"Captain Lin..."
"You're not dead..."
Lin An glanced at Zhang Tie helplessly, unwilling to speak. Yet, a warm feeling passed through his heart.
He had seen Zhang Tie rush in to save him at all costs. Despite only knowing each other for less than two days, even with the life-saving debt, Zhang Tie's actions were loyal and righteous.
Moreover, the system had just prompted him.
"Ding, member Zhang Tie's loyalty has increased to 90. (He will hardly ever betray you, regardless of life or death.)"
By a stroke of luck, Zhang Tie's loyalty had risen sharply.
It seemed that Zhang Tie, whom he had saved by chance, might indeed become a reliable companion in the future.
But Lin An didn't say much more. His mind was entirely focused on the "Soul Devouring Hand."
"Charge out and carry me back."
Upon hearing Lin An's words, Zhang Tie hurriedly hoisted him onto his shoulder. As he passed by the bandaged girl and the bag full of medicine, he simply hung the "pole" on his chest, holding the corpse snake's spine and charging forward.
With the enhancements of bear transformation and the still-active potion, his speed was extremely fast.
Both remained silent throughout the journey, their thoughts occupied.
Though Zhang Tie was immensely relieved to see Lin An alive, he couldn't fully relax.
Although Lin An wasn't dead, he was likely infected.
He had witnessed what happens to people infected by zombies while leading his squad out of zombie encirclements.
After the apocalypse, the zombie virus mutated rapidly. The further the apocalypse game progressed, the more potent the zombie virus became.
At present, ordinary people would turn into zombies within ten minutes if their skin was even slightly scratched. If the injury was severe, they would instantly become man-eating monsters.
Though Lin An appeared normal, Zhang Tie assumed his stronger physique as an awakened one merely delayed the inevitable.
What to do?
Should he take Lin An back?
There were many ordinary people in the hotel, including his sister. If Lin An turned into a zombie, even without becoming a mutant, he'd be far stronger than regular zombies.
Bringing Lin An back was like carrying a ticking time bomb.
Zhang Tie was tormented, unsure what to do, and could only charge out in silence. However, he never considered abandoning Lin An.
He had made up his mind. Even if Lin An turned into a zombie, he would fight to protect him until the last moment.
Unlike Zhang Tie's wild thoughts, Lin An was repeatedly examining the "Soul Devouring Hand," feeling bitter.
"Epic Equipment (Orange): 'Soul Devouring Glove' in broken sealed state."
"Equipment Attributes: Strength +5 (Equipment is broken, other attributes will restore after recharging.)"
"Attack Speed +20%, Mental Power Increase +20%, Mental Recovery Speed +50% (Sealed state, not effective.)"
"Attack Special Effect 1: Each attack carries a mental impact, causing brief dizziness, and provides an additional bonus based on the equipment owner's willpower attribute (Sealed state, not effective.)"
"Attack Special Effect 2: Soul Devouring. Killing an enemy can extract the dead soul to replenish mental power (Sealed state, not effective.)"
"Equipment Skill: Soul Shriek (Grade B) - Instantly generates a ring-shaped mental shockwave, indiscriminately damaging all creatures within range.
Daily Usage: 1/1, recharges after use, restoring the next day (Sealed state, not effective)."
"In its damaged state, the glove cannot automatically draw energy from the external environment and can only rely on the wielder's own mental power."
"Note: The power contained in this equipment has been completely depleted. Perhaps you can try finding another piece of obsidian to restore its original power."
The glove, covered in blood-red lines, had a shattered piece of obsidian embedded in it, now devoid of any luster.
Having to find another piece of obsidian to repair the equipment was truly frustrating.
Lin An couldn't even bother to complain about this back-and-forth ordeal.
All things considered, he had not only acquired equipment stronger than the Skull Crusher's Hand but also gained an S-class Abyssal Black Dragon!
Repairing the equipment again was no big deal.
The only problem was where to find another piece of obsidian.
He also wondered about the origins of this glove. For some reason, Lin An felt that the glove hid some secret worth exploring when he became stronger.
As for why the equipment was sealed, looking at the dragon turned into stone on his wrist, he had a pretty good idea.
Most likely, the glove's power had been drained by this creature, and the energy he had inexplicably absorbed was the excess that the dragon couldn't consume!
My epic equipment!
Lin An was heartbroken.
Even though he had regained the Soul Devouring Hand, its current attributes were barely better than the blue equipment Skull Crusher's Hand.
In fact, it was arguably not as effective as two separate blue items.
With all its attributes sealed, it only provided a +5 to strength.
The amazing attack effect of mental impact was sealed, and the automatic recharging of the skill was also unusable.
Even the soul devouring function was sealed.
Distraught, Lin An could only keep comforting himself along the way, grateful that the most critical skill remained.
The Grade B Soul Shriek, as a wide-area damage skill, could effectively make up for his shortcomings.
He just didn't know how much mental power it would consume to recharge.
Although seriously injured, his mental power was still adequate, thanks to his innate skills' low consumption and his high willpower attribute.
Recharging the glove shouldn't consume too much mental power, right?
At most, half of it?
Once recharged, he could use the Soul Shriek to kill the zombies blocking their way and test its effect.
Given that relying on Zhang Tie alone wouldn't be enough for them to safely return to the hotel in his current state.
Lin An could feel Zhang Tie's stamina nearing its limit.
Let's give it a try!
No longer hesitating, Lin An's eyes showed a hint of anticipation.
With a thought, he connected with the "epic" equipment in his mind.
"Begin charging!"
"Buzz!"
A powerful suction came from the glove, drawing out his mental power like a whale swallowing water.
The blood-red lines on the black glove suddenly lit up, emitting waves of energy as it absorbed his mental power.
Too fast!
The suction was far stronger than Lin An had anticipated, giving him no time to cut off the flow of mental power.
Damn it!
In an instant, Lin An felt utterly drained, his vision went black, and he passed out completely.