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墨書 Inktalez
"Being prepared is always a good thing." After feeling somewhat satisfied, Yang Xiaoyou took out an item from his travel bag that occupied half of its space—a beautifully crafted wooden Handcrafted Crossbow, reminiscent of a decorative piece one might find at home.
This Handcrafted Crossbow was made using his memories and the dexterity he honed through creating anime models and figurines. Over the past half month, he had utilized every material he could find or purchase online to construct it.
Due to the difficulty in sourcing high-strength elastic strings and suitable materials for the crossbow body, this Handcrafted Crossbow could only ensure accuracy and an effective range of about ten meters, which paled in comparison to military crossbows that could shoot over a hundred meters. Additionally, he only had two bolts and a spare bolt.
If it weren't for its rough appearance and their identity as a student travel group, it would have been treated as an ordinary craft item. Strengthening it further would likely have made it impossible to transport by plane.
As it stood, while the range was only ten meters, it was sufficient for Yang Xiaoyou. Given his current abilities, even if the range exceeded ten meters, he wouldn't be able to shoot accurately. The current range was just right for him.
Moreover, the crossbow had an advantage over firearms: it produced almost no noise when fired, quieter than guns equipped with suppressors.
"The fusion process took seven hours, which means according to those crazy conclusions from back then, I still have over ten hours left for the optimal injection time." While fiddling with the Handcrafted Crossbow and performing final checks, Yang Xiaoyou glanced at his watch and calculated in his heart.
He had already achieved one of his main objectives for coming to Kapa City; now he needed to make further improvements.
No matter how special his blood was, the Seventh Virus was ultimately a highly destructive and infectious virus. Even if he felt fine after it had parasitized his body, there remained risks of infecting others or being detected.
His years as a White Mouse had helped alleviate these concerns while also allowing him to enhance certain aspects of his brain's nerves in conjunction with this perfect Flesh.
Due to his outward 'cooperation' at that time, he had learned some parameters and details regarding experiments on himself. One crucial point was that if he could inject the corresponding virus Antibody before the virus underwent a second mutation after infection, theoretically, he could achieve even better results.
The timing for this second mutation occurred twenty hours after infection, if he remembered correctly.
This meant that to perfectly conceal himself and eliminate any lingering concerns, he had over ten hours left to find the Antibody.
While searching for the Antibody, Yang Xiaoyou could also accomplish another goal: eliminating any residual traces of the Seventh Virus to prevent detection of its peculiarities when plans were restarted in the future.
Though the probability of detection was low, Yang Xiaoyou did not want to leave such uncertainties unchecked. His almost pathological Sense of Crisis constantly urged him forward.
To 'officially' infiltrate the source of the virus outbreak—the Overcast Laboratory beneath Umbrella Building—he would need assistance from a fellow. He now aimed to 'coincidentally' meet him again during that specific timeframe etched in his memory.
However, before that, he had to ensure his own survival. During the time he was unconscious, the virus that had caused global panic had completely erupted in Kapa City without any restraints.
In a secluded alley between two buildings, a broken water pipe was gushing water outward, splashing onto the ground and forming several murky puddles. The alley, already made dirty by two large Trash Bins, became even more chaotic.
The main culprit behind the broken pipe was a Red Sports Car that had crashed into one of the walls. The air nearby was filled with the stench of rotting garbage and leaking gasoline.
At this moment, a swaying figure lingered in the alley. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a severely injured White Man.
His eyes were devoid of focus and life, revealing a dead gray hue. Dried blood on his head had congealed on his face, giving his extremely pale complexion a ghastly appearance. His disheveled shirt was completely stained red and black with blood, and its owner seemed to have made no effort to tidy himself up.
What was most terrifying was his left leg. The calf area of his left leg appeared to be completely torn apart due to the accident involving the Red Sports Car. Through the wound, one could clearly see the fractured bone and the pink, writhing Tendon.
Despite the gruesome injury, this White Man continued to move with a limp. Strangely, very little blood flowed from the horrifying wound; it seemed to have completely coagulated. This scene was truly unsettling.
In the entire alley, only the sound of water splashing and the occasional noise from the wandering figure could be heard.
At that moment, a subtle metallic scraping sound emerged from near one of the relatively intact Trash Bins.
Upon hearing the sound, the wandering White Man instinctively turned toward it. At the same time, a muffled 'gurgling' sound came from his throat, resembling a low growl.
It seemed he hadn’t noticed anything unusual; perhaps the allure of the broken water pipe was stronger. After standing still for a moment due to the sudden noise, he turned back toward the broken pipe, allowing the spraying water to drench him.
Just as he turned again, a Metal Arrow shot through his head from behind, piercing through his skull and exiting through his eye socket, taking his eyeball with it.
After being struck by the arrow, he stumbled forward instinctively for two steps before collapsing straight down, splashing some of the filthy water on the ground as his body twitched occasionally.
With a creaking sound, after he fell, the lid of the relatively intact Trash Bin flipped open completely. A young man with a somewhat clean appearance but stained clothes crawled out from inside.
