Kill Wen Ya?

"Zhang Tie, if you're awake and fine, come upstairs.

"

Lin An silently watched the bizarre scene before him, his mind connecting to the Team Channel.

A minute ago, Zhang Tie had awakened.

That familiar booming voice had made Lin An's ears ache.

After Blood Woman "embraced" Yu Shihao, her entire body melted like a candle.

Amid miserable screams and wails, the two fused together in the blink of an eye, turning into a Blood Cocoon.

Watching his own body melt away was so agonizing that even Lin An felt a chill run through him.

Their faces had been kneaded together. No more bloody tears with a cold attribute flowed out. The half-man, half-woman face had its eyes tightly shut, radiating an evil aura.

The Eye of Judgment provided the information.

"First Order Mutant: Bloody Witch, currently fusing."

"Danger level: None."

"After completing her revenge, the Bloody Witch will begin her hunt after tonight."

So that was it.

Lin An gave a bitter laugh.

He remembered what he had seen when he entered the hotel on the first day.

It seemed the reason the Bloody Witch had never appeared was probably because he had accidentally saved Yu Shihao, preventing Blood Woman from completing her revenge and transforming into the Bloody Witch.

No wonder he had searched everywhere without finding her.

But the Bloody Witch, now transformed into a Blood Cocoon, was probably the easiest Mutant he had ever seen to kill.

It was practically a free gift.

"Team Leader Lin!"

Zhang Tie's distinctive booming voice rang out from afar. From the sound of it, he was already mostly recovered.

Boom!

The battered door was kicked apart. Zhang Tie charged toward Lin An with delight, built like a bear.

"Stop!"

Lin An barked, stopping Zhang Tie from trying to hug him.

"Team Leader Lin, why'd you call me up here?"

"What is this!?"

Zhang Tie stared at the Blood Cocoon in the corner and involuntarily stumbled back several steps.

Lin An did not care about his reaction. The sight before them was indeed horrifying.

"Kill it while it's still transforming."

Zhang Tie swallowed dryly and instinctively took the Bone Spike Lin An handed him.

"Team Leader Lin, why do you want me to kill it? Why's this thing so damn scary?"

Lin An crossed his arms over his chest and answered casually.

"If I remember correctly, you're still Tier 0, and you only need one more Mutant to reach the next level, right?"

Zhang Tie nodded. He and Lin An had previously "worked together" to kill a Licker.

According to the Doomsday Game's rules, as long as a Player dealt more than 20% of the damage to a Mutant before it died, it counted as participating in the kill.

Therefore, although Zhang Tie had not personally killed the Licker that day, the System still considered him a participant and awarded him experience.

With Lin An asking that, even an idiot would understand what he meant.

"So this thing's a Mutant?"

"That's right, and a very special kind."

"Kill it, and you'll level up."

The stench of blood filled the room. Even Lin An could not help feeling nauseated.

It did not seem like ordinary blood. It was more like the embodiment of some kind of resentment.

He glanced at the Blood Cocoon in the corner. It seemed they could not stay here for long.

Logically speaking, with his physical constitution, ordinary odors should not have affected him at all.

Bloody Witch, resentment...

A thought flashed through his mind, and a strange idea burrowed into his head.

Lin An stood there blankly for a moment before suddenly speaking.

"Most of the Mutants we encountered before were Zombies that had mutated. But a Mutant like this Bloody Witch... she was formed when a human full of resentment became infected with the Zombie Virus."

After saying that, his face turned solemn, and he could not help feeling afraid.

Zhang Tie found it strange, not knowing what Lin An was afraid of.

"This information is crucial. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it either."

Or rather, without the information provided by the Eye of Judgment, he would never have considered this possibility if he could not see the Bloody Witch's details.

"Oh, so it's a Mutant either way. What's so important about that? What're you scared of, Team Leader Lin?"

Zhang Tie scratched his head, failing to understand what Lin An meant.

"What I mean is, Mutants might be artificially manufactured!"

"As long as a human suffers unbearable torment before death and becomes filled with resentment!"

