Chapter 16: Psychic Plants

One hour later.

"Squeak."

The motorcycle slid sideways to a stop.

Lin An suddenly slammed on the brakes, his face grim.

Not far away, a corpse mound lay piled at the city entrance, oddly with no zombies around.

Wen Ya woke up, her eyes heavy with sleep.

Lin An braked hard without warning, and her chin slammed into his back, hurting her badly.

"Mmm… that hurts."

How can it be so hard?

Is his body made of stone?

Wen Ya couldn't help but complain in her mind, what a clueless guy who doesn't know how to cherish and protect.

Lin An turned his head slightly, feeling nothing.

His physique is now as high as 14.4, let alone withstanding an impact.

Even if an ordinary person wielded a cold weapon, in a hurry they couldn't hope to cut his skin.

The scene before him was truly somewhat strange.

He decisively opened the Judgment Eye and quickly scanned the area.

At the scene, large numbers of humans had died, their corpses piled into a mound, yet there were no zombies.

This strangeness forced him to be cautious.

"Scan complete."

The Judgment Eye scanned all information in an extremely short time.

"Survivors: 0."

"Zombies: 0."

"Damaged vehicles: 11,219……"

The corpse mound stood about ten meters high, piled from at least tens of thousands of corpses.

At the highway entrance, barriers, and inside vehicles, there were also a few corpses.

On the ground, some uneaten flesh chunks were dark red, indicating they had been there for a while.

Not far from the corpse mound, some shattered zombies encircled it.

After confirming there was no threat around, Lin An cautiously approached the strangest corpse circle.

What is this?

After a few steps, Lin An arrived before the shattered corpse.

His expression was solemn.

The shattered corpse had clean breaks, its muscle tissue almost rotted into a puddle of flesh.

This was not an effect achievable by explosion or physical attack.

Lin An lowered his head in thought, feeling a faint unease.

He glanced back at the corpse mound and compared it with the flesh chunk in his hand.

The top of the corpse mound had been pressed flat, as if something had stood there.

Capable of causing such damage.

Lin An repeatedly compared it in his memory, and after a moment drew a conclusion.

Traces of a psychic impact!

Only a psychic impact could produce this effect.

Lin An only felt a chill down his back.

Psychic impact is an attack method that at least a third-rank Awakened One or a mutant can master.

Such a wide range, indiscriminate attack.

It might even be higher than third rank!

What exactly is it?

Lin An wondered.

It shouldn't be.

Whether Awakened One or mutant zombie.

Third rank shouldn't appear in the early stages of the game.

In his past life, the third-rank entities he knew of didn't appear until at least six months into the game.

On the day that third-rank 【Corpse King】 appeared, it led a million zombies to destroy a major safety base.

Nearly a million people were casualties.

In the end, the military had to deploy a large number of tactical missiles to eliminate it.

An existence of this level, a single individual could destroy an organized military unit.

Lin An thought of another suspected third-rank mutant near Linjiang City, and his heart grew heavy.

Indeed, an existence that shouldn't have existed according to his past-life memories has appeared.

Is it because of the butterfly effect or something?

He had just carefully examined the traces on the ground.

A large number of zombies had recently moved toward the urban area of Linjiang City.

As expected, the Corpse Horde will migrate, probably under the leadership of that third-rank Mutant.

Danger lurks everywhere.

Now, in the Linjiang City area that he knows of alone, there are already two mutants of First Level or higher.

One is a 【Suturer】, and the other is an unknown third-rank Mutant.

Headache.

Behind him, Wen Ya followed with heavy steps, her face turning pale.

The shock brought by the corpse mountain before her eyes was truly too great.

"Linjiang City……are there still any living people?"

This intersection is the only route out of Linjiang City.

If this route is completely blocked, and a large number of Survivors die miserably.

This means that, at this stage, no one can leave the city.

Wen Ya asked Lin An somewhat despairingly.

Although the Doomsday Game had been activated, all players were forcibly input with partial information of the Doomsday Game.

But knowing and seeing are two different things.

She had thought it was merely like the zombies appearing in movies.

But after seeing a corpse mountain piled with at least ten thousand bodies, she suddenly realized this world might not be so simple.

"Yes."

Lin An remained silent for a moment, then gave a brief reply.

The Linjiang City area currently still has at least two million Survivors.

But this is not a good thing.

Because this means that in a week, Linjiang City will have over a million more Zombies.

He knew exactly what Wen Ya wanted to ask.

Nothing more than that she might still have parents or relatives in the city.

Wen Ya opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately chose to give up.

"Let's go."

Lin An turned back and returned.

