After carefully disinfecting the body, he placed it in a body bag and placed it in the freezer. He then cleaned up any blood spills.
Finally, he meticulously sprayed everything he touched with hydrogen peroxide.
Lin Fan meticulously cleaned every spot stained with blood, just as he would a murder scene.
He was a veterinarian, running a small pet clinic in a residential building downstairs from his home.
Today, an unknown animal epidemic seemed to be spreading in Linjiang City.
Three dogs had been brought in and subsequently sent away by Lin Fan.
This wasn't due to poor medical skills or a disregard for the dogs' lives.
He ran a pet clinic of less than 60 square meters on the ground floor of a run-down residential complex, treating only teddy bears with constipation or indigestion.
He had worked at the Linjiang Zoo for many years and possessed extensive medical and emergency medical experience.
However, today's cases were peculiar. Each dog showed a slight improvement before suddenly dying. Pathology tests were inconclusive, with all common viruses coming back negative.
"Let's suspend our appointments tomorrow until medical guidelines are released..."
He briefly cleaned himself with alcohol in the pet bathing room, having already discarded his vest, which was stained with blood.
He remained shirtless, preparing to return home for a proper bath.
He lived on the third floor, one floor above the clinic. After losing his job, he rented the downstairs apartment.
The air in the hallway, weighed down by a heavy downpour, grew increasingly oppressive, and the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic weighed on his mind.
Lin Fan locked the door and was about to ascend the stairs when he saw a delicate, slippered foot and long, white legs appear in his path. A young woman in a silky yellow nightgown walked downstairs, drawing his distracted gaze.
"Sister Su, you're out so late?" He was a little
surprised to see someone so late, but he still greeted her.
The woman's name was Su Qing, and she was the tenant across the street from Lin Fan, having moved in over a month ago.
Lin Fan worked the shop on the first floor during the day, seeing them every day and becoming quite familiar with each other.
He occasionally heard from the Teddy Bear Masters who came to see him that this woman had been framed by her husband and his mistress, forced out of the house, and was currently engaged in a lawsuit, forcing her to temporarily rent this place.
Lin Fan's experience of being framed gave her a sense of empathy.
"Brother Lin, you're still busy so late... are you okay?"
Su Qing was surprised to see Lin Fan, and seeing him shirtless and reeking of alcohol, she asked worriedly.
She looked at Lin Fan, as if a thought had suddenly struck her. She
glanced down at her flimsy clothes, her face flushing. Avoiding Lin Fan's gaze, she said awkwardly,
"I'm taking out the trash..."
Then, without a backward glance, she quickly slipped through the space Lin Fan had left by sidestepping.
The air-conditioned coolness and delicate fragrance of the beautiful young woman dispelled the humid heat of the dog days of summer, bringing a sense of relief to him.
Lin Fan couldn't help but smile helplessly as he watched the woman retreat.
Better get home and shower quickly, or the marinade will soak up the flavor.
Lin Fan turned and headed upstairs, deliberately increasing his pace and slamming the door shut.
Su Qing probably wouldn't dare come back if he didn't go in, lest she get drenched again.
He understood his female neighbor's reaction.
Anyone who encountered a shirtless, drunk man in the hallway late at night would avoid him.
And it was lucky it was her. If some gossipy woman had seen him, it wouldn't take long for everyone in the happy neighborhood to know that the dog doctor at the gate of the complex was a drunkard, roaming the hallway naked in the middle of the night...
Lin Fan thought wildly as he sent a WeChat message to the dog owner to announce his death.
After pressing send, he didn't even bother to reply. He tossed his phone back on the sofa to charge and headed for the bathroom.
He was dead, the body disposed of, so he could shower first. What
if someone came and said he was drunk? Then he'd get mud in his pants and it would be hard to explain.
Outside, the heavy rain, which had been pent up for days, finally poured down with the sound of muffled thunder. Raindrops slammed against the glass, making a continuous, snapping sound.
Listening to the muffled thunder outside, for some reason, the spot where the blood had just splashed directly onto the window felt a faint sting.
This made Lin Fan frown, recalling the cause of the dogs' illness.
Information swirled in his mind.
Ulcers, fever, shock, cardiac arrest, vomiting blood...
Lin Fan stood at the bathroom door, staring at his toilet, his eyes widening as an absurd thought emerged.
At the same time, a tingling sensation like an electric shock shot through his bones!
Then, as if every bone marrow had ignited, a searing pain instantly shattered his pain tolerance!
I...!
Radiate...!
Lin Fan's eyes rolled back, and he passed out completely.
...
Am I...dead?...
So cold...So hungry...
Lin Fan opened his eyes, only to see the familiar toilet he had been staring at before fainting, the one that had accompanied him for so many years.
"I'm... I'm not dead..."
He weakly got up from the ground, and all he saw was his familiar home.
"What... is going on?"
He didn't have time to think about what happened to him. Hunger drove him to the living room, where he picked up the remaining half pack of biscuits from the coffee table and stuffed handfuls of them into his mouth.
The biscuits had become somewhat damp and soft, otherwise he would have choked to death if he had eaten them this way.
Before he could take a few bites, perhaps because the food irritated his empty stomach, a violent spasm made him lose his strength in an instant. He fell to his knees and retched continuously.
Ugh! Ugh!
He vomited until he saw stars, but Lin Fan still managed not to spit out the biscuits.
As his stomach began to digest, his consciousness finally stabilized slowly.
"What's going on..."
Thinking back to what happened before, he seemed to suddenly remember something!
Lin Fan suddenly raised his hand and looked carefully at the skin on his arm...
"No ulcers... No redness or swelling..."
"Isn't it radiation...?"
"Fortunately..."
He couldn't help but feel a little scared when he thought of his previous guess.
Since he was still alive, his previous guess might have been wrong. If it really was radiation...
"Don't! Don't come over here! Ah—!"
A sudden scream from outside the window interrupted his thoughts. He scrambled to his feet, gripped the windowsill, and looked down. His pupils suddenly constricted.
The rain continued to fall, and the sky
was as dark as lead. Several cars had crashed into each other, leaving a mess in the middle of the already narrow street below. The water had almost reached the center of the wheels.
On the sidewalk near Lin Fan's clinic, two people were hugging each other...
A drenched woman clutched a man tightly, tearing at the flesh of his neck. The blood gushed out, splashed by the rain, and spread at their feet.
The man's hands twitched, his head raised high to the sky, his mouth wide open, letting the rain pour in.
Through the window, Lin Fan could almost hear the "ho-ho-" sounds emanating from his throat.
"Zombie?!"
Lin Fan's eyes widened in disbelief.
Was this true?
This wasn't an act!
His remaining professionalism told him: the blood, the ripped flesh, the slit throat, the muscle spasms and struggles caused by being unable to breathe were all incredibly real.
Just as he was lost in thought, two more zombies appeared from nowhere, limping and wading through the water to join the feast.
Organs and scraps of meat were scattered everywhere,and several bags of packaged bread and instant noodles floated in the pool of blood.
"Ugh!"
The sight irritated him, and his stomach twisted violently again.
"What...what's going on?"
"Call the police first!"
After forcing himself to calm down, Lin Fan quickly found his phone and made a call.
But even though his phone had a signal, all calls were blocked!
Panicked, countless messages filled the notification bar:
"Emergency Notice: Unexplained outbreak of a severe flu with symptoms of high fever, mania, and extreme aggression. Citizens are advised to limit unnecessary outings and avoid contact with suspected patients!"
"Rumor Debunked: The so-called 'cannibalism' is a rumor!" "
Linjiang Central Hospital attacked by 'patients', injuring multiple medical staff!"
"The military has taken action! Trust us! 'Patients' shouldn't be harmed unless necessary, a cure may be possible!"
The overwhelming news filled the notification bar, leaving Lin Fan stunned.
All the news pages were unavailable, simply displaying a disconnected network.
"The world is out of control."
"The end of the world...?"
Today was July 27th, Sunday.
He'd been seeing patients on Thursday.
