Forty years old, awakening attribute panel

Chapter 275

As time went by, the sky gradually turned pale, and the first rays of dawn marked that they had passed a night full of dangers. Although exhausted, the arrival of peace was undoubtedly the greatest comfort. Jiang Sheng and Wen Xiaoli did not wake up from their deep sleep until ten o'clock in the morning. They quickly went to the basement and found Neville staring at the computer screen intently, analyzing the data extracted from the little zombie.

On the test bench, the seemingly young zombie lay quietly. If it weren't for the slightly rising and falling chest showing signs of life, Jiang Sheng would have thought it had lost its life. Neville's discovery shocked them: "The pathogens in this zombie's blood are significantly different from those of ordinary zombies. I suspect it retains some degree of intelligence."

Jiang Sheng asked puzzledly: "Does this have any special meaning?"

Neville explained in detail: "If we can analyze the reasons for their abnormal addiction to blood, perhaps we can develop inhibitory drugs specifically. In this way, we may not have to eliminate all zombies, but instead transform them and restore some of their humanity."

For Jiang Sheng, long-term scientific research is not as urgent as the practical problems at hand. He is more concerned about: "How long will it take to develop antiviral drugs?"

Neville gave an optimistic estimate: "If everything goes well, we will be able to isolate the antiviral serum tomorrow night. If there is no rejection reaction in the live experiment, it means that our research is successful."

Jiang Sheng lost no time in offering a compliment: "If you succeed, Dr. Neville, you will definitely become the greatest figure in the history of mankind." This sentence is both encouragement and expectation for the future. After that, Jiang Sheng and Wen Xiaoli left the laboratory and prepared to devote themselves to today's intense task.

Today's task is indeed heavy. Not only do they have to continue to strengthen the defense of the house to prevent the zombies from attacking again, but they also have to collect supplies and prepare for the next survival. More importantly, they need to plan how to find other survivors in a world full of zombies, establish more extensive connections, and form a stronger survival network. In this process, every step is full of unknowns and challenges, but with the experience of last night, they have a deeper understanding of teamwork and their own potential. In this doomsday world, they are writing their own survival chapters. Every drop of sweat and every effort is for that ray of hope and for the future of mankind.

From the battle last night, Jiang Sheng and Wen Xiaoli deeply realized that compared with lighting equipment, the fire wall played a more critical role in blocking the invasion of zombies. Therefore, the main task today was to focus on expanding the fire wall isolation zone. On the street, although the fire wall of yesterday had been extinguished, there was still smoke and the pungent smell of burning plastic filled the air. The whole scene seemed to be in Iraq during the war, revealing a sense of desolation and despair.

In order to strengthen the defense, they used the method of yesterday, using explosion-proof vehicles to drag abandoned vehicles on the street to the surrounding of the house to build a more solid defense line. Based on the experience of the last time, this time they designed the isolation wall to be wider and more stable, and spared no effort to drag nearly 200 cars as a barrier. As for whether these piled-up cars would cause fire hazards, they had no time to take care of it. Survival became the most urgent need at the moment.

After the initial formation of the isolation wall, the next thing to do was to solve the fuel problem. To ignite so many cars at the same time, the amount of gasoline required was quite astonishing. So, they simply drove a tanker truck to quickly dump gasoline to ensure the efficiency of ignition of the fire wall. After some hard work, the two men collapsed on the ground, panting, and discussing future survival strategies, but Jiang Sheng's thoughts were always entangled with the figure of the zombie leader.

The zombie leader was more powerful than imagined and more terrifying than what was portrayed in the movie. In traditional cognition, the zombie's weakness is the head, but Moon Hyo-ri's multiple shots at its head did not cause any substantial damage, which shook their perception of zombies. It was precisely because of his fear of the zombie leader that Jiang Sheng had an idea and came up with a bold idea: "Why don't we find a large container truck and move Neville and the laboratory equipment to Queens? It might be safer there."

Wen Xiaoli just glanced at him and didn't answer immediately. Jiang Sheng saw this and asked, "What's wrong with you? Is my suggestion not acceptable?"

Moon Hyo-ri lazily held the back of her neck, without even raising her eyelids, and directly rejected his proposal: "This is simply a bad idea! Do you think there are no advanced zombies in Queens? It's just that you haven't encountered them. The population density there is higher, and the number and strength of zombies will only be greater. Moreover, the risk of transfer is extremely high. If you encounter a group of zombies or a vehicle breakdown, the consequences will be disastrous."

