Chapter Fourteen: Then Let's Take a Break

Nan Hou Sheng glanced at Qi Xi out of the corner of his eye and was startled—Buddha above, what was this guy doing? Qi Xi was squatting on the ground, completely unbothered by the filth, rummaging through the corpse of the zombie as if searching for something.

“Brother Qi, what are you doing?” Nan Hou Sheng couldn’t help but ask.

The three women present all turned their gaze toward him, their scalps tingling. Qi Xi was actually sifting through a zombie’s body without any disgust—his courage was truly remarkable. The corpse was repulsive, saturated with a virus capable of infecting anyone who touched it, yet this man dared to search it for items, leaving everyone speechless, fearful, and oddly admiring.

Qi Xi did not answer Nan Hou Sheng’s question. He was too lazy to do so, feeling that his actions were self-explanatory.

“Brother Qi?” Receiving no response, Nan Hou Sheng awkwardly pressed on.

“Can you stop pestering me?” Qi Xi shot an annoyed glance at this bothersome, foolish fellow. He had finally found what he was looking for. It turned out that the police officer didn’t keep his belongings in his pockets, but rather strapped them to his multifunctional belt. “You should be able to tell what I’m doing.”

Qi Xi decisively took out a flashlight, switched it on, and illuminated the zombie’s body as he spoke. “I’m obviously looking for something. It’s plain as day what I’m doing; why ask? Even if you don’t know exactly what, just use your brain and you’ll figure it out. Yet you insist on asking—how ignorant.”

Nan Hou Sheng was left speechless by Qi Xi’s barrage of words. After a pause, he said, “I just didn’t expect you to be so bold.”

“Heh heh heh...” Qi Xi let out a series of chilling, strange laughs, then continued in a completely different tone, “It’s not a question of courage. If you don’t search the zombie’s body, how else will you open the safe and find anything?”

With that, he ignored the chatterbox and focused on searching for what he needed. The police officer’s gear was all useful.

The multifunctional belt held a police baton, handcuffs, pepper spray, a tactical flashlight, a police-issued knife, a water bottle, a first aid kit, a radio, and a revolver—nine items in total. This was the standard equipment for police in the Great Celestial Empire.

The handcuffs were rather useless, but the baton was decent. The tactical flashlight could double as a club, also handy. The best, though, were the police-issued knife and the handgun.

He quickly used his system to analyze and quantify them, revealing clear differences in their ratings. Though the system’s notes were often frustrating, they did provide some insight.

[Name: Police-Issued Knife]
[Category: Equipment]
[Quality: Ordinary]
[Attributes: None]
[Attack Power: Decent]
[Notes: A very sharp knife, good equipment. A bit short, but that’s reasonable—it’s a dagger, not a long blade.]

Finally, the notes seemed normal. Qi Xi examined them, appreciating the sharpness of the knife. The adventurous traveler quickly discarded his old hatchet.

Turning to the handgun, the system’s analysis was as follows:

[Name: Handgun]
[Category: Equipment]
[Quality: Ordinary]
[Attributes: None]
[Attack Power: Not bad]
[Notes: Type 92, 9mm police revolver. Oh! Using it feels like a Hollywood cowboy—so cool! How to use it? Idiot, don’t forget to load bullets and disengage the safety. This isn’t a movie; the recoil is real, though not too strong. It’s made in the Celestial Empire, trustworthy! What? You say it’s a knockoff? Bah, you five-cent troll, courting death!]

Ignoring the rambling notes, Qi Xi considered the attack power ratings: “decent” for the knife and “not bad” for the handgun. Was there a difference? Which was stronger? Surely the handgun should be far superior to the knife!

No, wait. In Qi Xi’s hands, the handgun’s power seemed only “not bad,” not even as good as the knife’s “decent.” There were two reasons: First, police firearms, as everyone knew, were less lethal than military ones. Military weapons were designed to kill, while police arms were intended for apprehending suspects, so their power was reduced. Second, the Type 92 only held six bullets—too few when facing hordes of zombies.

Still, it was a handgun, a product of human civilization, a symbol of progress over cold weapons. Even aside from its power, it could intimidate far more than a knife.

Everyone watched Qi Xi handle the handgun with envy, overestimating its effectiveness. Factors like aim, recoil, and ammo were all critical—the weapon was not as formidable as they imagined.

“There are probably other police officers turned into zombies in this station. Soon enough, you’ll get your own gear.” Sensing the group’s longing, Qi Xi spoke calmly.

His words startled everyone. Aside from Watermelon, the others wondered if Qi Xi could read minds—what a frightening man.

Qi Xi tore the multifunctional belt from the zombie, strapped it to himself, then removed the vest and gloves as well.

[Name: Stab-Resistant Vest]
[Category: Equipment]
[Quality: Ordinary]
[Attributes: None]
[Defense Power: Ordinary]
[Notes: This is your life insurance. Yes, it should be.]

With the vest’s protection, his defense was no longer pitiably low.

[Name: Cut-Resistant Gloves]
[Category: Equipment]
[Quality: Ordinary]
[Attributes: None]
[Defense Power: Ordinary]
[Notes: Perfectly protect your hands.]

The notes were now slick rather than strange—almost unsettling, like a villain suddenly doing good deeds.

But that was not the main point.

Counting all the police gear except for the uniform, there were actually thirteen items: [Stab-Resistant Vest], [Police Baton], [Handcuffs], [Pepper Spray], [Tactical Flashlight], [Police-Issued Knife], [Water Bottle], [First Aid Kit], [Multifunctional Belt], [Cut-Resistant Gloves], [Radio], [Police Gear Bag], [Handgun].

Qi Xi was now fully armed, his abilities significantly enhanced, speeding up the search of the station.

“Over there,” Watermelon pointed to a corridor. With memories from his past life, he recalled everything now that he was living it again. With his guidance, their search became far more efficient.

Once inside, Qi Xi immediately spotted zombies and dispatched them with ease.

“Hurry up and strip the gear from the zombies. Do I have to do everything for you?” Qi Xi frowned at the reluctant group. Had these people all been pampered? Did the stench and filth of the zombies really deter them from taking the gear?

“Move faster; we still need to hit the pharmacy,” Qi Xi said, seeing Nan Hou Sheng dragging his feet.

Nan Hou Sheng gritted his teeth, unbuckled the belt, removed the vest and gloves, and donned them, enduring the disgust.

Soon, everyone was fully equipped, and the zombies in the station were all cleared out.

“Next, we need to discuss how we’re going to escape,” Qi Xi said to the group.

“Can we rest for a while?” Nan Hou Sheng asked, wiping sweat from his brow—he was clearly exhausted.

After a fierce battle and a thorough search, fatigue was inevitable.

Qi Xi glanced at the three women; they too looked tired, even Li Fei Dao showed signs of weariness. Qi Xi, who had planned to search the pharmacy, reluctantly abandoned the idea.

“Let’s rest for now,” Qi Xi nodded, looking at the clock on the wall—seven o’clock. “Since we’re resting, let’s do it properly. Eat something to restore our strength, and we’ll move out at midnight.”

At these words, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.