If you count today...
he'd been in a coma for nearly three days!
... Lin Fan's former classmates and friends were scattered across the world, and they rarely interacted.
He opened WeChat, and several group chats with over 999 unread messages were at the top. They were all group buying and gaming groups.
One message stood out to Lin Fan: it was from his neighbor, Su Qing.
Friday 09:10
"Brother Lin, are you at the store?"
"I see you're closed. Are you home?"
Friday 17:33
"Brother Lin, I'm afraid to go out. You're a doctor. Do you know what's going on out there?"
Yesterday 19:34
"Brother Lin, there seem to be strange noises upstairs. Could it be Brother Li and the others upstairs..."
"Are you sick too?"
"[Collapse][Collapse][Collapse]"
Lin Fan's heart sank as he looked at the WeChat message list.
But he still tried to reply:
"I just saw it. Sister Su, are you home?"
After a moment of sending and forwarding, a red exclamation point appeared. Still, there was no internet connection.
Lin Fan sighed, clicked back, and scrolled through the group chat logs one by one.
The gaming group was filled with friends from all corners of the world, and recent chats were mostly filled with complaints:
"Why hasn't there been any rescue yet? What are the authorities doing?"
"What
are we going to eat if this keeps going on?" "Find a way to get to a nearby safe zone! There's no rescue!
" "The power's been out at home for a long time...my phone's almost dead, goodbye, buddy."
"How can there be no rescue? How can mortal zombies possibly withstand the army?"
"Iron torrent!"
The last message was around 2:00 AM last night, which is probably when the internet went down.
Although none of the pictures and videos were accessible, he had learned quite a bit from their conversations, combined with the news headlines.
The disaster must have struck suddenly.
Although the initial wave of unrest originated in the hospital, Lin Fan suspected that was simply because the hospital's patients were mostly frail.
Those in better physical condition didn't experience any problems until the following day or even the following night.
In other words, even though most police and military personnel were mobilized on the night of the 24th, hours later, they were still facing a sustained attack from within.
If even a scratch or bite could turn you into a zombie, then aside from a lucky few, the number of police officers and soldiers who'd survive was slim.
Looking at several community group-buying groups, the last few messages were nothing but complaints and venting, asking when help would arrive and how much food you had left at home.
Hearing they mentioned food, Lin Fan hurried to the kitchen, searched the cabinets and refrigerator...
and then a frown settled on his face.
He had never been one to stockpile food, especially in the summer, so he only had some rice, noodles, eggs, and a few pieces of meat frozen in the bottom of the fridge. That would
last him three or four days at best. He had a bucket of oil, but he couldn't just drink it...
Just as he was thinking, Lin Fan's phone suddenly vibrated violently, a text message flashing across the screen!
[Linjiang Government Announcement: Survivors, please ensure your own safety and move closer to Linjiang University! Our military has established an isolation zone at Linjiang University! If you're in the city or too far away, please lock your doors and windows, conserve food and water, and await rescue! The government promises not to abandon anyone!]
Linjiang University!
Lin Fan opened the offline map and frowned.
The crow's nest was over thirty kilometers away, a typical drive that would take an hour.
Not to mention now!
Faint curses drifted from the buildings, and the zombies on the streets moved restlessly back and forth in the stagnant water, following the sounds.
"How the hell am I even close to this!"
How was he supposed to get there?
Was he dreaming?
But the quarantine zone, so far away, wasn't the most important thing right now!
Lin Fan dropped his phone and went to the kitchen, filling every container in the house with tap water.
He lit both stoves and began boiling water to poach eggs and frozen meat, at least to get them cooked.
The cell network was down, and the electricity, water, and gas could all be cut off at any time. He had to be prepared!
"Looks like there are still some survivors..."
Somehow, as this thought came to mind, Lin Fan recalled the cool scent of the last person he'd seen before fainting.
...
Dong—
dong—
dong—
Lin Fan had just taken a few bites of his boiled eggs when a few deep knocks came from the door.
"Speak of the devil, and here comes the devil!"
Who would knock on the door at this hour?
He carefully approached the peephole in the doorway, barefoot.
The sight gave him a tingling sensation!
Outside, a bloody zombie was unconsciously banging its head against Lin Fan's door.
The right half of the zombie's face was completely torn open, revealing dark blue veins and grayish-white eyeballs. Bits of flesh clung to its chin, swaying back and forth with the zombie's movements.
Even though Lin Fan had been practicing medicine for many years and had seen many corpses, this was the first time he had seen such a disgusting one!
Lin Fan recognized this man. It was none other than Brother Li, the upstairs resident mentioned in the previous message. Sure enough, he had become a zombie!
Lin Fan quickly went to the kitchen and fetched his thickest bone-cutting knife. Holding it, he stood behind the door. While a zombie probably couldn't break through his iron gate, having a weapon at hand gave him peace of mind.
When Lin Fan peered through the peephole again, wanting to confirm the zombie's movements, he was suddenly stunned...
A blood-red streak appeared above the zombie's head, with the words [296/300] written on it.
"What's this? Did I hallucinate from eating spoiled eggs?"
Lin Fan rubbed his eyes in disbelief. He peered again. The red streak was still there, seemingly even clearer.
The zombie had probably been wandering the hallway unconsciously. Seeing this door didn't respond, it turned and went to the door of Room 302 across the hallway and began banging its head against it.
The red streak also moved away a bit with the zombie, but this didn't affect Lin Fan's ability to clearly read the numbers.
"This feeling of déjà vu... why does it look so much like the health bar in the game?"
Lin Fan wondered irresponsibly.
"Ahh—"
Suddenly, a woman's scream rang out from behind the opposite door.
Though she stifled the last half of the sound, the short, sharp sound still startled Lin Fan, who was concentrating on observing the outside of the house, not to mention the zombie!
Like hyenas smelling carrion, the zombies suddenly became agitated, violently pounding on the iron bars of Room 302!
Bang! Bang! Bang! The sound continued.
Unlike Lin Fan's security door, Room 302's door was still the type from the 1980s and 1990s, with an outer iron gate and an inner wooden door.
The iron bars had been warped by the zombies' constant pounding. While they looked sturdy, no one knew how long they would last...
If they fell off, Lin Fan didn't think the wooden door inside would be able to withstand the zombies' attack!
...-+ That voice...
Su Qing is undoubtedly still alive.
But she might not live much longer...
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As the zombies thrashed and tugged, the iron fences rattled repeatedly.
This noise drew the faint sound of restless footsteps upstairs from Lin Fan's apartment!
Rough and chaotic.
"They're not human, and there's more than one..."
As his strength gradually returned, Lin Fan's hearing became exceptionally clear.
"It seems the whole upstairs family has become zombies. I wonder if there are two or three..."
Lin Fan calmly observed the corridor through the peephole, silently summarizing what he had seen.
The zombie was slow at first, but after being stimulated by the sound, it became extremely violent.
A minute passed. If there were other zombies in the corridor, they would surely be attracted by the sound.
Although there were footsteps upstairs, they were confined to the room, and it could be determined that the door was still closed. This was good news.
There was only one zombie in the hallway, and its attention was completely drawn to the door opposite, with its back to Lin Fan...
"Maybe I could give it a try..."
Lin Fan looked at the bone-chopping knife in his hand with a serious expression.
He had some frozen food and other useful items in the shop on the first floor. He was going out to search for supplies, and sooner or later he would encounter zombies.
He had to find out the zombies' athletic ability and whether he could handle them.
Besides, he had this ability that looked like a health bar...
Thinking of this, Lin Fan turned to look at the dressing mirror behind the door, ready to check if he had a health bar.
But just as he thought about it, a green bar with a gold frame appeared in the upper left corner of his vision, marked with the number [97/100].
It was as if the pattern had always been in that position in his field of vision.
The moment it appeared, Lin Fan knew it was his health bar.
Sure enough! This was his ability!
I hadn't heard anything about it in the group chat before!
Perhaps his unexplained fainting was related to this ability!
