnessed a zombie’s evolution firsthand.

However, such a drastic transformation clearly required an immense amount of energy. Halfway through the process, the zombie’s evolution slowed considerably, even showing signs of instability, as if it might collapse at any moment. Its scarlet eyes burned with a desperate, rabid hunger for energy.

It whipped its head around, its gaze locking onto another regular zombie gnawing on the corpse nearby.

"ROAR!" With a bellow full of predatory hunger, it was no longer satisfied with the cold corpse. Instead, it lunged at its living "kin."

The regular zombie, upon being attacked, let out an instinctive, threatening growl, attempting to fight back. But its movements were clumsy and feeble in the face of its half-evolved "kin," whose strength and speed now far surpassed its own.

"RIP!" The half-evolved zombie’s long, sharp claws tore open its companion’s chest with ease. It buried its head and began to gnaw frantically. The warm viscera and flesh seemed to provide a more direct source of energy, and its transformation accelerated once more.

One... two... three...

As Xu Mo watched, the half-evolved zombie became an efficient killing machine, savagely hunting down its former "companions" within the horde. It specifically targeted the regular zombies that were closest and slowest to react. With every kill and every feeding, its form edged one step closer to becoming a fully Evolved Zombie.