Drawing the curtains was a delicate skill. Pull too fast, and there would be noise. With Fang Ying’s level of evolution, even the faintest of sounds would be enough to grab her attention. And then there was the question of how much to draw, and at what angle-both requiring careful thought. Let in too much light, and the whole effort would be rendered meaningless…
“Talking about it like it’s such a big deal, but honestly, it’s just because I’m freaking nervous!”
Ling Mo’s nerves were stretched taut. He kept his gaze fixed on Fang Ying as he took a cautious step back. At the same time, he said, “Do you know what it is?”
This kind of stalling tactic would normally be a recipe for disaster, but given Fang Ying’s current state, it somehow hit the mark perfectly. She ignored Ling Mo’s retreating movements, hastily asking, “Just tell me!”
“Don’t you want to take a guess?” Ling Mo stepped back a little further.
This time, a trace of impatience finally crossed Fang Ying’s face. She suddenly shouted, “Stop!” Then, with a suspicious look, she glanced at Ling Mo. “What are you up to?” Without waiting for him to respond, she waved her hand dismissively and said, “Just say it already. No matter what you’re scheming, as long as you’re in this company, you won’t accomplish anything. This place is a cage-not just for me, but also for outsiders like you.”
After throwing in a couple of unabashed threats, Fang Ying cast Ling Mo a quick, complicated glance. She hid her feelings well, but under Ling Mo’s heightened psychic perception, her subtle expressions didn’t escape his notice. He caught that fleeting look and couldn’t help but be amazed-seeing such human-like and nuanced emotion in the eyes of a zombie was truly something. This trip had already proven worthwhile. Unlike Xia Na, Fang Ying was a genuine Wild Zombie! Her evolutionary trajectory followed the most common path, which made her an excellent reference point…
A catalyst! There must be something unique sparking her transformation!
“Hehe, since you’re so eager to know… the answer is actually quite simple. When a human undergoes mutation, it happens in an instant-the moment the virus fully invades the body. And when I say ‘body,’ that includes the brain. Unless very specific measures are taken in advance, the process is irreversible. Based on the description you provided, that ‘sister’ of yours clearly didn’t have the means to circumvent it ahead of time. So, there’s no way she could have been aware of what she was doing at the moment of her mutation,” Ling Mo asserted with certainty.
“You…” Fang Ying was momentarily stunned. Partly because she barely understood what he was saying, and partly because such profound yet cryptic words had come from the mouth of what appeared to be a Low-Level Zombie. Even if his main body was also a Progenitor Zombie, how could he have evolved to possess this level of Intelligence?!
She was completely outmatched!
“With just this…” Fang Ying tried to put up some resistance.
But Ling Mo had already cut her off. His blood-streaked face, expressionless as it was, now held an air of confidence and composure. Even the casual, almost leisurely way he strolled to the side seemed entirely natural… However, if Fang Ying could have calmed herself completely, she might have noticed the one subtle flaw in Ling Mo’s demeanor.
The abnormal pounding of his heartbeat-it was the sound of danger drawing ever closer.
“Yes, with just this,” Ling Mo said, his gaze piercing. “I can be certain-you are NOT the ‘sister’! Why didn’t you finish your story just now? Because you can’t lie! It’s as if you’ve completely immersed yourself in the role of the ‘sister,’ but your Subconscious still remembers that this is someone else’s story. Sure, everything you recall happened for real, and that’s why you could convince yourself. But the moment it involves something that didn’t actually take place, you’re unable to fabricate it.”
As Ling Mo spoke, his eyes darted nervously toward the cabinet that was inching closer and closer to him.
Almost there. Just a little bit more…
“That’s why you deliberately skipped over that part of the truth. But I can help fill in the blanks for you.”
Fang Ying froze for a moment, then suddenly let out a piercing scream, “I don’t want to hear it!”
Taking advantage of her distraction, Ling Mo quickened his pace and shouted confidently, “Everything you’ve said is true, but there’s one key fact you’ve intentionally avoided-or perhaps selectively forgotten. When you left the warehouse, the ‘sister’ was already gravely injured. In that condition, there was no possible way for her to leave the company alive. Sure, her injuries and rage may have pushed her evolution forward, but at its core, that only accelerated her death. Of course, you didn’t know this. But it didn’t stop your plan-using her until her very last moment.”
“So when she confronted you all, she was already at the end of her rope… Given the guilt you feel from that particular memory, I can venture a bold guess. If everything from her attacking you to ultimately grabbing you is true, then what followed must have taken an unexpected turn. For example… she briefly regained her consciousness.”
“Ah! Stop talking! I don’t want to hear it!” Fang Ying clutched her head tightly with both hands, but her eyes still shot daggers at Ling Mo.
Ling Mo, undeterred, continued, “And she hesitated… Even though she had done some horrifying things, she had never personally killed anyone before. Let alone someone she knew-someone crying and begging her for mercy. She didn’t anticipate that these desperate cries would momentarily restore her humanity… but also lead to her own fatal mistake.”
“Stop…” Fang Ying’s voice cracked, trembling with desperation.
“The girl who was crying her heart out and calling her ‘sister’ suddenly attacked her,” Ling Mo stated calmly.
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“AHHHHH!!!”
Fang Ying let out an ear-piercing scream, her hands sliding down from her head, trembling. “I wasn’t wrong! I just wanted to survive! In the end, we were just close coworkers, nothing more… I wasn’t wrong! I wasn’t wrong!”
“Perhaps if it were just a matter of killing someone, you could find countless justifications. It wouldn’t leave you like this. No-there must have been something else you did… Imagine the scene. You were following her as she escaped, but you hadn’t fully left the company yet. When she discovered the truth and turned on you, the surroundings must have been swarming with Zombies, drawn by the scent of blood. The place where she confronted you must have been the hiding spot you used while tracking her. But such a location wouldn’t have lasted long under a Zombie attack. On one side were the Zombies closing in, and on the other, the companions you personally killed…”
Ling Mo’s voice turned cold as he concluded, “Like you said-some things become easier after doing them once. But I think you’ve realized now that you only got half of that statement right. No matter how simple it becomes to do something, some actions will always weigh heavily on you.”
As Ling Mo spoke, Fang Ying’s screams gradually diminished, fading into ragged breathing.
Her claws, hardened and sharp, left faint white marks across her tough outer shell. Her eyes, unblinking and fixated, never left Ling Mo.
Suddenly, Fang Ying’s gaze turned icy, and a cold smile appeared on the normal side of her face. This expression made her seem extraordinarily eerie, even bone-chilling. In that moment, it was as if two distinct personas had emerged on her face. One was her usual self, heavy with sorrow, almost as if she was silently weeping. The other was a twisted and distorted version of her-the “sister.”
One face weeping, the other smiling. One grotesque, the other beautiful. Together, they fused into the Fang Ying standing there now.
“Hehehe…” Fang Ying let out a soft laugh. The moment that sound escaped her lips, Ling Mo understood the reason for the parasite she had spawned. She had treated the “sister’s” memories as a parasite-those “foreign memories” had taken root deep in her mind, haunting, suffocating, and controlling her.
The laugh that came from Fang Ying’s mouth was uncannily similar to the laugh Xiao Yue Er had made when she had been under someone else’s control…
“It really is… all the same,” Fang Ying said, her voice almost mocking. “Even though you don’t fully understand the details, you still managed to hit every key point. First, you triggered my memory. Then, you forced me to remember myself…” Her laughter grew increasingly frenzied, and her body began to contort in a strange, unnatural way.
“This feeling… This feeling makes me want to devour you alive!”