Lin Fan turned around and found himself facing the mirror. His eyes widened at the sight of himself.
"This..."
He had never seen himself before since waking up.
This glimpse suddenly revealed a noticeable change in his appearance.
Originally, Lin Fan had been a bit sluggish and puffy after the unexpected change in his life.
But now, his torso was clean and sharp, with no trace of the sagging caused by lack of exercise. His muscles were tight and well-fitted, yet not overly bloated.
"This... is simply a perfect body..."
The difference from his previous self was like that between a domesticated draft horse and a racing thoroughbred.
A world of difference.
He grabbed the armrest behind the door and bent it hard. Clear lines of muscle suddenly appeared on his skin, and the armrest easily twisted into an X-shape. He could feel his strength increase significantly! This
increased physical fitness, coupled with the ability to see health bars...
this apocalypse would be his golden opportunity to turn things around.
Lin Fan looked at the zombies struggling with the iron bars outside the peephole.
"Starting with you..."
He immediately returned to the living room and began to prepare.
The bite-proof arm guards and apron he usually used to wash large dogs were hanging on the balcony, perfect for this occasion.
Then there were weapons. He had a few knives in the kitchen, which were fine against living people, but against zombies...
Lin Fan went to the window and looked down. He saw that the man he had been knocked down earlier had also become a zombie.
His chest and abdomen had been completely hollowed out, leaving only his shoulder and a stump of an arm, which he waved in the air.
[96/300]
The number floated above his only intact head.
"Even in this state, he still has 96 health points."
It seemed that the core of a zombie was its head, making it difficult for ordinary knives to effectively inflict damage.
Not to mention the short range. If he couldn't kill with one strike, he'd easily be scratched by the zombie's counterattack.
He needed to extend his attack range, ideally even capable of breaking the skull...
Lin Fan's gaze scanned the room, finally settling on the curtain rod on the window.
He removed the curtain rod and placed one end on the ground, pressing it. The 2mm-thick wall should be sturdy enough.
The weight was just right, and the cylindrical structure didn't easily deform under radial load. It was a bit long, but I didn't have the right tools to cut it.
He then pulled out all the screwdrivers from his toolbox. He placed
the thickest part of the largest screwdriver in the opening of the steel pipe, forming the tip. He then wrapped the tape tightly around the end of the roll, using electrical tape until the entire roll was used up.
Thus, he assembled a simple "boar spear"!
The "spearhead" would easily fall off in complex situations, but in a narrow hallway, it was the perfect weapon.
He donned a hat, mask, and goggles, and wrapped a scarf around his neck to prevent scratches.
Finally, he taped the blade of the boning knife and tucked it into his apron pocket.
Now fully armed, Lin Fan looked like a butcher from the wilderness in the mirror, feeling incredibly safe!
In this situation, doctors and butchers share certain commonalities.
In his eyes, stabbing and then crushing the brain was not difficult.
If the tools were suitable.
In just two minutes, Lin Fan's own health bar also increased from 97 to 98. It seemed that the food he had eaten before was taking effect.
So Lin Fan stood behind the door, observing the situation in the corridor while waiting for his health to recover...
[99]
[100]!
At the moment when his health was fully restored, Lin Fan began to act!
The slight sound of "click" was completely drowned out by the sound of the door being smashed on the opposite side, and did not attract the attention of the zombies at all.
Gently opening the security door, Lin Fan stepped out of the door, holding the middle of the spear with both hands, and stabbed it fiercely at the back of the zombie's head!
His target was the most vulnerable weak point in the back of the human brain, the foramen magnum!
As long as he aimed at this weak point, even a woman with a screwdriver could kill Tyson!
With his full strength, in just a moment, the spear crossed the corridor and stabbed straight into the back of the zombie's head!
Puff!
Bang!
[-199]!
[97/300]
The bet was right!
But what Lin Fan hadn't anticipated was the sheer magnitude of his current strength!
The screwdriver tip of the spear completely pierced the zombie's skull, protruding from its forehead before slamming heavily into the wooden door of Room 302 with a resounding thud!
Simultaneously, a suppressed scream echoed from Room 302!
"Shut up!"
Lin Fan shouted, silencing the screams in the room to avoid unnecessary trouble!
Why do women just love to scream?
The zombie wasn't dead yet!
Unable to turn its head, its head firmly pinned to the wooden door by the spear, the zombie swung its arms and charged behind it.
He couldn't pull out the spear!
Lin Fan cleared his mind and made a split-second decision.
He'd hoped for a fatal strike, but he hadn't anticipated the sheer power of his own. The spearhead, piercing through two layers of skull, failed to crush its brain!
However, it had restrained the zombie's movements, a surprising bonus!
Lin Fan quickly let go of the spear handle, unsheathed the bone-chopping knife from his chest, and slashed at the zombie's swinging hand!
The blade split the flesh and bones along the zombie's wrist joint. Lin Fan twisted his hand hard, and his entire palm flew out, leaving only a thumb at the end of his arm!
[-19]!
[78/300]
Although it was expected, this blow only caused this little blood!
This blow not only failed to weaken the zombie, but seemed to stimulate the zombie's bloodiness!
The zombie nailed to the door struggled frantically, and the spear and the wooden door kept shaking under this struggle, as if they were about to be broken free at any time! As expected,
you can only attack the head!
You still have to close the distance!
Seeing this, Lin Fan immediately adjusted his tactics and stepped forward. He grabbed the zombie's left arm with his left hand and pressed it against the wall. With his right hand, he swung the bone-cutting knife and slashed it diagonally along the steel pipe!
He tried to split the back of the zombie's head with one knife!
But he didn't expect that his left hand slipped, and the flesh of half of the zombie's arm was pulled off by Lin Fan!
The zombie's arm bone was pulled out of Lin Fan's hand, swung back, and hit Lin Fan's chest fiercely!
Bang!
What a powerful force!
The zombies were indeed much stronger than living people!
This blow made Lin Fan feel a little suffocated and he took two steps back, but he noticed that his health bar had not decreased, which made him even more excited.
It seems that if no substantial damage is caused, the health bar will not decrease.
However, the zombies will still shed their skin, so he must be more careful next time.
Throwing away the rotten meat in his hand, Lin Fan seized the opportunity, grabbed the zombie's arm bone, swung the knife with his right hand, and chopped it hard on the back of the zombie's head!
Clang! A dull sound!
[-35]!
[43/300]
The knife failed to break the zombie's skull, and the blade was broken instead. It seems that the zombie's bones are also harder than humans.
With a burst of energy, Lin Fan pressed forward, grabbed the zombie's arm bone, and used his arm strength and weight to firmly control it. Adjusting the angle, his right hand chopped it with all his strength again!
[-199]!
[0/300]
A fatal blow!
The back of the zombie's head was completely ripped open, the majority of the kitchen knife's blade piercing its skull, nearly bisecting it with a single blow!
Stabbed and then sliced in half, the zombie's brain suffered severe damage, its health bar instantly depleted!
The zombie ceased its struggles, its arms drooping limply, seemingly dead beyond mortal end.
"Hmm?"
Lin Fan breathed a sigh of relief when he suddenly saw a translucent package emerge from the zombie's body
. With a thought, the package automatically flew towards him.
[Smoked Chicken*1]
[Purified Water (Small)*1]
Then, a backpack icon appeared in the corner of his vision. Inside were only the two items he'd previously found—
a vacuum-packed smoked chicken and a 1L bottle of mineral water...
He checked himself again and suddenly realized his health had gone from [100/100] to [110/110]!
Ten more health points!
What happened?
Did he gain it from killing zombies?
"Killing zombies not only drops supplies, but also increases your health?"
Lin Fan smiled in astonishment. He turned to look at the bloody corpse nailed to the door of Room 302 and suddenly found it a little cute.
...-+ The zombie's health bar, already at zero, was gradually dissipating. It seemed that the health bar would disappear after complete death.
Lin Fan searched the corpse for a while and found only a dead phone and a small bunch of keys.
It seemed that these were the keys to room 402 upstairs.
