"This is it!"
An old building was covered with withered vines.
Lin An looked at the familiar yet strange house number, feeling a rush of emotion.
Not wasting a single second, he fought his way through hundreds of zombies in just five minutes.
His combat suit was crusted with thick, congealed blood.
The soles of his boots were covered with bits of flesh.
The broken fire axe in his hand had been replaced with half of a Licker's spine.
Lin An fought his way through.
From the outside, he looked like a monster crawling out of a pile of corpses.
"Jingtian! Anxia!"
Lin An didn't stop, striding into the residential building.
He paid no heed to the swarm of zombies outside the building.
He kept calling out the names of An Jingtian and Anxia.
"Brother Lin!"
Inside the house, Anxia, who had been curled up in a corner, stood up in surprise, afraid she had misheard. She looked out the window eagerly.
"I'm here!"
Anxia leaned out and waved, her eyes full of hope.
Outside the door, the zombies grew more agitated, drawn by the scent of Lin An's living body.
Lin An heard Anxia's voice and looked up quickly.
Inside, An Jingtian, tied to a chair, suddenly broke free.
His wrists, stripped of flesh, had become thin enough to slip out of the chains.
The chains fell to the floor with a clear sound.
But Anxia didn't notice amid the zombies' howls.
The room was dimly lit.
A pair of bloodthirsty crimson eyes suddenly appeared behind her.
Lin An's pupils shrank to dangerous pinpricks.
"Power Burst!"
His Awakener talent activated again.
Disregarding the immense drain from using his talent repeatedly in such a short time, Lin An frantically unleashed his strength.
He lunged forward!
"Thud!"
The Licker's sharp spine pierced through the zombie at the door.
It was skewered like a candied hawthorn, pinned to the door frame.
Faster!
Faster!
Lin An roared internally, swinging his right fist with all his might.
"Boom!"
His brute force shattered the door.
The thick iron door twisted and deformed with an ear-piercing sound.
Inside the house.
Anxia was clutching her throat weakly, blood seeping through her fingers.
"Brother... Brother?"
Her lips moved, but no sound came out.
An Jingtian's grotesque, decayed face showed no sign of rationality.
Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth as he prepared to bite down again.
"Jingtian!"
Lin An's shout was full of rage.
Muscles tore.
His already peak speed increased even further.
An Jingtian's body trembled at the sound, a look of confusion flickering in his eyes.
The mouth poised to bite hesitated.
"Boom!"
In 0.5 seconds, Lin An dashed from the doorway, crashing into An Jingtian, knocking him away from Anxia.
Behind them, the wall cracked, and dust fell.
Zombies differed from ordinary humans.
Even though An Jingtian hadn't fully turned, his body, enhanced by the virus, was far stronger than a regular person.
For a regular human, even with Lin An holding back, most would lose their ability to move from such an impact.
But An Jingtian was different.
After a brief stiffness, his eyes turned red again, full of hunger for flesh.
"Roar!"
Lin An pinned him down, preventing him from harming Anxia.
An Jingtian's body was tightly restrained by Lin An, his head thrashing wildly.
Low growls, like those of a beast, emanated from deep in his throat.
His once resolute and dignified face was now a mass of ruined flesh.
Infected by the zombie virus, his skin was decaying.
Lin An's eyes were filled with sorrow.
Lin An had quickly assessed Anxia beside him. Though she was not in immediate danger, her throat had been cut by An Jingtian, which meant she would also be infected by the virus.
Seeing his best friend about to turn into a zombie, and their beloved sister also infected, he felt a burning anguish in his heart.
Jingtian, you must hold on!
"Shh."
Lin An swiftly slashed his wrist with a piece of iron.
Blood flowed profusely.
"Power Burst!"
Lin An muttered, activating his Awakener talent once more.
The once bright golden aura around him dimmed slightly.
His bright red blood took on a golden hue.
His mental energy was exhausted, and his vision blurred.
Lin An bit his tongue to force himself to stay conscious.
"Brother Lin, is my brother going to be okay?" Anxia asked weakly, squatting helplessly nearby.
The wound on her neck was a scratch from An Jingtian's fingers, not too severe.
Lin An didn't answer, his face grave as he pressed his bleeding wrist against An Jingtian's heart.
The wound and the skin made contact.
The faint golden hue in his blood seemed to come alive, suddenly seeping into An Jingtian.
"Don't worry, I'm here."
The taste of blood was metallic and bitter on his tongue.
Seeing his blood react upon contact with An Jingtian, Lin An felt a slight relief.
Though it was rumored in the previous world that an Awakener's blood could suppress zombification, he had never tested it himself.
He softly reassured Anxia, though he wasn't very confident.
Using an Awakener's blood to delay zombification was the only method he had heard of.
With An Jingtian about to turn into a zombie, he had no choice but to try it.
As the golden blood strangely seeped into An Jingtian's chest, his blood-red eyes gradually regained some clarity.
His previously struggling body began to calm down.
It worked!
Lin An was overjoyed, his nose stinging with emotion.
The regret from his past life was finally being resolved.
"Brother Lin, is my brother going to be okay?" Anxia asked hopefully, yearning for a reassuring answer.
Lin An, straining to stay alert, was about to comfort her.
"Ahhh!"
A sudden change.
An Jingtian's body, which had just calmed down, arched backward at a 90-degree angle. The sound of bones grinding against each other was painful to hear.
His pupils turned gray in an instant.
The blood from Lin An's wrist, which had seeped into An Jingtian's chest, was expelled.
"Shh."
The golden blood fell onto his chest, vaporizing instantly and emitting a pungent stench.
Lin An was shocked.
His momentarily relaxed nerves tensed up again.
In just a few seconds, An Jingtian's skin peeled off like clothing, revealing raw flesh.
"No!"
How could this be!?
Lin An's eyes turned red, his face ashen.
He didn't know if the rumor about Awakener blood delaying zombification was false, or if his Awakening talent was different from others.
Instead of slowing the process, the Awakener's blood accelerated it!
This meant he had no way to save An Jingtian.
If the blood didn't work, then Anxia...
She would die too!
Exhausted from the fierce battles, Lin An felt utterly drained.
Why did it have to end like this!?
The two people he cared about most, and he couldn't save either of them!
Lin An clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms, feeling desperate and helpless.
"Beep."
"Savior mission activated:..."