Chapter 185 - 184: Squad Ambushed

'Su Qing relies mainly on strength, so her sword should be a bit heavier. Max out the weight...'

'Zhaozhao's attacks are ability-based, so the center of gravity doesn't matter as much. It needs to be smooth for slashing and flying—not too heavy...'

'Xu Qian's should be a moderate weight. It needs to be balanced for both slashing and thrusting...'

'As for my own... max it out, max it out. The small module can only add about ten kilograms anyway...'

He used the module to create a blueprint from the cut iron blanks. Then, employing the same method he'd used for the spear and shield, he slowly thickened the metal, shaping the blade's edge, tip, crossguard, and hilt before wrapping the handle in rubber and leather.

Finally, he adjusted the weight.

A short while later, after consuming twenty Scrap Metal, eight Blades, four Rubber, and four Leather, four single-edged longswords—largely identical in shape but with slight differences in detail—were stacked one by one beside Lin Fan.

He stood up, picked one of them up, and swung it through the air, creating a series of whooshing sounds. Only then did he nod in satisfaction.

'Not bad, not bad. I'll have to see if there are any leatherworkers among the survivors later. I'll need to have some scabbards made.'

He tested each of the swords. The feel was fine, but even though he had increased their weight to ten kilograms, they still felt incredibly light as he swung them. There was no strain on his arm; it was like holding a kitchen knife.

However, ten kilograms was the limit for what the small module could add. For a single-handed, single-edged sword, this was a weight an ordinary person couldn't even dream of wielding.

Besides Chu Zhaozhao, who could wield it with her ability, even Su Qing and Xu Qian would find it quite strenuous. After all, Lin Fan estimated that to use this longsword with agility and ease, one would need the constitution that came with around four hundred HP.

But Lin Fan had no intention of reducing the weight for them. Creating the blueprint was a one-time thing, and adding more weight later would just waste another module. It was better to get it right the first time.

In any case, as their HP increased, the swords would become easier to handle. For now, they could consider it physical training.

As for Wang Yuanhua's weapon, that was simpler. He thickened and rounded out the iron blank, formed a long handle, carved anti-slip grooves before wrapping it in leather, and shaped the axe head. He added a hammerhead to the back of the blade for balance and finished by adding a pry bar head to the end of the handle, so it could also be used for manual labor.

'Perfect!'

Lin Fan was growing more and more skilled at shaping things with the module. He clapped his hands, extremely satisfied with his creation.

Finally, he thickened the parts that needed thickening and added weight where it was needed.

Wang Yuanhua, as a Natural Awakened One, could only level up by eating crystals. Lin Fan needed to save the round crystals to use as Immortal Pills, and he needed the diamond-shaped ones for himself.

So, his leveling wouldn't be fast. Lin Fan based the weight on his current HP... or maybe a little bit higher, for the future.

He had said forty or fifty kilograms would be no problem, so Lin Fan added weight until it reached sixty kilograms. It would be good training for him. Besides, a weapon this heavy and powerful could smash a zombie to death even if swung blindly.

Anyway, Lin Fan had already done more than enough by making him a suitable weapon. If Wang Yuanhua wanted to level up, he could go grind for it himself.

After feeding all the materials in, a gleaming metal great axe appeared in Lin Fan's hands.

"Whoa!"

Lin Fan, who was used to the spear, found the great axe of over fifty kilograms a bit awkward at first, but it felt much better to swing than the ten-kilogram single-handed sword.

It was also far heavier for chopping and smashing than the spear.

He stood up, hefting the great axe in his hands.

He had assumed that any weight above twenty kilograms would require Rare Metal, but he didn't expect the axe to take a full fifty Scrap Metal, ultimately consuming only ten Rare Metal.

It seemed that whether it consumed Rare Metal or Scrap Metal was determined by the volume of the weapon itself.

Only when Scrap Metal had completely filled the volume would adding more weight require the more valuable Rare Metal to increase the density.

This was good news. It meant Lin Fan could save some materials on his own weapon, too.

He gripped the handle with both hands, lowered his center of gravity, and let loose a few powerful horizontal sweeps, which cut through the air with several dull WHOOSHES.

'Mass is might...'

If he hadn't been worried about whether anyone lived below and smashing through the top-floor ceiling, Lin Fan would have really liked to try a full-power chop to test the feel.

Last time, in the middle of the zombie horde, he'd felt he had to be careful with the spear, always afraid of breaking the shaft.

'Tsk, what a great weapon.'

He set the axe aside and picked up the last item he had prepared for himself: the car-door-like panel with a handle...

Before, when his strength was insufficient, he had to rely on the spear's ability to focus his power onto a single point for penetration and the range advantage of a long weapon.

