Apocalypse: I Can See Health Bars
Chapter 3: They Even Drop Loot

Chapter 3: Chapter 3: They Even Drop Loot

That voice... There was no doubt about it. Su Qing was still alive.

But she probably wouldn’t be for long.

As the zombie slammed and tore at the iron security gate, the bars let out a continuous CLANG CLANG CLANG.

The noise even caused restless footsteps to echo faintly from the floor above Lin Fan!

They were frantic and chaotic.

’Not human, and more than one...’

As his stamina gradually returned, Lin Fan’s hearing became exceptionally sharp.

’Looks like the whole family upstairs turned into zombies. I wonder if there are two of them, or three...’

Lin Fan calmly observed the hallway through the peephole, silently taking stock of everything he was seeing.

The zombie had been slow at first, but the sound had driven it into a frenzy.

A minute passed. If there were any other zombies in the hallway, the noise would have surely drawn them over.

Although there were footsteps upstairs, they remained confined to the room. He could tell the door was still shut, which was good news.

There was only one zombie in the hall, and its attention was completely focused on the apartment opposite his, its back turned to Lin Fan...

’Maybe I can give it a shot...’

Lin Fan’s expression was grave as he looked at the bone cleaver in his hand.

Some of his frozen food and other useful items were in his shop on the first floor. He had to go out for supplies, which meant he’d run into zombies sooner or later.

He had to find out what a zombie’s physical capabilities were and whether he could handle one.

Besides, he had this Superpower, which seemed to involve a health bar...

At that thought, Lin Fan turned to the full-length mirror behind the door, intending to check his reflection for a health bar.

But the moment the thought occurred to him, a gold-framed green bar appeared in the upper-left corner of his vision, marked with the numbers [97/100].

The image felt as if it had always been there, a natural part of his sight.

The moment it appeared, Lin Fan understood. This was his health bar.

’It’s real! This is my Superpower!’

’I never saw anyone in the group chat mention anything about Superpowers!’

’The fainting spell from before was probably related to this ability!’

As Lin Fan turned, he found himself facing the mirror. He stared at his reflection, his eyes widening in shock.

"This..."

He hadn’t seen his own reflection since he woke up.

Now that he was looking, he realized his appearance had changed dramatically.

Before, after the recent upheavals in his life, Lin Fan had been listless and a bit pudgy.

But now, his physique was lean and defined. The flab from his previous lack of exercise was gone, replaced by dense, tight muscle that wasn’t overly bulky.

’This... is a practically perfect body...’

The difference between his current and former self was like comparing a workhorse to a thoroughbred.

Like night and day.

He grabbed the power twister from behind the door and bent it forcefully. Distinct muscle striations appeared on his skin, and he easily twisted the device into an X-shape. He could feel it—he was much stronger than before!

Enhanced physical abilities, plus a Superpower that let him see health bars...

’This apocalypse... this is my chance for a comeback.’

Lin Fan looked through the peephole at the zombie still struggling against the iron gate.

’You’ll be the first...’

He immediately returned to the living room to prepare.

The bite-proof sleeves and apron he used for washing his big dog were drying on the balcony. Now was the perfect time to use them.

Next, weapons. The kitchen had a few knives. They’d be fine against a living person, but against a zombie...

Lin Fan went to the window and looked down. He saw that the man who had been tackled earlier had now also turned into a zombie.

Its chest and abdomen had been completely hollowed out, leaving only its shoulders and one remaining arm, which it waved ceaselessly at the air.

[96/300]

These numbers floated above its only intact body part: its head.

’It’s in that state and still has 96 life.’

’It seems the zombie’s weak point is its head. If so, a regular knife will have a hard time doing any real damage.’

’Not to mention the attack range is too short. If I can’t kill it in one hit, I could easily get scratched in a counterattack.’

’I need to increase my attack range, and I need something that can break through a skull...’

Lin Fan’s gaze swept across the room, finally locking onto the curtain rod.

He took down the curtain rod and pressed one end against the floor. The 2mm thick tube wall seemed sturdy enough.

The weight felt right, and its tubular structure wouldn’t easily bend under radial force. It was a bit long, but he didn’t have the right tools to cut it down.

He then got his toolbox and took out all the screwdrivers.

The thickest part of the largest screwdriver fit perfectly into the opening of the steel rod to serve as a tip. He wrapped it tightly with electrical tape and wire until the entire roll was gone.

And just like that, he had assembled a simple "boar spear"!

The "spearhead" would probably fall off easily in a complex fight, but in the narrow hallway, it was the perfect weapon.

He put on a hat, a mask, and goggles, then wrapped a scarf around his neck to protect it from scratches.

Finally, he wrapped tape around the blade of the bone cleaver and tucked it into his apron pocket.

Fully armed, Lin Fan’s reflection looked like a butcher from the wastelands. The sight gave him a great sense of security.

In a situation like this, the knowledge of a doctor and a butcher were surprisingly similar.

Pierce, then scramble the brain.

It didn’t seem too difficult in his eyes... provided he had the right tool.

In those short two minutes, Lin Fan’s own life had risen from 97 to 98. It seemed the food he’d eaten earlier was taking effect.

