Chapter 299 - 155: Natural and Artificial

Chapter 299: Chapter 155: Natural and Artificial

Xu Mo understood that the guards’ mission wasn’t to fight the enemy from the east. Their task was to defend this settlement, to protect the elderly, weak, and children who had no combat ability. As for engaging the enemy—that was a job for Luo Li and her zombie army.

Luo Li stopped about four or five hundred meters outside the community.

It was an open area, what might have once been the community’s green space or parking lot. The view was clear and unobstructed, perfect for engaging an enemy.

Xu Mo stood at her side, his gaze fixed on the distance.

There was nothing yet—only ruins shrouded in the morning mist.

"I have individual zombies under my control posted as lookouts," Luo Li said. Her voice was a little weaker than before, but still clear. "They let me know ahead of time if they spot anything unusual. That’s how I knew a large horde of zombies was on its way."

Without turning his head, Xu Mo simply asked, "How far?"

"Less than five kilometers," Luo Li said. "They’re not fast, but there are a lot of them—about a thousand."

A thousand of them. Xu Mo’s heart sank.

He had seen zombie hordes before, but they had all been passive, disorganized wanderers. This, however, was a proactive, purposeful attack, sent by that *thing*.

"Is their master here too?" Xu Mo asked.

Luo Li fell silent for a moment.

"I don’t know." Luo Li’s reply was concise.

Xu Mo didn’t press her further.

In the distance, faint stirrings began to appear from within the mist-shrouded ruins.

Luo Li suddenly spoke again.

"There’s something I think you should know." Her gaze remained on the horizon, her tone as calm as if she were discussing something trivial. "There’s a huge difference in combat strength between artificially enhanced zombies and naturally evolved ones."

Xu Mo glanced sideways at Luo Li.

"It’s like the difference between a tame animal and a wild one," Luo Li continued. "They might be the same level, but their true combat strength is worlds apart."

Xu Mo understood. The zombies behind him, including the two Scale Beasts, had all been "artificially enhanced" by Luo Li. She controlled them, nurtured them, and molded them into what they were now. They were obedient and compliant, but they had also lost their wildness and instincts.

But the ones about to arrive were that *thing’s* "naturally evolved" minions. They hadn’t lost their wildness or their instincts, and might even possess a certain degree of independent consciousness.

Same level, but different combat strength.

"So, what do you need me to do?" Xu Mo asked.

Luo Li finally turned her head to look at Xu Mo.

"I want your help to eliminate the high-level zombie entrenched in the east of Luochuan City," she said. "Eliminate it for good! That way, we’ll finally be completely safe in Luochuan City. And even if we leave here in the future, we won’t have to worry about it hunting us down."

Xu Mo was silent for a few seconds. ’So this is why she invited me. This is the true meaning behind her telling me not to "get the wrong idea."’

’It wasn’t to protect me, to get information from me about the outside world, or even because she had any special feelings for me, this "powerful stranger from afar." She just wanted to use my combat strength.’

"You have so many zombies, so many minions. Why do you need an outsider?" Xu Mo asked, confused.

"Because I can’t kill it," Luo Li answered directly. "My zombies can’t handle its minions. I can control Scale Beasts, but only when they’re still at Level 2, and then I enhance them artificially. I can’t control a truly, naturally evolved Scale Beast like the one you killed."

Luo Li paused, then continued, "Controlling a high-level zombie requires a greater Spiritual Ability. For me to control a single Scale Beast, I have to relinquish my control over many Level 1 and 2 zombies. I can’t afford to be distracted in a real battle."

Xu Mo understood. Luo Li’s ability had its limits. She could control a vast number of low-level zombies, but the price for controlling a high-level individual was sacrificing quantity. And in a battle of this scale, quantity was just as important.

"The one you killed," Luo Li said, looking at him, "wasn’t a Level 2."

Xu Mo’s pupils constricted.

"That was a Level 3," Luo Li said. "A naturally evolved Level 3 Scale Beast."

Level 3.

The pieces that had been fuzzy in Xu Mo’s mind suddenly snapped into focus.

’Why did a full-power strike from my Mountain-Cutting Saber only produce a shower of sparks on its scales? Why did it try to flee after being injured, displaying an instinct for self-preservation? Why were its speed, strength, and defense so far beyond any other mutated creature I’d ever faced?’

’It was because my opponent wasn’t a Level 2 Zombie, but a Level 3 Zombie.’

’I killed a Level 3 Zombie.’ ℴ

’And that fact implied something else—the thing that could control a Level 3 Zombie, the entity entrenched in the east of Luochuan City, was a higher level than Luo Li.’

’At least, in terms of its control ability.’

"What is it?" Xu Mo asked. "Human or zombie?"

Luo Li thought for a moment.

"I don’t know," she said. "I saw it once, from a distance. It looked like a zombie, but it moved like a human."

Xu Mo frowned.

’That description was too vague. It looked like a zombie but moved like a human... what the hell was it?’

"Have you ever seen it up close?" he asked.

"No." Luo Li shook her head. "That time was just a distant glimpse. It was surrounded by a lot of zombies, so I didn’t dare get any closer. But from that moment on, I knew there was something else in Luochuan City. It didn’t attack me, and I didn’t provoke it. We stayed out of each other’s way. It’s been like that for a long time."

A vague image formed in Xu Mo’s mind: something that looked like a zombie but moved like a human. It was intelligent, able to control other zombies, understood strategy, and could even get angry—angry enough to send an entire horde for revenge just because one of its minions had been killed.