Chapter 23: The Skull Crusher's Hand

A blue equipment?!

Lin Yi's eyes blazed with excitement. The equipment that players in Linjiang City had dreamed of in his previous life was now within reach.

Although he couldn't view its attributes before acquiring it, Lin Yi was certain this was the "Skull Crusher's Hand"!

In a flash, Lin Yi pressed the bone spike against the zombie doctor's head, piercing it slightly. With just a bit more force, he could scramble its brain. Before Lin Yi's 21 points of strength, even the zombie's enhanced bones were as fragile as cookies.

"Trade my item for your life," Lin Yi stated coldly.

"Not enough," he added, tilting his head and staring directly at the fleshy skull.

"It's... mine..." the zombie doctor struggled to say.

"Kill you and it becomes mine," Lin Yi interrupted bluntly.

The office door wouldn't hold much longer. If this zombie could only talk but provide no real value, there was no point in wasting more time. He had promised Wen Ya to check the nearby building if possible, and Zhang Tie's mentioned pharmacy was also worth investigating.

Time was pressing. If they delayed until nightfall, the zombies would become even more terrifying. Getting trapped in a horde again would be too dangerous.

"No!" The zombie doctor's blood-red eyes flashed with human-like anger.

Interesting. It could feel anger and suppress emotions.

Lin Yi pondered this silently. The zombie doctor froze, seemingly hesitating about something.

Hesitation? Lin Yi's mind raced. If this zombie had intelligence, it would naturally realize that providing no value meant certain death. So what was it hesitating about?

Lin Yi deliberately showed impatience, his right hand gripping the spike tighter, feigning preparation to strike.

"Things... have!" it blurted out urgently, sensing Lin Yi's killing intent.

"What things?" Lin Yi demanded. "One more word of nonsense and I'll kill you. And take off the glove. Or I'll chop off your hand."

"Can't... I'll... die... if... I... take... it... off!" Fear flashed in its eyes as it instinctively protected its right hand.

"You'll die now if you don't!" Lin Yi's killing intent surged, seeming to lower the room's temperature.

Pushed to the brink of fury, the zombie appeared unable to suppress its craving for flesh any longer.

"Roar!" The doctor zombie's gloved right hand bizarrely shot towards Lin Yi's chest. It seemed less like the zombie was moving and more like the glove was dragging its entire body towards Lin Yi.

Seeking death!

"Crack." Lin Yi's face remained expressionless as he swiftly broke its right arm.

"Crunch." A kick shattered its kneecap, exposing stark white bone.

The gap in strength between a first-tier mutant and Lin Yi was far too great for a single glove to bridge. Moreover, this creature barely qualified as a pseudo-first-tier.

Lin Yi picked up the severed hand and removed the glove. The detached glove emitted occasional ripples of blue light.

"Ding, obtained blue equipment: [Skull Crusher's Hand] (Fine)"

"[Skull Crusher's Hand] Blue Fine: Equipment level requirement: Level 1 (Tier 1)"

"Equipment attribute: Strength +5"

"Additional effect: ???"

"Equipment evaluation: This item is missing a crucial component. Perhaps you can find a way to complete it and unlock its true power."

"After completion, the quality will upgrade from Fine to Epic level."

In the center of the glove was a spot where something should have been embedded.

Lin Yi eagerly put on the glove. With a muffled grunt, the glove seemed to come alive, suddenly tightening around his right hand and clinging to his skin.

Simultaneously, a surge of power flowed from the glove into his heart.

"Ding, Strength attribute +5."

Lin Yi's expression brightened. Although the effects of the potion and Power Burst had worn off, his strength attribute had dropped back to 16. But with the [Skull Crusher's Hand] equipped, his strength instantly broke through the 21-point limit, reaching 21.

In his normal state, he now possessed strength rivaling a peak first-tier being. If he activated Power Burst and drank a potion again, his strength could reach 28!

He was on the verge of reaching second-tier!

To have such power on just the third day of the apocalyptic game's start was almost unbelievable, even to Lin Yi himself.

He clenched his fist, causing his bones to crackle audibly. One punch could probably demolish a light armored vehicle!

The feeling of growing stronger was intoxicating.

Lin Yi gazed at the empty space on the glove, puzzled. A crucial component? True power? It was hard to imagine what effects the glove might have when completed.

No wonder this was an apocalyptic equipment coveted and praised by countless Linjiang players in his previous life.

As Lin Yi pondered, the zombie doctor's eyes flashed with terror. Ignoring the pain of its broken legs, it desperately clawed at the windowsill with its remaining hand, trying to escape.

Lin Yi smirked coldly. Still trying to run?

With a whoosh, he reached out and effortlessly "plucked" off the zombie's head. The headless body continued to instinctively claw at the windowsill.

Such injuries weren't fatal to a zombified doctor. In Lin Yi's hand, the head's mouth opened and closed, its eyes full of resentment.

For zombies, any injury short of brain destruction was inconsequential.

"Three seconds. Tell me where the missing component for the glove is."

"Three."

"Two."

The countdown to death began. The resentment in the zombie doctor's eyes gave way to fear.

With intelligence came fear of death.

"Save... people... I'll... tell... you!"

"People and... things... in... next... building!"

Under the threat of death, it managed to speak faster.

Lin Yi's mind raced. Save people? The adjacent building? Wasn't that where Wen Ya's mother was?!

The nearby inpatient building might not have as many zombies as here, but it wouldn't be few either. Unlike the open layout of the emergency surgery ward, the densely packed rooms of the inpatient building posed a different kind of danger from zombie ambushes.

"Why would it be there? Are you trying to trick me?" Lin Yi asked sternly, ignoring the mention of saving people.

However, hearing the zombie doctor's words, he was certain that even if the crucial component wasn't there, something important must be in that building.

When they entered, this zombie had been facing that building the whole time.

"You... refused... request... My child... there."

"Glove... his... gift! Thing... there!"