But those hard days were over now. He was rich!

Lin Fan found that as his strength grew, even when using a spear, he increasingly preferred to smash and sweep with it. After all, for the current him, having a spearhead didn't make much of a difference; he could run an enemy through with a simple iron rod just as well.

So, he needed to make a weapon that was better suited for his current physique.

He'd discovered this problem during the last encounter with the Corrupted Giant Tree.

The spear was too brittle and too thin. Its damage against massive targets was very limited. This wasn't just true for the tree; it even felt unwieldy against a two-meter-tall, brawny monster like the Giant-Armed Zombie. ℴℴ𝘮

Therefore, Lin Fan's new weapon naturally had to be focused on chopping, supplemented by smashing. And if he ever ran into explosions or anything like that, it also had to be able to serve as cover.

It needed to be wide enough, thick enough, and heavy enough.

Lin Fan laid the "car door" flat in front of him.

In his eyes, the ugly steel plate was like a piece of uncut jade, waiting to be shaped by the module's blueprint.

He picked up the last blue emblem and pressed it onto the plate.

"Confirm use..."

...

"AHHH—!"

A piercing shriek rang in the ears of the three, who were just about to leave the room!

"Xu Qian! There!"

Chu Zhaozhao clapped both hands over her ears, her brow furrowed in pain. But she still forced her eyes open and directed her Flying Sword straight toward the wardrobe in the room!

From her angle, she could see that one of the wardrobe doors was open. A pale body was hanging halfway out, head down, its giant mouth wide open and filled with dense rows of sharp teeth. The piercing shriek was continuously erupting from within!

A Banshee Zombie!

The excruciating pain radiating from his inner ear made Xu Qian, who was now at the front of the group, unable to see clearly for a moment. The world before him was shaking and distorting.

But he vaguely heard Chu Zhaozhao shout something, and seeing the direction she was facing, he immediately understood. The zombie Brother Lin had mentioned—the one with an ability similar to his own—was there!

The open wardrobe door blocked his line of sight, but he trusted Chu Zhaozhao's judgment. He raised his spear and thrust it toward the wardrobe in the corner!

When the group had first entered the room and seen it covered in dried blood, alarm bells had gone off. But after searching the area and finding no trace of a Mutated Zombie, they had turned to leave.

Su Qing had been at the front, with Xu Qian at the back.

Just as they were about to exit, the Banshee Zombie had appeared from nowhere and attacked the unprepared group. As a result, Xu Qian, who was originally at the rear, had become the vanguard.

Fortunately, the group had already killed a good number of zombies, and their constitutions were much improved compared to when Lin Fan had first encountered a Banshee Zombie. The single sonic attack didn't knock them out completely.

However, Chu Zhaozhao's Flying Sword lost its aim; one stabbed into the wardrobe panel, and the other into the wall. Neither of them hit their mark.

And just as Xu Qian thrust his spear, a long, slender, pale arm, like that of a giant python, shot out from behind the wardrobe door. Five sharp bone claws swiped at his head and chest!

"Don't dodge!"

A faint voice slipped through the gaps in the piercing shriek and into his ears. He didn't know if someone had actually shouted or if it was his imagination, but he chose to trust that voice.

In that instant, as excruciating pain and fear overwhelmed his reason, he abandoned his own judgment and chose to trust his teammate.

He closed his eyes, ignoring the incoming claws, and clenched his jaw, thrusting toward the wardrobe door!

THUNK!

CLANG!

The spear pierced the wardrobe door, and the screaming stopped abruptly!

The expected agony never came. Forcing his eyes open against the intense pain in his ears, Xu Qian saw, through a world that was still spinning, the faint image of a figure holding a shield standing in front of him.

The bone claws had been deflected by the metal shield, and Su Qing's spear, like his own, had plunged straight into the wardrobe door!

Su Qing turned her head, looked at Xu Qian, and gave him a nod.

'This quiet boy had always seemed so timid and shrinking in her eyes, but at critical moments, he was always exceptionally obedient.'

Su Qing had been at the very front of the group and farthest away, so she had taken the least damage. She had rushed back in just a few steps, managing to block the attack for Xu Qian at the last possible second.

'What she hadn't expected was that Xu Qian really didn't dodge. Her shout had been instinctual; she didn't even know if he had heard it.'

'After all, the last time Lin Fan got hit by one, he was deaf for a day.'

'But it seemed he had heard her, and he had followed through.'

This improved her impression of him even more.

'After all, she always felt that Chu Zhaotian seemed more reliable than him; she just couldn't understand why Xu Qian was the one who had become an Awakened One.'

"Careful! It's not dead yet!"