Chapter 74: Suturing Hand, Heavy Punch Blast!

In front of the highway billboard, a group of people curiously watched Zhang Tie beneath the tall pole.

To attract attention, highway billboards are usually mounted on massive iron pillars nearly one meter thick and about twenty meters tall.

At 1.9 meters tall, Zhang Tie seemed somewhat small beneath the towering iron pillar.

"Team Leader Lin, I want to give it a try!"

Zhang Tie took off his shirt, his muscles bulging like explosive rock, and his left hand had already been sutured with the arm of a second‑level mutant.

Given his physique, the thick arm didn't feel out of place.

"Sure, I'm also looking forward to your performance."

Lin An smiled and encouraged him.

After Zhang Tie finished suturing his arm, he deliberately checked the attribute bonuses from the suture.

"Suturing Hand: left arm (from a top‑tier second‑level mutant)"

"Effect: Strength +10!"

"Second‑level bonus adds an extra effect: Heavy Punch Blast! It consumes moderate stamina to deliver a single instantaneous strike!"

"Evaluation: the left arm from the suturer will destroy everything before your eyes!"

Just seeing the bonus, Lin An even felt it was a bit perverse.

Ten points of strength is roughly equivalent to two blue‑grade items and half an orange‑grade item.

The attached extra effect is even more terrifying.

He still remembers the suturer's punch, whose speed was terrifying.

However, such high bonuses come from limb replacement, and Lin An wouldn't greedily swap his own limbs just for temporary power.

The sun shone brightly, casting on Zhang Tie a somewhat violent beauty.

He took a deep breath, his left hand slowly gathering power.

"Bear Transformation!"

His physique swelled; the originally explosive muscles were hidden beneath fur, like black chunks of metal.

"Heavy Punch!"

Instantly, a red radiance burst from his left fist; the already swiftly charged punch accelerated to a speed barely perceptible to the eye.

"Blast!!"

"Give me… smash!!!"

"Boom!!"

The ground trembled!

Over twenty meters tall and weighing dozens of tons, the massive billboard, as if struck by a thousand‑ton impact, shattered instantly and was blasted off the ground!

It flew sideways through the air, displaying shocking force.

The metal deformed, and the billboard emitted a grating, mournful wail.

"Thud!!"

The huge object slowly fell, kicking up clouds of dust.

Including Lin An, everyone stared in some shock at the punch's power.

"Gulp."

Liu Shiming unconsciously swallowed, thinking this punch could probably smash an armored tank.

This isn't human at all—it's basically a humanoid tyrannosaurus, a heavy bulldozer!

Unlike Liu Shiming's surprise at the strength,

An Jing Tian's breath caught as he quickly simulated in his mind a battle scene against the current Zhang Tie.

One second later, he despaired to find that he could not possibly dodge this punch's speed.

Too fast!

Given his physique, even a graze would instantly turn any body part into a puddle of mud.

Lin An, however, felt somewhat delighted, never expecting Zhang Tie to suit this arm so well.

In the future, if he encounters another mutant, as long as it isn't too strong,

it would only take Zhang Tie activating Frenzied Rush and then landing a close‑range punch to blast the enemy into fine debris.

Not bad.

Only now does Zhang Tie truly deserve the title of berserker—an unstoppable battlefield champion!

After the massive billboard crashed down, the dust lingered for a long time, and the highway was left with a deep crater.

After Zhang Tie ended his Bear Transformation, he stared fixedly at the destruction he'd caused, his lips trembling with excitement.

His biggest shortcoming was attack speed and damage; now, combined with Frenzied Rush, it makes up for the speed..

Strong, too strong!

Invincibly strong!

He suddenly turned his head and sprinted straight toward Lin An.

"Team Leader Lin!"

His voice, trembling with excitement, held a hint of tears; the sight of a 1.9‑meter‑tall bald giant behaving this way made his inner gratitude clear.

Lin An didn't dodge Zhang Tie's bear hug; he simply patted his back lightly.

He knew how much reluctance and helplessness Zhang Tie felt in those few battles.

Weak in strength, and also disabled.

Every battle was a near‑death experience.

Even so, Lin An let him go up when he said go up, let him charge when he said charge, without a second word.

Every time I fought desperately, I could only serve as a meat shield, getting beaten half to death.

Weakness is the original sin, and he never blamed Lin An for taking him to dangerous places.

Just that.

Who doesn't crave power, who doesn't want to protect their loved ones with their own hands?

"Alright."

Lin An helplessly pushed aside the excited Zhang Tie; this guy, after his strength increased, hugs people without any restraint.

"I still say the same thing: believe me, you're not my burden."

"Every Awakened One is not weak."

Lin An's gaze was sincere and gentle.

