Chapter 29: The Cruel Truth

In the office, Lin An expressionlessly wiped the sticky substance off his hand with a white cloth.

On the white ceramic lay a puddle of red-and-white filth, barely discernible as the crushed head of a zombie doctor.

"Lin Dui!"

Zhang Tie felt a surge of anger, a flicker of reluctance crossing his eyes.

Without the zombie doctor's command, the zombies' assault outside weakened considerably. For the moment, we didn't have to worry about them breaking down the door.

"Didn't he say it had a child somewhere?"

"I think it's willing to give up the glove; it just wants us to help find its child."

"Why kill him?"

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

"I think..."

Lin An dropped the white cloth and looked at Zhang Tie.

It was no surprise that Zhang Tie would be angry at him for crushing the zombie doctor's head.

Zhang Tie is kind-hearted, as shown by the fact that his team consists only of the old, weak, sick, and disabled.

"Do you think I'm too cruel, lacking humanity?"

"We were already heading to that neighboring building; we could have found his child on the way, and he would have gladly given us the glove."

"He was even willing to reveal the location of another component."

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

Zhang Tie and Lin An locked eyes, and he felt he was right.

"Yes!"

"I think he's still human! He just wants to find his child!"

"Human?"

Lin An chuckled lightly and walked to the metal cabinet in the corner of the room.

"Zombies are always zombies."

"The moment he became a zombie, he lost his humanity!"

"You vastly underestimate the horror of the zombie virus!"

Lin An walked toward the black mist in the field of judgment.

"Whoosh!"

The cabinet swung open, spilling its contents of white bones that rolled to Zhang Tie's feet.

Three rows of children's skulls were neatly arranged on the top shelf, their young faces marked by gnawing.

Each pair of eyes held the fear of death, and a deathly silence prevailed.

On the tiles.

The bones were picked clean, the marrow scooped out, nothing wasted.

This is!?

Zhang Tie breathed rapidly, staring in disbelief at the white bones at his feet.

His hand trembling, he picked up a piece that looked like a fragment of an arm.

The bones were tiny, the slender skeleton clearly not fully developed.

"Ge-ge-ge-"

Zhang Tie's teeth chattered, and the broken bone in his hand fell to the ground.

He realized that all the bones belonged to children.

Lin An was not surprised by Zhang Tie's reaction.

Although he looks burly, his resolve is steadfast.

But the apocalypse has only just begun; few have endured its brutal baptism, and most cannot withstand this shock.

Lin An let out a soft sigh and patted Zhang Tie's shoulder.

"Part of the second floor is designated as pediatrics."

"Since we came in, have you seen a zombie that was once a child?"

"It told you that his reason and humanity were preserved only because of the glove's ability."

Zhang Tie drew a deep breath, struggled to squeeze out a few words, and shook his head.

"Lin Dui, isn't it because of the glove?"

Lin An felt the glove on his right hand, his eyes cold.

If he weren't a reborn individual, he would likely have been taken in by the zombie doctor's words.

Reason? Want to save the child?

"Zombies could never possess such a thing!"

"From the moment they turned into zombies, they became monsters outright."

At most they can only have some wisdom.

Even that comes at a price: they must eat people.

Just like the 【Suturer】.

It was after devouring all the survivors of Ten Thousand Shang Cheng that it became a three Fourth Rank Mutant 【Hatred】!

Becoming the ultimate nightmare of Linjiang City's Survivors!

"You still haven't figured it out?"

"He'd lost the glove, yet still possessed wisdom and knew fear—proof that his wisdom wasn't from the glove but his own."

Players can level up by killing Mutants, and similarly, Zombies can also level up by eating people.

The stronger the Mutant, the more people it has killed.

That Zombie just now might seem weak to me, but its actual strength is far greater than that of other Zombies.

Moreover, he is probably a special kind that can command other Zombies using mental power.

Otherwise, without command, Zombies would not have made things so difficult for us before.

Without surprise, most of the children here were eaten entirely by him alone, which is why he mutated.

Zhang Tie fell silent, unable to resist walking over that patch of 'filth' on the ground.

Gritting his teeth, he stomped and shattered it.

Damn bastard!

Ding, Zhang Tie's loyalty toward you increased by 10 points, current loyalty 80!

With 80 points of loyalty, it basically guarantees Zhang Tie won't betray him.

Having the system monitor loyalty in real time is indeed useful.

Not bad,

It seems this event dealt a significant blow to Zhang Tie's worldview.

I believe that in the future, Zhang Tie will no longer question Lin An's actions.

Captain Lin, sorry.

Zhang Tie lowered his head and gave a self‑mocking smile.

It's nothing; these things will inevitably be experienced.

Don't trust any Zombies or Mutants; from the moment they turn into Zombies, they are no longer human.

Lin An stood by the window, gazing at the hospital building not far away.

Room 303, Wen Ya's mother.

The Zombie doctor's child, a missing key component of the Equipment.

It seems that whether to gain Wen Ya's loyalty or to complete the Equipment, a trip here is necessary.

Rest ten minutes, then we'll set out!

Ten minutes is enough for Zhang Tie to recover his stamina.

After all, the higher the physique, the faster the recovery.

Time is pressing; after the Doomsday Game's descent, global weather became abnormally unstable.

Although the two set out early this morning, it is now only noon.

But darkness falls quickly now; it will be night around five in the afternoon.

Once time is delayed.

At night, Zombies' strength increases dramatically.

Quantitative change leads to qualitative change.

No matter how strong an individual ordinary Zombie is, it has limits, but a Corpse Horde is different.

Any enhancement will become extremely troublesome.

Lin An stood by the window, carefully observing the internal terrain and structure of the hospital.

The action after ten minutes may not go smoothly.

Why does the Zombie doctor want me to go to the inpatient department?

What is there?

He doesn't really believe that the Zombie doctor merely wants him to go find his child.

Child?

Whether it exists or not is a question mark.

Without surprise, there should be some danger there.

The Zombie doctor wanting him to come over must intend to keep Lin An there, or at least trap him for a while to buy time to escape.

Lin An muttered to himself.

A Mutant?

Mutants have already appeared in the hospital that never showed up in my Past Life.

Then one more Mutant is nothing surprising.

But what exactly caused the deviation?

The knocking sound in the underground parking lot, the corpse snakes that shouldn't appear, last night's shrill cries, the vanished 【Bloody Witch】, and the mountain of corpses on the city‑entry highway apparently caused by a third‑rank Mutant!

Lin An asked himself whether he had done anything that would significantly affect 'history'.

If so,

then it can only be.

He took the Doomsday Ring ahead of time!

Lin An recalled the oddity of taking the ring, followed by three days of unconsciousness, which caused him to waste precious three days of preparation supplies.

His thoughts raced, and a sudden idea flashed through his mind.

Perhaps there is a chance to return to No. 97 Fengming Road and have a look.

If something really burst out, it would surely bring destruction to the surrounding environment.

A careful investigation might uncover any clues left behind.