Jiang Sheng was silent after hearing this. Indeed, he was too idealistic and ignored the uncertainties and potential dangers in the doomsday world. The area they were in was at least familiar, while the unknown Queens District might hide more unknown threats. In such an environment, every move needed to be carefully considered, and any rash decision could lead to disastrous consequences. The two fell into deep thought again, thinking about a more practical and feasible survival plan.

"And don't forget, Neville is a plot character. If you dare to drag him around Queens, I can guarantee you that at night there will be ten monsters like last night looking for trouble with you." Moon Hyo-ri's voice was filled with unquestionable seriousness, which made Jiang Sheng realize how naive his previous thoughts were.

"Okay, I forgot he was a character in the plot." After saying that, Jiang Sheng sat down dejectedly and lay side by side with Moon Hyo-ri, their backs against the dilapidated wall, enjoying a moment of tranquility. Five minutes later, Moon Hyo-ri, with her eyes closed, suddenly asked, "Why are you looking at me?"

Jiang Sheng was amused by this sudden question, "I'm just curious, why do you always wear this leather jacket, isn't it dirty?" His words were full of curiosity.

Moon Hyo-ri opened her eyes helplessly, stretched out her hand, and said half-jokingly: "Give me the dagger, I'll show you." Jiang Sheng pulled out a huge bone-chopping knife from his waist and handed it to her. Moon Hyo-ri looked at the knife that was obviously not suitable for delicate work, and didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "... Can't you change it?" Jiang Sheng laughed and said: "You have been with me through life and death for many days, and I have feelings for you."

Moon Hyo-ri gave him a meaningful look, then tightened her leather pants and said, "Come on, try chopping it with the bone chopping knife." Jiang Sheng was stunned for a moment and asked doubtfully, "Really?" Moon Hyo-ri said seriously, "Just chop it if I tell you to. Why are you talking so much nonsense?"

So, Jiang Sheng half-believed and half-doubtedly swung the bone-cutting knife and cut towards Moon Hyo-ri's leather pants. The sharp blade seemed to hit something hard the moment it touched the leather pants, and it bounced back. Looking at the leather pants on Moon Hyo-ri's legs, there was no scratch, not even a white mark.

"Fuck, bulletproof leather pants?" Jiang Sheng was so surprised that he almost jumped up.

Moon Hyo-ri showed a proud look, "It was exchanged for 500 mission points. Fireproof, waterproof, bulletproof, and anti-pervert." After saying that, she deliberately glanced at Jiang Sheng, with a hint of teasing in her words.

Jiang Sheng didn't pay attention to the teasing tone in her words. Instead, he was even more shocked: "Produced by the Rubik's Cube?" Jiang Sheng has always been very interested in this system that can exchange various magical items.

"Well! This is just the most basic equipment," Moon Hyo-ri explained, "I heard that the top-level protective suit can exempt 100% of magic damage and 50% of power damage. For a zombie like the one last night, even if you stand there and let it bite you, it may not be able to hurt you at all."

Hearing this, Jiang Sheng couldn't help but fall into deep thought. In this apocalypse, they are facing not only zombies, but also various unknown dangers. The existence of the Rubik's Cube undoubtedly provides them with the possibility to fight against all of this. He began to calculate the value of the task at hand, and new hope and fighting spirit ignited in his heart.

"It seems that I have to plan the use of my task value carefully and not just rely on brute force." Jiang Sheng said thoughtfully, his eyes flashing with anticipation for the future.

Moon Hyo-ri smiled slightly. She knew that despite the harsh external environment, as long as there was hope in their hearts, nothing could be overcome. The two continued to lie on the ruins, but at this moment, they already had a clearer direction and goal in their hearts. In this doomsday world, they will work together to write their own chapter of survival with wisdom and courage.

After listening to Moon Hyo-ri's introduction, Jiang Sheng was stunned with surprise. It took him a while to find his voice. He asked in disbelief: "Is there really such a protective suit? It sounds like equipment from a science fiction movie!" The shock in his heart was indescribable. After all, in such a doomsday world where zombies are rampant and resources are scarce, owning such a set of equipment is almost equivalent to gaining a second life.

