Gao Wu: If this BOSS isn't nerfed, is it even playable?

Chapter 104 The Walking Dead
Time flowed on in the stillness of the abandoned city at night.

More than half an hour later, Lin Ye was already standing in the shadow of the Third Central Hospital of Dongjiang City.

In the darkness of night, the hospital building's silhouette was outlined in a grotesque and terrifying way by the moonlight, with countless broken window holes resembling empty eye sockets.

It was like a colossal steel beast lurking in the darkness, ready to devour its prey.

Lin Ye stopped and took out a sealed container from his tactical bag.

Upon unscrewing the cap, a pungent odor mixed with rust, blood, and energy radiation wafted out.

Lin Ye evenly smeared the thick, black blood inside onto his exposed skin and combat uniform.

This is the blood from a level 15 elite fusion monster he just hunted.

Lin Ye discovered that as long as he exuded this unique "kind" aura belonging to those fused monsters, he could greatly avoid those monsters that relied on their sense of smell and energy fluctuations to locate their enemies.

To disguise oneself.

Although the smell wasn't very pleasant, the effect was surprisingly good.

Now that he's here, Lin Ye's purpose has changed.

He planned to infiltrate the hospital, find the LV.20 giant winged demon, and then begin gathering all information about it.

In addition, Lin Ye was also basically certain that there was a secret organization operating in the center of the abandoned city.

Therefore, any unnecessary fighting must be avoided.

Lin Ye concealed his presence, lowered his body, and silently slipped into the hospital's open outpatient building.

The moment you step inside, a thick, stale smell fills your nostrils.

The lobby was a mess; the reception desk was smashed in half, chairs were overturned, and the floor was covered with a thick layer of dust and gravel.

Moonlight streamed through the holes in the dome, illuminating the countless dust particles suspended in the air.

The walls around the hall were covered with large patches of dark brown marks.

Those were dried and congealed bloodstains, stretching from the ground to the ceiling, as if a blood-red downpour had once washed everything away here.

Most alarming were the several terrifying claw marks on the wall, some several meters deep.

Each claw mark was over ten meters long, running from one side of the wall to the other, with pitted and uneven edges, as if it had been ripped open by some kind of indestructible claw.

Lin Ye's pupils contracted slightly.

He couldn't imagine what kind of terrifying creature could leave such exaggerated marks.

Inside the hall, a dozen or so twisted fusion monsters were wandering aimlessly.

These fusion monsters retain some human features, but their bodies have undergone horrific mutations, making them incredibly slow to move.

But Lin Ye knew that once they were startled, their movement would be far beyond what the word "slow" could describe.

Lin Ye was lucky.

His carefully prepared disguise successfully deceived the monsters' senses.

Their vision is not sharp in the dark, and their sense of smell and hearing are completely neutralized by Lin Ye's stealth and camouflage.

The hospital's structure appears to be circular.

Through the broken glass window behind the reception desk, Lin Ye could vaguely see an open space surrounded by buildings behind it, which should be a huge square.

Behind the square, there is another building with a larger area; judging from its structure, it is most likely the inpatient department.

Lin Ye's gaze swept over the signs on both sides of the hall.

The left side leads to the various departmental treatment areas, while the right side leads to the elevators and stairs.

Without the slightest hesitation, he chose the passage on the right.

Lin Ye's target was not on the ground.

Based on previous analysis, if there really is a secret base hidden in the abandoned city, the most likely location is underground.

However, when he crept to the entrance of the passage on the right, he had to stop.

A fusion monster, by sheer bad luck, blocked his only path.

It was taller than the others that roamed the hall, with bony spurs on its back and an unconscious hoarse sound emanating from its throat, blocking the way ahead.

There's no way to avoid it now.

Lin Ye's eyes instantly turned cold, and a murderous intent surged forth like a tide.

Since a battle is unavoidable, let's resolve it as quickly as possible!

Without any warning, Lin Ye sprang up like a ghost, his spear drawing a straight black line in the air, silently piercing the back of the fusion monster's head!

"Pfft!"

The sound of a spear piercing flesh was exceptionally clear in the deathly silent passage.

The fusion monster froze, and before it could even let out a roar, its life force was instantly drained.

However, this slight commotion still alerted two other monsters that were wandering nearby.

They suddenly turned their heads, their empty eye sockets "looking" in Lin Ye's direction, and let out a sharp roar!

Lin Ye didn't even glance at the first monster's corpse. With a flick of his wrist, he drew his spear, drawing out a spray of black blood.

He touched the ground with his toes, and instead of retreating, he advanced, charging towards the two monsters that were rushing towards him.

The spear shot out like a dragon, its cold light precisely striking the monster's brow on the left.

The gun swept horizontally, pouring violent blood energy into it, and slammed into the chest of the monster on the right, causing its entire upper body to collapse!

The whole process took only two or three breaths.

The three-headed elite fusion monster was instantly killed by him with lightning speed.

Lin Ye stood still, his chest rising and falling slightly, quietly waiting for his heartbeat and breathing to return to normal.