So Lin Fan stood behind the door, watching the hallway and waiting for his Life Value to recover.

After all, in a situation like this, every extra point of Life Value increased his odds of winning...

[99]

[100]!

The moment his Life Value was fully restored, Lin Fan made his move!

A soft CLICK was completely drowned out by the banging from the opposite door, failing to attract the zombie’s attention.

Gently opening his security door, Lin Fan stepped out. He gripped the middle of the spear with both hands and, with a powerful upward thrust, stabbed viciously at the back of the zombie’s head!

His target was the most vulnerable spot on the back of the human skull: the foramen magnum!

’If you hit that weak spot, anyone with a screwdriver could take down Tyson!’

With his full strength, the spear shot across the hallway in an instant, plunging straight into the back of the zombie’s head!

PFFT!

THUD!

[-199]!

[97/300]

’The gamble paid off!’

But what Lin Fan hadn’t expected was just how strong he had become!

The screwdriver spearhead completely pierced the zombie’s skull, exited through its forehead, and slammed into the wooden door of apartment 302 with a loud THUMP!

At the same time, a stifled scream rang out from inside apartment 302!

"Shut up!"

Trying to avoid unnecessary trouble, Lin Fan roared, silencing the scream from within the room.

’Why do women always have to scream?!’

’The zombie isn’t even dead yet!’

Since its head was pinned firmly to the wooden door by the spear, the zombie couldn’t turn around. Instead, it flailed its arms wildly behind it.

’I can’t pull the spear out!’

Lin Fan cleared his mind of distractions and made a split-second decision.

’I was so focused on a one-hit kill, I never expected to be this strong. The spearhead pierced straight through the skull instead of scrambling the brain!’

’But it’s pinned the zombie in place. That’s an unexpected bonus!’

Lin Fan quickly let go of the spear, drew the bone cleaver from his apron, and swung it straight at one of the zombie’s flailing hands!

The blade split flesh and bone at the zombie’s wrist. With a sharp twist from Lin Fan, the entire hand flew off, leaving only the thumb attached to the forearm!

[-19]!

[78/300]

’I expected as much, but that blow still only did that much damage!’

Not only did the blow fail to weaken the zombie, it seemed to enrage it further!

The zombie pinned to the door began to struggle frantically. The spear and the wooden door shook under its thrashing, looking like it might break free at any moment.

’I really can only attack the head!’

’I have to get closer!’

Seeing this, Lin Fan immediately adjusted his tactics. He lunged forward, grabbed the zombie’s left arm with his left hand, and pinned it to the wall. With his right hand, he swung the bone cleaver in an upward diagonal slash along the spear’s shaft!

He aimed to split the back of the zombie’s head in one blow!

But he didn’t expect his left hand to slip—the flesh and skin of half the zombie’s arm tore right off in his grip!

The zombie’s exposed arm bone slipped from his grasp, swung backward, and slammed hard into Lin Fan’s chest!

BANG!

’So much force!’

’Zombies are definitely much stronger than living people!’

The blow knocked the wind out of Lin Fan, forcing him back two steps. But when he saw that his Life Value hadn’t decreased, he felt a surge of confidence.

’Looks like my Life Value doesn’t drop if there’s no actual damage.’

’But their skin can just peel off. I’ll have to be careful about that in the future.’

Tossing aside the piece of rotten flesh, Lin Fan saw his chance. He grabbed the zombie’s exposed arm bone and, with his right hand, brought the cleaver down hard on the back of its head!

CLANG! A dull thud echoed.

[-35]!

[43/300]

The blow failed to break the zombie’s skull; instead, a chunk of the blade chipped off. ’Looks like a zombie’s bones are harder than a human’s, too.’

Riding the momentum, Lin Fan threw his whole body forward. He grabbed the zombie’s arm bone, using his arm strength and body weight to hold it fast. He adjusted his angle and swung again with his right hand with all his might!

[-199]!

[0/300]

’Critical hit!’

The back of the zombie’s head was split wide open. More than half of the cleaver’s blade was buried in its skull, nearly cleaving the head in two!

Pierced through and then nearly split in two, the zombie’s brain was utterly destroyed. Its health bar instantly dropped to zero!

The zombie stopped struggling, its arms hanging limply. It was as dead as dead could be.

"Huh?"

Lin Fan had just breathed a sigh of relief when he suddenly saw a translucent package materialize over the zombie’s body.

With a thought, the package vanished.

[Obtained: Smoked Chicken x1]

[Obtained: Purified Water (Small) x1]

Then, a backpack icon appeared in the corner of his vision. Inside were only the two items he had just received.

A vacuum-packed smoked chicken and a one-liter bottle of mineral water...

He checked himself again and was stunned to see his Life Value had changed from [100/100] to [110/110]!

An extra 10 points of life!

’What’s going on?’

’Did I get this from killing the zombie?’

’Killing zombies doesn’t just drop supplies, it also increases my maximum Life Value?’

A stunned smile spread across Lin Fan’s face. He turned to look at the gory corpse pinned to the door of apartment 302 and suddenly found it looked a little... cute.

...