"Then throw them into a Zombie horde. On one hand, make sure their brain survives long enough to be infected with a sufficient amount of Zombie Virus. On the other, clear out the Zombies so they aren't eaten clean."

"If that happens..."

"Perhaps an artificially manufactured Mutant will be born."

Gulp.

A few seconds later, after hearing Lin An's words, Zhang Tie felt a chill spread through his entire body.

No matter how foolish he was, he understood how terrifying the consequences would be if this method worked!

"Team Leader Lin, if someone's malicious enough in the future, wouldn't they be able to mass-produce these monsters?!"

"That's not even the worst of it..."

Lin An sighed softly. It seemed Zhang Tie still did not understand the true implication of this information.

"Why are you still Tier 0?"

"I... can't beat Mutants?"

"What else?"

"Mutants are hard to find, and there are Zombies everywhere."

Lin An nodded and took another Licker spine from his ring, casually stabbing it into the Blood Cocoon.

"You're right. The first problem with Mutants is that they're hard to kill. The second is that they're hard to find."

The Bone Spike easily pierced the Blood Cocoon. Blood flowed out, but the Bloody Witch, still in the middle of fusing, showed no reaction.

"But artificial manufacturing is different."

"They won't resist during their transformation! And they can be mass-produced!"

"So..."

"This means that 'killing people' can let you level up."

After Lin An spoke, he fell silent. Zhang Tie beside him was also at a loss.

A set of numbers appeared in Lin An's mind.

There were still twenty-five people alive in the hotel. Excluding Wen Ya and Zhang Tie, there were twenty-three left.

Twenty-three people meant twenty-three Mutants.

Going from Level 2 to Level 3 required the experience of eight Mutants, while Level 3 to Level 4 required sixteen.

Although Awakened Rank differed, and the experience needed from Level 1 onward was the square of the previous rank, advancing to Second Order only required sixteen Mutants.

But Player Level and Awakened Rank could gain experience at the same time.

In other words, if Lin An was willing, perhaps he could raise his Player Level to Level 4 right now.

And raise his Awakened Rank to Second Order!

A Level 4 Player Level provided three points to all attributes, while Awakened Rank added two points to all attributes. With a total bonus of five points to all attributes...

He would completely obtain the power of a Second Order Peak, approaching Third Order!

And in his Previous Life, the first Third Order Player had only appeared in the ninth month after the Doomsday Game began...

An S-Rank Talent from the Capital Safe Zone had only managed to reach that level with the military's help.

Then, relying on strength that surpassed all other Players, he had single-handedly suppressed an entire city!

Now, the Doomsday Game had only begun its Sixth Day...

"Team Leader Lin..."

Zhang Tie could not help calling out to him. For some reason, he felt that Lin An's current state was wrong.

It felt... unfamiliar.

Hearing him, Lin An slowly raised his head, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins.

Power close to Third Order...

A trace of desire suddenly rose in his heart, writhing through him like a venomous snake gnawing at his bones.

He was indeed cold-blooded, but he still had his own moral bottom line.

Then a voice suddenly rang out within him.

"What are the lives of a mere twenty-three people worth in this Doomsday?"

"Have you forgotten how the Awakened in your Previous Life were willing to sacrifice thousands just for one piece of White Equipment?"

"Lin An, without power, what can you use to protect the people you want to protect?"

Is this... the voice in my heart?

Lin An's eyes were crimson, and the voice was full of temptation.

"You don't actually have any feelings for the people in this hotel. If anything, you only think Zhang Tie could become your helper in the future."

"After all, if you want to establish a Safe Zone and expand your forces, you need people you can trust."

"But in the Doomsday, there is no shortage of subordinates willing to submit to power."

"Isn't that right, Lin An?"

"Kill Zhang Tie, and you'll have twenty-four people!"

"And actually, you miscalculated something else."

"A Mutant like the Bloody Witch needs to kill the target of her revenge, so..."

"You need at least twenty-five people!"

The voice vanished. Lin An suddenly turned to look at Zhang Tie.

With Wen Ya included, that would make twenty-five people.