Chapter 996: The Deadly Mermaid

Timing! Right now, the most crucial thing was timing!

Ling Mo seized this fleeting opportunity… So the moment he burst out, it happened to coincide with the other monsters crashing into each other. This undoubtedly greatly increased his chances of escaping…

In reality, the time he gained might have been less than a second… But when he was inferior to these monsters in every aspect, even an extra fraction of a second was immensely important to Ling Mo.

“Move faster! Even faster!”

Using a Tentacle to propel himself forward, then accelerating towards the shore as the force began to wane… That was Ling Mo’s plan. In that critical situation, he couldn’t think of a better strategy. Zombie Puppets were merely low-level Zombies, and water was not their home turf. To beat these monsters in a race against time, he had to leverage his body’s advantages. But as he was still some distance from the surface, the black fog above had already started to churn.

“This is bad…” Ling Mo immediately thought of those Upper-level Monsters. Although he had analyzed the situation secretly, those creatures responsible for feeding weren’t exactly herbivorous. Judging by the speed and noise with which they tore through the membrane, Ling Mo didn’t believe tearing apart a Zombie would pose any challenge to them. Even if they weren’t planning an attack, merely attempting to intercept him was disastrous enough for Ling Mo.

Meanwhile, the “Giant Faces” below had rapidly turned around and were now in hot pursuit. For a moment, the entire pool was fraught with peril.

“No choice now…”

Retreating was clearly impossible at this point… but a large amount of black fog was surging towards him from above. Once again, monsters from both above and below had him surrounded, completely blocking all his escape routes…

“Whoosh!”

In a critical moment, Ling Mo suddenly darted through the water. A “Giant Face” that moved incredibly fast had appeared just below him. It then wobblingly reached out towards him.

Despite the slow movement of the monster, its arm moved like a water snake, twisting towards him. By then, it was impossible for Ling Mo to dodge…

“Damn!” Ling Mo cursed under his breath, and simply reached out to grab its arm just before they made contact.

The contact was slippery, but fortunately, the Zombie Puppet’s hand was modified, and even though it was severely injured, its strength was unmatched by common Zombies. So this swift action didn’t slow him down at all.

The monster probably didn’t expect Ling Mo to grab its arm directly. Just as it was about to coil around him, Ling Mo dragged it towards the side of the pool. In the blink of an eye, the monster had slammed hard against the concrete wall, serving as Ling Mo’s buffer.

The inertia from their collision created a hollow in the surrounding water… The wall seemed to vibrate slightly, though it made no sound. As Ling Mo kicked upwards to swim away, the monster’s abdomen now sported a large hole.

Blood immediately stained a large area of the water, spreading out behind him as countless currents surged madly…

“Cough, cough…”

Ling Mo, supporting himself, climbed onto the shore. He began spitting out water and coughing violently.

Using psychic power continuously not only put a strain on his body but also began to overwhelm the Zombie Puppet.

Although the original psychic light cluster of the Zombie had been occupied by Ling Mo, the insufficient hardware conditions of the body made it difficult even to serve as a relay station. Fortunately, his calm and accurate judgment had allowed him to escape…

Ling Mo looked down at the Zombie Puppet’s palm… Despite less than a second of contact, his hand was already covered with mucus, and the skin seemed corroded, showing many tiny red spots and even some areas where the skin had broken.

“Secreted from the pores upon contact?” Ling Mo thought as he stood up and turned to look back at the pool… A large swath of fresh blood had surfaced, and the previously silent water was now furiously churning. But what moved in the water were not fish, but those grotesque “Giant Face” fish… ŖÀℕＯBËŠ

“Splash!”

A “Giant Face” emerged from the water, its swollen face expressionlessly staring at Ling Mo on the shore.

Its face suddenly trembled twice, then fiercely split into a grin: “Ah!”

“Holy shit!” Ling Mo was startled by the sudden scream.

Unexpectedly, this monster had evolved features similar to those of a mermaid…

Only, where mermaids were enchanting, this was just high-decibel noise pollution!

Yet the outcome was strikingly similar… Both were deadly!

The sound startled Ling Mo awake.

He stared at the water for a moment, seeing more and more monsters beginning to emerge, then gradually retreated back into the concrete tunnel.

At this point, pacing became crucial… Retreating too quickly might mean some monsters wouldn’t follow; but too slowly, and his mortality rate would also rise proportionally. Dealing with these intelligent monsters, every move was fraught with a battle of wits and strength…

“Splash…”

The surface was now crowded with “Giant Faces,” while the water continued to churn, likely the commotion caused by the “Upper-level” monsters. A “Giant Face” tentatively approached the shore, while the other monsters maintained a watchful stance.

“Here we go again!” Ling Mo frowned.

These monsters clearly enjoyed this kind of game, which was quite safe for them, but quite bad for Ling Mo.

The “Giant Face” that Ling Mo had gutted also struggled to the surface. It wasn’t dead yet, but none of its kind attacked it. This was somewhat surprising to Ling Mo; it seemed these monsters indeed differed greatly from Zombies in their behavioral patterns. Overall, they were less autonomous but more “united.”

Zombies, on the other hand, were thoroughly steeped in a survival of the fittest mentality. Not even an alpha zombie, perhaps even the Progenitor, could avoid challenges from within its own group. From this perspective, Zombies’ “humanization” was somewhat heavier than that of these Humanoid Monsters…

“Ah!” The injured “Giant Face” also howled. It was more agile than Ling Mo, and its body was extremely slippery; in theory, it should have been difficult for Ling Mo to attack it in the water. But unfortunately, leveraging the impact, Ling Mo had managed to punch a big hole in its stomach with his bare hands. It twisted in agony in the water, struggling to breathe.

Perhaps stunned by its cries, the approaching monster paused again. Meanwhile, Ling Mo gritted his teeth, reaching out towards the injured “Giant Face.”

The struggling “Giant Face” was suddenly dragged out of the water by an invisible force and fell heavily in front of Ling Mo. After this ordeal, its howls became even more pitiful.

The pool quieted down momentarily, and before the other monsters could react, Ling Mo had already rushed forward, grabbing the injured creature’s arm.

As he turned to run, a furious roar echoed from the direction of the pool. Accompanied by the “splash” of water, Ling Mo didn’t need to look back to know that the “Giant Faces” were scrambling ashore…

“Bring it on…”

Ling Mo, dragging the injured “Giant Face,” ran swiftly. With the experience of his previous escape, he now ran unhesitatingly, and his speed was astonishingly fast. Listening to the noises from behind, these monsters, though aquatic, were not slow on land either. However, this place wasn’t exactly dry land; to be precise, they had just moved to a shallower area…

“Just make it to the shore!”

Ling Mo had now reached the pool where he had previously killed the big fish. The big fish was still belly-up on the water surface, but Ling Mo didn’t even glance at it as he dove towards the shore.

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