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"Put it away first. I'll go upstairs and check when I find weapons."
After hesitating for a moment, Lin Fan decided to go to the shop on the first floor to retrieve the tools and make some qualified weapons first.
He was unsure if there were any other zombies in room 402. It would be troublesome if there were still zombies in the room.
He put the keys away, grasped the gun handle with both hands, and exerted force. With a "bang", the corpse was unfastened as the gun was pulled out, and fell to the ground.
The door of room 302 across the street also had a large grayish-white and dark red stain. A coin-sized hole had been left next to the peephole, allowing a glimpse of the furnishings inside...
"Sister Su?"
Lin Fan felt a bit embarrassed when no one answered from the other end.
His previous move must have looked like a zombie breaking through the door.
Sister Su, frightened by his yell, might have fainted...
But he continued quietly,
"Think about plugging the hole with something later. And try not to make any noise; zombies are very sensitive to sound."
He bent down, stepped on the zombie's neck, shook it hard, and pulled out his bone-chopping knife.
A piece of the blade chipped off, but with no other weapons, he casually wiped the grayish-white brain matter on the corpse's clothes.
Then he pushed the corpse down from under the handrail.
It hit the ground with a dull thud.
Lin Fan didn't know how quickly the zombies would rot after they died in the dog days of summer, and he didn't want to experience the smell of rotting corpses at his doorstep.
If he wanted to survive the apocalypse, maintaining hygiene around the shelter was an important part.
Although his body had become stronger, it was uncertain whether his immune system had also become stronger.
... It wasn't
until he turned around and returned home, closing the iron door with a clang, that he finally relaxed from his tense state.
It had only been a few minutes since he left the house, but it felt like an hour had passed.
He took off his "equipment" one by one and threw it aside.
Not sure if it was the sequelae of adrenaline fading or because the previous battle had consumed too much energy, Lin Fan lay on the sofa drinking water, and then he began to feel a little scared.
The zombies' vitality was a little too strong.
His brain was pierced by his sudden attack, and he had to desperately add two more knives to kill one.
Lin Fan looked at his [110] blood volume and thought... It seemed that it was not unacceptable.
Opportunities are always accompanied by challenges.
Lin Fan also had a feeling that as his health limit increased, his strength was also increasing.
It was only a slight feeling, but he believed it wasn't an illusion.
Speaking of opportunities...
he thought, and pulled the smoked chicken from the backpack icon.
With a second thought, the smoked chicken disappeared again...
"This is the most important gain from this adventure..."
A storage space!
And Lin Fan knew that the items inside had no expiration date; as long as he didn't take them out, they would never go bad!
Although he longed to try this "three-no food" with no packaging, he held back.
He'd tried it, but only the items dropped by zombies could be stored freely; other items, like cell phones, couldn't.
So, he had to prioritize consuming the food at home, especially the food in the refrigerator.
Besides, he couldn't stay here forever. The only meaningful supplies were those in the storage space. Even if he stockpiled mountains of rice and noodles at home, it would be useless if he couldn't take them with him.
Lin Fan, determined, rose from the sofa. While it was still light, he had to go to the shop and retrieve some useful tools.
Unsure of the situation on the first floor, he put on his protective gear, cleaned the chipped bone-cutting knife, and inspected the spearhead.
Prepared, Lin Fan took up his spear and left the house again.
Glancing at the wooden door opposite, he saw that the hole had been blocked by something.
"Not bad,"
Lin Fan thought silently, then focused his attention completely on the area ahead.
While there weren't likely to be any other zombies in the hallway, caution was still advised.
A spear over two meters long was particularly awkward around the corner of a staircase.
Passing the second floor, Lin Fan had to pull out his knife, ready for a surprise.
Fortunately, the journey was uneventful; a distance that normally took less than a minute took almost five minutes.
The apartment door was securely closed, and the corpse, its head smashed by Lin Fan, lay slammed against the entrance to his shop.
Lin Fan peered through the glass and saw no zombies around, so he opened the door and threw the body out.
He locked it again, but he wasn't sure if the zombies would eat the body...
There was no good way to dispose of the body anyway, so Lin Fan simply decided to turn it off.
Returning to the shop, he knocked on the door, just in case, to confirm there was no sound from inside, then opened the door and walked in.
Returning to his familiar shop, he couldn't help but feel a sense of reverie. Somehow, he missed the days of treating puppies.
Lin Fan found the elderly men and women who often brought their puppies to bargain with him incredibly annoying.
But now, a sense of sadness washed over him.
Those who had already died were lucky, while those who hadn't had the same fate were likely zombies, wandering around in some corner.
The next time he saw them, he'd probably have to personally send them off.
The dead, their bodies trapped in this purgatory, left behind. The survivors, it was hard to say whether to call themselves lucky or unfortunate.
Lin Fan smiled wryly and piled the remaining dog and cat food by the door, ready for easy access if needed.
He then searched for any tools he might find useful.
Power tools like the angle grinder were bought when he renovated the shop.
The shelves were also DIY items Lin Fan had built himself, and he'd barely used them since. He'd never expected to use them again, perhaps to save his life.
He also gathered some medical tools like scalpels and other supplies, as well as medicines for both humans and animals.
He packed everything into a large box and prepared to take them upstairs.
It seemed like weapon crafting could only be done upstairs.
Stumbling footsteps could be heard occasionally outside the first floor's street-facing wall. Any noise from inside the house would draw countless zombies.
Lin Fan, picking up his suitcase and about to leave, suddenly remembered something.
On the day of the apocalypse, the day he fainted,
he'd treated three dogs...
their bodies, placed in the freezer.
He'd been waiting for their families to claim them the next day, but he'd never imagined the chaos would unfold overnight.
Those dogs had all died of illness; perhaps they were connected to this zombie...
Lin Fan pondered for a moment, then put the suitcase down and picked up his bone-chopping knife. He went to the freezer in the back room and gave it a gentle kick.
Aside from the patter of rain outside, the room was eerily silent.
"Am I overthinking this..."
He stood at the corner of the freezer, carefully reaching out and slowly lifting the lid a crack.
Under the light, a strange scarlet flower of flesh and blood appeared...
BANG!
Lin Fan slammed the freezer hard, holding it down with both hands!-+ "What is that?"
This unprecedented flesh-and-blood monster was far stranger than the cat's glimpse of a smile!
Zombies, however disgusting, were merely moving corpses, and once you got used to them, it was just so-so...
but this monster...
"It's a little strange, let's take a closer look..."
He mustered up the courage to pry open the freezer lid again, his free hand gripping the bone-chopping knife, veins bulging and joints protruding, ready to strike. The freezer
was opened, and under the light, a strange black creature with twisted limbs stood atop a torn body bag, its head tilted upward.
Lin Fan carefully examined it and found it was one of the three dogs that had died earlier—
the black Rottweiler.
But now, its head had inexplicably split into four parts, each dotted with jagged, sharp teeth. The entire skull was completely twisted and deformed into a hideous, terrifying mouth.
As the door opened, white, cold air emanated from a corner of the freezer, and the damp air frosted the disgusting, crimson rift...
Atop its head, a streak of red blood suddenly appeared.
[285/500]!
"This..."
"Frozen..."
Lin Fan picked up a nearby stand and poked the monster. It felt incredibly hard, clearly frozen solid.
He hadn't expected this monster, frozen like an ice sculpture, to not only not be dead, but still have more than half its health left!
He was lucky he could see its health bar. Otherwise, if he'd seen it frozen solid, he'd have been complacent and complacent. A surprise attack would have been a sure thing.
Lin Fan immediately turned the freezer's knob to -40 degrees Celsius, quick-freeze mode, and closed the door to cool it down further.
He took this opportunity to return to his upstairs home, found a few broken tiles, and threw them at the windows of the building opposite, one by one, into the distance!
The crackling sound of shattering glass echoed from near to far, spurring the zombies on the street to the distant intersection.
Seeing the zombies gradually retreat, Lin Fan breathed a sigh of relief and trotted back to the shop.
