Chapter 21: A Handy Weapon

"Captain Lin!" Zhang Tie called out. "Should we split up or stay together?"

After breaking through to the second floor, they found even more zombies than before. Zhang Tie frantically swung his bone whip, occasionally resorting to kicking away zombies that lunged at him.

His breathing was labored. Both his physical and mental energy were nearing their limits. After the continuous onslaught, he had lost count of how many zombies he had killed. His black fur was now a dark red, with bits of entrails hanging from his body. At a glance, he looked more like some kind of mutant zombie than a bear.

Despite his high constitution, even Zhang Tie was struggling to keep up with the relentless horde.

"Huff... huff..." Zhang Tie panted, his strength waning. "Captain Lin!"

Lin Yi was equally engulfed in the sea of undead. As the vanguard, he faced nearly three to four times as many zombies as Zhang Tie. His blade left afterimages as it sliced through the air, barely managing to keep the zombies at bay.

Unable to respond immediately, Lin Yi's silence only increased Zhang Tie's anxiety.

"My second transformation is about to end!"

The end of the transformation meant certain death.

Lin Yi's heart sank. He had underestimated the power of the zombie horde. He had thought that with his newfound poison resistance and abilities, he could face the hospital's zombies alone. Bringing Zhang Tie was merely an extra precaution.

His earlier encounters with smaller groups of zombies had been effortless, leading to a sense of complacency since his awakening. But now, he realized just how terribly he had misjudged the horror of a full-scale horde.

This endless, unkillable mass of monsters could wear down even the strongest awakened ones.

Such arrogance was dangerous! Lin Yi chided himself. In this apocalyptic game, even the mightiest awakened ones were but struggling insects. Who was he, a mere Tier 1, to underestimate these creatures?

"Eye of Judgment!" Lin Yi called out. A pale blue mist rose, transforming his vision into a stream of data.

"Current number of zombies within detection range: 4,197"

"Mutants: 0."

"Mutants: 1"

The number of mutants on the display fluctuated as if affected by interference.

Lin Yi's expression changed drastically. This was the first time he had seen the Eye of Judgment fail to provide accurate data.

The fluctuating numbers could mean one of two things: Either there was indeed a mutant at the very edge of his perception range, causing the number to change as it moved in and out of range, or there was a mutant capable of resisting the Eye of Judgment's detection!

Damn it!

According to the rules, a mutant able to resist the Eye of Judgment would have to be at least Tier 3! Only a creature with overwhelmingly superior willpower could interfere with the Eye's abilities.

Lin Yi's expression grew grave. He could only hope it wasn't the second scenario. Trapped in this horde, neither outcome was one he could easily handle.

If it was the first case, he might be able to manage, but Zhang Tie would surely die. If it was the second... well, there would be no point in struggling. Against a Tier 3 mutant, he wouldn't even have a chance to escape.

The anomaly in the underground parking lot, the shriek he heard last night, the unprecedented mutant, and the corpse snake – Lin Yi had a vague sense that these four elements were somehow connected. But what was the link?

"Roar!" The black bear let out a pained bellow.

In mere seconds, Zhang Tie was completely surrounded by zombies. They swarmed over him like bloodthirsty ants, with more leaping at him like locusts.

If not for his thick bear fur and the pre-prepared cotton clothing offering a brief barrier, the massive dose of zombie toxin would have infected him in less than a second.

His enormous bear body was now almost entirely covered in clinging zombies, nearly burying him completely.

Simultaneously, there was a sharp crack of breaking metal. Lin Yi's Nepalese kukri finally gave out, shattering into fragments that pierced the bodies of nearby zombies.

The situation was going from bad to worse.

Lin Yi had no time to ponder the mysteries any further. He quickly retrieved two zombie spines from his Judgment Ring to use as makeshift rapiers.

"Charging step!"

"Spinning thrust!"

Powering from his waist, Lin Yi took a step forward. Wielding his "rapiers" like a vicious drill, he tore through the zombies in front of him, pushing towards Zhang Tie.

It wasn't enough! There were far too many zombies. The ground was already covered in a thick layer of shredded flesh. The slick blood was so thick, it truly was a sea of corpses and blood.

They needed to end this quickly!

It was time to use the stimulant!

As a trump card, each dose of the drug was precious. But now wasn't the time to be frugal. If they died here, nothing else would matter.

Lin Yi bit open a stimulant vial he retrieved from his ring, swallowing the liquid along with shards of glass.

"Ding, Strength +1, Constitution +1, Agility +1"

"Ding, Burst power increased by 50%, Stamina and Impact Resistance increased by 30%, Attack speed increased by 20%."

