Chapter 35: Bandage Girl

Even though Lin An's will was as strong as ever, upon hearing the alert that he had lost his equipment, he could no longer hold back and swore.

Before him, the slender black snake, moving several times faster than Lin An could react, gulped down the Soul-Eating Gloves in one bite.

Its speed was so great that Lin An almost thought it had vanished into thin air.

Were it not for the black snake's bulging belly and the saliva still on his hand, he might have believed it was a hallucination.

The gloves went into its stomach.

The black snake let out a satisfied belch, looking somewhat lethargic.

"Good... tasty!"

The black snake's childish voice revealed satisfaction.

But to Lin An's ears, it was like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.

One second he was in heaven, the next he felt as if he were in hell.

Lin An stared fixedly at the black snake, suppressing the urge to crush it.

He couldn't win; if he fought, he would surely die.

The epic equipment he had just obtained was gone, and with it shattered his hope of rescuing AnXia and Jing Tian.

Lin An felt somewhat disoriented.

If his will weren't so steadfast, an ordinary person would hardly endure such drastic ups and downs.

As the gloves were swallowed into its belly,

This meant his own Skullcrusher's Hand was gone as well.

In just a few seconds, the gloves swallowed by the black snake seemed to be digested completely.

The previously lethargic black snake regained its vigor.

In an instant, Lin An understood.

No wonder the black snake had saved him, showing a fawning expression.

It seemed the black snake wasn't trying to give him the epic equipment.

But rather, it wanted to use his system to fuse the two pieces of equipment.

Lin An let out a bitter laugh in his heart.

He had been overly sentimental; there's no such good fortune in the world.

He isn't a novel protagonist, after all, for whom all the benefits would come.

It's over; everything is over.

Without the Skullcrusher's Hand providing five points of strength, he truly didn't know what to use against the Suturer.

A five-point strength gap would require raising his level by two to make up.

A two-level gap.

Whether it's player level or Awakened One level, each level-up requires double the number of mutants.

From level one to two requires four mutants; from level two to three requires eight.

A total of twelve mutants, not even considering whether he could kill them.

Just searching for targets in Linjiang City is extremely difficult; a slight misstep and being surrounded by zombies and mutants means certain death.

Helplessness and despair welled up in his heart.

Lin An remained silent.

After a long while, zombies began to appear again around the area that the Red-Clothed Mutant had cleared.

"Roar!"

The zombies howled, caring only for their craving for flesh, paying no heed to Lin An's current state.

He would no longer let negative emotions interfere.

Lin An forced himself up and crawled out of the pit; though his condition had improved somewhat, his strength was less than a tenth of its peak.

Pull yourself together; as long as one lives, there is hope.

Once surrounded by zombies, he might not be able to break out.

As for the black snake, Lin An didn't feel much resentment toward it.

Whether intentional or not, the snake had saved his life, and that alone was enough.

There's nothing to complain about.

As for the equipment,

If it's lost, it's lost; as long as he lives, anything is still possible!

"Zhang Tie, have you found anything over there?"

"If not, let's head back now!"

Given his current injuries, recovering to peak condition would take at least two days.

Time is pressing; he can't afford to be delayed in the hospital.

Unfortunately, he hasn't yet had a chance to check the ward where Wen Ya's mother is.

He'll come again if the opportunity arises.

He must fulfill his promise.

Lin An stood up, paying no heed to the black snake still immersed in digesting its 'delicious meal'.

He had no intention of getting further entangled with this snake.

The strength gap is too great; if this strange black snake makes any move, he won't even have a chance to resist.

Rather than hoping the snake's mood will keep it from attacking him,

Lin An would rather stay far away, just in case.

He is no longer living for himself; on his shoulders still rests the hope of An Jing Tian and his sibling surviving.

The infirmary.

There aren't many zombies in the infirmary area.

Apart from a few scattered staff who had turned into zombies, there were no other zombies present.

Even without being able to activate his bear transformation, relying solely on his awakened physique, he smoothly made it to the pharmacy cold storage where he had awakened that day.

All the way searching, Zhang Tie found nothing abnormal.

Even the white light that had made him faint that day had disappeared.

After dealing with the few scattered zombies, he scavenged various first-aid and common medicines along the way.

The two originally tattered coats happened to serve as wrapping.

Wearing a battered helmet and with a full pack of medicines on his back, Zhang Tie looked exactly like a big bear.

Just as he was happily scavenging, he encountered a strange girl.

Zhang Tie's expression was torn; he did not immediately reply to Lin An's message.

At his feet lay a girl wrapped head to toe in bandages, somewhat frail, with her eyes tightly shut.

Bright red blood stained the bandages, making her look like a gravely wounded, dying battlefield casualty.

What troubled him was that he could not determine whether this girl was a zombie or a human.

Just five seconds earlier, after the girl finished speaking a sentence to him, she suddenly arched her back like a zombie and let out a wail.

The wailing ended.

She seemed to be enduring great pain, then lapsed into unconsciousness.

Zhang Tie was startled.

The angle of her arched back was something no human could achieve.

The skin under the wrapping showed nothing at all.

Even without thinking much, Zhang Tie faintly guessed that the girl might be covering up her rotting, peeling skin.

After all, zombies are easy to distinguish from humans by appearance.

Kill her?

Zhang Tie hesitated a bit.

When the girl was conscious, her breathing was weak, but she still looked human.

She was not old, about the same age as his sister.

Even if he couldn't see her face clearly, through her eyes Zhang Tie seemed to see his own sister; her gaze was just as clear and pure.

Just like Lin An, Zhang Youwei was his soft spot and bottom line.

He simply could not bring himself to act.

When conscious, the girl even begged him to save her; she urgently needed food and treatment.

However, right after she said that, an abnormality occurred and she fell into unconsciousness.

Zhang Tie muttered to himself.

Just what is she, a person or something else?

This thing looks like it might also be a mutant?

Or perhaps a human who has encountered special circumstances?

Having learned from the precedent of a zombie doctor, he would not assume she was human just because she could speak.

But what if she were a mutant feigning unconsciousness?

Trying to trick him into bringing it back?

His head hurt.

He was torn, for if she were truly human, he genuinely wanted to rescue her.

As the saying goes, love the house and love the crow; he could not bring himself to face a girl like his sister and then coldly ignore her.

In a word, Zhang Tie's nature is too kind.

He even has a bit of the "holy mother" complex.

This contrasts greatly with his rough exterior and fierce, demonic appearance.

But if Lin An deemed it risky, even if the girl were indeed human.

Most likely, upon learning of it, Lin An would simply kill this guy with one strike, taking no chances.

What to do?

Zhang Tie really couldn't make up his mind.

He hesitated for a moment.

Forget it; better let Lin Dui decide.

Zhang Tie opened the team communicator.

"Lin Dui... that."

"I've found a "person" here; she seems a bit special. Should we bring her back first?"

"She might be a person, that is..."

Zhang Tie intended to speak frankly, but before his words could finish,

"Fuck!!!"

On the other end of the communicator, Lin An burst out cursing.