Chapter 143: Self-Awareness

Lord Lin An.. 」

The students in the car glanced at the fleeting abandoned vehicles outside the window, and some timidly spoke up.

Lin An heard the voice, opened his eyes, his gaze calm, and he also glanced at the excited Zhang Tie.

This bear, upon hearing he still wanted to go out, clung to Lin An insistently, demanding to be taken along.

It was only because An Jing Tian deliberately had him bring a group of delicate girls to start training.

For someone like him, rough and violent, this was practically a death sentence.

Lin An noticed that several people in the car had pricked up their ears, as if they had discussed it privately.

Thus he calmly asked:

"What's up? Do you have something?"

Zhang Feng glanced at his companion's expression, gathered his courage, and asked:

"Sir, we really can't send base messages over the chat channel, can we?"

He said that and immediately waved his hand, then spoke again:

"Um, sir, we don't mean to violate the rules!"

"It's just that..."

He lowered his head, and his companion beside him continued in a low tone:

"We want to contact our families... tell them we're still alive."

The boy raised his head, his pleading gaze fixed on Lin An.

"Sir, we know how important the safe zone is; we now understand that being able to establish a safe zone at the academy is actually thanks to your blessing."

"So... so if my parents are still alive! I want to bring them here..."

After saying that, he breathed heavily while looking at Lin An.

These days, no matter how unfriendly, cold-blooded, and brutal Lin An acted,

it did not hinder his near-invincible image in everyone's eyes.

If there is any safe place left in this world, it's probably only the Long'an Base where Lin An is stationed.

Lin An furrowed his brow slightly and spoke slowly:

"I haven't always forbidden you from contacting the outside world; it's just not possible right now."

"Don't you forget that we'll soon face a zombie tide?"

"The base is the primary target..."

Zhang Tie turned his head sharply, glaring at them with a fierce expression.

"Team Leader Lin has already made this clear! Asking again is practically seeking death!"

He recalled the mission he had received, and his dissuasion carried a threat:

"You brats, spending all day writing nonsense, don't you realize our base is about to be overrun by zombies?"

"What good would bringing your parents do?"

He glanced at Lin An out of the corner of his eye; he deliberately acted fierce toward the students, fearing Lin An would lose patience, worried that if they kept asking, Team Leader Lin...

After being shouted at by Zhang Tie, the three were somewhat afraid, yet they spoke in unison and exchanged a glance:

"Sir, we know! But we're not afraid! We all know deep down that even if zombies attack the city, Sir Lin An will surely have a solution!"

"A mere zombie tide—what is that in the face of Sir Lin An?"

Sir Lin An is so strong, and his origins are mysterious.

They firmly believe Lin An would not set up a safe zone without preparation; he even gave advance notice of a zombie attack, making Lin An seem utterly confident.

Moreover...

The world's first safe zone! The title recognized by the system carries weight in everyone's hearts, extraordinary.

Many people, or 99% of them, have hardly ever heard the system's prompts.

At a gesture, the sir can draw the system's attention, at least in their view.

It's simply astonishing.

"So, even with danger, having you here makes us feel our base is much safer than outside."

Zhang Tie blinked slightly, seeing the confident looks in their eyes, and even when looking at Lin An, he seemed almost reverent.

Team voice chat:

"Team Leader Lin, I noticed these folks looking at you weirdly... like they're looking at a bodhisattva."

"These little brats aren't scared stupid by you, are they?"

Lin An was not surprised after being reminded by Zhang Tie.

He doesn't care about the title of first; he thinks it's nothing special.

But in the minds of the vast majority of players, this title's impact is huge.

Think of the former United States of America; the title of the world's top power drove many to abandon wives and children just to join it.

What's more, now it's the apocalypse...

Everyone is anxious all day long.

The Long'an Base he established is, in everyone's mind, the safest place.

Therefore, it's likely that most people in the base harbor the idea of bringing their own relatives over.

Lin An chuckled inwardly.

However, he also realized many problems he had overlooked.

