Second floor of the hotel.
Lin An flicked the blood off his hand, feeling a bit disappointed.
From the ninth floor down, he hadn't seen even a hint of the "Bloody Witch."
Instead, the number of survivors behind him kept growing, now totaling twenty-seven.
Most of the survivors were couples; after all, single people wouldn't typically come here.
Of course, there were also a few unusual pairings.
"Go, quickly go wipe Lin Ge's sweat."
A middle-aged businessman pushed the woman beside him with a flattering smile, signaling her to step forward and wipe away Lin An's nonexistent sweat.
The woman was his mistress, someone he usually cherished.
But at this moment, he wouldn't mind offering her, or even his wife, to Lin An.
The crowd echoed with praise, flattering Lin An.
These survivors had almost watched as Lin An slaughtered his way down like a god of death.
Frightened yet hopeful, most wanted to curry favor with Lin An.
A few young people looked at Lin An with adoration, holding fire axes for courage.
Some women in professional attire subtly tore their already revealing clothes, hoping to catch his attention.
"No need."
Lin An coldly refused the offered towel, feeling a bit irritated.
It wasn't the followers bothering him.
Though these people couldn't help, they could serve as bait.
Mutated zombies had a much higher killing desire than regular ones.
The denser the crowd, the more likely they would appear.
Just like in his previous life.
The larger the safe zone, the more frequently it was attacked by zombie hordes and mutants.
He didn't intend to save anyone; these people had followed him on their own after he killed the zombies.
Following the strong was human instinct.
Of course, enjoying his protection came at a price.
"The last floor."
Lin An didn't hold much hope as he prepared to go downstairs.
The first floor was the lobby, facing the hospital entrance with only a road in between.
The elevator on the hotel's first floor was out of service, and the stairway was blocked with debris.
Maybe because the "meat" in the hospital couldn't run fast, most zombies on the surrounding streets had gathered inside the hospital, leaving few around the hotel.
Suddenly.
"Bang!"
A heavy object hit the ground.
The loud noise was deafening.
The sound came from the road, followed by continuous car alarms.
"Lin Ge! There's... there's a monster!"
Yu Shihao reacted fastest. After seeing what happened from the window, he urgently reported to Lin An with a terrified face.
"There are people!"
"On the road!"
A few young people shouted in terror, looking equally frightened.
It seemed something terrifying was outside the window.
Lin An quickly walked to the window and pulled back the curtain.
That is…!
In the middle of the road, a dozen survivors were frantically fleeing.
At the rear was a bald man.
He dodged vehicles thrown like cannonballs with impressive reflexes.
Lin An paused.
Unlike the panic and fear of those present, Lin An smiled as he saw the monster chasing the survivors.
"Hello, Licker."
…
In the middle of the road.
The three-meter-tall Licker easily picked up a car and hurled it at the bald man.
The bald man rolled nimbly, dodging with agility that didn't match his size.
"Boom!"
The hybrid car exploded in a burst of flames under the heavy impact.
Smoke filled the air.
"Old Zhang! Get inside the building!"
"That monster is too big; it can't get in! It's safe inside!"
A burly man in the middle of the group shouted back at the bald man, eyes anxious.
"Don't worry about me! You guys go first!"
"Damn it, I refuse to believe I can't kill it!"
The bald man, equally muscular, tore off his tattered shirt.
His glossy muscles shone in the sunlight, his waist almost twice the size of an average person.
"Damn it!"
"Bear Transformation!"
With an angry curse, the bald man stopped dodging.
As a black light sank into his chest, his body instantly swelled, muscles bulging like explosions.
"Roar!!!"
The bald man's head transformed.
Black fur covered his body, and he turned into a two-meter-tall black bear.
"Bang!"
The Licker's claw strike was blocked by his huge bear paw.
It was like two trucks colliding.
The Licker screeched sharply, its body tilting back.
The bear-man stepped back two steps; in the clash of monsters, he was only slightly disadvantaged.
"Die!"
The black bear stomped hard, the ground cracking.
He clasped his hands into a hammer and slammed down on the Licker's head.
"Bang!"
Flesh collided with flesh.
The Licker's hard skull caved in halfway.
A hint of joy flashed in the bear-man's eyes.
However, unexpectedly.
The full-force strike of the bear-man only caused this much damage.
A blow that could kill any creature didn't do much to the Licker.
Lin An had slashed half of the Licker's head off without killing it; what was a mere skull dent?
