Screeech!
That teeth-grating scraping rang out again, as though someone were dragging a rusty iron spoon hard across a person's back molars.
Lin Hui froze mid-chew, the delicious lamb still in his mouth.
He set down his chopsticks, the contentment in his eyes vanishing instantly.
The heater was still blowing warm air through the RV, but the atmosphere seemed to freeze.
"On the left, by the door."
Holding his breath, Lin Hui crept silently over to the driver's seat.
Through the side window, he saw a face.
Or rather, something that had once been a face.
A humanoid creature was clinging tightly to the outside of the driver's door.
Its skin was a lifeless grayish white, like pork left soaking in water for far too long. Its eyes had no dark pupils, only a cloudy, ghastly white, and its mouth split all the way to its ears, revealing uneven fangs coated in black slime.
It seemed to have sensed the heat and the living presence inside. Its horrifying face pressed firmly against the glass, nostrils twitching as it sniffed greedily.
[Ding! Monster detected.] [Analyzing target data...]
A red data panel popped up in Lin Hui's mind.
[Target: Strength-Type Zombie (Tier 1)] [Strength: 30] (Note: a healthy adult male has 5; a professional boxer has 10-25.) [Agility: 5] (Note: a healthy adult male has 5.) [Constitution: 30] (Note: a healthy adult male has 5.) [Assessment: this is a hungry Tier 1 Zombie. Its claws can easily tear through your flesh.]
"Strength 30?"
Lin Hui's eyelid twitched violently.
It was as fast as an adult man, not one of those slow-moving Zombies.
On par with a top professional boxer?
Lin Hui looked down at his own build and couldn't help sucking in a breath.
That means if I run into it outside, I won't even get a chance to fight back.
And this is only a Tier 1 Zombie.
Looks like the monsters in this world are seriously strong!
Before Lin Hui could recover from his shock, the Zombie outside the window seemed to lose patience.
"Rooaar!!"
It let out a guttural roar, raised a claw as gnarled as a dead branch yet incredibly hard, and slammed it down against the door!
Bang!
The three-ton RV rocked violently under that single blow!
Lin Hui hurriedly grabbed the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the door.
The sheet-metal door, which had seemed reasonably sturdy, now had a fist-sized dent caved into it!
Three deep claw marks were clearly visible, their curled edges exposing the gleaming metal beneath.
[Warning! Vehicle under attack!] [Assessment: barely withstood the attack. No penetration, but the vehicle's structure is sustaining damage!]
Lin Hui took a quiet breath, forcing himself to calm down.
"This Lv.1 civilian RV is nothing more than a tin can. If I let that monster keep tearing at it, the door won't last a minute!"
"Once the door gives way, I'll be trapped in this cramped interior with a monster that has 30 strength. I'll be dead for sure."
"Fight back? Or run?"
Just then, Lin Hui suddenly remembered the fourth survival rule.
[In this world, even ordinary monsters are difficult to fight, but each one you defeat drops a generous amount of resources.]
At that thought, Lin Hui gritted his teeth and quickly reached for his waist.
An Axe Gun was tucked there.
It was the weapon he had just traded someone Universal Gasoline for.
[Name: Axe Gun] [Type: weapon] [Quality: ordinary] [Ammunition: 3/9] [Description: can slash in melee and shoot at range. Its drawback is extremely heavy recoil!]
Lin Hui tightened his grip on the Axe Gun's handle. The cold touch of metal steadied him a little.
But he neither fired nor opened the window.
He hesitated.
Can one shot kill it?
More importantly, I have to lower the window to shoot.
The moment I lower it, which will be faster-my bullet or its claws?
Lin Hui glanced at the monster's coldly gleaming claws, then at his own less-than-muscular arms.
Forget it.
A real man never goes toe-to-toe with a monster.
Especially when he has a cheat.
"Why would I pit my weakness against its strength?"
Muttering to himself, Lin Hui tucked the Axe Gun back at his waist and gripped the steering wheel with both hands.
"Right! I can ram it with the RV!"
Clack!
Lin Hui abruptly released the handbrake and quickly shifted into drive with his right hand.
He stomped the accelerator, already modified by the [Infinite Modifier], all the way to the floor!
"Get... off!!"
Vroooom!!!
Boosted to twice its original power, the engine instantly unleashed a thunderous roar!
The entire RV surged like an enraged rhinoceros, its four wheels grinding against the frozen ground and spraying ice fragments and dirt into the air.
The Zombie clinging to the door clearly hadn't expected this hunk of metal to erupt into motion.
The tremendous inertia whipped its body backward, but its sharp claws were embedded deep in the door's sheet metal, keeping it firmly hooked to the vehicle!
