"Day 19 of the Apocalypse Calendar, Thursday, Rest Day."
Even on days off, Lu Ming would max out his attributes. After all, strength was accumulated bit by bit, and he could not relax every day.
After the morning workout, Lu Ming opened his personal attributes panel.
Name: Lu Ming.
Age: 25 years old.
Strength: 28.6 (29.5) ↑.
Physique: 29.1 (30) ↑.
Agility: 28.5 (29.4) ↑.
Fitness Lv4 (250/400).
Lu Ming felt that he was becoming stronger and stronger.
This was a good thing, but there were two sides to everything.
With a stronger body came a larger appetite. Lu Ming's food intake had already increased fivefold compared to before the apocalypse.
As a result, the three years' worth of supplies he had prepared before the apocalypse seemed insufficient.
"I had prepared three years' worth of food and drink before the apocalypse. But considering my current appetite, it would only last less than a year. Supplies are becoming an issue…"
But that was not an immediate problem.
Another issue was that as Lu Ming's physical fitness improved, the training equipment at home could not keep up with his pace.
Today, in his quest for heavier weights, Lu Ming ended up breaking the first barbell. Although there were still plenty in reserve, Lu Ming felt that as his physical fitness continued to increase, the pre-apocalypse fitness equipment would become less and less useful until one day it would become completely ineffective.
Once the equipment became ineffective, Lu Ming would be unable to gain attributes through exercise. This was undoubtedly a major issue for him.
While fretting, Lu Ming walked to the window on the second floor and looked outside through the observation hole.
It was about 10 o'clock in the morning.
The survivors from last night had already woken up and started cleaning up the streets.
They moved the zombies' corpses away one by one. Lu Ming also saw Wang Xiong staring at the skull of the giant zombie, seemingly searching for something.
He couldn't help but open the window and shout at Wang Xiong, "Hey!"
Hearing the voice, the survivors working on the street looked at Lu Ming in unison and smiled from the bottom of their hearts.
"Good morning, Brother Lu!"
"Good morning, Brother Lu!"
"Brother Lu!"
Lu Ming ignored them and shouted at Wang Xiong again, "Aren't you guys leaving? When are you leaving?"
Wang Xiong chuckled and said, "No, we are not leaving. We'll stay here from now on, never leaving again."
Lu Ming frowned.
But it wasn't something he could meddle in.
He was about to close the window when he caught sight of Zhang Lixin from the corner of his eye. Lu Ming suddenly remembered something Wang Xiong had mentioned previously.
"That soldier."
Hearing the sound, Zhang Lixin wiped his sweat and walked to the place under Lu Ming's window.
"What's the matter, Brother Lu?"
He even made Lu Ming feel embarrassed by calling him Brother Lu.
"Don't call me Brother Lu. Just call me Lu Ming."
"Okay, Brother Lu."
Lu Ming: "???"
"Soldier Bro."
"Zhang Lixin, just call me Zhang Lixin, Bro Lu."
"Alright, Zhang Lixin. I remember Wang Xiong telling me that you found a lathe that can do some simple processing, right?"
Zhang Lixin was slightly stunned. He thought for a moment and nodded. "Yes."
Lu Ming revealed an embarrassed smile. "Um, my bow and arrow broke. Zhang Lixin, can you make a bow and arrow?"
This was not a big problem.
Soldiers were skilled with their hands, and Zhang Lixin was particularly outstanding among them. His craftsmanship was among the best in the army.
Zhang Lixin was about to nod in agreement.
But he hesitated for a moment, recalling Lu Ming's explosive destructive power from the previous night.
What kind of materials for a bow and arrow could withstand the strength of this guy?
However, rejecting him wasn't a good idea either.
After some thought, Zhang Lixin could only brace himself to say, "I'll give it a try."
That meant there was no problem!
After all, soldiers don't lie to us commoners.
Lu Ming's thoughts were so direct and simple.
He continued, "By the way, Brother Zhang."
"Brother Lu, don't call me Brother Zhang. I can't bear it."
"Alright, Zhang Lixin. Since you can make bows and arrows, then making a slingshot shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Zhang Lixin hesitated and said, "Um…"
"I'll do my best."
"By the way, Zhang Lixin, I might still need some fitness equipment. The original barbell is not very sturdy. Can you help me with that?"
Zhang Lixin's body trembled a bit.
He asked tentatively, "It's the barbell, right? What's the maximum load it should bear?"
Lu Ming scratched his head and gave a number. "Let's say around ten tons for now…"
An iron bar with 10 tons of weight on both ends, that's five tons on one side.
'Are you kidding me…'
Zhang Lixin did not know if he should take on this task.
Before he could say anything, Lu Ming, feeling somewhat embarrassed, spoke up, "Of course, it's not fair to ask for your help without reason. I feel a bit guilty about it. Take a look, what can I give you in return? Canned food, perhaps?"
When asking someone for help, you must give them something in return.
You can't just ask someone to do things for you for no reason. That would be unfair.
Lu Ming would not allow himself to be taken advantage of, but he would not take advantage of others either. If Zhang Lixin helped him make equipment, Lu Ming would definitely have to give something in return.
He was about to ask if a box of canned food was enough, but Zhang Lixin waved his hand repeatedly.
"No need for anything. I don't need anything!"
Why would he want any benefits for helping Lu Ming?
With Lu Ming around, this place would be safe.
Satisfying Lu Ming's needs meant saving everyone's lives!
Zhang Lixin understood this reasoning.
Lu Ming could see the determination in Zhang Lixin's eyes. He thought for a moment and smiled warmly at him.
"Thank you."
Watching Zhang Lixin walk away, Lu Ming looked at the gradually cleaner street.
He sighed sincerely.
"They're all very nice people…"
Helping to clean the streets.
Helping to make things for him without asking for anything in return. He didn't even ask for canned food.
Lu Ming felt a little embarrassed about it.
…
Zhang Lixin numbly carried the zombies' corpses.
By lunchtime, he was still in a daze.
Lunch was chips and bread. After finishing his meal, Zhang Lixin finally had an idea.
He found Meng Jie in another house, studying the remains of the hunter. Zhang Lixin told her about the morning's events.
After listening, Meng Jie said, "So, you need materials of extremely high strength to meet Lu Ming's requirements, right?"
"That's right."
Zhang Lixin could make weapons, but he was not an expert in materials.
Seeing Zhang Lixin's embarrassed expression, Meng Jie chuckled. "So, what makes you think that a biological expert can produce the high-strength materials you mentioned?"
Zhang Lixin opened his mouth, but he could not say a word.
After a moment, he smiled bitterly and said, "I was desperate, Sister Meng."
"At that time, when Lu Ming made his request, I couldn't think straight and agreed."
With that, he let out a long sigh. "I'm really in a difficult situation."
"But it doesn't mean there's no solution at all."
Meng Jie's words made Zhang Lixin's eyes light up again. He hurriedly asked, "What's the solution?"
Meng Jie pointed at the remains of the hunters on the experiment table.
"They are the solution."