Chapter 5: The Licker

Boom, a heavy object landed.

Lin An jumped down from the rooftop with a grim expression.

The mental storm had passed.

Aside from a slight dizziness in his head, he was otherwise fine.

Now the Doomsday Game has officially launched, which also means that Jing Tian's life has entered a countdown.

Time is pressing; after leaving the main city area, he must find a vehicle for transport.

Otherwise, relying solely on his two legs, he could never reach his destination.

At least millions of zombies are now distributed throughout the city.

Even if he had become an Awakened One, surrounded by a massive horde of zombies he would have only a dead end.

Linjiang Suburb.

A red Dongfeng heavy truck roared past, mercilessly crushing the zombies along the road.

「Bang! 」

In the truck's cab, Lin An kicked open the door and jumped out directly, despite the truck still speeding at high speed.

After several consecutive rolls to dissipate momentum, he steadied himself upright.

After becoming an Awakened One, a physique of up to 12 points was enough to make him immune to most impacts.

The out-of-control Dongfeng heavy truck slammed straight into the residential compound's wall.

Filthy blood covered the vehicle's body, with unidentified chunks of flesh lodged in the crevices.

On the front bumper.

A zombie consisting only of an upper torso continued to gnaw on the metal sheet tirelessly.

With a loud bang.

This truck, which had been speeding nonstop since leaving the city, finally fulfilled its last purpose.

At the compound entrance, the zombies gathered to feast on corpses were crushed by the out-of-control truck into a pool of blood.

Black smoke billowed from the deformed front of the truck, the dark tire marks mixed with red.

The sky was dim.

After fighting his way out of the city center, Lin An sped all the way to the area where Jing Tian was located.

What originally would have been a three-hour drive was forcibly cut down to more than half that time.

He had no time to rest.

Lin An hastily pulled out his phone and glanced at the pale screen.

Twenty-three minutes left...

His heart, which had been suspended, suddenly relaxed.

Fortunately, there's still time.

Jing Tian's residential compound lies deepest within this area.

This used to be the old city district.

The roads are tangled and complex; one can only advance on foot.

But even on foot.

Relying on his strengthened body, at his speed he could reach there in at most fifteen minutes.

Brother.

You must hold on!

After punching through the zombie that lunged at him from ahead, Lin An sprinted along the inner wall of the compound.

Once a quiet and cozy residential building, it has now become a slaughterhouse.

The sealed anti-theft windows had become the biggest obstacle to escape.

From time to time, shrill screams echoed from inside the building.

In a half-open window, a zombie's silhouette flashed past.

A stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

Before the Apocalypse broke out, most of the residents in the compound were still outside and had not returned home.

Otherwise, given the population density of this old urban area, he would have been unable to move an inch.

With his agile physique and high agility, Lin An easily dodged the encircling small zombie horde.

His running speed was extremely fast; at full burst he had already reached the compound's entrance.

Along the way, he avoided zombies when possible, and when not, he simply punched straight through their heads.

Below the anti-theft window of the ornate Western-style house on the sixth floor at the compound entrance.

A man dressed as a wealthy merchant, his upper body bare, struggled hanging from the railing below. '

No one knew how he had managed to climb onto the outer wall despite his obesity.

「Save me! 」

「Please help me! 」

The short, stout man shouted at Lin An, squeezing out an ugly grin as bean-sized beads of sweat dripped from the tip of his nose.

He had been clinging to the window for a while, seeing Lin An charge out of the compound like a god of slaughter.

Saving him wouldn't be easy, would it?

Lin An remained unmoved, kicking the zombie in front of him to pieces without looking back.

「I'll give you money! Please help me! 」

「One hundred thousand! 」

"Help me!"

The wealthy merchant felt a surge of panic, seeing Lin An about to leave the gate.

And the anti-theft bars in front of him gradually began to deform.

The sturdy steel bars squeaked under the mouth of the woman turning into a zombie.

"One million! I'll give you one million!"

