Virus, Potion

At the entrance to the residential complex, Lin An opened his phone and carefully searched the map.

"Ding, you have a new text message."

The familiar number belonged to his comrade, An JingTian.

"Brother Lin, I heard you need money recently. I still have quite a bit of my discharge payment left. Send me your card number."

"Come see me when you have time. My little sister keeps asking to play with you."

Lin An looked at the messages, warmth flowing through his heart.

They were not merely comrades. He and An JingTian had been childhood friends, brothers, even before enlisting.

They had grown up together. Even the money for Lin An's schooling had been scraped together by An JingTian's parents.

Before Lin An could reply, another message arrived.

"The weather's been changing a lot lately, so take care of yourself. Don't get sick and feverish like me."

"My eyesight isn't as good as before either. I need glasses just to see things now. Don't laugh at me when we meet."

"Clatter."

Lin An had just been about to reply when his body stiffened.

His phone fell to the ground.

He stood frozen in place as a chill crawled up his spine.

An JingTian had been a Scout in the military, with exceptional physical fitness and eyesight.

Yet now, his eyesight had suddenly deteriorated sharply, and he had a fever.

These were clearly the early symptoms of Zombie Virus infection!

In his memories,

the first wave of Zombie Virus had long been lying dormant within part of the population.

Its symptoms were fever, declining eyesight, and cold limbs.

The memories and clues connected.

Lin An's eyes gradually reddened.

When the apocalypse had erupted in his Previous Life, he and An JingTian had agreed to meet outside the city.

Yet on that day, An JingTian had never appeared, and there had been no news from him.

Lin An had thought An JingTian had merely been delayed by something.

What he had never expected was

that An JingTian had died in the virus outbreak, which was why he had lost contact with him.

His best brother had died to the virus, become a Zombie, and suffered forever!

It was like Fierce Fire burning through his heart!

Lin An's eyes were bloodshot.

Now that he knew why An JingTian had died, he would never allow the same tragedy to happen again.

He rapidly searched through his memories.

There had to be a way!

After a long while, Lin An slowly raised his bloodshot eyes.

Replace the blood.

That was the only way he could think of to delay Zombification.

During the early stages, the Zombie Virus gathered around the heart and condensed into a core.

Only by infusing an Awakener's blood before complete Zombification could the process be delayed.

An JingTian's physical condition was far superior to that of an ordinary person.

Generally speaking, the better one's physical condition, the longer one could resist Zombification.

Two hours!

Lin An quickly recalled the details of those infected in his Previous Life.

At most, An JingTian could hold on for two hours after the apocalypse erupted!

Then...

He would prepare supplies, obtain equipment, and rush to An JingTian's side within three days!

Having made his decision, Lin An quickly formulated an action plan in his mind.

He stood like a silent statue.

Five minutes later, Lin An strode into the distance with firm steps.

Three days would be enough!

Hongyun Credit Company.

Inside the spacious finance office, three people sat facing one another.

"Mr. Lin, you must repay this 1.7 million within three days."

"The interest rate is seven percent."

"If you can't repay it by then, we'll seize your house. I hope you won't default."

Lin An nodded calmly. In three days, money would be nothing but worthless paper.

Half a year later, there would be banknotes all over the streets, and they would be too hard even to use as toilet paper.

In the apocalypse, only food and strength had value.

Along the way, he had borrowed from every online lender he could.

He had also mortgaged his house and car to a bridge-loan company as quickly as possible, regardless of the cost.

In total, he had 3.4 million in cash, including the bride price he had recovered.

It was not much money, but it was enough to purchase a large amount of survival supplies.

The apocalypse had not yet erupted, so money was still the best tool for opening doors.

After nodding goodbye, Lin An headed straight for the pharmaceutical company where he worked.

After he left, the two lenders behind him wore strange expressions and could not help whispering to each other.

"Director Zhang, I checked this kid's information."

"He even dared to mortgage his wedding house at seven percent interest. He hasn't repaid a cent either. He's really ruthless."

"Who cares? He probably lost his mind gambling online..."

"If he doesn't pay in three days, we'll take his house."

Pharmaceutical company.

Lin An skillfully entered through the main doors and casually tossed out the employee badge for the security escort work he was responsible for.

Before the old guard at the entrance could see who he was, he only saw an ID badge slowly falling to the ground.

"Name: Lin An"

"Gender: Male"

"Age: 24"

"Position: Special Drug Transport Personnel"

"Ding!"

The elevator opened.

Lin An went directly to the third floor, swiped his card, and entered the laboratory.

It was a holiday, and also lunchtime.

Of the laboratory's original dozen or so staff, only one intern remained on duty.

"Brother Lin?"

The intern, who was one year younger than him, looked at Lin An in surprise. His eyes were bleary with sleep, and his hair looked like a bird's nest.