Wen Xiaoli nodded, with a hint of regret in her tone: "Yes, such protective clothing does exist. However, it is very regrettable that in order to obtain this top-level protective clothing, not only does it require a mission value of up to 50000 points, but you must also be promoted to the status of a high-level hunter to be eligible to purchase it."

When Jiang Sheng heard the number, he immediately calculated in his mind: "50000 points? Doesn't that mean I have to survive 50 missions to earn enough? And what is the high-level hunter you mentioned? It sounds like it's very powerful."

Moon Hyo-ri shook her head gently and corrected Jiang Sheng's misunderstanding: "Your understanding is a little biased. For example, if you can successfully complete this mission, you can not only complete two mission indicators, but also conservatively estimate that you can get at least 1000 mission points. Add the extra value of the spoils, and the accumulated value will be even more considerable. Moreover, as the difficulty of the mission increases, the mission value obtained for each completed mission will also increase accordingly, so the accumulation speed is much faster than you think." She continued to explain: "As for the advanced hunters, they are not some mysterious species, but senior hunters who have successfully completed nine or more missions. In the Rubik's Cube system, the level division of hunters is very strict. Those who survive three missions are primary hunters, six are intermediate hunters, nine are promoted to advanced hunters, and those who survive more than ten are known as ace hunters. They are the elites and strong in this doomsday world."

Jiang Sheng didn't take it seriously at first, but when he learned that becoming a high-level hunter required nine life-and-death tests, his mentality changed subtly. The battle with the zombie leader was still fresh in his mind, and he couldn't help but feel a deep respect for those high-level hunters who could survive nine missions. In such an apocalypse, being able to survive and keep improving is itself a great manifestation of strength.

As the sunset glow in the sky gradually disappeared behind the towering buildings, night fell quietly. Moon Hyo-ri stood up, with a bit of the grandeur of a big sister in her movements, patted Kang Seung on the shoulder, and said earnestly: "Work hard, little brother! The future belongs to those who dare to fight." After that, she turned and walked into the house, leaving Kang Seung alone there, before he could refute the word "little brother".

After dinner, Kang Seung and Moon Hyo-ri quickly went into battle readiness. They stole two more light machine guns during the day, so that each of the four windows could be equipped with one, avoiding the inconvenience of running between windows with guns in hand. Night was approaching, and they were fully prepared to meet any challenges that might come.

Although they failed to find the desired individual bazooka, Jiang Sheng knew that in the face of the doomsday challenge, they had to use existing resources to create miracles. He secretly thought that if he had a bazooka in hand, no matter how arrogant the zombie leader was, one shot would be enough to make him feel despair. But the reality was that they had to rely on existing equipment and wisdom to prepare for the upcoming battle.

As night fell, the clock pointed to 9 o'clock in the evening, and the first wave of tentative zombies arrived as expected. The zombies clumsily climbed up the isolation wall made of cars. They seemed to have no fear of this man-made flame barrier. Jiang Sheng stood in front of the window and calmly lit the fuse. Four fire snake-like fuses quickly spread forward. Then, the isolation wall composed of cars turned into a sea of ​​fire with a loud "bang". The blazing flames illuminated half of the sky red. The zombies who had just climbed onto the cars were engulfed by the ruthless sea of ​​fire before they could react. The shrill screams resounded through the night sky, miserable and creepy.

The fire burned all night, but what surprised Jiang Sheng and Wen Xiaoli was that after the first wave of zombies, no more zombies came to attack, and even the cunning zombie leader disappeared without a trace. The sky gradually dawned, and the two exchanged glances, revealing the same worry in each other's eyes. They knew that the zombie leader would not give up easily, especially when his children were captured and he suffered repeated setbacks.

There was no time to rest. As the first rays of sunlight rose in the east, Jiang Sheng and Wen Xiaoli quickly took action and once again devoted themselves to strengthening the fortifications. The nearby car resources had been fully utilized, and the wreckage became a new obstacle. They had to find another way. At this time, gasoline became the most valuable resource in their hands.

They dragged a tanker truck from the other side of the river as backup fuel, and began to think about how to innovate their attack strategy. The weapon stores in the city had been looted long ago, so they turned to Neville and learned that the only place where they could find heavy firepower was the Federal Secret Service Building. There were not only heavy weapons such as grenades and individual rocket launchers hidden there, but also the legendary modern version of the Gatling rapid-fire machine gun M134, with a firing rate of 6000 rounds per minute, which was enough to make any zombie offensive come to naught.

