Slaying the Licker

Mansion Sixth Floor.

Beneath the security window, the wealthy businessman, who could no longer hold on, heard the sound of a door being kicked open.

At a glance, he saw the person who had left!

Ecstasy appeared on his face.

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

As if injected with chicken blood, the businessman used the last of his strength to scream.

"I'm still here!"

"Save me!"

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

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

The red Fire Axe stood nearly half a person tall. Even a casual swing made it whistle through the air.

"Beep, obtained Fire Axe (Common)"

"Fire Axe: A weapon of average quality, extremely prone to chipping."

Lin An paid no attention to the notification.

After the Doomsday Game began, obtaining any item came with a notification.

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

Only equipment unique to the Doomsday Game came with attributes and special abilities.

The businessman beneath the security window watched Lin An stand with his back to him, seemingly waiting for something.

His face turned pale as he cursed inwardly.

If he hadn't thought of tying knots in his belt earlier to ease the burden on his hands, he would have run out of strength and fallen long ago.

"Thirty million! Don't be too greedy! If I die, you won't get anything!"

The zombie woman inside the window had her face squeezed out of shape.

Her once delicate, petite cheeks had been compressed into long, narrow strips.

Only a fist's distance remained between them.

"One hundred million! I'll give you one hundred million! Get over here and save me, damn it!"

The businessman wept bitterly.

As the zombie woman struggled madly, half her body had forcibly squeezed onto his hands.

The slick touch of rotten flesh after the skin had decayed drove him to Rational Collapse.

In front of the Security Booth.

Lin An held the axe in one hand and tilted his head back, drinking the Stimulant he had taken from his Space Ring.

Smack!

The vial fell to the ground and shattered.

"Beep, Strength +1, Physique +1, Agility +1"

"Beep, Explosive Power increased by 50%, Endurance and Impact Resistance increased by 30%, Attack Speed increased by 20%"

The effects were excellent.

Lin An's heartbeat instantly accelerated as the small molecular structures in the Potion directly breached the blood-brain barrier.

His heart pounded like a war drum.

The muscles throughout his body tightened, and the axe in his hand felt noticeably lighter.

No wonder it had been such a sought-after Potion in his Previous Life.

As one of the few non-Doomsday items capable of providing attribute bonuses.

It was rare in the Doomsday.

In his Previous Life, the Potion had played an indispensable role in allowing Lin An, an ordinary man, to survive with Tang Wan's family.

If he hadn't happened to carry a few bottles during their escape.

Forget surviving with three people—he would have died beneath the zombies' jaws on the day they left the city.

Feeling the powerful strength within his body, Lin An's fighting spirit surged.

Boom!

The chaotically parked vehicles at the neighborhood entrance were instantly hurled high into the air, revealing its massive body.

The Licker had appeared!

The businessman, who had been screaming and cursing nonstop, suddenly fell silent like a chicken with its throat pinched.

Now!

Without hesitation.

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

Absolute Stillness Rotation!

He gripped the axe with both hands and shot four or five meters into the air like a cannonball, the blade taking on a blood-red sheen beneath the setting sun.

"Activate Strength Burst!"

The ability from his Awakening talent activated.

"Strength +2, Agility +2, Physique +2, Willpower +2!"

A faint golden Radiance instantly covered Lin An's body, and his original 12 points of Strength abruptly surged to 14.

Explosive power flooded his entire body.

Die!

A charged downward chop!

Empowered by immense force, the razor-sharp axe blade viciously cleaved toward the Licker's head.

Flesh exploded, and a chunk of meat half a person tall was completely hacked off, revealing the dark-purple muscle tissue inside.

"Roar!"

The Licker roared in pain.

Its massive body was knocked sideways by the axe, and a section of its exposed skull was instantly shaved away.

Lin An's full-force burst.

With a strike far beyond the strength of a Tier 0 Awakener, he had nearly slain the Licker on the spot!

Bang!

A giant claw came crashing down, shattering the car body.

The Licker barely held itself up with its giant claws, instantly flattening the sedan beside it.

What a pity...

He hadn't managed to kill it in one blow.

Untroubled by useless emotions.

After his failed strike, Lin An swiftly rolled away, dodging the Licker's furious swing.

He cautiously circled the Licker's body at high speed, searching for another opportunity.

As the nightmare of every major Safe Zone, the Licker had naturally been studied.

At the cost of countless painful sacrifices, people discovered that while Lickers were extremely fast, they were sluggish when changing direction.

Its two pairs of giant claws gave it terrifying destructive power, but they also hindered its agility while turning.

Knowing this well, Lin An constantly shifted positions and stayed in the Licker's blind spots.

This monster was not something one person could fight.

Even an Awakener needed to reach Tier 1 before they could barely contend with it.

The businessman hanging outside the window stared blankly at the scene before him, his face filled with shock.

The flayed monster's appearance alone was enough to make anyone weak-willed suffer Rational Collapse.

The Licker was now utterly enraged, its sharp claws sweeping wildly in every direction.

Metal car bodies were like paper before those claws, offering no resistance at all.

It was truly terrifying.