Behind him, Wen Ya's spirits were somewhat low, sorrow in her eyes.

Turning the vehicle's head.

The route Lin An chose for advancing deviated considerably; he chose to diverge from the suspected third-rank mutant's line of march.

If possible, avoid encountering it.

The strength of a third-rank Mutant is such that if encountered, there is no chance to escape.

"Where are we headed next?"

Wen Ya straddled the rear seat, and only after a long while did she ask a sentence.

"Flower shop."

Lin An's words were as always brief.

Star Arts Flower Shop.

At the flower shop's entrance, the scattered fresh flowers were trampled into murky mud.

Several Zombies gnawed at the half corpse on the ground, the lower body of the corpse wearing a skirt, appearing to be a young girl.

Greedy, delicious, they tore off a strip of flesh from the corpses and chewed it carefully.

The shop door was tightly locked, the iron rolling gate pulled down.

Not far away, a black motorcycle sped up carrying two people.

On the second floor of the flower shop, a middle-aged woman watched the Zombies outside trample the flowers, her face full of heartache.

When the Apocalypse broke out, this shop's remote location had few Zombies, which allowed her to barely survive.

However, as a street-facing shop, aside from the main door there was no other exit.

Trapped on the second floor, she didn't even dare to go down the stairs.

The monster at the door gave her no desire to go out, but knowing there was no food inside, she also knew she couldn't hold out much longer.

"Boom!"

The motorcycle roared, Lin An drove it over.

Someone's here!?

Upon seeing someone approaching, she hastily opened the window and shouted loudly.

"Help!"

"Come quickly, someone!"

"There's a monster at my door!"

"Roar!"

The Zombies in front of the shop door, hearing the sound, immediately raised their heads, eyes blood-red, and howled.

The flower shop owner cried out in alarm, frightened, and quickly crouched down behind the window.

Lin An looked up, only to find that the flower shop owner had vanished without a trace.

He didn't care, directly flipped off the motorcycle and rushed straight to the flower shop.

"Quick battle, quick decision!"

When they were about to enter the city, Lin An had Wen Ya put on a set of firefighting protective gear, sealing the limb joints with tape.

He isn't afraid of zombies, but that doesn't mean Wen Ya isn't.

Wen Ya, wearing an oversized helmet, looked clumsy in the ill-fitting firefighting suit.

Lin An led the way, charging straight into the corpse horde.

Fierce and swift.

Wen Ya followed closely behind him, gripping an axe with both hands, her expression tense and strained.

Step forward and slash!

Lin An's muscles bulged as he took a strong step forward to close in.

Right hand chop down!

Like a blade cutting wind, it howled through the air.

The sharp Nepalese curved knife traced an arc, cleaving the nearest zombie in half.

Viscous blood spattered onto the rolling shutter door, smearing into an ugly graffiti.

Turn and side kick!

Lin An suddenly exerted force, turning to kick the nearby zombie.

A standard military close-combat kick.

「Bang！

The zombie with its mouth full of flesh and blood had just reacted when it was instantly blasted like a cannonball toward the rolling shutter door.

Flesh striking metal produced a piercing sound.

Zombies wandering in the distance, like sharks smelling blood, turned their heads toward the scene.

「Go in! 」

「Boom! 」

Lin An violently kicked the door, crushing the upper-half zombie under his foot.

Wen Ya followed up, swinging her axe awkwardly to chop off the last zombie's head.

On the second floor of the flower shop, a pair of eyes peeking from behind the window were full of shock and delight.

「Ding ding ding. 」

A short, plump middle-aged woman hurried down the stairs.

She wore an old gardening apron, constantly wiping her hands on it.

「Oh dear, thank goodness. I thought I was going to die here! 」

「Oh heavens, thank you for sending someone to save me. 」

「Well. 」

「Do you have anything to eat? I'm starving. 」

The flower shop owner beamed, extending his short, stubby hands in a placating gesture toward Lin An.

Lin An frowned slightly, first grabbing a shelf inside the shop to use as a barrier against any zombies outside.

Although this flower shop sits on the city's edge, there are still quite a few zombies around.

He tossed a chocolate bar from his tactical waist pouch.

The owner hurriedly caught it and began eating it in big bites.

His eyes, however, kept flickering to the damaged shop door, showing some displeasure.

The shop's interior is old-fashioned, with flowers piled haphazardly.

Business looks poor.

Lin An quickly scanned the area and then instructed Wen Ya.

「Go find all the brightly colored flowers! 」

After being infected, the most common trait of psychic plants is extremely vivid coloration.

Wen Ya nodded in agreement and followed Lin An, rummaging around.