Thinking of this, new hope ignited in the hearts of Jiang Sheng and Wen Xiaoli. Although the road ahead is full of unknowns and dangers, they are willing to do whatever it takes to survive and open up a piece of pure land for mankind in this doomsday world. Therefore, the two made a detailed action plan and prepared to take the risk of sneaking into the Federal Secret Service Building, not only to obtain stronger weapons, but also to find a glimmer of hope for victory in this war against zombies.

Faced with the imminent crisis, Jiang Sheng and Wen Xiaoli had no time to hesitate. They knew that fighting ordinary zombies was more proactive than passively waiting for the revenge of the zombie leader. Therefore, the two decided to take action immediately and go straight to the Secret Service Building to find a ray of hope. The Secret Service Building is located on Broadway Avenue in the southwest, close to the Manhattan Motor Vehicles Department. It has a superior geographical location, but it also means that there may be a lot of zombies around.

With Neville's intelligence support, they learned that the Secret Service's ammunition depot was located on the second underground floor. This was undoubtedly good news, but it also foreshadowed the danger and difficulty of this trip. At twelve o'clock noon, the sun was blazing, and the two drove the explosion-proof car directly to the door of the first floor of the Secret Service. In order to ensure safety, they placed solar lamps at several key passages to use strong light to drive away or temporarily block the zombies upstairs. After everything was ready, Jiang Sheng and Wen Xiaoli each held an assault rifle and began their adventure through the safe passage.

Jiang Sheng, who was bold and careful, walked in front, responsible for opening the way and breaking through; while Wen Xiaoli, with her agility and accurate shooting skills, was responsible for the firepower support and the rear. The two cooperated well and moved forward step by step.

As soon as they turned a corner, a thick explosion-proof glass blocked their way. Moon Hyo-ri calmly shot the glass accurately, clearing the obstacle for the two of them. After confirming that they were safe, they continued to go deeper.

"Safe--", "Safe--" the two reported in turn, and every step was full of unknowns and dangers. However, just as they came down the stairs, a dark shadow suddenly jumped out from behind the wall, trying to attack. Before Jiang Sheng could react, Wen Xiaoli's gunshots rang out. With two accurate bursts of fire, the zombie fell down and his head was broken.

"Keep moving forward!" Moon Hyo-ri gave the order calmly. There was no time to stop, they had to hurry.

As a government agency, the Secret Service has extremely strict internal security measures, especially sensitive areas like ammunition depots, which are difficult to access. In addition, with the protection of explosion-proof glass, the number of zombies here is indeed much less than that of the outside world. But even so, there are still 20 zombies waiting for them on the underground floor. Jiang Sheng took advantage of the close combat advantage of the bone-chopping knife and killed two of them by himself, and the rest were all shot in the head by Moon Hyo-ri with her artistic shooting skills.

After the battle, Jiang Sheng shook off the rotten flesh on his arm and complained: "Can you remind me before shooting next time? This is my fourth set of clothes." However, what responded to him was a crisp gunshot. Wen Xiao used this method to remind him that no slackness was allowed in the battle.

"...You crazy woman." Jiang Sheng muttered helplessly, rubbed his ears that were buzzing from the gunshots, took off the rotten meat hanging on his shoulders, and continued to move forward to the second underground floor with a gloomy face. In the doomsday environment, every action is full of unknowns and dangers, but in order to survive, they have no choice but to bite the bullet and move forward step by step towards the place where the last hope of mankind may be hidden.

Unlike the dim -1 floor, the darkness of -2 floor seemed like the entrance to another world. The two could only rely on the mining lamps on their heads and grope forward, each step being extremely cautious. The silence and darkness in the air formed an invisible sense of oppression, as if foreshadowing that they were about to step into an unknown and dangerous world.
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At the entrance to the second floor, a heavy steel explosion-proof door was like an insurmountable barrier, blocking the distance between them and their target. Fortunately, they were well prepared. Following Neville's instructions, they brought two bombs specifically for dealing with zombies. They carefully placed the bombs on the walls on both sides of the gate, and then quickly retreated to the -2 floor. Everything was ready, just waiting for the order. As the button on the remote control was pressed, a deafening roar instantly shook the entire space, as if even the foundation of the building was shaking. When the smoke dissipated, the originally indestructible explosion-proof door had collapsed to the ground, opening the way for them to the ammunition depot.

