Chapter 3: Evolving Blood Rage
“Ugh…”
Lin Jiayao rubbed her forehead and slowly opened her eyes.
In the past hour and a half, she had only found three Sprinters, killing them and absorbing 7g of blood crystals.
She didn’t dare stray too far from the extraction point, and as the sky gradually brightened, the zombies’ movements became sluggish.
Nevertheless, she returned to the extraction point ten minutes before the extraction ended and successfully extracted.
After extraction, Lin Jiayao lost the zombie’s perspective and returned to her wheelchair.
She moved her legs, but they were still numb.
「Please retain your evolution」
「1、【Blood Rage Lv.1 (Blue): Rage consumes your mind, doubling strength and speed while granting brief immunity to ultraviolet light, lasting 10s, with strong side effects】」
「2、【Bone Spike Lurker Lv.1 (Gray): Gain the abilities of a Lurker】」
「3、【Robust Lv.1 (Gray): Makes the host’s body more robust】」
“Evolution?”
Lin Jiayao questioned, and this time, she received a response from the system.
「The host can choose one evolution obtained from the zombie body to strengthen their main body」
「The main body’s evolution can also be partially carried over to the next zombie body」
“Robust… can it make me stand?”
「After the Robust level increases, there is a probability it can」
Hearing this, Lin Jiayao’s breathing quickened, and she almost chose Robust immediately.
But soon, she calmed down.
The system only said it was possible, not certain.
But she did have a chance to stand, that much was definite.
“Blood Rage.”
Lin Jiayao didn’t choose 【Robust】, but the blue-quality 【Blood Rage】.
Although ultraviolet light couldn’t kill zombies, it could make most zombies move more slowly.
The ability to briefly grant immunity to ultraviolet light was very important.
「Next random login: 23:59:55」
「1、(Unnamed): Pending login」
“What does pending login mean?”
「After a zombie body successfully extracts, it is retained by the system. The host can log in again at any time and extract again」
Hearing this, Lin Jiayao understood.
As long as she controlled a zombie and extracted once, she could control that zombie again, complete another extraction, and gain new rewards.
And after 24 hours, she could gain control of another zombie…
If only the system had come a few days earlier, she could have gained enough evolutions…
“Knock, knock, knock—”
“Click.”
A crisp unlocking sound interrupted Lin Jiayao’s thoughts.
Two sturdy men in worn-out black tracksuits opened the door and looked at Lin Jiayao expressionlessly.
“Enforcer Li Yi, commencing your expulsion.”
The man in the lead said coldly. He seemed to notice the pistol in Lin Jiayao’s hand, exhaled softly, and reached out to stop the enforcer beside him.
“Need a minute?” Li Yi said.
Although Li Yi sympathized with the girl, he was only following orders. The meager contribution points he earned were only enough to support himself.
Just surviving was hard enough.
Giving Lin Jiayao an extra minute to end her own life was the most he could do.
Dying here was much better than being expelled from the camp.
“No, thank you, Uncle Li.” Lin Jiayao placed the pistol on her lap and smiled faintly at Li Yi.
Lin Jiayao remembered Li Yi; he was the only person in the camp who still kept a cat, the man and his cat having lived in the camp for four years.
Just as Li Yi was about to say something, he suddenly felt his arm being hit.
“Excuse me.”
A cane separated the two men, and an elderly woman walked in quickly. She paused for a moment when she saw the pistol on Lin Jiayao’s lap, but quickly placed her cane in Lin Jiayao’s hands.
“Hold this for Grandma.”
After saying this, Grandma Zhang, ignoring Lin Jiayao’s reaction, pushed her wheelchair and walked towards the outside.
Li Yi’s heart tightened, but he followed them.
A defenseless old woman and a beautiful young girl in a wheelchair; surviving this long in the apocalypse was a miracle.
At least within the camp, he had to ensure their safety.
After being pushed to the doorway, Lin Jiayao saw the dim morning sunlight—she hadn’t been in the sun for a long time.
But contrasting with the beautiful morning light were the dilapidated buildings and the more than ten men leaning against the roadside, who started cheering wildly upon seeing Lin Jiayao.
They were the thugs from the Blood Gang, unrestrained even before the apocalypse, and even more so now.
Inside the camp, they still followed some rules, but outside, they were the most brutal desperados.
Now, they had set their sights on Lin Jiayao, waiting for the moment she left the camp.
“Damn, Third Brother, she’s even prettier than you said.”
“Fuck, those legs are mine.”
“Hee hee hee…”
Obscene words constantly assaulted Lin Jiayao. Grandma Zhang behind her didn’t speak, just pushed the wheelchair quickly towards the gate.
Although it was considered fast, her speed was only slightly faster than a Biter.
Finally, Grandma Zhang pushed Lin Jiayao to the camp gate.
