Chapter 14: A Faint Heartbeat
Although the extraction point was in the same block, it wasn’t on the same street.
However, Lin Jiayao didn’t need to specifically detour around sunny areas; she could safely pass through the shaded alleys.
Soon, Lin Jiayao arrived at a seven-story building, the designated extraction point. This area was part of an urban village, where, before the apocalypse, local landlords rented rooms to migrant workers.
There were many such urban villages in Yangzhou City, all densely populated with zombies and lacking in resources. Explorers rarely ventured here.
After opening the door of the seven-story building and entering, the system’s extraction interface began its countdown.
【Extracting in: 7.9】
Safely passing the eight-second countdown, Lin Jiayao opened her eyes in her temporary room.
Perhaps because Mask hadn’t carried any items, Lin Jiayao didn’t experience the safehouse’s consciousness space this time and woke up directly.
The same dusty, messy room greeted her. Lin Jiayao still had no intention of cleaning it.
There was no such thing as obsessive cleanliness in the apocalypse. She had kept her previous room spotless because it was a home, waiting for someone to return.
This was just a room; she didn’t have the heart to tidy it.
Lin Jiayao simply stared into the void, as if waiting for something.
Soon, the system screen appeared as expected.
「Please retain your evolution」
「1、【Bone Spike Lurker Lv.2 (Gray): Increased Lurker range, can control bone spike shape change】」
「2、【Bone Skin Lv.1 (Gray): Hardens your skin, granting some defense】」
「3、【Bone Regeneration Lv.1 (Gray): Your bones regenerate faster. Consuming blood crystals doubles the regeneration speed】」
Perhaps because Mask hadn’t evolved this time, the three abilities Lin Jiayao randomly received were quite ordinary.
But this didn’t matter; she had intended to evolve her Lurker ability anyway. If other rare evolutions had appeared, it would have made her hesitate.
After selecting Bone Spike Lurker, Lin Jiayao felt a “crackling” sound from her bones.
She felt that not only the flexibility but also the hardness of her bones had greatly improved.
And her control over her bones was stronger.
As Lin Jiayao willed it, a bone spike as thin as a silver needle extended from her fingertip and touched the wheelchair.
Then, her bone conduction seemed to be amplified several times, and no vibration within 150 meters could escape her detection.
Compared to the previous 100-meter range, it had only increased by 50 meters.
But now she could detect even fainter sounds—like the crawling of ants—and she could accurately pinpoint their location.
The Lv.2 Bone Spike Lurker was a significant improvement over Lv.1, and Lin Jiayao was quite satisfied.
It was just that the evolutions Mask provided were basically all bone-related.
She wondered what other types of zombies could offer her.
If she had a choice, she might still choose a Biter, as she also wanted to increase her “Robustness” level, so she could walk freely without being confined to a wheelchair.
“Hoo…”
Lin Jiayao took a deep breath and exhaled, licking her slightly dry lips.
She could only rely on the vegetables and the single cup of water provided with dinner for hydration.
Perhaps next time, she could try putting a bottle of mineral water into the safehouse before returning…
This reminded her of how her sister, every time she returned from a mission, would bring back a cleaned, expired canned drink for her, like coaxing a child.
“Sigh…”
Lin Jiayao rubbed her head in frustration, then quickly calmed herself down.
She quickly retrieved her FN-57 from the safehouse, checked the bullets in the magazine, and put it back.
Then, she took out the blood crystal from the safehouse and placed it casually on the bed.
A 500g blood crystal, plus her own 5g, totaled 505g.
Once she found her sister, this amount of blood crystals would be enough for them to live comfortably for a long time.
“Wait for me…”
Lin Jiayao murmured to herself and slowly closed her eyes.
「Login」
「1、Mask: (Available for login)」
「2、Unlocks in 19 hours 28 minutes 45 seconds」
It was her third login, and Lin Jiayao was already familiar with the process.
She quickly chose to log in to Mask, skipped the safehouse option, and her vision plunged into darkness.
On the first floor of a residential building at 17 Shiyang Street in Haixin District, a pale head, like a sculpture, suddenly opened its eyes.
Long bone spikes extended from the back of the head, supporting it upright.
“Thump—”
Lin Jiayao, controlling Mask, pushed open the iron door and, while scanning ahead, checked the system’s extraction point.
「Extraction Time 2:59:55」
【Extraction Point: 15km】
The extraction distance was very far this time, and the corresponding extraction time was also very generous.
It seemed that the extraction time setting, while having a certain level of difficulty, allowed Lin Jiayao ample time to explore and collect along the way.
She just didn’t know the logic behind the placement of the extraction points.
Was it a location absolutely safe for zombies?
Or was the system intentionally guiding her to find something?
Lin Jiayao didn’t know; she could only figure it out later.
Right now, the most important thing was to find her sister.
When she reached Huangpu Avenue West after leaving Shiyang Street, she paused.
Because she sensed more than one set of footsteps within her 150-meter range.
And those footsteps were all heading left—towards the place where she had killed Brother Fei and his group.
It seemed someone had discovered the bodies, and within such a short time.
This also indirectly proved that there were quite a few people searching for her sister. The camp leader must have offered a substantial reward.
There was no time to waste.
Half a block remained unsearched. Lin Jiayao crawled under the cars, extending her bone spikes as far as possible to maximize the reception of external vibrations.
While avoiding the occasional footsteps, she quickly crawled, weaving through the abandoned vehicles.
Suddenly, Lin Jiayao stopped, quickly crawled out from under a car, and looked towards a small street.
In Lin Jiayao’s perception, beyond the convenience store on the corner, about fifty meters down the street, then turning left, above the residential building, about 12 meters up, came a faint pulsing.
The heartbeat was as weak as a dying candle flame, as if a passing gust of wind could extinguish it.
It wasn’t the heartbeat of a dormant zombie; it was definitely a human heartbeat, Lin Jiayao was certain.
“Click, click—”
Lin Jiayao changed direction and quickly crawled towards the old residential complex.
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