Chapter 22: Recruitment

Hotel second floor.

With the addition of 15 new survivors, the number of survivors inside the hotel has now reached 42.

The noise of people.

The hotel had been cleared out, and the survivors who had escaped the disaster began to discuss among themselves.

Those who had been trapped in the hotel all along eagerly asked the newcomers what the outside world was like.

The answer was disappointing.

Panic and despair spread through the crowd.

During the chat, most people would occasionally glance sideways at Lin An and Zhang Tie standing by the window.

"Lin Daxiong, you mean you want me to join your team?"

Zhang Tie turned his head to look at the companions he had brought behind him.

His voice was extremely loud, causing many people to prick up their ears to listen.

Everyone looked envious.

The newcomers might still not know.

Each of these survivors in the hotel had previously suggested joining Lin An's team, but Lin An completely ignored them.

Seeing Zhang Tie actually being invited voluntarily, many people even felt a bit jealous.

Lin An split a licker in half with one blade.

With this strength, following him means you can walk sideways in this apocalypse, right?

Lin An calmly nodded.

Zhang Tie's character is not bad.

As an Awakened One, he could have fled when facing the lickers, but he chose to stay behind to protect everyone.

Looking at the people he brought, about half of them are the old, weak, sick, and disabled.

At least from the information Lin An has observed so far, this person seems fairly loyal and righteous.

His strength is also not bad.

Awakened Ones of the Body System can share a lot of his pressure during combat.

Zhang Tie laughed heartily.

"Lin Daxiong thinking highly of me is my honor."

"Besides joining, even giving you my life would be fine!"

Zhang Tie didn't say another word, not even glancing at the enlistment information.

He directly accepted Lin An's enlistment invitation.

"Beep, Rescue Squad new member: 1, current members: 3."

"Enlisted member: Zhang Tie (Awakened One) gains 10% attribute boost."

"Beep, team member Zhang Tie: loyalty 70 (he won't betray you as long as you don't cross his bottom line)"

Only Lin An can see the last item.

Lin An seemed thoughtful; it appears the initial loyalty is not fixed.

Because Zhang Tie was saved by him and is straightforward, his loyalty directly rose to 70 points.

It seems he really is as plain as he looks, with no ulterior motives.

"What is this?!"

After Zhang Tie joined, his eyes suddenly widened, showing extreme surprise.

"Welcome aboard."

Lin An smiled faintly; it seemed Zhang Tie felt his strength increase significantly upon joining.

"My dear..."

Zhang Tie let out an exclamation, clicking his tongue repeatedly.

"How did my strength suddenly increase by 1.3?!"

"Holy crap, my physique increased by 1.5?!"

"Agility and willpower both increased!"

"Lin? Squad... Captain, what's going on?"

Zhang Tie felt the sudden surge of power within him and became somewhat excited.

Lin An looked at the dumbfounded Zhang Tie, the corner of his mouth hinting at a smile.

Although the 10% attribute increase after joining the Rescue Squad seems small, actually feeling it makes it far from trivial.

Players must desperately kill mutants to level up, and each level only adds 1 point.

Awakened Ones fare better, but leveling up still only adds about 3 points.

The early levels are fine, but later on, the required spiritual energy and number of mutants become terrifying.

Leveling up is hard; many people remain stuck at level 1 until they die.

Based on the base attributes of most Awakened Ones, this 10% increase is at least over 1 point.

An increase of over 1 point.

It's practically giving away a whole level for free.

In the Doomsday Game, any attribute point is extremely precious, so Zhang Tie's excitement is completely normal.

"Consider it a benefit of joining my team."

"But it's also because you're an Awakened One with high base attributes that the increase is so large."

Upon hearing that joining the team came with such benefits, everyone's breathing grew a bit hurried.

Can joining the team still make one stronger?

Awakened Ones? High basic attributes?

Yu Shihao instantly understood why Lin An would recruit Zhang Tie.

He thought extremely quickly, soon clarifying their connection.

Awakened Ones should be existences like Lin An and Zhang Tie, whose strength far surpasses that of ordinary people.

After Zhang Tie joined the team, his strength increased.