He rummaged through his packed boxes and pulled out the angle grinder.
"Now that the zombies are gone, cutting into the frozen meat shouldn't make much of a noise..."
This was the only thing he had that could quickly inflict damage on a pile of meat frozen at -40 degrees Celsius.
Lin Fan plugged in the angle grinder and opened the freezer again.
He wanted to take advantage of the monster's freezing and put an end to it once and for all.
The monster inside the freezer remained in its previous position. Once he was sure it was truly immobile, Lin Fan dared to carefully inspect the interior.
The body bag beneath its feet was significantly torn, and the other two bags were also slightly ripped, revealing the bodies inside had been gnawed.
The freezer's interior bore scratches of varying depths, indicating the monster had attempted to escape. However, when it "awoke," most of its body had already been frozen solid, preventing its escape and ultimately remaining frozen.
Fortunately, this gave Lin Fan the opportunity to "recover the body."
"Sizzle!"
Lin Fan flipped the switch, and the rapidly spinning grinding wheel sliced into the monster's scarlet flower-like mouth like wood.
Minced meat splattered onto his apron, and an unpleasant burnt smell penetrated his nose through the mask.
[-1] [-1] [-1]...
After a while, a "petal" of the "flower" was sawed off, and the monster's health bar became [253/500].
"Sure enough, just like a zombie, simply cutting the body can only cause a small amount of damage."
However, since the monster's head was completely cracked, Lin Fan couldn't determine where the weak spot was.
He could only start from the top.
While working, observing the monster for signs of thawing, Lin Fan carefully removed all of its mouthparts.
The monster's health bar was left with [126/500].
Lin Fan closed the freezer for the time being, and just to be safe, let it freeze for a while.
In just two or three minutes, the monster's body was already covered with water marks.
Lin Fan sat on the freezer, thinking about the new information.
The world outside is not only full of zombies, but also mutant animals.
The zombie dog with 500 HP in his refrigerator might be a special case, or it might not be.
But in either case, it means the outside world has become more dangerous.
Mutated animals, even mutated plants...
Lin Fan quickly slapped his face to interrupt his brainstorming.
"Stop thinking about it, get back to work."
He had to deal with it quickly, otherwise it would be troublesome if the power went out.
He cut it down layer by layer. As the cross-section of the body became wider, the grinding wheel of the angle grinder had a limited diameter, making it difficult to cut it all at once.
So Lin Fan could only disassemble the mutant dog piece by piece like an ice sculptor.
"This really has become an evil scientist, cutting the corpse into pieces at every turn..."
Finally, when he cut to the 12th piece of the fourth layer, the HP deduction that had been [-1][-1] suddenly became [-10]-[10]!
In just a few seconds, before Lin Fan had even completely cut off the piece, the mutant dog's HP bar had completely returned to zero, [0/500].
At the same time, a transparent package appeared on the broken corpse. Lin Fan thought and entered its body.
[Obtain: Canned luncheon meat*1]
[Obtain: Scrap Metal*1 (Crafting Material)]
[Obtain: Wild Potion (Small)*1]
[Wild Potion (Small): Slightly increases the user's strength, reaction speed, five senses, and overall recovery speed (can be used directly or injected). Lasts for 10 minutes (can't be reused within 1 hour).]
"Canned goods? Great stuff! What the hell are crafting materials? Can it even be used as a drug?"
Lin Fan looked at the dropped items with a puzzled look on his face, casually taking out the scrap metal and potion.
Scrap metal, as the name suggests, is a messy mass of metal weighing about 1kg. Since it's listed as a crafting material, it might be useful in the future.
As for this potion...
a white disposable automatic syringe. The name [Wild Potion (Small)] is floating above it, with a small description below.
"This thing... is great!"
It's like giving yourself a comprehensive buff. Although it has a 1-hour cooldown, this thing can save your life in a critical moment! He
then looked at his health bar. Sure enough, it had increased again!
[120/120]!
An increase of ten points!
Although it took an hour, it was nothing in terms of the harvest!
He felt a little sorry that the other two corpses did not have health bars. It seems that not all sick animals can mutate.
Of course, it is also possible that they were frozen solid before they had time to mutate.
But to be on the safe side, Lin Fan continued to work for another hour, cutting the other two corpses into pieces, and completely eliminated this hidden danger.
He covered the freezer and pressed some sundries on it. Anyway, he would not use this freezer, so he would just leave them here.
Lin Fan found something to clean the meat residue on the angle grinder, picked up the box of tools, and went out to walk home.
It was getting late, and he planned to go home to eat something, make some weapons, and then go to 402 to see if there were any supplies!-+ Lin Fan locked the door and just as he reached the second floor, he looked up and saw the door to room 302 ajar. A figure peered nervously out. It was Su Qing.
She had been waiting for Lin Fan at the door for two hours.
Lin Fan was the last person she saw before the apocalypse, and the only living person she would see afterward.
Since the apocalypse, panic and helplessness had dominated the world, and she was no exception.
From morning till night, there were wails and screams. Cars collided in the chaotic streets, drivers being pulled from their cars and devoured by zombies.
A lone gunshot rang out from the crowd, but it was quickly drowned out by countless screams and roars.
Although she was lucky not to turn into one of those disgusting monsters, despair still consumed her uncontrollably.
Get out? How could she possibly get out?
She had seen more than once that groups of people leaving the house were overtaken by ever-increasing swarms of zombies, overwhelmed, torn apart, leaving only the piercing screams of agony.
How could she, a woman, escape from the zombie horde?
The hellish world kept her awake every night. She would wait until she could no longer bear it, then snatch a short nap, only to be awakened by nightmares again.
Until today, until this afternoon.
A knock on the door jolted her awake, and she thought help had finally arrived!
Instead, she saw a horrific scene through the peephole!
To be torn to pieces and mauled to death by zombies, or trapped in her room and starved to death—the choice she faced today was resolved. The
zombies pounded frantically at the iron door, but somehow, she suddenly lost all emotion.
She vacantly grabbed a sharp knife from the kitchen and slumped against the tiled floor behind it, leaning against
the wooden door. In utter despair, she planned to use the knife to end her life if the zombies broke through.
As the door gave way with a clang, she raised the knife and pointed it at her towering chest.
In an instant, a myriad of emotions surged from her: despair, pain, grievance, anger, and unwillingness, all coalescing into a scream.
But then, a voice like thunder shattered the despair that enveloped her!
"Shut up!"
A man's voice echoed from the doorway, like a final rope being handed to a drowning man. Hope ignited in her heart like a spark!
"It's him!"
"He's not dead!"
Su Qing's eyes instantly cleared, and she dropped the knife in her hand like a poisonous snake. Unable to control her emotions any longer, tears welled up in her eyes, and she hunched herself against her knees, weeping silently...
...
Su Qing's eyes lit up when she saw Lin Fan. She opened the door and walked out.
"Lin... little brother, let me help you with it!"
Unnecessary courtesy...
Lin Fan glanced at her without responding. He went straight up to the third floor, set the box on the ground, pursed his lips, and looked his neighbor up and down.
She was wearing overalls and a canvas jacket, which were clearly not summer clothes. She seemed to be trying to emulate Lin Fan and dress a little more securely.
Her face, while still as delicate as before, was noticeably more haggard. Her once bright eyes were now thickly rimmed with dark circles, and her eye sockets were red, as if she had just cried...
And above her head, a large health bar also floated.
Unlike the zombies' red health bar and her own green health bar with a gold frame, Su Qing's health bar was yellow.
[45/100]
This was the first time he had seen a living person's health bar. He didn't know why it was yellow, but as long as it wasn't the zombies' red, it was fine.
And why did she only have 45 health points left?
"Are you sick?" Lin Fan didn't respond, but instead asked with a frown.
"Sick...? No! Absolutely not! I'm not injured or infected! Look! Look!"
Su Qing suddenly became nervous when she heard Lin Fan ask if she was sick. She
hurriedly explained, probably worried that Lin Fan would kill her like he had done to the zombies in the hallway.
