manynovel Chapter 106 Evolution
Chapter 106 Evolution
Chapter 106 Evolution
He strode to the communications radio, turned it on, and tuned it to the reporting channel. Xu Mo took a deep breath and said, "C-07 calling command, C-07 calling command, emergency supplementary report."
"Command received, C-07, please speak." The voice on the other end remained calm.
"This morning, within the observation area of Fortress C-07, I confirmed observing intense mutual attacks and cannibalistic behavior among the zombies. Report complete."
After Xu Mo finished speaking, he listened carefully to the reaction on the other end. He anticipated that this kind of intelligence, which involved a significant change in the fundamental behavioral patterns of zombies, would attract the attention of the command headquarters.
However, there was only a brief two-second silence on the other end of the radio before a calm reply came through: "Command received, C-07. The observation report on competition between individual zombies and the pathways to mutant generation has been recorded. Please continue to monitor closely, focusing on recording the frequency, types, and possible triggering conditions of mutant occurrences. Thank you for your hard work."
The other party's reaction was calmer than Xu Mo expected. They didn't ask for details or show any surprise, as if they were just recording a routine matter that they had already anticipated.
"C-07 understands," Xu Mo replied, though he already knew the answer in his heart.
It seems Jiang Cheng wasn't entirely unaware of this. Recalling the earlier incident on the battlefield, where drones were used immediately after the battle to spray fuel and burn the piles of zombie corpses in front of the position, he initially thought it was to prevent the spread of the virus or to avoid the corpses obstructing the firing line. Now it seems that the burning flames were likely intended to prevent the corpses from being devoured by other zombies, thus preventing the creation of more mutants.
"Jiangcheng already knew—" Xu Mo thought to himself.
This also explains why these observation posts were established after the main force withdrew. It wasn't just to monitor the number and movement of zombies, but also to study this evolutionary mechanism up close, assessing its threat level and patterns.
After ending the call, Xu Mo's gaze returned to the agile zombie that was faintly visible at the edge of the ruins. It had just completed its evolution and seemed to be adapting to its new body, its movements carrying a hint of newborn excitement and restlessness as it nimbly moved between the broken walls.
"Since it's confirmed, then I won't keep you here." Xu Mo's eyes turned cold. He turned and walked to the weapon rack, taking down the well-maintained AWM sniper rifle. The cold metallic touch brought a reassuring strength.
Arriving at a firing port with the best view, Xu Mo carefully extended the AWM's long barrel out of the pre-drilled hole and secured it.
He pressed his cheek against the cold stock of the gun, brought his eyes close to the high-powered scope, and the crosshairs steadily locked onto the agile zombie that was crouching and looking around on a concrete slab.
boom!
A muffled gunshot echoed within the fortress.
Through the scope, the agile zombie's head exploded like a watermelon struck by a heavy hammer. Dark green blood and grayish-white brain matter splattered radially onto the rubble behind it. The headless corpse twitched once, then plummeted from the concrete slab, crashing heavily into the pile of rubble below, where it lay still.
Gunshots echoed through the empty ruins, causing a stir among the wandering zombies. They turned blankly in the direction from which the gunfire came, uttering meaningless groans.
Soon, some zombies were drawn to the freshly spawned mutated corpse, which reeked of a thick, bloody stench. They staggered over and began to bend down, tearing and devouring the flesh of their own kind with their rotting teeth.
Xu Mo calmly observed everything through the scope. He saw that one of the more robust ordinary zombies seemed to have taken the best position and devoured the most flesh and blood of the mutants.
Just over ten minutes later, something unexpected happened.
The burly zombie's body began to convulse violently. Beneath its grayish skin, it seemed as if countless tiny mice were scurrying about, and its muscles spasmed and swelled unnaturally.
It let out a painful roar, its previously sluggish movements turning frenzied, and it violently shoved aside a companion that was fighting for food. Its bones made a teeth-grinding "crackling" sound, as if they were stretching and deforming, and the joint structure was undergoing subtle changes.
"It's started!" Xu Mo's heart tightened; this was the first time he had witnessed zombie evolution firsthand.
