Chapter 14: Hunting Walking Corpses, Level Up Imminent

"After continuous use, you have comprehended the Rope Technique."

Fang Shi waited a while but detected no second prompt sound.

He couldn't help but sigh, walked forward, and retracted the rope looped around the bottle.

Ever since discovering that the first achievement always came with a reward, he had been constantly thinking about how to farm rewards.

Since comprehending a specialty yields a reward, what about comprehending a skill?

It was eighty percent likely, but skill formation wasn't that simple; at the very least, a certain skill needed to reach a proficient level before the panel would acknowledge it.

For instance, with lockpicking, you needed to open a door within three minutes, not spend several hours fiddling with corresponding tools.

Only then would it be a skill acknowledged by the panel.

The difficulty for Fang Shi lay in this step; the skills he was familiar with from his past life had returned with him upon rebirth.

There simply wasn't a single skill he could quickly pick up.

After picking for a long time, he finally found the Rope Technique, hoping to use his high attribute base to rapidly train and improve it.

The result was that after successfully mastering it, he was no longer the first.

This made Fang Shi feel a bit depressed, but with so many people globally, it wasn't strange that some capable individuals existed.

In fact, it wasn't necessarily capable people; many people's skills in daily life were just one step away from completion.

Perhaps the next second they would be acknowledged by the panel; this was purely a matter of luck.

It was absolutely not something Fang Shi could acquire just by wanting to.

Actually, failing to get a reward didn't matter; based on his own experience, he deduced.

Even if you were the first in the world to comprehend a skill, the reward would at most increase the skill's level, similar to the specialty reward.

Such a reward held no attraction for Fang Shi; his main skill level had already surpassed the cap of his personal level-up points.

To improve, he could only practice on his own.

Moreover, for the upcoming level-ups, eighty percent of the surplus skill points would likely be spent on secondary skills.

He was completely not short on skill points, so whether there was a reward or not didn't matter.

Another factor for Fang Shi choosing the Rope Technique was that in the future, his escape might require using a rope to climb.

Mastering some techniques in advance might just save his life when the time came.

At this moment, after a night's rest and aided by the effect of 【Fang Shi Breathing Method III】, his exhausted body had fully recovered.

Fully geared and ready, he prepared to begin today's hunt.

Fang Shi's first target today was the supermarket; a strong body also meant enormous energy consumption.

With no food at home, after digesting through the night, his stomach was now empty.

If not for the effect of 【Tenacity I】, his current strength would have dropped by at least one-third.

At this moment, the residential area was utterly silent, with not a trace of human presence.

Before the apocalypse, the residential area had never been so quiet; even if no people were visible, one would hear TV sounds, cooking sounds, and washing machine sounds.

There were also pet barks, children's cries, and arguments between men and women.

But all of these were gone now; the summer sunlight shone on Fang Shi, making him feel a chill he couldn't help but notice.

After a night of suffering, the surviving humans had become shrewd, not easily making sounds to avoid unexpected calamities.

And the walking corpses, as dead spirits, would only wander aimlessly before encountering a living person and would not make any sounds.

Soon, Fang Shi arrived at the small supermarket at the corner of his doorstep.

He glanced sideways and saw a female walking corpse wandering inside the supermarket; her clothes were still brand new and matched very fashionably.

It seemed the walking corpse had cared a great deal about her attire while alive.

Now, combined with the walking corpse's rotting body and foul odor, the sight was so ironic.

However, Fang Shi wasn't in a better state; after the game went global, the water and electricity at home stopped.

After killing and transforming,

he hadn't bathed, so one could imagine how heavy his smell was.

Furthermore, for safety, Fang Shi had deliberately smeared walking corpse fluids on his body to avoid being smelled by walking corpses as a living person.

Now, Fang Shi's body was a mixture of a hundred flavors, with rot and foul odor present in every aspect.

If not for his normal appearance, a living person smelling the scent alone would think it was a walking corpse on the move.

After waiting slightly until the female walking corpse had her back to him,

Fang Shi used stealth techniques to quietly approach the female walking corpse.

When he was still one meter away from the female walking corpse, she seemed to smell something and was about to turn around.

Fang Shi took a quick step first, swung the bone-chopping knife in his hand with force; the blade fell, and a rotting head rolled to the ground.

"Decapitation attack initiated."

"Decapitation successfully initiated; you dealt 22.5 points of critical damage to the target 【(Strength 15-10)/2 + Bone-Chopping Knife 6 (1d6) - Natural Armor 1】 × 3."

"Target dead."

"Extracting target soul energy; you gained 10 experience points and 1 Survival Point."

"Truly easy," Fang Shi thought with a sigh.

A level 1 walking corpse had only 16 hit points; Fang Shi's attack happened to kill it in one strike.

The boost brought by 15 points in Strength, Agility, and Constitution was truly huge.

15 points of Agility were enough for him to move silently while stealthy, and 15 points of Strength allowed him to sever a walking corpse's head.

This was not the weak walking corpse from when the apocalypse game began.

It was a walking corpse challenging level 1, with 12 Strength, 10 Agility, and 1 Natural Armor.

An ordinary person attempting to emulate Fang Shi would most likely be discovered three meters away.

Even if they swung hard to sever a head, the force would mostly be insufficient, causing the blade to get stuck one-third of the way through, allowing the zombie to counterattack immediately.

As undead creatures, zombies feel no pain; as long as their movement isn't hindered, they can calmly counterattack even with a knife stuck in their neck.

