Bait?

There were now five Awakened left. Three of them had condensed Crystal Cores and possessed considerable strength, while the other two were still at the Brain Core stage, merely stronger than ordinary people physically.

Even if Lin Dong faced them head-on, they would be no problem.

At that moment.

Li Nan, accompanied by the tall man, had already reached the first-floor lobby.

The survivors hurried forward when they saw them.

"Captain Li, we searched the entire mall and didn't find any trace of the monster."

"Of course you didn't. That thing is extremely strange."

Li Nan looked at the survivors with no small amount of envy.

That monster doesn't attack ordinary people. It only targets Awakened like us.

They're completely fine...

"Huh?"

Everyone scratched their heads.

"Captain Li, then what should we do?"

"Don't worry. We'll deal with it soon."

Li Nan was quite confident.

On the sixth floor of the mall, Xiao Liu stood by the railing with two others, a man and a woman. The three of them watched intently, unwilling to miss even the slightest clue.

"Keep a close eye on things. If Brother Nan is attacked, go down and support him immediately."

"Mm, no problem."

The two nodded heavily.

Unbeknownst to them, Lin Dong had already emerged from the corridor and was walking straight toward their backs.

However, the female Awakened had sharp instincts. She suddenly felt uneasy, as though something were behind her.

"Who's there?"

She immediately turned around.

But the sight before her made her freeze.

A tall, slender young man was walking slowly toward her. His clothes were clean, and he was handsome and striking.

A face like that could easily win a girl's favor.

"Whew—You scared me. I thought it was a monster." The girl let out a long breath and patted her ample chest.

"A monster? What monster?"

Lin Dong did not agree with that term...

Xiao Liu and the other man also looked over, instinctively taking Lin Dong for a survivor.

"You've done pretty well to make it all the way to the sixth floor."

"I had nothing better to do anyway."

Lin Dong smiled faintly and stepped forward. He joined the three of them at the railing, bracing both hands against it as he looked down into the first-floor lobby.

Because she was so close, the female Awakened caught a faint scent of laundry detergent. When she turned her head, she happened to see Lin Dong's handsome profile, sharply defined and flawless.

The girl could not help feeling her heart flutter.

If their lives were not in danger and she had the mind for romance, she would definitely have made him warm her bed...

In the apocalypse, female Awakened were equally sought after. A system of one wife and multiple husbands was not a problem either.

"There really is a monster in the mall. Stay with us. The first floor might become dangerous later," the girl said.

"What danger could there be on the first floor?"

Lin Dong asked casually.

Xiao Liu had a fiery temper and was already growing impatient.

"You wouldn't understand even if we told you. Stop asking so many questions and interfering with our work."

"Why don't you think the sixth floor is dangerous?"

Lin Dong said teasingly.

"I'm telling you..."

Xiao Liu opened his mouth to curse, but then he suddenly realized something was wrong.

That tone did not sound like a survivor's.

Could it be...

Especially the girl. She recalled that Lin Dong had approached without making a sound. In such a dark environment, an ordinary survivor would not be able to see anything without a flashlight or phone for illumination.

Yet he held nothing in his hands and had still leaned against the sixth-floor railing... directly looking down into the first-floor lobby!

At that thought, the girl's body stiffened. A chill shot up her scalp, and every hair on her body stood on end.

Then the thing beside her...

What exactly was it???

Xiao Liu reacted quickly and lunged at Lin Dong.

"Quick! It's him! Attack!"

But Lin Dong retreated, dodging him directly like a ghost.

Xiao Liu remembered the researchers' teachings. Zombies with Domains had relatively weak physical constitutions, and he happened to be a strength-enhancement Awakened.

"Trying to run? Go to hell!"

Xiao Liu immediately chased after him and threw a punch. After killing so many of his teammates, it was time for revenge.

The muscles in his arm bulged like small mountains, nearly bursting through his uniform.

That punch was incomparably powerful.

He had used all his strength.

Lin Dong was considering testing his own strength. The last time he encountered Zhang Xiaoyuan, he had killed him with a single punch.

So this time, he used half his strength.

He raised his hand and punched back.

Bang!

When their fists collided, it was like iron hammers crashing together. A wave of air swept outward, shaking the sixth-floor railing until it rattled loudly.

Crack!

Along with the sound of breaking bones, Xiao Liu felt agonizing pain in his arm. The bone throughout his entire arm had been shattered, twisting at an unnatural angle as it hung limply at his side.

"So strong!"

Xiao Liu could barely endure the pain. He clutched his arm with one hand and staggered back several steps, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.

He had now realized that this guy was absurdly strong, nothing like what the researchers had claimed. That punch just now could definitely have blasted a Tank to pieces!

In an instant, intense despair rose in his heart.

"Damn it! Which researcher came up with those findings? If there's a next life, I'll definitely bite him to death!"

That was Xiao Liu's final thought before he died.

The two teammates beside him were only at the Brain Core stage and had not awakened any abilities. Together, they were not even as strong as Xiao Liu.

In a flash, Lin Dong pierced both their necks.

Meanwhile, in the first-floor lobby.

Li Nan was still chatting with the survivors when he heard a muffled boom from the sixth floor. Immediately afterward, the entire railing trembled and rattled.

"Something happened!"

Li Nan frowned and quickly looked up.

But after scanning the area.

He could not find Xiao Liu or the others.

"This is bad!"

The tall man beside him had thought of the same thing.

"Xiao Liu and the others were attacked. We need to get up there and help them."

"Wait..."

Li Nan stopped him. At that moment, another thought occurred to him.

He might have... severely underestimated the other side's strength.

Xiao Liu was already one of the strongest in the team, second only to Li Nan. Even with two other Awakened beside him, they were no match for the monster?

And... even if they could not win, they should have been able to hold it off for a while, right?

But only an instant had passed, and Xiao Liu's group of three had vanished!

The tall man was still anxious.

"Brother Nan, what are we waiting for? Aren't we going to help Brother Liu?"

"It's... already too late!"

Li Nan's pupils abruptly contracted. An overwhelming sense of danger enveloped him, as though something had fixed its gaze on him and he could die at any moment.

The survivors exchanged confused looks, not knowing what had happened.

Because it was pitch-black around them.

They could not see anything.

One burly man suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck. Drops of liquid were falling onto his nape.

"Huh? What is this?"

He instinctively touched it with his hand. It felt sticky and gave off a fishy, somewhat pungent smell.

The burly man quickly shone his flashlight on it, but when he saw clearly, his face instantly turned ashen. His palm was stained crimson.

"Blood... This is blood!!"