"Swish!"
The Licker's claw swung again, its sharp bone talons easily slicing through the bear's defenses.
Blood gushed out.
It was like a faucet had been turned on.
A torrent of blood sprayed out.
The bear's eyes were filled with shock as it stumbled back two steps, its massive body teetering.
"Old Zhang!"
The burly man guarding the others yelled in anger, his eyes turning red.
"Damn monster, I'll fight you to the death!"
The two had been brothers for many years, as close as family.
Seeing the Licker's claws swing again, the burly man frantically pulled a handgun from his chest.
"Come on! Beast! Your grandpa is here!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
The gun spat fire, bullets spraying out like water.
But.
It was useless.
The Licker's strong muscle tissue easily blocked the bullets.
The yellow-orange shells were squeezed out by the writhing muscles almost immediately after impact.
As if enraged.
The Licker abandoned its claw attack on the bear, instantly appearing in front of the burly man with exaggerated speed.
A single swipe.
The burly man was sliced into three parts, the wounds as clean as if cut by a laser.
The severed head's eyes were wide open in rage.
"Ahhhhh!"
The bear-transformed bald man was grief-stricken.
"Beast, I'll kill you!"
Pushing his strength to the limit, the wounds that had barely been holding together burst open, spraying blood.
He forced himself up, charging at the Licker with reckless abandon.
...
On the second floor of the hotel, everyone cowered in fear behind Lin An.
Director Wang's legs were shaking, his entire body trembling.
When movie monsters appear in reality, the shock is enough to drive a person mad.
The mere appearance of the Licker was enough to extinguish any thought of resistance in ordinary people.
"Click, click, click."
Teeth chattered.
A few young men gripped their fire axes tightly.
Just moments ago, they were boasting to their female companions as they followed Lin An downstairs.
Watching Lin An kill zombies as easily as squashing chickens, they had thought the apocalypse wasn't so bad.
But now, seeing a truly powerful monster, they realized how laughable their earlier thoughts had been.
"Brother Lin, let's hide!"
"They're going to bring the monster here any second!"
Yu Shihao's throat bobbed as he swallowed.
Damn, how can there be such a monster!?
"Yes, Brother Lin. Let's go upstairs and hide!"
Everyone started persuading Lin An at the window, wanting to run away.
It wasn't out of gratitude that they didn't want to leave Lin An behind.
Most were worried that if there were more zombies inside, they'd be safer with Lin An around.
As for running away.
Though they believed Lin An was strong, he had only been fighting zombies.
Compared to the Licker, the difference was like that between an adult and a baby.
They had just seen firsthand how powerful the bald man was after transforming into a bear.
His immense strength could even contend with the Licker.
He was practically superhuman.
They assumed his strength was comparable to Lin An's.
But the bald man was almost killed instantly by the Licker, so Lin An couldn't possibly beat it either.
Lin An stood at the window, unmoved.
His eyes burned with excitement.
He had thought he wouldn't find the "Bloody Witch" and would have to waste time looking for a Licker to kill.
Unexpectedly, one had delivered itself right to his door.
And even better, a newly awakened individual had come along too.
Watching the battle between the first awakened person and a mutant since his rebirth, Lin An gained some insights.
His luck wasn't too bad.
The bald man was an awakened individual.
But probably only at level 0.
Maybe he could recruit him?
Seeing the bald man nearing death, Lin An decided it was time to intervene.
"Boom!"
The window sill cracked, the concrete and rebar wall shattered by Lin An, exposing the steel bars inside.
In the crowd's terrified eyes, Lin An moved at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow, instantly appearing at the hotel entrance.
"Bang!"
Dust rose.
Lin An landed heavily, crushing the asphalt beneath his feet.
"Ha!"
A shout like thunder.
Lin An held his knife in one hand, his eyes fixed on the Licker not far away, his battle intent surging.
"Roar!!"
Another little bug was challenging it.
The Licker let out a sharp screech, discarding the severed arm of the bear.
Accelerating, accelerating, the Licker's massive body crushed the cars along the way as it charged at Lin An.
Lin An smiled cruelly, his pace quickening.
"Clang!"
The blade hummed, its tip aimed at the Licker's forehead.
"Power burst!"
A low growl, golden psychic energy surged into Lin An's body, his strength skyrocketing.
Blood roared through his veins, his heart beating like an engine.
"Come on!"
"Let's see!"
"If I can kill you with one strike!"