Is this what happens when joining an Awakened Ones team, or is it unique to Lin An?

He looked at his player template for a long time; aside from attributes, there was nothing else on it.

He simply couldn't find a team-forming function.

With only a partial understanding,

He pricked up his ears, afraid to miss any conversation between the two.

However, Lin An did not speak again afterward.

He said via team communication to Zhang Tie:

"Our team's information must not be leaked to outsiders. Attribute bonuses can be mentioned, but names and the team communication function must not be disclosed."

Zhang Tie suddenly heard Lin An's voice in his mind, yet saw no movement of Lin An's mouth.

It was like seeing a ghost in broad daylight.

"I... I understand, Captain!"

Is this also a benefit of joining the team?

He stammered as he tried to contact Lin An via team communication, his eyes blazing.

He is not an idiot.

Having once been a soldier and later working as a bodyguard, he knows how important communication is.

Now global communication has completely failed; landlines and phones are useless.

A means of private, real-time communication can be said to be extremely practical.

Upon hearing Zhang Tie's exclamation about his attribute increase, everyone's eyes grew even more envious.

Being able to join Lin An's team can also increase one's strength.

Sigh, why am I not an Awakened One?

Yu Shihao stood alone in the corner, his ears filled with everyone's exclamations.

He clenched his fists tightly.

Awakened Ones!

I also want to become an Awakened One!

Having witnessed the terror of zombies and flesh-eaters, his craving for power far surpasses what it was before.

Yu Shihao's gaze was desirous and burning.

Lin An is this strong; he surely knows how to become an Awakened One!

Inside the 9th-floor room of the guesthouse.

Lin An, Zhang Tie, and Youwei looked toward the opposite hospital through the window.

"Zhang Tie, you said you escaped from the hospital. So, what's the situation there roughly like?"

"Are there any existences similar to flesh-eaters?"

Zhang Tie furrowed his brows tightly.

"Lin Dui, as far as I know, there should be no living people left inside the hospital."

"Inside, there are at least 30,000 zombies."

"As for those flesh-eater monsters,"

Zhang Tie shook his head.

"We also encountered them while fleeing from the hospital's outer wall, intending to go in another direction."

"Afterwards, we were chased all the way by the flesh-eaters and then driven back."

Lin An nodded; the fact that there were no mutants inside the hospital was still good news.

The combat space there is too narrow; going deeper would make ambushes very troublesome.

"Is there any special situation inside the hospital, such as where large numbers of zombies gather?"

"How did you end up staying in the hospital? And how did you awaken?"

Lin An continued to ask.

In my past life, the 【Skullcrusher's Hand】 was deep in the hospital, surrounded by a large number of zombies.

It is said that, in order to obtain this equipment, several safe zones teamed up, sacrificing many people to break through the zombie circle.

He was also curious as to why Zhang Tie had awakened.

In my past life, I had never heard of any energy nodes inside the hospital.

Three questions; after listening, Zhang Tie pondered for a moment and then slowly said:

"I was staying in the hospital before the apocalypse broke out, accompanying my father for his treatment."

"The apocalypse came too suddenly. I don't know why, but most patients basically turned into zombies."

Zhang Tie's mood was somewhat low.

He personally watched his father turn into a zombie after the apocalypse broke out.

Lin An patted his shoulder; seeing a loved one turn into a zombie right before his eyes left him helpless.

He had felt this feeling before.

It's normal for patients to turn into zombies.

People with poor constitution even show signs of zombification before the apocalypse breaks out.

Zhang Tie gloomily turned his head and glanced at Lin An. He gave an ugly grin, indicating he was fine.

"After patients turn into zombies, the doctors and nurses caring for them simply can't react in time."

"Not a single one survives."

Upon hearing that, Wen Ya's body shuddered and trembled.

As for the anomaly..

"Throughout the hospital, except the pharmacy pickup area which is somewhat better, other places simply cannot survive."

Zhang Tie recalled that day's horrific scene, his heart still pounding with fear.

"I was also lucky; my father's ward was on the second floor."

"There weren't many zombies; I ran all the way out and hid in the medicine preparation room."

"The medicine preparation room can be considered an anomaly."