A moment later, he disappeared into the depths of the passage.

Just as he had guessed, he found the stairs leading underground next to the elevator shaft.

However, the result left him somewhat disappointed.

The staircase only leads to the basement level.

The entire basement level was empty, consisting of only a rudimentary passageway connecting to the underground parking lot. The walls were covered in mold, with no other noteworthy traces.

After easily dealing with two more fusion monsters that emerged from the dark corner of the parking lot, Lin Ye confirmed that there were no clues underground and had no choice but to return the way he came.

He went to the index sign in the outpatient building again.

The outpatient building has ten floors, which are all offices for various departments.

Lin Ye did not linger there. He walked through the hall and pushed open the heavy glass door leading to the plaza behind.

An even stronger wave of source crystal radiation and a stench of decay washed over us.

The sight before him made him catch his breath.

This is a huge circular plaza that may have once been adorned with lush vegetation and flowers, but now only withered trees and cracked paving stones remain.

And in the square, there were scattered, wandering figures everywhere.

Those figures were all fusion monsters, identical to the monsters he had killed before!
Like soulless ghosts, they wander aimlessly in this cage surrounded by buildings, day after day, year after year.

Lin Ye glanced at it briefly, and his heart sank.

There are at least two or three hundred fusion monsters here!
If their experiences, like those of the Shi Lei and Shi Hao brothers, originated from mutations in living humans...

So, how many years has that mysterious organization hidden behind this ruined city existed?

Lin Ye's gaze swept across the plaza, which resembled a parade of ghosts, and landed at the end of the plaza, where the inpatient building stood.

Lin Ye's gaze, like two icy sharp knives, slowly swept across the square before him, a place that could be described as a ghoul parade.

He did not act rashly.

There are too many fusion monsters in this square. If he were surrounded, even he wouldn't gain any advantage.

He needs a way out.

The path with the fewest monsters is the one that, even if a battle is triggered, is the least likely to cause a chain reaction.

Lin Ye's gaze darted rapidly between the shadows of buildings and the wreckage of abandoned vehicles, his mental energy forming an invisible net.

Observing and sensing the strength of each monster's aura and its movement trajectory, he rapidly constructed a safe path in his mind.

More than ten minutes later.

Lin Ye's figure emerged from a shadowy corner like a wisp of smoke, the tip of his alloy spear dripping with thick, black blood.

You have defeated a Level 16 Amalgam (Elite)

[Due to the influence of the "Five Qi Guiding Techniques," the experience multiplier is set at 150%, and you have gained 78 experience points!]

Your level has been increased to LV.18!

Lin Ye crossed the square and arrived at the entrance of the comprehensive inpatient building behind the square.

On the wall of the lobby on the first floor, there is a floor plan index covered in dust.

Lin Ye's gaze swept quickly across the area, finally settling on the third basement level on the left wing.

Farewell area for the deceased.

If there's one place in a hospital that's best suited for certain clandestine activities, the morgue is undoubtedly the top choice.

More than ten minutes later.

Lin Ye's figure appeared in the corridor on the third basement level. The main structure of the entire third basement level consisted of five huge morgues side by side, and a small studio used for holding farewell ceremonies.

As soon as you step into this corridor, a bone-chilling cold hits you, a stark contrast to the decaying stillness of the ground.

The air here is cold and dry, with a unique smell of formaldehyde mixed with disinfectant.

Lin Ye arrived at the metal door of the first morgue.

He was about to push the door open when his ears twitched slightly.

thump... thump...

A series of dull, rhythmic knocks came from behind the closed door.

The sound wasn't loud, but in the deathly silence, it sent chills down one's spine.

Lin Ye stopped moving.

Even though this is a world of high martial arts, he has never heard any rumors about supernatural beings or ghosts.

Ghosts and monsters are just things you scare yourself with.

Fear always stems from insufficient firepower; I have plenty of firepower right now!

Lin Ye's eyes narrowed, and without further hesitation, he pushed open the heavy metal door.

Then, with a flick of his wrist, he took out a portable cold light source from his bag.

Inside the door, in the huge morgue, two rows of refrigerated cabinets were neatly arranged, their metal surfaces gleaming coldly under the light source in my hand.

The thumping sound continued.

Lin Ye followed the sound and found its source.

It was a refrigerator in the corner, and the knocking sound came from the tightly closed drawer.

If an ordinary person were to encounter this situation, they would probably be scared out of their wits.

Although a slight ripple stirred in Lin Ye's heart, he did not hesitate at all and walked straight toward the refrigerated cabinet.

However, just as he was about to touch the drawer handle...

A sudden change occurred!

Thump! Thump thump! Thump thump thump thump—! ! !
As if receiving some kind of instructions.

At the same time, a violent and chaotic banging sound came from all the hundreds and thousands of refrigerated cabinets in the morgue!
This sudden turn of events caused even Lin Ye, who was mentally prepared, to feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end!
But his hands moved without the slightest hesitation; on the contrary, they moved even faster!
With quick reflexes, I pulled open the refrigerator drawer that had initially made the noise!
next moment.

