Zhang Tie was caught off guard and knocked to the ground by the rushing zombies.
"Bear Transformation!"
With a roar, black fur covered his entire body.
In an instant, he transformed into a giant black bear.
"Roar!"
With a swipe of his paw, a powerful gust of wind howled.
Several zombies that had just risen from the ground had their heads shattered instantly, brains mixed with blood spilling everywhere.
Lin An's eyes were cold as he swiftly swung his Nepalese kukri.
"Arc Slash!"
The blade drew a beautiful arc, severing heads with the added force.
"Charge in!"
Lin An roared in the team comms.
The zombies pouring out of the elevator shaft seemed endless.
It looked like when the apocalypse broke out, the emergency center's elevator doors were damaged.
So the zombies near the elevator fell into the shaft, completely clogging it.
If the two stayed here, they wouldn't be able to kill them all.
If they delayed any longer, attracting zombies from other areas would make it impossible to get out.
Moreover, if there was a mistake and they got scratched or infected by the zombies...
Lin An could resist some of it due to his toxin resistance.
But Zhang Tie definitely couldn't.
"You lead the way!"
Lin An stepped back, bending down to gather strength.
"Got it!"
A fierce expression appeared on Zhang Tie's huge head.
He hugged his head with both hands, starting to charge sideways.
"Bear Charge!!"
The ground shook lightly as the bear-transformed Zhang Tie charged into the horde like a heavy truck.
Smashing through everything.
The sound of bones breaking was continuous, and the zombies at the deepest part of the elevator shaft were crushed into meat paste.
Now's the chance!
Lin An took a deep breath, his right foot pushing off the ground as he leaped into the air.
With one slash.
The zombies falling into the elevator shaft were cut in half before they touched the ground.
"Step!"
Exerting force again, he stepped on Zhang Tie's sturdy shoulder, borrowing the momentum to leap into the elevator shaft.
Zhang Tie gritted his teeth, his face turning slightly pale.
Lin An's kick was not light. If his physique wasn't strong, this kick would have crushed his shoulder blade.
In the elevator shaft, Lin An leapt from wall to wall.
With both hands holding the knife, he slashed rapidly.
The blade created an impenetrable web, each swing killing a zombie.
Like a factory meat grinder, mercilessly reaping flesh and blood.
Zhang Tie stood below, feeling like meat was raining down from above.
Occasionally, a zombie's intact head would fall, biting as it descended.
He casually crushed them.
"Jump up!"
"The zombies at the hall elevator entrance are too many. You and I need to rush in together!"
"Your bear transformation ends soon, and you'll be easily infected!"
"Understood!"
Zhang Tie's expression was serious, his legs bending.
Their talents had time limits. He could only stay in bear form for a few dozen seconds.
If not for the thick fur and reinforced skin of his bear form blocking many scratches and bites from the zombies...
No matter how careful he was, he would have been infected in this dense horde.
Adjusting his posture slightly, he aimed for the first-floor elevator exit above.
The elevator shaft's internal space was too small; he alone took up most of it.
Taking a deep breath, he suddenly exerted force.
The bear-transformed Zhang Tie jumped up from the shaft's bottom like a mortar shell.
Lin An, with his feet braced against the wall, killed zombies while waiting for Zhang Tie to reach the optimal position.
After continuous killing, his "Power Burst" was also nearing its end.
Now's the chance!
"Power Burst!"
With mental energy consumed.
Golden spiritual energy appeared again, and Lin An felt his strength return to peak.
"Kick!"
He kicked off the elevator shaft wall, causing a violent shake.
Then, turning, he kicked out!
His target was Zhang Tie, who had jumped to the first-floor exit.
"Huh!?!!"
"Damn it!"
Zhang Tie had no time to react, being kicked on the butt by Lin An.
"Bang!"
The huge bear, under Lin An's full-force kick, was sent flying out of the elevator like a cannonball, clearing the zombies at the door.
Zhang Tie flew out four or five meters, crushing a bunch of zombies and leaving a bloody trail on the smooth hall floor.
"Thud!"
After kicking out, Lin An fell from the air, kicking off the elevator shaft wall again, using the rebound to launch himself out.
The elevator entrance was cleared by the "cannonball," with no zombies blocking Lin An's smooth exit.
"Go!"
Once out of the elevator, Lin An quickly scanned around.
The hall was packed with zombies, roughly three to four thousand of them!
Densely packed, like sardines, the zombies filled the hall completely.
They couldn't be surrounded!
Hearing Lin An's order, Zhang Tie hurriedly stood up.
Zombies crushed into pieces stuck to his broad bear back.
"Lin, my butt hurts!"
Zhang Tie held his butt, but his thick, short paws could only reach his lower back.
