Kill the Licker

Sixth floor of a villa.

The wealthy businessman, who was already on the verge of giving up, heard the sound of a door being kicked in.

Looking up, he saw the person who had left!

His face lit up with joy.

Indeed, no one could resist the temptation of such a huge sum of money!

The businessman, now reinvigorated, used the last bit of his strength to scream.

"I'm still here!"

"Save me quickly!"

"Ten million! Cars, women, whatever you want, I'll give it to you!"

Lin An ignored him, smashed the fire glass with one punch, and took out an axe.

The red fire axe was half as tall as a person and made a whistling sound when swung.

"Ding, acquired fire axe (normal)"

"Fire axe: A weapon of average quality, very prone to dulling."

Lin An paid no attention to the notification.

Since the start of the apocalypse game, any item obtained would trigger a notification.

But whether it was firearms or cannons, they only had brief descriptions and no attribute bonuses.

Only equipment unique to the apocalypse game came with attributes and special abilities.

The businessman under the anti-theft window watched Lin An with his back to him, seemingly waiting for something.

His face turned pale, and he cursed inwardly.

If he hadn't thought to use his belt to lessen the burden on his hands, he would have fallen long ago.

"Thirty million! Don't be too greedy. If I die, you get nothing!"

Inside the window, the female zombie's face was already deformed from squeezing.

Her once delicate and petite face was now elongated.

They were only a fist's distance apart.

"One billion! I'll give you one billion! Save me, damn it!"

The businessman cried bitterly.

As the female zombie struggled violently, half of her body had forcibly squeezed onto his hand.

The slimy feel of her decomposing skin drove him to the brink of madness.

In front of the security booth.

Lin An held the axe in one hand and drank a stimulant from his space ring.

"Clatter!"

The test tube fell and shattered.

"Ding, Strength +1, Constitution +1, Agility +1"

"Ding, explosive power increased by 50%, stamina and resistance increased by 30%, attack speed increased by 20%"

The effect was excellent.

Lin An's heart rate spiked instantly as the small molecular structure of the potion broke through the blood-brain barrier.

His heart pounded like a war drum.

His muscles tightened, and the axe felt lighter.

This potion was indeed highly sought after in the previous life.

As one of the few non-apocalypse items that provided attribute bonuses, it was rare in the apocalypse.

In his previous life, Lin An had survived with his family largely thanks to these potions.

If he hadn't accidentally carried a few bottles while fleeing, he would have died at the city's gates, let alone protected three others.

Feeling the immense power coursing through his body, Lin An was filled with fighting spirit.

"Boom!"

The vehicles parked haphazardly at the gate flew into the air, revealing a massive figure.

The Licker appeared!

The previously screaming and cursing businessman fell silent as if strangled.

Now's the chance!

Without hesitation.

Lin An took a deep breath, bent his legs, and the ground cracked instantly.

His body rotated rapidly!

With both hands gripping the axe, he leapt four or five meters into the air, the axe blade glinting red in the sunset.

"Activate explosive power!"

His awakened ability triggered.

"Strength +2, Agility +2, Constitution +2, Will +2!"

A golden light enveloped Lin An, and his original strength of 12 surged to 14.

Explosive power filled his body.

Die!

He swung the axe down with all his might!

The sharp blade, enhanced by immense power, slashed at the Licker's head.

Blood and flesh splattered, and a half-human-sized chunk of meat was cleaved off, exposing dark purple muscle tissue.

"Roar!"

The Licker roared in pain.

Its massive body was knocked askew by the axe, a portion of its skull sheared off.

Lin An's full-power strike, with strength far surpassing a zero-level awakened, nearly killed the Licker on the spot!

"Bang!"

A giant claw came down, crushing a car.

The Licker barely propped itself up with its giant claw, smashing the car beside it.

What a pity...

I couldn't kill it in one blow.

Unperturbed by useless emotions.

Lin An quickly flipped away, dodging the Licker's enraged swipe.

He carefully circled the Licker, looking for another opportunity.

Lickers, the nightmare of all safe zones, had been studied extensively.

Through countless painful lessons, people discovered that although Lickers were incredibly fast, they were clumsy when changing direction.

Their giant claws gave them terrifying destructive power but also hindered their agility.

Knowing this, Lin An kept changing positions, staying in the Licker's blind spots.

This monster couldn't be fought alone.

Even an awakened person needed to be at least level one to barely contend with it.

...

The businessman hanging outside the window stared in shock at the scene, his face full of disbelief.

The terrifying skinned monster's appearance alone was enough to break the sanity of those with weak minds.

The Licker, now enraged, slashed its sharp claws wildly.