As she explained, she rolled up her sleeves, revealing her fair and delicate arms.
Lin Fan knew she had misunderstood upon seeing her reaction, and quickly spoke to reassure her,
"I didn't say you were infected. Don't be nervous, don't be nervous. I just noticed you didn't look well."
Hearing Lin Fan's words, Su Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh...oh...I was just too nervous. Sorry, I...I've been a little scared these past few days."
"Yeah, outside right now...I've been pretty scared too."
Lin Fan couldn't help but sigh, then asked,
"Sister Su, are you waiting for me? Is there something?"
Hearing Lin Fan's words, Su Qing quickly replied,
"Um...little brother, I rent a house here, and I usually eat out. I just have some fruit and other things at home. Yesterday..."
As she spoke, a rumbling sound came from her stomach, and Su Qing's face flushed instantly, avoiding Lin Fan's gaze.
"Uh..."
He hadn't expected anyone to go without three days' worth of food.
Lin Fan frowned. To be honest, he didn't have much food, and it was hard to feed another person.
As if she could see the hesitation in Lin Fan's eyes, Su Qing hurriedly and nervously said,
"I know you don't have much food. It won't keep well in the hot summer..."
"I'm not asking you for it for nothing. See how you can use it on me!"
"Anything is fine...even expired food!"
Su Qing spoke with increasing excitement, her beautiful eyes misting as tears streamed uncontrollably. But she suppressed her voice, trying to calm herself.
"Anything is fine...I don't eat much...just a little is fine..."
Her legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground, sobbing.
"I thought everyone in the building was dead..."
"I thought I was going to die too..."
"Until I heard your voice today..."
"I realized I didn't want to die..."
"I want to live..."
Lin Fan felt a pang of pity seeing her so tearful.
But he didn't have any extra food to share with her.
While he could get loot from killing zombies, he hadn't killed many yet. He couldn't just rely on himself to feed a useless mouth by killing zombies every day...
"Uh...how about this, I have two choices for you..." Lin Fan hesitated for a moment, frowning.
"First, I have some cat and dog food in my shop, about ten pounds... But I have to tell you, it's actually not suitable for human consumption. It's fine for keeping you alive, but eating too much is bad for your health."
"Second, the zombie in the hallway today is from room 402 upstairs. I have the key to his house, but I'm not sure if his wife and children are home. Come with me, open the door, and I'll give you a third of whatever food you get."
After much hesitation, Lin Fan finally gave her two choices.
The first option, the dog food, was truly useless to him, and eating too much was definitely bad for his health.
The second option was to hire her for the supplies he hadn't yet received; it wasn't a loss in any case.
Su Qing thought for a moment, her eyes suddenly firm. She stood up, holding onto the wall, and looking Lin Fan in the eye, she said, "Sister... I choose the second one!"
Lin Fan was a little surprised by this answer. He hadn't expected this usually delicate young woman to choose the option that might involve facing a zombie head-on.
But he still respected her choice.
"Okay, follow me."
Lin Fan waved to Su Qing, turned, opened his own door, picked up the box, and walked in first.
...-+ "Look, I don't have much to eat..."
Lin Fan threw the box in the living room and took Su Qing to visit his kitchen.
Since she chose to go upstairs with him, Lin Fan naturally had to be honest with her.
He casually opened the refrigerator, took out four hard-boiled eggs from the fresh-keeping container, put them in the steamer, and turned on the fire to heat them. He
rummaged through the big box that had just been brought in, took out a bag of glucose solution, and threw it to Su Qing.
"Drink this first. If you've been hungry for a long time, eating suddenly will cause stress on your stomach and intestines."
Su Qing was holding the IV bag that hit her chest in a daze, not quite understanding what had happened.
She pointed upstairs and asked,
"Aren't we... going upstairs?"
Lin Fan, busy himself with his suitcases, sorting the things he'd brought up, answered Su Qing's question,
"Yes, but not now. What if there are zombies in the house? Taking you there now wouldn't be worth anything."
Su Qing glanced at the IV bag labeled 10% glucose injection, bit open a hole, and took it into her mouth, slurping it.
"But you were making these grunting noises just now..."
she asked, sipping the sugar solution.
Lin Fan ignored her, seizing the moment to get to work.
It was almost dark, and he wanted to thoroughly investigate Room 402 before it did.
He found an outlet to plug in the angle grinder, picked up his spear, and headed to the bathroom.
Working here would minimize noise from outside, so it shouldn't cause any problems.
As for the zombies inside... they could just jump out the window if they dared.
Seeing that Lin Fan ignored her, Su Qing tactfully said nothing and leaned against the bathroom door, silently watching him. A sharp cutting sound echoed as Lin Fan flipped the switch.
A moment
later, the spearhead, now stained with blood and tape, was completely severed. He
then measured, leaving about 1.7 meters of steel pipe, and then cut the remaining steel pipe into two sections.
"Why did you choose the second one?"
Lin Fan asked, wrapping medical tape around a specific length of the steel pipe to increase friction.
"You're quite brave. I didn't expect that."
Su Qing drank a bag of glucose, and a hint of color returned to her pale face, and her dizziness eased.
Hearing Lin Fan's words, she took two steps closer and said seriously,
"I want to live..."
It was nonsense, but Lin Fan understood her meaning through her eyes.
Not wanting to die is different from wanting to live.
It's like choosing one or two.
If she chose the first option, he would definitely honor it. Those dog food, if saved, would last her for half a month. But what about after that?
If he were still here and she begged him, maybe he would relent and give her some more food.
But what then?
He couldn't stay here forever.
She clearly understood this.
Survival in this world was no easy feat.
They had to face zombies, complex environments, monsters, and countless unknown dangers.
Honestly, even Lin Fan himself wasn't fully prepared for such a situation.
But time waited for no one. The challenges they faced were fundamentally the same: they had to become warriors.
Lin Fan had already taken a big step forward, and Su Qing seemed determined.
This was why Lin Fan had taken her in. Whether it was transporting supplies or making plans, having a helping hand would make many things much easier.
Besides, he would eventually leave the building and explore the outside world.
As his base, this place needed someone he could trust to watch over it.
Since Su Qing had made her choice, Lin Fan naturally gave her a chance.
Even without zombies, 402's choice proved to Lin Fan that she could be a partner in this hopeless world.
After a while, Lin Fan finally finished crafting the weapon. He discarded the original spearhead and instead sawed off one end of the steel pipe at an angle. This
naturally created a sharp angle of approximately 60 degrees.
The spearhead wasn't sharp, but based on the feel, it was enough to pierce a zombie's skull.
The long steel pipe was also shortened, so the original two-meter-long spear was reduced to a short spear of about 1.7 meters, combined with a 60-centimeter iron rod with a sharp end.
After polishing the weapon, Lin Fan returned to the kitchen and handed two eggs to Su Qing.
"Let's get some food for now. I'll go to your house later and see if you have any paper books, notebooks, or any protective gear. Bring them all over."
Although she didn't understand what Lin Fan was going to do, Su Qing naturally obeyed him after he had given her food.
Soon, she had brought over all the books and stacks of A4 paper from the house.
They were all lawsuit documents and materials, but that didn't matter now.
Lin Fan noticed her grim expression and, after glancing over the materials and combining them with the rumors he'd heard, he understood what was going on.
He cut the paper into appropriate thicknesses and taped them to Su Qing's calves, thighs, forearms, upper arms, shoulders, and neck. He
then tied a few books to her chest and back, creating a simple suit of paper armor.
Combined with the electric bike helmet and oven mitts she'd brought, Su Qing appeared invulnerable.
"Don't worry, I'll let you go with me, but I won't let you die."
"These papers were your weapons before, but now they're your armor. It's fate."
As he spoke, Lin Fan reflected on his own past and sighed,
"We have to live well. Let those bitches feed the zombies!"
Looking up, he saw that the only part of Su Qing's face exposed, the lower half, was already red. She bit her lip, and when she saw him looking at her, she shyly turned away slightly.
