Chapter 711: Third Rank Zombie
Song’s mother’s smile grew wider, with wrinkles appearing on her face, as she tightly clung to Song Wenwen’s arm.
Xiao Lan Zombie looked blankly at Bai Xiqin; when Song’s mother was beaming, her head slowly moved, glancing at the fingers holding her arm.
Just a quick glance, and Xiao Lan Zombie looked back at Bai Xiqin.
This time, her decayed eyes were devoid of hostility, carrying a touch of gentleness and calm.
"I’m here to talk with you, Auntie. Some people from the Human Survivor Alliance have arrived at the base; we must ensure they don’t discover Wenwen is here."
Bai Xiqin could sense that these two upright individuals were not friendly towards zombies.
More importantly, their superpowers were strong. If they did decide to act against Song Wenwen, not even the Base Commander or the Song Family could necessarily save her.
"Alright, I understand. We are very cautious, we’ve never let Wenwen go outside, and the soundproofing is good."
Song’s mother felt a twinge of anxiety in her heart upon hearing Bai Xiqin’s words. Even though they had taken every precaution possible, she couldn’t help but worry.
"I’ll take Wenwen inside first."
Bai Xiqin took Xiao Lan Zombie’s hand from Song’s mother and led her into the innermost room.
"Alright, I’ll... stand guard."
Song’s mother watched them go in, then stood by the door waiting for them to come out.
This was always the case; whenever Wenwen absorbed a crystal core inside, she would wait by the door.
Sometimes it would take all day, sometimes just an afternoon.
The heart that had lost and regained would always be riddled with anxiety.
Inside the room.
Xiao Lan Zombie obediently let Bai Xiqin guide her to sit on a chair, then grasped a crystal core to begin absorbing.
Bai Xiqin’s fingers rested on Xiao Lan Zombie’s shoulder, entering the profound state of mind-separation from the brainwaves.
This time, Bai Xiqin could still feel the rampant brainwaves raging in Xiao Lan Zombie’s mind.
However, alongside the wild brainwaves, she also sensed Xiao Lan Zombie intentionally suppressing these emotions.
Restraint.
This was Xiao Lan Zombie’s own initiative restraint, not restraint under Zhang Yiming’s brainwave suppression.
The conscious awareness of Xiao Lan Zombie was gradually awakening.
Under Bai Xiqin’s guidance, Xiao Lan Zombie began to mobilize the superpower within her body.
The rotten fingertips occasionally emitted frost, at times a small flame flickered to life.
Before her death, Song Wenwen possessed the Ice and Fire Dual Ability, and after turning into a zombie, she awakened the dual abilities once again.
However, this was the first time she mobilized the superpower within her body as a zombie.
All along, under Bai Xiqin’s guidance, she had been absorbing superpowers mindlessly, and this was the first time she learned to release them.
Time ticked away bit by bit.
The crystal core in Xiao Lan Zombie’s hand suddenly powderized, and Bai Xiqin swiftly placed another crystal core into her palm.
Xiao Lan Zombie instinctively absorbed the crystal core, and the superpowers within her grew increasingly intense.
Due to her incomplete consciousness, she couldn’t perfectly control herself, so the released superpowers were unruly, alternately covering her body with flames and frost.
Bai Xiqin covered everything in the room with a layer of ice to prevent Xiao Lan Zombie from setting the place on fire.
"Roar—"
Xiao Lan Zombie closed her eyes slightly, letting out a suppressed roar from her throat, containing a trace of pain.
This was the rhythm of nearly breaking through to a Third Rank Zombie.
Zombies themselves couldn’t feel pain; when the crystal core in her brain crazily absorbed energy during the breakthrough of superpowers, it did stimulate the brain significantly.
"Don’t be afraid, keep absorbing the crystal core."
Bai Xiqin continued placing crystal cores into Xiao Lan Zombie’s hands, observing her changes from the side.
