Apocalypse: I Can See Health Bars
Chapter 22: Severely Wounded

Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Severely Wounded

Lin Fan slowly walked into the bedroom. A faint smell of decay made him frown.

He scanned the room. The layout was exceptionally simple, with no wardrobe, only a large bed.

The window was also closed. ’The zombie in here couldn’t have jumped out the window overnight, could it?’

Although he knew it was impossible, a part of him genuinely hoped that was the case.

The atmosphere in the room was so oppressive his mind couldn’t help but race.

’If I could just confirm that the zombie is still hiding in this room, then...’

’Under the bed!’

Instead of bending down to look, Lin Fan gripped the spear with both hands and thrust it forcefully under the bed!

...But he hit nothing.

Only then did he bend down to check, finding the space under the bed completely empty save for a thick layer of dust.

’Nothing at all?’

Lin Fan tightened his grip on the iron spear. As he warily scanned the room again, he finally noticed a blind spot he’d overlooked.

The square nightstand by the bed... the one that was only about 40 centimeters tall.

Lin Fan had subconsciously dismissed the small cabinet when he first came in. It was impossible for a person to hide in there.

But now, as he looked at the cabinet again, his heart pounded with alarm!

’When you’ve eliminated all other possibilities, whatever remains, no matter how absurd, must be the truth!’

One hand gripped the middle of the spear’s shaft, the other braced its butt...

Lin Fan held his breath, his focus absolute. He backed up quietly to the opposite wall. Just as he’d done on the balcony, he braced his back foot against the base of the wall, bent his knees to build power, and then kicked off with all his might!

His entire body shot forward like a crossbow bolt, the tip of the spear aimed, and he lunged with all his strength at the nightstand.

A soft THUNK was immediately followed by a loud CLANG!

The spearhead instantly pierced through the thin panel of the cabinet!

Its momentum undiminished, the powerful force drove the spear right into the wall!

[-96]!

’A hit!’

The spearhead slammed against the wall. The recoil sent a jolt back through the shaft, leaving his hands tingling, though his gloves protected him from any real injury.

He’d felt resistance through the spear after it pierced the cabinet, and the damage notification confirmed it. ’My wild guess was right!’

’It was unbelievable, but the zombie was actually hiding in there!’

"SCREEEEE—!!!"

Before Lin Fan could pull the spear from the wall, a piercing shriek erupted from the cabinet!

’Too bad, I didn’t hit a vital spot...’

The thought had barely crossed his mind when the shriek assaulted him as if it were a physical force!

A stabbing pain lanced through his brain, as if a pair of chopsticks had been jammed into his ears and were being stirred around.

He didn’t even have time to cover his ears!

With a final, overwhelming ROAR, his hearing vanished completely. All he could feel were his eyeballs vibrating from the sonic waves...

The world before him flickered, distorted, and swayed. Everything was spinning...

[-1]

[-1]

[-1]

...

Enveloped by the sonic attack, Lin Fan’s Life Value was steadily dropping!

’This is bad! I have to get out of the room!’

In his dizzy state, he couldn’t make out the exact numbers, but he could see his health bar had already dropped by a noticeable chunk!

He fought to stay conscious, using his backward momentum to wrench the spear free from the cabinet. After he’d taken a few steps back, the sonic vibrations abruptly ceased!

Although the sonic attack seemed to have stopped, his vision continued to twist and warp, showing no signs of improvement.

Through his blurry vision, Lin Fan saw the top of the nightstand slowly crack open, as if something were growing out of it.

’This monster can hurt me with sound alone!’

’I can’t let it get out!’

Realizing the danger, Lin Fan leaned on his spear with his right hand while his left fumbled to pull the steel pipe from his belt.

Staring at the steel pipe that wavered between being two and three distinct images, Lin Fan tried to recall the effects of the potions he had.

’Strength... no. A sudden boost of power in this state would just make me more unbalanced.’

’Agility would be even worse...’

He took a deep breath, made a desperate choice, and smashed the pipe against his own forehead!

CLANG!

[-5]!

’Pain!’

The intense pain was a lightning bolt to his skull, violently tearing through the vertigo that had gripped his mind.

After that brutal blow to himself, Lin Fan felt a warm stream emerge from between his eyebrows and trickle down the bridge of his nose...

He hadn’t expected the unorthodox method to actually work. Under the shock of pain, his eyes finally began to focus!

As the double vision slowly resolved into a single image, he realized his Life Value had already dropped by 49 points!

Subtracting the 5 points he’d just inflicted on himself, that meant the monster’s shriek had cost him a whopping 44 health!

[113/170]!

"Fuck!"

Lin Fan spat the curse subconsciously. He felt the vibration in his throat but heard nothing—only the incessant ringing that echoed in his skull.

He watched as the top of the nightstand was slowly forced open, cracking under the strain as a twisted, grotesque arm and the monster’s upper body "grew" out of it.

It was like watching a cult silent film from the last century. Every movement registered with a delay, leaving afterimages. He could just barely make out a bright red health bar.

[773/869]!

One of the monster’s arms was pale and long, coiling in midair like a python.

It twisted and writhed, obscuring most of the monster’s torso. Its five fingers were long and sharp, like spikes.

The monster’s body seemed to be stuck in the cabinet. After a second of hesitation, Lin Fan decided to strike first.

He knew it. ’I’m only standing right now because of the adrenaline from that blow to the head!’

If he faltered, he’d probably collapse on the spot.

’To retreat is to die!’

His only way to survive was to kill it before the vertigo completely consumed him.

"While you’re weak, I’ll take your life!"

The edges of his vision were starting to go black. He could only force himself to focus on the monster’s pale, conspicuous arm, using it as an anchor for his sight.

In his blurry vision, the arm swayed gently, like a venomous snake poised to strike.

’Viper, python, lizard... reptiles...’

He could feel his mind slowing down, able to do little more than recall the movement patterns of similar animals.

The arm before him had a similar structure to those animals. ’Similar structure means similar movement patterns.’

Predicting an animal’s movements had almost become instinct for Lin Fan.

The five spikes at the end of the monster’s arm were pointed directly at him, tracking his every move...

Lin Fan was now almost certain the arm’s attack would be a thrust...

’At least the first attack will be.’

If it were planning to swing or grapple, the spikes wouldn’t be oriented this way.

Besides, he had clearly stumbled in and interrupted some kind of mutation, causing the monster to get stuck in the cabinet.

Lin Fan held the spear horizontally before him like a staff and shuffled forward, one step at a time.

He felt like he’d downed a bottle of cheap liquor. Every step was like walking on cotton, unsteady and uneven. Just staying balanced took immense effort.

The moment he crossed some invisible threshold, the pale arm he was focused on suddenly shot out, becoming a blur as it stabbed straight for his chest!

It moved faster than his eyes could track!

Lin Fan’s pupils constricted. He could no longer rely on his sight to block!

He let out a furious roar. Though he couldn’t hear it, he felt the violent resonance in his chest and heart.

For a split second, his vision cleared!

Pouring all of his strength into his arms, he swung the spear in a powerful sweep across his chest, acting purely on instinct!

The spear met heavy resistance!

A hit!

Lin Fan’s sweeping strike had knocked the monster’s lunging arm aside, causing it to plunge into the bed next to him.

Only then was the monster’s true form revealed.