After downing two doses, he felt a long-forgotten sense of power!

"Power Burst!"

Lin Yi activated Power Burst again just as the second skill was ending, maintaining his momentum.

Golden spirit energy flashed, and his stamina was restored to its peak.

"Ding, All attributes +2!"

A faint ripple of spirit energy pulsed outward.

His Strength attribute broke through the critical value of 21 points.

Instantly, Lin Yi felt the bone spikes in his hands become light as feathers. Power surged within him like a volcano ready to erupt.

With the help of the stimulants, Lin Yi's abilities had reached the pinnacle of a high-tier Awakened One.

Time seemed to slow down.

The previously swift and violent zombies now appeared to move in slow motion.

"I think I can..."

The thought flashed through his mind.

After breaking through the 20-point threshold, a strange sense of perception spread through him.

So this was the power of a high-tier Awakened One?

Lin Yi was exhilarated. The combination of external enhancements had allowed him to temporarily experience higher-tier power.

"I think I can kill them all!?"

His heart raced, pumping blood throughout his body like an engine.

With this brief taste of higher-tier strength, Lin Yi felt he could even tear apart a Licker with his bare hands.

His muscles bulged, filled with seemingly limitless power.

Frenzy!

"Direct thrust!"

Gripping the bone spikes with both hands, Lin Yi unleashed his enhanced strength. The air around him crackled with the force of his movements.

The bone spikes shot forward like lightning, instantly piercing through the zombies in front of him.

Like a traditional gourd cleaver, a single strike cleared the space before him.

"Reverse chop!"

Overcome with battle frenzy, Lin Yi wielded the bone spikes like cleavers, swinging them in a backhand motion.

The speed was incredible.

It was less like chopping and more like smashing.

The weapons whistled through the air, pulverizing large groups of zombies into bloody pulp.

This feeling, this power!

Lin Yi's eyes gleamed with delight. The immense strength was intoxicating.

"Hah!" His battle cry was deafening, like thunder in a clear sky.

Caught up in the thrill of the slaughter, Lin Yi tossed aside the bone spikes. Though sharp and fairly durable, they just didn't feel right in his hands.

The two "bone spikes" shot out like lightning, easily piercing through the zombies in their path, leaving bloody holes in their wake.

"Come here!"

"Smash!"

"Boom!"

Lin Yi's face was manic, his eyes bloodshot.

He grabbed a nearby zombie and used it as a makeshift hammer, smashing it into the horde.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

It was like swatting flies.

The dense crowd of zombies around Lin Yi instantly cleared, reduced to a mess of pulverized flesh on the ground.

Exhilarating!

Lin Yi felt an overwhelming rush, the earlier gloom completely dispelled.

His earlier concerns about the hidden mutant had vanished. Now, as long as it wasn't a Tier 2 mutant, he was absolutely confident he could take it on!

His momentum undiminished, Lin Yi took advantage of the combined effects of the stimulant and Power Burst, swiftly cutting a path towards Zhang Tie.

"Boom!"

Large groups of clustered zombies were smashed into a pulp against the ground. Limbs and entrails flew everywhere, blood splattering in all directions.

"Boom!"

Lin Yi had gone through several zombies as makeshift hammers.

To Zhang Tie's horror, Lin Yi had managed to clear a path through the horde in just a few seconds.

Zhang Tie was dumbfounded.

"This is too damn brutal!" he couldn't help but swallow hard, his bear face a picture of complex emotions.

To him, Lin Yi, covered in blood and smashing zombies left and right, looked even more terrifying than a mutant.

"Boom!"

The ground shook as Lin Yi casually smashed the zombies near him, then wiped some of the gore from his face.

He grinned, sending chills down Zhang Tie's spine.

"C-Captain... y-you..." Zhang Tie's usually booming voice was now a timid whisper over the team's communication channel.

With the surrounding zombies temporarily cleared, he could finally catch his breath.

"Hm?" Lin Yi looked at Zhang Tie quizzically, his bloodshot eyes glowing red from the continuous slaughter.

The brief respite lasted only a moment before the zombie horde surged forward again.

Lin Yi instinctively reached for another zombie to use as a weapon, but found no intact corpses nearby.

He looked at Zhang Tie's massive bear form.

Big and sturdy.

It looked like...

It could make a good hammer?

"Holy shit!" Zhang Tie panicked.

He understood the naked intent in Lin Yi's eyes.

"Captain Lin!"

"No, please!"

"Boom!"

The ground cracked, like a small earthquake.