NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4: Awakening
Wails. Screams.
Lin An struggled to rise from the ground, his head pounding like it might split open.
The air was thick with the stench of burning flesh.
The once orderly road was now clogged, bumper to bumper.
The chaotic honking of car horns mixed with the screams of terrified people.
Bang!
Lin An's pupils contracted as a cargo truck loaded with goods roared past him.
He barely sidestepped in time, but the sight before him made his heart stop.
The truck, now out of control, had crashed through a fence and flipped onto its side.
The cargo spilled out onto the road.
The truck's cabin, still emitting smoke and fire, had its door thrown open after the crash.
The driver, whose skull should have been crushed, quickly crawled out from the wreckage.
Bloody handprints marked the ground as the driver staggered.
This was... a zombie!?
Lin An's throat felt dry.
Quickly, he pulled out his phone, his heart sinking when he saw the time on the screen.
November 13, 2032, 16:22
Three days had passed.
The apocalypse was only 8 minutes away.
He wasn't on Fengming Road. He had disappeared for three days!?
His eyes widened in panic.
The horrors from the day the apocalypse started flashed in his memory, now blending with the chaotic reality in front of him.
Lin An didn't have time to think about why he had appeared here or how the ring had caused a shift in time.
His original plan had been thrown off course.
Right now, he had to go straight to his comrade's neighborhood.
At this moment, there were only 2 hours and 8 minutes until An Jingtian fully transformed into a zombie!
And the city center, where Lin An was now, was still far from An Jingtian's neighborhood.
Roar!
A zombie, crawling fast, screeched as it lunged towards Lin An.
Without hesitation, Lin An performed a precise kick, his boot slamming into the disfigured head of the zombie, crushing it instantly.
Ding!
"Zombie killed detected."
"Apocalypse player template activated!"
"The Savior template is now enabled."
A light screen suddenly appeared in his view.
Apocalypse Player Info: Lin An (Awakened Level 0, Player Level 0)
Attributes:
Strength: 12 (10+2)
Agility: 12 (10+2)
Constitution: 12 (10+2)
Willpower: 14 (12+2)
Equipment: Apocalypse Ring (Special)
Awakened Ability: Power Burst (Significantly enhances physical stats for a short time. After prolonged use, causes extreme fatigue.)
Level 0: All attributes +2 (Human limit for all attributes is 10. Initial awakening boosts all attributes to maximum!)
Savior Template: Grants additional special skills (Judgment Eye, unlocked after completing the first mission.)
Mission countdown: ???
Lin An stood stunned, his breath coming in quick gasps.
The player template was supposed to activate only after the apocalypse began.
But to his surprise, it had already activated.
Not only that, the awakened ability he had longed for in his past life had appeared as well.
This saved him the time it would have taken to reach the energy node.
But the Savior template was new. In his past life, he'd never heard of such a thing.
Was it because of the ring's disturbance?
Thinking back on the strange events surrounding the ring, Lin An couldn't shake a feeling of unease.
In that black crack, something had clearly tried to break out.
Suppressing these thoughts, a special power surged into his body after the prompt, his muscles tightening, and even his height seemed to increase slightly.
Lin An took a deep breath, his right hand clenched, and he swung his fist.
With a twist of his waist, his arm shot forward with the sound of air rushing, slamming into the thick car door.
Bang!
The vehicle shook violently, the metal door caving in as the heavy car's tires screeched, sliding a meter sideways.
Lin An stared at the power of his own punch, his heart filled with shock.
This... This is the strength of an awakened one?
Excitement surged through him.
From this moment on, he had the ability to survive in the apocalypse.
With a forceful push of his right leg, he leaped forward.
The asphalt cracked beneath his feet as he effortlessly jumped onto the car's roof, denting it under his weight.
From his elevated position, Lin An carefully surveyed his route.
Not far ahead, a few ordinary people, already in poor physical condition, were starting to turn into zombies.
These zombies, who had lost their minds, were now driven only by a hunger for flesh, tearing into anything alive.
With his enhanced willpower, Lin An's mind worked at lightning speed, and he had a clear view of the situation.
Within seconds, he had mapped out his route.
Linjiang Avenue, the City Center Plaza, the Ring Road Expressway, and Heyuan Community...
This was the quickest route to An Jingtian's location.
At this moment, Linjiang Avenue was in complete chaos.
Hundreds of chain collisions had completely blocked the street.
He would have to walk through the most chaotic area before finding a vehicle to drive.
Otherwise, it would be nearly impossible to reach in two hours using only his legs.
Brother...
You have to hold on!
Without a second thought, Lin An bent his knees and jumped onto a Bentley's roof.
The car rocked as a zombie, which had been feeding on the driver's remains, turned toward him, drawn by the scent of living flesh.
