Defending

When defending, Kirk stood beside Mori. Mori glanced at the demoralized newcomers and chuckled, "I never thought you idiot rookies would be the smartest among this pile of crap."

Kirk chuckled too. "The difference is I had a good teacher, and they didn't."

Mori's expression turned grim. "I don't have an apprentice, don't try to sweet-talk me..."

"You saved my life and taught me a lot," Kirk said earnestly. "I think you're a good teacher. Without you, I wouldn't have survived this long."

Mori ignored him and focused on checking his firearms. In the distance, three large groups of walkers had merged, forming a massive, dark horde that was advancing on the camp.

"Later, you need to conserve your bullets. I want you to attack these sons of bitches with your bare hands," Mori suddenly said.

"Boss, are you kidding me?" Kirk was surprised.

"I want you to listen carefully to what I'm about to say. I'll only say it once. It will determine whether you live or die, whether you become strong or rot. Do you understand?"

Mori's hoarse voice spoke slowly.

Seeing Mori's seriousness, Kirk's expression also turned solemn.

"You must never run away! If something comes, you face it, not turn your back on it! If you face it, you might survive. That bitch God won't let you die easily; he wants to torment you. If you turn your back, you'll only die faster and more miserably!" Mori spat out each word. The hatred and determination in his words made Kirk wonder what this man had gone through to become so cynical.

"Trust me, you can't escape fate. If you don't want to be reduced to dust, you have to be faster, more ruthless, and tougher than them. Do you understand?"

Damn, it's not the Olympics, no need to be faster, stronger, higher, right? Isn't shooting walkers with a gun the same as killing them? Kirk grumbled inwardly. Mori looked him in the eye and continued sternly, "You need to use your hands to kill them more! This is the only advice I can give you! Face them! Chop their heads with a knife! Crush their hearts with your hands! Let your delicate face be covered in blood! Do you hear me?"

Kirk was stunned. However, he also knew that once Mori made up his mind, it was hard to change. So, he expressionlessly took out his dagger.

Mori threw a rusty iron rod in front of Kirk and stared into his eyes. "Fight like a man! Stick this iron rod into the brains of those sons of bitches!"

Kirk picked up the iron rod, accepting the challenge.

The battle soon began.

This was likely the largest battle since the newcomers arrived in this scenario. It was Kirk's first time fighting walkers in close combat. His strength had already reached 7 points. Standing on top of the steel-reinforced bus, he looked down and fiercely plunged the steel pipe into a walker's head, then stirred it into a pulp before pulling it out. He then found the next unfortunate victim and plunged it in.

He repeated this action. At first, he was quite afraid of getting close to the walkers, but later he realized that the walkers could only jump at the bus roof and had no other abilities. His courage gradually grew, and he became engrossed in killing. Mori, using his right hand like a blade, sliced open the heads of walkers, one by one. Watching Mori bash in walker heads, Kirk always felt the man resembled a melon vendor at the school gate, driving a horse-drawn cart, holding a large knife in his left hand, a watermelon in his right, and shouting, "Sweet melons, no charge if not sweet!" He would curse Kirk a few times when he got excited.

"Idiot! Aim properly, put some force into it! Don't do unnecessary things, don't waste extra energy, save your strength!"

"Damn bastard! Lower your damn ass, get closer to them, and exert maximum power!"

Kirk cursed inwardly. Under Mori's intimidating presence, he meticulously followed instructions, killing until the walkers in front of the bus became so numerous they formed a pile of corpses. The walkers began to climb onto the bus roof.

"Watch this, this is a real man's fight! Be nice to them, haha." Mori cleaved a walker's head with a knife, kicked another walker off the bus, then turned and shot a third walker in the head. The entire sequence was fluid, like a dance, making it hard to believe this 200-pound strongman was so agile.

Kirk also got fired up, roaring as he began fighting the walkers face-to-face. The walkers' low agility was their fatal flaw. Following Mori's instructions, Kirk would provoke them, let them lunge, then dodge aside. The walkers' joints had hardened, making their movements clumsy, and they would lose control of their momentum, becoming stiff after lunging. At this point, Kirk would stab his dagger or steel pipe into the walker's head, pull it out, and the walker would fall to the ground, finished.

However, as the walkers increased, the space on the bus roof became smaller. While dodging, it was inevitable that he would enter the attack range of other walkers. Kirk took several hard hits, his thigh being scratched and bleeding. Stimulated by the blood, the walkers became even more frenzied. Kirk also got desperate, roaring and gritting his teeth to continue fighting.

He didn't want to be a coward and die meaninglessly in this damned horde of walkers!

If you want me dead, you die first!

"**! Save some energy for your feet and hands, stop screaming! Shut up!" Mori roared.

After half an hour of persistence, Kirk was very fatigued. A contractor's body was digitized, but the concept of fatigue still existed, related to stamina. Kirk could last this long thanks to the hidden quest reward, his stamina reaching 7 points, better than that of an average strongman.

Now, the walkers were increasing in number. All combat positions were under strain. Rick ordered the newcomers to conserve bullets and focus on melee combat. Even so, the newcomers were generally reluctant to engage walkers in close combat. Yellow Hair and the others had already run out of bullets. Although they had achieved some results, once they ran out of bullets, they were silenced. Did they really have to engage walkers in melee like Kirk, that **? They certainly wouldn't do such a foolish thing, nor would they dare. They waited idly.

