Blueprint Crystal Core

Blueprint Crystal Core...

-32

-29

404/1000

"Whew—"

Wang Tao let out a long breath when he saw that the Hammer Zombie's Health Bar had dropped below half.

With the speed boost from the Running Potion, along with the flashlight and the sun's harsh glare, he had spent four minutes whittling nearly six hundred Health off the Hammer Zombie.

If his physical condition hadn't been far beyond that of an ordinary person, and if he hadn't grown considerably stronger from killing zombies, he would have been unable to keep going long ago.

"Hope you drop something good when you die..."

Wang Tao quickly closed in on the zombie again and struck it on the head with his mace.

-27

377/1000

Based on his experience from the past four minutes of fighting, Wang Tao still had time to land one more hit before retreating.

But all of a sudden, he noticed that the Hammer Zombie was moving differently.

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

But now, it suddenly gripped the rebar sledgehammer with both hands.

Danger!

A warning immediately flared in Wang Tao's heart. He promptly gave up on that attack opportunity and retreated at top speed.

Just after he backed away, the Hammer Zombie suddenly swung its hammer with both hands, using itself as the center as it performed a full 360-degree spinning sweep!

Whoosh—

Bang! The hammer slammed heavily into the ground, and cracks appeared in the concrete once again.

Standing over four meters away, Wang Tao felt the gust of wind brush across his face and broke out in a cold sweat.

Good thing he'd retreated. If that had hit him, with the little Health he had left, he would have been dead for sure! After the hammer landed, the Hammer Zombie seemed exhausted. It lowered its head slightly, bent over, and leaned against the hammer.

"Perfect chance!"

Wang Tao immediately sprinted to its side and swung his mace with all his strength.

Bang!

-58

That blow dealt the highest damage he had ever done so far, but the Steel Pipe Mace had finally reached its limit. Even its steel spikes and pipe had bent somewhat.

Bang!

-13

Without the steel spikes, its damage dropped drastically.

When he saw the Hammer Zombie pick up its hammer again, Wang Tao quickly retreated. At the same time, he threw away the damaged mace and switched to the long-handled Claw Hammer at his waist.

The Claw Hammer was half as long as the mace, so it put him at a slight disadvantage against such a large opponent. However, Wang Tao had already grown accustomed to the Hammer Zombie's attack patterns. As long as he stayed on guard, it would not be much of a problem.

After the Hammer Zombie's Health fell below 40%, its attacks became noticeably more frenzied. Every so often, it would unleash another 360-degree spinning sweep.

Wang Tao fought with great difficulty, because he rarely had a chance to get close and retreat unscathed.

He was practically dancing on a Steel Wire now. One misstep, and he would be finished.

But the more it was like this, the calmer Wang Tao became.

When the Hammer Zombie's Health was nearly depleted, it became even more crazed. Wang Tao could not get close at all. He did not force his way in, instead continuing to dodge as he waited for an opportunity.

Finally, after waiting a full minute, he successfully circled behind the Hammer Zombie and viciously smashed the claw of the Claw Hammer into its skull.

Splat!

-37

0/1000

The Hammer Zombie's body stiffened for a moment before crashing to the ground.

"Whew... whew..."

Only after seeing that it was finally dead did Wang Tao collapse onto the ground, gasping for breath.

He only had 20 Health left. He was practically at his limit. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he had relied entirely on willpower to hold on through the last few minutes. If any zombie came along now—no, even any human—he might not be able to beat them.

But only moments later, Wang Tao perked up.

Because he discovered that he had suddenly recovered quite a bit of strength! He hurriedly looked at his Health Bar.

60/300

After killing the Hammer Zombie, his maximum Health had increased by a full 40! It had also restored 40 Health for him!

Wang Tao felt his body grow slightly warm, as though his physical condition had improved again! He clenched his fist hard, feeling the strength in his hand, and nearly burst out laughing.

"Sure enough, if I want to get stronger, I have to kill zombies!"

