Chương 19: Wounded

Nylon ropes possess incredibly high radial tensile strength, but their absolute worst enemy is friction. If even a small section of the woven fibers frays from rubbing back and forth, the overall load-bearing capacity of the entire line can plummet. Therefore, applying heavy padding to any potential friction points is absolutely crucial. With his rope prepped, Vince tossed the long end out the window—right over the padding he had laid on the sill.

He then wrapped the line once around the heavy metal bracket of the external AC unit. Still feeling slightly paranoid, he grabbed a pillow from the bedroom and wedged it under the rope on the bracket for good measure. Finally, it looked secure enough. Fully geared up, he climbed onto the windowsill. He had his short spear to his body. Looking back at Claire standing in the living room, he gave his final instructions:"Keep your eyes glued to this rope.

Especially where it passes through the AC hole and over this windowsill. If you see any signs of fraying or snapping, scream as loud as you can. If I hear you, I still have time to grab onto the drainage pipe." After receiving Claire's firm nod of confirmation, Vince took a deep breath to steady his racing heart. Gripping the nylon rope with both hands and planting his feet firmly against the windowsill, he slowly leaned his body backward, out into the open air....

The nylon rope pulled taut, emitting a faint series of creaks and squeaks. As the line took his full weight, small chunks of mortar flaked off the edges of the AC hole. Even through his thick gloves, Vince could feel the rope bounce and jerk slightly with each crumbling piece. Fortunately, once the loose surface debris had fallen away, the line stabilized completely. Claire clung to the edge of the window frame upstairs, poking her head out to look down.

Terrified that adding her weight might somehow collapse the wall, she kept her hands hovering anxiously over her chest, not daring to rest them on the sill. She watched Vince hanging against the exterior wall with breathless anxiety, terrified of alerting the zombies yet too scared to make a sound. Fifteen meters didn't sound very high on paper, but when you're physically dangling outside a sixth-floor window, one look down is enough to trigger an overwhelming wave of vertigo.

Thanks to his massive boost in physical stats, Vince didn't need any specialized friction-enhancing rappelling gear. He possessed the raw grip and upper body strength to securely lock his entire body weight onto the bare rope. The zombies wandering the street below didn't seem to possess the cognitive ability to look up. Only the bisected zombie—stuck permanently staring upward from the pavement—spotted Vince. It immediately let out a frantic, aggressive roar, vastly different from its usual low groans.

But zombies clearly lacked the ability to communicate directly. The other stragglers were agitated by the roar and began shambling back and forth restlessly, but not a single one raised its head to discover the man dangling above them. Suspended in mid-air, Vince couldn't stop his eyes from darting downward. His hands gripped the rope in a death vice; he wanted to relax them slightly, but his body refused to cooperate. He had no choice but to squeeze his eyes shut and take continuous, deep breaths.

Just as I thought: for someone with zero formal training, suddenly attempting high-altitude rope access with nothing but a single line is incredibly daunting. Vince considered his mental fortitude to be top-tier. He had been cool as a cucumber when slaughtering zombies and scavenging for food. But actually hanging off the exterior wall of the sixth floor... he couldn't stop his liver from quivering... Hanging from a rope... man-eating monsters swarming below... getting major déjà vu right now.

Vince forced his mind to wander to absurd, irrelevant thoughts just to distract himself, eventually wrestling his focus back to the present moment. After hanging there adjusting for a full minute, the worst of the panic finally subsided, and his grip relaxed just enough to maneuver. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it One hand high, one hand low.

He alternately fed slack through his grip, walking his feet down the brick wall in small, measured steps until he reached the glass of the 501 balcony window. The sun glare off the glass was severe. From Vince's angle, aside from the blinding blue sky and harsh sunlight, it was nearly impossible to see inside the apartment. He continued his descent until his feet touched the bracket of the 501 external AC unit. Clank.

Even though Vince had placed his boots down as gently as humanly possible, the rusted metal bracket still let out a faint noise. Fortunately, it was quiet. Holding the rope securely with one hand, Vince used his other hand to shield his eyes from the glare and pressed his face against the glass, finally getting a clear view of the interior... Two hunched, undead figures were crowded near the front door. However, one of the zombies seemingly possessed exceptional hearing.

