Apocalypse: I Can See Health Bars

The locks on the two rooms on the sixth floor had been broken by Lin Fan's kicks, so they were normally just pulled shut. After knocking and getting a response, Lin Fan and the others pushed the door open and walked in.

The moment they entered, they saw Xu Qian coming to greet them.

"Brother Lin…"

He greeted Lin Fan with a panicked look on his face.

"Don't panic. What's wrong?"

Lin Fan patted his shoulder.

"Zhaozhao told me you have superpowers now…"

But even without Zhaozhao telling him, Lin Fan could see the health bar hovering over Xu Qian's head: green, [120/120], with a translucent light blue border.

At first glance, one might think his awakening was incomplete. But upon seeing his energy bar, [60/60], Lin Fan understood. The special border corresponded to his unique ability.

"Um… but…"

Xu Qian held out his hands, looking at his palms nervously as if afraid of something.

"It seems like… it only works if I'm a certain distance away…"

As he spoke, he voluntarily backed away until he reached the bedroom doorway. Then he furrowed his brow, seemingly exerting his power.

Lin Fan's eyebrow twitched slightly. In his vision, he sensed a familiar fluctuation slowly emanating from Xu Qian's body. It was like a layer of trembling ripples on water, forming a curtain that gradually enveloped Xu Qian's body…

"He's gone! He's gone!" Chu Zhaozhao exclaimed in surprise from the side. "Big Brother, look! He's turned invisible!"

"He's really gone…"

"He really is…"

Chu Zhaotian and Su Qing added from behind them.

Hearing their remarks, Lin Fan turned back to ask Su Qing,

"Sister Qing, describe what you're sensing…"

"Huh?" Suddenly put on the spot by Lin Fan, Su Qing was a little surprised, but she still frowned seriously, staring at the spot where Xu Qian had vanished as if trying to see something.

"He… he seems to still be there, but I can't see him clearly…

It's like he's become an unimportant piece of furniture. I feel like he's there, but my eyes keep subconsciously sliding past him, unable to focus…

This feeling… it's a bit familiar, like it's happened before…"

"Heh…" Lin Fan gave a dry laugh and patted Chu Zhaotian. "What about you?"

"About the same as Sister Qing. I can't really describe it… but it's basically that…"

Chu Zhaotian said hesitantly.

Before Lin Fan could even ask, Chu Zhaozhao jumped in to answer. "I can't see him, but I know he's right there. He has a key on him, I can feel it…"

Chu Zhaozhao was using her ability to locate Xu Qian, but in Lin Fan's vision, nothing had changed after he first felt that familiar energy fluctuation envelop him.

He could clearly see Xu Qian standing there with his eyes nervously shut, and could even make out his trembling eyelashes.

He observed silently. After about a minute, Xu Qian's Energy Value dropped from [60] to [59]…

"Er… Xu Qian, why are your eyes closed? What are you afraid of?"

Having already reached a conclusion, Lin Fan asked curiously.

"…Huh? You can see him?"

Hearing Lin Fan's question, Su Qing felt that something was off. It suddenly dawned on her, and she asked in astonishment.

The others heard Su Qing and turned to look at Lin Fan in surprise.

As for Xu Qian, when he heard Lin Fan, he obediently opened his eyes, but then the implication hit him. He ran over to the group in a few steps, excitedly grabbing Lin Fan's arm.

"Really, Brother Lin?! You can see me?"

His eyes filled with ecstasy and relief, as if he'd been thrown a lifeline.

"This is great! Just now… it felt like I was cursed, like I was being pulled out of this world. I was so scared… Scared that if I lost control of this ability, I'd never be able to come back…"

'So that's what it was…'

As Lin Fan listened, he finally understood what Xu Qian was afraid of.

If it were anyone else, they would probably be scheming to eliminate the one person who could see through their invisibility by any means necessary.

But Xu Qian was the exact opposite. He was ecstatic that Lin Fan could see through his invisibility. Perhaps because he had once been frozen, unable to help someone crying out for him, he was now terrified of being abandoned by the world…

But the past is the past. Everyone walks step by step toward the future. Although that fear might always be with him, at least right now, there was something Lin Fan could do.

"Sigh…" Lin Fan reached out and grasped Xu Qian's shoulders, giving him a reassuring look. He cleared his throat twice and said,

"Um… let me show you a little trick, too…"

With that, he equipped the Concealment Crystal and, under everyone's baffled stares, walked step-by-step toward the spot where Xu Qian had been standing.

As Lin Fan walked forward, the eyes of the people behind him gradually widened.

Because in their field of vision, Lin Fan's back was becoming less and less distinct—he was disappearing!

Just like Xu Qian!

"Brother Lin, you can do it too!?"

Although Xu Qian couldn't see Lin Fan, he had just heard everyone's description of himself. It was clear the same thing was happening to Lin Fan!

"You! So… I knew that feeling was familiar!"

Su Qing suddenly remembered where she had experienced this strong sense of déjà vu—it was from the day he'd scared her while she was carrying things downstairs!

"Heh heh…"

Lin Fan grinned at Su Qing and unequipped the crystal.

Xu Qian's ability operated in the exact same way as the Concealment Crystal.

And what Lin Fan had done was a direct demonstration, more effective than any words of encouragement could ever be.

"Don't worry. This is just a way of channeling energy. It's your talent, not some curse. Perk up, we still have work to do in a bit…"

"Yeah!"

Seeing that Lin Fan had the same ability as him, Xu Qian finally broke free from his panic. He nodded forcefully, a spark returning to his eyes.

"Big Brother… you can turn invisible too… I want to do it too…"

Chu Zhaozhao tugged on the corner of Lin Fan's shirt, whining.

Lin Fan casually patted her on the head.

"In your dreams…"

...

Laughing and joking, the group returned from Xu Qian's place to Apartment 301. They heated up yesterday's leftover egg pancakes and chive pockets and boiled a pot of noodles.

The five of them—four of whom were Awakened Ones—devoured all the food but still weren't full. They ended up finishing several more packs of instant ramen…

"We're going to eat ourselves out of house and home…"

Watching the group eat what would be a three-day supply for a normal person in a single meal, Lin Fan couldn't help but wince.

"Chu Zhaotian is the only good one left…"

He glanced at the only yellow health bar in the group, [77/100]…

'The thought flashed through his mind for only a moment, and Lin Fan gave a self-deprecating laugh.'

'Forget it. Whatever happens, happens. I'm tired…'

"Eat up! When you're done, we're going downstairs to come up with a new plan!"

"Since you're eating this much, we're doubling our zombie-killing quota today!"

But then, a new thought struck him. Lin Fan shot up from the sofa. 'I've got three superhumans on my team now. Why are we just clearing buildings? Forget that! We're going straight into the residential complex!'

'Time to grind for supplies!'