Zombie Crowd

Zhang Tie was caught off guard and knocked to the ground by the surging zombies.

"Bear Transformation!"

With an angry roar, black fur covered his entire body.

In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a massive black bear.

"Roar!"

He swung out a paw, unleashing a fierce gust of wind.

Several zombies that had just risen from the ground had their heads smashed apart instantly, brains and blood splattering across the floor.

Lin An's gaze turned cold as the Nepal Curved Blade in his hand flashed rapidly.

"Arc Slash!"

The blade traced a beautiful arc, shearing off a swath of heads under the force of his immense strength.

"Charge in!"

Lin An shouted through Team Voice Chat.

The zombies pouring from the elevator shaft seemed endless.

It looked like the elevator doors of the Emergency Center had been destroyed when the Doomsday erupted.

As a result, the zombies near the elevator had fallen into the shaft, completely clogging it.

If the two of them stayed here, they would never be able to kill them all.

If they delayed any longer and drew zombies from other areas, they could forget about getting upstairs.

Besides, if either of them made a mistake and got scratched or infected by a zombie—

Lin An would be fine. His poison resistance allowed him to resist some of it.

But Zhang Tie definitely could not withstand it.

"You clear the way first!"

Lin An took a step back and bent down to gather strength.

"Understood!"

A ferocious expression appeared on Zhang Tie's massive bear head.

He clasped his head tightly with both hands, turned sideways, and began to charge.

"Bear Charge!!"

The ground trembled slightly as the transformed Zhang Tie crashed into the zombie crowd like a heavy truck.

He tore through them like dry weeds.

The bone-crunching sounds made teeth ache. The zombies deepest in the elevator shaft were crushed directly into pulp.

Now!

Lin An took a deep breath and stomped down with his right foot, launching himself into the air.

He slashed out.

Before the zombies falling through the elevator shaft could hit the ground, they were cut cleanly in half at the waist.

"Stepping!"

Exerting force again, he stepped on Zhang Tie's broad shoulder and used it as leverage to propel himself back into the elevator shaft.

Zhang Tie bared his teeth, his face turning slightly pale.

Lin An's kick had not been light. If Zhang Tie's physique had not been high enough, it might have crushed his shoulder blade outright.

Inside the elevator shaft, Lin An repeatedly stepped off the walls and leaped upward.

Holding the blade in both hands, he slashed at high speed.

The blade formed an impenetrable net. Every swing claimed a zombie's life.

Like an industrial meat grinder, it mercilessly harvested flesh and blood.

Standing at the bottom of the shaft, Zhang Tie felt as though it were raining meat above him.

Occasionally, a few zombies fell with only their heads intact, their mouths open as they bit wildly.

He simply crushed them with a casual squeeze.

"Jump up!"

"There are too many zombies at the lobby elevator entrance. Charge in with me!"

"Once Bear Transformation ends, you'll be easily infected!"

"Got it!"

Zhang Tie's expression grew solemn as he bent his legs.

Both of their Talent Skills had time limits. His transformation into a black bear only lasted a few dozen seconds.

If not for the thick fur and reinforced skin after transforming, which blocked many zombie scratches and bites—

No matter how careful he was, he would have been infected long ago in a zombie crowd this dense.

After adjusting his posture slightly, Zhang Tie aimed at the first floor elevator exit above him.

The elevator shaft was too narrow. His body alone occupied most of the space.

He took a deep breath and suddenly exerted force.

The black bear Zhang Tie had transformed into shot up from the bottom of the shaft like a mortar shell.

Meanwhile, Lin An braced his feet against the shaft wall, killing zombies as he waited for Zhang Tie to reach the best position.

After fighting nonstop, the Strength Burst he had activated for the first time was also nearing its end.

Now!

"Strength Burst!"

Mental Strength consumed.

Golden spiritual energy appeared once more, and Lin An felt the strength in his body return to its peak.

"Rebound Kick!"

He twisted sideways and kicked off the inside of the elevator shaft, causing it to shake violently.

Then he turned and kicked out!

His target was Zhang Tie, who had jumped up to the first floor exit.

"Huh!?!?"

"Fuck!"

Zhang Tie had no time to react before Lin An's kick slammed into his ass.

"Bang!"

The massive black bear was kicked out of the elevator like a cannonball by Lin An's full-force strike, crashing into the Emergency Center lobby.

The zombies blocking the entrance were all swept away in one go.

Zhang Tie flew four or five meters, his body crushing swaths of zombies against the smooth lobby floor and leaving a trail of blood.

"Thud!"

After delivering the kick, Lin An fell from the air. He kicked off the elevator shaft wall again and shot out using the rebound.

The zombies at the elevator entrance had been cleared by the "cannonball," leaving nothing to obstruct Lin An as he came out smoothly.

"Go!"

The moment Lin An exited the elevator, he poked his head out and quickly swept his gaze around.

As far as he could see, the entire lobby was packed with zombies. A rough count put them at least three or four thousand strong!

Packed densely together, the zombies clogged the lobby like sardines in a can.

They could not let themselves be surrounded!

Upon hearing Lin An's command, Zhang Tie hurriedly got to his feet.

Flattened zombies clung to his broad bear back.

"Team Leader Lin, my ass hurts!"

Zhang Tie covered his butt, but his thick, stubby paws could only reach his lower back.

"You could've said something before kicking me!"

"I'm not a damn ball!"

He sounded aggrieved.

