Chapter 838: Return to Reality

Preparing to withdraw from the trial.

Lin An played with interest in the silver metal plate in his hand.

The space transfer command, put simply, is basically a transfer scroll.

Among the many rewards for taking first place globally, this item is one of the most special given by the system.

It allows up to ten people to carry ten tons of material and transfer across war zones to known marked locations.

A strategic-level item, useful for both attack and escape.

The downside is that after use, one must wait about twenty seconds to open the transfer channel.

Compared to Mo Ling's ability, aside from being a bit more flexible, there is still a gap.

Putting away the silver plate, just as he was about to leave, a clear voice suddenly came from not far behind him.

"Lin An.."

Turning his head, he saw Fiona, who had been staying with his teammates, suddenly break into a light jog and run up to him.

The two exchanged a glance.

Lin An looked at Fiona with a slight doubt.

To speak frankly, his impression of Fiona was not bad, but only that.

They belonged to different war zones; in this apocalypse, from today onward, they basically would have no further interaction.

The real world is simply too vast.

"What's up?"

Asking softly, Lin An saw that Fiona was somewhat hesitant.

Is it about the Latin America War Zone being threatened? Wanting to ask for my help?

While guessing, he suddenly heard the girl, as if gathering courage, look at him:

"Lin An..."

"Can I see your true appearance?"

"Huh? Look at myself for what?"

He blinked slightly.

Lin An never expected that Fiona would say this just before leaving.

After a pause, Lin An chuckled slightly, nodded, and casually took off his mask.

Facing her unblinking gaze, as if she wanted to imprint his appearance in her mind, he couldn't help but feel moved.

Since obtaining the Death God Mask, he had grown accustomed to always wearing it.

Even he himself seemed not to have seen his own face for a long time.

At the same time, many others who were paying attention to Lin An couldn't help but sneak glances his way.

Lin An had always worn the mask, making him profoundly mysterious in their minds.

Many guessed that the face beneath the mask must be extraordinarily ferocious, even terrifying.

Only then would it match the image of Lin An in their minds as a brutal, murderous bandit.

But after they cautiously looked, they only felt they could hardly believe their own eyes.

They had never imagined that Lin An beneath the mask would look somewhat handsome and gentle.

"Captain Lin, it seems you've gotten even more handsome..."

In the squad channel, Zhang Tie spoke in a muffled, gruff voice, tugging at his thick-as-a-wall face, and silently sighed.

He had noticed that after Lin An removed his mask, many female Awakened Ones from various war zones had their eyes light up, as if even their hostility had diminished somewhat.

This situation was naturally also seen by many Awakened Ones.

With almost the same thought, everyone couldn't help but silently curse.

"Damn it, even in this damn apocalypse, still looking at faces!?"

"Fists are the real truth.."

But just as that thought arose, those holding that idea again "despairingly" discovered that Lin An's fists were also big enough..

After a moment, amidst the continuously sounding countdown, Fiona withdrew her gaze, inexplicably nodded, and then suddenly reached out her hand, as if meeting for the first time:

"Hello.. Lin An."

"I am... Fiona."

Her smile was bright, but under Lin An's keen observation, her eyes held a hint of sorrow.

Not quite understanding what the girl intended, Lin An, after putting on his mask, also reached out to shake her hand.

"What's this, what's wrong?"

Puzzled, he always felt Fiona had become somewhat strange.

Standing before him, Fiona slightly shook her head, her face showing a wry smile and sorrow.

"Nothing."

"Just, have you heard a saying?"

Her voice was clear, her eyes flickering.

"What saying?"

Lin An questioned doubtfully, and after a moment, he heard Fiona speak seriously:

"In this world, sometimes, we have actually already seen the last face we will ever see in this life."

"I just want... if this is the last time, I must at least see clearly..."

The countdown reached zero.

Before Lin An could say anything else, the trial space instantly closed.

All the trial-takers felt that the space before them suddenly shattered like a lens, as if waking from a dream.

In their daze, they were transmitted back to the real world.

Outside Long'an Base.

In the afternoon, on the towering alloy walls, large numbers of gun-wielding soldiers patrolled back and forth.

In the sky, several crude-looking transports, clearly unlike conventional technology, hovered slowly, surveying the surroundings.

Convoys in twos and threes, fully loaded with supplies, entered and exited the muddy road outside the city.

The cries of vendors selling supplies mixed with sporadic gunfire.

Inside the newly constructed spiritual-energy defense tower that covered the outermost perimeter, two Awakened Ones on duty chatted excitedly.

They were discussing the global announcement made not long ago.

For a member of Long An, the previous announcement truly shocked and excited them.

They knew Lin An was strong, but they didn't expect him to be this strong.

That's number one worldwide! Just thinking that among the tens of billions of survivors worldwide, their 'boss' is number one fills them with an indescribable sense of pride.

The stronger Lin An is, the safer Long An becomes.

Not to mention the war-zone rewards distributed by the system.

Moreover.

Within a few seconds after the announcement ended, every base member who had ever exposed their channel information almost simultaneously received tens of thousands of private-message requests.

Some requested aid, some sought intelligence, but many more simply hoped to join Long An.

Even though their locations were far beyond several war zones, and not a few of them were high-ranking Awakened Ones occupying a region.

"Stop chatting! Stop chatting!"

"Mutants are approaching! Prepare to eliminate them!"

Suddenly, the indicator light for spiritual-energy detection flashed on, and the Frontline's high-altitude reconnaissance equipment also transmitted back images.

All that could be seen was, in the dim yellow afternoon sun, three black dots racing swiftly toward the base's outer city.

The image zoomed in.

Leading the charge was, to their surprise, a relatively small-sized Licker.

The other two black shadows were zombies sprinting at full speed.

However, as the image continued to be magnified, the Awakened One responsible for shooting wore a strange expression, his mouth slightly open.

In the center, atop the Licker moving on all fours with extreme speed, perched a tiny figure.

"Smack!"

Perched on the Licker's head, gripping a rough "rein" in hand.

Mo Ling waved her small hand and slapped the Licker's forehead.

"Crawl faster!"

Her small face bore a cold expression, like an iceberg.

But upon closer look, one could see a hint of resentment and indignation in her eyes.

In the distance, the core of Long'an Base.

A pillar of light shot up into the sky and slowly faded, announcing his return.