The speed of the motorcycle was incredibly fast.
The modified engine roared, quickly accelerating to 100 km/h.
Lin An, expressionless and without a helmet, was unaffected by the high-speed airflow hitting his face.
Faintly, he seemed to hear someone shouting from the residential area behind him.
However,
even if he could hear clearly, he wouldn't stop.
The modified motorcycle, like a black blur, sped along the ring road.
Wrecked cars and gruesome corpses were scattered along the way.
Severed limbs hung from the guardrails like fresh pork.
With his awakened 14 points of willpower, Lin An skillfully maneuvered the bike to avoid obstacles along the way.
Even though he wasn't familiar with motorcycle riding, his superhuman reflexes gave him driving skills comparable to top racers.
. . .
On the ring road, a man and a woman carefully stood on top of a silver-white RV.
They had been trapped there for a day and a night.
No food, no water.
Fear and hunger had almost broken their will.
Below, next to the RV, the former driver and other passengers had turned into zombies.
Four zombies, driven by their insatiable hunger for flesh, ceaselessly clawed at the vehicle, emitting hoarse growls.
Every shake of the vehicle from the zombies' impact brought a scream from the bald man.
On the roof, a young woman in a white T-shirt and denim shorts, looking youthful and cute, clung to the antenna to keep herself from falling.
"We can't stay here any longer."
"Without water and food, we'll die if we run out of strength."
The girl, named Wen Ya, forced herself to stay calm and tried to discuss solutions with the bald man.
The bald man, named Li Zhiping, was her boss at work.
Li Zhiping didn't respond.
Still terrified, he frantically looked around.
Wen Ya sighed softly at his reaction.
She hadn't expected someone of Li Zhiping's age to be less composed than her.
Lustful, cowardly.
A day ago, during a company outing, Li Zhiping had tried to coax her into going to a karaoke bar with him.
With no other choice, she suggested they go for a picnic instead.
Otherwise, it was obvious what this old man had in mind.
Wen Ya ignored Li Zhiping's loud shouting and rubbed her sore ankle.
Her slender, fair ankle was bruised from bumping it while climbing onto the roof.
"Help!"
"Is anyone out there?"
Li Zhiping didn't know how long he had been shouting. A day and a night without water, his throat felt like it was on fire.
Exhausted and terrified, he stopped screaming, looking despondent.
He turned and saw Wen Ya sitting on the roof, staring blankly.
"Wen Ya..."
"It looks like you're hurt pretty bad."
"Let me help you rub it."
Li Zhiping swallowed hard.
He had long been lusting after this young woman.
Youthful, beautiful, unlike the old, unattractive women at the company.
He had heard she was a top university graduate too.
Feeling aroused, he couldn't resist wanting to fondle her delicate feet.
Wen Ya, her face wary, immediately stood up.
"There's no need. You should worry about yourself!"
She glared at him in disgust.
Cowardly, disgusting.
Still lustful in such a situation.
Li Zhiping didn't care, his eyes glued to Wen Ya's body with desire.
"I heard you're still a virgin. Wouldn't it be a shame if you died here without experiencing a man?"
The vehicle shook from the zombies' pushing.
He carefully stood up and took a step closer.
"Let me have some fun, really."
Li Zhiping's face twisted with a lecherous smile, imagining the pleasure of having her white thighs over his shoulders.
If he could sleep with a beauty before dying, it would be worth it!
Wen Ya's expression turned icy as she desperately thought of a way out.
Both of them were on the roof, and any struggle could easily send them falling into the horde of zombies.
But she'd rather die than let him touch her!
What to do!?
Li Zhiping, in a daze, unbuckled his belt with one hand and reached out to Wen Ya with the other.
Suddenly, the vehicle swayed.
Caught off guard, he stumbled and fell back onto the roof.
A zombie's arm grabbed at him, hungry for flesh.
The zombie's decayed fingers brushed his neck, making him jolt as if electrocuted.
Li Zhiping screamed, scrambling upright.
He flailed and twisted his head around.
"Check if I've been scratched!?"
His voice trembled with tears.
"I beg you, check!"
He couldn't see his own neck and back, so he pleaded with Wen Ya on the roof.
"You're fine."
Wen Ya exhaled softly, replying coldly.
A flicker of unease crossed her eyes but she quickly concealed it.
Li Zhiping breathed a sigh of relief, his nerves easing from the tension.
He would rather kill himself than become a zombie.
Last night, he had seen an employee in the vehicle turn into a zombie within ten minutes after a minor scratch on the face.
The flesh rotted, stinking of decay.
If he hadn't reacted quickly and climbed onto the roof,
the half-footed corpse on the ground would have been his fate.
"I just remembered."
"There's food in the car next to us, and the key's still in it."
"I forgot to take the key out when I got off."
"And the window on top is open, just covered by the sunshade."
