The Cruel Truth

On the top shelf, the heads of children were neatly arranged, their tender faces bearing the marks of being gnawed at. In every pair of eyes, you could see the fear before death—a profound silence.

On the tiled floor, the bones were licked clean, and the marrow had been gouged out without any waste.

"What is this?" Arnold breathed heavily, staring at the bones beneath his feet in disbelief. He trembled as he picked up a bone that looked like part of an arm. The bones were tiny, and the slender skeletal structure seemed incomplete in its development.

Arnold's teeth chattered, and the bone in his hand dropped to the ground. He recognized them; all of these bones came from children.

Clark wasn't surprised by Arnold's reaction. Although Arnold looked robust and had a strong mind, he hadn't been through the brutal baptism of the apocalypse. He hadn't encountered the harsh reality yet.

Clark sighed lightly and patted Arnold's shoulder. "The second floor had a pediatric department. Have you seen a child-turned zombie since we entered? It told you that it was because of the glove's ability that it retained its sanity and humanity."

Arnold took a deep breath and with great effort, managed to speak, shaking his head. "Clark, isn't it because of the glove?"

Clark touched the glove on his right hand, his gaze cold. If he weren't a reincarnator, there was a high probability that he would have been fooled by the zombie doctor's words as well.

"Sanity? Wanting to save children? Zombies can never possess such things! From the moment they transform into zombies, they've completely become monsters! At best, they can retain some intelligence, but as a trade-off, they have to consume humans. Just like 'The Stitcher.' It became a Tier 3 Mutant 'Abomination' after devouring all the survivors in WD Mall, becoming the ultimate nightmare for LJ City survivors!

Haven't you figured it out yet? He lost the glove, but he still has intelligence, and he knows fear. This indicates that his intelligence wasn't bestowed by the glove; it's inherent to him. 

Players can level up by killing mutants, and similarly, zombies can 'level up' by feasting on humans. The more powerful the mutant, the more people they've killed. That zombie we encountered might have seemed weak to me, but his true strength is far greater than other zombies.

Moreover, he appears to be a special case, capable of using psychic power to command other zombies. Otherwise, without his leadership, we wouldn't have had such a tough time before. Most likely, he consumed most of the children here himself, which is why they mutated."

Arnold fell silent, unable to contain his anger, and he stomped on the filthy ground with clenched teeth, muttering, "Damn scum!"

"Ding! Arnold's loyalty to you has increased by 10 points. Current loyalty: 80!"

With an 80-point loyalty, Arnold was unlikely to betray Clark. The real-time loyalty monitoring system proved to be quite useful.

It seemed that this experience had severely shaken Arnold's perspective. Clark believed that in the future, Arnold wouldn't question Clark's actions again.

"Clark, I'm sorry," Arnold said, lowering his head with a self-deprecating smile.

"Clark, what are you looking at?" Arnold approached Clark nonchalantly and soon stood by his side.

"Nothing much," Clark replied, reaching into his waist to retrieve two pre-prepared vials of potion. The pale purple liquid in the test tubes emitted a strange and enchanting color.

"Clark, what's this?" Arnold took the vials without thinking, and his eyes widened as he read the explanations that appeared in his player information.

"Ding! Obtained Giant Lizard Extract (Special): Temporarily increases Strength, Constitution, and Agility by +1 each after consumption."

"Ding! Obtained Refined Snake Venom Essence (Special): Provides a 50% burst in strength, a 30% increase in endurance and resistance to attacks, and a 20% boost in attack speed for a short time after consumption."

Arnold, as an awakened individual, was astounded. He could tell from his own transformations how crucial even slight attribute enhancements were.

"This stuff is amazing, Clark! Give me a few more, and I won't fear any zombies! Hand me a couple more!"

Clark, feeling helpless, deducted the ones he had already used. Now there were only 24 doses of the potion left in his ring. Although it might sound like a lot, it wouldn't last for more than a few battles. When there were more team members, they would deplete the supply after just two or three battles.

"There aren't many left. Use them sparingly. Can you still support one more bear transformation with your psychic power?"

Arnold, disappointed to hear there weren't many doses left, carefully stored the vials as if they were precious.

"Clark, I can manage one more bear transformation at most, and the duration will be significantly reduced."

"How long?"

Arnold contemplated for a moment and gave an uncertain answer, "Around twenty seconds."