That time he fell unconscious, if it weren't for Zhang Tie desperately fighting his way back to the inn, even if he had poison resistance, he would likely have died there.

Zhang Tie wiped the excited tears from his eyes and firmly nodded.

Lin An smiled at the sight; he liked the feeling of helping others.

Even if he were reborn once, it would still be the same.

If there is any difference, it's that he won't help just anyone as before; he will only look after and help true friends, brothers.

However, speaking of which.

Zhang Tie really is a...

Silly bear...

A big man, simple-minded and clumsy.

The sunlight was warm; Jing Tian walked up beside Zhang Tie, feeling a bit awkward, as he was actually not good with words.

"Brother Zhang, I earlier..."

Zhang Tie was in a good mood; he also wasn't the type to hold grudges, so he directly cut off Jing Tian's intended apology.

"What are you talking about? Just a friendly spar between teammates and brothers. You're Lin Dui's brother, so you're my brother!"

He grinned, showing his bright front teeth, which really looked ugly when he smiled.

Mo Ling silently watched the three, a fleeting hint of envy flickering in her eyes.

Liu Shiming stood awkwardly to the side, his expression lost yet longing.

"Alright, everyone get on the vehicle first."

"Don't forget our destination is the school! Let's establish our own Safe Zone!"

Lin An stood in front of the off-road vehicle, with several people holding oil drums behind him.

Although the Space Ring can hold oil, there is still plenty of storage space on the vehicle.

After the Apocalypse, gasoline is also a precious resource.

If it weren't for the limited space, Lin An wouldn't mind emptying the entire gas station.

After the team members got in the vehicle, he sat in the passenger seat, planning to assign each person's duties.

"Although this encounter gave you some unpleasant memories, overall we have gained a lot."

"From now on, heading to the school, the danger level will only increase, not decrease."

"Especially you, Zhang Tie. Don't think that with increased strength you can still be as reckless as before; there are definitely Awakened Ones in the school."

Zhang Tie lowered his head, pretending to be mute.

But upon hearing about Awakened Ones, he suddenly lifted his head, his expression turning somewhat solemn.

"Lin Dui, are they Awakened Ones like the Scaled Beast?"

Lin An shook his head; he wasn't very good at explaining the Scaled Beast's peculiarities to everyone.

"Scaled Beasts are somewhat special. Normal Awakened Ones are usually in human form; turning into a black bear like you is actually quite rare."

"Usually Awakened Ones are like me, with physical strengthening for close combat and mastering some special skills; another part is like mages in games, wielding various supernatural powers."

"So we definitely cannot be complacent and look down on other Awakened Ones just because our team is strong."

"Every Awakened One has their own unique strengths; if we're careless, even I could fall victim."

Everyone nodded upon hearing this; they had hardly seen any Awakened Ones so far, and felt a bit curious.

Even someone as monstrously strong as Lin Dui feels the need to be cautious, so they naturally will take it seriously.

Seeing everyone take it in, Lin An continued speaking:

"Next, assign each person's specific combat duties and positions."

"Jing Tian, from now on you will be responsible for reconnaissance and, when necessary, assassination and decapitation operations; during combat, just roam the battlefield looking for opportunities."

"Zhang Tie, you are in charge of clearing the path; when encountering enemies, you will be the first to charge into battle; in combat, you are the foremost iron wall! Protect the rear!"

"Mo Ling, you remain in rear support; temporarily do not use your Corpse Horde summoning ability. We'll test it when the opportunity arises and see the effect before using it."

"As for Wen Ya."

When mentioning Wen Ya, Lin An paused briefly.

The maximum range for internal voice communication is 100 kilometers; at this time, Wen Ya, who is acting separately, is not within the communication zone.

"Wen Ya's combat duties will be arranged after we regroup."

Liu Shiming shrank back in the rear seat and suddenly spoke softly:

"Brother Lin, then... what about me? Should I dig trenches?"

Lin An:...

"Just don't run around; there will be a use for you later."

After hearing that, Liu Shiming lowered his head again, shrinking to the side, not knowing what he was thinking.

"Brother Lin, you suddenly arranged all this for us before heading to the school, and also told us to watch out for the Awakened Ones inside..."

An Jing Tian had a suspicion in his heart, and after hesitating a moment he still decided to speak up and ask.

"Will they be our enemies?"

He felt a bit doubtful.

"If Lin An's trip is to establish a Safe Zone, shouldn't he be recruiting manpower there?"

"As fellow human Survivors, surely not every Survivor is as awful as the ones we encountered before?"

"I don't know why, but he always felt that Lin An's arrangement was more like... launching a slaughter."

The scenery outside the window flashed by frame by frame, and Lin An fell silent for a moment.

"They might not be our enemies."

"Just that."

"I need to kill someone."