His pale face reflected his inner turmoil; as soon as he emerged, he leaned against one corner of the Trash Bin and gagged violently, completely lacking the composure he had when he started shooting.
"Reality is ultimately reality; it cannot be compensated by memories. It seems that filling my stomach also comes with its own drawbacks," Yang Xiaoyou thought helplessly as he fought against the urge to vomit what he had just eaten. He then glanced again at the fallen figure.
In his memory, the overwhelming hunger he felt at that time filled every other sensation, making him feel like a starving wolf before he found food to satisfy his hunger. It was not as pronounced as it is now, and by the time he found something to eat, he had already grown accustomed to it.
This nauseating feeling was truly Yang Xiaoyou's first experience of its kind.
However, he had already mentally prepared himself enough, and he had some confidence; the person he killed was theoretically dead before he shot them.
The H Virus infection in corpses was the most terrifying aspect of that strange virus.
Although the H Virus had poor airborne transmission capabilities, many people could naturally resist it with their immune systems. Even after being exposed to the air and directly under the sun for a while, they would naturally disinfect. But once the virus successfully infected a human body and underwent its first mutation, its vitality and infectivity would significantly increase.
Once infected individuals died, the virus would begin a second mutation. The originally singular virus would undergo several complex mutations with clearly defined roles, allowing those who should have died to 'revive' while losing all cognitive abilities.
They would retain only the most basic instincts and an insatiable hunger.
At such times, if someone were bitten or scratched by an infected corpse, the chance of infection would nearly reach 100%.
Even though he had been infected by the Seventh Virus and his body had undergone mutations, he learned from those mad scientists at the research facility that while he had some resistance to other strains of the H Virus and was completely immune to airborne transmission, being bitten or scratched still posed a risk of infection leading to death.
Given this situation, even in his peak state from memory, he remained exceptionally cautious when facing these creatures.
The only thing that gave Yang Xiaoyou a slight sense of relief was that due to this virus's characteristics, there hadn't been many large-scale outbreaks under the strong pressure from various violent organizations. The largest outbreak was comparable to what happened in Kapa City.
Viruses like HIV and Hepatitis B displayed external symptoms that were not much different from ordinary people, making them relatively easier to spread. In contrast, the obvious symptoms of the H Virus allowed for effective control of its spread through lockdown policies under high pressure.
In Yang Xiaoyou's memory, although sporadic outbreaks of the H Virus occasionally claimed many lives, the actual number of 'killings' was far less than that of the Black Death that swept across Europe back in the day.
After all, corpses without sufficient nutritional intake could survive for no more than half a month at most. Their consumption of food typically targeted fresh meat, which was not abundant.
But Yang Xiaoyou understood that outside in Kapa City, everything had already completely fallen apart.
After getting somewhat used to that nauseating way of dying, he forced himself to approach the corpse. He pulled out the steel arrow from the back of its head, bringing with it some disgusting red and white viscous fluid.
He currently had only two crossbow bolts, and he couldn't afford to waste one unless absolutely necessary before finding a suitable weapon.
As for the killing and the corpses, that was something he still needed to continue.
Perhaps influenced by the fragments of memory, although Yang Xiaoyou initially seemed quite unadapted, his speed of adaptation was much faster than that of an ordinary person.
He had started off retching, but now, after pulling out the bolt smeared with brain matter, he merely grimaced in disgust; the other discomforts in his body had significantly lessened.
He waved the bolt in the air a couple of times to shake off the filth, and while rinsing it under the spray from a pipe, Yang Xiaoyou thought to himself.
"Fortunately, I was reminded just in time. Although the combat skills from my memories are quite proficient, I have never practiced any fighting techniques in reality. If I hadn't noticed this issue and got caught up in close combat with a corpse, it would have been tragic." Looking at his increasingly steady palm, Yang Xiaoyou's expression darkened slightly.
Originally, he believed that his overall qualities were comparable to those of a healthy adult, with agility slightly surpassing that. Under such circumstances, relying on those solid fighting skills should have increased his chances of survival in the upcoming actions. Coupled with his understanding of the situation, he thought the risks had been minimized.
Now it seemed that he could no longer rely on those 'solid fighting skills.' During his earlier tests, the clumsiness of his techniques was not merely due to his slightly inept nerd physique but rather because he had no real combat skills at all. His awkward attempts were simply mimicking what he had seen.
"It looks like I need to spend more time practicing these aspects in the future. But for now, I must first find that 'bodyguard' as quickly as possible."
After reloading the handcrafted crossbow and fitting a steel bolt into place, Yang Xiaoyou couldn't help but think wryly that if there were relatively safe locations within this city at this moment, aside from some sturdy shelters, there were only two mobile 'safe zones.'
One was beside Feng Lin, known as the 'Cold Wind Snow Princess' in the Mercenary World, and the other was with Luo Guohui, the 'Dark Night Reaper,' who had once been both a mentor and friend to him but stood on entirely different sides now.
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