Apocalypse: I Can See Health Bars
Chapter 19: Wounded

Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Wounded

A nylon rope has incredible radial tensile strength, but it’s vulnerable to friction. Just a few frayed fibers could drastically reduce its load-bearing capacity, so any potential points of friction needed to be fully protected.

After preparing the rope, Lin Fan tossed the long end out the window, which he had padded with clothes. He then looped it once around the base of the outdoor air conditioning unit. Still feeling uneasy, he grabbed a pillow and placed it under the rope as well. Only then did he feel it was secure enough.

He put on his gear, climbed onto the windowsill, and hung two iron pipes—one long, one short—from his body. Looking at Su Qing on the balcony, he instructed:

"Keep an eye on this rope for me, especially where it runs over the windowsill and past the AC unit. If you see any signs of wear or tearing, yell for me. I can still grab onto the drainpipe."

After getting a nod of confirmation from Su Qing, Lin Fan took a deep breath to calm his racing heart. Gripping the rope with both hands and planting his feet on the windowsill, he slowly leaned his entire body backward, out the window.

...

The nylon rope pulled taut, letting out a series of faint CREAKS. Chunks of concrete crumbled from the edge of the windowsill as the rope took his weight, and he could feel it juddering and bouncing even through his gloves.

Fortunately, once all the loose surface debris had fallen away, the rope stabilized.

Su Qing was also perched at the edge of the window upstairs, her head craned out to look down.

As if worried about affecting the wall’s structural integrity, she held her hands hovering in front of her chest, not daring to rest them on the windowsill.

She watched Lin Fan hanging against the wall, her heart pounding. She was afraid of alerting the zombies and didn’t dare make a sound.

A height of over ten meters didn’t sound like much, but when he was actually hanging outside the window, an unavoidable wave of intense vertigo washed over him the moment he looked down.

Thanks to the massive boost to his physical attributes, Lin Fan could firmly lock his entire body weight onto the rope with just his hands, even without any specialized rappelling gear to increase friction.

The zombies wandering around downstairs didn’t seem to look up. Only the one rooted to the spot, the [96/300], noticed Lin Fan and let out a fiercer, more intense roar than before.

But the zombies clearly couldn’t communicate directly. Agitated by its roar, the other few zombies grew restless and began to shamble back and forth, but not a single one looked up to spot Lin Fan.

He hung there in mid-air, his eyes uncontrollably glancing down. His hands gripped the rope so tightly he couldn’t seem to relax them.

Lin Fan had no choice but to close his eyes and take continuous deep breaths.

Sure enough, for someone like him with no training, suddenly performing high-altitude work with just a single rope was proving to be a challenge.

Lin Fan considered himself mentally strong—he’d been as cool as a cucumber while killing zombies and gathering food. But when it came to actually hanging off the side of the sixth-floor wall, he couldn’t help but feel his stomach drop...

’Hanging from a rope with man-eating monsters below... I’m getting some serious déjà vu.’

By letting his mind wander with these random thoughts, Lin Fan finally managed to pull his focus back to the task at hand.

After a minute of acclimatizing like this, he was finally less tense, and his hands were finally able to loosen their grip slightly.

With one hand above his body and one below, he began to alternately loosen his grip on the rope, walking his feet down the wall in small steps until he reached the glass of the 501 balcony.

The glare from the glass was severe. From Lin Fan’s angle, all he could see was the blinding blue sky and sunlight; the scene inside the apartment was almost completely obscured.

He continued his descent until he landed on the outdoor AC unit for 501.

CLUNK.

Even though Lin Fan had been extremely careful to land lightly, the somewhat rusted bracket of the outdoor unit still made a soft noise.

Luckily, the sound was faint. Lin Fan cautiously held the rope with one hand and used the other to shield his brow, pressing his body against the window. He finally blocked the glare and could see the scene inside...

Two hunched-over zombies were crowded by the apartment’s front door. One of them, perhaps with exceptionally good hearing, seemed to have been drawn by the sound. It was slowly turning its head, its eyes meeting Lin Fan’s through the window.

It was a fateful meeting, a love story for the ages.

For a frenzied zombie, crossing the short, seven-meter distance from the front door to the balcony would only take two seconds.

Lin Fan’s pupils contracted instantly! Without hesitation, he kicked off the window glass with both feet. Using the reactive force, his body swung out from the building like a pendulum!

The very instant he swung away—THUD!

A huge pane of glass from the window in front of him, frame and all, was sent flying out by the charging zombie.

The flying window grazed his legs as it shot past him. At that moment, the rope reached the apex of its arc and began to swing back.

Lin Fan rode the momentum, leaning his center of gravity forward like someone on a swing, accelerating his return!

Using this speed, he kicked away the zombie’s grasping arm with his left foot, then delivered a precise, heavy stomp with his right, planting it firmly on the creature’s ugly head!

[-29]!

[271/300]

The zombie lost its balance from the force of the blow and fell backward. Lin Fan seized the opportunity, grabbing the steel pipe hanging at his side and using the swing’s momentum to land inside the balcony of 501.

Even facing two zombies felt safer than dangling over a hundred of them by what felt like a glorified dog leash. The moment his feet touched solid ground, Lin Fan’s mind started racing.

At this point, the other zombie, an elderly one that had been by the security door, had already charged across the living room and was about to reach him!

’No time for a finishing blow!’

Because he had to climb the rope, Lin Fan hadn’t brought his spear, only the more portable steel pipe and bone-cleaver.

The instant he landed, Lin Fan ignored the zombie he had kicked to the ground, which was now struggling to get up. Instead, he crouched into a ball, braced his back foot against the base of the balcony wall, and then sprang forward with all his might!

His body was like a spring compressed to its limit. With the steel pipe gripped in both hands as a spearhead, he transformed into a living lance, thrusting upward toward the head of the second zombie as it lunged at him!

Like a rainbow piercing the sun!

The tip of the steel pipe pierced the zombie’s chin and, with Lin Fan’s full force, instantly penetrated its skull, exiting through the crown of its head in a spray of grayish-brown gore!

The zombie’s forward momentum carried its body upward from the blow, lifting it almost completely into the air. Its feet left the ground as it was thrown back, and its whole body slammed heavily onto the floor!

[-300]!

[0/300]

Skull Shattered!

Instant Kill!

But the corpse’s momentum also caused Lin Fan to stagger.

By now, the zombie he had kicked down had already scrambled back up and was pouncing toward Lin Fan with its claws outstretched.

Lin Fan tried to pull with his right hand, but the steel pipe was stuck fast in the zombie’s skull. He tugged hard, managing only to drag the corpse a little. It was wedged tight and wouldn’t come out!

’Fuck!’

Seeing the zombie’s foul, disgusting mouth closing in, Lin Fan had no choice but to abandon the steel pipe and retreat!

But he was a step too slow. The zombie’s outstretched hands grabbed his right arm, and in the next moment, it bit down hard!

[-8]

[152/160]

"Ugh!"

A sharp pain shot through his right arm!

In his desperation, Lin Fan unleashed a burst of strength, kicking out and fiercely striking the zombie’s hip. A sharp CRACK of breaking bone echoed out.

With its hip shattered, the zombie immediately lost its balance, its upper body lurching violently to one side!

It was the force of this fall that caused its clenched jaw to loosen for a split second!

Forcing himself to ignore the searing pain in his arm, Lin Fan seized this momentary opportunity and yanked with all his might!

He wrenched his entire arm free from the bite-proof sleeve!