Chapter 2: Virus, Potion

At the entrance of the residential complex, Lin An opened his phone and carefully searched the map.

Beep, you have a new text message.

The familiar number came from his comrade, Jing Tian.

"Brother Lin, I heard you need money lately. I still have a lot of my discharge pay; send me your card number."

"Come see me when you're free; my sister keeps begging to hang out with you."

Lin An read the message, and a warm current rose in his heart.

Not only were they comrades, but he and Jing Tian had been friends and brothers since childhood, even before enlisting.

They had grown up playing together, and even his school fees were scraped together by Jing Tian's parents.

Before Lin An could reply, the next message came right away.

"The weather's been changing a lot lately; you should also take care of your health. Don't end up sick and feverish like me."

"My vision isn't as good as before; I have to wear glasses to see things. When we meet, don't laugh at me."

Lin An was about to respond when his body suddenly stiffened.

"Pa-da."

The phone fell to the ground.

He stood frozen in place, a chill running up his spine.

Jing Tian was a scout in the army, with excellent physical fitness and eyesight.

Right now his vision suddenly plummeted and he developed a fever.

This is clearly the early symptom of a zombie virus infection!

In his memory.

The first batch of zombie virus had already lain dormant in part of the population.

The symptoms manifest as fever, declining vision, and cold limbs.

His memory and the clues connected.

Lin An's eyes gradually turned red.

During the apocalypse outbreak in his past life, he had once agreed with Jing Tian to meet outside the city.

But that day he saw no trace of him, and there was no word.

He had thought Jing Tian was delayed by something.

What he never expected was.

It turned out Jing Tian had died in the virus outbreak, which was why they lost contact.

His best brother actually died from the virus, turned into a zombie, and suffered eternally!

It was like fire roasting his heart!

Lin An's eyes were bloodshot.

Now that he knew why Jing Tian died, he would not allow the same tragedy to happen again.

He quickly recalled it in his memory.

There must be a way!

After a long while, his scarlet eyes slowly lifted his head.

He forcibly injected the blood of an Awakened One.

This was the only way he could think of to delay zombification.

In the early stage, the zombie virus gathers in the heart and condenses into a core.

Only by infusing Awakened One's blood before complete zombification can this process be delayed.

Jing Tian's physique was much stronger than that of an ordinary person.

Generally speaking, the better one's physique, the longer they can resist zombification.

Two hours!

Lin An quickly recalled the details of those infected in his past life.

Jing Tian could at most hold out for two hours after the apocalypse broke out!

Then...

Gather supplies within three days, get the equipment, then rush straight to Jing Tian's side!

After making his plan, Lin An quickly devised a course of action in his mind.

Thinking, like a silent sculpture.

Five minutes later, Lin An's steps were firm as he strode off into the distance.

Three days is enough!

Hongyun Credit Company.

In the spacious financial room, three people sat facing each other.

"Mr. Lin, this 1.7 million must be paid back in three days."

"The interest is 7 fen."

"If you can't pay by then, we may seize your house; I hope you don't default."

Lin An calmly nodded; in three days the money would be nothing but scrap paper.

Half a year later, even wiping one's butt with street cash would feel too rough.

In the apocalypse, the only things of value are food and strength.

Along the way, he had already borrowed every online loan he could get.

He even mortgaged his house and car at top speed, sparing no cost, to the "Bridge Loan" company.

Totaling 3,400,000 in cash, including the betrothal gift he had returned.

Although the money isn't much, it's enough to pay for a large batch of survival supplies.

Now the Apocalypse hasn't broken out yet, money is still the best tool to open the way.

After nodding his farewell, Lin An hurried straight to the pharmaceutical company where he works.

After stepping out, the two lenders behind him had strange expressions and couldn't help whispering.

"Manager Zhang, I've looked up this kid's information."

"They dare to mortgage the wedding home, and still charge 7% interest. They haven't returned a cent of the money—really ruthless."

"Never mind him, he's probably red-eyed from losing at online gambling..."

"If he doesn't repay the money in three days, we'll seize his house."

The pharmaceutical company.

Lin An walked in skillfully, and his work ID for the special cargo security detail he was responsible for flew out.

The old man guarding the door hadn't yet had a chance to see who he was, only seeing a work ID slowly fall to the ground.

"Name: Lin An"

"Gender: Male"

"Age: 24"

"Position: Special Medicine Escort Staff"

"Beep!"

The elevator opened.

Lin An went straight to the third floor, swiped his card, and headed straight into the lab.

At this moment it was a holiday, and also lunchtime break.

The lab, which originally had over ten people, now only had one intern on duty.

"Brother Lin?"

The intern, who was a year younger than him, looked at Lin An in surprise, his eyes half-closed, his hair a mess like a bird's nest.