He had thought Lin An wanted him to jump to the first floor, hold the position there, and then fight their way out together.

He had not expected Lin An to use him as a cannonball to clear the way.

After taking two of Lin An's kicks, he felt like every bone in his body was about to fall apart.

If it had been an Awakener with an ordinary physique, those two kicks could have killed them outright.

Lin An coughed dryly, signaling for him not to dwell on the subject.

The idea of using Zhang Tie as a cannonball had only occurred to him on the spur of the moment.

Unexpectedly, it had worked remarkably well.

"Stop talking about it. I won't kick you next time!"

"Charge into the second floor first!"

The zombies in the lobby had already surrounded them.

The roaring zombie crowd moved incredibly fast.

Thousands of zombies charging at once created an overwhelming sight.

"My Bear Transformation is ending!"

Zhang Tie only had time to shout before his body rapidly shrank back to normal.

The helmet on his head had been stretched out of shape, and his clothes had been ripped to tatters.

"Use the Corpse Snake Spine!"

"Don't fight at close range!"

Lin An took the lead. After throwing out those words, he charged toward the zombie crowd.

Though he was alone, he carried the momentum of an army of thousands.

"Step Forward Slanting Slash!"

With a full-force strike, he cut down the foremost zombies in a single blow.

"Arc Slash!"

The zombie crowd was already close to them. As they clashed at close quarters, Lin An unleashed his full power.

The blade flashed. Empowered by immense strength, the curved blade swept through a whole section like a laser cutter.

"Turn Around Reverse Chop!"

His blade rose and fell, and Lin An's reactions were incredibly fast.

He turned and chopped down the zombies closing in from behind.

Though surrounded by zombies, Lin An stood within the crowd like a god of slaughter. Under his fierce blade techniques, no zombie could come within reach.

"Clang."

The blade gave a crisp crack, chipping several notches into its edge.

After fighting continuously, he had aimed every strike at zombie heads in pursuit of one-hit kills.

The bones strengthened by the Zombie Virus were much harder than those of ordinary humans.

After so many collisions, the blade's ordinary alloy body simply could not endure such intense combat.

"Team Leader Lin!"

"This won't work! There are too many zombies!"

Not far away, Zhang Tie was surrounded by hundreds of zombies.

He wildly swung the Corpse Snake Spine in his hand.

With every strike, the spine cracked through the air like a whip.

The whip's tip was incredibly sharp. A single lash could easily smash apart a zombie's head.

Though he had never used a whip before, he wielded it with brute force and tremendous momentum.

This thing was truly useful.

Zhang Tie became more proficient with it the longer he used it.

Compared to ordinary axes or broadswords, the Corpse Snake Spine was not only incredibly sharp, but also allowed him to avoid close combat.

If he had not had this "whip" in hand, his low Agility would have left him no chance to evade while surrounded by zombies.

"Activate Bear Transformation again!"

Lin An's expression hardened as he decisively told Zhang Tie to transform again.

There was no time to conserve it.

He had originally planned for Zhang Tie to save one transformation for the second floor in case anything unexpected happened.

But there were simply too many zombies in the lobby. Even if Lin An killed one with every slash, he could not keep up with the rate at which more surged forward.

If Zhang Tie did not activate Bear Transformation, he would never be able to break through.

"Team Leader Lin! I can only use Bear Transformation one more time!"

Zhang Tie roared, and his body instantly expanded.

In the span of a second, a massive black bear appeared in the lobby once more.

"Roar!"

The black bear roared.

Its beastly roar mixed with the zombies' shrieks.

The slender Bone Whip looked like a toy in his hand.

Holding the "Bone Whip," Zhang Tie lashed out violently. Every swing shattered a swath of zombies.

With no need to worry about zombies getting close, he cut an imposing figure.

In the blink of an eye, they cleared out a small patch of open ground.

The situation improved instantly.

But Lin An noticed that Zhang Tie's eyes had dimmed. It was a sign that his Mental Strength had been depleted.

Compared to Lin An's Strength Burst, Zhang Tie's Bear Transformation consumed far more Mental Strength.

On top of that, his Willpower Attribute was not particularly high to begin with.

As a result, transforming into a bear twice in one day was already his limit.

If only Wen Ya could join the battle now.

Lin An sighed.

Given the special nature of her being a Mutant,

she alone could fully replenish both Lin An and Zhang Tie's Mental Strength.

Without having to worry about Mental Strength consumption, the two of them could even slowly wear down this entire group of zombies.

But she was not an Awakener yet. She was far too weak to take part in this kind of battle.

Lin An thought of the Stitcher at Wanda Shopping Center. There would only be more zombies there than here, not fewer.

When facing an enormous number of zombies, replenishing Mental Strength would be crucial to the battle.

It seemed that after obtaining the equipment, he needed to resolve Wen Ya's Awakening as soon as possible.

Leaving a Mutant unused was simply too wasteful.

"Get ready to charge together!"

After Zhang Tie activated Bear Transformation, he successfully joined up with Lin An, and the two fought side by side.

After their continuous slaughter, they were now only a dozen meters or so from the second floor.

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

Lin An took a deep breath and shot forward like an arrow leaving the bow.

"Staggered Step Slash!"

The blade light wove into a dense net of death, instantly shredding a large swath of zombies in front of him.

The Black Bear beside him also let out an angry roar and charged into the zombie crowd at all costs, crushing a bloody path through it.