Chapter 5

Boom!

Something heavy landed on the ground.

It was Andy who had jumped down from the rooftop with a grave expression.

The storm of madness had passed.

Aside from feeling slightly dizzy, he was mostly unharmed.

Now that the apocalypse game had officially begun, Jason's life was officially on a countdown.

Time was of the essence. After leaving the city center, he must find a vehicle.

He wouldn't be able to make it in time with just his legs.

There were at least millions of zombies wandering the city.

Even if he had become an Awakened, he would still die if he were surrounded by a massive horde of zombies.

-

At Linden's suburbs, a red Ford heavy truck roared forward and mercilessly crushed the zombies in its path.

Bang!

Andy kicked the door open and jumped out of the truck's cabin, completely unperturbed by the fact that the truck was still moving at high speed.

After a few rolls to dissipate the impact, he stood up straight.

After becoming an Awakened, his Constitution had reached 12 points. It was enough to make him immune to most impacts.

The out-of-control truck headed straight for a wall.

Filthy blood smeared the truck body, and some unknown chunks of flesh were stuck in the gaps.

On the front bumper, a zombie with only its upper body remaining was still relentlessly gnawing at the metal.

With a loud crash, the truck, which had been speeding all the way since leaving the city, completed its final mission.

A large group of zombies that had gathered to feed on corpses were crushed into a pile of bloody pulp by the out-of-control truck.

Black smoke billowed from the deformed hood, and the black tire tracks it left on the road were tinged with red.

The sky was dim.

After fighting his way out of the city center, Andy had been speeding all the way to Jason's home.

What should have been a three-hour drive was forcibly shortened to less than two hours.

However, there was no time to rest.

Andy immediately pulled out his phone and glanced at the glowing screen.

Twenty-three minutes left...

His anxious heart began to calm.

Thankfully, there was still time.

Jason's place was located at the innermost part of this district.

This was the old city district.

The roads were intricate and complex, so he could only proceed on foot.

But even on foot, with his enhanced body, he would need fifteen minutes at most.

'Hang in there, Jason!'

After punching through a zombie that was lunging at him, Andy sprinted along the wall.

The once quiet and cozy residential buildings had now become slaughterhouses.

The secure burglar bars had become the biggest obstacle for the residents to escape.

From time to time, Andy could hear tragic screams from inside the buildings.

Occasionally, he would catch glimpses of zombies through the half-open windows.

Fortunately, when the apocalypse started, most of the residents were not home.

Otherwise, given the population density of the old district, moving would become extremely difficult.

With nimble movements enhanced by high agility, Andy easily evaded the small groups of zombies that tried to surround him.

He ran at full speed, and before long, he was already near the gate of Jason's residential area.

He had tried to avoid as many zombies as he could along the way. Those that he couldn't avoid, he simply punched through their heads.

-

Outside the decorative burglar bars on the sixth floor, a man who looked like a wealthy businessman hung precariously from the railing, naked from the waist up.

It was hard to imagine how he had managed to climb outside with his hefty frame.

"Help me! I beg you!"

The short, fat man shouted at Andy, forcing an ugly smile on his face as thick beads of sweat dripped from the tip of his nose.

He had been hanging outside the window for some time now, so he saw Andy making his way through the zombies like a god of death.

Rescuing him should be a piece of cake for Andy!

Andy remained unfazed. He kicked a zombie in front of him to pieces without turning to the man.

"I'll pay you! Please!

"$20,000!

"Help me!"

The businessman, now panicking, watched as Andy was about to exit through the gate.

The burglar bars were starting to deform.

The sturdy steel bars creaked ominously as they were chewed by the woman who had turned into a zombie.

"$200,000! I'll give you $200,000!"

The businessman looked terrified; his strength was waning.

A putrid smell wafted from the woman's mouth, making him dizzy.

Those had once been his beloved cherry-red lips.

"A million! I'm the owner of Linden Construction Group! Save me and I'll give you whatever you want!"

As he watched Andy move further and further away, the businessman's face turned pale, and he shouted desperately, no longer caring about his money.

The Linden Construction Group had a great reputation in Linden; he believed anyone would be tempted.

Andy couldn't care less.

After the apocalypse, cash could only be used for wiping.

The businessman was taken aback when he saw Andy disappear into the distance.

A million! How could anyone not be swayed?

He even promised to give that guy whatever he wanted!

He felt he had offered more than enough!

Idiot! What an idiot!

Enraged and ashamed, the desperate businessman cursed Andy wildly as a way to vent his fear.

-

As he crossed a road that thankfully had no zombies in sight, Andy suddenly paused with a serious look on his face.

It wasn't that the money promised by the businessman had moved him, making him want to turn back.

In the distance, a monstrous blood-red figure towering three meters high and resembling a skinned frog blocked the road ahead.

That was…

A Licker!

As a mutated zombie, a Licker possessed terrifying combat power.

In his past life, a single Licker could easily destroy a small safe zone.

Though it had no armor for protection, its constantly regenerating flesh could withstand most small-caliber firearms.

Extreme speed, terrifying strength, and flesh regeneration. Those were the traits of a Licker.

It could bend hard steel like dough, a real nightmare for the survivors.

Andy wondered if he could go around it.

He cautiously concealed himself behind a nearby truck.

Even though he was already an Awakened, he was only Rank 0.

Although his power had exceeded the limits of the human body, he was still significantly weaker than such a monster.

Should he take a detour?

Holding his breath, Andy carefully examined the situation with a broken rearview mirror in hand.

Each time the Licker moved, it felt like an earthquake.

Its sharp claws were over two meters long and could easily pierce through metal.

Its claws continuously reached out like shadows, dragging humans out of the cars they hid in. It feasted on them like they were dessert.

When it was in the mood for a feast, it didn't even spare the zombies.

Andy was speechless.

No wonder there were no zombies on this road; that monster had devoured them all.

A few seconds later, the Licker chewed on a pair of severed legs while its eyes greedily scanned the surroundings.

It had eaten the entire road clean.

Buzz!

Andy felt his phone vibrate.

He had received a voice message from Jason.

Andy's eyes sharpened. He carefully turned the volume down to the lowest level.

"Bzzz... Andy, this is Shirley. I think my brother's dying!

"He threw up... Bzzz... a lot of blood.

"I don't know why... but the way he looks at me...

"Feels like...

"Bzzz…

"He wants to eat me.”

Static interference made the brief message somewhat unclear.

The message was sent five minutes ago.

Global communications had been severely disrupted since the onset of the apocalypse and would gradually be cut off in three hours.

Andy gripped his phone tightly.

The hands that had calmly forged a path through a sea of zombies were now shaking.

Jason's condition was deteriorating faster than he had anticipated.

He could turn into a zombie at any second.

Andy had initially planned to detour, but couldn't afford to waste any more time.

He straightened up and sprinted ahead, no longer caring that he might expose himself to the Licker!

Boom!

Boom!

The ground trembled.

In the distance, the massive Licker seemed to have sensed something.

The two hollow nostril-like openings on its giant monstrous face sniffed the air.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Suddenly, the Licker's enormous body began to accelerate wildly.

Cars along the road were slammed aside as if they were hit by a train.

The Licker moved at an incredible speed. It had detected the scent of a living being!

The distance between the two rapidly closed.