"If it's about awakening... I don't know either."

"I just hit a burst of white light and passed out."

"When I woke up, I discovered my strength had increased greatly, and the player panel also showed an Awakened One marker."

Lin An fell into thought for a moment.

"Did you awaken in the medicine preparation room?"

"Looks like this trip to the hospital can include a visit to the medicine preparation room."

After saying that, Zhang Tie opened his personal information and shared it fully with Lin An for inspection.

"Player info: Zhang Tie (Awakened One)"

"Player level: 0"

"Awakened One rank: 0"

"Strength: 13 (14.3)"

"Agility: 12 (13.2)"

"Constitution: 15 (16.5)"

"Willpower: 12 (13.2)"

"Equipment: None"

Awakened One talent: Bear Transformation (in a short time transforms into a bone-crushing black bear, greatly increasing constitution, slightly increasing strength. Defense enhanced, self-healing ability doubled.)

"Rank 0: All attributes +2 (the limit values for ordinary humans in each category are 10.)"

Lin An was somewhat surprised after seeing Zhang Tie's constitution.

Just after becoming an Awakened One, the initial attributes already had 15 points.

Moreover, the awakened talent includes enhanced self-healing ability, so it's no wonder that even when severely wounded and near death, he can recover so quickly.

"Captain Lin, my constitution stat isn't bad, right!"

Zhang Tie noticed Lin An's surprise and felt a little proud.

Although he had never encountered another Awakened One, he also compared his attributes with others.

Although Lin An is extremely strong, what he has shown should just be relatively high strength.

When it comes to constitution, he still has confidence.

"By the way, Captain Lin, how much strength do you have?"

"I saw you chop that monster to death with one slash—really strong!"

Zhang Tie gave a thumbs-up, sincerely praising.

Lin An opened his own attribute panel and took a glance.

"Strength 19.4."

"...."

Zhang Tie fell silent.

It's too discouraging.

However, he is also an optimist, so he turned his head and stopped caring.

He also couldn't care less.

"Haha, although my strength isn't as good as yours, but in terms of constitution..."

Zhang Tie felt a bit unwilling, wanting to compare constitution with Lin An.

This is where he is most confident.

Lin An appears tall and fit, but the body hidden under his clothes even looks somewhat frail.

Constitution is such that the higher it is, the sturdier the body.

Like the sturdy man who died earlier, his constitution was only about 9 points.

Even if Lin An is an Awakened One, I'd guess at most 12 or 13 points.

Zhang Tie looked expectant.

"How much do you have? Is it 13 points?"

Lin An smiled faintly.

"19.4."

Zhang Tie's laughter caught in his throat, his expression stiff.

He looked Lin An up and down, incredulous.

Unexpectedly, Lin An's physique attribute completely overwhelmed him.

Like a defeated rooster.

Zhang Tie tucked away his last shred of pride and honestly stopped discussing attributes.

Really a pervert!

Strength high, physique also high.

Do people still have to live?

Lin An slightly shook his head, finding Zhang Tie's constant muttering somewhat amusing.

He is now also a 1 Fourth Rank Awakened One and a level 1 player.

Double attribute bonus, plus he consumed two spirit-energy plants.

If his attributes can't even beat Zhang Tie's, then his rebirth was for nothing.

He didn't want to undermine Zhang Tie's confidence.

Lin An then turned to continue asking about the hospital.

"Since you accompanied your father to the hospital for treatment"

"When the Apocalypse broke out, where would there be the most zombies?"

Zhang Tie was somewhat puzzled.

He didn't know why Lin An was asking that.

"Orthopedics, surgery emergency"

"Before the Apocalypse broke out, traffic accidents were especially frequent"

"When I passed the surgery emergency, the wounded filled the whole hall, and many people couldn't be rescued in time"

"That damned place now has at least tens of thousands of zombies!"

"Tens of thousands of zombies are in a single building.."

Zhang Tie glanced at the distant hospital through the window and shivered.

"Captain Lin, why do you keep asking about the hospital?"

Lin An smiled slightly, pointing his finger at the window at the building bearing the surgery emergency sign.

"Tomorrow morning, we'll go there!"