Chapter 6

Boom!

Andy sprinted with all his might, desperately dodging the cars the Licker flung at him.

He tried to go around but was forced back.

The Licker was blocking the straight path, leaving him no way to avoid the zombie! One after another, cars flew at him like cannonballs.

He had to find a way to lure the Licker to a narrow spot to kill it!

Andy thought hard, then turned back towards the previous residential area with fewer cars.

Under the burglar bars on the sixth floor, the businessman, hanging on for dear life, heard the rumbling.

Not yet able to see what was causing the noise, he caught sight of Andy returning first.

That was the man who left earlier!

His face lit up.

Sure enough, no one could resist the allure of that much money!

The businessman, as if fueled by adrenaline, summoned the last ounce of his strength to shout.

"I'm still here!

"Save me!

"A million! Cars! Women! Whatever you want!"

Andy turned a deaf ear to the businessman. He pulled out a fire axe he had prepared in advance from his ring.

The red fire axe was nearly half his height, and it whirred as he swung it around.

Ding!

[Fire Axe (Common)

Fire Axe: A weapon of average quality, easily dulled.]

Andy paid no attention to the notification.

After the apocalypse game started, any item picked up would come with a notification with the item's information.

However, even firearms or artillery would only have a brief description, with no extra stats.

Only the apocalypse game's equipment would have stats and special powers.

The businessman watched the young man turn his back to him. The young man seemed to be waiting for something.

His face went pale, and he cursed under his breath.

If he hadn't thought of the brilliant idea to tie his belt to the railing to ease the strain on his hands, he would have fallen down by now.

"Alright, four million! Don't get too greedy. If I die, you'll get nothing!"

As he howled, the zombie woman tried to squeeze her way through the bars, her face contorted.

Her once pretty face was now an elongated strip.

The two of them were now separated by a distance of only a fist's width.

"15 million! I'll give you 15 million! Save me, dammit!"

The businessman cried desperately.

Thanks to the zombie woman's relentless effort, a part of her body could already touch his hand.

Her skin was rotting, and the slimy texture disgusted him greatly.

In front of the security booth, Andy held the axe with one hand and tilted his head back to chug down a stimulant from his ring.

Crack!

The test tube fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.

Ding!

[Explosive Burst +50%, Stamina and Impact Resistance +30%, Attack Speed +20%]

The effects were incredible. Andy's heart raced.

The small molecular structure of the stimulant instantly broke through the blood-brain barrier.

His heart thumped like a war drum and his muscles tightened.

The axe felt lighter in his hands.

No wonder this was a highly sought-after medicine in his past life.

It was one of the few non-apocalypse items that could provide stat boosts.

Those were as rare as hen's teeth.

The medicine was a big reason Andy managed to help Wilma and her family survive in the apocalyptic world in his previous life even though he was only an ordinary man.

It was fortunate that he happened to carry a few tubes with him while fleeing or he would have died when he tried to leave the city, let alone help Wilma and her family survive.

With newfound strength coursing through his body, Andy's fighting spirit surged.

Boom!

The vehicles parked chaotically at the residential complex entrance flew high into the air, revealing the massive Licker.

The businessman, who had been screaming and cursing, suddenly fell silent, as if his throat had been squeezed.

Now!

No time for hesitation!

Andy took a deep breath, bent his legs, and the ground cracked beneath him.

He launched forward!

Holding the axe with both hands, he leaped more than four meters into the air like a cannonball, the axe blade glinting crimson in the sunset.

"Activate Burst of Strength!"

His Awakened Talent was activated.

[Strength +2, Agility +2, Constitution +2, Willpower +2.]

A faint golden light covered Andy, and his Strength jumped from 12 to 14.

Explosive strength filled his entire being.

Die!

He chopped down with all his might!

The sharp axe blade, empowered by enormous strength, hacked at the Licker's head.

Flesh and blood exploded, and a massive chunk of flesh fell away, revealing dark purple muscle tissue underneath.

Roar!

The Licker howled in pain.

Its massive body was knocked sideways, and it had even lost a part of its skull, which was now exposed.

That was Andy's full-powered strike.

It was a strike that was way beyond the power level of a normal Rank 0 Awakened. He almost decapitated the Licker in one hit!

Bang!

The Licker's giant claw slammed down, crushing a nearby car.

The Licker barely managed to hold itself up with its massive claws, instantly flattening the cars nearby.

What a pity he couldn't finish it off in one hit.

Not letting any useless emotion distract him, Andy quickly rolled away from the Licker's furious swipe.

He rapidly circled around the Licker, looking for another opportunity.

As a nightmare for the safe zones, the Licker had naturally been extensively studied.

After countless sacrifices, the humans finally discovered that while the Licker was extremely fast, it was slow to change direction.

Its two massive claws granted it terrifying destructive power but affected its maneuverability.

Knowing that, Andy remained on the move, constantly hiding in the Licker's blind spot.

This was not a monster that a person could face alone.

Even a Rank 1 Awakened could barely fight it.

-

The businessman hanging outside the window stared blankly, shock written all over his face.

The terrifying sight of the skinned monster alone was enough to drive someone with fragile resolve into madness.

The Licker was now enraged, its sharp claws sweeping around wildly.

The metallic cars crumpled before those claws like paper, offering no resistance at all. It was horrifying.

But even more shocking than the fearsome Licker was the fact that the strange man could actually engage in combat with such a monster.

