Different Weaknesses
Whoosh! The Crawler was incredibly fast, charging towards Henry with extreme speed. The formidable strength in its limbs tore open a large gash across the chest of a zombie it stepped on.
"So fast!" Henry exclaimed, raising his shield just in time.
Thud! The immense impact of the Crawler's charge pushed Henry back two steps. The Crawler, unaffected by the recoil and oblivious to pain, landed and immediately lashed out with its claws three or four times in rapid succession. Its sharp nails whisked past Henry's face, the force of the swipe stinging his skin.
Indeed, a formidable opponent! No wonder an entire squad of survivors fell to this creature.
Henry continued to step back, retreating two or three more steps. The Crawler, seeing its attacks effortlessly blocked and dodged by Henry, grew increasingly agitated. It suddenly grasped Henry's shield tightly, its neck stretching over the top edge.
A grotesque and terrifying face loomed directly in front of Henry. "Giggle giggle... Ah~~~~~" It let out a piercing scream. The frequency of the sound stabbed at Henry's eardrums, causing a slight dizziness, and his grip on the shield loosened.
The Crawler snatched the shield away! Seeing Henry now defenseless, it quickly extended its long claws again, aiming for Henry's neck. The nails, over ten centimeters long, could easily slice open a throat, even with a light scratch.
Just as the Crawler was about to succeed, Henry's left hand casually lifted, acting quicker than it could react. He firmly grasped the Crawler's wrist. The nails were only a few centimeters from Henry's neck, but no matter how hard the Crawler tried, it couldn't advance any further.
"Is that all you've got?" Henry taunted. "No wonder they say I can easily defeat you in an open area!"
"It's probably because your sonic attacks form echoes in confined spaces!"
"Indeed, if that attack had occurred inside a building instead of in the open..."
"The echoes would cause multiple layers of damage, incapacitating survivors for a long time!"
"Even the strongest survivors wouldn't stand a chance against you then!"
"Too bad you don't have the intelligence of humans!"
Henry spoke calmly.
The reason he had not immediately struck and instead adopted a defensive posture was to fully understand the Crawler's true strength.
Only by understanding its attack methods and combat characteristics could he increase his chances of victory should he encounter it in a confined area in the future.
"Gigl gigl gigl!"
Of course, the Crawler couldn't understand what Henry was saying.
It felt as if its wrist was embedded in stone, completely immovable.
It could only emit another sharp scream.
But this time, Henry didn't give it a chance.
As the scream began, Henry's Katana swung down, severing the Crawler's head.
"Enough noise!"
Whoosh!
The head fell, but the Crawler was not yet dead.
It kicked out with its legs towards Henry's chest— a blow that could easily eviscerate a zombie, not to be underestimated.
"Not dead yet?"
[The Crawler's central nervous system is not located in its brain but in its spine; only by destroying the spine can it be truly killed!]
As Henry pondered this new information, the tip appeared again.
Understood!
Henry dodged the attack with a swift sidestep.
His Katana swung again.
Pshhh!
Unexpectedly, the Crawler's body was very tough.
The Katana got stuck halfway into its body!
"Squeak... squeak..."
The Crawler's head had fallen, but somehow it still managed to make noise.
It flailed wildly in mid-air.
"This guy is pretty tough!"
Henry kicked the Crawler forcefully, flipping it onto the ground.
Seizing the opportunity, Henry yanked out his Katana!
Though headless, the Crawler was not dead but now blind, scurrying around on the ground like a headless fly.
Its sharp claws flailed wildly.
With a loud bang, it slashed three half-meter-long gashes into the door of a parked sedan!
Henry timed his move perfectly.
With the experience from his previous attack, he gripped the sword with both hands and forcefully chopped downward, slicing the Crawler in two along the same incision he had started.
"Gurgle..."
The Crawler let out a strange cry.
It was finally dead for good!
Destroying the Crawler's spine was the key to killing it—a weakness unlike that of other zombies.
Henry wiped the reddish-brown slime off his blade.
By now, Snow had also finished its battle.
The restaurant was teeming with zombies, perhaps a dozen or so.
But most were tangled up on the ground, incapable of forming any effective fighting force.
Thus, Snow's attack was remarkably easy.
Moreover, since Snow grew up eating zombie flesh, it wasn't susceptible to the zombie virus.
Handling over a dozen zombies was a breeze for it!
After the battle, it was time to collect.
Henry first collected from the Crawler.
Ding! Collection successful, congratulations you have obtained:
[Energy Cores]*50+10 (bonus from energy evolution talent), [Accelerated Fertilizer]*5, [Evolver's Blood]*1, [Tough Leather]*3, [Sharp Claws]*2!
So many unfamiliar materials!
Henry focused his attention on each of them, and prompts immediately appeared:
[Evolver's Blood is a precious ingredient for potions, recommended to save it!]
[Tough Leather is an important material for crafting energy armor, recommended to save it!]
[Sharp Claws are important materials for crafting energy weapons, recommended to save it!]
Precious potions?
Energy armor and energy weapons?
While Henry doesn't yet have the blueprints for these items, he feels their power would far surpass current weapons like the Katana and longbow!
Next, he collected from the other zombies.
Ding! Collection successful, congratulations you have obtained:
[Energy Cores]*90+18 (bonus from energy evolution talent), [Mutant Fertilizer]*530, [Bunny Girl Outfit]*1, [Cigarettes]*62, [Cash]*1245, [Spoiled Food]*1, [Clean Notebook]*2, [Clean Briefcase]*1, [Carbon Pen]*6, [Universal Charger]*3...
Henry's backpack still had space, so he stored all these items as well.
By chance, he noticed a vending machine by the roadside outside the restaurant.