He feels he isn't that strong—just a double first rank—and merely holding his own against a second‑level high‑grade mutant is already not bad.

Back when he killed the stitch‑man, he had to rely on the black dragon's sudden intervention to survive, and along the way he frequently encountered traces of third‑rank beings.

Furthermore, with his past-life memories, he knows how exaggerated the power of the Third Stage and Fourth Stage is.

Therefore, he subconsciously thinks he is still weak, having just barely gained enough strength to defend himself.

But.

In ordinary people, even % of Awakened Ones' eyes.

Lin An is the embodiment of invincibility.

The sand worm monster of the Slaughter Academy, he can easily subdue it without even needing to act.

Taking three steps forward, the monster directly bows and submits; now it honestly digs sand outside the base.

The academy originally had unruly, powerful Awakened Ones who couldn't even withstand a single glance from him.

As of now, they haven't even seen Lin An make a move!

He always solves all problems with an unmatched crushing attitude.

Only the veteran members, Zhang Tie and Wen Ya, have seen him in a sorry state after being beaten by monsters.

Just like Zhang Tie.

Zhang Tie has confidence in him, but still worries about the zombie tide problem.

Because they know how great the difficulties are and how strong their own strength is.

But in others' eyes.

Lin An's power is too great.

After all, the Awakened Ones haven't been around long; if they had pretended to be gods before the apocalypse broke out, they would surely have made a large batch of people bow down to them.

Not to mention Lin An, who surpasses all Awakened Ones.

All these reasons, plus the title of being number one in the world...

They sincerely believe that Long'an Base is absolutely the safest place in the apocalypse.

What if a zombie tide army attacks? Can it withstand a single finger of Lord Lin An?

After figuring these things out, Lin An's expression became somewhat strange.

It seems his previous attitude was too lofty...

He actually just wanted to display absolute strength so that no one would resist later.

Actually, he isn't that strong...

Compared to others who have full confidence in him, Lin An can only give a wry smile.

Three hundred thousand zombies plus an unknown number of mutants—how could that be easily solved?

He pondered for a moment, then, facing the hopeful gazes of several people, he slowly spoke:

"First, as I said."

"I'm not preventing you from contacting the outside world; rather, the base is currently under construction, and if a large number of external survivors were to come, management would become very troublesome."

"Second, the zombie tide does not appear suddenly; they gradually approach the base, drawn by the spiritual energy core."

"Therefore, even if you manage to contact your family, they are very likely to encounter a large-scale zombie tide on their way here."

Zhang Tie also came to his senses at this point and echoed:

"Exactly, don't let the family fail to reunite, but instead send your parents off to their deaths!"

Hearing this, several people were startled, only then realizing that although the Doomsday Game is called a game, it's not really like a game that suddenly spawns a large batch of zombies outside the base.

If one's relatives didn't die in the city but were instead summoned by oneself and then died on the road, that would truly be regrettable to death.

Lin An looked at the expressions of several people, then continued speaking:

"After we hold off the zombie tide, I will naturally arrange for someone to send out messages. By then, you can also submit a list."

"As long as they can reach the base, I will allow them to join."

Lin An finished speaking and then continued to close his eyes and rest.

After resisting the zombie tide, he will not only obtain Cain's Blade to increase his strength, but the base should also have been built into a spiritual energy tower by then.

By then, the zombies covering the ground will be the best fertilizer.

Afterwards, we can vigorously commence construction, building various spiritual energy facilities at the base, ushering in a period of rapid development.

Naturally, the more people, the better.

As for whether they are Awakened Ones or not, it doesn't matter; after all, the entire base is a free land of spiritual energy.

As long as one lives on it, one can slowly increase one's strength.

By then, adding awakening potions, almost everyone will have hope of becoming an Awakened One.

The several people in the car, upon hearing Lin An's words, had faces filled with joy.

They really had to muster up the courage to dare to speak; they didn't expect Lord Lin An to be not unapproachable, but rather he even explained why it's not possible now.

One month?

Several people were so excited they wished they could immediately travel to that time.