The pickup truck continued down the desolate streets, the low growl of its engine particularly clear in the silence. They occasionally made brief stops in front of potentially valuable shops along the road. Each exit from the vehicle felt like a race against the clock—scavenging supplies as quickly as possible while remaining vigilant against the shambling figures drawn by the noise.

  As the truck ventured deeper into the other side of town, the number of zombies grew disturbingly. Streets that were once relatively empty were now dotted with swaying infected. Some intersections were even clogged with a dozen or more, awkwardly blocking the path and forcing the pickup to navigate carefully around them.

  "This isn't sustainable," Alice said, her voice tinged with worry as she gazed at the increasingly dense zombie horde outside the window. "We can't just keep driving around aimlessly. We need to find a safe place to settle down."

  Just then, Boyu's eyes were drawn to a conspicuous building on the edge of town. It was a sizable supermarket with a large, slightly faded hammer logo hanging above the entrance.

  "Hey, look over there!" Boyu pointed excitedly. "That hammer logo! If I remember correctly, this should be a 'Giant Hammer Hardware' chain supermarket! It's bound to have the tools and materials we need, and maybe even a place for us to catch our breath."

  "Front entrance is blocked," Ka stated calmly, as always. She gestured succinctly towards the main entrance, where a large, dark mass of zombies had indeed gathered.

  Boyu nodded in agreement with Ka's assessment. He skillfully turned the steering wheel, driving the pickup around to the back of the supermarket building. As expected, the employee entrance and loading dock area had far fewer zombies. They parked the truck in a relatively hidden corner, turned off the engine, held their breath, and carefully exited the vehicle.

  The four quickly fell into a practiced division of labor. Jakob and Boyu were responsible for creating a temporary defensive line using the surrounding environment to secure the area. Jakob's 20kg standard barbell rod had been lost in the previous chaos; now he wielded a slightly lighter 11kg training rod. After a few swings, however, he found this weight better suited his flexible power application. "Lighter is better, more handy!" he muttered. Together, they used several relatively intact abandoned cars in the parking lot as mobile barriers—smashing the windows, getting inside to release the handbrakes, and then pushing the heavy vehicles towards the key access points. Fortunately, this rear area had relatively enclosed terrain, with only three main vehicle passages surrounded by high concrete walls. After blocking most of these passages with the wrecked cars, only a few stray zombies could squeeze through the narrow gaps, effectively keeping the vast majority outside.

  Meanwhile, Ka and Alice took charge of clearing the zombies near the employee entrance. "Same old routine?" Ka looked at Alice. "Uh-huh!" Alice gave an OK sign. Ka stood guard at the employee entrance, tapping the metal doorframe with the end of her barbell rod, creating a monotonous, continuous sound to attract attention from inside. Soon, a swaying figure appeared at the doorway. Without hesitation, Ka stepped aside, swinging the long rod at a sharp angle, accurately striking the zombie's neck or head and felling it cleanly. After dispatching several lured-out zombies in quick succession, the passage temporarily fell silent.

  "Alice," Ka said succinctly.

  "Leave it to me!" Alice smiled sweetly and skipped lightly to the employee entrance. She didn't venture deep inside, merely peeking in and rhythmically tapping the wall with a small hammer she'd picked up, making a crisp "clack-clack" sound. Simultaneously, she called out in her clear voice, "Anyone home? Collecting scrap—!" using this unique method to attract the 'residents' within. Whenever a zombie was drawn out by the sound, Alice would immediately turn and retreat, leading it to the waiting Ka, who swiftly finished it off. After clearing one, Alice would return to the entrance and repeat the 'fishing' operation. Their coordination was incredibly smooth, clearly honed from previous collaborations; a glance or a simple word was enough to communicate tactics.

  After several rounds of efficient luring and killing, the scattered zombies inside the employee passage and the rear parking lot were completely eliminated. Only then did the four cautiously enter the employee area. Their first action was to work together to close the heavy fire door connecting to the main supermarket shopping area, quickly reinforcing it by wedging several heavy metal shelves against it, ensuring that the potentially large number of zombies in the main area couldn't break through.

