Chapter 84: Severed Body, Split Jaw p2
The man in sunglasses, his mouth still open, megaphone in hand, stared blankly at the empty street.
After a few seconds, a small voice from beside him snapped him out of his stupor. “It… it ran away?”
“Uh… never mind, back to the original plan…”
“Boom—”
An explosion from another street interrupted him.
Suddenly realizing something, he ran to the other side of the roof and looked down.
“Boom—”
Another explosion, smoke and flames rising.
Even with his naked eyes, he could see what was happening below in the searchlights’ beams.
That “broccoli” zombie, dragging its hundred zombie “dogs,” was running down the street, each step creating a tremor.
And the zombies in front, seemingly oblivious to danger, charged forward, triggering the mines in its path.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!!! It… shit,” he sputtered, then, into the megaphone, shouted, “Northwest corner!!! It’s back!!! It’s going for the bridge!!!”
The snipers grabbed their rifles and ran towards him.
And the machine gunner on the 20th floor, hearing the command on his walkie-talkie, hurriedly carried his heavy machine gun towards the southwest corner.
“Boom—”
“Boom—”
More explosions. Thanks to its zombie “minesweepers,” the monstrous zombie remained unharmed.
And as the “minesweepers” were blown to pieces, the chains automatically detached and retracted, other zombies from the “broccoli” jumping down to replace them.
The zombie, with its impenetrable defenses, was systematically clearing a path through the minefield.
The man in sunglasses had already given up hope halfway through.
The zombie was now out of range of the heavy machine gun, and the sniper rifles were useless against it.
They could only watch as it reached the end of the street and then, still dragging a large number of zombies, stepped onto the bridge.
Looking at the retreating zombie, the man in sunglasses took out his lighter and relit his unlit cigar.
“Fucking… impressive,” he muttered through gritted teeth.
“Let’s go, let’s go, nothing to see here. Back to the original plan.”
He’d seen many strange things in the apocalypse, but this… this was the strangest.
A zombie that could dodge, escape, use other zombies as minesweepers, and completely ignore delicious, living humans. How… how was that even possible?
Its speed and efficiency were beyond his comprehension.
Its intelligence surpassed any zombie he’d ever encountered.
Almost as if it were controlled by an Awakened.
But… he’d never seen a control-type Awakened who could control so many zombies simultaneously.
Was it a mutated zombie created with a specific combination of blood crystals?
Or… a truly intelligent, evolved zombie?
He would probably never know. He just prayed he would never encounter it again.
Unlike the stunned group on the rooftop, Lin Jiayao, controlling the zombie horde below, was relatively calm.
Since she didn’t want to kill those people, and she needed to cross the bridge, this elaborate charade had been necessary.
And it had worked; she hadn’t been injured and hadn’t wasted much time.
Much better than climbing up and down dozens of floors.
She remembered the agonizing climb down from the 35th floor when she’d been just a head… pure torture. She’d had to jump to reach the ground quickly.
Crossing the bridge, leading her hundred-zombie “dogs”, riding the Armored zombie, her procession occupied all four lanes.
Like an emperor leading his troops.
Hidden within the mass of zombies, using Bone Spike Lurker to navigate, Lin Jiayao found this method surprisingly effective.
Perhaps this was the intended use of Bone Manipulator; it felt… safe.
She continued towards the extraction point, surrounded by her zombie bodyguards.
Along the way, she encountered a maternity hospital. As expected, it had been completely looted, not even a single needle left. Medical supplies were always in high demand.
But she found some medicine in a pharmacy next to the hospital.
Prenatal vitamins. Nothing else.
All other medicines, useful or not, were gone. Only these orange vitamin bottles remained, a few missing, likely dropped and forgotten during the looting.
She had the zombie sweep the remaining bottles off the shelves and then secured them in the gaps between the metal plating on the Armored zombie, continuing towards the extraction point.
After almost an hour of non-stop running, Lin Jiayao finally reached the extraction point, her zombie army entering the designated parking garage.
