Chapter 76

Linjiang Academy, north gate.

Jing Tian gradually slowed the off‑road vehicle, his expression solemn, while Wen Ya also drove the bus carrying Youwei and the hotel survivors behind them.

Along the road, the group saw many corpses with various causes of death—some inflicted by cold weapons, others burnt to charcoal or frozen into ice shards.

Without a doubt, these zombies were surely cleared out by the Awakened Ones inside the academy.

Team voice chat:

"Brother Lin, the place ahead should be Linjiang Academy."

"Mm, stay on guard."

"Zhang Tie, Jing Tian, you two go forward and talk to their high‑level leaders."

"There's no need for you to do the negotiating yourself; when he steps forward, that will be the moment to purge."

"Wen Ya, your mental strength is good; pay attention to sensing the movements of their Awakened Ones to prevent accidents."

Lin An gave Wen Ya another reminder; although his Judgment Eye was enough to oversee everything, he didn't mind training her a bit.

Team members will inevitably go out to fight in the future; if he isn't there, someone must take on the duty of monitoring the whole situation.

Lin An had moved to the rear seat at this point, simply because Zhang Tie's bulky frame squeezed Liu Shiming, who was huddled in the corner, into a pitiful state.

Sometimes when the vehicle runs into a zombie horde and forces its way out, he always feels that Zhang Tie could sit his future chief designer to death with just his butt.

After a brief rundown, Lin An closed his eyes, focused his mind, and began to think about the follow‑up plan for the Safe Zone.

The silver off‑road vehicle and the yellow bus slowly stopped not far from the academy gate, and the crowd disembarked in single file.

Lin An walked among the crowd that had gotten off the bus, guarding against any possible accident.

Most of the people Zhang Tie rescued from the hospital were the elderly, weak, and sick; this group of ordinary folks had no power to resist the Awakened Ones.

Since we've decided to let this batch of decent‑natured people join the Safe Zone, Lin An naturally won't ignore them.

A party of twenty‑one, Zhang Tie and Jing Tian led the way, their gazes scanning the academy's outer wall encircled by a three‑meter‑high earthen wall.

"Is this also something the Awakened Ones cooked up?"

Zhang Tie looked at the earthen wall that ran around the academy's breach, serving as a makeshift fortification, and clicked his tongue in amazement.

Wen Ya closed her eyes to sense, then nodded, and her voice came through the team channel.

"I can sense that three Awakened Ones have earth‑attribute fluctuations; they are still continuously releasing spiritual energy."

"Straight ahead there are three more; only one shows a special fluctuation. The other two are likely body‑strengthening Awakened Ones."

Jing Tian also quickly observed and added.

"200 meters ahead, fifteen people are guarding the wall. At the 9‑o'clock and 1‑o'clock positions left and right, each has one person aiming a crossbow at us."

"They don't seem too stupid; at least they know how to set up a line. It's just that their alertness is poor, and their positions are completely exposed."

Jing Tian, coming from a scout background, habitually reported all the watch points; although the line looked decent, in his view it was full of holes everywhere.

As long as he wishes, he can instantly kill an Awakened One on the wall and then withdraw.

Just as the three of them were carefully observing the academy, the academy's defenders were also watching the sudden crowd that had arrived.

On the earthen wall of the academy gate, a tall male student patted his companion beside him.

"Looks like another group of survivors is coming over."

"Nonsense, I'm not blind. But there are quite a lot of them."

"Another bunch of starving ghosts come to mooch food?"

"A bunch of useless people, not knowing why they came running over."

On the earthen wall, a red‑haired man sat with his legs crossed, his face full of impatience, flames occasionally sparking in his hand before dying out.

"Maybe they heard our broadcast, knew this place was safe, and fled here from the nearby town."

A bespectacled ordinary student who was in charge of serving tea and water spoke up somewhat timidly to explain.

Since six days ago, when the Awakened Ones joined forces to clear the zombies inside the academy, the huge power gap has made this group of Awakened Ones consider themselves superior.