「Hey hey hey—don't flip, don't flip, what are you doing? 」

「Don't mess it up for me! 」

The middle-aged woman in the gardening apron suddenly shouted, still clutching the half chocolate bar Lin An had given her.

Lin An turned a deaf ear, merely frowning slightly.

Wen Ya's heart skipped a beat.

How can this flower shop owner be so money-obsessed?

Doesn't she fear that Lin An might suddenly erupt and kill her?

Left with no choice, he had to explain.

「Boss, we just want to find something. 」

「Find? 」

The owner raised his eyebrows, his eyes darting.

「I don't have what you're looking for! 」

「If you want something, pay for it! 」

An instinctive reaction.

The flower shop owner, looking like a petty trader, spread out a hand.

He completely forgot that Lin An had also saved his life.

With the monsters outside gone, she no longer worried.

The older woman did not realize what the zombies outside actually meant.

She also couldn't understand the player panel that appeared when the Apocalypse broke out, thinking it was just a momentary blur in her vision.

Seeing Lin An and Wen Ya pay no attention to her and instead continue to rummage quickly through the shop, she couldn't help but shout in haste.

"You guys, stop quickly!"

"You're robbing!"

"I... I called the police!"

The two words "call the police" still carried considerable deterrent power for ordinary people at this time.

After hearing that, Wen Ya hesitated a moment with the action in her hand, but seeing Lin An rummage without pause, she simply pretended not to have heard.

"Shut up."

Lin An didn't turn his head, directly throwing a handful of bills from his pocket.

The red bills fluttered and scattered.

He didn't carry much loose change, only about two or three thousand.

Although money is now meaningless, for most ordinary people who haven't yet figured out the situation,

Money still holds great allure for them.

Lin An couldn't be bothered to argue with the flower shop owner.

Although his target was the spiritual-energy plant in the flower shop, it also amounted to saving the owner's life.

This woman in front of him not knowing gratitude is bad enough, but she also puts on an overbearing attitude.

If she dares to make a fuss again, Lin An doesn't mind cutting her down with a single blow.

The zombies in the distance probably already heard the sound.

The shop's entrance is narrow; if they don't find the spiritual-energy plant in a short time,

delaying time will only attract a large horde of zombies, causing him considerable trouble as well.

The bills fell to the ground; the chubby flower shop owner first froze, then quickly scooped up the bills from the floor.

She glanced sideways at Wen Ya holding the axe, stuffed the money into her own pocket, then shifted her gaze.

"Not enough!"

"You also broke my door!"

"This rolling shutter door is electric, at least twenty thousand!"

The flower shop owner sprayed saliva while pointing a single hand at Lin An and shouting loudly.

Completely forgetting how she had just been hiding upstairs begging for help.

Lin An's act of giving money seemed to boost her confidence.

If they were really robbers, facing such fierce villains she wouldn't even dare to pass gas.

Give food and also give money?

People like this are the easiest to talk to.

Having eaten her fill and feeling emboldened, the flower shop owner raised her phone in hand, pretending to make a call.

"If you don't give me money, I'll call the police right now to have you arrested!"

She beamed with joy, originally still worrying about how the zombies outside had ruined many flowers at the shop door and how to compensate for the loss.

Now seeing Lin An act generously, she couldn't help but feel a hint of greed.

Wen Ya, upon hearing this, grew somewhat angry, her face showing displeasure.

"How can you be like this? We at least saved you, didn't we?"

"You demand money for the broken door, but why didn't you say so when you were shouting for help just now?"

The flower shop owner showed contempt; although Wen Ya held a fire axe, she had already judged these people as easy to talk to, so she felt no threat.

"You can wait for me to open the door!"

"I asked you to save me, not to kick the door!"

"Swish!"

Lin An single-handedly pressed the sharp blade against the owner's throat, his gaze icy.

"If you keep making noise, I'll kill you."

With his excellent hearing, Lin An had already heard a large amount of chaotic footsteps coming from afar.

Allowing this woman to continue making noise will undoubtedly attract zombies.

The flower shop owner, like a duck with its neck choked, had her sharp voice cut off abruptly.

Fear, chilling dread.

The kind are taken advantage of.

When Lin An showed his ruthlessness, she instantly fell silent.

"Don't... don't kill me."

"Here, I'll give you everything."

The owner trembled as she begged softly, sensing the killing intent in Lin An's eyes.

Lin An turned a deaf ear, merely staring fixedly at a corner of the flower shop.

The deep red gold-edged rose was not conspicuous in the dim lighting.

But in Lin An's field of vision, the flower emitted a faint spiritual-energy fluctuation around it.

There really is a spiritual-energy plant here!