Jiang Sheng lit two torches and threw them into the darkness. The fire instantly illuminated the road ahead. He held his gun and walked slowly into the ammunition depot with caution. Unexpectedly, there was no zombie ambush as expected in the ammunition depot, no tragic roars, and everything was strangely quiet, as if it was an abandoned ghost ship.

The ammunition depot was staggeringly large, with a space of more than 500 square meters, and was laid out like a circular exhibition hall. Behind the glass covers and curtain walls were all kinds of high-tech weapons and equipment. These spy equipment that could only be seen in movies and TV shows were all on display here. At this moment, they seemed to have stepped into a military museum rather than an abandoned place in the apocalypse.

"Damn, if we had known it was so simple, we should have come earlier." Jiang Sheng sighed. Moon Hyo-ri obviously agreed with his point of view. She looked around at the hundreds of various weapons and nodded vigorously, with both surprise and regret in her eyes.

They had two main goals: one was the M134 rapid-fire machine gun, and the other was the RPG rocket launcher. However, although two sets of M-136 AT-4 portable rocket launchers were found in the ammunition depot, there was only one matching rocket, which was quite ironic. Although the rockets were not satisfactory, they unexpectedly found two brand new M13 rapid-fire machine guns, which was undoubtedly a pleasant surprise for them, and today's action was finally not in vain.

The reason why the M134 is highly regarded is not only because of its amazing rate of fire and power, but also because of its compatibility with ammunition. Whether it is NATO standard ammunition, such as M59 ordinary bullets, M61 armor-piercing bullets, etc., it can adapt perfectly. This flexibility is particularly valuable in a doomsday environment. This means that they don’t need to worry too much about the problem of ammunition supply. As long as they can find any kind of NATO standard bullets, the M134 can exert its due power and become an important weapon for them to fight zombies and protect their own safety. In the darkness and despair, these two M13 rapid-fire machine guns are like the light of hope, illuminating their way forward.

In the dim second underground floor, Jiang Sheng and Wen Xiaoli began the intensive and orderly moving work. They took turns acting as porters, carefully moving two precious M134 machine guns and more than a dozen boxes of matching ammunition belts out of the ammunition depot. In the United States, thanks to the excellent logistics support system, machine gun ammunition is usually shipped in the form of customized ammunition belts, without manual loading. Although this type of ammunition belt may not be as durable as hand-assembled ones in terms of strength, it is not a problem for them. After all, they are not fighting on a complex battlefield, nor do they need to hold machine guns and shoot like heroes in movies, so the durability of the ammunition belt is not their primary consideration.

Then, they began to move grenades and bombs. Although this was Manhattan, the heart of global finance, these explosives were useless in daily life, but the samples stored here could play a huge role in times of crisis. They collected more than a dozen high-explosive grenades, which were enough to become the key to turning the tide of the war at a critical moment.

In addition to machine guns and explosives, the ammunition depot also stores various types of pistols, sniper rifles and assault rifles. The variety is amazing. As a firearms expert, Moon Hyo-ri knows the origin and performance of each type of firearm. She pointed out skillfully: "This is the FN 9mm high-powered pistol, suitable for close combat; over there is the P11 7.62mm underwater pistol, an ideal choice for diving operations; and on that shelf is the Springfield 0.45-inch special tactical pistol, which has excellent accuracy and power." Her professional explanation made this search operation also a popularization of firearms knowledge.

Under the leadership of Moon Hyo-ri, they even found the special pocket bombs used by the Secret Service. These black balls were the size of ping-pong balls, but they were extremely powerful, with an effective killing range of 3×3 meters. Moon Hyo-ri smashed the protective cover, took out two and handed one to Jiang Sheng, saying, "This is a special pocket bomb used by the Secret Service, which can save lives at critical moments." Jiang Sheng took it and asked in confusion, "Glory bomb?" Moon Hyo-ri smiled faintly, "You can understand it this way." After that, she picked up a box of bullets and walked towards the safe passage first.

When they returned to Neville's residence with a full load, they unexpectedly found that the characters in the movie, mother and son Anne and Ethan, had arrived unexpectedly. Anne, as a virus immune person, came to seek shelter with her son Ethan after hearing Neville's broadcast, and accidentally saved Neville in a crisis.

(End of this chapter)