Chương 3: Wait, It Even Drops Loot

That shriek... there was no doubt Claire was still alive. But she probably wouldn't be for much longer. Under the zombie's frantic pulling and battering, the iron grate rattled violently with a series of heavy clangs. The racket was already drawing reactions from the floor above—Vince could hear the muffled, agitated thud of footsteps. Frantic and chaotic. Not human. And definitely more than one... As his physical strength gradually returned, Vince noticed his hearing had become remarkably acute.

Looks like the whole family upstairs turned. Just don't know if there are two of them, or three... Vince coldly observed the hallway through the peephole, mentally cataloging everything he saw. The zombie had been sluggish initially, but auditory stimulation drove it into a state of extreme frenzy. A full minute had passed; if there were any other zombies loose in the stairwell, they would have been drawn by the noise by now.

Though there were footsteps upstairs, they remained confined within the apartment, meaning their door was still shut. That was good news. There was only one zombie in the hallway, its attention was entirely fixated on the door opposite his, and its back was completely exposed to Vince... Maybe I can give it a shot... Vince stared at the heavy bone-cleaver in his hand, his expression grave. He had frozen food and useful supplies stockpiled in his clinic downstairs.

If he wanted to scavenge for resources, clashing with these monsters was inevitable. He had to figure out exactly what kind of mobility and strength these zombies possessed, and whether he could handle them in a fight. Not to mention, he had this bizarre ability that looked suspiciously like an HP bar... At that thought, Vince turned toward the full-length mirror behind his door, intending to see if he had a health bar floating above his own head.

But the moment the thought crossed his mind, a green bar bordered in gold materialized in the upper left corner of his vision, displaying the numbers [97/100]. The overlay felt entirely natural, as if it had been a part of his vision since birth. The instant it appeared, Vince intrinsically understood: this was his own HP. I knew it! This is my awakened ability! No one in the community chats had mentioned anything about superpowers or systems!

His inexplicable three-day coma was undoubtedly linked to this awakening. Now facing the mirror directly, Vince's eyes widened in shock.

"This..." He hadn't actually looked at himself since waking up. Now, he suddenly realized his physical appearance had undergone a drastic transformation. After a series of life setbacks, Vince had let himself go—he had become somewhat lethargic and flabby. But now, the lines of his body were clean and sharp. The flaccidity brought on by a lack of exercise had completely vanished, replaced by dense, tightly knit muscles that weren't overly bulky, yet practically radiated explosive power.

"This... this is practically a perfect physique..." Comparing his current self to his past self was like comparing a draft horse to a racing thoroughbred. The difference was like night and day. He grabbed a heavy-duty power twister bar from behind the door and bent it forcefully. Distinct muscle striations immediately popped beneath his skin as the heavy steel spring was effortlessly bent into a U-shape. He could feel it—his raw strength had surged explosively!

This physical enhancement, combined with his HP-vision ability... this apocalypse was going to be his ultimate opportunity to turn his life around. Vince glared through the peephole at the zombie still wrestling with the iron grate. I'll start with you... He retreated to the living room and immediately began his preparations. The heavy-duty, bite-proof arm sleeves and thick apron he used when bathing large, aggressive dogs were hanging on the balcony. They were perfect for this. Next was a weapon.

The kitchen had a few knives, which would be fine against a living person, but against a zombie... Vince walked over to the window and peered down. The man who had been tackled earlier had already turned. His chest and abdomen had been completely hollowed out; all that remained was his shoulders and one surviving arm, which was thrashing aimlessly at the air. [96/300] The numbers floated above its only intact part: its head. It's a gutted sack of meat, and it still has 96 HP.

It seemed a zombie's core was strictly its head. In that case, ordinary kitchen knives would struggle to inflict effective damage. Not to mention the attack range was too short. If he couldn't secure a one-hit kill, he risked getting scratched or bitten during a counterattack. He needed something to extend his reach, preferably something capable of piercing a skull... Vince's gaze swept the room, finally locking onto the metal curtain rod above the window.

He yanked it down, pressing one end against the floor to test its give. The 2-millimeter-thick tubular wall should be sturdy enough. The weight was just right, and the tubular structure meant it wouldn't bend easily under radial stress. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. It was a bit long, but he didn't have the tools to cut it down right now. He dug into his toolbox and dumped out all his screwdrivers.

The thickest one fit perfectly into the hollow opening of the steel pipe to serve as a makeshift spearhead. He bound it tightly with iron wire and wrapped it securely with electrical tape until the entire roll was gone. Just like that, he had assembled a makeshift boar spear! The spearhead would probably snap off easily in a complex melee, but in a narrow hallway, it was the perfect weapon. He donned a baseball cap, a surgical mask, and safety goggles, then wrapped a thick scarf around his neck to prevent bites.

Finally, he wrapped a layer of tape around the cutting edge of the bone-cleaver and tucked it into his apron pocket. Fully geared up, Vince looked in the mirror. He looked exactly like a wasteland butcher—which made him feel incredibly secure! In a situation like this, the anatomical knowledge of a doctor and a butcher overlapped perfectly. Pierce the cranium, then scramble the brain. In his eyes, it wasn't a difficult procedure... provided the tools were adequate.