Clark frowned slightly; twenty seconds were indeed too short. He had already calculated earlier. Even if they acted as quickly as possible, their battle inside the hospital building wouldn't last less than five minutes. Both locations were essential to explore. If there was indeed a psychic node in the pharmacy, Clark might even consider returning here with Lynn tomorrow to become awakened individuals. Finding another psychic node wasn't easy in his plans, especially not in areas heavily infested with zombies.

Taking Lynn into a place filled with dangers like this, even with her being an ordinary person, was still risky. Hence, finding a psychic node in the pharmacy was the best-case scenario.

"Alright then. Let's split up. You go to the pharmacy; there are fewer zombies there. If you notice anything unusual, let me know immediately."

Clark thought it over and decided to send Arnold alone to the pharmacy. Even if the psychic node had dissipated there, there might still be some benefits left behind.

However, having Arnold follow him when he couldn't be of much help was not as good as letting him investigate further. Arnold hesitated for a moment but didn't say anything. He knew that once he couldn't transform into a bear, at best, he would be a durable, slightly stronger human. When fighting zombies up close, he might even become a burden to Clark. He didn't want to be melodramatic, so he simply nodded in agreement, although he felt a sudden melancholy.

After the outbreak, he had been seen as the big brother by the members of his group. He hadn't expected that here with Clark, he would be of so little help. His pride in his abilities seemed insignificant in front of Clark, leaving him feeling despondent. Arnold glanced at his left hand; the loss of his arm had significantly weakened him.

Clark understood what he was thinking and decided to offer some reassurance. After all, they were now members of the same team, and mutual support was essential.

"Arnold, don't be disheartened, and don't think you're useless. Any awakened individual is a strong representative. Right now, you might feel your strength is lacking, but that's because we're facing a massive horde of zombies. Anyone would be useless against such numbers."

Clark added after some thought, "Your innate skill is pretty good. Bear transformation is much more practical in combat compared to many other awakened abilities. When the transformation duration increases in the future, or even when you advance to the Second Tier, you'll gain a new skill. A prolonged bear transformation plus a newly acquired skill will significantly boost your combat effectiveness."

Clark remembered other awakened individuals he had learned about in his previous life, especially those who could control elements, conjuring flames and storms. They seemed formidable, with good offensive capabilities, but often, when their psychic power was depleted, releasing two or three skills, they became powerless in battle. They had to rely on their 10-point maximum attributes to fight. Compared to physical transformation types like Arnold, they were like one-trick ponies, becoming useless after exhausting their skills.

Arnold's bear transformation, even though it fell short in terms of power burst, excelled in durability and stability. One was a short-term burst, while the other aimed for steady, prolonged output.

After hearing Clark's words, Arnold felt much better and even began to look forward to his increased strength once he advanced to the Second Tier.

Clark also shared Arnold's enthusiasm. During their recent encounters with large zombie hordes, he had identified a clear weakness in his own abilities. He lacked area-of-effect skills. When facing individual enemies, he was fine, but when confronting numerous enemies, relying solely on physical attacks became extremely challenging. His innate skill was a power burst, similar to Arnold's bear transformation, but with more attributes and overall versatility. However, it was fundamentally an auxiliary skill.

In the post-apocalyptic game world, not having area-of-effect skills was highly inconvenient. Mutants were strong, but they were still relatively scarce. In everyday combat, they would have to deal with large numbers of zombies. Clark resolved to acquire equipment and then deal with "The Stitcher." If things went smoothly, he would aim to advance to the Second Tier before establishing a safe zone. Advancing to the Second Tier would not only bring a qualitative leap in power but also grant a brand new skill.

Clark believed that even if he received an auxiliary skill, he would prefer a single-target burst skill over his current abilities, as it would be more useful.

"Clark, I've rested enough now. Can we leave?" Arnold asked.

Clark looked at Arnold and nodded slowly. After giving Arnold two vials of the potion, he believed that with Arnold's strength, he should have no trouble with the pharmacy, where there were fewer zombies.

"Bang!" Once they confirmed their route, they didn't hesitate and jumped directly from the second floor. One headed towards the hospital building, while the other went to the pharmacy.

On the second level of the underground parking lot, the rhythmic tapping sounds suddenly ceased. After a short while, the cry of a baby rang out. In the dead silence of the darkness, it seemed eerie.