"Captain Lin, what are you looking at?"
Zhang Tie, being his usual straightforward self, quickly stood beside Lin An.
"Nothing much."
Lin An pulled out two pre-prepared vials from his belt and handed them to him.
The light purple liquid inside the vials emitted an enchanting glow, captivating anyone who looked at it.
"Captain Lin, what's this?"
Zhang Tie instinctively took the vials, then stared in disbelief at the description that popped up in his player information.
"Beep, obtained Giant Lizard Extract (Special): Temporarily increases Strength +1, Constitution +1, Agility +1 after consumption."
"Beep, obtained Purified Snake Venom (Special): Temporarily increases burst power by 50%, endurance and resistance to damage by 30%, and strike speed by 20% after consumption."
Zhang Tie was dumbfounded.
As an awakened individual, he knew how crucial even the slightest attribute enhancement could be.
"This stuff is amazing, Captain Lin!"
"Damn, give me more of this, and I won't fear any zombies!"
"Give me a few more!"
Lin An sighed.
After accounting for what he had used, there were only 24 vials left in his ring.
Although it seemed like a lot, it wouldn't last through many battles.
It was manageable for one person, but with more team members in the future, two or three battles would deplete the supply.
"There aren't many left, use them sparingly."
"Can your mental energy support another transformation?"
Zhang Tie looked disappointed upon hearing there weren't many left and carefully stored the vials as if they were treasures.
"Captain Lin, I can support one more bear transformation at most, but the duration will be much shorter."
"Approximately?"
Zhang Tie thought for a moment before giving an uncertain answer.
"Around twenty seconds."
Lin An frowned slightly. Twenty seconds was too short.
He had already calculated earlier.
Even if they moved quickly, the battle in the inpatient building would last no less than five minutes.
Both places needed to be checked.
If the pharmacy indeed had a psionic node, Lin An could bring Wen Ya back here tomorrow to advance to an awakened individual.
After all, the other awakening location in his plan was hard to find and surrounded by a horde of zombies.
Taking Wen Ya there, given her ordinary strength, would be very risky.
Therefore, finding a psionic node in the pharmacy would be the best outcome.
"Then."
"Let's split up."
"You go to the pharmacy, there are fewer zombies there."
"Report any abnormalities to me immediately."
Lin An decided to send Zhang Tie to the pharmacy alone.
Even if the psionic node there had dissipated, there might still be some benefits left.
Having Zhang Tie follow him without being much help would be less effective than having him investigate the pharmacy.
Zhang Tie hesitated for a moment but didn't say anything.
He knew that once he couldn't transform, he would only be a resilient, slightly stronger human.
In close combat with zombies, he might even become a burden to Lin An.
Without fuss, he nodded in agreement.
However, he suddenly felt a bit melancholic.
Since the apocalypse, he had always been relied upon as the leader by his team members.
But with Lin An, he couldn't even offer much help.
His once-proud strength seemed insignificant in front of Lin An.
He felt despondent and dejected.
Zhang Tie glanced at his left hand.
The loss of his arm had indeed weakened him significantly.
Lin An noticed what was on his mind and decided to offer some comfort. After all, they would be teammates from now on and needed to support each other.
"Zhang Tie, don't be discouraged or think you're useless."
"Every awakened individual represents strength."
"You feel weak now because we're facing large hordes of zombies."
"No one would be able to handle such numbers alone."
Lin An paused to add:
"Your talent skill is quite impressive."
"Bear Transformation is much more practical in combat than many other awakened abilities."
"As your transformation duration increases and you reach the second tier, you'll even gain a new skill."
"With prolonged Bear Transformation and the new skill, your combat power will be quite significant."
Lin An recalled other awakened individuals from his past life, especially those who controlled elements.
They could release fire and storms with a wave of their hand.
It looked powerful and had good destructive capability.
But often, with their limited mental energy in the early stages, they would lose their fighting ability after using their skills two or three times.
After that, they could only rely on their 10-point attribute limit to fight.
Compared to physical and transformation-type awakened individuals,
these elemental awakened were like three-hit wonders, becoming useless after using their skills.
Zhang Tie's Bear Transformation had a much longer sustained combat duration compared to these types of awakened individuals.
Though it lacked explosive power, it was stable and enduring.
Like the relationship between an ADC and a mage.
One aimed for consistent output, the other for short-term bursts.
Zhang Tie felt much better after hearing this, and began to look forward to his power at the second tier.
Lin An was also looking forward to it.
Facing large numbers of zombies, he realized he had a significant shortcoming:
He had no area-of-effect skills.
It was manageable against individual enemies.
But against large numbers, relying on physical attacks alone was too exhausting.
His talent was power burst, not too different from Zhang Tie's Bear Transformation.
Though it provided more and broader attribute boosts,
it was still an auxiliary skill.
In the apocalypse game, not having area-of-effect skills was very inconvenient.
After all, mutants were strong but rare.
In regular battles, they would mostly face large hordes of zombies.
Lin An made up his mind.
After getting the equipment, he would take down the "Stitcher." If successful, he would definitely advance to the second tier before establishing a safe zone.
Reaching the second tier would not only bring another qualitative leap in strength but also grant him a new skill.
He already had an auxiliary skill, so he didn't believe his next skill would be auxiliary as well.
Even a single-target burst skill would be better than hacking away one by one.
"Captain Lin, I've rested enough."
"Shall we go now?"
Lin An looked at Zhang Tie and nodded slowly.
With the two vials he gave Zhang Tie, he was confident that Zhang Tie would handle the pharmacy, where there were fewer zombies, without much trouble.
"Bang!"
After deciding on their routes, they didn't hesitate and jumped directly from the second floor.
One headed straight for the inpatient building, the other towards the pharmacy.
...
In the second level of the underground parking lot, the rhythmic knocking sound suddenly stopped.
Not long after, the cry of a baby echoed.
In the midst of the deathly silence, it was abrupt and eerie.