However, such a drastic change clearly required a massive amount of energy to sustain it. The zombie, having evolved halfway through, showed a noticeable slowing in the rate of its physical transformation, even exhibiting signs of instability, as if it might collapse at any moment. Its crimson eyes were filled with an extreme thirst for energy and a frenzied rage.
It suddenly turned its head and stared at another ordinary zombie beside it that was gnawing on a corpse.
"Roar!" With a roar filled with predatory desire, it was no longer satisfied with the already cold corpses, but pounced on its living "kindred spirits".
The ordinary zombie that was attacked instinctively let out a threatening growl the moment it was struck, attempting to fight back. But its movements appeared clumsy and powerless in the face of its "kind," which had begun to semi-evolve and whose strength and speed far surpassed those of its predecessor.
"Crack!" The semi-evolved zombie easily tore open its companion's chest with its long, sharp claws and began to devour it frantically. The warm entrails and flesh seemed to provide more direct energy, and the mutation of its body accelerated once again.
One, two, three —
Under Xu Mo's watchful gaze, this semi-evolved zombie was like a highly efficient killing machine, frantically hunting down its former "comrades" in the horde. It specifically targeted ordinary zombies that were close by and slow to react, and with each pounce and devouring, it moved one step closer to becoming an evolved mutant.
Xu Mo could see clearly that its limbs had become longer and more powerful, its torso had tightened, its muscle lines had become streamlined, and its roar had become sharper and more piercing.
In less than half an hour, it killed and devoured at least ten ordinary zombies.
Finally, after it had crushed the throat of the last zombie and greedily sucked its blood, it stopped and stood still, its body beginning to heave violently.
It's done.
A new agile mutated zombie was born. It raised its head and let out a long, menacing howl announcing its existence to the gray sky.
Xu Mo's index finger, which had been resting on the trigger guard, ready to pull it again, hesitated after a moment.
Kill this one, and then what?
There are still dozens of ordinary zombies below. As long as the corpse of that mutant is still there, and as long as they continue to devour each other, who can guarantee that a third or fourth agile zombie won't be spawned?
What if it even gives rise to other, more troublesome, unknown types of mutants?
Shooting and killing mutants might seem like eliminating the threat, but in the long run, isn't it constantly "helping" the horde below to "survival of the fittest," using bullets to select stronger individuals and providing a "catalyst" for evolution?
"I killed it, and then its corpse gave birth to new ones—I killed them again, and they gave birth to new ones again—am I just a clown helping them evolve?" Xu Mo frowned, feeling a sense of absurdity and unease.
The root of the problem seems to lie not in the already evolved individuals, but in the cruel evolutionary mechanism among zombies.
The most direct way to fundamentally and temporarily curb this evolution is to completely destroy the corpses of the mutated zombies, leaving them with nothing to eat.
However, within this isolated fortress, Xu Mo had no effective means to remotely destroy the corpse.
It seems that only one helpless option remains—to ignore it.
"No wonder you said observation and recording are my main tasks." Xu Mo slowly loosened his grip on the AWM and put the sniper rifle back from the firing port.
He took a deep look at the newborn, agile zombie below, still adapting to its strength, and the mutilated corpse that was still being coveted by a few ordinary zombies who dared not approach.
Xu Mo forced himself to look away, no longer paying attention to the bloody and cruel "breeding of worms" scene outside, and instead turned around to carefully put the AWM back on the gun rack.
After putting the gun away, Xu Mo walked to the open space in the center of the observation room and slowly assumed the starting stance of the "Thirteen Protectors Horizontal Training".
The external disturbances, the evolution of zombies, and the official's deeper intentions—all of these are temporarily irrelevant to him.
Having determined that his role was merely that of an "observer," Xu Mo's life within the fortress quickly became routine, like a wound-up clock, precise and stable.
He no longer wasted his energy on sniping ordinary or even mutated zombies. Every morning and evening, without fail, he practiced breathing exercises, capturing wisps of the purple aura of the rising sun to nourish his spirit. After that, began a long and arduous period of cultivation.
