Chapter 39: Chapter 39 Design Blueprint, Crystal Core_l

Translator: 549690339

[-32]

[-29]

[404/1000]

“Huff     ”

Wang Tao let out a long sigh of relief after seeing the Big Hammer Zombie’s HP bar drop to less than half.

In the enhanced speed from the Running Potion, beneath the glare of the flashlight and the sun, it took him four minutes to grind away nearly six hundred HP from the Big Hammer Zombie.

If it weren’t for his superhuman physique, which had been further strengthened by killing zombies, he definitely wouldn’t have lasted this long.

“I hope when you die, you’ll drop something good for me…”

Wang Tao quickly closed in on the zombie again and bashed its head with his club.

[-27]

[377/1000]

Based on his four minutes of combat experience, Wang Tao had the chance to hit it once more before retreating without it being too late.

But suddenly, he noticed the Big Hammer Zombie’s movements were different.

Previously, at this time, it would have been preparing to swing its left arm.

But now, it suddenly gripped the Steel Bar Hammer with both hands.

Danger!

An alarm went off in Wang Tao’s mind. He immediately gave up the chance to attack and chose to retreat quickly.

And just as he retreated, the Big Hammer Zombie suddenly swung the hammer with both hands, turning in a 360-degree windmill around itself!

Whoosh

Bang!

The Big Hammer landed heavily, and the concrete floor cracked once again.

Four meters away, Wang Tao felt the brunt of the wind on his face and shuddered with fear.

Lucky for him, he had retreated; otherwise, a hit from that would have killed him with his remaining HP!

After the Big Hammer hit the ground, the Big Hammer Zombie seemed a bit tired, leaning over slightly with its head bowed, using the hammer as support.

“Good opportunity!”

Wang Tao immediately sprinted to its side and swung his club fiercely.

Bang!

[-58]

This strike inflicted the highest damage he had achieved so far, but the steel pipe Wolf Fang Club finally gave in under the strain, its steel studs, and even the pipe itself, bent out of shape.

Bang!

[-13]

Without the steel studs, the damage was greatly reduced.

Seeing the Big Hammer Zombie pick up the hammer again, Wang Tao hurriedly retreated and simultaneously threw away the damaged Wolf Fang Club, switching to the Long-handled Sheep’s Horn Hammer at his waist.

The horned hammer was half the length of the Wolf Fang Club, which put him at a slight disadvantage against such a large foe, but Wang Tao was already accustomed to the Big Hammer Zombie’s attack pattern. As long as he was well-prepared, it wouldn’t be a problem.

After the Big Hammer Zombie’s HP dropped below 40%, its attacks became much more frenzied, occasionally unleashing a 360-degree windmill.

Wang Tao found himself in a difficult fight, as there were few chances to approach the zombie and get away unscathed.

He was practically dancing on a steel wire, one misstep and he’d be done for.

However, the tenser the situation, the calmer Wang Tao became.

As the Big Hammer Zombie’s HP neared depletion, it became even more manic, and Wang Tao couldn’t approach it at all. He didn’t force it, instead, he kept dodging and waited for an opportunity.

Finally, after a full minute of waiting, he successfully moved behind the Big Hammer Zombie and smashed its head with the pointed end of the Sheep’s Horn Hammer.

Squish

[-37]

[0/1000]

The Big Hammer Zombie’s body stiffened, then it crashed to the ground with a thud.

“Huff~huff~”

Seeing it finally dead, Wang Tao sat down on the ground, heaving deep breaths.

He had only 20 HP left, nearly drained of his energy. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he had persevered solely on willpower during the last few minutes. Now if any random zombie—no, even any random human—came at him, he might not win.

But mere moments later, Wang Tao perked up.

Because he found that he had recovered quite a bit of strength all at once!

He quickly glanced at his HP bar.

[60/300]

After killing the Big Hammer Zombie, his HP cap rose by 40 points, and he recovered 40 HP!

Wang Tao felt his body getting warm; it seemed like his physical condition had improved even more!

