43: Chapter 43 Tyrant

As dawn broke, grayish-yellow light leaked in through the cracks in the underground parking garage entrance, dyeing the entire space in a dim, dusky yellow.

When Lin Yan opened his eyes, Shen Bing was already awake.

No one had slept well; the floor of the underground parking garage was too hard, the air was too damp, and with everyone knowing full well what they had to face today, being able to close their eyes and doze for a few hours was already considered decent.

"Let's go." Lin Yan stood up.

The five of them emerged from the underground parking garage, and the morning light was so piercing that it was hard to keep one's eyes open.

The ruins appeared even more desolate in the morning light, with groups of grayish-white zombies moving slowly on the distant streets, like the only things still "alive" on this dead, silent land.

Song Shiyu walked at the very front, her sensory ripples spread out to their full extent.

The zombie density in the City Center was even higher than yesterday, and her brow had not smoothed out since they set off.

Lin Yan cleared out zombies along the way, killing over 400 of them; he did not hold back to let the others land the finishing blows, obtaining 27 Silver Forging Devices and 3 Golden Forging Devices.

After walking for about three hours, Song Shiyu suddenly stopped and raised a hand.

Everyone went silent at the same time.

She closed her eyes, her sensory ripples extending frantically toward the northeast, and a fine layer of sweat seeped out on her forehead.

A few seconds later, she opened her eyes, her face as pale as paper.

"Found it. Northeast direction, about 1,200 meters away, in the center of that densest zombie horde. The energy reaction is very strong... it's a Tyrant."

Lin Yan looked at Song Shiyu: "Can you lock onto the specific location?"

"Yes, the zombie density in that area is the highest, and the Tyrant is right in the center. The zombies around it are at least... tens of thousands, densely packed, blocking the entire street."

Lin Yan was silent for two seconds, then turned to look at them.

"You can retreat now." His tone was calm, without any unnecessary sentimentality, "The mission is complete, and the Evacuation Point has been activated. Head to the Evacuation Point now, and you'll arrive before dark."

Song Shiyu walked over and placed her hand on Lin Yan's arm; a wave of warm energy traveled through her hand.

A few seconds later, she let go.

"I've added a continuous recovery buff for you. The effect isn't long, 5 minutes; recover as much as you can."

"Also, the distance is too far; I can only detect the Tyrant's approximate attributes..."

Lin Yan nodded, "I'll keep that in mind."

Song Shiyu stepped back two paces and stood with Ma Chen and Han Yi.

The three of them looked at Lin Yan, then turned around at the same time and walked toward the Evacuation Point, none of them looking back.

The sound of their footsteps grew fainter until it finally disappeared into the cracks of the ruins.

Lin Yan turned to Shen Bing.

She stood in place, the frost on her fingers having formed a thin layer of armor, covering from her fingertips all the way to her wrists.

Her expression was very calm, so calm that no fear or hesitation could be seen.

"Are you really not afraid?" Lin Yan asked, "When the fight starts later, I might not be able to look after you. If you go back now, there's still time."

Shen Bing looked at him, the corners of her mouth curling into a slight smile.

"I am afraid," she said, "but if the Tyrant doesn't die, even if I survive today, I won't survive tomorrow. If you fight, I'll follow. If you can't win, I'll die with you."

Lin Yan looked into her eyes and said nothing more.

He stepped forward, wrapped one arm around Shen Bing's waist, lifted her off the ground, and carried her horizontally in front of his chest.

Shen Bing's body stiffened for a moment, but she didn't struggle; she simply gathered frost in her palms, ready to strike at any moment.

"Hold on tight," Lin Yan said.

Shen Bing's arms wrapped around his neck.

The next second, Lin Yan unleashed his full speed, releasing all 350 points of speed from his panel without reservation.

His feet left deep footprints on the ruins, gravel exploded behind him, and he was like a launched cannonball.

The surrounding zombies didn't even have time to turn their heads.

They only felt a gust of wind sweep past them, and a grayish-white figure had already rushed from one end of their vision to the other.

A few zombies instinctively reached out to grab, but their fingers only grasped the air, not even touching the hem of his clothes.

The zombie horde on the street was like water parted by a speedboat, leaning to both sides the moment Lin Yan rushed past, then slowly closing back in.

Shen Bing's hair flew backward in the wind, and she squinted, watching the ruins and zombies on both sides receding at an incredible speed.

The direction of the Tyrant was getting closer, and the sense of oppression was growing stronger.

1,200 meters. Less than thirty seconds.

Lin Yan landed on the roof of a half-collapsed building and set Shen Bing down.

Her legs were a bit weak, not because of fear, but because the speed just now was too fast, and her body hadn't adapted yet.

