Chapter 497: Some rejoice, others grieve

After the broadcast feed cut off, the entire Huaxia War Zone fell into a brief silence.

After a long while.

The chat channel, still as dead water, boiled over again.

If Awakened Ones or players with decent strength were discussing online, then ordinary players with weak strength were shocked to the point of incoherence in reality.

"Too strong... really too strong!"

"How can Lin An's strength be so terrifying!"

"Did you see that sword clearly!"

Unable to express the astonishment in one's heart with words.

North China War Zone.

Several survivors gathered at the Wealth Building waved their arms and legs, constantly gesturing.

Recalling just now how it destroyed everything with ease, like splitting the earth, everyone couldn't help feeling excited and fearful.

One sword cut open half of the Safe Zone.

Under the strong visual impact, many people even replayed it over and over, trying to see exactly how Lin An did it.

Like a scene from a movie, an existence of fantasy.

When all Huaxia survivors first saw a strike that seemed to approach the Third Level without limit, their previous notions were completely overturned.

As it turns out, the martial power that only appears in human fantasies truly manifests in reality.

"Awakened Ones, can they really become this strong?"

Unbelievable.

The agility-type Awakened One who was following the crowd's discussion obsessively watched his own pre-recorded footage, muttering to himself.

He also liked using cold weapons, but he found it strenuous to cut open an armored vehicle.

Nothing is more shocking than seeing it directly.

They could not even imagine, imagining themselves as those people in the modern Safe Zone...

Upon seeing that sword, what despair and fear it would be.

Worshipping martial power is an instinct engraved in human bones.

No one paid attention to Lin An's form when he erupted, nor did anyone care whether that sword looked too brutal.

Everyone was fantasizing, as if hope had been ignited in their hearts.

In the situation where the vast majority of players had never seen a Third-Level Mutant, a nameless yet genuine thought arose.

If there were a few more Lin Ans, what would the Apocalypse amount to!

In the fervent discussion, a bald-headed Awakened One noticed his boss, who seemed merely to be silently standing on the rooftop gazing into the distance.

"Shh..."

"The boss's mood doesn't look good; let's keep our voices down when we discuss..."

Several people exchanged glances and tacitly lowered their voices.

Since the broadcast began, the boss had watched the entire process together with us, eyes unblinking.

At the start, the boss still had the mood to comment a few times, even pointing out many flaws in Lin An's performance.

If it were him, he would handle it better.

But when the final battle began, the boss never spoke a word again.

The boss is very competitive, often bringing up a comparison between Lin An and himself in front of them.

After all, the boss had long aspired to establish a Safe Zone and become a true local hegemon.

And Long An was one of the small goals in his ideal blueprint.

But...

As of now, it seems the boss has suffered a great blow...

Rooftop top floor.

Called the boss, a middle-aged man in a neat, clean suit looked bitterly into the distance.

Once, when Lin An had just established the Safe Zone, he made grand declarations.

(In half a month, I will also establish my own Safe Zone...)

(Lin An... just a lucky guy...)

Back then, I was full of vigor, but the harsh reality gave me a hard slap.

Indeed, he had always considered himself an elite, destined to succeed.

In the early Apocalypse, he was among the few, the first batch of Awakened Ones daring to lead a team to kill Second-Level Mutants.

He had thought everything would go smoothly.

But when he first faced a special Second-Level Peak Mutant, he was shocked to discover he could only flee.

He couldn't build a Safe Zone, but he wasn't discouraged.

Whenever he thought late at night, he would repeatedly cheer himself up and comfort himself.

Lin An, the Safe Zone was not necessarily built by strength.

After all, even I couldn't do it.

What could be done afterward mostly had the shadow of the Military Region involved...

Not arrogant ignorance.

Whether before or after the Apocalypse, he was an elite among elites.

Before the Apocalypse, he was a business genius, holding a listed company, talented at a young age.

After the Apocalypse, moreover, relying on thunderous methods and decent intelligence, he quickly gathered a team and even established a gathering place in the High-tech Zone.

If you want people, there are people; if you want strength, there is strength; if you want talent, there is talent.

Unlike most wealthy people, he does not hate the apocalypse.

He greatly enjoys this strength‑supremacist apocalypse world.

What a wonderful world.

If you are strong enough, you can get everything you want.

But, after watching the broadcast, after realizing the gap between himself and Lin An.

His pride shattered.

The strength he takes pride in is like a clown.

Upon recalling the words he usually spoke, he felt a deep shame.

Unlike ordinary Awakened Ones.

They only know Lin An is strong, but they cannot grasp how strong he is, or where his strength lies.

As a Second Level Awakened One who is rare in being outside the Military Region's forces, he, compared to others, can more deeply feel the gap between the two.

"I am already an S‑rank talent..."

"Why... why is the gap so big..."

"I shouldn't be among the strongest Awakened Ones in the Doomsday Game, should I!?"

Unwilling, indignant.

In his emotional turmoil, he directly crushed the concrete wall beneath his hand into powder.

He asks himself: since the apocalypse broke out, he has not rested a single moment, and has repeatedly fought to the death, pursuing the limit.

But when he witnessed Lin An's sword strike, he only felt a strong sense of powerlessness.

"If I were there..."

"I... could only be a member shattered in the aftermath..."

"No..."

If he were to face Lin An head‑on, likely at the instant of Lin An's landing impact, he would be seriously injured or even killed.

How ridiculous.

He, a proud Second Level Awakened One, doesn't even have the qualification to face Lin An one‑on‑one.

He is actually no different from cannon fodder.

"Lin An... Lin An, just how did he do that..."

His mind is somewhat deranged.

For someone as proud as him, it is impossible to accept the reality that he is actually weak.

He cannot help but repeatedly open the private chat channel, trying to send a message to the Awakened One responsible for liaison at Long'an Base.

Even, simply send a message to Lin An.

Hesitation, unwillingness, shame.

"I must find out how he did it!"

"I, Jiang Haochen, will absolutely not be trash... how could I be waste!"

"He must have a secret!"

His expression is manic.

Finally, he considered himself to have discarded the last shred of pride, and gritted his teeth to send a private message to Lin An.

"Lin An... sir! I want... to follow you..."

The moment he finished sending the message, he quickly closed the panel.

Afraid that even a second glance at the words he sent would plunge him into deep shame.

"I have lowered my head... I actually lowered my head..."

"No!! I am merely pursuing greater strength! I will be stronger than him! I am just..."

Perhaps Lin An himself never imagined that, in some inconspicuous corner of the Huaxia war zone, an Awakened One would actually struggle in belief because of his performance.

Especially, if Lin An were to find out who the man is, he would probably be speechless with laughter.

Jiang Haochen, one of the Six Kings in his past life, a Third Rank peak Awakened One.

The distance to the Fourth Rank among humanity's strongest is only a hair's breadth.