Apocalypse: I Can See Health Bars

Wu Haitao, holding an angle grinder and wearing safety goggles, watched Lin Fan and the young girl beside him with a puzzled expression, wondering what they were up to.

Before them sat a large, dark green metal container. The four large characters for "Linjiang Sanitation" were written on its side.

However, the words were currently upside down. The oversized dumpster was inverted on the ground, its side lids splayed open and its six wheels pointing toward the sky.

The dumpster was covered in grease and filth. He had pushed it all the way back from Tianshui Road with Chu Zhaozhao and the others.

The other three had gone to the community entrance to scout the area and test Xu Qian's ability, leaving only Chu Zhaozhao behind to help Lin Fan.

"Cut the bottom off this thing…"

Lin Fan said, pointing at the top of the inverted dumpster before them.

Wu Haitao had no idea why he wanted to cut this thing, but he remembered that this guy never played by the book.

Liu Bin had held a meeting with them before. Their policy regarding Lin Fan could be summed up in eight words: Ask no questions, just do what he says.

SCREEECH—!

With a piercing shriek of the grinder, Wu Haitao cut the bottom of the large metal container off in two pieces.

"Zhaozhao, flip it over…"

Lin Fan walked to the side of the dumpster and touched it. His hand came away sticky, so he decided to just direct Chu Zhaozhao while he stood beside her, observing her health bar.

Chu Zhaozhao had also been the one to empty the trash from the dumpster with her ability, and she was the one who'd used her ability to push it all the way back.

Through Lin Fan's continuous tests, he had determined that the heavier the object Chu Zhaozhao lifted with her ability, and the faster it moved, the more energy it consumed per second...

"Nnngh—"

With a soft grunt, Chu Zhaozhao began to exert her power. Her little face flushed red as the dumpster—two meters long, one and a half meters wide, and one point three meters tall—seemed to break free from the bonds of gravity. It lifted into the air, slowly rotated until its wheels faced down, and then gently landed on the ground.

CLANG!

The metal plates that had formed the bottom, which had fallen inside the dumpster, now crashed onto the concrete, ringing out twice...

Lin Fan, meanwhile, pulled his gaze away from her health bar. 'Making the dumpster float costs about 12 energy points per second...'

'But Zhaozhao's energy recovery rate is much faster than my own. She recovers about one point every ten seconds.'

"..."

Standing to the side, Wu Haitao—whom Lin Fan didn't treat as an outsider—swallowed hard and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead as he watched the scene.

'This dumpster has to weigh at least three or four hundred pounds, right? And this little girl just...'

'Wait... something's not right. Holy shit!'

The hand wiping his forehead suddenly froze...

'How did the dumpster just fly up on its own!'

'This little girl...'

'Telekinesis!'

'Holy shit!'

'What is this? A superpower?'

In his shock, he almost dropped the angle grinder.

Thinking about it more carefully, an even more terrifying thought exploded in his mind. 'Isn't this the girl who got bitten by a zombie yesterday?'

'I didn't see it myself, but everyone was talking about it at dinner last night.'

'They said a young girl with Lin Fan got a nasty bite from a zombie. I've seen the women around Lin Fan, and it's just these two...'

'Instead of turning into a zombie, she became some kind of god?'

Now, Wu Haitao couldn't stop the sweat from pouring down his forehead, and even his legs felt a little weak.

"Uh... that is, Brother Lin, I won't ask anything... I mean... is there anything else you need me to do?"

Wu Haitao stammered, his eyes now holding not just the reverence from before, but also a new layer of fear of the unknown.

Seeing Wu Haitao, who had been helping so openly just moments ago, suddenly become so cautious, Lin Fan naturally understood it was because of Chu Zhaozhao.

In any case, ever since Chu Zhaozhao had awakened such a conspicuous ability, Lin Fan had no intention of making her hide it.

If it were just a matter of great strength or high health, others might not think too much of it. But this was telekinesis; what was the point of hiding it anymore?

Besides, so many people had seen her get injured yesterday. The fact that she was up and about today, alive and well, and even possessed a superpower, was something that couldn't be hidden from Liu Bin and his men forever.

'Might as well just be open about it,' Lin Fan thought. 'My conscience is clear. Whether or not someone awakens depends on that green health bar. The decision isn't up to me...'

So, he spoke casually:

"Don't be nervous, Brother Wu... I was just about to tell Liu Bin and the others about this anyway..."

With that, he picked up his walkie-talkie, pressed the talk button, and said:

"Brother Liu, it's Lin Fan... Are you busy? Come over to my location when you're done..."

A moment later, Liu Bin's voice came through the walkie-talkie.

"Brother Lin... This is Liu Bin... Okay, right away..."

"Let's wait for Liu Bin to get here, and I'll explain everything at once. For now, help me cut a few 10x10 openings in these spots, and then drill some holes here and here…"

Lin Fan said to Wu Haitao as he used a piece of chalk to draw on the dumpster's outer wall.

When Wu Haitao heard that Lin Fan wasn't planning to hide it from them and that Liu Bin was on his way, he felt a great sense of relief. At least he wouldn't have to worry about being silenced.

He picked up the angle grinder, forced his trembling hands to steady, and continued cutting openings where Lin Fan had marked...

While Wu Haitao was still worrying for his life, Liu Bin came running over.

"Brother Lin, what's wrong? Why the rush…"

He had just stopped, his words still hanging in the air, when he sensed that the atmosphere was a bit off.

Wu Haitao was cutting a large dumpster while turning his head to look at him. Even though he was wearing safety goggles, Liu Bin could still see that his face was unnaturally pale, as if he'd seen a ghost...

He subconsciously took two quick steps closer to Lin Fan and started to explain:

"Brother Lin, Haitao is an honest guy, just a bit blunt. If he said something to offend you, please don't…"

Before he could finish, he turned his head and finally got a clear look at the figure that had been blocked by Lin Fan's body...

It was the young girl who had been covered in blood yesterday!

Now, not only was she completely unharmed, but she was standing there, full of energy, curiously looking at him. This...

For a moment, he was too stunned to speak.

"Brother Lin... It's done..."

As the sound of the angle grinder died down, Wu Haitao walked over and said quietly to Lin Fan.

"Alright, thanks for your trouble…"

Seeing Lin Fan nod, Wu Haitao looked as if he'd been granted amnesty. He quickly took a few small steps back, putting some distance between himself and the dumpster...

Lin Fan reached out and pushed the dumpster into the middle of the path, revealing the two large metal plates that had been cut from its bottom. He then tipped his chin toward Chu Zhaozhao.

Chu Zhaozhao understood. She stretched out a hand, and the two large plates, along with a few smaller cut-off pieces of metal, began to float up unsteadily as if pulled by invisible strings, making a low, grinding sound...

"This..." Liu Bin's eyes went wide. He glanced at Wu Haitao, then whipped his head back to stare at the two metal plates in mid-air. He subconsciously took half a step back and nearly tripped over a cable on the ground...

Lin Fan watched the absolute horror on Liu Bin's face without the slightest surprise.

He waited until the two large metal plates had fallen back to the ground before speaking slowly.

"Brother Liu, do you understand now?"