Screeech!
The teeth-grating sound of tearing metal rang out.
"Still won't let go?"
Lin Hui stared coldly at the ugly face pressed beside the window, snarling straight at him.
"Then don't!"
A hundred meters ahead stood the guardrail along this stretch of abandoned highway.
Though neglected for years and covered in rust, it was still a solid steel guardrail!
Lin Hui showed no intention of slowing down. Instead, he pressed harder on the accelerator.
80 kilometers per hour... 90... 100!
Just as the front of the RV was about to hit the guardrail, Lin Hui wrenched the steering wheel to the right!
It was an extremely dangerous maneuver.
An ordinary RV would already have rolled over.
But this one weighed three tons, and Lin Hui acted with almost reckless resolve.
The massive vehicle skimmed tight against the guardrail, scraping along it with devastating momentum!
And the Corpse Ghoul hanging from the left-hand door was caught directly between the RV and the guardrail!
"Die!"
Bang!!!
An incredibly heavy thud rang out.
It was the sound of bones shattering and flesh bursting.
A rapid series of scraping noises followed.
Screeech-skrrr-skrrr-skrrr!
The Zombie's piercing scream had barely begun before the tremendous impact forced it back down its throat.
Crushed by a three-ton RV traveling at a hundred kilometers per hour, its supposed "30 strength" and "30 constitution" were nothing but a joke.
At that moment, the ferocious Zombie was like a tomato beneath a hydraulic press.
A mass of black blood mixed with shredded flesh instantly plastered the left window.
Lin Hui distinctly felt a slight bump through the vehicle-the sensation of its wheels rolling over some "foreign object."
[Ding! Tier 1 Strength-Type Zombie killed!] [Drop 1: Vehicle Upgrade Blueprint (Lv.1 → Lv.2) ×1] [Drop 2: Universal Fuel ×1] [Drop 3: one bottle of Sprite (500 ml)]
Hearing the system notification, Lin Hui felt a surge of delight.
The rewards really are generous!
Lin Hui didn't stop immediately. He drove on for a while.
Finally, he stopped somewhere that looked relatively safe!
"Phew..."
Lin Hui wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. Only after confirming there was no other movement nearby did he cautiously push open the door.
He held the Axe Gun in his right hand and the flashlight from the resource crate in his left.
The wind howled toward him in the minus-ten-degree cold.
Lin Hui pulled his clothes tighter around himself and began inspecting the vehicle.
The outside of the door was a complete mess.
The once-flat sheet metal had been clawed full of dents, with a long groove down the middle where it had scraped against the guardrail.
Black stains and unrecognizable scraps of mangled flesh clung to the glass and metal, making for a nauseating sight.
After a quick cleanup, Lin Hui climbed back into the warm RV.
Once he had calmed down a little, he took out the RV upgrade blueprint.
[Name: Vehicle Upgrade Blueprint (Lv.1 → Lv.2)] [Requirements:] [1. Lv.1 RV (fulfilled)] [2. Steel ×50 units (can be obtained by dismantling abandoned vehicles)] [3. Rubber ×10 units (can be obtained by dismantling tires; current: 7/10)] (7 units of tire material have already been stored in the blueprint.) [Upgrade effects: reinforced armor throughout the vehicle (defense increased to 40), expanded interior.]
40 defense... Lin Hui's eyes lit up.
That Corpse Ghoul with 30 strength had mangled the door. With 40 defense, a monster of that level would barely tickle it!
And once he upgraded to Lv.2...
"My talent, [Golden Modifier per Level], will trigger again."
Lin Hui clutched the blueprint, his eyes burning with excitement.
The first modifier, [Infinite], had already given him the means to avoid being overtaken by the gray fog in this apocalypse.
What would the second golden modifier be?
Just then, a bold red message suddenly appeared in the [Regional Channel], interrupting Lin Hui's thoughts.
"Help!!! My car broke down!!"
"Guys... I'm Li Shuang, the print model. Please save me. I... I'll do anything!"
"My coordinates are..."
Players' system panels updated their coordinates in real time.
Lin Hui stared at the coordinates and realized she wasn't far from him, only about three kilometers away.
But he had no intention of going to save her.
In an apocalypse, playing the saint would only get him killed faster!
Looking at the desperate messages in the channel, Lin Hui shut the slightly warped door tightly.
His recent encounter had taught him one thing.
"On this escape highway, a person is worth less than a vehicle."
"As long as my RV is strong enough, I can survive."
Lin Hui firmly slapped the upgrade blueprint onto the dashboard, shifted into gear, and drove off.
Find abandoned vehicles. Collect steel and discarded tires!
Before you continue