The merchant's face was filled with terror, his strength about to run out.

Waves of rotten, foul odor sprayed from the woman's mouth.

It made him dizzy and light‑headed.

That was his beloved cherry‑small lips, which once exhaled like orchids.

"Five million! I'm the boss of Linjiang Construction Group! As long as you save me, I'll give you whatever you want!"

Watching Lin An grow farther and farther away.

The merchant's face turned pale; he could no longer bear to think of his money, and he shouted loudly.

The Construction Group was extremely famous in Linjiang City; he believed anyone would be moved by it.

Lin An couldn't be bothered to pay attention.

During the apocalypse, banknotes are only good for wiping one's butt.

Seeing Lin An's figure disappear, the merchant was stunned.

That's five million! How could anyone not be tempted!

I'll give you whatever you want!

He asked himself, what he's already given is more than enough!

Idiot, truly an idiot!

Furious and embarrassed, the desperate merchant began to wildly curse Lin An.

He openly vented the fear in his heart.

He passed through a rare avenue unobstructed by zombies.

Lin An suddenly stumbled, his face turning grave.

It wasn't the money promised by that merchant just now that moved him, giving him the urge to go back.

In the distance, a huge monster three meters tall, its whole body blood‑red like a skinned frog, lay across the road.

That was.

Licker!

As a mutant zombie, the Licker possesses terrifying combat power.

In my past life, a single one could easily destroy a small safe zone.

Although it lacks armor, its constantly regenerating muscle tissue can withstand most small‑caliber firearms.

It is extremely fast, terrifyingly strong, and its flesh regenerates.

Hard steel is like dough in its hands.

It can be called one of the survivors' nightmares.

I don't know if we can detour around it.

Lin An carefully concealed his figure, hiding behind a truck.

Even though he is already Awakened Ones, but still only 0 Fourth Rank.

Although his strength already exceeds human limits, there is still a huge gap compared to this monster.

Should we take a detour?

Lin An carefully held his breath, gripping the broken rearview mirror as he probed cautiously.

Every movement of the Licker blocking the road was like an earthquake.

Over two meters long, its sharp foreclaws can easily pierce metal.

Its twin claws shot out like afterimages, continually dragging people hiding inside the vehicle out.

As if savoring a dessert.

When it's in the mood, even zombies are not spared.

Lin An remained silent.

No wonder there are no zombies on this road—the monster has eaten them all.

Several seconds later.

The Licker had a pair of severed legs in its mouth, chewing, its eyes greedily scanning the surroundings.

It had already devoured the entire stretch of road.

"Hum~"

A slight phone vibration.

It was a voice message from An Jing Tian.

Lin An's eyes suddenly sharpened, and he carefully turned the volume down to the lowest.

"Zz… Lin bro, I'm Jing Tian's sister AnXia. My brother seems to be about to…!"

"He vomited… zz… a lot of blood"

"I don't know why… brother looks at me like that."

"Seems…"

"Zz…"

"Wants to eat me."

Electric current interference made the short message somewhat blurry.

The message was sent five minutes ago.

Global communications suffered severe obstruction after the Apocalypse began, and will gradually be cut off within three hours.

Lin An gripped his phone tightly.

His hands, which had fought their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, remained steady and calm.

At this moment they also trembled slightly.

The speed of Jing Tian's bodily deterioration exceeded his expectations.

Perhaps in the next second he would completely turn into a zombie.

He couldn't delay any longer.

Lin An, who had intended to take a detour, instantly straightened his body, no longer caring about the risk of exposing himself to the Licker's gaze, and sprinted forward in large strides!

Thud!

Thud!

The ground trembled.

In the distance, the massive Licker seemed to sense something.

On its hideous giant face, two nostril-like hollows carefully sniffed the scent.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Suddenly, the Licker's massive body began to lunge frenziedly.

Vehicles along the road were all flung aside as if struck by a train.

Extremely fast, it smelled the scent of a living creature!

The distance between them rapidly closed.