"Step forward."
"Downward Slash!"
Lin An's entire body crackled as his bones and muscles concentrated their strength into his right hand.
A single slash was executed, creating a fierce gust of wind.
With strength beyond human limits, what seemed like the most basic move in swordsmanship now appeared overwhelmingly powerful.
"Roar!"
The Licker simultaneously swung its claw. The contrast in size between the two was stark in everyone's eyes.
"Crack."
The massive claw shattered.
The sharp blade's momentum remained undiminished, and a line of blood appeared from the Licker's head.
Lin An continued his stride, moving straight ahead.
0.5 seconds later.
The Licker's claw stopped an inch from Lin An's head.
Blood and flesh separated.
The massive body slowly split in half.
Lin An silently walked through the bisected corpse of the Licker.
One second later, a heavy thud resounded as the body hit the ground.
"Beep, player detected killing a Tier 1 mutant: Licker."
Waves of white light surged from the Licker's corpse and entered Lin An's body.
"Beep, upgrade conditions met. Congratulations, player! Current player level: Level 1!"
"Beep, advancement conditions met. Congratulations, Awakener! Current awakening level: Tier 1!"
Two surges of power emerged from the void and quickly dissipated within Lin An's body.
Warmth, comfort.
A delightful sensation washed away the fatigue.
"Beep, player level up. Strength +1, Agility +1, Constitution +1, Willpower +1!"
"Beep, Awakener tier up. Strength +2, Agility +2, Constitution +2, Willpower +2!"
Double the power boost!
Lin An greedily took a deep breath, feeling the increasingly potent power within him.
Excellent! The fallen black bear had reverted to human form.
The bald man's awakening ability was Bear Transformation, but its duration was limited.
Severely injured and near death, he could no longer maintain the bear form.
He clutched his severed arm, eyes wide in shock as he looked at Lin An like he was a monster.
Lin An's display of slicing the Licker in one strike.
Others might feel shocked.
But not as intensely as the bald man.
He had fought the Licker, seemingly on par at first.
But after failing to land a critical hit and showing a weakness, the Licker had severely injured him in one counterattack.
He knew that even if he had a hundred lives, he wouldn't last more than a few seconds against the Licker.
Too strong.
"How... did you do that?"
The bald man swallowed hard.
Watching Lin An walk over as if on a casual stroll, his eyes were full of admiration.
"Mm."
"You just slash down."
Lin An replied casually.
Before leveling up, his strength was already 17.4, and after activating Power Burst, it reached 19.4.
Killing the Licker with one slash was entirely normal.
Bald Man: ...
Lin An smiled slightly, not paying attention to the bald man's thoughts.
"How are you feeling? Can you still move?"
Lin An glanced at his body. The massive wound in his chest from the Licker's claw was slowly healing.
But the severed left arm had merely stopped bleeding without regenerating.
This recovery speed was quite fast.
Lin An noted.
It seemed the bald man was stronger than he initially thought.
Awakeners had strong physical qualities and decent recovery abilities.
But to recover from such an injury so quickly was unusual.
An ordinary person would be dead by now.
Beast Transformation skill, with enhanced constitution?
Maybe related to his awakening talent.
His speed in beast form was lacking, but his constitution was decent.
A good tank, Lin An concluded in his mind.
"I can move."
The bald man nodded, struggling to get up from the ground.
"Hi, I'm Zhang Tie!"
The bald man extended his right hand.
His voice was rough, and his grin, though toothy and not particularly pleasant, was sincere.
"Lin An."
"Uh, Brother Lin, thank you for saving me."
Zhang Tie's face was full of genuine gratitude. If Lin An hadn't intervened, he would probably have ended up like his brother, in three pieces.
"I really don't know how to..."
"Let's talk later."
"The zombies are closing in."
Lin An interrupted Zhang Tie, glancing at the hospital entrance in the distance.
A significant number of zombies were heading their way.
"Okay!"
Zhang Tie didn't say more, keeping his gratitude in his heart.
As they passed by the dead man's body, Zhang Tie quickly picked up the remains, holding them close.
His eyes were red.
"My condolences."
Lin An could feel Zhang Tie's grief and couldn't help but offer some comfort.
He had brothers too.
He knew how painful it was to lose one.
An Jingtian, An Ya...
Hang in there. I'll be back!
Lin An thought of the siblings at Anyuan Residential Area, his gaze determined.
They sprinted back.
Both were Awakeners, their speed far surpassing ordinary people.
In just a few seconds, they were inside the hotel lobby.
"Brother Zhang!"
People started talking all at once.
The dozen or so survivors who had previously entered the hotel surrounded them, asking if they were okay.
But when they saw the body Zhang Tie was carrying, their eyes turned sorrowful.
It seemed they all knew each other.
A few older men took the body from Zhang Tie and silently laid it on a red cloth.
Lin An said nothing, simply blocking the hotel entrance again.
"Boom."
A car weighing several tons was dragged by Lin An alone to block the door.
Everyone turned to look, a hint of fear in their eyes.
This fear was different from the fear they felt towards zombies. It was the instinctive fear that ordinary people felt towards a strong individual.
Zhang Tie seemed to be the leader of the group.
He noticed his companions' fear and quickly introduced Lin An.
"This is Lin An, my savior."
"Everyone saw what happened just now. I owe my life to Brother Lin."
After speaking, Zhang Tie bowed deeply.
Everyone else, full of gratitude, bowed to Lin An as well.
Among the survivors, a young girl with moist eyes stood out.
She wore a baseball cap and had her hair tied in a simple ponytail.
She looked about 17 or 18 years old.
Her sporty outfit radiated youthful energy.
The girl was sweet-looking, clearly a budding beauty.
"Brother Lin, you saved my brother's life. I will never forget this kindness."
Lin An smiled calmly.
Youwei and Wenya are quite similar.
Both youthful and full of energy.
Except Wenya is a bit more mature.
Youwei wiped her tears and turned to Zhang Tie.
"Brother... your hand."
"I'm fine, Youwei, don't cry."
"Our Zhang family doesn't cry!"
Zhang Tie, his face full of scars, forced a smile to comfort the girl.
Looking at the two before him, Lin An's expression turned a bit odd.
He had thought Youwei's surname was You and that she was calling Zhang Tie "brother" like everyone else.
He didn't expect them to be siblings.
One looked as strong as a bear, with a face full of scars.
The other was petite and cute, delicate and weak.
The same parents, but such a huge difference...
Zhang Tie seemed to notice Lin An's odd look and suddenly pulled Youwei over to him.
"Brother Lin, this is my sister!"
Zhang Tie beamed with pride.
Lin An: ...