Second Floor of the Hotel.
Lin An shook off the bloodstains on his hands, a hint of disappointment on his face.
Despite searching through every floor from the ninth down, he hadn't even seen a trace of the Bloodthirsty Witch.
On the contrary, the number of survivors behind him kept increasing, now reaching twenty-seven people. Most were couples, as single individuals wouldn't normally end up in such a place.
Of course, there were some unique combinations.
"Go, go, wipe off Lin-ge's sweat," a middle-aged businessman said, smirking, pushing a woman, his lover, forward to tend to Lin An, offering a towel for sweat that wasn't there.
The woman, typically doted on by him, was now at his disposal. In fact, in these times, he wouldn't hesitate to offer not just her but even his wife if it meant appeasing Lin An.
The group murmured, offering flattery as they saw Lin An's fearsome display of power.
These survivors had witnessed him, almost like a god of death, slay his way down, and they couldn't help but wish to stay on his good side.
Several young men gazed at him in awe, holding fire axes as if trying to muster courage.
A few women in business attire subtly ripped their clothes in a bid to catch his eye.
Lin An coldly rejected the towel, his expression darkened. It wasn't the survivors that bothered him. While they couldn't help much, they could serve as bait. The mutated zombies had a far greater bloodlust than regular ones. The more concentrated the crowd, the more likely they were to draw attention from these monsters.
It reminded him of the past.
In larger, supposedly safer zones, the frequency of zombie hordes and mutant creatures increased.
He hadn't planned to save anyone—he had only killed zombies. But after clearing the area, the survivors had naturally clustered around him.
Following the strong was human nature. Of course, to benefit from his protection, they would need to pay the price.
"The last floor," Lin An muttered, his hope fading as he prepared to head downstairs.
The first floor was the lobby, facing the hospital across the street. The distance between the two was only separated by a road.
The hotel elevator was out of order, and the stairs were blocked by debris.
Perhaps the "meat" from the hospital hadn't been fast enough, and most of the zombies were gathered inside. Only a handful lingered outside near the hotel.
Suddenly, a loud bang echoed.
Something heavy hit the ground, followed by the blaring of car alarms.
"Lin-ge! There's... there's something out there!"
Yu Shihao, the fastest to react, rushed to the window. His face turned pale as he saw what was going on.
"There are people out there!"
A few young men yelled, equally terrified, as though something horrifying had appeared outside.
Lin An swiftly walked to the window and drew back the curtains.
It was...!
In the middle of the road, a dozen survivors were frantically fleeing.
Trailing them was a bald man, skillfully dodging the cars being hurled at him like projectiles. His reflexes were impressive.
Lin An froze for a moment.
Unlike the panic of the others around him, Lin An watched the monstrous creature chasing the survivors with a glimmer of a smile.
"Hello, Lick Eater."
...
On the road.
A three-meter-tall Lick Eater easily grabbed a car and hurled it at the bald man.
The bald man nimbly rolled to the side, evading the incoming vehicle with astonishing agility for his size.
Boom!
The hybrid car exploded on impact, sending a fireball shooting into the sky.
"Old Zhang! Get inside the building!"
"That thing's too big. It can't come in! Get inside and you'll be safe!"
A burly man, running in the middle of the group, shouted to the bald man as he looked back, his face full of urgency.
"Don't worry about me! You all go first!"
The bald man, powerful and muscular, ripped off his tattered shirt. His well-defined muscles glistened under the sun, his waist broader than that of an average person.
"Damn it!"
"Bear Transformation!"
With a roar, dark light surged into his chest, and his body swelled up, muscles bulging like they were about to explode.
Roar!!!
His head transformed, and his body was covered in black fur, turning him from a human into a two-meter-tall black bear.
Bang!
The Lick Eater's sharp claws swung down, but the bear-man blocked it with his massive paw, the collision akin to two trucks crashing into each other.
The Lick Eater screeched in pain as its body was pushed back.
