Chapter Forty-Two: "Better"

When more than two-thirds of Liana's body had transformed into her monstrous form, a dense, gray mist began to seep from the ant queen’s body, drifting slowly toward the charging stage-eight mutants. The mist grew thicker by the moment, expanding until it enveloped the leading mutant. Those on the ground fell into a state of paralysis, while those in the sky dropped like dumplings, raising clouds of dust as they crashed. Ye Hai understood this sudden chaos was the violent clash between the Veronica virus and the zombie virus.

It didn’t last long. Soon, the mutants shrouded in the gray mist began to undergo strange changes. Some sprouted antennae from their heads; others developed ant-like carapaces on their bodies, and some found their mouthparts sharpening to resemble those of an ant. Without exception, every mutant within the mist gradually manifested features of an ant.

This was the sign of the Veronica virus’s overwhelming victory.

The newly transformed stage-eight mutants then turned, their aggression now directed at the mutants under the bee queen’s command. The bloody war of mutants had officially begun.

Witnessing this miraculous scene, Joe exclaimed, “This mist can turn other mutants into slaves obedient to Liana? Even those at stage eight can be subjugated?”

Ye Hai shook his head and replied, “It’s not so much subjugation as assimilation.”

“The Veronica composite is essentially a gigantic plague source. It endlessly emits derivative viruses, forging an ecosystem ruled by the ant queen. Within this ecosystem, whether plant or animal, all are assimilated by the virus and become part of the whole.”

“These secondary infected have only one purpose: to obey the ant queen’s commands.”

“The fundamental difference between the ways Veronica and the bee queen command mutants is this: the bee queen treats other mutants as slaves, while the ant queen assimilates them into her own kin.”

Joe, hearing Ye Hai’s explanation, broke out in cold sweat and asked, his gaze complex, “Is this the Veronica virus you’ve been obsessed with? Such terrifying power—even stage-eight mutants can be assimilated. And yet, you’ve handed it over to someone you’ve only known for a few days?”

“Besides, though the virus’s assault on Liana has slowed, it’s clear that girl is enduring inhuman torment. If her will collapses, the virus will invade her brain in an instant, transforming her into a complete monster!”

Ye Hai’s lips curled into a cold smile. He countered, “So what?”

“The Veronica will that arises from the annihilation of Liana’s own will still remains under my control.”

Joe was speechless.

Unlike others, Ye Hai’s research philosophy was absolute control; he never touched viruses he couldn’t fully command.

In Joe’s view, the viruses and organic bioweapons Ye Hai developed were always under his absolute control—a situation Joe considered nearly impossible in his own field. He had once asked Ye Hai about this, but Ye Hai only smiled mysteriously and remained silent. After all, he couldn’t tell Joe the real reason: his possession of a system.

“I know you have absolute control over the viruses you develop,” Joe said. “But why not use it yourself? With this virus, you could rule the zombie planet.”

Ye Hai shook his head. “First, I lack the proper equipment to extract the ant queen gene fragment from Liana. If I used brute force to extract it, it could trigger a chain reaction and collapse the DNA’s double helix structure. The end result would be Liana’s death.”

“I’ve never resorted to indiscriminate slaughter for the sake of acquisition. That’s my last line, which I’ve upheld for years—you understand.”

“Second, there’s a certain quality in this girl that made me decide to give her a chance.”

Joe asked curiously, “What quality?”

Ye Hai grinned. “Kindness. Haven’t heard that word on the zombie planet in ages, have you?”

Joe replied with disgust, “Kindness? That nearly got us killed. If you hadn’t been lucky enough for me to find you among the dead, your so-called kindness would have cost you your life long ago. Besides, after all these years, you’re no longer that naive, foolish boy. Do you even care about kindness anymore?”

Ye Hai grew serious. “We don’t have to be kind, nor do we need to become kind, because we’ve all seen the deepest darkness. Kindness nearly killed me once—I choose not to forgive it. But this world always needs someone to treat it kindly; otherwise, it becomes too cold and cruel, which is not the world I want. That kind of corpse hunter organization is not what I need, either.”

Joe snorted. “Enough with the philosophy. Let the boss worry about the organization’s future. We only get a few bucks a month, right? Every so often, you drop some philosophical bomb that gives me a headache. I just hope your saintly girl doesn’t bring disaster to the organization someday.”

Ye Hai grinned. “If that day ever comes, I’ll get rid of both ‘disaster’ and ‘kindness’. And do you know what sets me apart from Eivell Schmidt?”

Joe shrugged. “I’m all ears.”

“Eivell Schmidt can’t control the power he gives to his mutants—but I can.”

Joe spread his hands in resignation. “Alright, alright. I know you have absolute control over your viruses. If Liana succeeds, we’ll have a corpse hunter so powerful it’s terrifying. If she fails, you get an incomparable bioweapon. Your calculations are pretty shrewd.”

Ye Hai shook his head again. “No. If Liana fails, I’ll kill the Veronica composite, extract the original Veronica virus, and wait for the next host.”

Joe was puzzled. “Why?”

Ye Hai explained, “The Veronica composite is unlike other bioweapons… its infectious power is too overwhelming. Infection is its instinct. Even I can only suppress it, not change it. It’s like I can never get a Licker to live on grass. The virus released by the Veronica composite would create a ceaseless, terrifying plague across the planet. Any living being that enters would be transformed, assimilated into the Veronica ecosystem, and become a vassal of the ant queen.”

“That would be an apocalypse. I don’t want to see that happen, even though it wouldn’t affect me personally. So this virus must be controlled by humans—and by a good-hearted person.”

“Moreover, only by entering Veronica’s second form, the ‘Alexia form’, can the derivative viruses be contained within the body. The composite form bioweapon should not exist in this world.”

Joe was even more shocked. “Blanketing the whole planet? Something so outrageous, and you’d rather not control it yourself—just because of this inexplicable ‘kindness’? Are you out of your mind?”

Ye Hai shrugged helplessly. “There aren’t many people I can trust—mainly the boss and you few corpse hunters. But you all already have the T-virus in your bodies and can’t be compatible with Veronica like I can. Yet the zombie planet is undergoing a terrifying transformation that no one has noticed. I need human companions with minds to face it with me—not mindless bioweapons.”

“Often, wisdom is greater than strength. Besides, we’re far weaker than the mutants. If we lack wisdom as well, we’re doomed.”

“As for why I don’t use it myself—first, I have something better. Second, I refuse to be trapped forever on this hellish planet. Someday, when I step into the stars, the zombie planet’s base needs someone to protect it for me. The original Veronica virus host is the best choice. Whether it’s Liana, Annalie, or Nariane, it doesn’t matter to me.”

Joe rolled his eyes. “Stepping into the stars again? You sound more and more like the boss… But what do you mean by ‘something better’?”