Chapter 546 – Changes in the Virus Nest
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On the way back to the helicopter from the oil depot, Ling Mo shared quite a few insights with Xiao Ming.
The things he talked about were straightforward and simple, yet they were all gleaned from life-and-death battles.
Although Huang Duo and Guan He were listening as well, they weren’t Psychics like Xiao Ming, so how could their understanding be as deep?
This guy might be a bit slow, but after being guided by Ling Mo a few times, his bootleg version of “loong-style Qigong” had become much smoother in use.
“Ah, Captain, it really works!” Xiao Ming shouted with ecstatic joy.
“You still need more practice,” Ling Mo wanted to ask how this young man had survived until now, but then he thought better of it.
After all, the world is full of all kinds of people. Maybe he’s made it this far precisely because he’s always been too scared to fight?
Wouldn’t it be like rubbing salt into his wounds if he asked about it?
“Yeah, yeah! Okay!” Xiao Ming nodded vigorously.
Although Ling Mo had spent a good deal of effort talking, if Xiao Ming could pa.s.s on what he learned to the other Psychics, it might improve their strength to some extent.
This would also strengthen Yuwen Xuan’s forces, which Ling Mo saw as a good thing for himself.
Thinking of this, Ling Mo felt a bit of sympathy for Zhang Yu.
Zhang Yu probably thought that, although Yuwen Xuan, that silly guy, was strong, asking him to teach others would undoubtedly result in more silly Psychics, so he wasn’t even considered.
“Silly really is disliked…” Ling Mo shook his head to himself.
At that moment, the previous helicopter circled back nearby, followed by a large horde of zombies, which he roughly estimated to number in the hundreds.
It seemed that the helicopter had attracted most of the zombies in the vicinity, except for Xiao Bai and her group hiding nearby.
However, as they ascended the building, Ling Mo noticed that Huang Duo seemed to be intentionally slowing down in front of him, dragging his feet.
Consequently, they quickly fell behind the others and were left alone in the b.l.o.o.d.y-smelling corridor.
Ling Mo followed behind, keeping an eye on Huang Duo’s back.
Finally, when the footsteps of the others had completely faded away, Huang Duo’s shoulders twitched, and he turned around abruptly.
He was still holding that military dagger, his eyes fixed on Ling Mo, his expression tense.
“You…”
“Whatever you’re planning, I advise you not to mess around,” Ling Mo said calmly.
He had been expecting Huang Duo to try something, aware of the significant gap in their abilities, which didn’t give Ling Mo any sense of danger.
If Huang Duo had a grenade or a gun, Ling Mo might be a bit more cautious, but a military dagger? It would be useless even if he stood there and let Huang Duo stab him.
Huang Duo’s face turned red again as he felt Ling Mo’s indifference.
But the various things he had witnessed before left him unable to utter even a harsh word.
“Do you know why I hate you?” Huang Duo asked through gritted teeth.
Ling Mo looked at him and remained silent.
“The pilot of the first helicopter that came to trade with you was my good brother!” Huang Duo said angrily.
“So, you’re seeking revenge?” Ling Mo didn’t bother with reasoning with him. Some matters are about supporting one’s relatives, not necessarily about what’s right or wrong.
Huang Duo should be quite clear about the rights and wrongs involved. However, to Ling Mo’s surprise, Huang Duo, who had been as agitated as if he’d had a shot of adrenaline, suddenly fell silent.
He looked at Ling Mo with a complex expression for a long time, then slowly lowered his dagger, “I can’t beat you, and I don’t want to fight you anymore.”
“Why?” Ling Mo asked.
“You’ve saved us twice…” Huang Duo said with his head bowed, “I can’t raise my hand against you.”
“Then why did you still stop me?”
Huang Duo lifted his head to glance at Ling Mo and said, “I don’t know, but doing nothing and saying nothing, I felt like I would be letting my brother down.”
“Oh…” Ling Mo nodded.
Actually, Ling Mo could somewhat understand that feeling.
“You and the Commanding Officer Yuwen are relatives, and you’re on such good terms. There won’t be any more conflicts between us in the future, right?” Huang Duo suddenly asked.