He clenched his fist tightly, feeling the power in his hands, almost bursting out with laughter.

“Indeed, to become stronger, you have to kill zombies!”

Wang Tao roughly estimated that for every 100 HP gained, his physical condition might improve by about 10%. However, the increment in HP from killing zombies seemed quite small, maybe one-thousandth? Wang Tao wasn’t sure.

But no matter what, the more zombies he killed, the stronger he became! Conversely, the greater the danger.

Even with his strength, he almost perished today…

After a brief rest, Wang Tao looked around and, seeing no zombies approaching, he began to check the spoils of battle with relief.

First were the two worker zombies.

[You have obtained: Purified Water (Medium) xi]

[Purified Water (Medium): 25L, consumable]

[You have obtained: Purified Water (Medium) xi]

[Purified Water (Medium): 25L, consumable]

Each of the worker zombies dropped two buckets of water, not the small 5L ones but medium-sized 25L buckets of purified water.

It’s no surprise they’re from the water plant! All good stuff!

As for the worker zombies themselves… Wang Tao checked the bodies and only found two packs of cigarettes.

Then there were the items dropped by the Big Hammer Zombie.

“A Strength Potion and… a blueprint!”

Seeing these items, Wang Tao’s eyes widened.

Besides a needleless syringe labeled “Strength (small),¹‘ there was a blueprint. [Strength Potion (Small): After injection, overall strength increases by io°/o-ioo% (the stronger the physique, the greater the increase), lasts for 1 minute, 12-hour cooldown]

[Strength Potion (Small) Blueprint: Once learned, you can craft five doses of Strength Potion (Small) at a time. Required materials: Strength Mushroom xi, Zombie Crystal Core xi, Purified Water 100ml, 10 kcal food]

Strength Potions are precious, but they only last for a short duration and should be used at crucial moments.

As for the formula on the blueprint, aside from purified water and food, Wang Tao hadn’t seen any of the other required materials; it seems impossible to craft it now.

“Wait a second—Zombie Crystal Core? What is that? Sounds like something that grows inside zombies?”

Wang Tao was puzzled. He went over to the two worker zombies and, enduring the disgust, meticulously searched their skulls and bodies but found no crystal cores.

He then approached the Big Hammer Zombie, looking at this towering figure over two meters tall, Wang Tao first frisked it indiscriminately, finding only a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

Then Wang Tao picked up the horned hammer and pried open the shattered skull of the Big Hammer Zombie.

“Eh?”

As Wang Tao acted, a grape-sized white transparent diamond-shaped crystal fell out, which he caught reflexively.

The crystal had a gray haze inside, but there seemed to be a wave pattern moving within it, reminiscent of… the Shockwave created by the Big Hammer Zombie’s slam?

Wang Tao instinctively swallowed, feeling an urge to consume it. Yet the bloodstains also made him feel nauseated.

At that moment, a line of text popped up.

[Level 1 Crystal Core-Shockwave]

[Quality: Ordinary (20%)]

[Purity: 50% (Side effect: Light sensitivity)]

Below was a detailed introduction.

[Level 1: A crystal core with an energy level of 1]

[Crystal Core: Humans can fuse with it to obtain the respective Ability] [Shockwave: Consumes energy when attacking, can carry a Shockwave] [Quality: The stability level of the energy within the crystal core, the higher the stability, the better the quality, and the higher the fusion success rate] [Ordinary (20%): 20% success rate for fusion; failure results in loss of the crystal core and leaves the individual weak for one day. Regardless of success or failure, Internal Impurities remain]

[Purity: 50% (Side effect: Light sensitivity): 50% of the energy in the crystal core is usable, the rest is impurity, with the side effect of “light sensitivity”] [Friendly reminder 1: The more internal impurities a human has, the higher the chance of turning into a zombie]

[Friendly reminder 2: Humans can only fuse with a limited number of crystal core types, and each time a new type is fused, the difficulty increases exponentially. Choose carefully]

[Friendly reminder 3: Multiple crystal cores of the same type and level in your backpack can be synthesized together]