But compared to the dreadful Licker, what shocked him more was that Lin An could actually fight such a monster.

At this moment, Lin An, whom he had originally considered merely skilled, had become synonymous with a monster in his mind.

Was this truly strength a human could possess?

Boom!

Boom!

Cars were continuously flipped and hurled through the air like missiles.

Lin An nimbly dodged the car the Licker threw at him, then abruptly changed direction.

It had been attacking continuously for over a minute.

The entrance to the neighborhood had been cleared out, every car used as a projectile and hurled at him.

But before Lin An's 14 points of Agility after drinking the Potion, it was all futile.

No matter how high the damage, it was useless if it couldn't hit its target.

That undoubtedly made it even more frenzied.

"Roar!"

The Licker crouched down and roared angrily.

The injury from having half its skull cut away began to show.

Forced to lower itself, the brain tissue wrapped in regenerating flesh was exposed before Lin An.

Now!

Lin An drew a deep breath and stopped conserving his stamina.

He took a step forward, narrowly dodging the Licker's fierce, furious smash.

"Strength Burst."

Strength empowered him again, his muscles exploding.

Like Explosives being detonated.

Turn Around Reverse Chop!

Lin An's speed erupted to its limit. He took several steps up the Licker's massive body and leaped high into the air.

The muscles at his waist tensed, sending a violent force from his waist through his body as the Fire Axe in his hand swung in a full arc.

Come on, crush it!

It came down with the force of Mount Tai bearing down.

The axe blade, tearing through the air, accurately smashed into the brain that lacked skull protection.

The axe handle snapped, the immense force bursting apart the connection.

Once it plunged in, it was like stirring eggs.

Lin An's eyes were fierce. He simply gripped the broken handle with both hands, viciously stabbing it into the Licker's brain and rapidly stirring.

"Beep, killed First Order Variant Zombie: Licker"

"Obtained 1 Energy Point"

Bang!

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

"Energy detected. Opening Experience Panel."

"Current Awakener Level: Tier 0 (1/2)"

"Current Player Level: Level 0 (1/2)"

"Required kills for next level: 1"

After confirming that the Licker was dead, Lin An bent slightly at the waist and panted.

Killing the Licker had truly been a bit of a stretch.

In the Doomsday Game, only killing Variant Zombies or mutant beasts granted experience.

Killing ordinary zombies was useless and gave no experience at all.

Therefore, whether Players or Awakeners.

If they wanted to level up, they could only find ways to kill Mutants.

But Variant Zombies were often extremely powerful, far beyond what a Tier 0 Awakener could fight.

Therefore, in his Previous Life, many Awakeners remained stuck at Tier 0 until they died.

If he hadn't prepared Potions in advance and obtained such a powerful talent.

Charging head-on against a monster like this would only mean death.

There was no time to rest.

Before leaving, Lin An slightly turned his head to look behind him.

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

Dark-red blood had spread all over the ground beneath him.

It was unclear whether the Female Corpse had bitten off his fingers or whether he had let go on his own.

On the iron window, the Female Corpse's skull had been squeezed out of shape, yet she still mechanically opened and closed her mouth.

Lin An had no intention of investigating such minor details.

After confirming that no one had survived near the neighborhood entrance, Lin An extended his right hand.

With a flash of white light, he stored the massive Licker corpse in his Space Ring.

As a Variant Zombie, every part of the Licker's corpse was valuable.

But time was tight, so he could only deal with it later.

HeYuan Residential Area, inside an apartment building.

A young girl curled up helplessly in the corner of the room, hugging her knees, her face streaked with tears.

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

An Xia clutched the phone in her hand tightly and spoke timidly to the young man in the chair.

The last message on the phone was from Lin An.

"Roar!"

A man with his hands and feet bound sat in the chair, letting out a low growl.

The chair beneath him shook violently as he tried to break free from his restraints.

The Iron Chain rattled with a piercing screech.

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

An Xia lowered her head.

She could not bear to look at An JingTian's face, its flesh peeling away until he resembled a bloody skeleton.

After their parents died, her only brother, the one she had relied on, had become like this. Yet she could do nothing.

Despair washed over her, and her body trembled uncontrollably like a helpless little animal.

The clock on the wall ticked away.

From time to time, she turned to look at the tightly shut door, her eyes filled with pleading.

But all that came from outside was the sound of Zombies scratching at the Iron Gate.

The footsteps she had been waiting for never came.

"Brother, you have to hold on."

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

A trace of reason struggled through An JingTian's bloodthirsty eyes.

"Lin... An!"

His reason vanished in an instant.

His voice was hoarse, but the name An JingTian uttered could still barely be made out.

An Xia suddenly raised her head and looked at An JingTian in surprise.

This was the first time An JingTian had spoken complete words since the Doomsday began.

Bang! Bang!

The Zombies outside seemed to have caught the scent of one of their own and began ramming the door madly.

The Iron Gate shuddered violently and warped.

They were responding.

Once An JingTian's reason disappeared, he began struggling frantically again.

The Iron Chain rattled, and stark white bone showed where it was locked around his wrists.

The handcuffs that had been tightly secured were starting to slip loose.