Chapter 717: Beast Cage
Chapter 717: Beast Cage
Zhang Yan’s mood was really terrible at this moment. He had just climbed up from the branch and hadn’t been at the headquarters for long.
His member level was too low, so the tasks he received were all quite trivial.
For example, tasks like feeding these Canine Zombies and patrolling the Medical University area with them were the lowest-level tasks.
Although just looking at the Canine Zombies made him nauseous, the patrol tasks were indeed very easy and safe.
Even with the worst luck, he would occasionally encounter one or two Zombies wandering in.
Having the Canine Zombies around allowed them to be detected in advance.
However, if a Zombie did manage to get close to this core area, Zhang Yan would likely be in trouble.
A few days ago, there was a Zombie sighting near Building No. 3, but fortunately, it wasn’t within his patrol range…
The Niepan headquarters operated on a task points system, and to receive allocated supplies, one had to complete tasks.
The headquarters had strict requirements for task completion, and any mistakes could result in docking some of the allocated supplies.
Overall, surviving in the headquarters was not easy, but it was still significantly better than constantly being fearful on the outside.
Despite this, Zhang Yan was still frustrated.
“Damn, I have to come out in the rain…” Zhang Yan cursed under his breath while disgustedly pulling the Canine Zombie, “If it weren’t for these stinking monsters wandering around all day, how would Zombies even be attracted… It’s ridiculous that this thing can actually track Zombies…”
The Canine Zombie was sniffing the ground continually, just twenty meters away from Xiao Bai. Its human-like form crouched in such a bizarre stance, sniffing like a hunting dog-it looked downright strange.
Under Ling Mo’s tense gaze, the Canine Zombie finally turned its head in a different direction.
The rain and Xiao Bai’s strong stealth abilities had concealed it, so the Canine Zombie did not detect it…
But even so, the fact that it could sense something amiss spoke volumes about its powerful sense of smell.
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“Since it’s named Canine Zombie, it must have evolved primarily in its sense of smell… But although its teeth are gone, its hands and feet are still intact. Are iron chains really enough to restrain it?”
Ling Mo found this quite puzzling, but after thinking it through, he could only roughly guess that the Canine Zombie had little offensive capability.
Otherwise, even for a typical Zombie, the electric discharger wouldn’t be very effective…
“What are you still sniffing for?! It’s raining, the scent would be washed away… and now I’m stuck getting soaked too…”
Zhang Yan held an umbrella, but the wind blew the rain all over him as if he had no cover at all.
Impatiently, he shocked the Canine Zombie twice more. It let out a hoarse howl and immediately became lethargic.
From Zhang Yan’s expression, it seemed he wanted to shock it a third time, but if the Canine Zombie died, he’d be in big trouble. Seeing its condition, he could only grunt displeasedly, “Doing such a lousy job as a Zombie… and you still get to stay in Building No. 2? You’re barely worth the Experimental Subjects in Building No. 3… Damn, what bad luck…”
Grumbling, he forcefully dragged the Canine Zombie away.
This task had clearly built up a lot of his anger, and the Canine Zombie became his punching bag. Even ten meters away, his complaints were still audible…
However, until he disappeared around a corner, Zhang Yan didn’t notice the pair of eyes constantly watching them from the nearby grass…
Xiao Bai’s hearing was much sharper than an average Zombie’s. Despite the interference of the rain, every word Zhang Yan said was clearly heard by Ling Mo, given the close distance.
“So, Building No. 2 and Building No. 3 are where they keep experimental subjects like this Canine Zombie… It’s like a beast cage? Makes sense, no one would want to live near these things. Keeping them far away is probably for safety too…”
Even Ling Mo, who was used to being around female Zombies, found himself repelled by these twisted creatures born from experiments like the Canine Zombies. Just looking at them was creepy, let alone being close to them every day…
It’s understandable why Zhang Yan had so many complaints.
Who knows what kind of people are in Niepan headquarters’ Experimental Group to create such creatures…
But considering the power of Number 1 and No. 0, it’s not hard to understand why Niepan headquarters is so enthusiastic about these biological experiments.
