Chương 76: Vacation is Over

"Ben... this is Vince... do you copy?" Vince sat in the clinic, munching on a braised egg while hailing Ben on the walkie-talkie. After a short moment, the radio crackled with static.

"Vince, this is Ben. What's the plan?"

"How is the situation? Any unusual rooms?" Vince asked directly. This was his primary concern.

"It's going fairly well... we've already cleared seven households... they were all just regular zombies," Ben replied.

"But there are... three rooms... that are a bit different." Oh? A sharp light flickered in Vince's eyes. Unusual activity almost certainly meant mutated zombies.

"Where are you? I'll come find you," Vince said.

"We're heading back to the supermarket entrance. Let's meet there," Ben answered.

"Alright." Vince was about to head out when he suddenly remembered something. He turned back, went upstairs to grab his keys, and entered room 201 on the second floor to find a fresh set of clean clothes. Vince's current physique was only slightly more muscular than an average person, so standard-sized men's clothing fit him well. It was too painful to throw away a set of his own clothes every time they got ruined; it was better to wear someone else's for now.

After changing into a long-sleeved work suit he found in a closet, Vince returned to the clinic. He strapped on the belt Claire had made for him, organized his gear, and walked out toward the supermarket. His previous spear had become slightly bent. Such a bend was irreversible; even if he forced it back into shape, the structural integrity was compromised. Vince didn't want it to snap at an unexpected moment and give him a deadly "surprise." He decided to switch to a spare pipe.

Every residential unit had radiator pipes, so there was no shortage of materials. Several people were standing by the road near the supermarket entrance. As soon as they saw Vince, they hurried over.

"Vince..." Vince looked up to see Ben. He offered a casual greeting and asked, "How is the haul?"

"Not bad... we found a freezer, so all the meat we found in the apartments is being kept there." Ben pointed, and Vince saw a long power cable running from the side of a business van's charging port into the building. It seemed they were using the van's battery to power the freezer.

"By the way, I have a favor to ask you," Vince suddenly thought. It was easier to leave the spear business to them rather than pulling power lines himself.

"This spear of mine is bent."

"We cut a lot of steel pipes this morning. Even after giving everyone one, we still have plenty left. Let me show you—" Before he could finish, Ben was leading Vince into the supermarket. When Vince stepped inside, the place looked completely different from yesterday. The cluttered shelves and trash had been cleared away. One side of the spacious hall held the freezer and some instant food, while the other side held several large barrels—likely filled with rainwater collected overnight.

Against the wall leaned a dozen or so iron pipes of various colors. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. They were all roughly 1. 7 to 1. 8 meters long, with one end cut into a point, identical in style to the one in Vince's hand. Vince walked over, squatted down, picked one up to feel the weight, and tossed it back.

"Too light." The pipes Ben and his men had collected were mostly shelf poles or thin water pipes. After all, a normal person who could fight for an extended period with a seven or eight-pound spear was already considered quite strong. Vince's ten-pound thick steel pipe was closer to gym equipment.

"The normal ones are all... whoa! Vince, this one must be over ten pounds! This is a radiator pipe..." Ben noticed Vince's dissatisfaction and instinctively picked up the steel pipe Vince had leaned against the wall. He nearly dropped it on his foot and had to grip it with both hands to feel the weight. It was wrapped in tape and adhesive bandages, so he had assumed it was just a regular iron pipe. He hadn't expected it to be so heavy. A normal person... never mind, the man in front of me clearly isn't normal.

Not only are his combat skills peerless, but he has superhuman strength... Seeing Ben's surprised expression, Vince said casually, "This one is starting to feel a bit light for me. Do you have a way to make it heavier?" Vince wasn't trying to humblebrag; he truly felt this way. This twelve or thirteen-pound steel pipe felt perfect when his Max HP was around 300, but now that he was at [595], it felt noticeably light. This was actually limiting his destructive power.

Fire axes and sledgehammers had a forward-shifted center of gravity and hardwood handles that could snap easily, making them inconvenient. Vince was just musing to himself when a lackey following Ben suddenly spoke up.

"Um... Ben, Vince, I actually have an idea." Both Vince and Ben turned their gaze toward him. Vince found the man somewhat familiar; he was likely one of the people who had helped Ben drag the zombies away earlier.

"Hank, you have a way?" Ben spoke first, then introduced him to Vince.

"This is Hank, you've met him before."

"Ah, right, I remember. Tell me what you're thinking," Vince said. He was genuinely interested in hearing the suggestion, as it directly concerned his combat effectiveness.

"Fill the inside with something, then seal off both ends."

"..." Before Vince could respond, Ben gave the man a light kick on the shin and muttered, "Isn't that obvious? How do you seal it?"

"Hey, Ben, let me finish!" Hank dodged to the side. It was clear the two had a good relationship.

"Let him finish," Vince said, standing up and taking back his steel pipe. He looked closely at the interior. There was some rust and scale from the radiator water, but it still had a large hollow core.

"I run a steel window shop... I have a welding machine in my store." With a welder, they could indeed seal both ends, but... Before Vince could speak, Ben added enthusiastically, "Right! Weld both ends shut. Fill the gaps with fine sand—that should add at least three or four pounds!" Vince listened and slowly shook his head.

"Three or four pounds isn't enough." Hearing Vince say it wasn't enough, Ben was secretly shocked again, but he hurried to add, "Then how about we find some steel ball bearings or something to mix with the sand? There might be some in a hardware store. The one in our complex is on the other side, though..."

"Is there a way to turn it into a solid steel rod?" Vince asked Hank directly.

"Solid... then a single one would weigh at least thirty pounds," Hank said in surprise.

"Thirty pounds?" Vince was slightly taken aback by the number himself, but thinking about his nearly [600] HP and growing constitution, thirty pounds might not be impossible for a standard weapon. He followed up: "Is there a way? How would we do it?"

"... Yes!" Hank thought for a moment.

"We can stuff welding rods inside. Bundle several of them together, shove them in, pack them tight... then weld the ends shut. It would be no different from a solid steel rod. We can even weld on a proper spearhead then." Vince's eyes grew brighter as he listened. Before the man could finish, Vince slapped him on the shoulder.

"Where is your shop? Go get the equipment right now."

"Ah?" Hank looked toward Ben. They had been waiting for Vince to lead them to the buildings, but they hadn't expected him to change the plan as soon as he arrived. Vince saw him look at Ben and understood immediately.

"Mutated zombies have weird abilities. If we can upgrade our weapons, we should do that first." Even though Vince felt he could win, he had no desire to get injured.