The Strange Zombie

Lin An stood satisfied as he watched the cleared hallway.

With a swift move, he rushed to the end of the corridor, right next to Zhang Tie.

In a sudden burst of inspiration, Lin An decided to use Zhang Tie as a weapon. After smashing a few zombies with him, he casually used Zhang Tie as a bowling ball.

It was like a one-man wrecking machine.

With Lin An's enhanced second-tier strength, Zhang Tie's two-ton body easily crushed the zombies that lined the path.

"How does it feel?"

Lin An asked, taking the opportunity to pull Zhang Tie up from the ground.

"..."

Zhang Tie, unable to express his anger, only glared at him with resentment.

He felt like his body had fallen apart.

Anyone who had been used as a hammer and then kicked like a ball wouldn't feel great, especially if the person doing it was Lin An.

"I'll say it again! I'm NOT a BALL!"

"And!"

"Shouldn't we be finding that thing, the 'hand'?" Zhang Tie almost cried. His berserk state had ended, and his torn clothes barely covered his backside. Half of his helmet dangled from his head, and he was covered in bloody scraps.

The zombies on the other end of the corridor were rushing toward them in a maddening, tireless frenzy.

Lin An seemed to not hear him at all, his gaze fixed on the door on the left.

"Second Orthopedic Surgery."

The white-painted door was tightly shut, neat and clean.

"I think I found it."

A flicker of something unusual passed through Lin An's eyes.

He gently turned the door handle. The door wasn't locked.

"Click."

Inside, behind a desk, a figure dressed in a white uniform that looked like a doctor sat with its back to them.

"Judgment Eye."

"Mutant: 0"

"Mutant: 1"

The numbers flickered, as if uncertain.

Lin An was puzzled, taking a step into the room.

The numbers on the screen settled at 1.

His mental probe, breaking through an invisible barrier, enveloped the "person" inside.

"Zombie (First-tier Mutant?):"

"This is an ordinary zombie, but it seems to have some mysterious power that helped it break through the limits of a regular zombie."

"Strength: 13"

"Agility: 6"

"Constitution: 10"

"Willpower: 12"

Danger Level: Medium.

So that's it, it was a false alarm.

Lin An felt a weight lift off his chest.

The mutant detected by the Judgment Eye must have been the zombie in front of him.

However, it wasn't beyond his detection range, nor was it a powerful third-tier creature.

It was just carrying the [Skullcrusher's Hand], which used its inherent mental shield to block Lin An's scan.

The 13 points of strength, clearly boosted by the mysterious power of the [Skullcrusher's Hand], was a significant increase.

"Come in and block the door."

Lin An casually instructed Zhang Tie to secure the door.

"Burst of Strength!"

Lin An shouted, activating his full-attribute +2 enhancement.

The effects of the drug hadn't worn off yet, and he was still at his peak.

Lin An didn't let his guard down despite the zombie in front of him not having much threat in terms of attributes.

The white office, the zombie in a doctor's outfit sitting with its back turned, not reacting to the presence of living humans—everything about this was strange.

Lin An remained vigilant, his senses on high alert.

"Bang!"

Zhang Tie slammed the door shut. Within seconds, frantic banging from the outside could be heard.

The zombie doctor didn't move, as if it were deaf.

Lin An didn't let his guard down. If there was any anomaly, he'd try to probe it.

"Pierce!"

The door wouldn't hold much longer.

No matter the oddities, he had to test the situation!

Lin An's gaze was sharp as a blade. His body tensed, and he thrust forward.

Even though it was just a test, this strike would pierce through steel and kill any zombie.

Bone spikes whistled through the air.

"No."

"Don't."

…

The hoarse voice, strained, forced each word out.

Lin An's eyes narrowed sharply, his body freezing.

The strike aimed at the doctor zombie's skull missed its mark.

The voice came from the "doctor."

"Boom!"

The wall behind the zombie shattered, revealing gray concrete.

Lin An stared in disbelief at the zombie, which was still trying to speak.

A zombie… how could it speak!?

Chilled to the bone, Lin An could feel the cold creeping up his spine.

He had played the apocalypse game for three years in his past life and never once heard of a zombie that could speak.

Being able to speak meant retaining some intelligence.

And intelligence…

This was no ordinary zombie.

Unlike Lin An's growing fear, Zhang Tie only stared at the "doctor" zombie in shock.

The iron door behind them rattled, shaking Zhang Tie off balance.

"Boss Lin, what's this freak saying?"

Lin An didn't answer. He just clenched the bone spike tightly.

It wasn't impossible for a mutant to have intelligence.

Lin An knew that third-tier mutants and above began to develop intelligence to varying degrees.

But a first-tier zombie with intelligence?

If it was due to the equipment, he could barely accept that, because end-of-days equipment often had special effects.

But if this zombie had intelligence without the aid of equipment… then that was terrifying.

Humans had become the apex of the food chain because of their intelligence.

If first-tier zombies could think, Lin An didn't know what humanity would do to defend itself.

First-tier mutants were not rare.

The apocalypse game was shifting from a monster-slaying contest to a battle for the survival of two "races."

His steps grew heavier.

Lin An held the bone spike to the "doctor's" skull, ready to kill it at the slightest movement.

"What do you want to say?"

It felt surreal.

Lin An never imagined he would be talking to a zombie.

"Don't… kill… me."

"Ha."

"Ha."

As Lin An drew closer, the seated zombie doctor couldn't suppress its base desire for flesh. It gasped as if it were an old man on the brink of death.

It tried to stand, but rationality repressed its hunger.

Lin An could see fear in its eyes.

It tilted its head, trying to make the bone spike miss its forehead.

"Give me a reason not to kill you."

Lin An took a deep breath.

A zombie afraid of dying, begging for mercy?

"You… want… it."

The doctor zombie trembled uneasily.

It slowly raised its right hand.

The skin on its right hand had peeled off, revealing a black glove with blood-red markings.

The glove had a hollow on the back, as if something had once been embedded there.

Lin An's heart skipped a beat. His eyes gleamed with a blue light.

"Judgment Eye!"

"Ding, discovered an end-of-days equipment. Quality: Excellent (Blue)."