Come to think of it, did I choose the wrong class? Up until now, all my attacks have used weapons.

I've been beheading at the slightest disagreement, completely neglecting the Martial Artist's specialty: Unarmed Attack I.

"Bone-Cleaving Knife"

"Hardness: 5"

"Sharpness: 5"

"Durability: 4"

"Damage Type: Slashing"

"Damage Range: 1d6"

"Critical Hit Range: 19-20/×2"

"Weight: 900 grams"

"Type: One-handed use."

"Evaluation: A knife that chopped many pig bones; it seems to have changed classes now."

Uh... since I'm using a weapon, I should have chosen the Warrior class; after changing classes, I could have gained a Weapon Specialization bonus.

In his past life, the reason Fang Shi chose the Martial Artist class was simply one word: cool.

Back then, he was very chuunibyou, believing in the principle of conquering the world with a pair of iron fists.

Regarding warriors clad in heavy armor, wielding shields and swords, he truly looked down on them.

A Martial Artist wearing tight-fitting clothes with graceful movement was his pursuit.

Although he eventually took a beating from reality, that doesn't mean the Martial Artist class is weak.

Among the strong in his past life, there were Martial Dao Immortals whose fist intent reached heaven and earth, sensing the sun, moon, and stars; that was the goal all Martial Artists pursued.

Fang Shi of this life possesses rich survival experience from the apocalypse.

If he didn't have some aspirations, it wouldn't make sense; after all, the Martial Artist class also has a weapon-oriented path.

Besides, he shouldn't just discard the advantages of a familiar profession.

Changing classes isn't a one-and-done solution; one must also develop the class, otherwise, one remains a weakling within that profession.

Next came mealtime; Fang Shi searched for a pile of food.

He walked to the corner of the shop to hide, using shelves to conceal his figure, while constantly observing the situation outside through the gaps.

Then, chocolate bars, cookies, instant noodles, bread, combined with milk and cola, were all gulped down into his stomach.

His current appetite is at least one and a half times what it used to be; the food from last night actually didn't fill him up.

"Comfortable!"

Fang Shi contentedly patted his stomach.

He rested for a moment, picked up the Bone-Cleaving Knife, and began his leveling time.

The first thing to clear were the zombies inside the various shops along the residential pedestrian street.

The shops had a characteristic of open doors, with few zombies; each room had only one or two.

As long as Fang Shi moved fast enough, he didn't need to worry about other zombies hearing the commotion and rushing over.

Speaking of which, Fang Shi was quite curious: with such little foot traffic in these shops, how did they manage to stay open all this time?

"Pfft"

Another zombie with white, flowered hair fell beneath Fang Shi's knife; he thoughtfully supported the zombie's body, leaning it slowly against the wall.

It wasn't out of kindness; he had learned a lesson, as a small accident had occurred previously.

The sound of a zombie falling attracted its nearby neighbors.

It gave Fang Shi a three-zombie pincer attack; although he resolved it easily, it served as a reminder.

His current hunting actions were equivalent to assassination; he must not be so conspicuous.

Fang Shi did not possess the power of some assassin game where, once discovered, one could unleash unrivaled power.

Fleeing in panic at that time would not be pleasant.

"Sigh, this time consumed even more strength."

Fang Shi panted heavily, looking at the chipped Bone-Cleaving Knife, feeling helpless in his heart.

Anyone using this weapon to chop dozens of heads would be the same.

He was now exhausted and panicked, his face flushed, sweat dripping constantly from his forehead; he must rest properly.

Fang Shi first placed some metal bottles at the doorway to serve as sound alarm devices.

Then he hid in the shop's toilet, carefully pondering his next moves.

First, the plan to search for the regional treasure chest must be arranged; otherwise, lacking a suitable weapon would severely impact his strength.

After the apocalypse descended, every region would spawn a certain number of treasure chests.

Inside were weapons, food, and medicine, capable of assisting humans to survive the most difficult initial period.

This treasure chest was Fang Shi's target.

However, the treasure chest was not so easy to take; generally, a Level 2 Elite Zombie guarded it.

It might even bring along a dozen or so zombie minions.

Although he could easily duel an Elite Zombie alone, adding the minions made it very dangerous.

He glanced at his status panel.

"Experience: 890."

Almost there; if he can kill just eleven more shamblers, he'll have enough experience.

Once he reaches Level 2, his strength will surge, and the danger of obtaining treasure chests will decrease.

He hoped the Bone-Chopping Knife would last until then.

Still, it was strange; after wandering around for so long, he hadn't spotted any abnormal gatherings of shamblers.

Were the survivors in this compound so cautious? Weren't last night's survivors quite active?

He then gave a self-mocking smile; hadn't he been the same back then?

He stayed at home for a day, and only when hunger became unbearable did he devise a plan to eliminate the shambler blocking the door before venturing out.

Those survivors who had fought, having witnessed the terror of a fully formed shambler, were even more afraid than those who hid and fled.

The arrival of the apocalypse had utterly destroyed modern civilization.

Humanity seemed to have regressed to the primitive era, with powerful modern weapons all rendered useless.

Industrial facilities could not be started, and various high-precision devices malfunctioned.

After the first shockwave passed, the expansion of Blue Star turned city after city into isolated islands.

Waiting for rescue was utterly futile; only by taking the initiative could one seek a chance of survival.

Fang Shi of his past life, though he had understood this principle, had understood it far too late.

He had missed the initial opportunity, falling one step behind others.

This life, having been granted the luck of a second chance, he would never repeat the same mistakes.