Moreover, with many ordinary people inclined to attach themselves, the entire academy has essentially become two clearly stratified groups.

The bespectacled student gazed at the nearby crowd and couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

The Awakened Ones inside the academy are becoming increasingly radical and arrogant.

If they had come a few days earlier it would have been fine, but now coming over likely won't earn them any pleasant looks.

"Tsk."

The red‑haired man gave a light chuckle, took the tea that the former top‑student bespectacled boy had brought over, and gulped it down.

"Those few who tinker with ore radios are just idiots, afraid we won't eat enough?"

"Exactly, if it weren't for their leader's strong strength, we'd have smashed their broadcast long ago."

"Alright, let's go down and have a look. Don't let them in. Last time infected ones sneaked in, we almost had a disaster!"

The tall, slim man stopped his complaining, and the two leapt down from the earthen wall.

"That group up ahead!"

"Halt!"

He shouted a warning.

The academy gate opened a side door; six boys wielding homemade spears eyed the crowd warily, led by the tall, slim man and the fire‑attribute Awakened One.

Jing Tian was in charge of this communication; upon seeing the people who came out of the academy, he frowned.

It appears they are not very welcoming to outsiders.

"Hello, I—"

Before he could finish stating his purpose, the tall, slim man interrupted him.

"We don't welcome you here; get back where you came from."

"Take one more step forward."

"Tsk!"

The tall, thin man suddenly kicked the ground with his right foot, instantly poking a small hole.

Gravel flew.

The power wasn't great, but the momentum was astonishing.

The old, weak, sick, and disabled people where Lin An was were startled—another Awakened One?

I don't know whether Brother Zhang or he is stronger.

The survivors rescued by Zhang Tie hadn't seen him for a while, and in their minds his strength remained at the time when his arm was torn off by the lickers.

The tall, thin man looked satisfied at the frightened old, weak, sick, and disabled.

He liked to display his strength in front of ordinary people, then watch their faces full of fear.

After displaying his superhuman strength, he shouted:

"If you want to come in, you can—everyone will be searched, hand over all supplies; if you're useful, we'll naturally keep you."

He glanced at the old, weak, sick, and disabled behind Jing Tian, feeling a bit impatient.

There were the old, the young, the sick, even disabled people; I don't know how this group came to be.

If it weren't for Zhang Tie looking a bit taller and strong enough to fight, he would have been too lazy to say the last sentence.

Unlike him, the man who looked like a fire-element Awakened One glanced over the women in the crowd, his gaze finally settling on Wen Ya and Youwei.

A young girl plus a loli? What a perfect damn combo!

He lightly coughed, reminding his companion beside him, and squeezed out a smile:

"Don't blame us for speaking bluntly; as long as the check confirms you're not infected, we'll naturally let you in."

The fire-element Awakened One stepped forward, smiling at Wen Ya, secretly thinking, fiery.

The cold-as-ice youthful beauty had excellent bearing and figure, surpassing their academy's school belle by a notch.

Especially Wen Ya, her spiritual power overflowed, always emitting a captivating aura.

"The check is simple; later go to the isolation room, take off your clothes, and just see if there are any wounds."

His words were frivolous; his eyes kept scanning Wen Ya, and his companion beside him also realized this from his reminder.

Check?

Zhang Tie flew into a rage; ordinary people infected with zombies would turn in just a few minutes, so it's impossible for any infected to be mixed in among them as they rushed over.

Damn it, this kid's look shows he's no good bird!

The red-haired fire man, after speaking, suddenly had a flame rise in his hand, shooting up to half a person's height in a showy manner.

"Beautiful women get preferential treatment; I can personally help you check."

He directly ignored the furious Zhang Tie and An Jing Tian.

A big oaf and an ordinary man—if they aren't Awakened Ones, he could burn them to ash with a single finger.

Now the news of Awakened Ones is no longer a secret; most players have heard of it.

