No matter how steadfast Lin An's mind was, he couldn't help but curse out loud upon hearing the notification that he'd lost the equipment.
In front of him, the slender black snake, moving at a speed several times faster than Lin An's reaction time, swallowed the [Soul Devouring Gauntlet] in one gulp. The speed was so quick it almost seemed to vanish into thin air.
If it weren't for the bulge in the snake's belly and the saliva still on his hand, he might have thought it was an illusion.
After devouring the gauntlet, the snake let out a satisfied burp, looking somewhat lazy.
"Tasty!"
The childish voice from the snake conveyed satisfaction.
But to Lin An, it was like a bolt from the blue.
One moment he was in heaven, the next moment he felt as if he were in hell.
Lin An stared intently at the black snake, suppressing the urge to strangle it.
He couldn't beat it; if he made a move, he'd be the one to die.
The legendary equipment he had just obtained was gone, and along with it, the assurance of saving An Xia and An Jingtian.
Lin An felt a bit despondent.
If it weren't for his strong mental fortitude, an ordinary person might not have been able to handle such a sudden rise and fall.
With the gauntlet swallowed, it meant that his [Skull Crusher's Hand] was also gone.
In just a few seconds, the gauntlet seemed to have been completely digested by the black snake.
The once lethargic snake was now revitalized.
In a flash, Lin An understood everything.
No wonder the snake saved him and showed signs of ingratiation.
It seemed the snake didn't intend to give him the legendary equipment but wanted to use his system to fuse the two pieces of equipment.
Lin An smiled bitterly.
He had been overly sentimental; nothing comes that easily.
He wasn't the protagonist who always gets the best of everything.
It was all over, everything was over.
Without the 5 points of strength from the [Skull Crusher's Hand], he had no idea how he could fight against the [Stitcher].
A 5-point strength gap meant he would need to level up twice to make up for it.
A two-level gap.
Whether it was player levels or Awakener levels, each level up required double the number of mutants.
It took 4 mutants to go from level 1 to level 2 and 8 mutants to go from level 2 to level 3.
A total of twelve mutants; not to mention if he could kill them, just searching for targets in Linjiang City would be extremely difficult. One misstep and being surrounded by zombies and mutants meant certain death.
Helplessness and despondency welled up within him.
Lin An fell silent.
For a long time, zombies that had been cleared out by the red-dressed mutant began to reappear around him.
"Roar!"
The zombies howled, driven by their insatiable hunger for flesh, indifferent to Lin An's current state.
No longer letting negative emotions interfere, Lin An forced himself to stand up and climb out of the pit. Though he had somewhat recovered, he was far from his peak state.
Cheer up; as long as there's life, there's hope.
If surrounded by zombies, escaping might not even be possible.
Regarding the black snake, Lin An didn't harbor much resentment. Whether intentionally or not, it had saved his life, and that alone was enough.
There was no point in complaining.
As for the equipment, it was lost, so be it. As long as he was alive, anything was possible!
"Zhang Tie, have you found anything on your end?"
"If not, let's head back now!"
Given his current injuries, it would take at least two days to fully recover.
Time was tight, and he couldn't afford to delay in the hospital.
Unfortunately, he hadn't had time to check the ward where Wen Ya's mother was located.
He'd have to come back if he got the chance.
A promise made should be a promise kept.
Lin An stood up and ignored the black snake still digesting its "delicacy."
He had no intention of getting entangled with this snake.
The power gap was too great. If this strange black snake made any move against him, he wouldn't even have a chance to resist.
Rather than relying on a snake's whims, he preferred to stay far away just in case.
He wasn't living for himself now; he carried the hope of survival for An Jingtian and his sister.
...
Pharmacy Room.
The pharmacy area had few zombies.
Apart from a few scattered employees who had turned into zombies, there were no other zombies present.
Even without activating Bear Transformation, his awakened physical abilities allowed him to reach the pharmacy's cold storage where he had awakened that day.
After searching the area, Zhang Tie found nothing unusual.
Even the white light that had knocked him out that day was gone.
After dealing with a few stray zombies, he scoured the place for various emergency and common medications.
His two tattered coats served as makeshift bags.
With a battered helmet on his head and a bag full of medicine on his back, Zhang Tie looked just like Bear.
As he was happily looting, he encountered a strange girl.
...
Zhang Tie's face was conflicted; he didn't immediately respond to Lin An's message.
At his feet lay a frail girl, wrapped in bandages, her eyes closed.
Bright red blood stained the bandages, making her look like a severely injured battlefield casualty.
What troubled him was that he couldn't determine if she was a zombie or a human.
Just five seconds ago, the girl had spoken to him but then suddenly arched her back like a zombie and let out a wail.
After the wailing, she seemed to be in great pain and then fainted.
Zhang Tie was startled.
The way she bent her spine was something no human could do.
Her bandaged skin revealed nothing.
Even Zhang Tie, not known for his intellect, suspected she was covering her decaying skin with the bandages.
After all, zombies were easily distinguishable from humans by appearance.
Kill her?
Zhang Tie hesitated.
The girl's breath was weak when she was conscious, but she still looked human.
She was young, about the same age as his sister.
Even though he couldn't see her face, her eyes reminded him of his sister, clear and pure.
Like Lin An, Zhang Youwei was his soft spot and bottom line.
He couldn't bring himself to do it.
When the girl was awake, she had even begged him to save her, saying she urgently needed food and medical attention.
But after speaking, she underwent a change and fell unconscious.
Zhang Tie muttered to himself.
Was she human or what?
She seemed like a mutant too?
Or was she a human in a special situation?
Given his previous encounter with a zombie doctor, he wasn't about to assume someone was human just because they could talk.
But what if she was a mutant pretending to be unconscious, trying to trick him into taking her back?
It was a headache.
He was torn because if she was indeed human, he genuinely wanted to save her.
Because of his love for his sister, he couldn't be cold-blooded and ignore a girl who seemed just like her.
In a word, Zhang Tie was inherently too kind.
He even had a bit of a "saint" complex.
This was a stark contrast to his rough appearance and fierce demeanor.
But if Lin An deemed her a risk, even if she was human, Lin An would likely kill her without hesitation, not taking any chances.
What to do?
Zhang Tie was really unsure.
After hesitating for a moment.
Forget it, let Captain Lin decide.
Zhang Tie activated the team communication.
"Captain Lin... um."
"I found a 'person' here. She seems a bit special. Should we save her and take her back?"
"She might be human, but..."
Zhang Tie intended to tell the truth, but before he could finish.
"Damn it!!!"
On the other end of the communication, Lin An swore angrily.