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"Huff—"
Looking at the zombie lying on the ground, still twitching, with its head blooming like a chrysanthemum.
Wang Tao let out a long sigh of relief.
He called this move Jump Slash, and as a Martial Arts Substitute, it wasn't surprising that he could execute it. However, it was the first time he used it in actual combat, and he wasn't completely certain of victory in his heart.
Now it seemed that the effect was pretty good, after all, zombies didn't dodge.
With the geographical advantage of jumping from a high place to a lower one, the jump covered a distance of five meters. With the force of inertia, the kitchen knife, which normally couldn't pierce through a zombie's skull, successfully entered through the zombie's brow, instantly killing it.
But instant killing wasn't without a cost. Wang Tao looked at the kitchen knife, now bent out of shape, and felt somewhat helpless.
An ordinary kitchen knife really wasn't up to par!
"Hmm?"
As Wang Tao was getting up from the zombie, his gaze sharpened.
That was because he saw a semi-transparent package with bloodstains appear in front of the zombie. With a thought, the package instantly entered his body.
[Obtained: purified water (small) x1]
What's this?
Wang Tao noticed an icon of a backpack appeared below his HP bar.
The backpack was empty except for a white plastic cube marked with 5L.
[purified water (small): 5L, drinkable]
Killing zombies can drop loot?
Wang Tao felt that he could take out the water with just a thought. But now wasn't the time to study these things, so he quickly searched the zombie's body. He found a set of keys, an electronic wristband, a box of cigarettes, and a wallet.
He had intended to take the zombie's belt as well, but seeing that it had a cut that made a crevice, he decided against it—he wasn't in need of a belt that badly.
After collecting the spoils of war, Wang Tao went back to check the elevator. It was broken, and he had no idea if there were zombies inside.
Bang!
Back in his room, it wasn't until he had closed the door and leaned against it that Wang Tao finally felt some lingering fear. During the fight, adrenaline was pumping like crazy, leaving no time for any other thoughts.
Now recalling the zombie whose head he'd blown up, he still felt somewhat uncomfortable.
After calming down a bit, Wang Tao took a big gulp of water and then stripped off all his clothes. Covered in sweat, he needed a shower.
After showering, Wang Tao finally had time to study the "backpack" icon below his HP bar, but before looking at the backpack, he paused.
"Huh? When did my HP increase?"
Wang Tao was pleasantly surprised to find that his HP bar had gone from "100/100" to "110/110"!
He'd gained 10 HP!
Could it be from killing the zombie?
Wang Tao hadn't noticed it at the time.
"I'll have to pay attention next time. If it's really from killing zombies that one can gain an increase in HP limit..." Wang Tao's face broke into a brilliant smile.
He looked again at the backpack icon below his HP bar. This item was similar to the inventory systems in many video games. However, only the "purified water (small)" could be put into the backpack and taken out at will. Other items couldn't be put inside.
"It seems that only items that drop from killing zombies can be put into the backpack..."
Wang Tao was excited, as this backpack was like a storage space!
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And he could sense in the dark that the time inside his backpack was paused, which meant that the things inside would never go bad!
Although there was a certain limit to what could be stored, Wang Tao was quite content. After all, he was sure to fight zombies in the future, so there was no worry about not having space for loot!
As for the "purified water (small)" that the zombie dropped, it was a 5L square plastic bucket. Wang Tao tasted the water inside and it indeed was purified water.
Although it felt somewhat discordant that a single zombie had dropped a whole 5L bucket of water, that wasn't the point—the point was that killing zombies could net him loot!
This, like his ability to see zombies' HP bars, was in some ways an invincible power!
Others might not benefit from killing zombies, but he certainly would—he could get loot, and there was a high chance that his HP limit would increase.
Even his physical attributes might improve—though Wang Tao wasn't sure about this, it might just be an adrenaline-fueled illusion. After he had killed this zombie, he felt like he had gotten somewhat stronger... He would know for sure after killing a few more zombies.
In any case, as long as he made an effort, he would definitely reap rewards!
"This is the apocalypse, huh? Why do I suddenly kind of like it?"
After feeling a bit smug for a moment, Wang Tao didn't get too arrogant. The zombies were indeed very strong, and a moment of carelessness could lead to disaster.
Of course, he had more or less figured out the strength of the zombies. As long as he was well-protected and not caught by them, with his physical attributes, he could definitely withstand an attack from one zombie.
Moreover, with proper technique, he could potentially kill a zombie with one strike.
But to achieve a one-hit kill, weapons were vital. His kitchen knife had been rendered useless after a single use—he needed to find a weapon that would last longer.
In the actual combat with zombies, Wang Tao had come to some conclusions—against zombies, how sharp the weapon was wasn't the most important aspect; what was crucial was that it was sturdy enough!
For example, when he used Jump Slash, even a not-so-sharp kitchen knife could still pierce through a zombie's skull.
"If only I could get my hands on a firefighter axe or a crowbar..."
Unfortunately, those items were not available here.
No hurry, take it slow.
After grabbing a simple meal and a short rest, Wang Tao put on his makeshift gear again and tied another kitchen knife of the same kind onto the rolling pin.
He had a total of five such knives, bought on discount just because they were cheap. Based on his previous experience, he could use Jump Slash at least four more times.
Fully armed, Wang Tao opened the door again.
There was only one zombie in the hallway, and now that it was dealt with, he definitely wanted to go out and look around, especially checking the upstairs. The zombie he had just killed was a neighbor from the floor above—there might be some resources in their home.
Wang Tao first tiptoed downstairs. The doors of the apartments on these floors were all closed; it was unclear whether there were people inside them or not.
The entrance door on the first floor was locked. He had suspected as much before, but hadn't been completely sure. Now seeing it locked reassured him.
Wang Tao arrived at the sixth floor; the door of apartment 602 was open.
Entering 602 cautiously with his weapon at the ready, Wang Tao thoroughly checked the room to make sure there were no zombies before closing the door behind him.
Although there were no longer any zombies in the hallway, it was still safer to be cautious. With the door shut, he could scour the place with peace of mind.
Not only was this his first time killing zombies, but it was also his first time rummaging through someone's home without any reservations. The thought even gave him a sense of illicit thrill.
The inside of 602 was not in disarray, showing no signs of a struggle. It seemed his neighbor had mutated suddenly and, hopefully, not suffered too much.
"There's a big bag of rice, probably about seven or eight kilos. Not bad, not bad!"
"There's a stock of vegetables and meat in the refrigerator, that's great!"
"Instant noodles, pickles, snacks, tobacco, alcohol... I'm taking all of it!"
"Hmm? What's this... a walkie-talkie?"