Thinking back, Lin Fan finally understood what had happened.
Feeling the lingering touch of her plump flesh on his fingers, it felt like he had just groped her all over...
Su Qing watched through the goggles of her helmet as Lin Fan taped her body.
Wherever his hand touched, she felt a tingling sensation, a tingling sensation all over her body. The roars of the zombies outside the window were drowned out by the ringing in her ears...
"Here, take this," Lin Fan patted Su Qing's shoulder, handing her a massive iron pot, a full 50 centimeters in diameter, interrupting her reverie.
"You're too weak, so I won't give you a weapon. This thing I won in a lottery. Hold it in front of you and protect yourself."
"If there are zombies, you withstand the onslaught, and I'll try to kill them instantly."
After saying this, Lin Fan donned his own gear, rubbed his hands against his body, and pushed aside any distracting thoughts.
If danger truly came, unnecessary attachment might cloud her judgment...
Su Qing looked at herself in the mirror. Her body was covered in magazines and printed A4 sheets, and her frail frame made her look like a telephone pole at the entrance of a newsstand, a comic relief.
But the thought of what they were about to do filled her with a heavy feeling.
She understood that this was the best defensive equipment Lin Fan could give her right now; the rest depended on her ability and luck.
"Will we die?" Su Qing asked in a muffled voice through her helmet and mask.
"I definitely won't!" Lin Fan answered without hesitation.
Su Qing was a little stunned by Lin Fan's answer, but then she laughed in relief, a laugh that stunned Lin Fan.
However, seeing that the health bar above her head had returned to [55/100], it seemed that the food she had just eaten had restored some health, not a last-minute recovery or a sudden illness.
"Then I definitely won't die!" Su Qing said firmly to Lin Fan through her windproof glasses.-+ Lin Fan and his companion, fully armed, stood at the door of Room 402.
Upon arriving, Lin Fan had knocked and quietly called out a few times, lest Brother Li's wife and child still be alive, to avoid any misunderstandings.
But the room was completely silent, a complete silence.
He had already prepared for two zombies in the room: Su Qing would hold one to buy time
while Lin Fan quickly killed the other. With any luck, Su Qing might be able to hold out until Lin Fan could rescue her.
But reality surprised them, and it didn't quite match what Su Qing had said on WeChat the previous night.
After all, zombies wouldn't open the security door and then close it again on their own...
"
I remember Brother Li on the fourth floor has a wife and a teenage daughter."
"Then why is he wandering the hallway alone?"
"And I remember you texted me saying 'strange noises upstairs,'" Lin Fan asked.
Su Qing, strapped to her paper armor and carrying the iron pot, was exhausted from climbing the stairs, bent over and panting.
Upon hearing Lin Fan's words, she immediately turned and stared at him with wide eyes.
"Did you get my message? Why didn't you reply..."
But she quickly swallowed the rest of the sentence. Although their time together had made them feel more familiar,
asking this question sounded a bit complaining, and Lin Fan had no obligation to reply.
Lin Fan curled his lips, helped her take the iron pot, and said, "Your pot... I replied, it's you who didn't receive it. If you don't believe me, I'll show you when we get back."
Su Qing heard the encouragement in Lin Fan's words and secretly perked up.
"Okay, show me when we get back." Su Qing placed the iron pot in front of her and said firmly to Lin Fan, "Open the door."
...
Lin Fan carefully inserted the key into the keyhole and gave it a slight turn. With a clang, the mechanism unlocked.
The door had been locked from the inside. According to Lin Fan's experience, one more turn would unlock it. So he stood to one side and had Su Qing stand directly in front of the door.
"I'm opening it!" Lin Fan whispered softly, and with a swish, the security door's latch unlocked, creaking a crack.
"No smell of decay," Lin Fan whispered, then flung the door wide open. Still, there was no sound.
Su Qing poked her head out from behind the iron pot, surveyed the room, and said to Lin Fan, "There's nothing in the living room."
"Come on, shields up, let's go in..."
Lin Fan walked behind Su Qing, his arm reaching over her shoulders to help her take some of the weight of the iron pot.
His arm accidentally brushed against her shoulder, and he could feel her body tremble slightly.
The living room was indeed empty. No bloodstains, no gore. Aside from a bowl of rotting, moldy grapes on the coffee table, it looked like a perfectly normal family living room.
But caution is always a good idea. The two of them carefully searched the living room, kitchen, and bathroom, finding nothing alive.
"Maybe his wife and daughter aren't home..." Su Qing asked, wondering if there was any danger inside, placing the iron pot on a nearby table.
"Shh—don't talk." Lin Fan gestured to her nervously, signaling her to put up her shield.
Because when he approached the bedroom, he finally smelled a familiar smell.
The smell of blood.
In front, in the master bedroom.
The bedroom door was closed, and he couldn't see what was inside, but the smell of blood in Lin Fan's nose became stronger and stronger.
"There's a disgusting strange smell..." Su Qing whispered with a trembling voice.
The smell made her instinctively want to turn around and run away, but when she felt Lin Fan's arm on her shoulder, she calmed down and held the iron pot against her chest.
Lin Fan frowned and stared at the door panel, still holding the iron pot for her with one hand and the spear with the other. He
took a few deep breaths, tapped her shoulder with his arm, and signaled her to open the door.
Su Qing could feel both of her hands trembling. In just a second, the door handle was sticky with the cold sweat on her palms.
But she still decided to follow Lin Fan's instructions and slowly turned the bedroom doorknob. The moment the door opened, the entire wall was a dark red.
Blood... all blood...
Dark red, dried blood and broken pieces of debris covered the entire bedroom wall... No, not just the walls, but the entire ceiling was covered in a thick blood stain!
"Ugh!"
The moment Su Qing opened the door, the smell of blood and the sight before her were overwhelming her, and she began to retch uncontrollably!
Just as her body twitched and the strength in her arm weakened, a dark shadow suddenly shot out from the corner of the bedroom wall above the door and headed straight for Su Qing's face!
[739/739]!
As soon as the eye-catching health bar appeared in his sight, Lin Fan spotted it!
"Be careful!" He warned, and with his left hand, he lifted the edge of the pot and lifted it up from Su Qing's chest, blocking the shadow's attack path!
"Clang!" The sound of metal clashing!
Su Qing was knocked off balance by the shadow's attack, retreating four or five steps before landing heavily on the living room sofa!
The sofa was even knocked over,
and her life or death was uncertain! Lin Fan wasn't idle either. Suddenly, as he spoke, he thrust straight into the void in front of the iron pot!
The short spear felt like it was piercing a sponge!
It hit!
But it missed the vital point!
[-120]!
[619/739]
The monster was terrifyingly agile!
The moment Lin Fan stabbed it, it retreated!
So even though Lin Fan stabbed it, he couldn't penetrate its skull.
It wasn't until the monster retreated back to the bed and locked eyes with Lin Fan, who was staring at him from the doorway, that Lin Fan finally saw its appearance clearly...
The pale, bloodless head of a ten-year-old girl atop a strange, spider-like body.
The body was clearly a distortion of a human body, with faint traces of human organs visible.
However, all four limbs were completely deformed, with four short, thick bone spurs growing at the ends, replacing their functions.
Its face was covered with black blood vessels of varying thickness, and its pale, gray eyes glared fiercely at Lin Fan!
A bloody hole appeared on its face, and reddish-brown blood clots flowed out of the hole, dripping onto the bed sheets.
Lin Fan, who was confronting it, was also extremely nervous.
If I had been alone, I would have found it difficult to react to that sneak attack. Fortunately, Su Qing blocked it, giving me a chance to counterattack. It
was fast, powerful, and had a certain intelligence, but its defense was slightly weak. It lost more than a hundred drops of blood after being stabbed by me.
This was Lin Fan's conclusion. Based on its body structure, Lin Fan could also roughly guess its movement pattern. It was extremely fast, but it was obviously not very convenient to turn.
This was determined by its joint structure. Moreover, in the situation just now, if a normal four-limbed animal faced my attack, it would have jumped to avoid it, not retreated straight!
