"Captain Lin!"
"Should we split up to search or stick together?"
After rushing to the second floor, the number of zombies increased rather than decreased.
Zhang Tie swung the bone whip with all his might, even having to kick away the pouncing zombies in desperation.
Breathing heavily, his physical and mental strength were nearly at their limits.
After continuous fighting, he had lost count of the number of zombies he had killed.
His black fur was stained dark red, intestines hanging all over him.
At a glance, he looked like some kind of mutated zombie.
Flustered, even with his high physique of 15.4, he couldn't sustain his strength and was beginning to struggle.
"Pant... pant..."
Zhang Tie gasped for breath, feeling exhausted.
"Captain Lin!"
Lin An was also deep in the sea of zombies.
As the vanguard, he faced three to four times the number of zombies as Zhang Tie.
The blade in his hand left afterimages, but he could barely keep the zombies from getting close.
Lin An had no time to respond, making Zhang Tie more anxious.
"My second transformation is about to end!"
The end of the transformation would mean death.
Lin An's heart sank. He had underestimated the horde's power.
He had thought that with his own strength and the antitoxin, he could fearlessly face the hospital's zombie horde alone.
Bringing Zhang Tie along was just an extra layer of security.
Facing small groups of zombies posed no danger, so he had developed a sense of contempt for zombies since awakening.
But he hadn't anticipated the terror of a horde.
These endless, unkillable creatures could exhaust any awakened being to death.
Such arrogance was dangerous!
Lin An reflected on himself.
In the apocalypse game, no matter how strong an awakened one was, they were still just struggling ants.
He was only at the first tier. How could he look down on these monsters?
"Eye of Judgment!"
Lin An muttered, and pale blue mist rose. All information within his field of vision turned into a stream of data.
"Number of zombies within current detection range: 4197"
"Mutants: 0."
"Mutants: 1"
On the screen, the number after "Mutants" fluctuated, as if disturbed.
Lin An's face changed dramatically.
It was the first time he saw the Eye of Judgment unable to provide accurate data.
The fluctuating number.
Either there was indeed a mutant nearby but at the limit of his perception range.
Every time the mutant approached, the number turned to 1. When it moved away, it became 0.
Or that mutant had the ability to resist the detection of the Eye of Judgment!
Damn it!
According to the rules, a mutant capable of resisting the Eye of Judgment had to be at least at the third tier!
Only a willpower attribute far surpassing his could interfere with the Eye of Judgment.
Lin An's expression was grave, hoping it wasn't the second scenario.
Trapped in the horde, neither situation was something he could handle.
If it was the first case, he could barely cope, but Zhang Tie would surely die.
If it was the second, there was no need to struggle.
In the face of a third-tier mutant, he wouldn't even have a chance to escape.
The anomaly in the underground garage, the wailing heard last night.
Mutants never mentioned in the past life, and the corpse snake.
Lin An vaguely felt there was some connection between these four.
What was it?!
"Roar!"
The black bear roared in pain.
Within seconds, zombies filled the space around Zhang Tie.
Zombies clung to him like bloodthirsty ants, and more swarmed like locusts.
If it weren't for the bear fur and the pre-prepared cotton clothing, the sheer amount of zombie toxins would have infected him in seconds.
The huge bear was covered in zombies, almost submerged.
At the same time.
"Crack."
Metal broke.
The Nepalese kukri in Lin An's hand shattered into pieces, piercing the bodies of nearby zombies.
The situation worsened.
Lin An didn't have time to think further, taking two segments of the zombie spine from the Judgment Ring to use as rapiers.
"Step Forward!"
"Spiral Thrust!"
With a twist of his waist, he stepped forward.
Lin An's hands held the 'rapiers,' drilling through the zombies ahead, moving to support Zhang Tie.
Not enough!
There were too many zombies, the ground covered in thick flesh.
The blood was slippery and thick, truly a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
Quick resolution!
He had to use the stimulant!
As a last resort, each use of the drug reduced the supply.
But now was not the time to save it.
Dead men owned nothing.
Lin An bit through the stimulant taken from the ring, swallowing the liquid mixed with glass shards.
"Beep, Strength +1, Constitution +1, Agility +1"
"Beep, Burst strength increased by 50%, endurance, resilience increased by 30%, attack speed increased by 20%."
