Chapter 592

"Where is it awesome, Brother Su? I'm neither human nor zombie now, what can I do?"

Liu Tianji was very depressed, and even the black-and-white world that he felt was interesting became unpleasant. His brows were tightly furrowed, and he was puffed up.

Zhang Su smiled mysteriously, patted Liu Tianji's shoulder, and said: "What a simple question. Most directly, if zombies have no interest in you, you can move freely among them, which can create infinite possibilities.

Gathering intelligence, discovering resources—these are all basic operations. For example, the city is probably occupied by zombies now, and we can't go, but you can. Damn it, do you understand what it means to enter a land of no one?"

As he spoke, Zhang Su himself felt a little envious. It was just a pity that the reason for the birth of this ability was a mystery. Initially, it seemed that one needed to be bitten by a zombie, have the bitten part removed, and then be injected with the Zombie Transformation Blocking Fluid with unknown effects. After this set of operations, there were too many risks.

One couldn't think the probability was high just because Qiu Hui and Liu Tianji developed this ability. In addition, the fact that four other wounded people were unconscious was the best proof. Everything was luck! After hearing Zhang Su's words, although Liu Tianji still had some doubts, a look of longing flashed in his eyes. He showed a strange smile and said: "That is to say, I will be even harder in the future?"

"That's right!" Zhang Su said very certainly: "The capable do more work. You will definitely have more things to do in the future, but you are not alone."

"What do you mean? Could it be... Qiu Hui too?"

Liu Tianji reacted quickly. He hadn't asked about Qiu Hui's situation before, and only knew now.

"That's right, your Sister Hui also had the honor of acquiring this ability. From now on, you two can form a combination. Liu Tianji, Qiu Hui—let's call it 'Qiu Ji'er', how about that? Haha."

Zhang Su said with a smile.

"Qiu Ji'er..."

Liu Tianji felt like crying and laughing. Overall, everything was moving in a good direction.

"Come, listen carefully, you guys. Don't reveal a single word about everything today to the outside world. Also, one more point: don't tell anyone about your severed limb regrowth, and don't tell Qiu Hui. Her state is not stable yet. Wait until later to see if you should tell her. Do you understand?"

Zhang Su issued a gag order again.

All three nodded very seriously.

"Mr. Zhang, do you still have time? I want to tell you about the research progress of the liquefied gas zombie."

Xie Yanshan saw that Zhang Su was ready to withdraw and spoke up to keep him.

Zhang Su did intend to go to Village No. 1 to see the preparations for the banquet. It was getting late, and it was already dark outside. Hearing about the liquefied gas zombie, he immediately became energetic.

"You two just play here. Observe for one more night and go back tomorrow. You won't be able to join the fun of the hot pot banquet tonight. I'll have someone send some over to you. You can eat with Qiu Hui then. We're leaving first."

After Zhang Su gave instructions, he left the room with Xie Yanshan.

The two came to the room where the liquefied gas zombie's corpse was stored. Without turning on the lights, Zhang Su saw the square crystal as black as ink at a glance. However, the liquefied gas zombie had already been dismantled into pieces, with bones exposed in many parts. Judging from the characteristics, it only possessed a human form and was far from a flesh-and-blood body.

With a pop, Xie Yanshan turned on the light, walked to the experimental bed, and said: "This is the energy source Fu Weijun took from its cranium. In addition, I conducted multi-faceted tests on this corpse and discovered an unusual place."

"Oh?"

Zhang Su was stooping to examine the black crystal. Hearing Xie Yanshan mention something unusual, he turned his head to look at him: "Let's hear it."

"This guy's humerus, radius, and ulna—come, look at the lower limbs, femur, fibula, and tibia—are abnormally hard!"

Xie Yanshan pointed to the bones of different parts of the liquefied gas zombie like a biology teacher giving a lecture.

Zhang Su was instantly dizzy from a pile of inexplicable bone names. Fortunately, Xie Yanshan was explaining with the actual objects, otherwise, except for the femur, he wouldn't know any other parts... "Abnormally hard? Come, give me a pair of gloves."