  "Phew... it should be safe here for now." Boyu let out a long breath, surveying the relatively tidy employee breakroom. He collapsed onto a seemingly clean sofa. "Finally, a chance to rest."

  Ka unceremoniously claimed the adjacent long sofa, even casually propping up her striking long legs. She pulled out a large bag of chips from her backpack, munching away with satisfying crunches, and unscrewed a bottle of drink, gulping down several large mouthfuls, displaying a rare moment of relaxation. Alice snuggled up beside her, cheerfully grabbing a few chips and popping them into her mouth.

  "Once we've recovered a bit, we can start making some decent weapons," Boyu said, looking at the somewhat crude barbell rods in Jakob's and Ka's hands. Both nodded in agreement. While the iron bars were sturdy enough and packed a punch when swung, they were too heavy and clumsy, tiring to wield and limiting technique.

  After a short rest to regain some stamina, they got up and began carefully inspecting the supermarket's rear area. As Boyu had expected, this large hardware store was indeed connected to a sizable warehouse, filled with various building materials, metal pipes, tool parts, and more, all sorted into categories. Because it was relatively secluded and much of the stock didn't look like immediately usable supplies, it seemed to have been overlooked by previous survivors.

  Boyu silently memorized the types and approximate locations of valuable materials in the warehouse. "Good, plenty of materials here. If needed, we can use this as a temporary supply point and workshop later."

  "Right, let's bring our baby in first. I don't feel safe leaving it outside," Jakob said, pointing to the pickup truck outside. So, they worked together again to pull the warehouse's rolling cargo door up just enough for the vehicle to pass through. Jakob hopped in and carefully drove the pickup inside.

  "Wait!" Boyu suddenly shouted just as they were about to close the door. His gaze fell on the wreckage of a burnt-out truck in the corner of the parking lot. "Jakob, hand me that chain!" Following his gaze, Ka was the first to rummage through the pickup bed, pulling out a heavy tow chain and handing it to Boyu. Seeing it was Ka who handed it over, Boyu's cheeks seemed to flush slightly. He avoided her gaze somewhat unnaturally as he took the chain, murmuring, "Th-thanks."

  Ka watched with interest as Boyu skillfully wrapped one end of the chain around a structural component of the truck wreckage and securely fastened the other end to the pickup's tow hook. "What are you planning?" she asked curiously.

  "You'll see in a second." Boyu gave a mysterious smile and gestured to Jakob in the driver's seat. "Jakob, drive forward slowly, put some muscle into it!"

  As the pickup truck slowly started moving, the chain instantly tightened, emitting a harsh creaking sound. Then, a stack of thick, oil-stained steel plates was forcefully dragged out from under the truck's chassis! It turned out to be the truck's leaf springs, composed of multiple layers of resilient steel plates. As the stack was pulled away, one side of the burnt truck's suspension lost its support and collapsed with a loud clang.

  The pickup truck dragged the heavy stack of leaf springs into the warehouse, and the group quickly lowered and locked the cargo door from the inside. Boyu looked at this unexpected bounty—several high-strength spring steel plates of considerable length and thickness—and nodded with satisfaction. This was excellent material for making melee weapons.

  Alice and Jakob also gathered around Ka, curiously examining the pile of dark steel plates.

  "Are these... truck springs?" Alice tilted her head, asking.

  "Exactly. High-carbon spring steel. Great material for making knives and swords," Boyu explained. "This is the foundation for our new weapons."

  "Wow! You're going to make weapons yourself?" Alice's eyes lit up, her voice filled with excitement and curiosity.

  "Yep. In this game, getting good weapons basically means making them yourself. The system provides very few finished products, and their stats are usually mediocre. Don't even think about zombies dropping loot." Boyu shrugged. "We need to go to the hardware store section to gather some necessary tools and auxiliary materials for some processing." He pointed towards the internal passage door leading to the main supermarket shopping area.

