Chapter 68

"drip-drip."

The man hiding behind the Scaled Beast had weak legs, his body trembling uncontrollably, a strong urine smell coming from his lower body.

"Big... big brother..."

He wept bitterly in regret, just a second ago he had relied on the Scaled Beast to mock Lin An.

Moreover, the few people behind him panicked and wanted to flee, yet dared not run.

They had already witnessed Lin An's speed.

If we say Zhang Tie is 4, the Scaled Beast is 5.

Then Lin An is 10!

Everything happened too fast, so fast that nobody could believe what they saw before them.

We thought Lin An was just an idiot coming up to die, at worst the two of them would have to fight a bit. The Scaled Beast easily defeated that terrifying black bear, and Ze Ge's strength had already been seen as invincible in their minds.

Who would have thought the ending would be Lin An instantly killing them naked?

Lin An didn't even give the Scaled Beast a chance to speak.

If not as he himself said, Lin An from the start was considering whether to take the Scaled Beast as a "dog".

Most likely, as soon as the Scaled Beast appeared, he was cut down with a single blow!

"Plop."

They all knelt in unison, everyone frantically begging for mercy, having seen how brutal Zhang Tie's killing methods are.

Seeing that Lin An's strength was greater, and still being on the same team, one could imagine the fate of those few.

Such a death is truly too cruel and brutal!

"Big brother, big brother, please let us go. We were also coerced!"

"Just treat us as a pile of shit! Just a fart! Please spare us!!"

"We really haven't done anything bad; it was the leader and Ze Yan and them who did it."

"Yeah, brother, big brother. They're all dead, please show mercy and spare us."

The four knelt on the ground like kowtowing worms, their words pouring out heart and soul, wishing to use all their eloquence.

Tears streamed down their faces, everyone showing regret, as if they were truly coerced.

"Spare you?"

Lin An smiled slightly, and behind him, An Jing Tian, following his order, had already walked to his side.

Jing Tian was somewhat at a loss, not knowing why Lin An had summoned him.

So much happened in just a minute that he still hasn't come to his senses.

"Crack."

Lin An's figure appeared like a phantom beside the kneeling few.

A series of bone-breaking sounds rang out like successive snaps of green bamboo.

"Ahhhh!"

Wails, screams. No one could watch their own limbs being twisted off alive and still remain composed.

One second later, Lin An lightly returned to his original spot, as if the broken limbs before him were not those of a person but of a dead object.

"Jing Tian, kill them."

"Not a single one left."

His icy voice pronounced their death sentence.

An Jing Tian heard the voice and stood frozen in place, incredulously watching Lin An's back as he walked toward the Scaled Beast.

"Lin Bro... kill them all?!"

He blurted out instinctively.

Ten days ago he was still an ordinary person living in peaceful times, let alone being of military background, he had always regarded protecting others as his code of conduct.

Lin An's such harsh words really shocked his worldview and bottom line.

Those few before him were indeed despicable, but shouldn't they be punished by the police and law?

Even if they were gone now, An Jing Tian would still find it hard to carry out this act.

These... are living people!

"Lin Bro!"

An Jing Tian looked at the few on the ground bent into human sticks, his eyes filled with hesitation, and he couldn't help but turn and shout toward Lin An.

"Their hands and feet are broken; in this Apocalypse they can't survive."

"This punishment, I think is about enough. They might not all have participated... kill them all..."

Lin An turned his body, calmly looking at him.

"Do you think I'm too ruthless? Lacking humanity? Or do you think they might really be as they said, coerced by others?"

"Even."

He let out a light sigh.

"Do you feel I've become very strange, not like the Lin An you used to know?"

An Jing Tian remained silent, he indeed felt that the Lin An before him was somewhat strange.

Clearly, Lin Bro used to be a kind person who never argued, the type with a ruddy face.

But why, then, has he now become so bloodthirsty?

Lin An understood what was in An Jing Tian's eyes.

He doesn't blame Jing Tian for feeling that way.

Any normal person who just came into contact with the Apocalypse would be like this.

Hesitant, kind‑hearted, unable to bring oneself to act, naturally trusting of others.

Human hearts are complex, and they change slowly.

Unlike the remnants that were already full of malice before the apocalypse.

These remnants only, because of the apocalypse's outbreak, recklessly vent the evil in their hearts, seeing the apocalypse as paradise, having lost all humanity.

But most ordinary people are not like that; their kindness will be exploited, their benevolent trust ruthlessly deceived.

That's exactly why he wants Jing Tian to accept this 'baptism'.

As his best brother, he doesn't want Jing Tian to, like him in his past life, suffer deceit and threats because of his kindness and hesitation, even...

Betrayal!

If it were someone else, he wouldn't bother spending this effort to help them grow.

Those who die, die; those who cannot grow quickly or adapt to the apocalypse should be eliminated—survival of the fittest is the natural law.

For anyone he wishes to protect, he still sincerely hopes they can avoid this painful price and lesson as much as possible.

"Jing Tian, I want to show you something."

An Jing Tian blinked in surprise, wondering what Brother Lin wanted to show him.

Lin An looked toward the not‑far gas station, which was where this group was hiding.

"Mo Ling, come over too."

"Bring the scaled beast's head; that guy isn't so easy to kill."

Not dead?

An Jing Tian incredulously jerked his head toward the pit, seeing the body severed into two.

The severed scaled beast's head on the ground seemed to feel the gazes of several people, trembling slightly in fright.

Lin An let out a light chuckle.

With his current mental power and control, if he couldn't even tell whether his own slash had killed the enemy, that would be too ridiculous.

Playing dead with closed eyes—do you really think I wouldn't notice?

He deliberately controlled the trajectory of that slash, ensuring the scaled beast would lose combat ability yet remain alive for a short time.

It's not that he's unwilling to kill; he wants to spare its life.

He simply wants Mo Ling to personally kill the scaled beast.

0 Fourth Rank symbiont needs to kill an Awakened Ones to advance to the next level, which is similar to how Awakened Ones level up.

Although we don't know how Mo Ling raised his rank to 3 Fourth Rank in his past life, the present Mo Ling can be said to have virtually no combat ability.

Right now, an Awakened Ones has delivered himself as an experience snack; he naturally won't waste it.

1 Fourth Rank symbiont—who knows what surprise it will bring.

As the most mysterious symbiont of his past life, no one knows what their specific abilities are.

Hope Mo Ling performs well after advancing.

Otherwise, once Wen Ya's mental power barrier is up, the two's functions actually overlap somewhat.

Before Mo Ling reaches 3 Fourth Rank, her ability is actually somewhat useless to a large extent.

Soon, Mo Ling walked over, expressionlessly holding a scaled beast's head with a panicked gaze.

Her whole body's bandages have been changed; her petite figure looks almost like a child's.

A little girl walks over, expressionlessly holding a head, the scene appearing eerily bizarre.

"Let's go, let's go in first."

Lin An led the two to the gas station entrance, his gaze thoughtful.

Not killing the scaled beast now actually has another reason.

He sensed a special item's aura on the scaled beast, and that item is very likely the key to a Secret Realm treasure from his past life!

If his perception is correct, then the scaled beast, with the strength of a 0 Fourth Rank Awakened Ones, could actually match or even surpass 1 Fourth Rank Zhang Tie.