Make the Tiger Devour the Wolf

[Current Mechanical Heart Level LV.1 285/500]

[Hint: Upgrading the Mechanical Heart can grant Special Skills rewards. When the Mechanical Heart reaches LV3, LV6, and LV9, Mysterious Awakening can be obtained.]

[Basic Attributes]

[Strength: LV1 33/50]

[Speed: LV1 9/50]

[Defense: LV0 20/30]

[Current Basic Skills]

[Mechanical Devour LV.2 2/500]

[Mechanical Manufacturing LV.1 112/300]

[Mechanical Scan (Passive)]

[Mechanical Repair (Passive)]

[Mechanical Operation (Passive)]

[Special Skills]

[Wind Cannon LV.1 12/100]

Looking at the screen before him, Lin Xian felt the Mechanical Heart inside him let out a frenzied roar for an instant. A shiver ran through his entire body. Excited, he immediately set his sights on the last freezer.

[Devour Progress 2%]

The progress bar on the screen visibly began to speed up!

"Just as I thought!!!"

Improved efficiency was absolutely a great thing for him. It could save him plenty of time at critical moments and greatly reduce the risks involved in devouring.

Beep~

Lin Xian started timing with his watch, then focused wholeheartedly on devouring it.

[Devour Progress 10%]

[Devour Progress 20%]

[Devour Progress 50%]

[Devour Progress 80%]

[Devour Progress 99%]

"So fast!" Lin Xian looked at the time on his watch. The previous three freezers had taken him roughly an hour and forty minutes each on average, but this one had taken less than an hour—just fifty-five minutes—and it was nearly done.

The efficiency had nearly doubled!!!

Before Lin Xian could suppress the excitement in his heart, a golden flash suddenly appeared before his eyes!

[Devour successful. Mechanical Origin Points +25. Mechanical Devour skill proficiency +6. Additional reward: You have obtained the Ice Shield skill!]

"A freezer... Ice Shield??"

Lin Xian froze. Sure enough, the skills he acquired were actually related to the machinery or appliances he devoured.

Looking at the screen—

[Ice Shield LV1 0/100]

—Lin Xian's gaze became hesitant. He tried willing it into action, raising a hand and giving it a wave!

Crack crack crack!

Almost instantly, a small semicircular azure ice shield rose from the ground and protected him. It was just tall enough to cover Lin Xian's shoulders.

"Holy shit!"

Lin Xian shone his flashlight on the ice shield he had created out of thin air, utterly dumbfounded.

The ice shield before him was not particularly thick, only about the width of a palm.

Clang!

He tried slashing it with his short knife, producing a dull sound like chipping ice.

It was like an old block of ice that had been frozen in a refrigerator for years. It was harder than he had imagined.

At the same time, Lin Xian felt a huge chunk of his energy being drained away. It immediately seemed somewhat not worth the cost.

"This skill consumes a lot of energy. Its defense probably can't stop bullets either. It can only be used in emergencies. The cost-effectiveness is kind of..."

"Wait."

Lin Xian stared at the ice shield before him, his brows slowly rising.

After a moment of silence, he suddenly stepped forward, stuck out his tongue, and licked the ice.

Colorless, tasteless, icy cold...

Then his pupils contracted, and an incomparable shock appeared in his eyes.

"Damn, it can freeze water out of thin air!!"

"With this move... won't I never have to worry about drinking water again???"

Lin Xian suddenly felt his thinking broaden enormously...

Clean water—what an incredibly precious resource it was in the apocalypse. He could create a huge lump of it out of thin air. Though it consumed quite a bit of energy, if he looked at it that way, this was an absolute steal!!

The excitement in Lin Xian's eyes was impossible to hide. He viciously chipped off a piece of the ice shield with his knife and put it into his mouth. A burst of coolness instantly spread through his mouth.

Although the weather outside was getting colder, the freezer storage room was so stuffy it made his head spin. That mouthful of ice immediately cleared his mind considerably.

He checked the time, then turned and walked to the freezer room door.

With the Mechanical Heart activated, he opened the lock core and hinges again. However, he only pulled the freezer door open a little before the chains outside stopped it.

"Those old bastards!"

Lin Xian cursed under his breath. He knew those people had definitely tampered with the outside because they were afraid he would escape.

But opening the door now was not for the purpose of escaping.

Tap~

He turned on his flashlight again. After confirming the direction of another freezer room in the distance through the gap in the door, he switched it off. Then he slowly extended a finger through the gap, gathered his strength while relying on his keen night vision, and—

Pfft!

A Wind Gun shot out.

The nearly silent Wind Gun struck the stainless steel door of the opposite freezer room, yet it produced a thunderous boom!

Boommmm!

The enormous sound instantly echoed through the entire warehouse, rippling through the darkness.

The family hiding in that freezer room was startled out of their wits by the commotion.

"Who's there?!"

Caught off guard, the brothers hurriedly grabbed their guns. Yet beyond the door was nothing but pitch-black darkness. They could not see a thing.

"Is it a monster?!" The chubby boy hid behind Gong Li, his little face pale with fright.

"Don't be scared, don't be scared..."

