Loot Drop!

Survivors.

They were definitely survivors.

Not everyone in this world had been turned into Zombies. Some survivors had managed to stay alive.

In the distance, a bus sped down the road as if it were starring in a Hollywood blockbuster. The Zombies in its way were sent flying one after another or crushed into pulp beneath its wheels.

Cars and obstacles blocking the road were violently rammed aside as it continued forward.

More and more Zombies gathered behind it, but they still could not catch up to the bus on foot and were left far behind.

At this speed, barring any accidents, the bus really might make it out.

As long as it reached the Main Road, they would be more than halfway to safety.

The roads there were wider, and the Zombies were not as densely packed as they were in the residential complex.

Wu Heng stared intently at the street, his gaze following the bus.

Just as the bus reached the intersection and began slowing slightly to make a turn—

Crash!

The floor-to-ceiling glass of a roadside shop shattered. Amid the flying shards, a massive figure with dark-red skin charged straight at the slowing, turning bus.

Boom!

The huge Zombie slammed into the side of the bus, sending it swaying violently from side to side.

It lost control and crashed into a utility pole by the road with a bang.

The bus came to a stop, black smoke rising from it.

Before the people inside could react, Zombies from all directions instantly swallowed the bus whole.

Through the gaps between the tightly packed Zombies, iron pipes could still be seen stabbing frantically outward.

The survivors inside were still trying to fight back.

But they had drawn in far too many Zombies along the way. They poured over like an endless flood.

Given the situation, even if the bus could start again, it would be difficult for it to break free.

Wu Heng watched from the rooftop.

He was anxious, but he had no ability to save them under these circumstances.

If he took the risk and went over, he would only be giving the Zombies another meal.

After letting out a soft sigh, he turned his attention to the giant monster capable of overturning the bus.

It was humanoid and likely over three meters tall. Its skin was dark red, while its upper body and arms were absurdly muscular, its muscles bulging like tumors and brimming with explosive power.

"What the hell is that?"

Zombie Teddy had gone from an ordinary size to nearly the size of a lion. The Zombie before him had clearly undergone a mutation as well.

And its combat power had reached a terrifying level.

Ramming a bus with its bare body—such strength was simply horrifying.

The somewhat dazed Giant Zombie staggered toward the bus.

It casually flung away the Zombies blocking its path, raised its fist, and smashed it heavily into the vehicle.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

With each heavy blow, the body panels caved in, and the metal bars over the windows came loose.

Once the opening grew large enough, the Zombies instantly poured into the bus and began madly fighting over the flesh within.

The chaos did not last long.

In just two or three minutes, the movement inside the bus stopped.

Like monsters that had lost their target, the Zombie Horde became quiet again and scattered in all directions.

As for the bus at the center, it had already collapsed and warped, with severed limbs hanging from its body.

From beginning to end, Wu Heng had not seen how many survivors there were or what they looked like.

The Giant Mutated Zombie also walked off to one side, slipped back into the roadside shop, and vanished from sight.

Wu Heng watched all of this, and his Sense of Crisis about his own situation deepened.

Both the Zombie Horde just now and the Giant Mutated Zombie put pressure on him.

With the number of Skeleton Warriors he had, encountering either of them would mean certain death.

"I still need to keep a low profile. Once I have enough Skeleton Warriors, I won't have to be afraid."

Muttering to himself, he watched the Zombie Horde slowly disperse.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, a Zombie wandering aimlessly caught his attention.

The Zombie wore a blue shirt and had nothing particularly unusual about him. What drew Wu Heng's attention was the belt around his waist.

A black belt was connected to a black retention cord, and at the other end hung a black pistol by the Zombie's calf.

"A Zombie brought me a weapon?"

When fighting Zombies, he could rely on Skeleton Warriors. As long as he did not take risks, there would not be much of a problem.

But in Blackstone Town, where everyone had become a class-holder, he still lacked the means to protect himself if anything unexpected happened.

If he could get that weapon, it would improve his safety.

Pulling a trigger was much easier than drawing a bow.

"I need to find a way to get it."

After muttering that, Wu Heng began considering how to obtain it.

Charging out directly was obviously unrealistic.

It would be best if he could somehow lure it over by itself.

After thinking for a while, Wu Heng looked at the Climbing Rope in his hand.

It should be worth a try.

On the road.

A rope dropped down from the sky.

Once it looped around the Zombie, it suddenly tightened and dragged it to one side.

The sudden force made the Zombie look around in panic, roaring from its mouth.

It seemed unable to understand why it was moving, or why it was being pulled to one side against its will.

Amid its frantic struggles, the Zombie was slowly hauled upward along the exterior wall of the building.

Wu Heng stood on the rooftop, directing the Skeleton Warriors to alter the angle of the pull and avoid the balconies and external metal railings, lest an accident halfway through ruin everything.

Two Skeleton Pigeons were perched nearby. Their bodies were white skeletons, but their wings were covered in a layer of flesh membrane.

They could retain their original ability to fly.

These two Skeleton Pigeons had also been the ones to slip the lasso around the target Zombie.

Wu Heng did not have the skill to lasso a target from such a distance.

Even with the Skeleton Pigeons dropping the lasso from the air, it had taken more than twenty attempts to succeed once.

That was why he remained so careful and focused throughout the pulling process.