  "Yes, sir, my Chief Artisan!" Jakob gave a playful salute, then turned to Ka and Alice with an exaggerated 'after you' gesture. "Ladies, it's shopping time, completely free!"

  "Yay! Shopping spree!" Alice was immediately amused, gleefully running towards the passage door first. Her cheerful demeanor, as if genuinely heading to a grand shopping event, seemed utterly out of place amidst the perilous ruins of the apocalypse.

  Boyu quickly organized a mental checklist of the required tools and materials, then led the team cautiously through the internal passage door into the hardware store area. Jakob and Ka remained vigilant, walking ahead, ready to clear any stray zombies. Alice pushed a shopping cart like a happy elf, weaving nimbly between the obstacle-strewn and grimy shelves. Boyu, like an experienced engineer, carefully searched the aisles, selecting various sizes of pipes, fasteners, grinding wheels, files, welding rods, and some chemical reagents, occasionally stopping to meticulously check if an item's quality or specifications met his requirements.

  During the search, Boyu's attention was caught by a dust-covered box beside a shelf—it was a portable diesel generator that looked repairable. It seemed to have been abandoned by previous scavengers who thought it was broken, too heavy, or didn't know how to use it. "Jakob, give me a hand, move this thing onto another empty cart," Boyu called out.

  "No problem!" Jakob came over and easily lifted the heavy generator, placing it steadily into the shopping cart. Boyu also grabbed some potentially useful engine repair parts and tools from a nearby shelf, and even found a brand-new, packaged portable charcoal barbecue grill, pushing it all back to the employee area.

  Returning to the relative safety of the employee area, they once again reinforced the barricaded door with more shelves and heavy objects to ensure it was secure. Then, Boyu almost impatiently began preparations for weapon crafting.

  Boyu immediately dove into intense preparation work upon returning, while the others rested nearby, watching him bustle about with curiosity and anticipation. He deftly unpacked various new tools, skillfully connected a metal tube and a small compressed gas cylinder, attached a nozzle, and assembled a simple oxy-fuel cutting torch. "Too bad there's no acetylene, have to make do with this portable gas cylinder. The temperature's lower, but it should be enough to cut thin steel plates," he muttered to himself. Lighting it with a lighter and adjusting the cylinder valve to control the fuel and air mixture, the torch emitted a long, sharp, blue-white high-temperature flame with a steady "whoosh."

  The stack of truck leaf springs they had dragged in was tightly bound by several sturdy steel bands. Boyu put on safety goggles and carefully used the torch's high heat to burn through the steel bands one by one, releasing a pungent smell of oxidized metal. Once the bands broke, a stack of steel plates of varying thickness and curvature scattered apart. He turned off the flame, then opened a box of industrial markers and distributed them.

  "Alright, we have the material. Now, everyone can design the weapon they want based on their own ideas." He selected a moderately thick, shorter spring from the scattered pile and handed it to Jakob. "Jakob, you draw the axe shape you want on this. Make it as big as possible, don't waste material."

  Meanwhile, Boyu took out several old car batteries he had collected earlier, connected them in parallel with thick wires to a simple switch and two huge copper clamps, seemingly assembling a high-power resistance heating device. "No electric welder, have to make do with this crude method for heating. Hope the power is sufficient."

  "Finished drawing?" Boyu looked up at Jakob, who was sketching on the steel plate.

  "Done! Check out my 'Skull Crusher'!" Jakob proudly handed over the steel plate. Drawn on it with a marker was the outline of a Viking-style battle axe, its lines rough and full of power.

  Boyu took the plate, put on thick work gloves, and used two large insulated pliers to grip the part of the plate needing heat. He carefully placed it between the two giant copper clamps connected to the battery bank. Pressing the switch, there was a soft "zap" sound as dazzling sparks erupted at the contact points. In just a few seconds, the clamped section of the steel plate rapidly heated to a glowing red, visible to the naked eye! "It works!" Boyu rejoiced internally. He quickly cut the power and moved the red-hot steel plate to a thick metal block serving as a makeshift anvil nearby.