"Click!"

Lin An locked the lab door with a backhand, making sure he couldn't get out.

Without further ado, he got straight to the point.

"Where are the giant lizard extract and the snake venom purified essence?"

"Brother Lin, you don't have an escort mission today. What are you up to?"

The intern looked astonished, somewhat uneasy.

The medicines Lin An named all required reporting, each vial extremely expensive.

"Some things you shouldn't know!"

Lin An's voice was icy, like a warning.

The intern seemed to sense something.

The coldness and impatience in Lin An's gaze made him feel a bit fearful for a moment.

He struggled for a moment.

"Brother Lin... I really can't."

Lin An glanced at the clock on the wall; he didn't have any time to waste.

As a key part of the plan, he was determined to obtain these two potions.

"Whoosh!"

Lin An directly shook out the bundles of cash from his backpack.

"There's 700,000 here, consider it my purchase."

"It's just missing the registration procedures; the company won't hold it against you."

The intern stared blankly at the cash scattered on the floor, at a loss.

Seven hundred thousand...

The company's external selling price is about the same.

Lin An also didn't intend to keep talking, and rushed straight into the lab.

Time was pressing, with nothing to hesitate over.

Although he could have taken these medicines without spending a penny.

But in three days money would be mere scrap paper, and besides, the two of them were acquaintances.

If money can solve the problem, then use money to open the way!

Behind him, the intern came to his senses, opened his mouth slightly, wanting to dissuade him.

But recalling Lin An's icy gaze and the cash strewn on the ground.

He couldn't help but console himself.

Forget it... Brother Lin also paid the money, so it's not too much of a violation.

Just in his impression, the originally gentle and peaceable Lin An, who never argued with anyone, had changed into a different person.

Lin An roughly flung open all the refrigerated cabinets.

After a rummaging.

He held up a test tube toward the ceiling lamp, his gaze fixed on two bottles of uniformly blue liquid.

The deep blue liquid looked somewhat strange under the lamp light.

It was intoxicating.

Giant Lizard Extract: The blood essence extracted from a North American giant lizard's body greatly boosts strength in a short period.

Snake Venom Purified Essence: By stimulating the heart and lungs, it forcibly increases explosive power and endurance.

As special potions, while these two potions have excellent effects, their side effects are also enormous.

However, Lin An doesn't care.

As long as one can awaken their talent, the body will return to a perfect state after awakening.

Limb regeneration, disease disappearance.

Every Awakened One will become a perfect warrior.

Moreover, physical fitness will also increase accordingly.

With a longing for the power of his past life, Lin An casually took away the remaining potions in the laboratory.

Good stuff, can't be wasted.

In the backpack, the space left by half the cash being gone was filled with 30 potions.

These potions will cease production after the apocalypse, and each used one is one less.

Acceleration, power burst, fearlessness of pain, increased focus.

In the early apocalypse, a single potion can even turn the tide of the entire battle.

With these potions, his confidence in the plan increased a bit more.

Lin An walked out of the laboratory satisfied, while the intern behind him, hurriedly packing money, lowered his head in fear.

"Keep it secret for three days; after three days, you can tell whoever you want."

After saying that, he entered the elevator and turned to face him.

Their gazes met from a distance.

The coldness in Lin An's eyes made him involuntarily shrink his neck.

What a terrifying gaze.

The elevator descended.

Lin An carefully calculated what supplies to buy, his thoughts racing.

Food, need high-calorie canned goods.

Be sure to prepare plenty of portable chocolate and energy bars.

Under the Awakened Ones' great strength, their energy consumption far exceeds that of ordinary people.

Water, buying a batch of bottled water is enough, but you can mix in some glucose.

Weapons, bows and crossbows are unnecessary.

After awakening their talent, there's no need for this trashy ranged attack method.

As for heat weapons.

Firearms are hard to obtain and also waste time.

Give up.

Combat uniforms can be made in several sets.

High-intensity combat easily damages clothing.

As for blast shields and bulletproof vests.

Lin An shook his head slightly.

With several times the physical fitness, bulletproof vests are useless and only hinder agility.

As for weapons.

Cold weapons are a good choice.

Can make a few alloy weapons, ensuring they won't become unusable due to rolled edges, leaving one empty-handed against the enemy.

After the apocalypse breaks out, they are suppressed by the rules.

The power of any firearms and artillery will be greatly weakened.

And with the Awakened Ones' exaggerated power boost, cold weapons are more than suitable for fighting enemies.

"Ding, first floor arrived."

Lin An strode out of the elevator, quickly checking the map on his phone.

His eyes blazed.

"If I remember correctly, there is a key piece of equipment here that can help with awakening!"