The two carried some heavy objects downstairs and breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the chairs in the stairwell were intact.
Fortunately, these zombies had not fully mutated into fungi yet, nor had they climbed up out of curiosity.
The two worked together to block the stairwells of both buildings with tables and cabinets, feeling a great weight lifted from their minds.
"It seems time is short; we can't leisurely eat hot pot anymore. Let's finish quickly, practice with our respective tools, and aim to build up some combat effectiveness within three days."
Wu Tian nodded in agreement. "Indeed. We need to hurry. The longer we delay, the more it disadvantages us. The zombies haven't mutated significantly yet, so we need to improve our coordination and act quickly."
After speaking, they wasted no more words and went home to get what they needed. Lin Yuan had already taken his axe upstairs, but he felt he needed a shield or something similar. He could now lift the axe with one hand and swing it, so his free hand needed a defensive item.
He searched his home thoroughly but found nothing suitable. In the end, he grabbed a roll of electrical wire and a drill bit for drilling holes. He went upstairs and planned to modify a shield himself using a wooden board.
Back on the rooftop, Wu Tian had already taken out her recurve bow and was eating slowly and deliberately. Without energy, how could one train? One had to eat their fill before slimming down, right?
Lin Yuan said nothing and joined her. His injuries were completely healed, and his recovery speed was astonishing. Even his oral mucosa had regrown a layer of healthy tissue. Although the surface was still damaged, there was no major problem. Naturally, his energy consumption was also terrifyingly fast.
The two spots on Wu Tian's body that Lin Yuan had hit were also almost healed. As expected, recovery was faster during rest.
Dinner was finished quickly. Lin Yuan rejected Wu Mengyao's request to go unlock doors alone, telling her to take a small night light and read her books.
Even though the apocalypse had arrived, learning could not be neglected.
These were two solar-powered night lights found in a house. They were charging during the day, so one was placed on each side.
Under the bright moonlight and the glow of the night lights, Lin Yuan diligently studied the use of axes.
One of the chapters was specifically dedicated to the use of a single-handed axe.
Although the book described a small axe weighing a few catties, not Lin Yuan's felling axe weighing over ten catties, the author had not anticipated that human strength could be enhanced by fungal spores.
Memorizing the swinging motions and key points of the axe described in the material, Lin Yuan began to practice.
At first, the axe swung quite smoothly, but as he continued, Lin Yuan noticed something was wrong. As his strength waned, the axe became disobedient, swinging awkwardly and looking like a juggling act.
Helpless, Lin Yuan had to focus on practicing with both hands. A single axe was a relatively simple and easy-to-learn cold weapon, involving basic downward chops, diagonal chops, horizontal chops, throwing axes, and parries, from which more refined techniques could be derived.
Using both hands, Lin Yuan could perform all the moves described in the material. Therefore, he first practiced the most basic chopping and accuracy several times. Once he mastered this, he could move on to other techniques; otherwise, he might chop himself while swinging.
As for practice equipment, it was naturally various books scavenged from elsewhere. Since chopping wood made some noise, Lin Yuan selected books that were visually unappealing or useless for practice, such as English books and various story magazines.
Of course, he hadn't completely given up on English; he kept a copy of the latest Oxford English-Chinese Dictionary.
The sound of the axe falling echoed continuously. The books placed on a wooden stump stool were chopped into pieces, and Lin Yuan's proficiency steadily increased.
On the other side, Wu Tian, under the night light, was much quieter. She was meticulously crafting arrowheads, with piles of chopped pots and pans beside her. The stainless steel pieces of suitable thickness were directly sharpened, while thinner stainless steel fragments were bonded together in twos or threes, tied with cotton thread and copper wire, and then sharpened. This was a painstaking process that couldn't be rushed, as power had to be ensured.
Time flowed by as the moon shifted.
Lin Yuan checked the time: 11:02 PM. It was quite late.
He put down his axe and rubbed his sore muscles. "Old Wu, aren't you going to rest? You've been sharpening for a long time."
"It's fine, I'm not tired. I still need to practice my feel for it, and the arrows aren't finished yet. Can you lend me your planer later? That thing is quite rare, not a common household tool."
"Alright, you can take it if you need it. It's over by the stack of tables and chairs. I'm going to reply to some messages; the internet is still relatively stable now."
The power outage only affected his part of the city. At night, he could still see the streetlights in the city on the other side of the moat. He wasn't sure how much reserve coal the county's thermal power plant had left, but once it was all burned, the signal would truly be gone.
"Mm, while you have this time, chat more with your parents."
Wu Tian didn't waste any more words, took the planer, a handsaw, and a pile of scraps, and sat down again under the night light.
All the major apps were completely silent, but Lin Yuan hadn't uninstalled them, in case there was suddenly some activity.
He opened QQ chat. Lin Shouyi had sent a few messages asking him to call, as their phone signal was getting worse.
"...Ring, ring, hello, son, why are you calling at this hour? Are you safe over there? The broadcast today said not to be active at night." The call connected, and Lin Shouyi's hushed voice came from the other end.
"No, Dad, I'm squatting in a corner of the rooftop. This little bit of noise won't carry down. How are things over there?" Lin Yuan also tried to speak as quietly as possible.
"Your uncle and I walked quite far today, almost to the village below our cliff. The situation isn't good. Their village seemed to be having a feast, with many people. We didn't go down. We also checked near the town. We can't go out past the reservoir; the roads are full of those things. However, the water station has stopped, and we're drinking well water now." On the other end of the phone, Lin Yuan called out to his uncle, then went downstairs. His wife, his grandniece, and two children were all sleeping in the basement.
This basement hadn't been used in a long time, and they had just cleaned it out. Fortunately, it was a brick structure with a cement floor, so there were no rats.
"Wait a moment, I'll go call your mother up." He then pulled a rope on the wall, which was connected to the basement and had a bell tied to it. They had agreed that two rings meant a normal call to fetch someone, while three or more rings indicated an emergency situation requiring them to hide.
In the basement, three candles were lit, making it somewhat bright. The air was surprisingly circulating well because Lin Shouyi had modified the basement door and opened a passage in an unused room to promote air circulation. He had also cleared the drainage system, so the air wasn't stuffy.
When the bell rang, Wang Yixin immediately became alert and quickly shielded the children. Hearing only two rings, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Children, you play here by yourselves for a while. Your Uncle Lin is calling me up for something."
"Mm-hmm," the children nodded obediently, very sensible. The experiences of the past two days had been too brutal for them.
"What's going on? Xiao Yuan called?" Wang Yixin asked as she pushed open the basement door.
"Mm, you talk to him."
After Wang Yixin took the phone and confirmed it was her son, she immediately beamed. "Oh, son, what are you doing? Have you eaten?"
"Yes, yes, I just finished training..."
"..."
"Hey, hey, okay Mom, I'll definitely be careful. What are you saying? I can't beat her, I was even beaten black and blue today."
"You, child, don't get angry, okay? She's kindly helping you increase your strength, don't be ungrateful. Alright, it's getting late. Be careful yourself, and don't act impulsively. Consider things calmly..."
After listening to his mother say a few more things, Lin Yuan hung up the phone. He glanced over and saw Wu Tian still planing wood, ignoring him.
He quickly wiped away the tears he couldn't control and took a few deep breaths to calm his emotions.
"Lin Yuan, did you cry again? You crybaby." Wu Tian noticed Lin Yuan's unusual behavior and taunted him.
"Nonsense, I didn't. There's a strong wind on the rooftop, and brick dust got into my eyes!"
Wiping away his tears, Lin Yuan looked up at the full moon in the sky.
Life must go on. Everyone must strive to live!