Chương 81: The Giant-Armed Zombie

For some reason, the monster stopped moving, remaining stationary within the billowing black smoke. Its blue energy bar was slowly, point by point, recovering. But Vince had no intention of waiting around any longer. The smoke and flames in the residential building on the right side of the street were gradually dying out, but the fire in the building on the left was growing increasingly severe, with thick black smoke pouring out of several apartments...

If he waited for the monster to go berserk again, smash another vehicle, and cause another explosion—and it still didn't die—it might set even more buildings ablaze. That would be a logistical nightmare. With a mental command, a chunk of [Scrap Metal] materialized in his hand. He took aim just below the floating Health Bar and hurled it with everything he had!

Propelled by Vince's current monstrous strength, the heavy scrap metal shot through the air like a cannonball, letting out a sharp whir as it instantly vanished into the black smoke! CRACK! A crisp, sharp sound echoed out! [-34] It hit, but what was that sound...? The exact instant the scrap metal struck, the monster's silhouette blurred into motion, charging violently straight toward Vince's position! Only then did Vince finally get a clear look at its true face!

It absolutely lived up to Ben's description of a "massive monster." This mutated zombie stood a full two meters tall, with incredibly thick, disproportionately long arms that practically dragged on the ground. Having been engulfed by the lithium battery explosion, its tough skin had been scorched into a layer of cracked, charred armor. Deep fissures spider-webbed across the blackened crust, exposing the raw, blood-red muscle tissue underneath. The metal chunk had likely bounced right off that charred armor.

Although the explosion had shaved off half its Max HP, the resulting carbonized crust had ironically buffed its physical defense... Furthermore, the monster's head had been completely melted by the heat, reduced to a blackened, unrecognizable lump. Forget facial features; if it weren't for the lump protruding from the top of its torso, Vince wouldn't have even realized it had a head... It looked exactly like a severely burned gorilla!

It seemed the monster had lost all of its sensory organs in the fire and was now relying entirely on tracking the source of incoming attacks. Facing the charging Giant-Armed Zombie, Vince deftly sidestepped to the right, planning to circle behind it and strike at the fissures in its charred armor. Blind and enraged, the monster charged forward like a maddened bull, completely oblivious to the fact that Vince was no longer directly in its path.

However, the exact second they crossed paths, its blue energy bar hit [10], and everything changed! As if sensing something, the Giant-Armed Zombie abruptly pivoted. It swung one of its massive, trunk-like arms in a devastating backhand arc, aimed directly at Vince! The nearly two-meter-long arm closed the distance instantly, catching Vince completely off guard!

Sensing a subtle, terrifying vibration emanating from the fist—which was larger than a basketball—Vince instantly realized: This was the punch that shattered Wang! In that split second, he equipped the [Armor Crystal]! He triggered a [Feral Potion]! Gripping the heavy steel spear with both hands, he sank his weight and jammed the blunt end hard against the asphalt beside his foot! He angled the sharpened tip directly at the incoming fist, bracing to tank the unavoidable blow head-on! SCREEEEECH!

The fist slammed violently into the tip of the spear! As the sharpened steel bit into the charred, hardened crust of the zombie's fist, it actually produced a screeching noise like metal scraping against ceramic! An overwhelming kinetic force traveled down the shaft of the spear, followed immediately by an ear-piercing, manic grinding sound right next to Vince's ear! It was the subtle vibration emanating from the zombie's fist! The moment the vibration made contact with a physical object, it erupted.

However, right at the point of impact with the spearhead, a faint, translucent blue hexagonal halo flared into existence! It was the [Armor Crystal]! The faint blue halo acted as an absolute barrier, completely absorbing the terrifying vibrational energy and preventing it from advancing a single millimeter past the point of impact! I actually tanked the hit!

The Giant-Armed Zombie looked incredibly imposing, but whether its base strength was lacking or the explosion had severely weakened it, its raw physical power was currently dead even with Vince's! If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Although the spear couldn't pierce the monster's charred armor, it successfully held the massive fist at bay.

The standoff lasted less than a second before the ear-piercing grinding noise abruptly ceased, and the faint blue halo around the spearhead vanished... It's over! Seeing the blue energy bar above the monster's head reset to zero, Vince's eyes lit up! The Crystals are absolutely god-tier loot! The [Armor Crystal] was fully capable of neutralizing the zombie's supernatural energy attack! [Remaining Energy: 2570]...

"Holy shit..." That single block had consumed a staggering 120 points of energy! The [Sharpness Crystal] only consumed 1 point per activation... Ah... Vince suddenly had an epiphany... The fundamental nature of the subtle vibration on the Giant-Armed Zombie's fist was likely a rapid succession of micro-impacts stacked together... No wonder it could literally shatter a human body and completely disintegrate an EV battery pack in a single punch...

[1/10] Watching the energy bar slowly tick up, Vince grew increasingly curious about what kind of Crystal this boss would drop! With a forceful shove, he parried the monster's heavy fist aside. Without its energy attack, the Giant-Armed Zombie was nothing more than a physically strong brute! He twisted his body, pivoting his hips to thrust the heavy spear upward, aiming straight for a deep fissure on the upper half of the monster's giant arm! SQUELCH!

[-29] [2/10] He immediately bounded backward, yanking the spear out to dodge a wild swing from its other fist! A stream of dark, foul blood sprayed from the wound, but the superficial damage barely seemed to faze the monster. Without breaking his rhythm, Vince spun around. Tucking his elbows tight, he used the momentum of his spin to swing the heavy 30-pound steel rod in a devastating half-circle arc! The tip of the spear scraped against the asphalt with a harsh screech.