The black bear staggered back two steps, and despite their fierce clash, it was clear that he was slightly weaker.
"Die!"
With a powerful leap, the black bear pounced, slamming both hands together like a hammer, aiming for the Lick Eater's head.
Bang!
Flesh collided with flesh.
The Lick Eater's hard skull caved in by half.
The black bear's eyes lit up with a glimmer of hope.
However, to his surprise, the attack didn't deal as much damage as expected. Despite the intense force, the Lick Eater remained intact.
Lin An had nearly severed the Lick Eater's head in the past, yet it didn't die. Now, with the bear's powerful blow only denting its skull, the Lick Eater was far from defeated.
Swoosh!
The Lick Eater retaliated, its claws slashing through the bear-man's defenses with ease.
Blood sprayed like a broken faucet, spilling onto the street.
The black bear's eyes widened in shock, stumbling back, his massive body on the verge of collapsing.
"Old Zhang!"
A man running with the survivors roared in anger, his eyes bloodshot.
"That damn monster, I'll kill it!"
The two men had been close for years, like brothers. Seeing his comrade on the brink of death, the man's rage exploded.
With frantic eyes, he pulled out a handgun from his waist and fired.
"Come at me, you bastard!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The gunshots rang out as bullets sprayed toward the Lick Eater.
But they had no effect.
The Lick Eater's massive, muscular frame effortlessly absorbed the bullets.
The yellow-orange shell casings fell to the ground, quickly ejected by the creature's tensed muscles.
Enraged, the Lick Eater stopped its attack on the black bear and, with startling speed, closed the distance between it and the gunman.
In an instant, it swiped at him.
The man was torn apart in one swift movement, his body sliced into three clean segments as if sliced by a laser.
His wide, angry eyes stared at the sky even as his head was severed.
Ahhhhhh!
The black bear-man, now furious, charged again.
"Die, you bastard!"
Pushing past his grievous injuries, he hurled himself toward the Lick Eater.
...
Meanwhile, on the second floor of the hotel, the survivors huddled behind Lin An, terrified.
Wang Ju, trembling uncontrollably, could barely stand.
Seeing a movie-like monster materialize in front of them, the shock was almost unbearable.
The Lick Eater alone, with its terrifying appearance, was enough to crush any thoughts of resistance.
Click-clack.
The young men clutching fire axes were gripped by fear, their hands shaking uncontrollably.
Not long ago, they had been confidently boasting to their female companions, believing that, with Lin An around, the end of the world was nothing more than an inconvenience.
But now, facing a creature of such immense power, they realized how laughably naive they had been.
"Lin-ge, we need to hide!"
"They're about to bring the monster over here!"
Yu Shihao swallowed hard, his voice shaky. "What the hell is that thing!?"
"Yeah, Lin-ge, let's go back upstairs and hide!"
The others started to urge Lin An to retreat, not out of gratitude but because they feared the unknown.
Though they believed in Lin An's strength, they had seen with their own eyes the monster's overwhelming power. The gap between them and the Lick Eater was a chasm, as wide as the difference between a man and a baby.
Even the bear-man, who could rival the creature in power, had been nearly killed with a single swipe. Lin An, despite his strength, wouldn't stand a chance.
Lin An stood at the window, unbothered.
His gaze was fixed, burning with anticipation.
At first, he had expected to hunt down a Lick Eater, thinking he'd need to search for one to kill. But it seemed luck was on his side.
The bald man was an Awakened one.
Probably only at stage 0.
Perhaps he could recruit him?
As he watched the black bear-man teeter on the edge of death, Lin An made up his mind.
"Boom!"
With a single leap, Lin An shattered the window, and in an instant, he was outside.
Bang!
The ground cracked under the force of his landing.
"Ahhh!"
With a roar like thunder, Lin An charged forward, his sword gleaming with murderous intent.
"Let's see..."
He whispered under his breath, "Can I cut you down with a single strike, you bastard?"