The businessman upgraded his evaluation of Andy from just "very athletic" to "as strong as a monster."

Could a human really possess that kind of power?

Bang!

Cars were flung like missiles.

Andy nimbly dodged the vehicles thrown at him by the Licker and suddenly changed direction.

The Licker had been attacking for over a minute.

The area in front of the residential complex had been cleared out. The few cars that were there before had all been used as projectiles.

Unfortunately, Andy's Agility of 14 after he activated Burst of Strength rendered the Licker's assaults futile.

It didn't matter how powerful the strikes were, it meant nothing if they couldn't hit the target.

This only drove the Licker into a greater frenzy.

Roar!

The Licker leaned forward and roared.

The injury on its damaged skull showed itself.

The brain wrapped in newly-regenerated flesh was exposed before Andy.

Now!

Andy took a deep breath, not holding back anymore.

He stepped forward, barely dodging the Licker's furious blow.

"Burst of Strength!"

His strength surged again, muscles exploding with power.

He felt like explosives were being detonated within him.

Andy sped up, ran up the Licker's massive body, and leapt high into the air.

Spin!

The muscles in his waist contracted and a rush of brute force traveled through his body as he swung the fire axe in a wide arc.

Smash!

With the might of a collapsing mountain, the axe blade sliced through the air and mercilessly crashed into the exposed brain where no skull protected it.

The axe handle shattered at the joint under the tremendous impact.

With fierce determination, Andy gripped the axe handle with both hands and violently shoved it into the Licker's brain, then stirred like he was whipping eggs.

Ding!

[You killed a Rank 1 Mutated Zombie: Licker.

Obtained 1 Energy Point.

Acquired: Armor Crafting Material: Muscle Tissue x1 (White)

Muscle Tissue: Highly resilient mutated muscle, can be used to craft white-grade armor, +1 Agility.

Description: Muscle tissue from the calf area, suitable for making footwear.

Acquired: Equipment Crafting Material: Licker Spine x1 (White)

Licker Spine: Bone as hard as alloy, can be used to craft weapons, +1 Sharpness and +1 Strength.

Description: A practical equipment crafting material. Even in its unprocessed state, it can be used as a weapon.]

Bang!

As the massive Licker's body slowly collapsed to the ground, a flash of white light shot out of the corpse and into Andy's body.

[Energy Point detected. Experience Panel activated.

Current Awakened Rank: Rank 0 (1/2)

Current Player Level: Level 0 (1/2)

Required Number Of Kills To Reach The Next Level: 1]

After confirming that the Licker was dead, Andy bent down to catch his breath, panting lightly.

Killing a Licker was still too risky for him.

In the apocalypse game, experience could only be gained by killing mutated zombies or mutated beasts.

Regular zombies provided no experience when killed, making them utterly useless.

Thus, both players and Awakened had to find ways to kill mutated monsters to level up.

However, mutated zombies were often incredibly powerful, far beyond what a Rank 0 Awakened could tackle. In his past life, many Awakened remained stuck at Level 0 until their deaths. If not for the medicine Andy prepared in advance and the powerful Talent he acquired, fighting such a monster would be suicidal.

There was no time to rest.

Before leaving, Andy checked behind him.

The businessman who was hanging onto the burglar bars had fallen to the ground, blood pooling beneath him.

He couldn't tell if the female zombie had bitten off his fingers or if he had let go himself.

The female zombie was still trying to squeeze through the bars. Her head was completely deformed, yet she was still chomping.

He had no intention of investigating further.

After confirming that there were no survivors near the residential complex entrance, Andy extended his right hand.

With a flash of white light, the massive corpse of the Licker was stored in his spatial ring.

As a mutated zombie, many parts of the Licker's corpse were valuable.

Besides the dropped materials, the corpse could also be used to craft attribute-less equipment that were comparable to bulletproof vests.

But that could wait. Now, he must hurry.

-

In the Hera residential area, inside a residential building, a young woman huddled in the corner of a room, holding her knees, tears streaming down her face.

"Jason... Andy will be here soon."

Shirley tightly gripped her phone while timidly talking to a young man tied to a chair.

The last message the phone received was from Andy.

Grrr!

The man bound by chains let out a low growl.

The chains rattled loudly and the chair shook violently as he tried to break free.

"Jason... I'm scared."

Shirley lowered her head. She couldn't bear to look at Jason's face, where flesh had come off, exposing the bloodied skull beneath.

After their parents passed away, her brother was the only person she could rely on. Yet, after he became like this, she could do nothing to help him.

It filled her with despair. Her body trembled like a helpless little animal. The clock on the wall ticked away.

She occasionally looked at the locked door, praying.

But all she could hear were the sounds of the zombies outside scratching at the metal door.

The footsteps she longed for never arrived.

"Jason, you have to hang in there. Andy will definitely save you."

A hint of rationality flickered in Jason's bloodthirsty eyes. "An…dy!"

The moment of sanity was gone as quickly as it came.

His voice was hoarse, yet she could just about make out the name he uttered.

Shirley's head jerked up, surprise lighting her face.

This was the first complete word Jason had spoken since the apocalypse began.

Bang! Bang!

Perhaps catching the scent of their own kind in the room, the zombies outside started to crash against the door frantically.

The metal door shook violently and started to deform.

They were reacting.

Once Jason's rationality faded, he began to struggle wildly again.

The chains rattled and cut into his wrists, exposing the stark white bones.

The tight chains were starting to come loose.