"Spiritual-energy plant: Gold-edged Rose (Spiritual Pollution Level 1)"

"Effect: Consuming it increases attributes."

Lin An felt delighted, strode over, and without hesitation swallowed the petal in one gulp.

It tasted sweet upon entry, not the bitter flavor he had imagined.

"Ding, gained 1 point of Will, gained 1 point of Physique, gained 20% poison resistance (Zombie)."

A warm current surged from his lower abdomen to his limbs, and Lin An clearly felt his physical quality had increased considerably.

His skin, originally as smooth as jade, became even more translucent.

As expected of a spirit-energy plant.

Lin An felt delighted.

In his past life, spirit-energy plants, once they appeared, were frenziedly snatched by all major forces.

In the Doomsday Game, things that can boost attributes are extremely rare.

Therefore.

A complete spirit-energy plant, even in the mid‑Apocalypse, could be worth as much as a small base!

If exchanged for food, it could fetch six trucks.

If exchanged for women? For captives?

One plant could be traded for two or three thousand!

If calculated by pre‑Apocalypse values, a single spirit-energy plant being worth over a hundred million is no exaggeration.

Moreover, what made Lin An even happier was that additional attribute.

Poison resistance +20%?

It was practically an unexpected joy.

Lin An never expected the spirit-energy plant to also have a special side effect.

Poison resistance (Zombie)—this attached resistance is truly practical.

This poison resistance does not delay zombification; it directly grants immunity to small amounts of toxin based on resistance!

Like a minor scrape or cut from a zombie, Lin An can simply ignore it, without worrying about infection.

In the Doomsday Game, even Awakened Ones cannot claim immunity to the zombie virus; at best they can endure infection a bit longer.

Having poison resistance is tantamount to giving Lin An great help when facing large hordes of zombies.

Perhaps…

Could the zombie‑dense location in our plan be considered for a first visit?

In Lin An's memory, there is a very powerful piece of equipment located in Linjiang City.

But that area is densely populated; Lin An originally intended to wait until he formed a team before going to get the equipment.

After all, when besieged by large numbers of zombies, even a slight scratch makes infection easy.

But now that he has poison resistance, he can give it a try.

Wen Ya noticed that Lin An's usually cold face actually showed a rare hint of joy, and she couldn't help but become curious.

These flowers can actually make Lin An happy?

She handed over a large bouquet of various fresh flowers to Lin An.

"Lin An, take a look—do you need anything here?"

"Besides, do these flowers have anything special?"

Upon hearing that, Lin An looked at the fresh flowers in Wen Ya's hand and activated his Judgment Eye again.

A light‑blue mist rose, and his pupils seemed to have stars flowing within.

"Some plants or food can mutate, and eating them can strengthen attributes."

"But not all of them are edible."

"Some, if eaten, could kill you."

Lin An casually explained.

Spirit‑energy plants must not be eaten randomly; this is a lesson bought with countless lives in his past life.

If Lin An did not have the Judgment Eye to discern them, he would not dare to eat them casually.

Strengthen attributes?

Wen Ya was somewhat surprised, yet the motion of handing over the flowers showed no hesitation.

Although she now knew spirit‑energy plants could boost attributes, she also felt a desire for them.

But she still possessed the proper self‑awareness.

She had no right to ask Lin An for things.

Therefore, since Lin An did not offer her anything, she would absolutely not bring it up herself.

Lin An took the remaining fresh flowers he had found and examined them carefully.

Yet he did not notice that Wen Ya, after locking eyes with him, had become somewhat entranced.

This was the first time Wen Ya had seen Lin An's eyes up close after he activated his Judgment Eye; she slightly opened her mouth, somewhat surprised.

What deep eyes…

In Lin An's pupils, a faint gold would occasionally flash; under mutual gaze, it seemed as if one's spirit could be drawn in.

"Peony: ordinary plant"

"Effect: decoration."

"Iris: deadly spirit plant (spirit‑energy pollution, toxic)"

"Effect: decoration; consumption causes bodily collapse."

"Carnation: ordinary plant"

"Effect: decoration."

Deadly toxic spirit plant?

Lin An pulled the oriole-tail flower from the bouquet, examining it carefully.

After a moment's thought, he chose to put it into the Space Ring for safekeeping.

Although this deadly toxic spirit plant cannot increase attributes, its various strange and terrifying poison effects still have their uses.

If used properly, it can also be considered a killer's trump card.

He looked at the last one.

Lin An's breath caught, and he found it hard to believe.

Damn!

"Purple Holy Orchid (Spiritual Pollution Level 2)"

"Effect: Consuming it increases attributes."

Level 2 Spirit Energy Plant!