Kirk suddenly realized that in face-to-face melee combat, the reward was actually 3 survival points, not the 2 points for using firearms. After checking, the system provided an answer: "The acquisition of survival points is directly related to the difficulty of killing enemies. Hand-to-hand combat, as the most difficult and risky method of killing, is highly valued by the system, thus yielding higher benefits."

This further solidified his determination to stick with Mori and engage in close combat.

An hour passed, and everyone, including the story characters, was exhausted. But at this moment, cries of surprise from the newcomers echoed!

The most terrifying riot police walkers appeared and joined the fray. They staggered towards the bus defense line.

"Open fire!" Rick no longer held back; any further hesitation might be too late.

Dozens of bullets simultaneously hit the riot police walkers' helmets. After a burst of sparks, the riot police walkers continued to stagger forward.

"Their armor is too strong; we can't hit their vital heads!" shouted the policeman Shane.

"We'll have to wait until they get close and take them down in melee. They're still equipped with guns and ammunition," said the blonde female sharpshooter Andalusia.

So, everyone concentrated their firepower to eliminate the companions around the riot police walkers, leaving only the riot police walkers to charge onto the bus roof.

Then, the brutal close-quarters combat began.

Mori carelessly lifted the riot police walker's helmet visor and plunged a knife into its vacant, pale eyes, then put the visor back on for it.

"Good boy, Daddy's putting this on for you. It's time for school!"

Then he kicked it off the bus roof.

Next, he picked up a helmet dropped by another walker with interest, about to put it on, when a foul, putrid smell made him almost gag. Cursing, he smashed the helmet onto the walker's head.

Kirk imitated him, smashing a large brick onto a police walker's helmet, stunning it. Then, from its chin, he inserted his sharp dagger into the walker's head!

The police walker fell with a thud. Kirk discovered this thing was quite valuable, as the system notified him he had gained 10 survival points.

Seeing how valuable this thing was, Kirk's eyes lit up. He specifically targeted the police walkers, hitting them with bricks first, then following up with his dagger. He never had the chance to kill riot police like this before, and it felt incredibly satisfying.

Pity the riot police walkers were still equipped with handguns and the like, which they didn't use, or Kirk would have been killed many times over.

As he fought, after kicking a riot police walker unceremoniously off the bus, Kirk actually saw a light blue key drop. In the newcomer trial, although Kirk had killed many walkers, the drop rate for keys was very low, and he rarely got equipment. It seemed equipment in the system was quite valuable. This time, it was likely because he had killed a riot police walker with special mutation and high defensive capabilities that it dropped a light blue key. He used the key. Generally, if it were a numerical reward like survival points, there would be a direct notification followed by a golden reward number. This time, however, a light blue, vortex-shaped void formed in front of him. This should mean equipment was about to drop! According to the prompt, Kirk reached his hand in. It felt like a baby in its mother's amniotic fluid, warm and smooth, filled with a hazy sensation. Suddenly, he grabbed something and pulled it out with force. It was indeed a piece of equipment!

[Riot Police Special Bulletproof Vest]

[Attribute]: [Bulletproof Vest/Half Plate Armor]

[Level]: [Light Blue]

[Equipment]: Upper Body

[Specifications]: Weight 2600g.

[Material]: Bulletproof Special Steel

[Effects]: Reduces physical damage by 10%, reduces firearm damage (bullets, etc.) by 50%, immune to fatal damage to protected areas.

This is exactly what I needed, when I needed it. Kirk put it on without a second thought.

The others on the rooftops were in big trouble, especially where the newcomers were concentrated. Everyone was afraid of a direct confrontation with these police officers. They weren't afraid of bullets, and it was a mess, leaving everyone hesitant. It took several people to dare surround and kill a single walker.

Kirk saw that the Japanese boy, Ranmaru, wielded his Ōdachi with a cold gleam, specializing in slicing walker necks, sending heads rolling everywhere.

"This Japanese cross-dressing pretty boy is surprisingly capable. His moves are precise, his advances and retreats are methodical, like he's practiced kendo," Kirk thought.

Suddenly, a walker fell off a rooftop, causing chaos below. The capable fighters were mostly on the defensive line; below were the old, weak, women, and children. Kirk jumped down and plunged his sword into the walker's head, sending it to its demise. But then another walker fell, landing right on Kirk's back. Kirk could feel the walker's putrid saliva dripping onto his neck.

"Damn it! Don't touch me! I don't want to carry this thing!" Kirk yelled, shaking himself. But the walker was too fast and had already bitten down, tearing a large chunk of flesh from Kirk's left shoulder, about to swallow it.

"Ah!" Kirk cried out, almost passing out from the pain.

Then he heard a "thud," and the walker's head exploded. Kirk collapsed on the ground.

Fuzzy-headed, Kirk heard the space's cold voice:

"Contractor #4444, you were attacked by a walker, sustaining 34 points of bite damage.

Walker attack caused [Bleeding] effect, 5 points per second, lasting 5 seconds.

Walker attack caused [Laceration] effect, your left arm is severely injured and disabled.

Your strength has been measured; this attack is not a crushing injury.

You have sustained physical damage from a walker and must pass an infection check.

Your Stamina is 7 points, Willpower is 2 points. Conducting infection check...

Infection check passed. You have been infected with an unknown walker virus...

Due to protection from spatial laws, your infected walker virus will not manifest within 7 days."