Raising both arms, Vince brought the heavy rod crashing down with bone-crushing force, aiming directly at the monster's elbow joint! CRACK! A sound like shattering porcelain echoed out! The charred armor protecting the zombie's giant arm was smashed to pieces, sending shards of carbon and splatters of foul blood flying into the air! [-56] [3/10] The damage was higher, but it still hadn't crippled the limb! Against a behemoth like this, simple thrusts and bludgeoning strikes just didn't deal enough burst damage!

Looking at the [807/2000] Health Bar floating above the Giant-Armed Zombie, Vince frowned slightly. It wasn't that he didn't want to attack its main torso, but the monster was wildly swinging its two massive, two-meter-long arms like wrecking balls. They acted as a nearly impenetrable physical shield, keeping its core completely protected. Vince couldn't find an opening to get close! Parrying another wild, uncoordinated haymaker with a heavy block, Vince noticed its energy bar had only ticked up to 4.

He instantly willed the system to swap the [Armor Crystal] for the [Sharpness Crystal]! This time, he completely abandoned trying to attack its torso. He swung his heavy spear in a massive horizontal sweep, slamming into one of the giant arms and throwing the monster slightly off balance! Dodging a retaliatory swing from the other fist, he drove the sharpened tip of his spear with maximum force straight into the deep, exposed fissure he had just created on the monster's left elbow joint! I'm taking an arm first!

The moment the spearhead bit deep into the flesh, the razor-sharp energy from the [Sharpness Crystal] violently erupted along the monster's muscles and tendons! SQUELCH! The internal burst of cutting energy violently ripped open the charred, cracked elbow, exposing the bone underneath! [-96]"Nice!" [6/10] Four seconds left! Vince was using the monster's energy regeneration purely as a cooldown timer for its ultimate skill!

Having suffered a massive critical strike to its joint, the Giant-Armed Zombie grew even more frenzied! It completely abandoned all finesse, turning its massive arms into twin warhammers, wildly flailing them in front of its body to create an airtight wall of death. Every time Vince managed to parry one arm aside, the other fist would immediately crash down, leaving him absolutely zero opportunity to aim for the joint again! Seeing the energy bar hit 8...

Vince immediately swapped back to the [Armor Crystal] and leaped backward, temporarily exiting its attack range. Yet, the monster somehow managed to perfectly track his movement. It pivoted and immediately gave chase. Burned to a crisp like that, I have no idea what sensory organ it's using to track me! [10/10]! The Giant-Armed Zombie raised both of its massive fists high into the air and brought them crashing down with terrifying force, aiming directly at Vince!

Just because I have the Armor Crystal equipped doesn't mean I have to tank every hit! The first time was a sneak attack; he was forced to eat the damage. Vince had no intention of wasting a massive chunk of his Crystal energy if he didn't have to! He leaped backward. With a mental command, a piece of [Scrap Metal] materialized in his hand. Without a second's hesitation, he hurled it directly at the slight protrusion that served as the monster's head! CRACK! A crisp impact echoed out! [-19]!

Looking at the pathetic damage, it confirmed his suspicion: its head was no longer a weak point! However, Vince hadn't thrown the projectile to deal damage. Right in the middle of its devastating downward smash, the Giant-Armed Zombie instinctively flinched from the sudden impact to its head. Its aim faltered, and both massive fists slammed heavily into the asphalt right in front of its own feet! BOOM! The impact sounded exactly like the terrifying thuds echoing inside the building earlier!

The second Vince landed, he felt the ground beneath his feet violently tremble! Using the point of impact as the epicenter, concentric shockwaves visibly rippled through the asphalt, tearing deep fissures into the road! The shockwave rapidly expanded outward, reaching Vince's feet. A faint blue hexagonal barrier briefly flickered into existence around him, absorbing the residual energy... Remaining Energy: 2567...

Even after retreating out of the immediate blast radius, the AoE shockwave still drained 3 points of energy. The sheer power was horrifying. With a mental command, the [Stealth Crystal] shrouded him... Before the monster could even lift its arms from the crater it had created, it realized its prey had completely vanished from its senses. For a split second, the beast froze in confusion. Seize the opening! Vince exploded forward!

Mid-sprint, he swapped the [Stealth Crystal] for the [Sharpness Crystal] and executed a flawless, lunging thrust, driving the spearhead with surgical precision directly into the already mangled left elbow joint! The razor-sharp energy violently detonated deep within the joint! With a dull thwack, the Giant-Armed Zombie's left arm jerked violently. Immediately after, it collapsed limply, dangling uselessly against the ground... [-98]!

The devastating strike had completely severed the connection between the humerus and the ulna; the two halves of the arm were now only held together by a few strips of torn flesh and skin. The massive fist dragged across the asphalt, completely devoid of its terrifying strength! It worked! Vince's spontaneous idea to use the [Stealth Crystal] had produced miraculous results! Because he was more than three meters away when he activated it, the monster had completely lost his tracking signature.

Although it only lasted for a fraction of a second, that momentary confusion gave Vince the perfect window to strike! Watching the Giant-Armed Zombie sway unsteadily, its balance completely thrown off as it dragged its severed left arm behind it, Vince couldn't help but let a cold smirk tug at the corner of his mouth. This battle is already over!