Chapter 29: Bait?

There were only five Awakened left now. Three of them had already formed crystal cores and possessed considerable strength, while the other two were still in the cerebrum-pellet stage, physically stronger than ordinary people but far from formidable. Even if Lin Dong confronted them directly, it would be no real challenge.

At that moment—

Li Nan, accompanied by the tall man, had already entered the lobby on the first floor. The gathered survivors hurried over at the sight of them.

“Captain Li, we’ve searched the entire mall, but there’s no trace of the monster.”

“Of course you haven’t found it. That thing is incredibly strange.” Li Nan glanced at the survivors, a hint of envy in her eyes. She thought to herself that the monster ignored ordinary people, targeting only the Awakened. These people had nothing to worry about...

“Huh?” The crowd scratched their heads in confusion.

“Captain Li, then what should we do?”

“Don’t worry, we’ll deal with it soon enough.” Li Nan was brimming with confidence.

...

On the sixth floor, Xiao Liu stood at the railing with two others, a man and a woman, all three watching intently, unwilling to miss even the slightest clue.

“Keep your eyes peeled. If Brother Nan gets attacked, we go down and help immediately.”

“Got it, no problem.” The two nodded vigorously.

They had no idea that Lin Dong had already emerged from the corridor and was silently approaching them from behind. But the female Awakened, her intuition sharp, suddenly felt a wave of unease, as if something was lurking behind her.

“Who’s there?” She turned abruptly.

But what she saw left her momentarily stunned. A tall, slender young man, immaculately dressed and strikingly handsome, was approaching her at a leisurely pace. With such looks, it was easy to win a girl’s favor.

“Whew—you startled me. I thought it was a monster,” the girl exhaled, patting her ample chest in relief.

“Monster? What monster?” Lin Dong clearly disagreed with the term.

Xiao Liu and the other man glanced over, instinctively taking Lin Dong for just another survivor.

“You’ve done well, making it all the way to the sixth floor.”

“Had nothing better to do,” Lin Dong replied with a slight smile, stepping forward to lean on the railing beside the three of them, looking down at the lobby below.

At this close range, the female Awakened caught a faint scent of laundry detergent. She turned and caught Lin Dong’s finely chiseled profile, flawless and striking. Her heart fluttered despite herself.

Were it not for the life-and-death situation, and her mind occupied with survival, she might have insisted he share her bed...

In the apocalypse, female Awakened were highly coveted; polygamy was far from uncommon.

“There really is a monster in this mall. Stay with us; the first floor could get dangerous,” the girl said.

“What could possibly be dangerous down there?” Lin Dong asked casually.

Xiao Liu, hot-tempered and irritable, snapped, “You wouldn’t understand even if I explained. Quit asking questions and let us focus.”

“Why aren’t you worried about danger up here on the sixth floor?” Lin Dong remarked, his tone playful.

“You—” Xiao Liu started to curse, but then paused, something amiss. The way this guy talked was nothing like a survivor.

Could it be...

Especially the girl—she recalled how Lin Dong had appeared so suddenly, making no sound, and in such darkness, where ordinary survivors needed flashlights or phones to see anything, he had neither, and yet leaned nonchalantly over the railing, peering down at the lobby.

Realization struck her; her body went rigid, a chill racing up her spine, every hair standing on end.

What exactly was standing beside her?

Xiao Liu reacted instantly, lunging for Lin Dong.

“That’s him! Get him!”

But Lin Dong slipped back, moving like a wraith, easily evading the attack.

Xiao Liu remembered the researchers’ advice: zombies with domains tended to have weaker bodies, and he himself was a strength-enhanced Awakened.

“Not so fast! Die!” Xiao Liu charged, swinging a massive fist at Lin Dong, thinking it was time to avenge his fallen teammates. His arm bulged with muscle, nearly splitting the seams of his uniform. The punch was ferocious, every ounce of strength behind it.

Lin Dong considered testing his own strength. Last time, when he’d faced Zhang Xiaoyuan, he’d killed him with a single punch. So this time, he held back, using only half his power.

He raised his fist and met Xiao Liu’s blow head-on.

Bang!

The collision sounded like steel hammers striking, a shockwave rattling the sixth-floor railing.

Crack!

With the sound of bone shattering, Xiao Liu felt a searing pain—his entire arm snapped, hanging at an unnatural angle, limp and useless.

“So strong!” Xiao Liu gasped, clutching his ruined arm, staggering back, cold sweat pouring down his brow. He realized in horror that this foe’s strength was monstrous—nothing like the researchers had described. That punch could have blasted a tank apart.

Utter despair welled up within him.

Damn it! Which researcher came up with this? If there’s a next life, I’ll bite him to death!

That was Xiao Liu’s last thought before dying.

His two teammates, still in the cerebrum-pellet stage and lacking any Awakened abilities, were no match for him. In a blur, Lin Dong pierced both their throats.

...

Meanwhile, in the first-floor lobby—

Li Nan was still exchanging pleasantries with the survivors when a dull thud echoed from the sixth floor, followed by the sound of the railing shaking violently.

“Something’s wrong!” Li Nan’s brow furrowed as she looked up.

But after scanning the area, she couldn’t spot Xiao Liu or the others.

“This is bad!” The tall man beside her seemed to realize something, too.

“Xiao Liu and the others must have been attacked. We need to go help them, quick!”

“Wait...” Li Nan stopped him, another thought occurring to her.

They might have...seriously underestimated the enemy’s strength.

After all, Xiao Liu was one of the strongest in the team, second only to Li Nan herself; together with two other Awakened, they should at least be able to hold the monster off for a while, even if they couldn’t win.

Yet it had happened in the blink of an eye—Xiao Liu and the others had simply vanished!

The tall man pressed on, anxious. “Nan, what are we waiting for? Aren’t we going to help Liu?”

“It’s...already too late!” Li Nan’s pupils contracted sharply as an intense sense of danger seized her, making her feel as if she were being watched by something deadly, as if death could strike at any moment.

The survivors exchanged bewildered glances, clueless as to what was happening.

In the surrounding darkness, they could see nothing.

One burly man suddenly felt a chill at the back of his neck. Something wet dripped onto his skin.

“Huh? What’s this?” He reached up instinctively, feeling something sticky and reeking of blood, its metallic tang stinging his nose.

He quickly shone his flashlight on his hand—and his face turned ashen, for his palm was slick with crimson.

“Blood...it’s blood!”

...