It seemed there was a new transformation on her decayed face; while there was still decaying flesh, it appeared to be writhing, gradually becoming smoother than before.
Though there was still decayed flesh, much of it had diminished.
Bai Xiqin slightly shifted her gaze to a photo placed beside her.
The photo of Xiao Lan Zombie portrayed a beautiful woman with an aura of cold elegance, her skin as smooth as porcelain.
Even with the decaying flesh spreading across Xiao Lan Zombie’s face now, one could still vaguely perceive her former beauty.
"Roar—"
Xiao Lan Zombie let out another low growl, her body shook violently, the waves of superpowers intensified abruptly, then gradually calmed down.
Xiao Lan Zombie succeeded in evolving from a Second Rank Zombie to a Third Rank Zombie.
Generally speaking, Third Rank Zombies can talk.
Zombies appeared dull-witted without flesh, but they were originally humans turning into this form; the higher the superpowers, the more their inherent human instincts revealed themselves.
Sometimes, Third Rank Zombies are capable of speaking in a hoarse zombie voice.
This depends on the environment the zombie is in.
If it’s alone without other zombies or humans, the likelihood of it speaking is smaller.
Just like children, learning to speak requires being immersed in a language-rich environment.
For someone like Wenwen, who has recently been surrounded by family and spoken to daily, the probability of learning to speak is higher.
Once able to converse, Xiao Lan Zombie will recover her memory increasingly rapidly, and can quickly advance toward becoming a High Rank Zombie.
Most Zombie Kings are born as such; they became High Rank Zombie Kings upon being infected and never experienced decay.
But it doesn’t mean Low Rank Zombies can’t evolve into Zombie Kings, even if the odds are nearly zero—it’s not impossible.
"Wenwen, how do you feel now?"
Bai Xiqin spoke to Xiao Lan Zombie when she slowly opened her eyes.
Xiao Lan Zombie fixed her gaze on Bai Xiqin, an unintentional smile spreading across her face.
The smile was quite apparent.
"Wenwen, give me your right hand."
Bai Xiqin extended her hand, tentatively trying to communicate with her through words.
Xiao Lan Zombie blinked her decayed eyes, remaining motionless.
Her reaction to words was still a bit slow.
"Xiao Niu, done? It’s time to eat."
Song’s mother’s voice came from outside.
"Coming!"
Bai Xiqin replied, thinking Xiao Lan Zombie might need more time to learn, so she went to open the door, preparing to lead Xiao Lan Zombie to dinner.
Before Bai Xiqin reached Xiao Lan Zombie, she had already stood up.
Unnoticed by Bai Xiqin, Xiao Lan Zombie actively extended her right arm, allowing Bai Xiqin to hold it.
At that moment, Song Hongfei returned carrying a big piece of beef.
The beef had been cut into large chunks and cooked to perfection in a frying pan. Since no one liked medium-rare, Song Ning had deliberately cooked it to a nice, golden-brown sear.
Each person had a plate in front of them, with a well-done steak placed on it.
In front of Xiao Lan Zombie was a large piece of raw beef, bloody and red.
Dinner began.
Previously, whenever there was raw beef in front of Song Wenwen, she would devour it ravenously and eagerly awaited more.
This time, her decaying fingers hovered over the bloody steak, not grabbing it.
Her vacant gaze slowly settled on the table, observing the beef on each person’s plate.
It seemed different from hers.
The scent of blood and flesh surged into her nostrils, tantalizing her taste buds.
The ferocious desire to devour in her mind urged her to swallow the bloody flesh in front of her.
Xiao Lan Zombie’s decaying fingers trembled slightly.
Besides the consuming desire to devour flesh coursing through her mind, fleeting glimpses of other images seemed to flicker.
"Crash!"
Suddenly, her decayed fingers slapped the plate off the table, where it shattered on the floor.
The bloody steak hit the ground, splattering a few drops of red blood.