The next day.
Wang Tao woke up early.
First, he checked his fully charged phone, still no signal, and emergency calls couldn't get through either.
Water and electricity at home hadn't been cut off yet.
He looked up at the deep blue sky.
"Is it the base station that's broken, or the satellite? Could there be another disaster..."
He shook his head and tried not to think about it anymore.
Wang Tao took some of the food out of the refrigerator and made a rich breakfast.
Then he took all the books off the bookshelf; they were discounted decorations, but the books were real.
Wang Tao picked out books of appropriate sizes and taped them to his forearms, shins, front and back of his chest for protection. He didn't wrap anything around his thighs and upper arms because these were areas that needed to exert force, and having them wrapped would make it difficult to use strength properly.
Next was weapons, and there were several pointed kitchen knives in the kitchen. But the knives were a bit short... After some thought, he tied a knife to a rolling pin to create a makeshift homemade short spear.
Wang Tao had actually wanted to make a spear out of a mop, but the corridor was quite narrow, and a weapon too long might not be effective; getting it stuck could spell disaster.
The length of the rolling pin was just right, neither too short, which would increase the chance of infection, nor too long, which would make it unwieldy.
Lastly, Wang Tao found a thick hand towel and a pair of yellow anti-blue light glasses. He covered his head, face, and even eyes.
After all, the zombie virus was contagious, and preventative measures could never be too careful!
Wang Tao checked himself in the full-length mirror.
There stood a person in the mirror, over 1.8 meters tall, burly, wearing black gloves, a black mask, yellow glasses, brown hiking shoes, completely wrapped up tightly, with homemade arm guards on his hands, and holding a homemade short spear. He looked very secure.
Once everything was ready, Wang Tao waited quietly behind the door.
The zombie had been wandering up and down the staircase and soon came up.
Wang Tao didn't rush and continued to wait.
The zombie first went up to the sixth floor, then came back down to the fifth, before heading downstairs toward the fourth floor.
After seeing through the peephole that the zombie was going downstairs with its back toward him, Wang Tao took a deep breath and then suddenly opened the door.
Clack—
The sound of the security door opening startled the zombie, which turned its stiff body around showing a face both terrifying and grotesque.
Whoosh!
Wang Tao gripped the homemade short spear and stabbed toward the zombie's head.
The zombie, upon spotting a person, let out a fierce roar and spun around. But due to its stiffness, the movement was uncoordinated; it nearly tripped over itself, staggering. Wang Tao's stab missed!
However, Wang Tao didn't expect to kill it with one blow. The pointed kitchen knife could not only stab but also slash. He held the rolling pin with both hands and swung it down fiercely!
Slice—
The slash cut from the zombie's shoulder down to its waist. The clothes on the zombie made it difficult to see how deep the cut was, but Wang Tao could clearly see a sliver of HP disappearing from above the zombie's head.
[-14]
[486/500]
What the hell!
That slash cut only this much HP?
Wang Tao knew the zombies had a lot of HP, but he hadn't expected it to be that much. Or rather, the power of his slash was too weak!
Although shocked, Wang Tao wasn't too panicked inside.
Both he and the zombie were in the corridor, with the zombie below and him above. He had specifically chosen this position, standing above surely had its advantages.
Wang Tao quickly retracted the knife, and the zombie took the opportunity to lunge at him, its hands smeared with blood reaching for Wang Tao.
Wang Tao immediately stepped back two paces, avoiding the zombie's attack, then stabbed out with another slash.
Zombies wouldn't actively dodge an attack, the previous miss was just luck. This time, the stab hit hard on the zombie's forehead, but... it didn't go in!
The skull is the hardest bone in the human body, and the quality of the kitchen knife Wang Tao held was average, and it even had a slightly rolled edge. It wasn't surprising that it didn't penetrate on the first attempt.
But what surprised Wang Tao was that the strike didn't cause much damage.
[-3]
[483/500]
"Wasn't the head supposed to be a zombie's weak spot? How come it's only this little damage? Could it be because the skull is too hard, so it didn't pierce the defense?"
As these thoughts raced through his mind, Wang Tao gripped his homemade short spear tightly and thrust it fiercely from bottom right to top left.
Swish!
The blade cut across the zombie's neck.
Pfft—
Dark blood spurted from the zombie's neck as it staggered a step back. Wang Tao's cut was shallow; although it sliced through the zombie's neck, it didn't sever the head.
However, Wang Tao was somewhat excited.
Because the damage from this strike was high.
[-117]
[366/500]
This cut took away more than twenty percent of the zombie's HP!
"The neck, it's also a zombie's weak spot! And compared to the head, cutting the neck is much easier!"
Enraged, the zombie charged at Wang Tao again, reaching out both hands to harshly swing at Wang Tao's face.
Wang Tao was a few steps from the wall behind him, making it difficult to dodge this time. He quickly took the spear in his right hand, then raised his left arm, using the vambrace to block the zombie's attack.
Bang!
Wang Tao was forced two steps back, right up against the wall.
This was the first time Wang Tao had been attacked by a zombie, and he finally understood why they said zombies had immense strength. With his physical fitness, enduring this strike made his arm somewhat numb. If it had been anyone else, they might have been knocked down instantly.
But seeing that his HP hadn't dropped a single point, Wang Tao felt invigorated.
This is reality, not a game!
In games, if a monster attacks you, even if it's just a touch, you lose HP, whether you lose a little or a lot. That's the game mechanics.
But reality is different; as long as you are not hit, you won't lose HP!
Wang Tao's physical fitness was high; since the strike with the vambrace didn't cause an exterior or interior injury, just a numbness, his HP remained full.
Understanding this, Wang Tao's eyes shone brightly.
In games, you have to follow the rules of the game when fighting monsters. Without a one-hit-kill mechanism, no matter how strong you are, you cannot kill a monster in one hit.
But reality doesn't follow these rules!
With this in mind, Wang Tao didn't retreat but advanced, charging fiercely towards the zombie.
And the zombie, too, roared angrily and attacked Wang Tao again.
Clash!
Just as he was about to collide with the zombie, Wang Tao exerted all his strength, suddenly kicked off the ground, and harshly kicked the zombie's chest.
The zombie's strength was great, but its weight was the same as when alive, just over a hundred pounds. That weight couldn't withstand Wang Tao's Energize One Hit.
The zombie immediately rolled to the turn of the fourth-floor corridor.
Without stopping, Wang Tao's foot stepped on the stair, and he leaped powerfully. Like a flying man, he plunged toward the zombie. Both hands gripping the homemade spear high above his head, as he landed, he stabbed viciously at the zombie below!
Pfft!
With the help of gravity, the spear plunged deep into the zombie's forehead.
[-366]
[0/500]
One-hit kill!