Instant Kill

"Swift strike."

"Downward Slash!"

Lin An's entire body creaked as his bones cracked, focusing all his power into his right hand.

With a single stroke, a gust of wind followed the blade's path.

The power beyond human limits was unleashed.

This was the most basic strike in swordsmanship, yet at this moment, it felt unstoppable.

"Roar!"

The Licker instantly swung its massive claws. The size difference between them created a stark contrast in the eyes of the onlookers.

"Crack."

The giant claw shattered.

The sword's aftershock remained relentless, a line of blood trailing from the Licker's skull.

Lin An's steps never faltered, striding forward with purpose.

0.5 seconds later.

As the Licker's enormous claw neared Lin An's head, it froze.

Flesh and bone separated.

The massive body split slowly into two halves.

Lin An walked past the torn body of the Licker without a word.

A second later, the sound of heavy flesh hitting the ground echoed.

Ding — "Player has killed a Stage 1 Mutant: Licker."

White light surged from the Licker's corpse, rushing into Lin An's body.

Ding — "Upgrade conditions met, congratulations Player! Current Player Level: 1!"

Ding — "Advancement conditions met, congratulations Awakened! Current Awakening Level: Stage 1!"

Two waves of power surged from the void, quickly fading within Lin An's body.

Warmth. Comfort.

An addictive pleasure washed away his fatigue.

Ding — "Player Level Up. Strength +1, Agility +1, Constitution +1, Willpower +1!"

Ding — "Awakened Level Up. Strength +2, Agility +2, Constitution +2, Willpower +2!"

A double boost to his power!

Lin An greedily inhaled, feeling his growing strength surge within him.

Good! The black bear, now lying motionless on the ground, had already reverted to its human form.

The bald man's awakening ability allowed him to transform into a bear, but it didn't last long. With his severe injuries, he could no longer maintain the bear form.

Holding his severed arm, his gaze was one of shock, as though he were staring at a monster.

Lin An's effortless kill of the Licker was certainly shocking to everyone.

But no one was as stunned as the bald man.

Having fought the Licker, he initially believed they were evenly matched. But when the fight escalated, a single failed strike exposed a gap that led to his brutal injury.

Now, he realized that even if given a hundred more lives, he wouldn't survive more than a few seconds against the Licker.

It was too strong.

"How... How did you do it?"

The bald man swallowed hard.

As Lin An casually approached him, his eyes filled with respect.

"Well."

"One slash, that's all it takes."

Lin An replied nonchalantly.

With his current strength, effortlessly killing the Licker with one strike felt completely normal.

The bald man: ...

Lin An smiled faintly, not caring much about the bald man's emotions.

"So, can you move?"

Lin An glanced at the bald man's body. The massive wound in his chest, caused by the Licker's attack, was healing slowly.

However, his severed left arm had only stopped bleeding, not regenerating.

This recovery rate was rather fast.

Lin An mused internally.

It seemed the bald man was stronger than he initially thought.

Awakened individuals had enhanced physical abilities, and their recovery was decent.

But this speed of recovery, given the severity of his injury, seemed a bit beyond the ordinary.

A normal person would have been dead by now.

Did the beast transformation come with enhanced physical regeneration?

Maybe it had something to do with the man's awakened abilities.

While his speed after transformation wasn't exceptional, his physique was solid.

A good tank, in short.

Lin An silently evaluated the bald man.

"I can still move."

The bald man nodded, laboriously getting up from the ground.

"Hello, I'm Zhang Tie!"

He extended his right hand.

His voice was rough, and his smile—full of teeth—wasn't pretty, but it was sincere.

"Lin An."

"By the way, Lin, big brother, thank you for saving me."

Zhang Tie's face was full of gratitude, sincere without any pretense.

If it weren't for Lin An's intervention, he probably would have ended up like his brother—dead and turned into a zombie.

"I don't even know how to..."

"We'll talk later."

Lin An interrupted him with a glance toward the hospital's entrance.

A number of zombies were already starting to gather near the doors.

"Alright."

Zhang Tie didn't say much more, swallowing his words of thanks.

As they passed the body of the burly man, Zhang Tie quickly picked up the remains and held them in his arms.

His eyes were red.

"Rest in peace."

Lin An could feel the sadness emanating from Zhang Tie and couldn't help but offer some comfort.

He, too, had brothers.

He understood that kind of pain all too well.

An Jing Tian, An Xia...

Hang on, I'll come back for you!

Lin An's thoughts were with Yuan Xiaoqiu and his sister as his gaze became steely.

They ran quickly, the two of them awakened and their speed far beyond that of normal people.

In just a few seconds, they reached the hotel lobby.

"Brother Zhang!"

The crowd erupted in cheers.

The survivors who had fled into the hotel moments earlier rushed to meet Zhang Tie, offering greetings.

But when they saw the corpse Zhang Tie was carrying, their faces turned somber.

It was clear that this group of people had known each other well.

A few older individuals gently took the body from Zhang Tie and laid it on a red cloth in silence.

Lin An didn't speak, simply moving to block the hotel's door again.

"Boom!"

With a mighty heave, Lin An single-handedly dragged a car weighing several tons to seal the door.

The onlookers stared in awe, fear creeping into their expressions.

This wasn't the same kind of fear as facing zombies, but rather the innate fear ordinary people felt when witnessing true power.

Zhang Tie, seemingly the leader of the group, noticed the apprehension in the others and quickly introduced Lin An.

"This is Lin An, my lifesaver."

"As you all saw, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here."

Zhang Tie said, bowing deeply.

The others, filled with gratitude, all bowed in unison toward Lin An.

Among the survivors, a young girl with teary eyes stepped forward.

She wore a baseball cap and had her hair tied in a simple ponytail.

Her age appeared to be around 17 or 18.

Dressed in sportswear, she exuded youthful energy.

Her features were delicate, a beauty in the making.

"Lin, you saved my brother's life. I'll never forget this kindness."

Lin An smiled faintly.

She reminded him of Wen Ya—youthful and full of life.

Although Wen Ya was a bit more mature.

The girl wiped away her tears and turned to look at Zhang Tie.

"Brother... your hand."

"I'm fine, Yuwei, stop crying."

"Us Zhang family doesn't cry!"

Zhang Tie grinned, forcing a smile despite his painful injuries, as he comforted his younger sister.

Looking at the two of them, Lin An's expression grew somewhat strange.

He had assumed Yuwei was just addressing Zhang Tie as a nickname, but it turned out they were siblings.

One was a towering, hulking figure, and the other small and delicate.

Such a contrast for siblings from the same parents...

Zhang Tie seemed to sense Lin An's strange look and pulled Yuwei over to him.

"Lin, big brother, this is my little sister!"

Zhang Tie said proudly.

Lin An:...