The metal car bodies were like paper in front of these claws.

Terrifying indeed.

But more shocking than the Licker was Lin An's ability to fight such a monster.

At this moment, Lin An, previously just a skilled fighter in the businessman's mind, was now on par with the monster.

Was this really the power a human could possess?

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Vehicles were tossed around like missiles.

Lin An agilely dodged the car thrown by the Licker, then suddenly changed direction.

It had been attacking continuously for over a minute.

The area in front of the community gate was cleared, all the cars used as projectiles.

But after Lin An took the potion, his agility soared to 14, making all its attacks futile.

No matter how high the damage, it's useless if it doesn't hit the target.

This only made it more furious.

"Roar!"

The Licker roared, bending over in anger.

The injury to half its skull began to show.

Forced to bend down, the regenerating flesh exposed its brain tissue to Lin An.

Now's the chance!

Lin An took a deep breath, no longer conserving his strength.

He stepped forward, narrowly avoiding the Licker's furious strike.

"Explosive Power!"

His strength surged again, muscles exploding like dynamite.

A reverse swing!

Lin An's speed reached its peak, and he took a few steps up the Licker's massive body, leaping high.

His waist muscles tensed, channeling a violent force from his waist to his muscles, and he swung the fire axe in a wide arc.

Take this!

The axe came down with the force of a mountain, the blade whistling through the air as it precisely struck the brain unprotected by the skull.

The axe handle broke, the immense force snapping the connection.

After embedding the axe, Lin An twisted it like stirring an egg.

With a fierce expression, he gripped the axe handle with both hands, thrusting it deep into the Licker's brain and quickly stirring.

"Ding, killed first-order mutant zombie: Licker."

"Received 1 point of energy."

"Bang!"

As the Licker's massive body fell slowly, a white light flew from the corpse and entered Lin An's body.

"Energy detected, opening experience panel."

"Current Awakener level: 0 (1/2)."

"Current player level: 0 (1/2)."

"Next level requires kills: 1."

Confirming the Licker was dead, Lin An bent over slightly, panting.

Killing the Licker was quite a struggle.

In the apocalypse game, only by killing mutant zombies or beasts could one gain experience.

Ordinary zombies were useless, providing no experience.

So whether player or awakener, leveling up meant killing mutants.

But mutant zombies were powerful, not something a zero-level awakener could handle.

Thus, many awakeners in the previous life remained stuck at level 0 until death.

If it weren't for the potions and his powerful innate abilities, facing such a monster head-on would be suicidal.

No time to rest.

Before leaving, Lin An glanced behind him.

The businessman who had been hanging outside the window had fallen to the ground.

A pool of blood spread beneath him.

It was unclear if he was bitten by the female zombie or let go himself.

On the iron bars, the female zombie's head was deformed but continued to mechanically open and close her mouth.

He didn't plan to delve into the details.

After confirming no survivors near the gate, Lin An extended his right hand.

A flash of white light, and the Licker's massive corpse was stored in his space ring.

As a mutant zombie, the Licker's body was valuable.

But time was tight, it would have to be dealt with later.

...

In the residential building of the He Yuan community.

A young girl curled up in a corner, hugging her knees, her face streaked with tears.

"Brother... Lin will be here soon."

An Xia clutched her phone tightly, speaking timidly to the young man tied to a chair.

The last message on her phone was from Lin An.

"Roar!"

The man tied to the chair growled lowly.

The chair shook violently as he tried to break free.

The chains rattled, ear-piercing.

"Brother... I'm so scared."

An Xia hung her head low.

She couldn't bear to look at An Jingtian's face, now resembling a flesh-covered skull.

After their parents' death, her only support had turned into this, and she felt utterly helpless.

This made her desperate, her body trembling like a helpless little beast.

The clock on the wall ticked.

She glanced frequently at the locked door, eyes full of hope.

But outside, there was only the sound of zombies scratching at the iron door.

The anticipated footsteps never came.

"Brother, you must hold on."

"Brother Lin An will find a way to save you."

A glimmer of rationality flickered in An Jingtian's bloodthirsty eyes.

"Lin... An!"

Rationality vanished in an instant.

The voice was hoarse, but An Jingtian's pronunciation was clear.

An Xia looked up suddenly, eyes full of surprise at An Jingtian.

This was the first time since the apocalypse began that he had spoken a complete word.

"Bang! Bang!"

The zombies outside, smelling a companion, began to crazily bang on the door.

The iron door shook violently, deforming.

They were responding.

After losing rationality again, An Jingtian struggled violently.

The chains clattered, and white bones were exposed where his wrists were bound.

The handcuffs that had been tight were now slipping off.