Apocalypse: I Can See Health Bars

"Hehe, Brother Lin… I just got here. Haven't even finished this can of beer yet…"

Chu Zhaotian seemed to have changed somehow; Lin Fan noticed his tone was much more relaxed.

"Where are Su Qing and Zhaozhao?"

He wasn't concerned about where Xu Qian had gone, as the man wasn't one for crowds. But Chu Zhaozhao, in Lin Fan's eyes, was the type who would ride her bike to the next village just to watch two dogs fight. When he didn't see her after a quick look around, he asked in surprise.

"Zhaozhao? Oh, them…"

As Chu Zhaotian spoke, he jerked his head up. Lin Fan looked up and saw two figures sitting hand in hand on the supermarket's sign. It was the two women.

Seeing Lin Fan look up, Chu Zhaozhao grinned and made a goofy face at him.

"Ah, alright…"

Lin Fan took a sip of beer and nodded, then waved a hand at Wang Yuanhua.

"Looks like you two have certainly mastered vertical maneuvering… Never mind, go on with what you were saying."

Wang Yuanhua and the circle of onlookers followed Lin Fan's gaze upward. They saw the two women sitting on the sign, each holding a can of beer, watching the scene below with great interest.

"Whoa! How'd they get up there…?"

"From the second floor?"

...

The surrounding crowd discussed in low voices.

Wang Yuanhua also nodded toward the figures above. He recognized them as the two women from inside the trash can earlier. But hearing Lin Fan's words, he continued his story:

"There wasn't any special feeling. I just knew that thing was edible and good for me, so I stuffed it in my mouth and swallowed. Every time I ate one, I could feel myself getting a chunk stronger…"

Wang Yuanhua earnestly recounted his experiences to the people around him, and Lin Fan learned what he wanted to know.

He raised his "health bar" by eating zombie crystals.

It was described as raising his health bar, but Wang Yuanhua himself had no concept of a "health bar." The idea of a "health bar" existed only in Lin Fan's observations.

So, to put it the other way around from a sensory perspective, he had increased his overall strength by eating zombie crystals, which, in Lin Fan's eyes, manifested as an increased health bar.

From his words, it was also clear that increasing one's strength had nothing to do with killing zombies.

While listening to Wang Yuanhua, Lin Fan glanced at Chu Zhaotian, who was also looking at him. Their eyes met with a seemingly tacit understanding. Lin Fan gave a subtle shake of his head, and it was clear Chu Zhaotian understood.

He knew Lin Fan had given Chu Zhaozhao a crystal when he saved her, but she hadn't eaten any since, only gaining strength by killing zombies. This was a point Lin Fan had mentioned when he "briefed" them.

So now, hearing Wang Yuanhua's completely different path to "leveling up," he was naturally a little confused.

But Lin Fan simply conveyed to him that he didn't know the answer either, and that it required verification.

By the time the sky was completely dark, Wang Yuanhua had retold his stories several times over, and a few cases of beer had been finished. The crowd's long-held curiosity and desire to understand "supermen" had been thoroughly sated by Wang Yuanhua, and they reluctantly dispersed to their own homes.

But Lin Fan's group didn't leave. His party of five, along with Liu Bin's few confidants and Wang Yuanhua, all went back to the residence above the supermarket.

The place had been converted into a small dormitory for the warehouse staff on duty. Two rooms held four beds. Liu Bin and his men usually slept upstairs in this building so they could respond quickly if anything happened at the warehouse.

A single camping lantern now hung in the living room. The room wasn't bright, but it wasn't dark either.

About ten people stood in the living room, with Lin Fan's group on one side and the rest huddled together on the other.

"Brother Lin, everyone here is completely trustworthy. Is there something else you wanted to discuss?"

Liu Bin asked, confused.

He had just listened to Wang Yuanhua's story several times over and understood it.

Awakening happened on the first day of the apocalypse. How to get stronger or fight monsters afterward had nothing to do with them. Not to mention those Mutated Zombies—even if eating one granted immortality, what good was it if you couldn't defeat it in the first place?

Now that Lin Fan had kept them all here, he didn't know what was about to be announced.

Lin Fan pondered for a moment, then reached into his pocket and took out two crystals, laying them on his palm for everyone to see.

One was spherical, the other polygonal.

The two Crystal Stones shimmered with a strange, dazzling light under the lantern.

"Which kind did you eat?"

He asked, looking at Wang Yuanhua.