"Shh! Don't make a sound." The old woman's face was filled with panic. "Zhaojian, A Jie, don't you dare fire your guns. If you attract something, we'll be in trouble."

The two brothers nodded and nervously swallowed in the darkness. For safety's sake, the old woman turned off the electronic lamp they had been using for illumination while eating. The entire freezer room was plunged into complete darkness.

Unease began to spread through their hearts.

On the other side, Lin Xian hid behind the door with a cold expression.

"You like catching turtles in a jar, huh? Today, I'll teach you what a jar is, and what a turtle is."

Pfft!

Another quiet Wind Gun blasted out, followed by another massive boom.

Boommmm!

This time, the Huang family was terrified once again. They could no longer sit still.

"There's something outside! There's something outside!!!"

Huang Jie held his rifle, trembling uncontrollably from fear.

"Fuck, what the hell is it?"

Following those two tremendous noises, Zombie howls soon rose one after another from outside Warehouse 14. They came from far away and rapidly drew closer, changing from scattered cries into the collective howl of a Corpse Tide. Worse still, an even stranger rustling sound seemed to be tearing at something, causing the parked train cars outside to screech against the rails as it rapidly approached.

The moment Lin Xian heard that sound, he thought of the White Giant Monster. His heart immediately rose to his throat.

But he was already riding a tiger and could not get off. Through the faint light, he could see dense black shadows crazily flooding into the warehouse through the main entrance. For a moment, spine-chilling howls and roars filled the entire warehouse.

Pfft!

At that moment, Lin Xian decisively fired a third Wind Gun—the deadliest summons of death. He needed to draw the Corpse Tide's attention completely toward them, or he would have trouble on his own side as well.

The Huang family had clearly heard the dense Corpse Tide pouring in. All five of them had shrunk into a corner deep inside the freezer room. Huang Zhaojian and Huang Jie held their guns with terrified faces, staring fixedly into the darkness ahead.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. That door is solid as hell. Not even a crowbar can pry it open. Those monsters can't get in!"

Big Brother Huang Zhaojian comforted everyone while swallowing nervously.

Boommmm!

At that moment, the third blast struck the door.

The sound was like a thunderbolt. The family was like they were sitting inside an iron barrel, and the shock nearly scared their souls out of their bodies.

"Waaaaahhh!!!"

The chubby boy could no longer control his terror and screamed. The old woman immediately covered his mouth. "Don't scream!!!"

"What do we do?!"

"It's okay, they can't get in..."

"Damn it all! We should've gotten on that train and run during the day!"

"What good is saying that now?!"

Urgh! Urgh!

Countless Zombies were completely enraged by the sound. They frantically clawed and rammed against the door outside the family's freezer room, making the steel pipes and crowbars braced behind it creak and groan.

Everyone trembled in fear, but then an even more terrifying sound appeared.

It was the chewing sound of some beast-like creature. It seemed to be tearing apart Zombies while also biting at the steel door.

Crunch~ crunch~ crunch~ crunch~

The sound was heavy and powerful, carrying immense force. Even the steel gave off crisp cracking noises.

Finally, clang~ clang~

The door let out mournful groans as it was slowly forced open.

Hearing the fatal sound, the Huang family inside could no longer endure it. The women and child began to cry and scream.

"Ah!! Mom!"

"It's over, what do we do?!"

"Wuuuuu..."

At that moment, howls entered the freezer room, getting closer and closer!

Something had gotten inside!

Huang Zhaojian and Huang Jie were shaking like sieves, their faces deathly pale. They could no longer hold back. Raising their guns at the darkness before them, they fired in a last-ditch attempt to resist.

Rat-a-tat-tat!

The pistols and semiautomatic rifle erupted with muzzle flashes. In an instant, the firelight illuminated the entire freezer room.

At that moment, everyone saw in terror that among the countless ferocious Zombies lunging at them was a gigantic red Strange Bug. It opened its enormous mandibles and let out a piercing cry. The Red Bug was immensely huge, resembling some kind of giant centipede. It was at least as thick as an adult human and more than ten meters long. Scarlet scales covered its entire body, while hundreds of legs writhed densely beneath it. At a single glance, the entire family felt a chill shoot from the soles of their feet to the tops of their heads.

"Ah!!"

Miserable screams echoed through Warehouse 14.

Yet after only a few breaths, the gunfire and screams abruptly stopped.

The warehouse was once again left with only Zombie howls and the sound of some insect chewing.

On the other side, Lin Xian had quietly shut the freezer room door on his side completely. Through the small viewing window, he had also seen the huge insect's shadow. He did not even dare breathe loudly.

He had thought the White Giant Monster would appear. He had not expected something even more terrifying to show up...

He could not help cursing inwardly.

"Damn it, is this the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons? Why are all kinds of demons and monsters appearing on this planet..."

Compared to that, Lin Xian suddenly felt that even the Zombies looked kind and even somewhat pitiful.

After all, these Zombies had mutated from dead humans.

Lin Xian's heart pounded wildly. His plan to make the tiger devour the wolf had truly been dangerously reckless. With one wrong move, he might not be able to escape that Big Bug even if he hid aboard the Infinite.

"Fuck, the armor needs upgrading! The weapons need upgrading! The engine power needs upgrading!"

Please keep reading the new book!