【Extracting in: 7.1】
Waiting for the countdown, Lin Jiayao entered the asset transfer interface.
She moved the nuts, bolts, and multi-tool from the safehouse, the prenatal vitamins from the Armored zombie, and the blood crystals from both the Armored zombie and the ordinary zombies into the warehouse before exiting.
An extra one and a half blood crystals, better than nothing.
After her windfall in America, one and a half crystals seemed insignificant.
She returned to her body and slowly opened her eyes in the darkness.
She habitually scanned her surroundings and realized her sister was lying on her lap.
And in the moonlight, she could clearly see that her sister’s hands were inside her stockings.
The stockings clung to her sister’s hands, which were gently caressing Lin Jiayao’s thighs.
As if using her legs and stockings for warmth.
Since she couldn’t feel her legs anyway, it didn’t matter; whatever made her sister happy.
Thinking this, Lin Jiayao closed her eyes and looked at the evolution options.
「Please retain your evolution」
「1、【Severed Form Lv.1 (Gold): Allows you to abandon your human form, shedding your weak flesh for a new form better suited for controlling zombies. All bone-related abilities are greatly enhanced】」
「2、【Bone Spike Lurker Lv.4 (Gray): Increases Lurker precision and range to 200m. Can simulate terrain within 100m by emitting vibrations】」
「3、【Bone Manipulator Lv.2 (Gold): Your bone spikes mutate further, allowing you to control more zombies or living creatures. Controlled bone spikes can remain active for a short period after being severed from your body】」
The first skill meant abandoning her humanity, the second was just an incremental upgrade, and the third seemed like the most sensible choice.
Bone Manipulator Lv.2 added “more” control, and the additional description suggested that severed bone spikes could remain active for a short time.
A significant upgrade.
Now, she knew that multiple types of zombies had control abilities.
Whether fungal, bone-type, or hive-type, they could all control other zombies and even humans.
But each had its own advantages and disadvantages.
Fungal zombies had a wide range and high infectivity, with an almost 100% fatality rate and absolute obedience, but the downside was inheriting memories, which could cause mental instability.
Bone-type zombies had a shorter range and limited control capacity, but also a 100% fatality rate, and they could utilize the controlled zombies’ abilities.
And Hive Zombies, focused on quantity, also had high infectivity but a 0% fatality rate, and the zombies they controlled with synergistic pheromones could only follow simple commands, mindless drones, only becoming a threat in large numbers.
These different evolutionary paths all seemed to grant increasing control over their own kind.
She wondered what the evolved forms of Hunters, Sprinters, and other zombies she hadn’t encountered yet looked like. Were there zombies specialized in individual combat power?
Lost in her thoughts, Lin Jiayao felt a warmth spreading through her bones, the evolution completing in an instant.
Now, if she wanted to, those Corpse Birds wouldn’t even be able to get within 20 meters of her without being pulled down by her bone spikes.
A vast improvement compared to before.
She could even control them remotely by firing detached bone spikes, shattering their bones.
After choosing the evolution, Lin Jiayao opened the Hideout interface, looking at the now available [Medical Station] and [Workbench].
They required two and three blood crystals respectively, a total of five.
She had 14.5, leaving 9.5 after building both.
A significant expense…
The Training Grounds had been worth the cost, so after a brief hesitation, she clicked “build” on both.
“Clang, thud—”
A few perfunctory construction sounds, and two new structures appeared in the X-shaped Hideout.
She first looked at the [Medical Station], which she had high hopes for.
As she focused on it, a system window popped up, displaying four medical items, none of them familiar.
At the top was a red medical pouch, priced at 100g of blood crystals.
「1、【Random First Aid Kit 100g】: Generates a first aid kit based on the host’s current condition」
The prices increased further down the list.