Lin Ye's pupils suddenly contracted to pinpoints!

He saw a hand.

A hand, severed at the wrist, its skin grayish-white from the cold, yet still alive and kicking in the drawer!
The severed hand resembled a frightened crab, its five fingers frantically scratching at the inner metal wall, making a "thump-thump" sound.

Lin Ye suppressed the turmoil in his heart and opened the doors to several other refrigerated cabinets next to him.

Various disgusting dismembered limbs came into view.

A calf that is twitching slightly.

Half of the mangled torso was clearly frozen stiff, yet it was still undulating slightly.

What made Lin Ye most uncomfortable was a drawer containing half a brain, frozen solid but still trembling like a heart.

He forced down his nausea and reached out to grab the first severed hand.

It was cold and stiff to the touch, showing no signs of life, yet it still struggled fiercely in Lin Ye's palm.

Lin Ye quickly noticed something amiss.

At the center of the hand's cross-section, between the stark white bones and the ashen flesh, a faint blue light was embedded.

Lin Ye's eyes narrowed, and his index and middle fingers of his other hand shot out like lightning, precisely clamping down on the cross-section.

He carefully picked out a blue crystal, no bigger than a grain of sand.

Source Crystal!

The moment the source crystal was removed, the severed hand, which had been struggling frantically, suddenly froze.

It was as if all its energy had been instantly drained away; it completely lost all its vitality and became a cold, stiff, lifeless object.

"Uh……!"

Just then, a painful whimper, as if squeezed from the depths of a human throat, came from outside the morgue.

Lin Ye suddenly turned around and looked.

A swaying, dark humanoid figure was slowly walking in the corridor outside the morgue.

【LV.2】

Upon seeing the symbol above the monster's head, Lin Ye's initial wariness subsided.

He stepped out of the morgue and saw the full form of the dark figure.

That was indeed a "person".

A dead man.

Its corpse presented a bizarre, gigantic appearance, extremely bloated, with what appeared to be gas filling the space beneath its skin.

But then it seemed to be rapidly frozen, causing severe dehydration of the skin, which shriveled and clung to the swollen body, forming countless bizarre wrinkles.

It just walked like that, its movements utterly illogical, more like a puppet controlled by invisible threads.

Its mouth opened and closed unconsciously, and it kept making unintelligible whispers in its throat, which were not in any language that Lin Ye knew.

A storm raged in Lin Ye's heart.

Source Crystal!

They can actually bring these long-dead body tissues, and even corpses, back to "life"!
A bone-chilling coldness crept up Lin Ye's spine, a thousand times colder than the temperature in the morgue.

This thing is too eerie!

The Source Crystal has such a bizarre effect, poisoning life and even blaspheming death itself!
Lin Ye felt that some things were being unraveled and slowly pieced together.

However, due to the lack of some key information, it was impossible to uncover the truth.

Lin Ye suppressed his doubts and left the morgue.

In the corridor, he encountered several more staggering zombies.

After observing them up close, Lin Ye was completely certain that these things had no independent consciousness.

It didn't even have the desire to attack; it just wandered aimlessly within the area of ​​the three underground levels.

Most of them were still wearing tattered blue and white striped hospital gowns.

Lin Ye's gaze fell on the identity tag hanging on the wrist of one of the zombies.

The plastic sign has yellowed, but the lettering on it is still clear.

Liu Dexing, Department of Medical Oncology, September 2047.

Lin Ye's eyes narrowed.

This calendar system still uses the old calendar system from before the catastrophe.

Now, it is the 167th year of the Martial Arts Era.

This person died two hundred years ago.

A chilling deduction flashed through Lin Ye's mind.

Could it be that he has been wandering aimlessly in this desolate underground for nearly two centuries?

No.

This judgment is too arbitrary.

He died before the catastrophe, but it is impossible to determine exactly when the Source Crystal was implanted or when he was "awakened".

These zombies probably can't roam here forever, because the energy contained in the source crystals within their bodies is also finite.

If the source crystal energy is exhausted, they should also revert to their corpse state.

Lin Ye thoroughly searched the entire third basement level.

Aside from more refrigerated cabinets and, as he suspected, corpses completely immobilized due to the source crystal's incapacity, he found no hidden passages or other noteworthy clues.

This place truly seems to be just an abandoned morgue.

Lin Ye raised his wrist and glanced at the time on his CR watch.

It was already 5:45 a.m.

Recalling that the Shi brothers, Shi Lei and Shi Hao, only began their activities in the abandoned city after dawn.

The investigation that night.

It was a complete failure.

Lin Ye naturally wanted to find that LV20 lord directly.

But things backfired.

Perhaps it was because his abilities were limited, and he was completely unable to thoroughly explore the entire abandoned city.

This lead can be investigated further, but its value is far less than that of a direct trip to Dawn Biotechnology.

(End of this chapter)