The camp gates were currently closed; it wasn’t fully daylight yet, so the gates wouldn’t open.
But Grandma Zhang took out a badge from her small bag and flashed it in front of the guard.
That’s… an Explorer badge?
5g of blood crystals could be exchanged for an Explorer badge in the camp, allowing entry and exit at any time.
This was the blood crystal that Grandma had saved by scrimping and saving, picking up scraps, intending to leave it for her son.
She must have exchanged it while Lin Jiayao was controlling the zombie.
“It’s no use keeping it. A few more days won’t change anything. Might as well gamble.” Seeming to sense Lin Jiayao’s gaze, Grandma Zhang grinned, revealing her few remaining teeth.
After pushing Lin Jiayao out of the camp, Grandma started to run, pushing the wheelchair.
Every step Grandma took was incredibly difficult, her breathing like a broken bellows, seeming ready to collapse at any moment on this downhill road.
Lin Jiayao blinked, feeling her eyes welling up.
“Grandma, over there.” Lin Jiayao pointed to the office building a few hundred meters away.
The thugs behind them might also have Explorer badges; they didn’t have much time.
Inside the camp, Li Yi blocked the Blood Gang thugs.
“Don’t rush, one at a time. You first…”
Li Yi leaned against the gate, slightly raised his chin, and slowly began “checking tickets.”
Every second he could delay was a second gained.
400m, 350m…
There were 350m left to the office building. If they got a little closer, it would be close enough for Lin Jiayao to control the zombie, activate Blood Rage, and carry her away.
If she wanted to kill all the thugs behind them, they needed to get even closer…
Blood Rage only lasted 10 seconds; she had to ensure she was as close to her zombie as possible.
Around 100m, she would be confident enough to kill them and bring her body to safety while using Blood Rage.
“Woo!!!”
The sound of the gate opening and cheers came from behind; the first Blood Gang member had come out.
Lin Jiayao could clearly feel Grandma Zhang’s strength waning—she was too old.
“Grandma…” Just as Lin Jiayao was about to tell Grandma Zhang to abandon her and run, she felt a final, weak push from behind the wheelchair.
With that push, Lin Jiayao sped down the gentle slope towards the office building.
“Grandma Zhang?!” Lin Jiayao quickly looked back and saw Grandma Zhang had released the wheelchair.
“Run, Jiayao… Run!” After shouting these words with her last bit of strength, Grandma Zhang turned to face the Blood Gang member charging down the slope.
She didn’t even take her cane.
Lin Jiayao could feel the breeze on her face as she glided, but her heart seemed to have stopped.
She watched in a daze as the white-haired Grandma Zhang embraced the charging Blood Gang member.
After being knocked down, she clung to the thug’s boot with her withered hands.
200m.
Grandma Zhang finally stopped moving after the spiked boot stomped hard on her face.
150m.
The Blood Gang member paid no attention to Grandma Zhang beneath his feet, just looked at Lin Jiayao gliding down alone, and smirked.
100m.
“What’s wrong? Keep rolling! Hahahahaha!!!” He jogged casually, caught up to the slow-moving wheelchair, mocked her from behind, and enjoyed watching her trembling body.
Just as he reached out, grabbed the wheelchair, and stopped it, he saw the dark muzzle of a gun pointed at him.
“Hey, hey, don’t get excited, don’t get excited. Killing me won’t do anything, there are so many more people behind me—”
The thug raised his hands, still grinning, watching Lin Jiayao’s wheelchair roll backward unhurriedly.
She couldn’t escape anyway.
He didn’t know if the pistol would fire, but it didn’t stop him from waiting for his teammates.
“Fuck! Don’t hog her all to yourself!” The gate behind them had completely opened, and more than ten Blood Gang members swarmed out, yelling and charging down the slope.
Like zombies escaping their cage.
Then, the Blood Gang member in front of Lin Jiayao looked puzzled.
Because he saw Lin Jiayao, rolling backward in her wheelchair, close her eyes, the pistol slipping from her hand.
“Roar—”
A furious roar came from the office building not far behind her.
“Crash—”
Glass shattered.
A frenzied zombie, its entire body bleeding from exposure to sunlight, its bone spikes trembling, filled with endless rage, ran on all fours towards the Blood Gang member.
“A Sprinter! How is this possible?!”
The thug hadn’t even had time to stop the wheelchair before he was startled by the zombie behind it.
How could this be? How could a frenzied Sprinter appear in daylight?! And even faster than at night?!
It covered the hundred meters in three seconds. The Blood Gang member, just having turned around, hadn’t even run three meters before a thick hand gripped his head.
“Roar!!!”
“Crack—”
The Blood Gang member’s head was crushed in a single hand.
Brain matter splattered everywhere.
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