"Give me a heads-up before you kick next time!"
"I'm not a damn ball!"
He felt a bit aggrieved.
He had thought Lin An wanted him to jump to the first-floor position and hold it, then the two would fight their way out together.
He didn't expect Lin An to use him as a battering ram.
Taking two kicks from Lin An, he felt like his bones were about to fall apart.
For someone without a high physique, these kicks could have been fatal.
Lin An coughed lightly, signaling him not to dwell on the topic.
He had just come up with the idea on the spot, and using Zhang Tie as a cannonball worked surprisingly well.
"Enough about that, I won't kick you next time!"
"Let's rush to the second floor!"
The zombies in the hall were already surrounding them.
The horde of screaming zombies moved incredibly fast.
Thousands of zombies charging at once made for an overwhelming sight.
"My bear transformation is over!"
Zhang Tie barely managed to shout before his body rapidly reverted to its normal state.
The helmet on his head was deformed, and his clothes were torn to shreds.
"Use the corpse snake's spine!"
"Don't engage in close combat!"
Lin An charged toward the zombie horde, leaving behind a command.
Though just one person, he carried the momentum of a thousand troops.
"Forward Slash!"
With a full-powered strike, he decapitated the zombies at the front.
"Arc Slash!"
The distance between the horde and the two was already short, and at close range, Lin An went all out.
The blade flashed, and the kukri, boosted by immense strength, swept through like a laser cutter.
"Backhand Slash!"
With a swift motion, Lin An turned and decapitated the zombies trying to surround him from behind.
Surrounded by zombies, Lin An was like a god of death, his fierce swordplay keeping the zombies at bay.
"Crack."
The blade made a sharp sound, splintering at a few points.
In the relentless combat, Lin An aimed for the zombies' heads with each strike to ensure a kill.
The zombie-virus-strengthened bones were much harder than those of ordinary humans.
With frequent clashes, the standard alloy blade couldn't withstand the high-intensity combat.
"Lin An!"
"It's no use! There are too many zombies!"
Not far away, Zhang Tie was surrounded by hundreds of zombies.
He frantically swung the spine of the corpse snake in his hand.
Each swing produced a sharp crack, with the sharp end of the whip easily smashing zombie heads.
Although inexperienced with a whip, his brute force made it effective.
This thing was really handy.
Zhang Tie found it more and more convenient.
Compared to regular axes and knives, the corpse snake's spine was not only incredibly sharp but also kept him from engaging in close combat.
Without this "whip," he wouldn't have been able to avoid the zombies with his low agility.
"Transform again!"
Lin An's expression turned serious as he decisively ordered Zhang Tie to transform again.
There was no time to save energy.
He had planned for Zhang Tie to save a transformation for the second floor in case of any unexpected events.
But there were too many zombies in the hall. Even if he killed one with each strike, he couldn't keep up with the zombie replenishment.
Without the bear transformation, Zhang Tie couldn't break through.
"Lin An! I can only transform once more!"
Zhang Tie roared, his body instantly swelling.
In just a second, a giant black bear reappeared in the hall.
"Roar!"
The bear roared.
The beast's roar mixed with the zombies' screams.
The long bone whip in his hand was like a toy.
With violent swings of the "bone whip," each strike crushed a swath of zombies.
Without worrying about close combat, his power was overwhelming.
In no time, he cleared a small space.
The situation improved immediately.
But Lin An noticed Zhang Tie's eyes dimming, a sign of mental exhaustion.
Compared to Lin An's power burst, Zhang Tie's bear transformation consumed much more mental energy.
Moreover, his own willpower was not high.
Thus, transforming twice a day was his limit.
If only Wen Ya could fight now.
Lin An sighed.
With her special mutant abilities, she could fully restore Lin An and Zhang Tie's mental energy by herself.
Without worrying about mental exhaustion, they could slowly grind down this horde.
But she wasn't an awakener yet, too weak to join such a battle.
Lin An thought of the "Stitchers" in the Wanda Shopping Center. The number of zombies there would be as many, if not more.
When facing hordes of zombies, replenishing mental energy was crucial.
It seemed that after getting the equipment, they had to solve Wen Ya's awakening as soon as possible.
Having a mutant unused was too wasteful.
"Get ready to charge together!"
With Zhang Tie's bear transformation, he successfully regrouped with Lin An, the two fighting side by side.
After continuous combat, they were only a few meters away from the second floor.
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
Lin An took a deep breath, shooting forward like an arrow.
"Erratic Step Slash!"
The blade light wove a dense web of death, instantly shredding the zombies in front of him.
Beside him, the black bear roared, charging into the horde with reckless abandon, carving a bloody path.