After two doses, a long-missed feeling of power!
"Power Burst!"
Lin An immediately activated Power Burst again right before the previous use ended, preventing the momentum from breaking.
A flash of golden energy, and his stamina returned to its peak.
"Ding, all attributes +2!"
"Buzz."
A faint energy wave flickered away.
The strength attribute broke through the 21-point critical value.
Lin An instantly felt the bone spikes in his hands become light as feathers, with power accumulating inside him like a volcano.
With the help of the stimulant, Lin An's strength reached the peak of a high-level first-tier awakened being.
Time seemed to slow down.
The previously swift and violent zombies now moved in slow motion to his eyes.
"It seems..."
A thought flashed by.
After breaking through the 20-point threshold, a mysterious sense of awareness spread out.
Is this the power of a high-level first-tier?
Lin An was extremely excited. Under the influence of the two external boosts, he temporarily felt the power of a higher tier.
"It seems like I can kill them all!"
His heart pounded wildly, pumping blood like an engine.
With temporarily high-level strength, Lin An felt he could even tear a Licker apart barehanded.
Muscles surged, strength seemed endless.
Frenzy!
"Straight Thrust!"
With both hands gripping the bone spikes, he exerted force. Under this power, a series of sonic booms echoed around him.
The bone spike shot out like lightning, instantly piercing through the zombies ahead.
Like stringing gourds, one strike cleared the path in front.
"Reverse Slash!"
With overwhelming strength, Lin An's fighting spirit surged.
He wielded the bone spike like a machete, slashing back.
Speed was extreme.
Rather than a slash, it was more like a smash.
Under the shrill whistle of the weapon, a large number of zombies were smashed into pulp.
This feeling, this power!
A gleam of joy flashed in Lin An's eyes. This kind of powerful strength was intoxicating.
"Ha!"
A thunderous roar echoed like a sudden clap of thunder.
Caught up in the killing frenzy, Lin An threw away the bone spikes.
Although the bone spikes were sharp and durable, they didn't feel quite right in his hands.
Two "bone spikes" shot out like lightning, easily piercing through zombies along the way, leaving a trail of blood.
"Give me!"
"Smash!"
"Boom!"
Lin An's face twisted with madness, his eyes bloodshot.
He grabbed a nearby zombie, wielding it like a heavy hammer against the horde.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Like swatting flies.
The dense group of zombies around Lin An was instantly cleared, turning into a field of flesh.
Awesome!
Lin An felt exhilarated, his gloom swept away.
Originally, he was wary of the hidden mutant.
Now, as long as it wasn't a second-tier mutant, he was confident he could take it on!
Undeterred.
Taking advantage of the overlapping effects of the stimulant and Power Burst, Lin An rapidly fought his way towards Zhang Tie.
"Boom!"
A large group of zombies was smashed into a bloody mess on the ground.
Severed limbs and intestines flew, blood splattering everywhere.
"Boom!"
The zombie used as a hammer had been replaced several times.
To Zhang Tie's utter shock, Lin An had created a clear path through the horde within seconds.
Stunned.
"This is insane!"
Zhang Tie couldn't help but swallow hard, his bear-transformed face full of expressions.
Covered in blood, Lin An smashed zombies left and right, looking more terrifying than a mutant.
"Boom!"
The ground shook as Lin An casually smashed a zombie next to Zhang Tie, wiping blood off his face.
He grinned, sending chills down Zhang Tie's spine.
"Captain Lin... you..."
Zhang Tie's booming voice was reduced to a whisper in the team comms.
With the surrounding zombies temporarily cleared, he finally caught his breath.
"Hmm?"
Lin An looked at Zhang Tie in confusion, his blood-red eyes glowing from the carnage.
The brief respite ended as the horde surged again.
Lin An instinctively reached for a zombie but found none intact nearby.
He glanced at the large and sturdy Zhang Tie.
Big enough, tough enough.
Maybe.
Could be used as a hammer?
"Holy crap!"
Zhang Tie was terrified.
He read Lin An's blatant intention in his eyes.
"Captain Lin!"
"No, please!"
"Boom!"
The ground cracked like a minor earthquake.