The cultivation path from the Bull Skin Realm to the Iron Bone Realm is not just about strengthening one's Qi and blood, but also about a deeper level of physical refinement. The solid fortress becomes the best target for impact training.
Besides his training in endurance and physical conditioning, Xu Mo also practiced with cold weapons. He wielded the machete with impressive skill, slashing and hacking with deadly force.
Slashing, parrying, stabbing—he repeatedly honed his muscle memory in the confined space. Xu Mo knew that firearms would eventually run out of ammunition or become inconvenient to use; a strong physique and skillful cold weapon techniques were his last resort.
During breaks from training, Xu Mo would turn on the radio and tune to Jiangcheng's official channel. The broadcasts mostly consisted of inspiring slogans, minor adjustments to internal management regulations, and repetitive reports of basic survival knowledge. He wasn't really interested in the content, but rather in letting this voice from the fortress of human civilization dispel the almost tangible loneliness within it.
Sometimes, Xu Mo would try to search for other frequencies, but most of the time it would just be a jumble of electrical noise or some distress signals that no one was responding to.
Whenever the 48-hour countdown in his mind reaches zero, it becomes a rare "color" and a source of anticipation in Xu Mo's monotonous life. Depending on his mood and needs, Xu Mo will choose to open different doors within the fortress for a 60-second exploration of another world.
The high-security door to the bedroom usually leads to places with high security levels, such as a precision instrument warehouse, or even, on one occasion, a vault of a top-tier jewelry store that Xu Mo opened. Although these things are mostly impractical in the apocalypse, they at least prove that the potential of this "" ability is likely very high.
The regular doors to the warehouses and equipment rooms often lead to office spaces, ordinary residences, or even the back warehouses of supermarkets. These places offer some practical daily necessities, such as unopened canned goods, bottled water, and tools, which supplement his daily consumption.
Xu Mo was somewhat speechless at the frosted glass door of the bathroom. So far, every glass door he had opened had, without exception, led to various kinds of toilets or bathrooms—from jacuzzi in luxury hotels to cubicles in public toilets. It was as if this type of door was locked into the category of "bathroom" by some kind of rule.
Aside from the occasional unopened pack of toilet paper or cleaning supplies, there was almost nothing to be found.
Because he lacked a clear goal, Xu Mo's recent explorations were mostly just going through the motions. He knew that the more important thing was the process itself, which was a release of mental pressure and a satisfaction of curiosity about the unknown.
Through these days of continuous observation, Xu Mo also recorded some strange phenomena. The number of zombies in the ruins in front of the fortress did not increase indefinitely. They would accumulate to a relatively stable number, about two or three hundred, and then suddenly decrease by more than half at some point in the middle of the night. It was unclear whether they had gone to the outskirts of the industrial area or something else.
As these losses disappeared, new zombies emerged from the depths of the ruins, like springs gushing forth, to replenish the ranks and begin a new cycle of accumulation.
"This feeling—is like a monster spawn point in a game." Xu Mo wrote this analogy in his logbook. He himself felt it was a bit absurd, but it was the most intuitive description. He reported the observation data of this periodic fluctuation in detail.
On the other end of the radio, the response remained calm and unfazed: "Command received, C-07. Data recorded, please continue to monitor." There was no surprise, no further instructions, as if all of this was within the official's expectations, or rather, within their tolerance.
Among the roaming hordes of zombies, mutants were becoming increasingly common. Agile and strength-type zombies were the most prevalent. He had even seen a venom-type mutant zombie once; its eerie blue-green skin made Xu Mo recognize it at first glance.
This time, Xu Mo didn't abandon it; instead, he quickly dealt with it after discovering it. This guy was far more dangerous than a regular agile zombie; killing him would have been as easy as taking down a regular agile zombie.
What's even more surprising is that Xu Mo discovered that the other zombies didn't devour the corpses of the venomous zombies, which gave him a new perspective.
Days passed quietly amidst the daily routines of observation, arduous training, and brief periods of exploration. In the blink of an eye, Xu Mo had spent more than ten days in this solitary tower, numbered C-07.