Seeing Lin Fan casually pull out two Crystal Stones and ask Wang Yuanhua such a question, even a fool would understand what they were. In an instant, the eyes of the men behind Liu Bin grew feverish, as if they were looking at the very key to becoming a "superman."

Wang Yuanhua's eyes widened even more. Although he knew Lin Fan was powerful, in his mind, Lin Fan's current strength must have come from eating dozens more crystals than he had.

But now, here he was, pulling two more out of his pocket like a magician. This…

'Why doesn't he eat them?'

'Isn't it good to become even stronger?'

Although his mind was reeling with doubt, he still answered Lin Fan's question honestly:

"I think both. I forgot the first one, but after that, I had one of this kind, three of that kind…"

As he spoke, he pointed at the items in Lin Fan's hand, his finger hovering in the air. He didn't dare touch the Crystal Stones, afraid he wouldn't be able to resist snatching and eating one, which would surely make Lin Fan flip out.

"So you've had both, huh…"

Lin Fan thought for a moment, then tucked the polygonal one back into his pocket, leaving only the spherical one in his hand.

The polygonal crystal was useful to him, whether equipped directly or socketed into a weapon via a mod.

But this spherical one, besides being used as an Immortal Pill to save lives, didn't seem to have any other use at the moment.

Of course, there was one other use. Using the spherical one didn't consume mana; the buff was free, and it could even restore energy.

So, the one left in his hand was the second crystal Lin Fan had obtained, the [Sharpness Crystal]. This damaged crystal only had 28 energy points left; he wouldn't even feel bad about feeding it to a dog.

He hesitated for a moment, then held the crystal out to Liu Bin and his men, saying:

"Want to run an experiment?"

The moment he finished speaking, the men's eyes flared with passion. They all swallowed hard, their breathing grew heavy, and they craned their necks forward.

But they were Liu Bin's handpicked men. Though desire burned, their discipline held. With Liu Bin silent, none of them dared to move.

"Let me be clear. I don't know what the consequences of this will be. It's possible you could turn into a zombie. After eating this, the person has to be tied up for a whole night."

Lin Fan said, holding the crystal and looking at their feverish gazes, pouring a bucket of cold water on their excitement.

"This is just an experiment. I wouldn't normally do this without being one hundred percent certain, but you all heard what Brother Wang said today. Let's give it a try… Who wants to volunteer?"

"I'll pass…"

The moment Lin Fan finished speaking, Liu Bin was the first to raise his hand, stating his decision firmly.

The men behind him all looked at him in surprise.

A moment ago, everyone had been swept up in the frenzied desire to become an Awakened One. But thinking about it now, it only made sense for this opportunity to go to Liu Bin. After all, he was their nominal leader. To see him voluntarily step aside was, needless to say, quite surprising.

"Don't you guys fight over it either. Anyone willing to take the gamble, step forward. We'll draw lots."

As he spoke, Liu Bin went into the room, tore off a few scraps of paper, drew a circle on one, and crumpled it into a ball.

The men who had been standing behind him exchanged glances. From Zhang Ziyi to Wu Haitao, none of them were willing to give up this chance. In the end, all four of them stepped forward.

"Alright…" Liu Bin said, throwing away the extra scraps of paper. He kept only three more, which he also crumpled into balls.

...

"Brother Lin, my name is Chen Yang…"

A young man in his early twenties, holding the winning scrap of paper, stood before Lin Fan and introduced himself.

"Young Brother Chen has been a hard worker from the very beginning. Don't let his age fool you, he's very down-to-earth and capable."

Liu Bin added, praising him.

Since the winner was decided by drawing lots, the other three had no complaints. Besides, the few of them present were all close and interacted regularly, so they could only look at the young man named Chen Yang with envy.

"Alright, open your mouth…"

Lin Fan patted his shoulder and casually tossed the crystal into his mouth.

GULP. With a bob of his Adam's apple, Chen Yang swallowed the crystal whole.

Seeing him swallow the crystal, Lin Fan made a gesture. Two gleaming sword blades suddenly appeared behind him, hovering high in the air with their tips aimed at the young man's head.

"Don't worry, it's a precaution…"

He said, taking two steps back, his eyes locked firmly on Chen Yang's health bar.

Seeing Lin Fan retreat, the others also backed away nervously, vaguely forming a circle with the young man in the center.

Even though Su Qing and Chu Zhaozhao were more than strong enough to face a Mutated Zombie, standing behind Lin Fan now, they couldn't help but grip his arm, their palms sweating.

Meanwhile, Chu Zhaotian was being shielded by Xu Qian at the very back, staring nervously at the center of the living room.