It paused its feeding, and with a swift movement, it lunged toward the car's roof, grabbing at the air with its decayed hands.
Lin An didn't bother with the distracted zombie. He propelled himself forward again with a burst of strength.
Like a springboard, he launched across the wrecked cars with ease, crossing the obstacle in mere seconds.
Not far off, a middle-aged man watched in shock as Lin An jumped off the car's roof.
The terrifying leap resembled something out of a movie.
For a moment, the man forgot the horde of zombies chasing him.
"Help! Help me!"
Stumbling, the man cried out in desperation, as if Lin An was his only hope.
Lin An glanced up, hearing the man's cries.
The man's face lit up with hope.
"Save... save me!"
Lin An looked at the man, struggling and near exhaustion, and frowned.
He didn't want to waste time rescuing anyone.
There were too many zombies.
Only 6 minutes until the virus broke out.
The zombies appearing now were mostly those with poor physical condition or people who had died in the crash and turned into zombies.
Once the virus officially broke out, 60% of Linjiang's population would be transformed.
The remaining 10% would gradually turn, like ticking time bombs.
And right now, there were over three million people in the city center.
He wasn't a saint, saving everyone.
The two brushed past each other.
The man's hopeful gaze shifted to despair as his legs gave way under exhaustion.
If he stopped, the zombies would tear him apart.
He was helpless.
The man's hands instinctively gripped a fallen doll he had been holding as he ran.
It was the gift he bought for his daughter's birthday.
Lin An's expression remained unchanged as his gaze briefly swept over the doll.
His planned route shifted slightly.
With a punch!
Lin An charged at the nearest zombie, his right fist slicing through the air like a blade.
Blood and flesh splattered.
The powerful impact punched straight through the zombie's chest, leaving a gaping hole in its body.
With a swift move, Lin An ripped out the zombie's spine, using it as a weapon.
The bones, enhanced by the virus, were solid and sturdy.
In the apocalypse, such bones were often used as makeshift weapons.
With a brutal slash, the zombie's head split in half, its body crumbling to the ground.
The middle-aged man, who thought he was a goner, stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
Seeing Lin An strike with the power of a monster, his mouth went dry.
For a moment, he realized what was happening.
This world was doomed!
He had to follow Lin An!
He could save me, he could save my daughter!
Thud.
The man suddenly fell to his knees, his voice breaking with desperation.
"Please, please save my daughter! She's still at school!"
Lin An's face remained cold as he cleared the zombies in his path and kept moving.
"Run!"
"Live! And rely on yourself!"
The middle-aged man, hearing Lin An's words, bitterly smiled.
Looking at the approaching zombie horde, he grabbed the fallen doll from the ground and fled.
City Center Plaza, Wan Da Shopping Mall
Lin An, bloodied and covered in grime, stood quietly on top of a nearby building, staring at the shopping center below.
The apocalypse was about to begin, and a global spiritual storm would soon engulf the world.
In the midst of the storm, people would experience brief moments of disorientation.
If anyone was distracted while on the move, it would be deadly.
Even with his urgency, he knew he had to wait for the storm to pass.
The parking lot in front of the shopping center was a scene of carnage.
Humans inside their cars were like canned food, their safety relying on flimsy vehicle doors.
The zombies, driven only by hunger, slammed their heads against the windows, desperate to break through.
A few seconds later, the car windows shattered.
The zombies swarmed, ripping open the cans and enjoying their gruesome feast.
Inside the shopping center, a crowd huddled behind a steel gate, helplessly watching the chaos outside.
A beautiful woman in professional attire screamed in despair, her legs kicking at the zombies trying to break through the car window.
The sharp heels of her shoes struck their heads, but she couldn't stop them.
"Save me...!"
"Please, save me!"
The people behind the gate screamed, but no one dared to open the door.
"Don't open it!"
"If you open the door, we're all dead!"
The security guard at the gate was shoved aside, and one of the men glared angrily.
On the building above, Lin An watched everything below unfold.
He sighed quietly.
It wasn't because no one dared to help. In the apocalypse, saving yourself was the priority.
But the people inside the building? They had no idea what was coming.
The city was about to be swallowed by hell.
"Buzz!"
Ten seconds passed in a flash.
A high-pitched, shrill alarm rang out.
Suddenly, a mocking, brutal voice echoed in everyone's mind.
"The apocalypse is here. The game has begun!"
"Welcome to the Apocalypse Game, little bugs."
"In this game, struggle to survive!"
Without warning, the sky turned black, violent winds howled, and the earth trembled.
An invisible spiritual shockwave swept through everyone.
In a moment of confusion, the world fell into chaos.
The zombie virus erupted globally, and within seconds, those who had turned collapsed to the ground, eyes bulging, skin decaying.
The city, once teeming with life, had now become a living nightmare.
And Lin An? He was just beginning his fight to survive.