At the community gate, Lin An opened his phone and carefully searched the map.
"Beep, you have a new text message."
It was a familiar number from his comrade, An Jingtian.
"Brother Lin, I heard you need money recently. I still have a lot of my discharge pay left, send me your account number."
"If you have time, come visit me. My sister often talks about wanting to see you."
Reading the message, Lin An felt a warm surge in his heart.
An Jingtian was more than just a comrade; they had been friends and brothers since childhood. They grew up together, and An Jingtian's parents even helped with Lin An's school fees.
Before Lin An could reply, another message came in.
"The weather's been unpredictable lately, take care of yourself. Don't fall sick like me."
"My eyesight isn't what it used to be; I need glasses to see things clearly now. Don't laugh at me when we meet."
"Plop."
Just as Lin An was about to reply, he froze.
The phone slipped from his hand.
He stood there, stunned, a chill running up his spine.
An Jingtian was a reconnaissance soldier in the army with excellent physical condition and vision. Now, sudden vision loss and fever were clear signs of early-stage zombie virus infection.
In his memories, the first wave of the zombie virus had already been lurking in some people. Symptoms included fever, deteriorating vision, and cold limbs.
Piecing together the clues, Lin An's eyes turned red.
In the previous life, he had planned to meet An Jingtian outside the city when the apocalypse began. But An Jingtian never showed up and disappeared without a trace.
Lin An thought An Jingtian had been delayed by something. It turned out An Jingtian had died from the virus, becoming a zombie, doomed to eternal torment.
The realization hit him like a blow.
His best friend had died from the virus, turning into a zombie, forever suffering.
Lin An's eyes were bloodshot with rage.
Knowing how An Jingtian died, he vowed not to let the same tragedy happen again.
He frantically searched his memories.
There must be a way!
After a while, Lin An slowly raised his bloodshot eyes.
Blood replacement.
It was the only way he could think of to delay zombification.
In the early stages, the zombie virus gathered at the heart, forming a core. Only by injecting the blood of an awakened one before full zombification could the process be delayed.
An Jingtian's physical condition was much better than an average person's. The better the physical condition, the longer one could resist zombification.
Two hours!
Lin An quickly recalled details about infected individuals from his past life.
An Jingtian could hold out for at most two hours after the apocalypse began!
So...
He needed to gather supplies, get equipment, and reach An Jingtian within three days!
With this plan in mind, Lin An quickly devised an action plan in his head.
Like a silent statue, he stood still.
Five minutes later, Lin An set off with determined steps.
Three days would be enough!
...
Hongyun Credit Company.
In a spacious finance room, three people sat facing each other.
"Mr. Lin, this 1.7 million must be repaid in three days."
"Interest is set at 7%."
"If you can't repay, we'll have to take your house. Please don't be late."
Lin An calmly nodded. Three days later, money would be worthless. Six months later, bills would be too rough to use as toilet paper.
In the apocalypse, only food and strength mattered.
On his way, he had already taken out all the loans he could. He had also mortgaged his house and car as quickly as possible to bridge companies.
In total, he had 3.4 million in cash, including the returned dowry.
Although the money wasn't much, it was enough to buy a large amount of survival supplies.
For now, money was still the best tool to pave the way.
After nodding goodbye, Lin An headed straight for the pharmaceutical company where he worked.
Leaving the building, the two lenders behind him exchanged puzzled glances and whispered.
"Mr. Zhang, I checked this kid's information."
"He's even daring enough to mortgage his wedding house at 7% interest. Didn't even pay any of it back. He's desperate."
"Who cares, he's probably lost it all gambling..."
"In three days, if he doesn't pay up, we'll take his house."
...
At the pharmaceutical company.
Lin An walked in smoothly, flashing his ID badge for special drug transport.
The security guard barely saw his face as the badge fell.
"Name: Lin An"
"Gender: Male"
"Age: 24"
"Position: Special Pharmaceutical Transport Personnel"
"Beep!"
The elevator doors opened.
Lin An went straight to the third floor, swiped his card, and entered the lab.
It was a holiday and lunchtime, so the usually crowded lab had only one intern present.
"Brother Lin?"
The intern, a year younger than Lin An, looked at him in surprise, his hair disheveled and eyes half-open.
