Jīng Yuán stared at the broken bamboo pole in front of him, at a loss. He had thought too simply. He thought he could make a barely usable melee weapon by tying a cleaver to a bamboo pole, but he never expected this sun-bleached yellow bamboo pole to be so fragile.
He just wanted to shorten it a bit, and it cracked and broke apart. Apparently, skinny bamboo poles wouldn't work; he needed a solid wooden stick. If only this were the countryside, there would be farmland, and with farmland, there would be farming tools, so it wouldn't be so troublesome.
He could just find a hoe and sharpen the tip, then start hacking at the zombies' heads. Unfortunately, this was the city center. What city dweller would keep shovels and hoes at home for no reason?
An ordinary city household would have, at most, a cleaver, and it would be hard to find any other usable knives. He really wished he had a large butcher's knife or an axe for chopping wood. An axe…
right… a fire axe! Jīng Yuán remembered there was a fire hydrant in the hallway, and perhaps there was a fire axe inside.
The thought made him jump up excitedly. He held up the candle and walked out, moving the bedside cabinet that was pressing the door aside just enough to create a gap. He squeezed through sideways.
The fire hydrant and the elevator were on the same wall. The seal on the fire hydrant had long been torn off. When he pulled open the small red door, he discovered there was no fire axe inside, only a water pump and a fire hose.
Even the water pump had been smashed. The broken pipes were empty, not a drop of water to be seen. That made sense.
A fire axe was considered a controlled weapon, wasn't it? How could it be kept in a randomly accessible fire hydrant? Even if there was one, it was probably taken long ago.
People fleeing would take anything useful. An axe would be very precious and useful for city dwellers; who would leave it behind? Disappointed, Jīng Yuán closed the fire hydrant door and walked back into the room.
But as he walked, he suddenly stopped and turned back. This time, his gaze focused on the water pipes. Stretching down from the smashed water pump were sections of galvanized steel pipes, connected with yellowish-white flexible plastic.
Together, they formed the building's water supply system. Each section of pipe was about 1.5 meters long. Except for the thick pipe connected to the water pump, the rest of the pipes were about as thick as a sugarcane.
Wasn't this a good quality iron pipe! And it was hollow inside, perfect for inserting the cleaver's handle to secure it. This way, wouldn't he have a homemade big cleaver?
Wow, I'm so smart! Jīng Yuán grinned and hurried back into the room to get the rusty crowbar. He placed the candle on the floor and used brute force to insert the tip of the crowbar into the flexible plastic joint.
Using the lever principle, which even a primary school student would know, he found a fulcrum to pry the pipe outwards. The aging crowbar let out a groan of protest under the strain, rust powder falling off in flakes. Accompanied by the screech of bending metal, both the pipe and the crowbar began to deform.
Finally, through Jīng Yuán's relentless efforts, he managed to wrench out a section of pipe. The poor crowbar was bent at a 45-degree angle and was no longer usable. Jīng Yuán threw the crowbar, which had completed its glorious mission, into the fire hydrant.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Crowbar. Rest here peacefully.
You've worked hard. Miss Pipe and I will carry on your legacy." Jīng Yuán silently mourned for Mr.
Crowbar, with whom he had only spent half a day. Carrying the newly pried-off water pipe, he returned to the room. Xiao Bai excitedly sniffed around his feet.
Jīng Yuán stood the pipe upright on the floor. The 1.5-meter-long pipe reached his chest. Such a long galvanized steel pipe, if a sharp blade were attached to one end, it could be used as a spear or a saber, allowing him to fight zombies from a safe distance.
Jīng Yuán pondered whether to slot in the flat cleaver to use it as a saber or the sharp fruit knife to use it as a spear. To kill zombies, their heads had to be severed or their brain tissue destroyed. If he used the cleaver to chop at a zombie's neck, the blade would get dull after just a few chops.
But with a spear used for thrusting, its sharp tip could be inserted into the eye socket and stir the brain matter, causing minimal damage to the blade. After comparison, Jīng Yuán felt that a spear was far more practical than a saber. However, there was one prerequisite: he had to be accurate.
After all, he could only aim for the eyes. Even if he had the strength now to forcefully pierce a zombie's weak temple, the damage to the weapon would be too great. No help for it, he only had a barrel and no tip.
He planned to test his accuracy first. If he spent a lot of effort making a spear and couldn't use it, it would be a joke. He placed the candle on the coffee table and stood two meters away.
Xiao Bai crouched at his feet, panting and tilting his head to watch him. Jīng Yuán closed his eyes, raised his left index and middle fingers to his brow, striking a pose. Men, who doesn't have a heroic dream?
Anyway, the only audience was Xiao Bai, so being a bit chuunibyo and shameful wouldn't be seen by anyone. One could be their truest self when alone. He imagined himself as Zhao Zilong of Changshan, wielding a silver-white spear, his armor and cape fluttering in the wind behind him.
"I am Zhao Zilong of Changshan!" "Vermin, die!" He shouted, and his spear shot out like a dragon!
The water pipe vibrated, humming loudly! This thrust produced a sonic wave; before the spear arrived, the flame was extinguished. A wisp of white smoke drifted from the other end of the pipe.
The candle on the coffee table remained still, its scorched wick now at the tip of the pipe. Fast, accurate, ruthless! Even Jīng Yuán was surprised by his current physical condition.
Holy cow, this is too fierce... If he had this strength and went to the Three Kingdoms period, he would at least be one of the Five Tiger Generals, maybe even able to contend with Lü Bu and Dian Wei. "I was born in the wrong era..."
Jīng Yuán was too engrossed in the role. "Woof!" Xiao Bai barked, perhaps because the light suddenly disappeared.
"Don't worry, I'll relight it soon." Jīng Yuán fumbled for his lighter. The lighter's flame illuminated the snapped wick.
The break was clean, as if cut by a knife. Amazing, this could be on a variety show's talent segment. With this skill, using a spear would definitely work.
After relighting the candle, he enthusiastically fetched the slender fruit knife. The wooden handle was a bit too large for the pipe's opening, so he used the cleaver to sharpen the handle and forcefully inserted it. To ensure the "spearhead" wouldn't fall off during combat, he pulled out a few long nails from the bedroom's bed frame.
Using a brick as a hammer, he hammered the nails into the joint between the pipe and the handle. Finally, he secured it tightly with hemp rope. This made it very sturdy.
Relying on his craftsmanship and intelligence, he had created his own spear. "Haha!" Jīng Yuán laughed a few times, waving the spear around triumphantly.
It was as if his childhood dream had come true; he had truly become a peerless hero.