Chapter 11: Strangeness

As dusk settled, the evening sky was ablaze with a fiery glow, casting a crimson light over the city gripped by panic. Amidst the chaos, a modified motorcycle streaked through the deserted streets like a black phantom, its engine roaring with a deafening thunder that seemed to challenge the world with its untamed spirit. Lin Yi, the rider, was a picture of stoicism, his face set firm and eyes resolute, as if the high-speed wind that rushed at him was no more than a gentle breeze, incapable of unsettling him.

He could faintly hear shouts trailing from behind, drifting in the wind, now distant, now near. Yet he did not turn back, nor did he slow down.

The sight along the way was harrowing: smashed cars and scattered corpses were a common sight, with limbs hanging from the guardrails like pork for sale at a market, sending chills down one's spine. Lin Yi, with his awakened willpower of 14 points, maneuvered the motorcycle nimbly to avoid the obstacles on the road. Although he was not skilled in riding motorcycles, his reaction speed beyond human limits allowed him to handle the situation with ease.

"You're still a novice. If we die here, it would be such a pity that you've never tasted the pleasure of a man," Li Zhiping's voice trembled amidst the shaking of the motorcycle, his face wearing a lewd grin as his mind indulged in fantasies of two fair thighs resting on his shoulders. He wanted to savor that final delight even at the end of his life.

Wen Ya's expression was icy cold, her heart filled with despair, but her mind raced, searching for a way to escape. Both of them were now standing on the roof of the car, and any struggle or resistance could lead to a fall into the horde of zombies. She would rather choose death than let Li Zhiping touch her.

At that moment, the car suddenly shook violently, catching Li Zhiping off guard, and he fell backward onto the roof. The zombies immediately stretched out their rotting fingers, trying to pull him down to become their feast. Li Zhiping's scream pierced the night sky, his arms flailing in the air, trying to find a support point.

"Check for me quickly! Am I scratched?" His voice was filled with a sob, his eyes brimming with fear. Unable to see the back of his neck, he could only ask Wen Ya for help. Wen Ya let out a sigh of relief and coldly replied, "No." A trace of unease flashed through her eyes, but it was quickly concealed.

Li Zhiping heaved a sigh of relief, his taut nerves finally relaxing. He would rather commit suicide than become one of those zombies. He had witnessed with his own eyes last night how a colleague in the same car, after being scratched on the face by a zombie, had quickly turned into a zombie within just ten minutes. He did not want to become such a creature.

"I just remembered," Wen Ya suddenly spoke up, her voice calm and firm, "There's food in the car next to us, and the key is still in it. I forgot to take the key when I got off. And the sunroof on the car is open, but it's covered by a sunshade so it's not obvious." Her words conveyed a glimmer of hope.

Li Zhiping was overjoyed at the news, hastily looking towards the RV next to them. He had noticed the vehicle before, but jumping over seemed futile. Now, with Wen Ya's words, he saw a glimmer of hope. He was torn, hesitant. The distance was a bit far, and he dared not jump.

Wen Ya no longer looked at Li Zhiping, patiently conserving her strength, a bitter smile escaping her lips. The sunroof was not open, and the key was in her hand. She deceived Li Zhiping into jumping over, planning to use his death to distract the zombies while she made her escape by driving away. The plan was full of holes, but it was the only option she had at the moment.

Suddenly, the roar of an engine approached rapidly from the distance. The two on the roof of the car listened in disbelief. Upon recognizing the sound, they both looked up sharply, their faces filled with surprise and joy. A vehicle was coming!

Li Zhiping quickly straightened up, frantically waving his arms to catch Lin Yi's attention. "Help!" His voice was a heart-wrenching scream, fearing it was not loud enough. His parched throat made his voice sound like a duck tearing its vocal cords.

However, Lin Yi turned a deaf ear, speeding past on his motorcycle, so fast that even the zombies surrounding the RV did not have time to react.

"Damn it! Damn it!" Li Zhiping stared blankly at the disappearing black dot in the distance, his emotions swinging from hope to despair. "What the hell!" "Can't you see there are people here?" He couldn't help but curse, while Wen Ya, though disappointed, quickly regained her composure, seemingly pondering something.

Their eyes met suddenly, and Li Zhiping licked his cracked lips, deep in thought. He scratched the back of his neck, not knowing why, but he suddenly felt an itch all over his body. It was hot, itchy... Wen Ya in front of him suddenly seemed... somewhat appetizing?

At the highway interchange, Lin Yi suddenly stopped, skillfully executing a drift with his motorcycle. After getting off, he gazed at the RV about four hundred meters behind, puzzled. He had sensed a faint spiritual fluctuation when he passed by the RV. Was it an apocalyptic equipment? Or something else?

As an awakened one, his perception far exceeded that of ordinary people. Especially after the apocalypse game began, some props from the "game" would automatically emit fluctuations, like points of light in the dark night. If it was equipment, he would naturally not let it pass.

"Judgment Eye!" Lin Yi shouted in a low voice, instantly activating the Judgment Eye to search. All the information within his field of vision was displayed in detail. His gaze focused intently on a strange item in the center of the information.

"Human: Female, Player Level: Level 1" His pupils dilated, and Lin Yi's eyesight quickly captured the scene on the roof of the car in the distance like a zooming telescope. On the roof, Li Zhiping was bent over, coughing incessantly, while Wen Ya stood alertly on the roof, her right hand clenched tightly behind her back.

Lin Yi frowned slightly, seeing nothing unusual. He did not see the presence of apocalyptic equipment. On the contrary, he could tell that Li Zhiping had been infected and would turn into a zombie completely in about five minutes. It seemed that Wen Ya's level was not from equipment.

Lin Yi was puzzled. In the apocalypse game, a player's level could only be increased by killing mutated zombies. It took two mutated zombies to go from level 0 to level 1. Level 2 required four. The licker he had killed before only met half of the upgrade requirements. His current player level and awakened rank were both level 0.

So, Wen Ya on the roof was strictly speaking, even higher in level than him! Wen Ya was neither an awakened one nor could have possibly killed mutated zombies to raise her level. Yet, she was marked as level 1 in the information, with a slight spiritual fluctuation. How could this be?

Unless... Lin Yi's heart pounded, recalling an incredible legend from a past life. His eyes gradually became fiery.