Compared to Zombies, the human population was far too sparse. Even Superhumans were sitting ducks when thrown into a Zombie horde; getting surrounded meant almost certain death.
But Zombies were different. As long as they weren’t targeted by other Zombies as prey, they could move freely within the horde.
Although there was still danger, the mortality rate was much lower.
If these Zombies could be controlled like livestock, it would be a godsend for Survivors.
Reflecting on his own abilities, which he had acquired right after his awakening, Ling Mo couldn’t help but feel a sense of irony. At the Niepan headquarters, these abilities required extensive experimentation, and even then, the results were often just semi-finished products that didn’t fully obey humans.
However, Ling Mo had never used his abilities purely as Puppet Control. If he had focused his psychic power on controlling common Zombies instead of Ye Lian and the others, he probably could control hundreds at once!
But having numbers wasn’t everything. For those Zombies to be effective, Ling Mo would need to micromanage each one’s actions, or else even controlling a large number would be pointless.
A bunch of mindless puppets standing around wouldn’t be useful for anything.
While Ling Mo didn’t treat Ye Lian and the others as simple Zombie Puppets, they were independent beings, each with the capabilities of a Senior Zombie.
Considering this, Ling Mo felt his choice was the right one.
The key point was that this correct choice had kept him from ending up as one of those brainless Zombies, staring blankly at each other…
“I just wonder how many types of Experimental Subjects the Niepan headquarters has… If there are more with psychic power as strong as No.0, devouring them could significantly boost my own psychic power. This would give me more confidence in maintaining the psychic link when Xia Na and Senior Sister break through… Controlling three dominant-level Zombies and two almost at that level is still quite taxing for me… If there were more advanced Canine Zombies, their virus gel could be useful for Xiao Bai and Black Silk…”
Ling Mo felt somewhat fortunate that he hadn’t used his Zombie Puppets to infiltrate today; otherwise, he likely wouldn’t have gotten this far in.
Only Xiao Bai could make it to the front door of the headquarters without needing his constant interference.
“I’ve gained some understanding of the headquarters, especially the function of those buildings. Once I pinpoint the locations and observe their patrol schedules, I can look for an opportunity to get closer…”
Ling Mo was thinking this when he suddenly heard someone speaking nearby.
“Ling Mo, how do you plan to investigate?” Mu Chen had found a gas cylinder and was heating water while asking Ling Mo.
He thought Ling Mo was still studying the map, but Ling Mo had already multitasked and even visited the Niepan headquarters once…
“Huh?” Ling Mo had only come up with an excuse, so he could only respond with a dry cough, “Can’t we see part of it from here? If we spot any figures, it would prove the headquarters is indeed here, right?”
Mu Chen immediately looked up, exasperated, “Are you kidding me?”
However, before sneaking in, Ling Mo indeed needed to make some arrangements.
“I’ve decided, only Mu Chen and I will go in; the rest of you will stay outside.” Ling Mo put down the map and said.
The girls were all sitting inside the room, reacting differently to his words.
Ye Lian and Li Yalin looked somewhat confused, and Xia Na frowned slightly.
Only Xu Shuhan jumped up immediately, “No way!”
Just one Experimental Subject from Niepan’s headquarters had caused so much trouble for her. Now, only Ling Mo and Mu Chen would be going in?
Xu Shuhan didn’t need to think to know that Ling Mo was likely aiming to gain some benefits from Niepan’s headquarters. However, this made sense; Niepan had gathered resources from several branch offices, which effectively meant pooling the supplies of several cities. Survivors could search for specific items, but finding exactly what they needed was challenging.
Each search for resources involved significant life-threatening risks.
But Niepan’s headquarters was different. Although it was risky, one visit could yield a trove of supplies…
Xu Shuhan previously couldn’t understand why Ling Mo was so interested in the Experimental Group, but after learning about Ye Lian and the others’ identities, she began to get an inkling…