Wen Ya suddenly spoke, addressing Li Zhiping.
"Jump over, and we might live."
"One kick can break it open."
"If we stay here, we'll have no chance once it gets cold tonight."
Her voice was calm, stating the facts.
She hid her right hand behind her back, gripping a set of keys tightly in her palm.
Li Zhiping's eyes lit up with excitement upon hearing this and quickly looked toward the adjacent RV.
He had noticed this RV earlier, but jumping over seemed futile.
Now, hearing that the sunroof was open meant they could get in through the roof!
Conflicted and hesitant, the distance seemed too far, and he didn't dare jump.
Wen Ya, having finished speaking, no longer looked at Li Zhiping, patiently conserving her strength.
She couldn't help but smile bitterly inside.
The sunroof wasn't open, and the keys were in her hand.
She planned to trick Li Zhiping into jumping over and then, as he was about to die, draw the zombies' attention and escape in the car.
The plan had many flaws, but it was the only option she had now.
Staying any longer would mean death for both of them.
No.
It would mean death for one person.
Li Zhiping was already infected.
She had seen the slight wound on the back of his neck.
"You jump first if you're so eager!"
"If you know about it, why don't you jump over?"
Li Zhiping asked suspiciously, scratching his arm.
"How about this? I can jump over first."
"But take off your clothes and let me have some fun first."
Li Zhiping suddenly suggested, but hesitated to approach again.
Wen Ya's eyes grew cold, and she remained silent.
Her right hand, hidden behind her back, slowly felt for a small utility knife on the keyring.
Suddenly,
"Vroom!"
The roar of a motorcycle engine approached rapidly from afar.
The two on the roof strained to listen, hardly daring to believe it.
Hearing the sound, they simultaneously looked up in surprise.
A vehicle was coming!
Li Zhiping hurriedly stood up and frantically waved his hands to catch Lin An's attention.
"Help...!"
Screaming desperately, Li Zhiping's voice, hoarse from thirst, was like that of a crow.
Lin An paid no heed, roaring past on his motorcycle.
The speed was so fast that even the zombies surrounding the RV didn't react.
"Dammit! Dammit!"
"Why didn't he stop?"
Li Zhiping, his hope turned to despair, stared dumbly at the receding black dot.
"What the hell!"
"Couldn't he see there were people here!?"
Li Zhiping couldn't help but curse. Wen Ya, though disappointed, quickly composed herself, seeming to ponder something.
The two exchanged glances.
Li Zhiping licked his cracked lips, appearing thoughtful.
He scratched the back of his neck, feeling inexplicably itchy.
So hot, so itchy...
Suddenly, Anya seemed...
appetizing?
...
At the highway intersection.
"Screech--"
The tires left a long black mark as Lin An abruptly braked, skillfully drifting to a stop.
Dismounting, he looked back toward the RV about 400 meters away.
Feeling puzzled.
As he passed the RV, he sensed a faint psychic energy fluctuation.
An apocalypse item?
Or something else?
As an awakened one, his perception was far beyond that of ordinary people.
Especially since the start of the apocalypse game, some items from the "game" would automatically emit fluctuations.
Like beacons in the night.
If it was an item, he certainly wouldn't miss it.
"Eye of Judgment!"
Lin An muttered, activating his Eye of Judgment to scan the area.
"Human: Male (Infected)"
"Player Level: 0 (Non-Awakened)"
"Human: Female (Normal)"
"Player Level: 1 (Non-Awakened)"
"Zombie: Ordinary"
"RV: Driving Tool (Damage 22%)"
...
Detailed information cascaded down like a waterfall.
Every entity within his field of vision was displayed in detail.
Lin An focused intently on a peculiar piece of information.
"Human: Female, Player Level: 1"
His pupils dilated, and his vision zoomed in like a telescope, quickly capturing the scene on the RV's roof.
On the roof, Li Zhiping hunched over, coughing constantly.
Wen Ya stood alert, her right hand hidden behind her back, gripping something tightly.
Lin An frowned slightly.
Nothing unusual.
He didn't see anything resembling apocalypse equipment.
But he did see that Li Zhiping was infected and would fully turn into a zombie in about 5 minutes.
It seemed Wen Ya's level 1 status wasn't due to equipment.
Lin An was puzzled.
In the apocalypse game, a player's level could only be increased by killing mutated zombies.
Going from level 0 to 1 required killing two mutated zombies.
Level 2 required four.
The Licker he had killed earlier had only halfway met his upgrade requirements.
Currently, his player level and awakened rank were both at 0.
So,
Wen Ya on the roof was technically higher in level than he was!
Wen Ya wasn't an awakened one and couldn't possibly have killed any mutated zombies to level up.
Yet she was marked as level 1 with a slight psychic fluctuation.
How could this be?
Unless...
Lin An's heart raced.
He recalled an incredible legend from his past life.
His eyes gradually burned with excitement.