Before Ling Mo could answer, Huang Duo continued, “When my brother died, I was very scared, thinking what if I was sent out to confront you? I don’t want to be cannon fodder for someone else, a chess piece, a sacrificial p.a.w.n. After Li Hao and his team were wiped out, I became even more afraid, unable to sleep night after night. I’m very scared of you, scared to face you; you’re like a nightmare.”
“Uh…” Ling Mo didn’t know how to respond.
He had not expected to suddenly become the confidant of this man; it was quite strange!
“As it turns out, you really are a terrifying person. But when you stand with us, I feel safe…” Huang Duo seemed to sniffle a bit, “I hope I can always be your teammate in the future, never to become an enemy. At least, I hope no one else ends up like my brother.”
“Mm.” Ling Mo nodded.
Huang Duo’s final words were sincere and to the point.
As Huang Duo turned to leave, he suddenly remembered something and asked, “Did you already know?”
“I guessed a little,” Ling Mo honestly admitted.
“d.a.m.n it!!” Huang Duo was frustrated once again.
“Stop making a fuss, let’s hurry up and go,” Ling Mo urged.
“Who’s making a fuss! Don’t think we’re friends now! I’m telling you, if we ever face off again, I’ll be a kamikaze and take you down!” Huang Duo protested, “Hey! If we’re ever on opposing sides, it must mean you’ve wronged Miss Li Ya Lin, right? You better treat her well!”
“What does it have to do with you… What’s with learning about kamikaze… The world’s really gone downhill,” Ling Mo sighed.
“d.a.m.n! That was a slip of the tongue!”
…
After boarding the plane, Guan He keenly sensed that the overall atmosphere had warmed considerably.
Although Huang Duo was still sulking, the coldness in his eyes had diminished significantly.
Some matters are just like that, not necessarily needing to be acted upon, but once spoken, a lot has been let go.
To put it plainly, it’s just a matter of differing standpoints. From their own perspectives, both are victims…
“Here you go.” Ye Lian quietly handed Ling Mo two pieces of the Virus Nest.
The girl’s hand was quick and light; Ling Mo only felt a slight weight added to his pocket, while Guan He and Xiao Ming, who were sitting opposite and chattering away, noticed nothing.
“Huh? Something’s not right…”
Ling Mo reached into his pocket and immediately frowned.
“Why is it so soft?”
Ling Mo’s bag was full of various gels, and he was no stranger to the spoils of war extracted from the brains of mutated zombies. He was definitely an expert in gels.
But upon touching these two pieces of the Virus Nest, they felt different.
Whether it was the hardness, size, or shape, they were much different from the usual Virus Nest…
He sneaked a peek and his heart skipped a beat.
Even the color was different…
Normally, no matter the level, a Virus Nest would have some blood-red color to it.
But these two pieces of the Virus Nest were outright pink.
Had the color changed? Because of drinking fuel? It just didn’t make sense…
Ling Mo was puzzled for a while but had to put the matter aside for the moment.
To confirm whether this change was an individual phenomenon or something affecting the group, he would need to find more mutated zombies. Moreover, he had to extract and look at the Virus Nest from the brains of high-level zombies.
…
More than an hour later, two helicopters arrived at the City X TV station.
During this process, Ling Mo’s concentration was even stronger than before.
Before, it was the wilderness, but after entering the city, making Xiao Bai move stealthily without getting stuck in the walls was quite difficult.
Luckily, the biggest obstacle, the zombies, were all lured away by the two helicopters and did not cause any trouble for Xiao Bai and her team.
As the helicopters landed, Ling Mo also guided Xiao Bai and her companions to find a place to hide, finally letting out a sigh of relief.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and jumped out of the opened cabin door.
This time, the two helicopters took turns luring away the zombies, so it took some extra time.
A few minutes later, there was already a large group of people standing on the rooftop.
“Here we are again.” Lucy looked around and said with emotion.
The two helicopters also hovered nearby for a moment, seemingly observing the explosion marks on the building across and the crashed helicopter below.
“Really impressive…”
The people on the helicopters, as well as the members of Team F, expressed their amazement simultaneously.
However, Ling Mo, the person involved, seemed a bit listless…