"Click."
Lin An locked the laboratory door behind him, ensuring the intern couldn't run out.
Without wasting time, he got straight to the point.
"Where are the lizard extract and snake venom concentrate?"
"Brother Lin, there's no transport task today. What are you doing?"
The intern looked surprised and a bit uneasy.
The names Lin An mentioned were highly regulated substances, each one extremely expensive.
"That's not something you need to know," Lin An's voice was cold, almost a warning.
The intern sensed something amiss. The cold impatience in Lin An's eyes made him hesitant.
After a moment of struggle, he said, "Brother Lin, I really can't."
Lin An glanced at the clock on the wall. He didn't have time to waste. These two drugs were crucial to his plan.
With a swift motion, Lin An dumped bundles of cash from his backpack.
"Here's 700,000 yuan. Consider it my purchase."
"We're just skipping the paperwork. The company won't hold it against you."
The intern stared blankly at the cash on the floor, overwhelmed.
700,000...
That's about the price the company sells them for.
Lin An wasn't going to waste time arguing. He dashed into the lab.
Time was tight, and there was no room for hesitation.
He could have taken the drugs without paying, but in three days, money would be worthless. Besides, they knew each other.
If money could solve the problem, there was no need for violence.
Behind him, the intern, regaining his senses, opened his mouth to protest. But remembering Lin An's icy eyes and the cash on the floor, he convinced himself otherwise.
Well, Brother Lin paid for it, so it's not really breaking the rules.
However, in his impression, Lin An, who was always gentle and never quarreled, seemed like a completely different person.
Lin An roughly opened all the refrigeration units. After some rummaging, he held up two test tubes to the light, his eyes fixed on the two bottles of blue liquid.
The deep blue fluid looked mesmerizing under the light.
Giant Lizard Extract: Blood essence extracted from the North American giant lizard, significantly boosts strength in a short time.
Snake Venom Concentrate: Stimulates the heart and lungs, forcibly enhancing explosive power and endurance.
As special drugs, these two had excellent effects but also severe side effects.
However, Lin An didn't care. As long as he could awaken his abilities, his body would recover to a perfect state afterward.
Regrowing limbs, curing diseases.
Every awakened person becomes a perfect warrior.
Moreover, their physical condition would greatly improve.
Driven by the desire for the power he remembered from his past life, Lin An pocketed the remaining drugs in the lab.
Good things shouldn't be wasted.
The space in his backpack, now half-empty from the cash, was filled with 30 vials of the drugs.
These drugs would be discontinued after the apocalypse, and each one used was one less available.
Speed, strength burst, pain immunity, concentration boost.
In the early stages of the apocalypse, one vial could even turn the tide of battle.
With these drugs, he felt more confident in his plan.
Satisfied, Lin An left the lab. Behind him, the intern hurriedly packed the cash, his head down in fear.
"Keep this secret for three days. After that, you can tell anyone you want."
Leaving that sentence, Lin An entered the elevator, turning around to face the intern.
Their eyes met briefly, and the coldness in Lin An's eyes made the intern shiver.
Such a terrifying look.
...
The elevator descended.
Lin An meticulously planned the supplies he needed to buy, his mind racing.
Food—high-calorie canned goods. Lots of portable chocolate and energy bars.
Awakened ones consumed far more energy than ordinary people.
Water—a batch of bottled water would do, but he could mix in some glucose.
Weapons—no need for a crossbow.
After awakening, he wouldn't need such primitive long-range weapons.
As for firearms, guns were hard to obtain and time-consuming. Abandon that idea.
Combat uniforms—get a few sets. High-intensity battles would quickly damage clothing.
As for riot shields and bulletproof vests, Lin An shook his head slightly.
With his enhanced physical condition, bulletproof vests would be useless and only hinder flexibility.
Regarding weapons, cold weapons were a good choice.
Get some alloy weapons to ensure they wouldn't go blunt in battle.
After the apocalypse, due to rule suppression, any firearms and artillery would be significantly weakened.
With the exaggerated strength of awakened ones, cold weapons were the best for combat.
"Ding, first floor."
Lin An walked out of the elevator, quickly checking the map on his phone.
His eyes burned with determination.
"If I remember correctly, there's a crucial item for awakening here!"