As if alerted by the faint clank of the AC unit, it was slowly turning its head—locking eyes directly with Vince through the window. But when the Golden Wind meets the Dew of Jade, All the love-scenes on earth, however many, fade. For a frenzied zombie, crossing the short seven-meter distance from the front door to the balcony would take less than two seconds. Vince's pupils shrank to pinpricks! Without a microsecond of hesitation, he kicked off the glass window with both feet!

Using the explosive reactionary force, his body swung outward like a pendulum, away from the building! The very instant he swung clear— SMASH! A deafening crash shattered the silence. A massive section of the windowpane, frame and all, was blasted completely out of the wall by the zombie! The flying debris sailed past his legs, hurtling toward the ground behind him. At that exact moment, the rope reached the apex of its swing and began accelerating back toward the building.

Vince leaned his entire center of gravity forward. Just like pumping a swing, he used the momentum to rocket back toward the open balcony! Riding the blistering speed of the return arc, his left foot viciously kicked away the zombie's reaching arm, while his right boot delivered a flawless, devastating stomp directly into its ugly face! [-29!] [271/300] The impact shattered the zombie's balance, sending it tumbling backward. Capitalizing on the opening, Vince snatched the short spear hanging at his side.

Using the residual momentum of the swing, he vaulted gracefully through the shattered window and landed squarely inside the 501 balcony. I'd rather face two zombies in an enclosed space than dangle from a dog leash above a hundred of them on the street. The moment his boots hit solid ground, Vince's brain kicked into hyperdrive. By this time, the second, elderly-looking zombie by the front door had already cleared the living room and was lunging right at his face! No time to finish the first one off!

Because he needed his hands free for rappelling, Vince hadn't brought the unwieldy long spear; he only had his short spear and the heavy bone-cleaver strapped to him. The instant he landed, Vince completely ignored the zombie he had just kicked down, which was currently thrashing on the floor trying to get up. Instead, he dropped into a deep crouch, condensing his body into a tight coil. He braced his back foot against the base of the balcony wall, and with explosive force, he launched himself forward!

Vince's body uncoiled like a fully compressed spring! Gripping the short spear with both hands, he turned himself into a human spear! He launched a brutal, upward thrust directly into the face of the second zombie that was lunging at him! Like a comet piercing the sun! The jagged tip of the iron pipe plunged cleanly through the zombie's lower jaw.

Driven by Vince's explosive, fully-buffed strength, it punched instantly through the cranium and burst out the top of its skull, bringing with it a geyser of grayish-brown gore! Carrying the forward momentum of its own charge, the zombie's body was practically lifted off the ground by the brutal uppercut. Its feet left the floor entirely before the corpse crashed heavily onto the tiles! [-300!] [0/300] Skull shattered! Instant Kill! But the sheer inertia of catching a charging body mid-air caused Vince to stagger.

Meanwhile, the first zombie had already scrambled back to its feet. Jaws snapping wildly, it lunged at Vince with both arms outstretched! Vince yanked hard with his right arm, but the iron pipe was wedged tight in the dead zombie's skull! He pulled so hard the corpse dragged across the floor, but the awkward angle trapped the weapon—he couldn't pull it free in time!

"Fuck!" Seeing the zombie's foul, rotting maw mere inches from his face, Vince had no choice but to abandon the short spear and retreat! But he was a fraction of a second too slow. The zombie's unnaturally elongated arms shot out, seizing his right arm in a vice grip. An instant later, its jaws clamped down hard! [-8] [152/160]"Agh!" A searing jolt of pain flared from his right arm! Driven by sheer adrenaline and desperation, Vince unleashed a terrifying burst of raw power.

He snapped a brutal front kick directly into the zombie's hip! CRACK! The sickening sound of bone splintering echoed through the room. With its pelvis shattered, the zombie instantly lost its balance. Its upper body violently pitched sideways toward the floor! It was the sheer downward force of that fall that caused its clamped jaw to loosen by a millimeter! Fighting through the agonizing pain in his arm, Vince seized the fleeting opening. With a sudden, explosive jerk, he ripped his arm backward!

He forcibly tore his entire arm clean out of the bite-proof sleeve!