Wang Tao roughly assessed it. He felt that every 100 Health he gained might improve his physical condition by around 10%. As for the Health gained each time he killed a zombie, the increase was very small—perhaps one-thousandth? Wang Tao was not sure.

Anyway, the more zombies he killed, the stronger he became! But accordingly, the greater the danger.

Even with his strength, he had nearly met his end today...

After resting briefly, Wang Tao looked around. No zombies had come near, so he finally relaxed and began checking the loot.

First were the two worker zombies.

Obtained: Purified Water (Medium) *1

Purified Water (Medium): 25L, drinkable

Obtained: Purified Water (Medium) *1

Purified Water (Medium): 25L, drinkable

The two worker zombies had each dropped two barrels of water. And they were not the small 5L barrels, but medium barrels containing 25L of purified water.

All he could say was, as expected of zombies from a water plant! Nothing but good stuff!

As for the bodies of those two worker zombies... Wang Tao searched them and found only two packs of cigarettes.

Then there were the items dropped by the Hammer Zombie.

"A Strength Potion and... a blueprint!"

Wang Tao's eyes widened when he saw it.

Aside from a needleless injector labeled "Strength (Small)," there was also a blueprint.

Strength Potion: After injection, increases overall strength by 10%-100% (the stronger the constitution, the greater the increase). Lasts 1 minute. Cooldown: 12 hours.

Strength Potion Blueprint: After learning it, you can craft five Strength Potions at a time. Required materials: Strength Mushroom *1, Zombie Crystal Core *1, purified water *100 ml, 10 kcal of food.

The Strength Potion was good stuff, but its duration was short. It could only be used at critical moments.

As for the recipe on this blueprint, aside from purified water and food, Wang Tao had never seen any of the other materials. It seemed he could not make it for now.

"Wait—Zombie Crystal Core? What's that? It sounds like something that grows inside zombies?"

Wang Tao was a little puzzled. He went over to the two worker zombies and, suppressing his disgust, carefully searched through their heads and bodies, but found no crystal cores.

He then went over to the Hammer Zombie. Looking at the hulking creature over two meters tall, Wang Tao first patted it down at random. Other than a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, he found nothing else.

Then Wang Tao picked up the claw hammer and pried open the Hammer Zombie's shattered skull.

"Huh?"

As Wang Tao moved, a white, translucent diamond-shaped crystal the size of a grape fell out. Wang Tao caught it casually.

The inside of the crystal was murky, but something like a ripple seemed to be moving within it. It looked like... the shockwave created when the Hammer Zombie smashed the ground with its hammer?

Wang Tao subconsciously swallowed. He actually had the urge to eat it! But the bloodstains on it made him feel sick again.

At that moment, a line of text appeared.

Tier 1 Crystal Core - Shockwave

Quality: Common (20%)

Purity: 50% (Side Effect: Eyes Sensitive to Light)

There was also a detailed description below.

Tier 1: A crystal core with an energy level of 1.

Crystal Core: After humans fuse with it, they can obtain the corresponding ability.

Shockwave: Consumes energy when attacking, allowing attacks to carry a shockwave.

Quality: The stability of the energy inside the crystal core. The greater the stability, the higher the quality and the higher the fusion success rate.

Common (20%): 20% fusion success rate. Failure will destroy the crystal core and leave the user weakened for one day. Whether the fusion succeeds or fails, Impurities in the body will not disappear.

Purity: 50% (Side Effect: Sensitive to Light): 50% of the energy in the crystal core can be utilized, while the remaining 50% is Impurities. It also carries the side effect "eyes sensitive to light."

Friendly Reminder 1: The more Impurities there are in a human body, the greater the chance of turning into a zombie.

Friendly Reminder 2: Humans can fuse only a limited number of crystal core types. Moreover, each additional type fused increases the difficulty exponentially. Please choose carefully.

Friendly Reminder 3: After multiple crystal cores of the same type and level are placed in the backpack, they can be synthesized.

Thanks to "Qingfeng Huise" for the 500-coin tip~