Chapter 7

This is it!

An old building, covered in withered vines. 520 Official Website

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Lin An looked at the familiar yet strange doorplate, his heart racing.

Not a single second was wasted.

In just five minutes, he fought his way through a horde of over a hundred zombies.

His combat suit was caked with congealed blood.

His boots were soaked in shredded flesh.

The broken fire axe in his hand had been replaced by a half-severed spine of a舔食者 (note: "舔食者" is a term for a specific type of zombie, often translated as "feeder" or "licker").

Lin An fought his way through a bloody battle.

From his appearance alone, he looked like a monster that had crawled out of a pile of corpses.

"Jing Tian! An Xia!"

Without stopping, Lin An rushed into the residential building.

He paid no attention to the horde of zombies in front of the building.

He kept shouting the names of Jing Tian and An Xia.

"Brother Lin!"

Inside the room.

An Xia, crouched in the corner, looked surprised. She quickly stood up, fearing she had heard wrong, and peered out the window.

"I'm here!"

An Xia leaned out and waved, her eyes full of hope.

Outside, the zombies became even more agitated, drawn to the scent of a living human on Lin An.

Lin An heard An Xia's voice and quickly looked up.

Inside the room, An Jing Tian's bound hands suddenly broke free.

His wrists, worn down to the bone, were no longer restrained by the chains.

The chains fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

But in the midst of the zombies' roars, An Xia did not notice.

The room was dark and dim.

A pair of blood-red eyes suddenly appeared behind her.

Lin An's pupils instantly constricted into dangerous pinpoints.

"Power Burst!"

The Awakened talent activated again.

Lin An, disregarding the immense strain of using his talent repeatedly in a short time, frantically channeled his inner strength.

He charged forward!

"Thud!"

The sharp spine of the licker pierced through the zombies at the door, impaling them like skewers, pinned to the side of the door.

Faster!

Even faster!

Lin An roared in his heart, swinging his right fist with all his might.

"Boom!"

Brute force shattered the door.

The sturdy iron door let out a screeching sound as it deformed and was destroyed.

Inside the room.

An Xia, weakly clutching her throat, blood seeping through her fingers.

"Brother... Brother?"

Her lips parted, but no sound came out.

An Jing Tian's grotesque, decaying face showed no trace of reason in his eyes.

A trail of blood hung from his lips, and he was about to bite again.

"Jing Tian!"

Lin An roared in anger.

His muscles tore.

His already explosive speed increased even more.

An Jing Tian's body trembled at the sound, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes.

His mouth, poised to bite again, froze in place.

"Boom!"

In 0.5 seconds.

Lin An instantly rushed into the room, colliding with An Jing Tian and knocking him away from An Xia.

The wall behind them cracked, and dust fell.

Zombies were different from ordinary humans.

Even though An Jing Tian had not fully transformed, his body strength, enhanced by the virus, far exceeded that of a normal human.

If it were an ordinary human,

Even with Lin An's restrained impact, they would most likely lose their ability to move.

But An Jing Tian was different.

After a brief stiffness, his eyes turned blood-red again, filled with a desire for flesh.

"Roar!"

Lin An pinned him down, preventing him from harming An Xia.

His body was firmly restrained, but his head thrashed wildly.

Low, animal-like growls emerged from deep within his throat.

His once strong and dignified face was now devoid of any intact flesh.

Infected by the zombie virus, his skin had rotted away completely.

Lin An's eyes were filled with sorrow.

He had quickly assessed An Xia's condition; while she was not in immediate danger,

The wound on her throat, inflicted by An Jing Tian, would also lead to infection.

Seeing his best friend about to turn into a zombie,

And the beloved sister of both of them also infected,

He felt a burning pain in his heart.

Jing Tian, you must hold on!

"Shh!"

Lin An held a piece of metal in one hand and swiftly cut his wrist.

Blood flowed freely.

"Power Burst!"

Lin An whispered, activating his Awakened talent again.

But the golden aura around him was somewhat dimmer.

The blood, tinged with a faint gold, seemed to come alive.

His mental energy was exhausted, and his vision blurred.

Lin An bit his tongue to force himself to stay awake.

"Brother Lin?"

"Is there any hope for my brother?"

An Xia, helpless, squatted beside him, weakly and timidly asked.

The wound on her neck, caused by An Jing Tian's fingers, was not severe.

Lin An did not respond, but with a serious expression, he extended his cut wrist toward An Jing Tian's heart.

The wound and skin made contact.

The faint golden hue in the blood seemed to come alive, suddenly penetrating An Jing Tian's skin.

"Don't worry, I'm here."

The taste of iron and sweetness from the bitten tongue.

Lin An saw that his blood indeed caused a change when it touched An Jing Tian, and he felt a slight relief.

After all, the rumor from his previous life that Awakened blood could suppress zombification was just a rumor, and he had never personally tested it.

He didn't know how effective it would be.

He softly reassured An Xia, but he had little confidence himself.

Using Awakened blood to delay zombification.

This was the only method he had ever heard of that could affect zombification.

With An Jing Tian about to turn into a zombie, he had to try anything.

As the faint golden blood strangely seeped into An Jing Tian's chest,

His blood-red eyes slowly regained some clarity.

His wildly struggling body gradually calmed down.

It works!

Lin An's heart leaped with joy, and he felt a lump in his throat.

The regret from his previous life was finally being rectified.

"Brother Lin, is my brother going to be okay?"

An Xia's eyes were full of hope, yearning for Lin An to give her a reassuring answer.

Lin An struggled to maintain his composure, about to offer some comfort.

"Aaaaaah!"

A sudden change occurred.

An Jing Tian's body, which had calmed down, suddenly arched backward at a 90-degree angle, and a grating sound of bone grinding emerged from his joints.

His pupils instantly turned gray.

The blood from Lin An's wrist, which had seeped into his chest, was now being rejected from his body.

"Shh!"

The faint golden blood dripped onto his chest, instantly vaporizing and emitting a strong, foul odor.

Lin An was shocked.

His relaxed nerves instantly tensed.

In just a few seconds,

An Jing Tian's flesh peeled off like clothing, revealing raw, red meat.

"No!"

How could this happen!?

Lin An's eyes turned bloodshot.

His face was ashen.

He didn't know if the rumor from his previous life about Awakened blood delaying zombification was false,

Or if his Awakened talent was different from others.

The expected effect of Awakened blood not only failed to delay zombification but accelerated the transformation into a zombie!

In this case,

He had no way to save An Jing Tian.

The blood was useless.

Then An Xia…

Would die too!

Exhausted from the bloody battle, he felt mentally and physically drained.

Why such an ending!?

The two people he cherished and valued could not be saved!

Lin An clenched his fists, his nails deeply embedded in his flesh, feeling despair and unwillingness.

"Drip."

"Rescuer mission activated:"