Apocalypse: I Can See Health Bars

Liu Bin swallowed. He glanced at Chu Zhaozhao beside him, confirming she was the same injured girl from yesterday. Then he looked at Lin Fan, whose expression was unchanged, and answered dryly:

"...Understood... Yesterday... this young lady..."

"My name is Chu Zhaozhao..."

Chu Zhaozhao interrupted from the side.

"That's right,"

Lin Fan cut in, taking over the explanation,

"She was injured yesterday, on the verge of death. Then, she came back to life and became... like this."

Liu Bin was no fool. From the moment this began, his mind had been racing. He recalled Lin Fan's superhuman strength, that strange blue glow, and now Chu Zhaozhao, who had seemingly returned from the dead right before his eyes. An idea began to sprout wildly in his mind...

'An opportunity! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!'

He hesitated no longer. Stepping forward, he spoke in a near-feverish tone:

"Brother Lin, I understand! Does this mean we can all...?"

Seeing the fervor in his eyes, Lin Fan knew he truly understood. Anyone who had seen a few movies—or even a few episodes of an over-the-top action show—would grasp what this kind of power meant.

But Lin Fan just shook his head silently.

"It doesn't come without a cost. I've pieced together a few possibilities..."

He then explained all the details: the need to be saved by him within a specific window after being bitten by a zombie, and the requirement of a crystal from the head of a Mutated Zombie.

There was no point in keeping these things secret. It was better to tell them and let them try to figure it out. Two heads are better than one, after all. 'Maybe they could actually deduce something...'

"And the most, most, most important thing is that a certain condition must be met. It's a condition I can't control. It might have something to do with unconditional trust in me, but what I can say for sure is that none of you currently meet it..."

He saw a flash of disappointment in Liu Bin's eyes and immediately changed his tone.

"However, this path isn't necessarily impossible to replicate. So if anyone gets injured but isn't dead, you must notify me immediately. I don't know what the result will be, but it's still worth a try..."

"Also, not every Mutated Zombie has a crystal in its head. They also disintegrate naturally, so they're extremely precious. I don't have many on hand..."

"I don't want anyone taking foolish risks just to gamble on getting this power. If you can stay alive, focus on that first. Understand?"

It wasn't that Lin Fan distrusted Liu Bin. During this time, Liu Bin had shown the abilities of a competent leader. Although his health bar was also yellow, Lin Fan believed he wouldn't do something as self-destructive as sabotaging their own efforts.

Because if word of this got out—Lin Fan didn't even have to stretch his imagination—people would definitely let themselves get bitten by zombies, gambling on whether they could awaken.

As Lin Fan spoke, he turned to Wu Haitao and asked in a low voice, "Understand?"

Wu Haitao shuddered in fear and nodded his head like a pecking chicken. "Understood! Understood! I don't know anything. Brother Liu, you guys discuss it. I didn't hear a thing!"

Liu Bin quickly stepped forward, patted Wu Haitao heavily on the shoulder, and said to Lin Fan in a solemn voice:

"So, Brother Lin, can I understand it like this... To get this power, you basically have to get infected and take a gamble. Succeed and you live, fail and you die.

But the opportunity to take that gamble is in your hands. You said the crystals disintegrate naturally and must be kept with you to be preserved.

In other words, if someone gets injured, I must contact you immediately. As long as we can reach you, you're willing to give us a chance to take that gamble... Is my understanding correct?"

He finished speaking and looked at Lin Fan with a sincere gaze.

After hearing Liu Bin's summary, Lin Fan couldn't help but feel that dealing with smart people was just so much easier.

"Yes, you can understand it that way. But there's a limit. Like I said before, Mutated Zombies are rare, and not every one of them has a crystal. I really don't have many, so..."

"We scouted some new rooms yesterday and this morning. I'll give them to you now..."

Hearing this, Liu Bin quickly pulled a notebook from his pocket again, tore out a page, and handed it over.

Lin Fan glanced at it—another six rooms.

Seeing Lin Fan take the note, Liu Bin quickly continued:

"In the first row of four buildings, aside from the one that burned down, the other three have been almost completely cleared. We were just about to start on the row in the opposite complex. I'll go make the arrangements right away..."

"Okay, you can arrange your own schedule. Just be careful..."

A light ignited in Liu Bin's eyes. Originally, they cleared buildings to gather supplies. But now that supplies were plentiful, their motivation had waned. The moment he heard Lin Fan say that the key to awakening was inside Mutated Zombies, he was itching to go search immediately.

Previously, they would pry open doors one by one. If they found a problem, they'd report it to Liu Bin, who would confirm it, record it, and then hand the information over to Lin Fan.

'In that case, let's just change our objective! Instead of gathering supplies, we'll help Lin Fan find Mutated Zombies!'

'No more prying open doors. We'll just knock on them one by one. If we find anything suspicious, we'll report it to Lin Fan. The efficiency will be much higher that way. Supplies can be gathered slowly, but the more life-saving keys we can find, the better!'

"Okay!"

With a plan forming in his mind, Liu Bin turned to leave, but Lin Fan grabbed him and casually pressed a silver-white syringe into his hand.

"This is..."

Liu Bin stared at the syringe in his hand, confused.

"It's a type of stimulant. If someone is injured—badly, like on the brink of death—inject them with this. It can keep them alive for a little while longer..."

When Liu Bin heard it was to save lives, he quickly secured it close to his body and gave Lin Fan a heavy nod.

"Brother Lin, don't worry. I won't be selfish with this medicine. I'll only use it if one of the brothers is seriously injured!"

"Mm... Go on. Haitao, you go back with him too."

Lin Fan looked into Liu Bin's eyes. They were clear and sincere. It was obvious he truly trusted Lin Fan, but the bar above his head was still yellow...

Thanks to yesterday's individual check-ins, Lin Fan had plenty of potions on hand, so he didn't mind parting with a single Frenzy Potion.

Besides, judging by Liu Bin's reaction, they were about to prioritize a full-scale search. The harder they worked, the more locations of Mutated Zombies Lin Fan would get, and faster.

Previously, when he'd used the van to lure away the horde, Lin Fan had spotted a few health bars in the thousands among the zombies. But those were in a swarm of hundreds. Compared to them, the Mutated Zombies trapped in rooms were like treasure chests waiting to be opened. He had to take advantage of the relatively stable situation and farm as many as he could!

Lin Fan looked up at the dark clouds in the distance. Faintly, he thought he saw a light flashing far away...

A feeling that a storm was brewing settled over his heart, making him uneasy.

After Liu Bin and the other man had walked a little further away, Lin Fan took out his walkie-talkie, switched to a different channel, and pressed the talk button.

"Sister Qing, how are things on your end?"

"KSHH... Little brother... we're on our way back. We'll talk when we get there..."

After getting Su Qing's response, Lin Fan turned to see Chu Zhaozhao off to the side, practicing thrusts with her long spear. With a thought, a Blade appeared in his hand.

"Hey Zhaozhao, come control this blade. Scrape some of the grime out of this dumpster. It's filthy..."

Just as Lin Fan was supervising Chu Zhaozhao's cleaning duty, several figures approached in the distance. It was Su Qing's group of three, now returned.

"Little brother, the complex gate is locked, but there aren't many zombies over there. We should be able to get in... Is this thing finished?"

Su Qing walked up to Lin Fan, speaking as she curiously examined the modified dumpster.