"Click."

Lin An locked the laboratory door behind him, making sure the intern could not run out.

Without wasting words, he got straight to the point.

"Where are the Giant Lizard Extract and Snake Venom Purified Extract?"

"Brother Lin, there's no transport assignment today. What are you doing?"

The intern looked bewildered and uneasy.

The items Lin An had named were all drugs that required reporting, and every vial was extremely expensive.

"There are things you shouldn't know!"

Lin An's voice was cold, like a warning.

The intern seemed to realize something.

The chill and impatience in Lin An's eyes made him somewhat afraid.

After struggling for a moment,

"Brother Lin... I really can't."

Lin An glanced at the clock on the wall. He had no time to waste.

As a crucial part of his plan, he had to obtain these two Potions.

"Rustle."

Lin An directly shook bundles of cash from his backpack.

"There's 700,000 here. Consider it my payment."

"It's only missing the registration procedures. The company won't do anything to you."

The intern stared blankly at the cash scattered across the floor, at a loss.

Seven hundred thousand...

That was roughly the price the company charged outsiders.

Lin An did not intend to keep wasting time. He rushed straight into the laboratory.

Time was tight. There was nothing to hesitate over.

He could have taken these drugs without spending a single cent.

But in three days, money would be nothing but wastepaper, and besides, the two of them knew each other.

If money could solve the problem, he had no need to kill someone for drugs.

Behind him, the intern came back to his senses and slightly opened his mouth, wanting to persuade him.

But then he remembered Lin An's icy gaze and the cash all over the floor.

He could not help comforting himself.

Forget it... Brother Lin paid for them too, so it's not that much of a violation.

Yet in his memory, Lin An had originally been gentle and mild-tempered, never arguing with others. Now, he seemed like an entirely different person.

Lin An roughly opened every refrigerated cabinet.

After rummaging through them for a while,

he raised two test tubes toward the hanging light and stared at the two entirely blue Potions.

The Deep Blue liquid looked strangely mesmerizing beneath the light.

It was intoxicating.

Giant Lizard Extract: blood essence extracted from North American giant lizards, greatly increasing strength for a short period.

Snake Venom Purified Extract: forcibly increased explosive power and endurance by stimulating the heart and lungs.

As special Potions, these two were extremely effective, but their side effects were also enormous.

However, Lin An did not care.

As long as he awakened his talent, his body would return to its perfect state after awakening.

Severed limbs would regenerate, and illnesses would disappear.

Every Awakener would become a perfect warrior.

Not only that, their physical condition would also improve.

Filled with longing for the power of his Previous Life, Lin An casually packed away the remaining Potions in the laboratory.

Good things should not be wasted.

The empty space left by half the missing cash in his backpack was filled with thirty Potions.

These Potions would cease production after the apocalypse. Every one used meant one less remaining.

Acceleration, Strength Burst, fearlessness of pain, enhanced focus.

In the early stages of the apocalypse, a single Potion could even turn the tide of an entire battle.

With these Potions, he was even more confident in his plan.

Lin An walked out of the laboratory in satisfaction. Behind him, the intern hurriedly gathered the money with his head lowered in fear.

"Keep it secret for three days. After that, tell whoever you want."

After tossing out those words, he entered the elevator and turned around to face the intern.

Their gazes met from afar.

The coldness in Lin An's eyes made the intern involuntarily shrink his neck.

What a terrifying look.

The elevator descended.

Lin An carefully calculated what supplies he needed to buy, his thoughts racing.

Food. He needed high-calorie canned goods.

He definitely had to stock up on portable chocolate and energy bars.

With an Awakener's immense strength, the energy they consumed also far exceeded that of ordinary people.

Water. Buying a batch of bottled water would be enough, though he could mix some glucose into it.

Weapons like bows and crossbows were unnecessary.

After awakening his talent, he had no need for such garbage long-range attack methods.

As for firearms.

They were difficult to obtain and took too much time.

Forget it.

He could get a few more Combat Suits.

High-intensity battles could easily ruin clothes.

As for riot shields and bulletproof vests.

Lin An shook his head slightly.

With physical abilities multiplied several times over, bulletproof vests were useless and would only hinder mobility.

As for weapons.

Cold weapons were a good choice.

He could get several alloy weapons to ensure he would not end up fighting barehanded because a blade chipped or curled.

After the apocalypse broke out, suppressed by the rules.

The power of all firearms and artillery would be greatly weakened.

And with the exaggerated strength granted to Awakened ones, cold weapons were perfectly suited for fighting enemies.

"Ding, first floor."

Lin An strode out of the elevator, quickly scrolling through the map on his phone.

His eyes burned with excitement.

"If I remember correctly, there's a crucial piece of equipment here that can help with awakening!"