The Mutation Pandaâs tremors were like its body had suddenly been equipped with a more powerful engine that it couldnât yet handle.
However, under the invasion of the Virus, its body was self-adjusting, gradually syncing with this new engine.
Ling Mo watched Xiao Bai intently, afraid to miss any detail.
Crack, crack, crackâ¦
A series of sounds, as if bones were deforming, came from all over Xiao Baiâs body.
Xiao Baiâs whimpers grew more pained, and its bodyâs shaking became more violent.
âIs it because itâs evolving while simultaneously being infected by the mutation that itâs having such a strong reaction?â Ling Mo touched Xiao Baiâs fine hair, then looked at the sweat in his palm, pondering.
Another burst of rapid popping sounds rang out, and at the same time, the muscles on Xiao Baiâs body bulged.
Its already massive frame now looked even larger.
âAlthough I donât want you to become tiny, please donât get any biggerâ¦â Ling Mo sighed.
If it grew any larger, it would become too conspicuous.
Even if they kept a distance, there was a risk of being discovered by others.
But there was nothing he could do now!
He could only try to soothe Xiao Bai as much as possible to alleviate its pain.
On the other hand, the more pain Xiao Bai felt, the stronger the impact on Ling Mo. Several times, he almost lost his connection but managed to pull it back just in time.
After the intense physical reactions, Xiao Baiâs Psychic Fluctuation also showed some changes.
However, this was actually a normal response. Each evolution not only brought physical changes but also certain intellectual improvements.
But Ling Moâs understanding of Mutation Beasts didnât match his knowledge of Zombies, so he could only watch.
Time passed by slowly, and Xiao Baiâs trembling evolved from sporadic to continuous.
The strange sounds from its bones didnât stop, and Ling Mo feared it might suddenly grow even larger.
But unexpectedly, with a final crack, the Mutation Panda shrank one size, returning to its previous form.
âEh?â
Ling Mo rubbed his eyes, thinking he might have seen wrong.
To his surprise, Xiao Bai repeated the process a few seconds later.
Ling Mo was stunnedâso it was retractable!
The mysteries of animals were already numerous, but after being altered by the Virus, the results of evolution were even more unpredictable.
After several attempts, Xiao Baiâs body seemed to gradually adapt to this change.
It struggled to stand up, and then its body began to inflate bit by bit, like a balloon.
When it had doubled in size, Xiao Bai let out a âMeGuâ sound, showing a pained expression before suddenly deflating back to its original size with a âpop.â
Ling Mo widened his eyes and waited for a minute, finally confirming that Xiao Bai indeed had no tendency to shrink further.
âIf it can grow larger, it can definitely better utilize its advantages.â
Ling Mo thought of the Panda Fall, a killer move of this Mutation Panda.
Not only that, Ling Mo noticed some changes in Xiao Baiâs fur.
For instance, the fur around its eyes had darkened, making it look much more like a normal panda. If it werenât for its conspicuously red eyes, its appearance would be nearly identical to an ordinary panda.
However, its size was still very noticeable!
When Xiao Bai raised its paw to scratch its head, Ling Mo noticed that the changes in its body werenât limited to just this.
Its sharp claws now looked even fiercer and were more concealed.
Although the changes werenât drastic, even these small improvements were enough to significantly enhance Xiao Baiâs strength.
And this result made Ling Mo quite satisfiedâ¦
âMeGu!â
Xiao Bai whimpered while shaking its head vigorously.
Ling Mo was watching, puzzled, when suddenly a look of horror crossed his face.
Xiao Bai⦠disappeared!
Although it was right in front of him, for an instant, he couldnât sense it at all!
Their Psychic Link was still intact, but he couldnât detect Xiao Baiâs location at all.
It felt similar to when Xiao Bai and Yu Shiran were in the watery corpsesâ underground layer, where their psychic connection had been completely blocked.
At that moment, the feeling was so intense that Ling Mo nearly thought his Psychic Link with Xiao Bai had inexplicably broken.
Fortunately, the sensation quickly vanished, and Xiao Bai returned to normal behavior.
It shook its body, flicked off some sweat, and gradually seemed to recover completely.
Ling Mo stood dazed for a good ten seconds before realizing that Xiao Bai had indeed undergone a mutationâ¦
But its mutation seemed to share a common trait with those watery corpses.
They could block the detection of Psychic Powerâ¦
Upon careful consideration, Ling Mo realized that he felt the effect so strongly because of the Psychic Link he had with Xiao Bai, which caught him off guardâ¦
In fact, when Xiao Baiâs âabilityâ disappeared, Ling Mo noticed that its blocking effect was still significantly less potent than the combined effect of many watery corpses.
However, if used unexpectedly in a fight against someone with mental abilities, it could certainly have a surprising effect.
By now, it had been almost two hours since Xiao Bai first showed signs of evolution. Gel was scattered around Ling Moâs vicinity, and a few female Zombies, after glancing from afar, silently left to continue their hunt.
For Zombies, evolving peers and Mutation Beasts were extremely attractive.
Especially since during such times, Ling Moâs control over Xiao Bai was at its lowest, and the influence he received through their Psychic Link was also reduced.
Even Yu Shiran only took a few distant glances before waving her small fist at Ling Mo and reluctantly leaving, looking back every few steps.
âShe should be satisfied now,â Ling Mo thought.
But he was most satisfied himself. He had been worried that Xiao Bai might evolve into some bizarre form, but it turned out that Black Silk was just a unique caseâ¦
âBut what exactly did you secrete to have this effect?â
Ling Mo carefully observed Xiao Bai for a while and, after several attempts, finally concluded: âSweatâ¦â
This result made Ling Mo break out in a sweat. Did this mean that every time Xiao Bai wanted to use this âability,â it would have to run in place like crazy for a while before it could take effect?
Ling Mo glanced at Xiao Bai with a bit of a headache and suddenly said meaningfully, âHard workâ¦â
âMeGu!â
Excited, Xiao Bai tried to turn in place, but the moment it turned around, a streetlight pole it had bumped into let out a groan. Then, right before their eyes and in sync with Xiao Baiâs awkward turning motion, the pole began to warpâ¦
âMeâ¦Guâ¦â
Unwilling to give up, Xiao Bai kept squeezing.
Ling Mo couldnât help but sigh, âGive it upâ¦â
â¦
While Xiao Bai was evolving, Li Yalin also experienced something unusual.
As she passed through more places, those inexplicable flashes of memory in her mind increased.
At first, Li Yalin didnât quite understand what these meant, but as the frequency increased, she began to realize that she might be remembering somethingâ¦
These memories were clearly unrelated to her Zombie life but rather occurred when she was human; otherwise, they wouldnât be deemed âuseless.â
But should she delve deeper into these memories, or⦠should she tell Ling Mo?
Li Yalin was unsure. Her cognitive abilities werenât sufficient to figure out such âcomplexâ matters.
âShould I⦠or shouldnât I?â
Li Yalin pondered, counting on her fingers.
âThink about it, otherwise itâll keep bothering me.â Li Yalin was quite annoyed by the constant emergence of these memories, which prompted her to make this decision.
But just mulling it over wasnât enough, because there were no hints!
âAh, right!â
A sudden flash of inspiration hit Li Yalin: âThat ponytail!â
The only clue she had unearthed was the blurry silhouette of a Ponytail Girl.
But who that was and what their relationship was with her, Li Yalin had no idea.
It felt like possessing a brand-new book without a table of contents; unless she flipped to a specific page, she couldnât guess the contents.
This was exactly Li Yalinâs situation. To recall more, she needed to find more clues.