Chương 91: Extraordinary Common Sense, the Heart of the Strong

But that ferocious, savage glint vanished in an instant, replaced by a highly human-like trace of astonishment in that dull, gray eye... But it had nowhere left to dodge. It could only watch helplessly as that long rod, wrapped in a devastating aura of destruction, swung right at it! Impact! The solid steel spear, wreathed in that continuously trembling, bizarre energy, smashed heavily into the wooden door, landing right next to the eyeball peeking outside! CRACK! A deafening explosion!

The entire wooden door was blasted into countless flying splinters under the strike, shooting into the room. A rapid thwack-thwack-thwack of wood splinters hitting the walls echoed out, accompanied by the agonizing howl of a monster... How much deceit can a wild beast really have... Looking at the Bone Spike Zombie frantically scrambling backward on its three clawed limbs, a mocking glint appeared in Vince's eyes. [678/1000]... The small one had ambushed him last time.

This big one actually thought it could pull the same trick? What was it dreaming of? The Bone Spike Zombie before him was slightly different from the infected little girl he encountered in 402. It was clearly mutated from an adult corpse, possessing much longer joints and bone spikes. It was just a pity that under Vince's strike just now, a full quarter of its body had been blasted away. One of its spiked limbs had been torn off at the root and pinned to the opposite bedroom wall.

To think it actually managed to dodge its vitals from that fully charged strike. Vince had originally aimed straight for its head. Although the Bone Spike Zombie was constantly retreating, there was no emotion like fear in its eyes. After a brief moment of shock, it recovered its ferocious glare. Vince couldn't know what it was thinking. Perhaps it didn't possess such complex thoughts at all, only simple instincts to ambush and hunt.

Watching the monster with only three spiked limbs left, swaying and dodging left and right, instinctively searching for an angle of attack, Vince suddenly felt a wave of annoyance. The energy bar decreased point by point, slowly condensing from the ethereal blue bar in his vision into his hands. Impact energy began accumulating on the spear. He then raised both hands and brought it crashing down toward the monster's body!

"Come on, I'm in a hurry..." Seeing Vince move, the monster violently pushed off the ground with its three remaining legs. The bone spike at its front thrust out like lightning, heading straight for his chest! But Vince didn't dodge or evade. One inch longer, one inch stronger. He was absolutely certain his heavy spear would be faster than the bone spike! BOOM! [-369]! [309/1000]! The spear crashed down, striking the zombie's spine, yet a cloud of blood mist exploded from its abdomen!

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Under the eruption of the Impact force, the Bone Spike Zombie's entire body was violently snapped in half. It crashed to the floor, leaving only its front half and a single bone spike frantically scratching the ground, barely propping itself up. But Vince's next strike followed immediately... This time, no Impact energy was accumulated on the spear. Vince simply brought it down using pure physical strength.

Because he found that accumulating Impact energy made his arms tremble, slightly affecting his aim. Of course, it could also be that he just wasn't proficient with it yet. The Bone Spike Zombie was already at critical health; even without a special attack, it was enough. Squelch! The tip of the heavy spear smashed violently into the zombie's newly raised head, caving the entire skull inward before ripping it to the side... [-999]! [0/1000] One strike to the body, one strike to the head.

In just two blows, the Bone Spike Zombie's Health Bar was completely zeroed out. Clink. With a crisp sound, a crystal burst out alongside the zombie's shattered head, hit the wall, and fell into the blood pool on the floor. [Sharpness Crystal] [Energy Level: Level 1] [Rarity: Common (Mergeable, Effective Conduit Structure 10%)]... Looking at the intact [Sharpness Crystal] in his hand, the tension in Vince's heart finally settled.

His current [Sharpness Crystal] only had 28 energy points left; every use depleted it permanently. These multifaceted, intact crystals were much more convenient to use, requiring only the consumption of his energy bar. After one battle, Vince's energy bar had [181] points remaining. He had used two 10-point Impact attacks, plus recovered one point over a minute.

A conclusion slowly formed in his mind: against these ordinary 1, 000 HP mutated zombies without overly bizarre special abilities, one or two energy attacks were more than enough for his current self. His base physical strength was sufficient to finish them off! In other words, as long as his physical stamina held up, he didn't need to worry about mana sustain for battles of this caliber.

Vince nodded silently, tallied the dropped supplies, then pulled that piece of paper from his pocket and looked at the next line.

"Unit 4, 501..."

"Only one in this whole unit, huh..." Vince picked up the crowbar from the doorway and tossed it out the living room window onto the street outside, producing a crisp clang. Then, he leaped straight down from the third-floor balcony! THUD! This time, not only was the drop higher, but he was also holding a 30-pound heavy spear. The landing felt a bit heavy, but his knees could still handle it. Vince rolled his ankles after landing. It felt roughly equivalent to jumping off a 1-meter platform with his old body.

None of his joints felt abnormal. Picking up the crowbar beside him, he slipped into the first floor of the adjacent unit. Getting intimately familiar with his body was Vince's absolute top priority—not just through repeated battles, but in every daily habit. A person's entire decision-making tree is constructed upon past experiences—height, stamina, reaction speed, limb strength, and so on. These were accumulated through every breath and every movement over twenty-plus years of growing up.

No matter how naturally gifted Vince's motor nerves were, a mere few days of experience couldn't overwrite two decades of conditioning. For example, subconsciously taking the stairs, subconsciously walking on paved paths, subconsciously making decisions as if he were still a normal human... While these habits might have helped him find his footing in this world at the very beginning, he now had [640] Max HP. Both his stamina and strength were lightyears ahead of what they used to be.

Constantly testing the limits of his body through various unconventional methods was the fastest way to force his subconscious to adapt to the extraordinary. Walking into the stairwell, he didn't even bother looking at the individual steps. He slightly bent his knees, leaning forward, and launched himself like a fully drawn heavy bow! His silhouette blurred into a residual shadow in the narrow stairwell.

Skimming almost flush against the handrail, he traced a flat, power-packed arc, clearing the entire flight of stairs and landing on the wall of the mid-landing... Pushing off the wall with his feet, he violently twisted his body and shot straight toward the second-floor landing. With a few rapid, zig-zagging wall-jumps—like a falcon swooping down on a hare—Vince arrived at the door of 501 in the blink of an eye. Although his heart rate had increased slightly, it was far from a burden.

He lightly rested the spear on the ground and took a few deep breaths, steadying his pulse. He needed to use this most direct, brutal method to carve his new physical instincts over the common sense of his past twenty years. He wedged the crowbar into the door gap with a loud clack. Before he could even apply force, a heavy thud-thud-thud of something smashing against the door echoed from inside. Vince pulled out the piece of paper. Unit 4, 501.

The note beside it read: "Banging noises too loud, unlike normal zombies, abandoned..."