He was afraid it would fall halfway up.

Finally, the struggling Zombie was pulled onto the roof. Before it could climb up and attack, countless kitchen knives came down.

It was chopped directly into a corpse.

Wu Heng crouched down, pulled off the corpse's pants, and took the item he wanted into his hands.

Pistols were not unfamiliar things.

They were common in movies and television.

Besides, he had previously played a game called Gun Simulator, where he had studied how to assemble and use them.

He was practically an armchair shooter.

So, although this was his first time holding a pistol, he was not unfamiliar with operating it.

He ejected the magazine. There were still nine rounds inside.

He carefully searched the corpse again but found no extra bullets.

He did not know whether the Zombie had only carried this one magazine or had lost the rest.

The pistol was in good condition, without any serious wear.

Wu Heng held it in his hand and tried chambering a round and aiming, but he could not bring himself to waste bullets by firing.

After practicing drawing and aiming a few times, he put it away.

Today's haul had been pretty good.

After turning the corpse into a Skeleton Warrior,

he tidied up and prepared to return to Blackstone Town.

Blackstone Town.

Wu Heng went to the blacksmith's shop and asked about ordering an iron ladder.

But reality proved that his idea had been too naive.

Setting aside whether an iron ladder could even reach the other side, the construction time alone would take more than half a month.

The blacksmith also offered a suggestion.

He could use load-bearing timber instead of an iron ladder, or, more simply, connect ropes between the two sides and climb across.

Wu Heng merely nodded in agreement and said nothing more.

It would be difficult to obtain wooden planks that long, and even if he did, they would easily sag under weight over such a distance.

As for the rope idea, people could cross, but Skeleton Warriors could not.

So neither option would work.

After leaving the blacksmith's shop, he went to the tavern for a meal.

He watched several burly men arm-wrestle for a while. By the time he returned, the sky had already dimmed.

There were not many pedestrians left on the road.

As he entered the alley leading to his residence, two figures followed him inside.

The moment they entered, they saw Wu Heng standing still, waiting for them.

"Kid, you're pretty alert, huh?" one of them said.

Neither of them showed the slightest nervousness at being discovered by Wu Heng.

"What do you two want?" Wu Heng asked.

Ever since leaving the tavern, he had felt someone following him.

He had thought it was guards keeping an eye on him, but these two were clearly not guards.

"Kid, we're a little short on cash. We want to borrow a few things from you."

As soon as he finished speaking, the leader stopped wasting words. He shot forward like a leopard and rushed toward Wu Heng.

As he ran, his hands swept behind his waist, and two short blades appeared in his hands. Their edges reflected the silvery moonlight, cold and dazzling.

Wu Heng quickly glanced at the second man.

The other person still stood at the mouth of the alley, leaning against the wall and cautiously watching the surroundings.

He was keeping watch!

These were two experienced bandits.

The two of them were quite confident, believing one man alone was enough to deal with him.

As the charging enemy rapidly approached, Wu Heng stood in place, his eyes fixed on the target.

When the distance closed to three or four meters—

Bang!

A deafening gunshot rang out, and the bullet instantly struck the man in the waist and abdomen.

His forward momentum abruptly halted. The piercing pain made his body sway slightly.

What the hell was that?

"Y-you..."

He had barely managed to spit out the first word.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three more gunshots immediately followed.

His chest, abdomen, and shoulder were struck in succession.

The impact of the bullets forced him back two steps before he fell to the ground. The piercing pain left him unable to make any other movement.

He had thought Wu Heng was weak and helpless, only to find that he had kicked an iron plate.

"Save..." The man turned his head toward the companion keeping watch.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out, and a bullet pierced through his eye socket.

Experience gained: +64.

The System Prompt appeared, proving that the man was dead.

Wu Heng then raised the gun level and aimed it at the other man, who was rushing toward him.

The man at the alley entrance abruptly stopped, warily staring at the weapon in Wu Heng's hand.

After glancing at his lifeless companion on the ground, he slowly backed away until he had retreated to the alley entrance.

He shot Wu Heng a vicious look, then turned and fled.

Noisy voices rose around them as the gunshots alarmed the neighbors.

Wu Heng looked at the corpse at his feet. Its entire body was wrapped in thick leather armor and a cloak, so not much blood had seeped out.

He picked up the fallen weapons, wrapped the corpse in its cloak, and dragged it into the room.

Not long after.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A knock sounded at the door.

The landlord's voice came from outside. "Wu Heng, are you in there? Did you hear that huge noise just now?"

Wu Heng opened the door and said, "I heard it. No idea who has so little consideration, making such a racket at night."

The landlord shot him an annoyed look, then glanced past him into the room.

"You're fine, that's what matters. It hasn't been safe lately, so make sure you lock your door at night."

"Okay."

After the landlord left, Wu Heng resumed practicing with his spear, the repeated clangs of Stabbing Attack striking the wooden target ringing out.

Outside, noisy discussions could occasionally be heard, along with guards coming over to ask questions.

The next day, as dawn began to break, Wu Heng headed to the Zombie World.

It seemed to have rained a little the night before.

Crystal-clear raindrops clung to the Skeleton Warriors' bodies.

They had washed away the grime from their bones.

Wu Heng had the skeletons carry the corpse delivered last night up to the rooftop.

Then he began stripping the equipment from its body.