Chapter 49: Deathborn

Not human?!

Zhang Tie only felt his head suddenly foggy; seeing Lin An already disappear from his field of vision, he had no time to think and hurriedly followed.

Lin Dui, where are we going now?

Zhang Tie carried Youwei on his shoulder, sprinting all the way behind Lin An.

The gap in their agility was too great; even at full effort he could barely keep up behind.

Lin An said without turning back:

Wen Ya and the others are still downstairs; later go wake them up and gather everyone inside the inn.

I'll go find the bandaged girl.

Remember to teach Wen Ya how to use the squad comms, and let me know once everyone's assembled.

Find someone? Lin Dui, where are you going to look?!

You said she wasn't human, didn't you?!

Zhang Tie instinctively asked Lin An, but as soon as he spoke, Lin An's back vanished from sight.

Lin Dui runs incredibly fast.

Helpless, Zhang Tie glanced back at the unconscious Youwei, his eyes full of pity.

Damn bastard!

He recalled those legs at the door, a chill flashing in his eyes.

On the inn's top floor, Lin An arrived here in just a few seconds.

After brute‑force moving the debris blocking the stairs, he casually scanned the surroundings.

If nothing unexpected, the bandaged girl that Yu Shihao and the others took away that day should be right here.

Assuming she isn't dead, of course it's also unlikely she would die.

Although Yu Shihao died too quickly for Lin An to pump him for the girl's whereabouts, a simple guess makes it easy to figure out.

Those people inside the inn wouldn't dare go out, so the 'person' must be inside the building.

The girl's appearance is so strange; if the group that took her hadn't thrown her out,

then as long as someone is worried and afraid, they would definitely put her in a place they consider safe.

The inn's top floor has no residents and nowhere to escape.

Searching for the bandaged girl isn't out of saintly compassion, nor merely Lin An's curiosity.

This time his search for the bandaged girl is purely because of the monster incident, which reminded him of his past memories.

Unlike earlier information that was mere hearsay from chat channels, he had once seen a girl wrapped in bandages in his previous life.

Although they had only met once, and her current appearance isn't much like that.

But after sobering up, he carefully compared them and found they are very likely the same person!

Mo Ling!

Is it you?

Third‑rank Symbiotic Entity, Deathborn Mo Ling!

Symbiotic Entities are unique beings that wander the boundary between humans and zombies.

Such individuals are usually humans infected with the zombie virus who haven't fully transformed, half‑human, half‑zombie!

Although they look almost human on the outside, they lack a player template and cannot level up by killing mutants.

While retaining their sanity, they may at any moment turn into zombies, and more strangely, they can gain power by killing Awakened Ones.

No one would want to keep nearby something that could turn into a zombie at any moment.

Thus Symbiotic Entities are usually openly rejected by human groups.

But Symbiotic Entities have one extremely special trait: they can freely walk among the corpse horde without being attacked by zombies.

Rumor has it that fourth‑rank Symbiotic Entities can even control zombies!

Therefore many factions secretly contact Symbiotic Entities, having them help retrieve supplies deep within zombie‑infested areas.

An entity that can ignore zombies, even if its strength is only that of a zero‑rank Awakened One,

In fighting zombies, just this alone can match a squad of Awakened Ones!

As far as he knows, the strongest Symbiotic Entity in the Linjiang War Zone is Mo Ling.

Back then, Mo Ling, wandering the corpse horde in search of food, gave Lin An a tremendous shock!

If it really is Mo Ling, he could even have her join his team...

Lin An's heart burned hot.

In his plan, after rescuing An Jing Tian and his siblings, he would immediately establish a Safe Zone; without a Safe Zone providing spiritual energy, his level would be hard to raise.

Unless he kills high‑rank mutants, further progress is unlikely—but where can he conveniently absorb spiritual energy?

Even if he becomes strong enough not to need it, AnXia still needs it.

Safe Zone, in the Apocalypse, is a 'home' that shelters from wind and rain.

The rooftop isn't big; soon Lin An found her in a pile of discarded junk.

Amid the trash and discarded food wrappers on the ground, the girl's bandages were soaked with dark‑red blood.

The clean medical bandages were stained with grime from the trash.

The girl lay motionless, eyes tightly shut.

If it weren't for the faint rise and fall of her chest proving she's alive, just looking at her she'd be indistinguishable from a corpse.

It seems the person who brought her up studied her a bit and then gave up.

Mo Ling?

Lin An slightly furrowed his brow, softly calling the girl's name.

The face hidden beneath the bandages could not be confirmed to be Mo Ling.

After a moment, there was no response. The girl showed no reaction to external sounds.

"Judgment Eye!"

Pale blue mist rose, and the stars flowed.

"Beep, detected special lifeform: 0th-rank symbiont (dying)"

"Threat assessment: none"

It is indeed a symbiont.

Dying condition? Lin An seized the girl's slender wrist, a flicker of worry crossing his eyes.

It seems the people who brought her up didn't give her any food at all.

The symbiont consumes enormous amounts of energy to resist the erosion of the zombie virus.

After so many days, it's no surprise the girl hasn't received any energy replenishment and has fallen into a dying state.

Lin An focused, mobilizing his own mental power, and tentatively began to slowly infuse it into the girl's body.

Since having his mental power drained by the Soul-devouring Hand before, he unexpectedly discovered that the mental power, which could originally only be used through skill consumption, could now be used autonomously.

After a few more such experiences, he faintly felt that perhaps he could, like a mental-power Awakened One, project his mental power for combat.

This also counts as an unexpected blessing; right now it can actually be put to use.

Otherwise, he truly wouldn't know how to awaken the unconscious girl.

In a dying state, she can no longer take in food.

The intangible mental power surged like water, slowly seeping into the girl's body.

After a long while.

"Hngh~"

With a painful groan, the girl slowly woke up.

Like a wary beast, the girl quickly withdrew her wrist upon waking and watched him warily.

"Mo Ling?"

Lin An tentatively called out the name, and the girl's eyes instantly flashed with surprise.

"Who are you?!"

"How do you know my name?!"

Mo Ling's spine arched halfway, hesitating as if ready to flee at any moment.

"As expected!"

Lin An felt a surge of joy; he hadn't expected it to really be her!

"Don't be nervous, I mean no harm."

"You are safe now."

Mo Ling glanced around, realizing she was on the rooftop with nowhere to escape, though her expression remained wary.

Lin An didn't mind her demeanor.

In their past lives, the two hadn't interacted much, but he had also heard many rumors about the deceased.

This is the exclusive title of a third-rank symbiont!

Mo Ling's parents had died when she was young, and after just reaching adulthood she survived alone in the Corpse Horde for 77 days before being found by some survivors.

Lin An himself wasn't one for idle talk; upon seeing Mo Ling wake, he immediately spoke up:

"Are you willing to join my team."

"I can guarantee your safety, and I can rescue your sister who has turned into a zombie!"

!!

Mo Ling's whole body tensed, staring straight at Lin An.

"Who who are you!? How do you know Mo Yu turned into a zombie!"