Zhang Su took a pair of gloves from Xie Yanshan and put them on, intending to experience the so-called abnormal hardness himself. He gripped the humerus of the liquefied gas zombie, that is, the section of bone in the upper arm, and exerted force, using all his strength, but there was no reaction.

"Eh, holy shit?"

"It's fine to touch it directly, but it's impossible to crush it." Xie Yanshan smiled and fanned the flames on the side. A gentle knife is the most fatal.

"I don't believe it!"

The gripping power was limited, so Zhang Su decided to be more ruthless. With a force, he directly removed the humerus from the joint. Because the liquefied gas zombie itself was thin and small, the length of the humerus was only about twenty centimeters.

"Hey!"

Zhang Su gripped both ends, took a deep breath, and bent it with force like bending a power twister when he was working out before. His arms trembled, his muscles bulged, his face gradually turned red, and his expression was ferocious.

"Hoo... damn, it is hard!"

After five or six seconds, Zhang Su gave up completely. Even if he bent a steel bar, there would be slight deformation, but this femur, which wasn't thick, remained motionless, and he couldn't see a glimmer of hope.

"See, I said it was very hard." Xie Yanshan spread his hands and said: "There is a common Mohs hardness test pen over there. It measures up to eight. The test result of this bone directly went off the charts, meaning the hardness is above Mohs hardness eight!"

"Above Mohs hardness eight, this damn... can it compare to tungsten steel?"

Zhang Su liked to play with forging cold weapons before and was no stranger to Mohs hardness. This is a standard for measuring the hardness of natural minerals and can also be used to represent synthetic metals. Human bones are also generally represented by Mohs hardness.

Usually, the more common construction steel bars have a Mohs hardness between four and five. Human fingernails are two to three, and tooth enamel can reach five, which is harder than ordinary steel! "More than just tungsten steel, I feel that the hardness of these bones can rival diamond, and it's even possible that it exceeds the hardest material on our planet."

Xie Yanshan's evaluation was extremely high.

"Such a light piece, harder than diamond? If this were to be polished into a weapon—no, the harder it is, the more brittle it is, it might not be suitable for making weapons... what a pity."

Zhang Su waved the bone with some regret. In his view, the light feel wasn't even enough for swinging, and it needed to be weighted. If it could possess the toughness of metal while possessing this hardness, it would simply be a dream weapon material.

"That's not necessarily true." Xie Yanshan clearly had a different view. He said: "The brittleness of a material is indeed closely linked to hardness, but this is because the internal atomic structure of high-hardness materials is more compact. When subjected to external force, it is difficult for atoms to slide, which is why it exhibits brittle characteristics.

But all these physical characteristics are aimed at known things around us. For this unknown thing, it's better for us to hold a cautious attitude of verification. What if it possesses both hardness and toughness?"

"Fine, then I'll take it to..."

"Brother Su, Brother Su, how should the drinks be arranged tonight? Many people are asking if they can drink some alcohol."

Just at this moment, the walkie-talkie in Zhang Su's pocket rang. It was Wang Xin's voice. The background sound was noisy; he should be at the scene preparing for the hot pot banquet in Village No. 1.

Zhang Su took out the walkie-talkie, thought for a while, and said: "Not a drop of alcohol. Find someone to notify Ju Wuying and tell her not to drink during the meal."

By rights, on such a memorable big day, they should indeed drink to their heart's content, but the zombies outside are getting stronger and stronger, and the defensive fortifications are not yet perfect. Drinking at such a time is really not knowing how to write the word "death"!

Originally, Zhang Su intended to let everyone above the squad leader level have a little bit, but after thinking about it, he gave up. That would not only have no benefits but would also trigger class contradictions. They shouldn't let people above the squad leader level take the lead in drinking; instead, they should let them set an example! However, he also felt that not drinking a drop was too inhumane, so he said: "Alcohol can't be drunk, but everyone will be rationed a pack of cigarettes, just as a benefit for everyone!"

More than seven hundred people, that's more than seventy cartons of cigarettes. After this trip back, the stock of cigarettes has increased significantly. The camp still has this little reserve.

(End of chapter)