「2、【Blood Crystal Combat Stimulant 200g】: Increases health regeneration, reduces damage taken, and reduces pain perception for 900 seconds」
「3、【Blood Crystal Serum 500g】: Specially processed liquid blood crystals, absorbed and processed faster than solid blood crystals」
「4、【Autopilot Surgery 1000g】: Allows the host to perform a perfect surgery, including but not limited to limb reattachment, bone setting, internal organ repair, and intracranial hemorrhage treatment…」
Only four options for the Lv.1 Medical Station.
The fourth option intrigued her the most.
System-assisted surgery?
What did that even mean?
And it was so expensive, two blood crystal stones.
“Can it perform brain surgery?” Lin Jiayao asked mentally. “Can I perform brain surgery on myself?”
「Yes」
“Guaranteed survival after surgery?”
「No」
“Oh.”
So, she couldn’t buy a life for two blood crystals.
This was probably only useful in near-death situations… performing surgery on herself…
She dismissed the Medical Station; the Combat Stimulant and the First Aid Kit seemed like the most useful and affordable options.
Of course, for other Awakened, even those weren’t cheap.
She turned her attention to the [Workbench].
A window popped up, but unlike the Medical Station, it was empty, with a single line of text below.
「Please place the item you wish to modify」
Lin Jiayao realized she didn’t have any weapons in her warehouse or safehouse; there was nothing to modify.
She would have to test this function later.
Exiting the system interface, Lin Jiayao opened her eyes.
She wasn’t sleepy, and she wanted to shift her position, but her sister was still lying on her lap.
She reached out, trying to adjust the seat.
But her movement woke her sister.
“Yao? Why are you awake?” Lin Xiwan looked at her sister, her right hand supporting Lin Jiayao, her left brushing her hair back.
“Couldn’t sleep sitting up…” Lin Jiayao honestly explained her predicament.
She was in an awkward situation.
Logging in again would deplete her mental strength, and she didn’t have enough time to rest properly, but she wasn’t sleepy enough to sleep now.
Hopefully, increasing her Vigor would eventually eliminate the need for sleep. Sleeping felt like a waste of time.
“Can’t sleep sitting up?” Lin Xiwan looked at the seat, unsure what to do.
The space behind the seat was filled with supplies. Reclining it would require moving a lot of things, which was too much trouble.
“I know!”
An idea struck her.
She could lie down between the seats, like before, and have her sister lie on top of her.
“Click—”
She pushed the gear stick towards the center console to create more space, reached between her sister’s legs, gently lifted her, and placed her on her lap.
“Huh?”
Lin Jiayao was about to ask what she was doing when she realized she was now sitting on her sister’s lap, facing her.
After making sure Lin Jiayao was stable, Lin Xiwan wrapped her arms around her waist, shifted from the driver’s seat to the passenger side, and rested her head on the still-warm seat.
And Lin Jiayao leaned against her sister, their foreheads almost touching. Lin Jiayao’s head bumped against her sister’s chest, preventing a collision.
“Can you sleep like this?” Lin Xiwan asked, seemingly pleased with her idea, her arms around Lin Jiayao’s waist.
“I can’t…” Lin Jiayao placed her hands on the seat, looking at her sister. “Isn’t this… hot?”
“You’re right.” Lin Xiwan nodded, tightened her embrace, and gently pushed Lin Jiayao’s head against her chest. “But at least you won’t be cold. Now be good and go to sleep.”
“Sigh…”
Lin Jiayao sighed inwardly.
Her sister, usually so capable and composed, always seemed to regress into a childlike state around her.
Perhaps because she didn’t have to maintain her usual facade…
Unable to resist, Lin Jiayao might as well enjoy it.
She nuzzled her head against her sister’s chest, finding a comfortable spot, wrapped her arms around her waist, and closed her eyes.
The next day, when Lin Jiayao woke up, she was back in the passenger seat, feeling the vibrations and the hum of the engine.
“You’re awake? Is the engine too loud?” Her sister, smiling, handed her half a bottle of water and a piece of bread. “Breakfast~”
“I filled up the tank. We’re going to the Qingzhou Academy Camp today. The radio broadcast made it sound decent.”
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