Boom!
Lin An sprinted, dodging as the Licker hurled cars like cannonballs. He tried a detour, but the road was cut off. The only path forward was straight into its hunting ground.
No choice. Lure it somewhere narrow—then kill it.
He turned toward the nearby villa community, where the streets were tighter and less cluttered with wreckage.
Sixth floor, villa window.
A shirtless businessman dangled by a belt tied to the security bars, sweat dripping. When he spotted Lin An returning, his eyes lit up.
He came back! The money worked.
"Here! Save me!" he screamed. "Ten million! Cars, women—whatever you want!"
Lin An ignored him, pulling a fire axe from his ring. The weapon was half his height, humming as it cut the air.
[Beep] Fire Axe (Normal)Average quality. Easily bent.
Lin An didn't care. Game prompts didn't matter—only survival did.
The businessman's grin curdled into panic as Lin An's back stayed turned. His arms trembled; the belt cut deep. "Thirty million! Don't be greedy! If I die, you get nothing!"
The zombie woman pressed against the window snarled, her cheeks crushed into grotesque shapes against the bars. Her fetid breath filled the man's nose.
"One hundred million!" he sobbed. "Just save me!"
But Lin An had already downed a stimulant from his ring.
Crack! The vial shattered.
Strength +1, Constitution +1, Agility +1.Explosive power +50%, Endurance +30%, Resistance +30%.
A surge of energy hit like fire in his veins. His muscles flexed, heart pounding like a war drum. The axe felt weightless in his grip.
This is it.
The parked cars at the community gate suddenly launched skyward, tossed aside like toys.
The Licker emerged.
The businessman fell silent, terror strangling his voice.
Lin An bent low, coiling like a spring.
Crack! The ground split beneath his feet as he leapt, fire axe raised high.
Golden light burst across his body as his awakening talent triggered.
Strength +2. Agility +2. Constitution +2. Willpower +2.
The axe came down with mountain-breaking force.
Slash!
Flesh exploded. A chunk of the Licker's skull flew free, exposing purple muscle.
"ROAR!"
The monster staggered but didn't fall. Its claws slammed down, flattening cars in a spray of steel and fire.
Lin An rolled clear, circling fast. He knew its weakness—deadly speed, but poor turning. A weapon with power, but no grace.
He darted in and out of its blind spots, waiting.
The businessman above shook, watching in disbelief. Lin An wasn't just fighting the beast—he was keeping up with it. Is he even human?
The Licker grew more furious, claws scything wildly, tearing cars to shreds. For a full minute, it missed every strike.
Lin An's agility carried him through untouched.
The beast bent low, half its head still gaping open from the first strike.
Now.
"Power Burst!"
Strength detonated through him. Lin An sprinted up the monster's arm, vaulted high, and drove the axe down.
Crack!
The handle snapped, but the blade sank deep into exposed brain. Lin An didn't hesitate. He gripped the broken haft with both hands and churned it like a blade in water.
"Ding—Mutant Zombie (Licker) killed.""Energy +1.""Loot acquired: Muscle Tissue (white), Licker Spine (white)."
The monster toppled with a final quake. A white glow shot from its corpse into Lin An's body.
Awakener Level 0 → (1/2).Player Level 0 → (1/2).
He exhaled hard, chest heaving. Killing one of these things at Level 0—without the potion, it would've been suicide.
Lin An glanced back once.
The businessman was gone. A smear of blood marked where he'd fallen. The zombie woman still clung to the bars, jaws snapping mindlessly.
Lin An looked away. No time for the dead.
He summoned the Licker's corpse into his ring—valuable materials could wait. Then he pressed on.
Heyuan Community.
Inside a locked room, An Xia crouched in the corner, clutching her phone, tears streaking her cheeks.
"Brother… Brother Lin will be here soon."
On the chair beside her, her brother An Jingtian thrashed against chains, flesh sloughing from his face until he looked like a bloody skull.
"Brother… I'm scared…"
The iron door rattled under pounding fists outside—zombies, clawing to get in.
Then—
"Lin… An…"
The name rasped from Jingtian's ruined throat. The first full word he'd spoken since the outbreak.
An Xia gasped, hope flickering.
But his sanity slipped again, eyes burning with hunger.
The chains groaned, slipping loose.
And outside, the door began to buckle.