"We're here," Lin Yan said.

They stood at the edge of the roof, looking down.

Song Shiyu was right; the zombie density in this area had reached an appalling level. The entire street was packed with grayish-white figures; on the sidewalks, on top of cars, at the entrances of collapsed shops—there were zombies everywhere.

Thousands, tens of thousands, densely packed like a grayish-white ocean.

They didn't wander aimlessly like the zombies on the periphery; instead, they were all facing the same direction.

At the end of the street, in the circular open space surrounded by collapsed buildings, stood the Tyrant.

It was even larger than Lin Yan had imagined.

The Tyrant's physique was more than three times larger than an ordinary zombie, its height nearly five meters, and its shoulders as wide as a door.

Its grayish-white skin was covered in thick, solid muscle; there were no signs of decay, but rather it looked like some kind of armor forged through thousands of trials.

Its head had no hair, and there were several protruding bone ridges on its skull, extending from the center of its brow to the back of its head, as if it were wearing a crown cast from bone.

Its right hand held a giant axe; the blade was not made of metal but of some dark gray bone-like material, with fine cracks on the surface, and dark red light flowing within the cracks.

The axe handle was an extension of its own arm bone; this axe was a part of its body.

What was most unsettling was its gaze.

The gaze of ordinary zombies was hollow, mechanical, and possessed only the instinct to feed.

But the Tyrant's eyes were dark red, with pupils that were vertical lines.

At this moment, it was standing in the center of the zombie horde, slowly turning its head, scanning its "territory" with those dark red eyes.

There was something in that gaze that Lin Yan had never seen in other zombies.

Scrutiny.

It was looking, thinking, and judging.

Shen Bing's breathing became noticeably heavier, and the frost in her palms thickened, with two ice blades already taking full shape.

"There are at least tens of thousands of zombies below," Shen Bing's voice was very low, "How do you plan to rush over?"

Lin Yan did not answer.

He glanced down from the edge of the roof, selected the direction where the Tyrant was, and then wrapped his arm around Shen Bing's waist again.

"I'm not rushing," he said, "I'm flying over."

His feet kicked off the edge of the roof violently, and he soared into the air.

Jumping from the roof of this building to the roof of the one opposite, and then from that one to the next.

Although most of the high-rise ruins had collapsed, the remaining concrete skeletons and broken walls were enough for him to use as landing points.

He was like a cheetah moving through a forest of steel and concrete, leaping, running, and sprinting at heights, completely avoiding the ocean of zombies on the ground.

The zombie horde surged beneath his feet, reaching out with countless grayish-white arms to grab him, but none could reach him.

The Tyrant raised its head.

It saw Lin Yan.

The dark red vertical pupils constricted suddenly, and that grayish-white, lip-less face slowly split open, revealing two rows of blackened teeth.

The Tyrant swung the giant axe in its right hand, and the dark red light on the blade flared brighter.

It opened its mouth and let out a low, chest-vibrating roar.

The roar was not loud, but the tens of thousands of zombies on the ground all turned toward the direction of Lin Yan at the same instant, and the grayish-white ocean began to boil.

Lin Yan leaped down from the roof of the last high-rise and landed twenty meters in front of the Tyrant.

He set Shen Bing down, flexed his wrists, and the bone spurs of the lickers claw popped out, shimmering with a cold, dark gray light in the morning sun.

The Tyrant tilted its head, as if sizing up this tiny creature that dared to trespass into its territory.

Then it moved.

Its five-meter-tall body charged toward Lin Yan with an aura of crushing everything in its path.

[Monster: Tyrant · BOSS]

[Level: 12]

[HP: 40000]

[Physical Attack: 2000]

[Magic Attack: 500]

[Physical Defense: 1500]

[Magic Defense: 1500]

[Speed: 300]

[Type: Dungeon BOSS, can control ordinary zombies.

Possesses Skills: 1. "Tyrants Body" — Enters berserk mode when HP is below 30%, Attack +30%, Attack Speed +50%, Movement Speed +50%, recovers 1% of Max HP every 3 seconds, immune to stun, knock-up, and slow control effects.

2. "Tyrant Roar" — Unleashes a berserk roar, dealing 500 Magic Damage to all targets within 50 meters, while releasing an intimidating pressure, reducing all targets' Attack Speed and Movement Speed by 25% for 10 seconds.

Interrupts non-super-armor skill casting, self-damage reduction of 30% during release.

3. "World-Ending Tyrant Slash" — The Tyrant gathers all its berserk power, charges its giant axe, and smashes it toward the target, causing large-scale earth cracking, dealing 2000 Physical Damage + 20% of the target's Max HP in True Damage to all units within 8 meters;]