Chapter 18: Nightfall Approaches
「Extraction Time 00:21:41」
【Extraction Point: 1km】
“Click, click, click—”
Lin Jiayao crawled towards the extraction point, her steps unusually light.
Just now, she had eliminated another threat to her sister, and the feeling of helping her filled her with joy.
She had even managed to snag an expired can of cola from a vending machine in the supermarket and put it in the safehouse.
The pistol occupied two slots, the bullets one, and the last slot was claimed by the precious Coca-Cola.
Although she hadn’t gained any blood crystals this time, bringing back a can of cola was also good; it was sugar and water.
After locating a Wailer with her Bone Spike Lurker, Lin Jiayao had dragged the relatively defenseless creature to the camp and left it there.
With time to spare, she returned to Anju Huayuan and waited near her sister’s apartment.
Her sister’s condition was stable; waking up was only a matter of time.
Lin Jiayao wanted to stay close, but her current appearance would only frighten her sister.
Being at the doorway, able to hear her sister’s healthy heartbeat, was enough to reassure her.
Only when there were thirty minutes left until extraction, after confirming the horde wouldn’t stray in this direction, did Lin Jiayao leave.
Night was the peak of zombie activity. Lin Jiayao had to extract quickly, eat something to replenish her energy, and then log back in.
Next time, she would deal with the Wailers on the bridge.
And Mask hadn’t consumed any new blood crystals for almost half a day. When her body functions were more active at night, she could try absorbing some.
She was looking forward to the upgrade to [Bone Manipulator Lv.2]. It was a gold-quality evolution, after all.
Thinking about her plans, Lin Jiayao quickly reached the extraction point.
This time, it seemed to be inside an international bank.
Tattered banknotes were stuck to the floor in front of the bank entrance.
These colorful pieces of paper, once so coveted, were now worthless.
Only blood crystals were valuable currency now.
Lin Jiayao crawled into the bank lobby, hid behind a counter, and waited for the countdown to end.
【Extracting in: 0.1】
“Hoo…”
Back in the Hengyang Stadium camp, Lin Jiayao exhaled slowly.
She stretched her stiff back, the wheelchair creaking beneath her.
After getting used to crawling with bone spikes, she felt uncomfortable sitting in the wheelchair, let alone adjusting to her frail body.
As Mask, she was a nightmare capable of destroying an entire camp, a powerful being who could stroll through a horde.
Back in her own body, she was once again an ordinary, beautiful girl, and a disabled one at that.
But at least she wasn’t completely helpless anymore.
「Please retain your evolution」
「1、【Bone Hardening Lv.1 (Gray): Slightly increases your bone defense】」
「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】」
Since Mask hadn’t evolved, the available evolutions weren’t much different.
And perhaps because Mask’s Bone Spike Lurker was only Lv.2, the system didn’t offer Bone Spike Lurker Lv.3 as an option.
Of the remaining options, there seemed to be only one viable choice.
From the death of her first controlled zombie to controlling the second, Mask, Lin Jiayao knew the system would allow her next zombie to inherit some of her main body’s abilities.
Mask had inherited [Blood Rage Lv.1] because that was Lin Jiayao’s only evolution at the time.
She didn’t know yet if she could transfer all her evolutions to the next zombie.
If it was only partial, was it random or could she choose?
Following this logic, [Bone Skin Lv.1] was very important.
This evolution could coat her skin with a bone-like armor.
Although it was only a thin layer, it was enough to protect against sunlight.
For non-bone-type evolutions, and for zombies sensitive to light, this evolution was almost essential.
It would allow Lin Jiayao to control those zombies whose movements were restricted during the day and utilize their full potential.
She decisively chose [Bone Skin Lv.1].
After making her choice, Lin Jiayao’s skin tingled.
Looking down, her entire body seemed to be covered in a thin layer of white bone material, making her skin appear snow-white and even slightly reflective.
Her defense had definitely increased, but correspondingly, her perception of the outside world seemed to have weakened.
Perhaps this was a side effect of being a white-quality evolution.
Hopefully, there would be more powerful evolutions later.
Lin Jiayao clenched her fists. The transformation faded instantly, and her skin returned to its normal color.
Glancing at the dusk light filtering through the window cracks, she figured it would be a while before the canned food and vegetables arrived.
Lin Jiayao used this time to take out the pistol, remove the magazine, and load the bullets one by one.
Due to her habit of emptying the magazine with every encounter, she only had one magazine’s worth of bullets left.
The good news was that there was another free slot in the safehouse, allowing her to store something else.
Lin Jiayao took out the can of Coca-Cola from the safehouse, looked at it, and decided to wipe the dusty top with her sleeve.
After cleaning the can, she extended a bone spike from her fingertip, hooked the ring pull, and pried it open.
“Tsss—”
A faint fizzing sound. Lin Jiayao paused.
Had she already become so accustomed to using these evolved abilities?
It felt as natural as breathing, so familiar it was almost frightening…
“Hoo…”
Taking a deep breath, Lin Jiayao stopped herself from dwelling on these thoughts, brought the can to her lips, and took a small sip.
After five years past its expiration date, the cola had lost its carbonation. In other words, it was flat.
If she sniffed carefully, there was a slight sour smell.
But even so, it still tasted like cola, a somewhat off-tasting sugary cola-flavored water. Even so, Lin Jiayao drank it carefully.
If it were chilled, it would probably taste much better.
These things were more about reminiscing about the good old days before the apocalypse.
In another five years, or another ten, even this hint of cola flavor might disappear. By then, perhaps people would have completely forgotten what life was like before.
“Gulp—”
Taking another sip, Lin Jiayao pushed her wheelchair to the door, opened it, bent down, and picked up the can of food, a cup of water, and a small bok choy leaf placed on top.
Returning to her room, locking the door, Lin Jiayao carefully finished her less-than-appetizing dinner, then slowly closed her eyes.
“System, login.”
“Mask.”
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