Lin An looked with satisfaction at the cleared passage.
With a quick movement, he dashed to the end of the corridor and reached Zhang Tie.
On a sudden whim, after using Zhang Tie to smash several zombies, Lin An decided to use him as a bowling ball.
It was a crushing force.
With Lin An's second-tier strength, Zhang Tie's two-ton frame easily crushed the zombies along the way.
"How do you feel?"
Taking advantage of the cleared space, Lin An pulled Zhang Tie up from the ground.
"...."
Dare not speak up.
Zhang Tie didn't dare to say anything, his eyes full of resentment.
He felt like his whole body was falling apart.
Anyone would feel the same after being used as a hammer and then kicked like a ball.
Especially when that person was Lin An.
"For the last time! I'm not a ball!"
"And!"
"Aren't we supposed to find that hand thing now?!"
"The zombies will be here any second!"
Zhang Tie was on the verge of tears. His bear form had ended, and his tattered clothes barely covered his backside.
Half of his helmet hung off his head, and he was covered in blood and gore.
At the other end of the corridor, a horde of zombies was frantically charging toward them.
Lin An seemed not to hear, his eyes fixed on a door to the left.
"Second Orthopedic Department."
The white-painted door was closed, clean, and tidy.
"I think I found it."
A strange light flashed in Lin An's eyes.
He gently turned the doorknob; it wasn't locked.
"Click."
Inside, behind a desk, sat a person who looked like a doctor in a white uniform, facing away from them.
"Judgment Eye."
"Mutant: 0"
"Mutant: 1"
The number fluctuated, unable to decide.
Lin An stepped into the room, puzzled.
The fluctuating number on the screen stabilized at 1.
His probing mental energy broke through a faint barrier, enveloping the "person."
"Zombie (First-tier Mutant?):"
"This is an ordinary zombie, but it seems to have some mysterious power helping it break through the zombie's limits."
"Strength: 13"
"Agility: 6"
"Physique: 10"
"Willpower: 12"
Danger Level: Medium.
So that's it, it was a false alarm.
Lin An's last bit of tension dissipated.
The mutant detected by the Judgment Eye was indeed this zombie.
But it wasn't outside his sensory range, nor was it a powerful third-tier entity.
It was carrying the [Skull Breaker's Hand], and the equipment's built-in mental barrier blocked his detection.
The 13 points of strength in its attributes (mysterious power helped it break through the zombie's limits...)
Without a doubt.
A typical zombie's strength attribute is around 6-8 points, so the remaining 5 points could only come from the [Skull Breaker's Hand].
"Come in and block the door."
Lin An casually instructed Zhang Tie to secure the door.
"Power Burst!"
Lin An muttered, renewing the +2 enhancement to all attributes.
The drug's effect hadn't worn off, so he still maintained peak combat strength.
Lin An didn't let his guard down despite the zombie's seemingly unimpressive attributes.
The clean office, the zombie in a white coat looking like a doctor, and its indifference to the presence of humans were all abnormal.
All these anomalies made Lin An extremely cautious.
"Bang!"
Zhang Tie shut the door heavily, and within seconds, there were frantic banging sounds from outside.
The white-coated zombie remained unmoved, as if it were deaf.
"Straight thrust!"
The door wouldn't hold back the zombies for long.
No matter the anomaly, it's best to test first!
Lin An's gaze was sharp as a knife, his body taut as he thrust forward.
Though it was a probing strike, it was powerful enough to pierce steel and instantly kill any zombie.
The bone spike tore through the air.
"No."
"Do."
"Not."
The voice was hoarse and strained, each word forced out with great effort.
Lin An's pupils shrank to pinpoints, his entire body chilled.
The strike that was aimed at the zombie doctor's head veered off course.
The voice came from the "doctor."
"Boom!"
The wall behind the zombie was pierced, revealing gray cement.
Lin An stared in disbelief at the "doctor" zombie trying to speak.
A zombie.
How could it possibly speak!?
Lin An felt a chill run down his spine.
In his three years of experience in the apocalypse game, he had never heard of a zombie that could talk.
Talking meant retaining intelligence.
And wisdom!
Unlike Lin An's fear, Zhang Tie was merely astonished, staring at the "doctor."
The iron door behind him rattled, causing him to stagger.
"Captain Lin, what is this thing saying?"
Lin An didn't answer, gripping the bone spike tightly.
It wasn't impossible for mutants to have intelligence.
According to Lin An's knowledge, mutants of the third tier and above began to have varying degrees of intelligence.
But a first-tier mutant zombie with intelligence?
If it was due to the equipment, that might be barely acceptable. After all, apocalypse gear often had special effects.
But if this zombie retained intelligence without the aid of gear, that was terrifying.
Humanity ruled the planet and sat at the top of the food chain because of its intelligence.
If first-tier mutant zombies had intelligence, Lin An couldn't fathom how humanity could resist.
First-tier mutants weren't rare!
The apocalypse game would shift from a battle against monsters to a war for the survival of two "species."
His steps were heavy.
Lin An held the bone spike against the "doctor's" head, ready to kill at any moment.
"What do you want to say?"
It was absurd and laughable.
Lin An never imagined he would talk to a zombie.
"Do… not… kill… me."
"Huh."
"Huh."
As Lin An approached, the zombie doctor's primal hunger for flesh grew stronger.
It wheezed like a dying old man.
Its body repeatedly tried to stand from the chair and lunge.
But rationality suppressed the primal urge.
Lin An saw fear in its eyes.
It tilted its head, trying to move the bone spike away from its forehead.
"Give me a reason not to kill you."
Lin An took a deep breath.
A zombie, afraid of death, pleading for its life?
"You… want… it."
The zombie doctor fidgeted.
It slowly raised its right hand.
The skinless right hand wore a glove.
The glove was an eerie black, covered in intricate blood-red patterns.
The back of the glove had an empty groove, as if something had once been embedded there.
Lin An's heart skipped a beat, a blue light flashing in his eyes.
"Judgment Eye!"
"Ding, apocalypse gear detected. Grade: Fine (Blue)"