The strangest thing was that this monster's health was not an integer. Whether it was a human, a zombie, or a mutant dog, it was an integer, but it was [739], which made Lin Fan a little confused.
Since he knew the opponent's behavior pattern, Lin Fan blocked the door with his hands holding up the spear to block its path. Facing such an enemy, he would definitely not get any good results.
But it would definitely rush over. He just had to wait for the next attack.
And the monster seemed to have some intelligence. It instinctively saw that the person in front of him was not easy to deal with.
He moved left and right on the blood-soaked bed, looking for an opportunity to attack.-+ "Sister Su! Are you still alive?"
Lin Fan, so focused on the monster before him that he couldn't turn around, could only ask out loud.
Remember the domain name for the first website: 𝕥𝕨𝕜𝕒𝕟.𝕔𝕠𝕞
...
Su Qing saw nothing, only feeling herself being knocked back by a bull while holding an iron pot. The pain had blurred her consciousness.
Although the pot had blocked the direct impact, the transmitted force still dealt a significant blow.
Even with the sofa behind her providing some cushioning, her bones still ached as if they were falling apart.
It hurt, and she was so tired, she wanted to sleep.
She felt like she hadn't been this sleepy in ages, like she was back before the chaos erupted...
chaos... zombies...
a bloody room...
"You can't sleep yet..."
She heard Lin Fan's voice in a daze, reminding her why she was there.
She was weak, but not so weak that she couldn't get up after being hit.
She wanted to prove her worth, that she wasn't a burden!
She'd promised Lin Fan she'd stand before him, and so she would.
"Alive...alive...I'm fine...I'm not dead..."
Su Qing replied weakly, struggling to stand up, holding onto the sofa.
Although her vision was blurry, she limped steadily towards the man's back.
The monster had also observed the movement outside the door, instinctively noticing its prey, which had a weaker presence.
Lin Fan saw the monster's gaze occasionally shift from him, and he understood its intention.
This was an instinct developed from years of dealing with various beasts in the zoo.
"Are you still strong enough? Put down the iron pot. You don't have to block me."
"When you hear me calling you, throw yourself to the side. Understand?"
Constantly monitoring the monster's movements, Lin Fan couldn't even glance back to see how Su Qing was injured, and could only continue to explain his plan.
"Okay..."
came a weak reply, followed by the sound of the iron pot falling to the ground.
With Su Qing's confirmation, Lin Fan, as planned, deftly moved a small step to the side, giving the monster room to escape. He
then held the spear in front of him with one hand and, with the other, drew the iron rod from his waist, wielding both hands, awaiting the monster's move.
As Lin Fan had anticipated, the monster, upon seeing the opening, suddenly leaped back from the bed, leaping onto the wall behind it. Then, with a swift
volley, it launched itself like a cannonball towards the gap next to Lin Fan,
aiming precisely at Su Qing behind him.
Seeing this, Lin Fan shouted, "Pounce!"
Letting Su Qing fall was just a safety measure. Lin Fan immediately thrust his gun in his right hand, aiming for the monster's path. Escape was impossible!
At this speed, he was sure to pierce the monster's head!
Just as the tip of the spear was about to pierce the monster's eye socket,
suddenly!
Two bone spurs on the monster's hind legs snapped downward, piercing the floor tiles!
Its body came to an abrupt halt! Even the joints of its hind legs were torn apart by the sheer force of the sudden stop, sending dark brown blood spurting out!
But without a pause, it used its hind legs as a fulcrum, its front legs as sharp blades, and forcibly turned its direction towards Lin Fan!
It was actually scheming!
It would not hesitate to injure itself to kill Lin Fan!
Lin Fan's stunned face was reflected in the monster's pale pupils. Twisted blood vessels strained its muscles, and a cruel smile appeared on the eerie girl's head!
...
This monster was indeed not as brutal as it appeared. The fact that it constantly avoided Lin Fan's sight and was not eager to attack showed that its intelligence was far more than that of an ordinary zombie!
Suddenly, a bone spur swung and was about to pierce Lin Fan's chest!
The monster's once pale eyes flashed with a gleam of light, as if it was enjoying the bloody pleasure of tearing its prey apart!
That pale smile was reflected in its pupils. As it drew closer, Lin Fan could almost feel a cold, fishy wind blowing towards him!
Just as the bone spur was about to pierce his chest, Lin Fan's look of astonishment instantly transformed into murderous intent!
So what!
"Trying to kill me?"
"Not that easy!"
With a thought, he opened his backpack and used the Wild Potion!
The potion took effect instantly! In an instant, the air around him became as thick as grease, and the monster's speed suddenly slowed to a crawl before Lin Fan.
Although his own body also slowed, the potion's amplification still made him a fraction faster than the monster!
Unable to retract the spear in his right hand, Lin Fan, prepared, raised the iron rod in his left hand and thrust the tip of it hard into the monster's eye, which was already showing a hint of astonishment!
The iron rod was far longer than the bone spur!
"You can't escape now!"
A highly anthropomorphic expression of fear flashed across the monster's face. Its lower limbs once again stabbed into the floor tiles in an attempt to stop itself, but it had already rushed towards Lin Fan. How could it escape again?
Furthermore, Lin Fan's speed had greatly increased under the effects of the potion. The monster had no time to retreat and could only watch helplessly as the club pierced its eye socket!
The intense pain caused the monster's face to twist and burst!
In a blink of an eye, the little girl's appearance was reduced to a bloody mass of flesh hanging on Lin Fan's iron rod!
The monster opened its mouth wide, its throat trembling constantly! It
seemed to be brewing something!
But no matter what it wanted to do, Lin Fan would not let it continue!
He took a step forward and exerted force instantly!
The iron rod directly pierced the monster's skull, and then lifted it up with all his strength!
With the blessing of the potion, Lin Fan's strength was greatly increased and he instantly lifted the monster's crown!
The gray and white brain matter was also crushed, turning into a disgusting brain rain that splashed onto the roof and walls!
A sharp explosion just brewed from the monster's throat and stopped abruptly!
[-999]!
[0/739]!
Instant kill!
[Obtain: Sharp Blade*2 (Crafting Material)]
[Obtain: Scrap Metal*2 (Crafting Material)]
[Obtain: Steel Wire*2 (Crafting Material)]
[Obtain: Strength Potion (Small)*1]
[Strength Potion (Small): Slightly increases the user's physical strength (can be used directly or injected). Duration: 10 minutes (repeated use within 1 hour is invalid)]
[Obtain: Swiftness Potion (Small)*1]
[Swiftness Potion (Small): Slightly increases the user's nerve reflex speed and acuity (can be used directly or injected). Duration: 10 minutes (repeated use within 1 hour is invalid)]
[Obtain: Hardening Potion (Small)*1]
[Hardening Potion (Small): Slightly increases the user's physical strength (can be used directly or injected). Duration: 10 minutes (repeated use within 1 hour is invalid)]
And his health bar directly increased by 20 points, becoming [140/140]!
"Wow!"
This is a boss!
Two new crafting materials dropped. I don't know what they are made of?
The potion's boost was so powerful that Lin Fan was initially heartbroken over using up just one.
Unexpectedly, three more dropped!
Lin Fan had finally witnessed the power of potion buffs today. Without this potion, killing this monster wouldn't have been so easy.
And this was just a small potion.
The small potion meant there might be medium, large, extra large, super extra large, and ultra pro max potions in the future!
Lin Fan began to eagerly anticipate what potions might drop.
Then again, if Su Qing hadn't acted as bait twice, it would have been difficult to kill it without taking damage alone. Judging
by the monster's size, it must be a mutant daughter of Brother Li. As for his wife...
Lin Fan saw some tattered clothing and body parts in the room, and the conclusion was self-evident.
The monster's health bar was gradually dwindling. Confirming it was dead, Lin Fan finally felt relieved.
He quickly turned back to look for the hero who had defeated the boss, but found Su Qing sprawled on the floor at the side of the living room, head against the wall, motionless...