In those short two minutes, Vince's own HP had ticked up from 97 to 98. It seemed the food he had forced down earlier was doing its job. Vince stood behind his door, observing the hallway while waiting for his health to regenerate. In a life-or-death situation, every single point of HP increased his odds of survival... [99]... [100]! The instant his HP capped out, Vince made his move! The soft click of the lock was entirely drowned out by the zombie's frantic battering across the hall; it didn't notice a thing.

Gently easing the heavy security door open, Vince stepped out. Gripping the middle of his makeshift spear with both hands, he thrust it upward at a brutal angle, aiming squarely at the back of the zombie's head! His target was the most vulnerable point of the human skull: the foramen magnum! If you hit that weak spot accurately, even a weakling with a screwdriver could drop Mike Tyson!

Putting his full, newly enhanced weight behind the thrust, the spear crossed the hallway in a flash and plunged straight into the back of the zombie's head! Squelch! THUD! [-99!] [197/300] Bullseye! But Vince severely underestimated his new strength! Bypassing the hardest parts of the skull, the screwdriver severed the upper cervical spine, punched straight out through the zombie's open mouth, and nailed it firmly to the wooden door of apartment 302 with a deafening THWACK!

At the same time, an uncontrollable shriek erupted from inside 302! Vince barked in a harsh whisper, instantly stifling the scream to avoid drawing more unwanted attention. She must have thought the zombies finally broke through the door!

"Shut up!" The zombie isn't even dead yet! With its head pinned securely to the door, the zombie couldn't turn around, but it flailed its arms wildly behind it, swiping blindly at Vince. Don't pull the spear out! Vince cleared his mind and made a split-second tactical decision. He had been so focused on a one-hit kill that he hadn't accounted for his monstrous strength.

The spearhead had shattered the upper spine and pierced straight out of its open jaw, over-penetrating rather than just scrambling the brain inside! Still, it had completely immobilized the zombie—an unexpected but welcome bonus. Vince instantly released the spear shaft, drew the heavy bone-cleaver from his apron, and chopped down hard on one of the flailing arms! The heavy blade bit into the wrist joint, parting flesh and bone.

With a brutal twist of his wrist, Vince severed the hand completely, sending it flying across the hall. Only the thumb remained dangling from the stump! [-19!] [178/300] Though he had anticipated it, the damage output was pathetically low! Not only did the blow fail to weaken the zombie, it seemed to send it into a feral frenzy! The pinned zombie thrashed violently, rattling the spear shaft and the wooden door so hard they seemed on the verge of snapping. I really do have to aim for the head!

I need to close the distance! Vince rapidly adjusted his tactics. He lunged forward, using his left hand to forcefully pin the zombie's remaining left arm against the wall. He raised the cleaver in his right hand and swung it diagonally upward, parallel to the steel pipe, aiming to cleave the back of the skull wide open! But his left hand slipped. To his horror, the necrotic skin and muscle of the zombie's arm sloughed right off, degloving completely in his grip!

The exposed bone slipped from his grasp, and the zombie's flailing elbow jerked back, striking Vince squarely in the chest! BAM! What incredible force! The zombie's raw physical power was indeed much greater than a living human's! The blow knocked the wind out of Vince, forcing him two steps back. However, a quick glance at his UI revealed his HP hadn't dropped by a single point. This realization reinvigorated him. It seemed that unless he sustained actual, substantial damage, his HP bar wouldn't decrease.

Still, the rotting-flesh slip-up was a brutal lesson; he had to be much more careful gripping them in the future. Tossing aside the handful of rotting meat, Vince saw his opening. He grabbed the zombie's exposed arm bone firmly, swung the cleaver, and chopped heavily into the back of its skull! CLANG! A dull, metallic thud rang out! [-35!] [143/300] The blade failed to breach the skull, and a small chunk of the cleaver's edge actually chipped off.

It seemed the zombie's skeletal structure was significantly denser than a normal human's. Capitalizing on the momentum, Vince pressed his entire body forward. Gripping the exposed bone, he used his arm strength and body weight to lock the zombie firmly in place. Adjusting his angle, he swung his right hand down with everything he had! [-199!] [0/300] The back of the zombie's skull was cleaved wide open, the thick blade burying itself deep into the cranium, nearly splitting the head entirely in two!

First impaled, then chopped in half, the brain suffered catastrophic trauma, and the HP bar instantly plummeted to zero! The zombie ceased its struggling, its arms falling limply to its sides. It was dead beyond any doubt.

"Hm?" Just as Vince let out a breath of relief, he noticed a semi-transparent glowing orb floating above the corpse. Before he could even process what it was, the sphere vanished. [Acquired: Smoked Chicken x 1] [Acquired: Purified Water (Small) x 1] Next, an Inventory grid appeared in the corner of his vision. The grid was empty save for those two items: a vacuum-sealed smoked chicken and a 1-liter bottle of mineral water...

Checking his own status again, he suddenly realized his HP had changed from [100/100] to [110/110]! His Max HP had increased by 10 points! What was going on? Was it a reward for killing the zombie?

"Killing zombies doesn't just drop loot... it permanently raises my Max HP?" A bewildered grin spread across Vince's face. He turned his head to look at the gory, mangled corpse nailed to door 302, and suddenly... he found it rather cute.