He believed that the seemingly ice-cold beauty before him would definitely be attracted to him, just like the class belle who originally looked down on him.

Awakened Ones! That means safety in the Apocalypse!

Everything happened too fast.

Zhang Tie heard the sound and his heart jumped.

Damn it, this kid is playing with 'fire', daring to flirt with Wen Ya!?

In shock and anger, he turned to glance at Lin An's expression, fearing Lin An would erupt and directly attack to kill.

Lin Dui moved to attack; none of these people before him would survive.

Fortunately.

Zhang Tie let out a big sigh of relief; Lin Dui seemed not to have noticed this place, just spacing out?

"Boom!"

The ground collapsed, and An Jing Tian vanished instantly.

"Shadow Kill!"

An Jing Tian's face turned icy as he instantly activated his skill, appearing behind the fire Awakened One, dagger reverse-gripped, ready to strike!

Killing intent locked onto the red-haired man.

His gaze was cold; he realized the academy's Awakened Ones couldn't be resolved through peaceful communication.

After awakening their power, this group's mindset seemed like ordinary people with a sense of superiority.

If you don't show your strength, you can't even see the high level, let alone enter the gate.

Zhang Tie also realized this, and simply stepped forward to face the academy's tall, thin Awakened One.

In an instant, the sword was drawn like a crossbow.

The red-haired man was startled; he hadn't expected the inconspicuous man earlier to also be an Awakened One, and he hastily lunged to the side, trying to avoid being locked on by An Jing Tian's killing intent.

Waves of killing intent made him somewhat uneasy.

The tall, thin man also reacted instantly, stepping forward in front of Jing Tian with a low shout.

"Beast Arm!"

Only to see his arms suddenly bulge, muscles swelling, and white bone-like claws extend from his fists.

"Awakened One?"

"No wonder he could bring a bunch of trash here."

The tall, thin man snorted coldly; after activating his skill, he wasn't afraid of the fellow Awakened One An Jing Tian.

"Do you think Awakened Ones are that impressive?"

I tell you! We here have thirty-plus Awakened Ones! Just a mere 0Fourth Rank, no wonder I didn't notice you are an Awakened One.

Full of contempt, among the Awakened Ones there are also strong and weak.

His rank, after previously teaming up with other Awakened Ones to slay some mutants, he had risen to First Level, naturally not taking An Jing Tian seriously.

However, the tall thin man overthought; after An Jing Tian switched to the Shen Yuan profession, he inherently possesses a concealed aura.

Not to mention he had just reached First Level; even a Second Level might not be able to sense An Jing Tian's aura.

As for Zhang Tie, as a shapeshifting-type Awakened One, as long as Zhang Tie does not activate his transformation, unless someone's mental power overwhelms his, they cannot sense the beastification power concealed within his body.

The fire-type Awakened One, after breaking free from An Jing Tian's lock, also came to his senses, feeling a surge of anger.

As a magic-type profession, he had always been outputting from the rear; where has he ever faced the threat of death?

「Whoosh! 」

「Blazing flames surge! 」

He directly activated the skill; in his hand, bright yellow flames rose half a meter high, scorching at over a thousand degrees.

A series of mishaps caused the ordinary people in the team to panic into a mess; hearing the commotion behind him, Zhang Tie's anger surged uncontrollably, and he looked at the red-haired man with a violent gaze.

Provoked by An Jing Tian's killing intent, the red-haired man couldn't help but lash out in curses to cover up his earlier embarrassment.

「You're not convinced, right? 」

He made a motion to shoot the flames into the crowd, startling a group of the old, weak, sick, and disabled into panic.

「Damn it, keep looking and Laozi will burn you all to death, you bunch of trash! 」

「Break your grandma's leg! 」

「Bear transformation! 」

Zhang Tie let out an angry roar; he had already made up his mind to simply kill this guy before talking!

This bunch of lawless scoundrels, damn it, not killing a few really won't do!

Palm wind howling, Zhang Tie's physique instantly expanded into a black bear, and he swept a violent palm at him!