Crystal Core Synthesis? Opening the Airdrop

Looking at the long list of descriptions, Wang Tao's eyes widened.

"Zombie Crystal Core... shockwave... abilities!"

"Fusing with this crystal core lets you gain an ability?!"

Wang Tao was a little excited, but he did not let it cloud his judgment.

It was stated very clearly: fusion had a chance of failure, and the crystal core in his hand only had a 20% success rate... With odds like that, it was practically guaranteed to fail. He had never believed in probability-based things.

More importantly, these crystal cores contained impurities! Not only would those impurities cause the side effect of "light-sensitive eyes," but if too many impurities accumulated in the human body, one would turn into a zombie! Wang Tao had no desire to become a zombie. He had not lived long enough yet.

Did that mean this thing was useless to him?

No, of course not!

Wang Tao hurriedly put the Zombie Crystal Core into his Space Backpack—it could be stored inside! The Space Backpack was like an inventory grid in a game, except his slots were unlimited. Crafting materials of the same type were placed in the same slot.

Once the Zombie Crystal Core entered the Space Backpack, it naturally occupied a slot by itself. A prompt popped up, however—

1/10 (Unable to synthesize yet)

Synthesis: Quality added together, purity added together. When purity reaches 100%, side effects are removed.

"So, I need ten Tier 1 Shockwave Crystal Cores to fuse them? And the success rate can be raised to 100%? There won't be any impurities or side effects either?"

A gleam flashed in Wang Tao's eyes.

If that was the case, then he definitely could not fuse this crystal core! He had to collect more crystal cores of the same type, then synthesize one with a 100% success rate and no impurities or side effects whatsoever! Wang Tao had gained another goal—kill zombies and obtain abilities! But there was still one question.

"It says fusion, but how exactly do you fuse this thing? Do I eat it?"

Wang Tao took the crystal core back out. It had originally been covered in blood, but after being placed in the Space Backpack, the blood vanished instantly. It was now completely clean.

Looking at the clean crystal core in his hand, saliva flooded his mouth, and he desperately wanted to swallow it in one bite. It was as if a voice in his heart were telling him: Eat it, and you'll become stronger!

But of course Wang Tao was not going to eat it. He could still resist that much temptation.

He put the crystal core back into the Space Backpack and looked at the 1/10 displayed above it, a grin spreading across his face.

"Life in the apocalypse has something more to look forward to now!"

He just did not know what kind of zombies dropped crystal cores... He had killed so many zombies before. Aside from those run over by his car, all the others had been manually headshot by him, and he had searched their corpses every time. So he knew there had been no such thing as a crystal core in their heads.

"Probably only exceptionally powerful zombies have crystal cores..."

Shaking his head, Wang Tao stopped dwelling on it.

In any case, he only needed to remember one thing: if he encountered another Hammer Zombie in the future, he would definitely have to find a way to hunt it down!

He felt that if he were properly prepared, killing that Hammer Zombie would not leave him in such a sorry state as today.

Wang Tao glanced around the area. After confirming that he had not missed anything, he prepared to open the airdrop.

But when he saw the Reinforced Concrete Hammer left behind by the Hammer Zombie, he felt that the weapon seemed pretty good. He should be able to use it too.

So Wang Tao walked over to the hammer. As he drew close, he suddenly noticed a line of text appear on it.

Reinforced Concrete Hammer

"It actually has a name? Does that mean..."

Wang Tao grabbed the hammer, and with a thought, it vanished from his hand and appeared in his Space Backpack at the same time! Obtained: Reinforced Concrete Hammer *1

"It can be stored in the Space Backpack!"

Wang Tao was somewhat excited.

Putting everything else aside, the fact that it could be stored in the Space Backpack was enough to outclass most weapons!

After all, things like his spiked club and claw hammer could only be carried on his body. They were not heavy for him, but they were still somewhat inconvenient.

Storing them in the Space Backpack was different. Not only was it convenient, but he could even use them for a surprise attack.

With another thought, Wang Tao suddenly felt his hand sink as the Reinforced Concrete Hammer appeared in it.

"So heavy!"

This thing had to weigh at least fifty pounds. It was also a full two meters long and extremely large.

Wang Tao tried it out. He could swing it with both hands, but flexibility was out of the question. It could only deal with less agile zombies. It also consumed a great deal of stamina; even with Wang Tao's physique, he could not use it many times.

And it was inconvenient to carry as well. He either had to drag it along the ground like the Hammer Zombie or rest it on his shoulder.

This thing was actually poorly suited for use as a weapon, but since it could be put into the Space Backpack, it could serve as an unexpected trump card.

After confirming once again that he had not missed anything, Wang Tao walked up to the airdrop crate.

Everything that had happened tonight had been for this airdrop.

"Hope you don't disappoint me..."

Wang Tao muttered, but he did not open the airdrop immediately.

Instead, he went out to find his car and drove it over.

The Water Plant was wide open. Aside from the zombies he had killed, he had not seen any other zombies so far. Wang Tao drove the car outside the small courtyard, then struggled to load the airdrop crate onto it.

"Whew... Time to find somewhere to rest for the night!"

It was already evening. He still had time to make it back, but he did not have much health left—only 60 HP. That little health made him feel very unsafe. So Wang Tao decided to spend the night outside, recover some health, and head back tomorrow when it would be safer.

As for where to rest, Wang Tao had already chosen a spot. He found an old five-story building inside the water plant.

He chose it because the building's door was locked, and moss had climbed high up the outer walls.

It was obvious that no one had lived there for a long time. There was most likely no Zombie inside, making it relatively safer.

After slowly driving over, Wang Tao unexpectedly discovered that the old building had an indoor garage. The garage was connected to the rooms inside.

That was perfect.

Having inherited a locksmith's skills, Wang Tao opened the garage door in just a few moves. The inside of the building was also covered in dust.

He first went inside with his weapon and looked around. Only after confirming that there were no problems did he drive the car in.

Then he locked all the doors and windows, ate the dry rations he had brought, and finally walked over to the airdrop crate.

This airdrop crate could not simply be opened at will. It had a lock on it, and it was a keypad combination lock. Without picking the lock, even Wang Tao would not have been able to open it.

However, several lines were written on the crate.

"1+8=? 7-2=? 2×1=? 7÷1=?"

These questions were too simple. They had probably been set up this way specifically to prevent Zombies from accidentally opening the airdrop crate.

Wang Tao pressed 9, 5, 2, and 7 in sequence. With a click, the lock opened.