Liven fired three arrows in quick succession, but they only managed to pierce the Crawler's skin. Even though the arrows stuck into the Crawler's body, they couldn't deal significant damage.

"Damn it!" Liven cursed under his breath, though he had somewhat expected this outcome.

Even though both were low-tier mutated zombies, the Crawler was far stronger than the Phantom.

In his previous life, many people had summarized the strength levels of zombies. Initial mutations were classified as the weakest, at the Bronze level, but each level was further divided into stars to indicate their strength.

If the Phantom was a Bronze One-Star, then the Crawler was a Bronze Five-Star!

The Crawler was one of the ultimate forms of low-tier mutated zombies!

Without hesitation, Liven turned and ran after shooting all his arrows.

At the same time...

With a loud bang, the Crawler leaped down from the ceiling, smashing into the ground and causing the floor to crack. It then lunged forward, chasing after Liven.

Liven quickly jumped over a long bench that had fallen in his path. The Crawler followed, its massive claws smashing the bench into splinters with a single swipe.

After the attack, the Crawler lunged forward again, closing the distance to Liven in an instant.

Bang!

The Crawler's massive head slammed into Liven's back, sending him flying.

Liven felt a sharp pain in his back but was grateful he was wearing a stab-proof vest.

The vest had a steel plate embedded in its lining. Without it, that single blow would have broken at least two of his ribs.

However, surviving that attack didn't mean the danger was over. As Liven turned around, the Crawler's claws came down, pinning him to the ground.

"Damn it," Liven struggled and cursed. "If this were my past life, I could crush a piece of trash like you with one hand."

Liven could feel the immense pressure on his chest. The Crawler's long, crimson tongue, dripping with foul-smelling saliva, licked across Liven's face, making him nauseous.

In the next moment, the Crawler lowered its head, opening its mouth to reveal two rows of terrifying, triangular teeth, like serrated blades.

Was he going to die?

No, he absolutely couldn't die!

He had been given a second chance at life. How could he die so easily in a place like this? As long as he could board the Death Train, he was sure he could become even stronger than in his previous life and survive in this broken world.

Liven clenched his teeth, his eyes flickering.

He still had a chance. Like ordinary zombies, the Crawler couldn't be killed by attacking its body. In fact, the Crawler not only lacked pain sensation but also had regenerative abilities.

Therefore, to kill the Crawler, he had to attack its head or neck, just like with ordinary zombies.

However, the Crawler's head was much tougher than that of a regular zombie. At the moment, an arrow was still embedded in the Crawler's forehead. Liven had already shot the Crawler in the head earlier, but the force wasn't enough to penetrate its skull.

Thus, Liven hadn't been able to kill the Crawler.

That left the neck as the only remaining weak point.

At that moment, the Crawler's gaping maw descended, aiming to bite off Liven's head.

Liven quickly turned his head, and the Crawler's teeth grazed his cheek as they slammed into the ground, shattering a chunk of the floor.

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This was his chance!

Liven's eyes lit up. The Crawler's head was now right next to his. If the Crawler had been standing upright, Liven, pinned to the ground, wouldn't have been able to reach it. But now, things were different.

In an instant, without hesitation, Liven drew the dagger from his thigh and stabbed it into the Crawler's neck.

Thud!

As the dagger pierced the Crawler's neck, a spray of dark green blood gushed out, covering Liven and filling the air with a nauseating stench.

Roar!

The Crawler, severely wounded, reared up, shaking violently in an attempt to throw Liven off.

"I'm Liven, the man once known as Yasha!" Liven roared. "How could I die at the hands of trash like you!"

Bang!

Liven's chest was struck by the Crawler's flailing limbs, sending a wave of pain through his body. Despite this, Liven held onto the dagger with an iron grip.

In the next moment, Liven pushed off the ground with his feet, using the momentum to drive the dagger deeper into the Crawler's neck.

Thud!

The dagger sank further into the Crawler's body, even the hilt disappearing into its neck, completely piercing through.

The Crawler's body stiffened as if frozen in place, remaining motionless for a few seconds before collapsing to the ground.

"You have killed a Crawler. Total count: 1. Apocalypse reward: Brain Elixir."

Liven rolled away from the Crawler, the stench was unbearable, and then sat down on a nearby chair, gasping for breath. The mysterious voice echoed in his ears once more.

After a moment, Liven muttered, "As expected, danger always comes with rewards. It seems I've struck gold again."

As he spoke, Liven walked over to the Crawler's corpse and used his dagger to cut open its head. A thick, yellowish-white liquid oozed out.

Liven quickly took a bottle of water from his backpack, emptied it, and carefully collected the liquid inside.

This was even more valuable than the Green Phantom Stone. While the Green Phantom Stone was one of the many forms of currency on the Death Train, the Crawler's Brain Elixir could also be used as currency and was worth three to five times more.

Moreover, the Crawler's Brain Elixir was a key ingredient in crafting the Bull Potion, a basic body-enhancing elixir that could directly improve a person's physical attributes.

"This is a treasure..." Liven carefully stored the bottle filled with Brain Elixir and then frowned. "But why was there a Crawler in the church?"

Liven was puzzled. The church had been empty, so the Crawler couldn't have just wandered in.

Of course, it was possible that others had sought refuge in the church, but if they had, they should have been dead by now. Even so, there should have been corpses.

"Unless..." Liven's eyes suddenly lit up. "It was a guard!"

Near the Death Train stations, large numbers of zombies always lurked. Humans referred to them as guards. These creatures seemed to appear out of thin air, rather than being the result of infections.

Liven's spirits lifted, and he quickly got up from the ground, leaped over the overturned benches, and ran to the side of the church. He opened the door leading deeper inside.

"Well, well..." As the door opened, Liven licked his lips and said, "It seems I was right."