The Cruel Truth

In the department, Lin An's face remained expressionless as he wiped the sticky substance from his hands with a white cloth.

On the white ceramic surface lay a pool of red and white filth, vaguely revealing what had once been the head of the zombie doctor, crushed under Lin An's grip.

"Captain Lin!"

Zhang Tie was angry, a flicker of pity crossing his eyes.

Without the command of the zombie doctor, the force of the zombie's collisions outside the door had diminished significantly. For now, there was no immediate worry of being overrun by zombies.

"Didn't he say his child was nearby?" Zhang Tie continued.

"I think he was willing to give up the gloves. He just wanted us to help find his child."

"Why did you have to kill him?"

"He didn't want to become a zombie."

"I think..."

Lin An dropped the cloth in his hand and looked at Zhang Tie.

It was no surprise that Zhang Tie was angry over the brutal way the zombie doctor's head was crushed.

Zhang Tie had a kind nature, evident by the team he led, made up mostly of the elderly, weak, and ill.

"Do you think I was too cruel? Inhumane?"

"We were going to search the nearby building anyway. We could have found his child, and he would have handed over the gloves willingly. He might even have told us where another crucial component was."

"So, I shouldn't have killed him?"

Zhang Tie met Lin An's gaze, feeling convinced that his thinking was right.

"Yes!"

"I still think he was a person! He just wanted to find his child!"

"A person?"

Lin An let out a slight laugh, walking toward a metal cabinet in the corner of the room.

"Zombies are always zombies."

"From the moment he turned into a zombie, he lost his humanity!"

"You underestimate the terrifying power of the zombie virus!"

Lin An approached the ominous black fog hanging in the judgmental space.

With a 'whoosh', the cabinet door opened, and a cascade of white bones tumbled out, clattering to the ground near Zhang Tie's feet.

Three rows of children's skulls were neatly placed on the top shelf, their innocent faces marred by gnawing marks.

In their lifeless eyes, Zhang Tie could see the terror they had felt before their deaths. The silence was deafening.

On the floor, the bones were licked clean, the marrow scraped out with no waste.

"What is this?!"

Zhang Tie gasped, staring at the bones in disbelief.

Shaking hands, he picked up a bone that resembled an arm.

It was small, delicate, still unformed in development.

"Crack... crack..."

His teeth chattered, and the broken bone fell from his hands.

He recognized it now—these bones belonged to children.

Lin An wasn't surprised by Zhang Tie's reaction.

Though Zhang Tie appeared strong, mentally and physically, the apocalypse had only just begun. Without having endured its brutal trials, very few could withstand the shock of what was before them.

Lin An sighed and placed a hand on Zhang Tie's shoulder.

"The second floor was designated as a pediatric ward."

"Have you seen a single zombie that turned from a child since we arrived?"

"He told you the gloves helped him preserve his sanity and humanity."

Zhang Tie took a deep breath, struggling to push out the words from his throat, shaking his head.

"Captain Lin... Isn't it the gloves that did this?"

Lin An fingered his own gloves, his eyes cold.

If he wasn't a reincarnator, he likely would have been deceived by the zombie doctor's reasoning as well.

Sanity? Wanting to save his child?

Zombies could never have such things!

From the moment they became zombies, they were no longer human!

They might retain some basic intelligence, but at the cost of feeding on humans.

Just like the "Suturer."

It had devoured all the survivors in Wan Da Mall, transforming into the third-stage mutated creature, the "Abomination"!

The final nightmare for the survivors of Lin City!

"You still don't understand?"

"He lost the gloves, but he still had intelligence. He even understood fear. This means his intellect wasn't granted by the gloves, it was inherent."

"Players can level up by killing mutated creatures, and zombies can 'level up' by consuming humans."

"The more powerful the mutant, the more people it kills."

"The zombie just now might seem weak to me, but its true power is far superior to other zombies."

"Moreover, it was likely one of the special kinds, capable of mentally controlling other zombies."

"Otherwise, we wouldn't have had such difficulty before."

"Most of the children in this building have probably been consumed by it, which is why it mutated."

Zhang Tie remained silent, unable to take his eyes off the pile of "filth" on the ground.

Grinding his teeth, he stepped on it and crushed it.

"Damn bastard!"

"Ding, Zhang Tie's loyalty to you has increased by 10 points, current loyalty: 80."

80 points of loyalty essentially guaranteed that Zhang Tie wouldn't betray him.

Having the system monitor loyalty in real-time was indeed quite useful.

Not bad.

It seemed like the shock to Zhang Tie's worldview from this incident had been considerable.

From now on, he would no longer question Lin An's decisions.

"Sorry, Captain Lin."

Zhang Tie lowered his head, forcing a bitter smile.

"It's alright. These are things we'll have to face sooner or later."

"Don't trust any zombies or mutated creatures. From the moment they became zombies, they are no longer human."

Lin An stood by the window, his gaze fixed on the hospital building in the distance.

Room 303. Wenya's mother.

The zombie doctor's child. The missing component for the gloves.

It seemed that whether for Wenya's loyalty or to complete the gloves, a visit to that building was necessary.

"Take a ten-minute break. We'll head out after."

Ten minutes would be enough for Zhang Tie to recover some stamina.

After all, the higher your physical ability, the quicker you recover.

Time was tight; ever since the apocalypse began, the global weather had been erratic.

Although they had left early, it was already noon.

The days were getting shorter, and it would be dark by 5 p.m.

If they wasted too much time, zombies would grow stronger in the night.

Quantity breeds quality.

Even the strongest zombies were limited as individuals, but a horde was a different story.

Any strength increase would make them incredibly difficult to handle.

Lin An stood by the window, closely observing the building's layout.

The mission after ten minutes might not go smoothly.

Why did the zombie doctor want him to go to the inpatient building?

What was there?

Lin An couldn't bring himself to believe that the zombie doctor only wanted him to find his child.

A child?

That was a big question mark.

Most likely, something dangerous awaited him there.

The zombie doctor probably wanted Lin An to stay there, or at least be trapped long enough for it to escape.

Lin An murmured to himself.

Was it another mutant?

Mutants that hadn't appeared in his previous life were already showing up in the hospital.

A new one wouldn't be too surprising.

But what had caused this deviation?

The strange sounds from the underground parking lot, the abnormal zombie snakes, the shrill shrieks last night, the missing "Bloody Witch," and the zombie mountain caused by what seemed to be a third-stage mutant on the city road!

Lin An pondered. He didn't think he had done anything that significantly affected the "timeline."

But if he had...

It must have been the early removal of the End Times Ring!

Lin An recalled the strange sensation when he took the ring, followed by three days of unconsciousness, which caused him to waste valuable time preparing supplies.

Countless thoughts swirled in his mind as a sudden realization struck him.

Perhaps there was a chance to return to Fengming Road, 97.

If something had indeed burst out, it would have caused destruction in the surrounding area.

A thorough investigation might reveal some clues.