  "Jakob, quick! Hammer it flat while it's hot!" Boyu shouted.

  Jakob, already waiting with a large sledgehammer, immediately swung down hard! "CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!" The heavy hammer blows echoed in the warehouse. The high-temperature spring steel became somewhat malleable, gradually deforming under Jakob's forceful strikes. The two worked together seamlessly; Boyu used pliers to hold and turn the plate, while Jakob swung the hammer. Soon, the originally curved leaf spring was hammered mostly flat. Boyu secured it firmly in a large bench vise. The previously drawn axe outline was still clearly visible on the flattened steel plate.

  Boyu put on his safety goggles again and picked up the cutting torch, carefully starting to cut along the drawn outline. The slightly cooled steel plate, upon contact with the high-temperature flame, rapidly melted, oxidized, and sputtered at the edges. Droplets of molten iron and oxides dripped onto the floor, quickly cooling into irregular black or reddish-brown pellets. The cutting process required immense patience and a steady hand. Boyu concentrated fully, striving to keep the cutting edge as smooth as possible. Once the cutting was complete, the steel plate had taken the rough shape of a battle axe.

  Next, Boyu opened another tool package, took out a brand-new angle grinder, fitted it with a coarse grinding wheel, and habitually plugged the power cord into the wall socket before pressing the switch—the grinder didn't move. "Tsk, forgot again..." He slapped his forehead in annoyance, realizing the municipal power grid was surely down in this apocalypse.

  "Jakob, lend a hand, bring the generator over." The two worked together to lift the heavy diesel generator off the cart and place it beside the workbench.

  Boyu opened the casing for a simple inspection, quickly identified several obviously damaged or aged parts, replaced them with spares found earlier in the hardware store, and reassembled it. He found a clean oil drum, carefully siphoned some diesel from the pickup truck's tank, and poured it into the generator's fuel tank. "Hope this thing still works," he prayed while forcefully pulling the starter cord. After a few strenuous gasps, the generator suddenly roared to life with a rough rumble similar to an old tractor! Although noisy, the stable power supply was a relief to Boyu. The generator's roar also attracted the curious gazes of Ka and Alice.

  Boyu first carefully drew a centerline on the axe blade area with a marker as a grinding reference. Then he connected the angle grinder's power cord to the generator's output socket. Pressing the switch, the angle grinder immediately emitted a piercing shriek and spun up to high speed. He began grinding the roughly shaped axe head, demonstrating for Jakob who was watching nearby: "Look, like this, follow the outline we drew, grind off the burrs and excess material left from cutting. Be careful, wear your goggles. Also, when grinding the edge, be careful, grind both sides symmetrically, try not to grind past this centerline, or the edge will be crooked." As the grinding wheel contacted the steel plate, dazzling sparks flew, and the air filled with the acrid smell of metal dust.

  "Here, you try. Take it slow, no rush." Boyu handed the humming angle grinder to Jakob. The latter took it, excited yet slightly nervous, put on his goggles, and began imitating Boyu, carefully grinding his own weapon.

  At this point, Boyu walked over to Ka and Alice. Alice had already drawn her weapon design on a smaller steel plate—a sleek, beautifully shaped dagger with an elegant curve. The guard and handle design were also quite artistic, with a distinct Elvish style. "Wow, Alice, your drawing is really nice!" Boyu couldn't help but whisper his admiration. Ka, on the other hand, had chosen the longest, widest leaf spring and drawn an extremely simple, straight, and slender long sword outline along its edge, devoid of any unnecessary decoration, exuding a sense of practical sharpness.

  "This one of yours... isn't it a bit too long? It'll be very difficult to process, and prone to warping during heat treatment." Boyu looked at Ka's design, which was nearly over a meter long, and couldn't help but mutter inwardly. Facing Ka, his heart skipped a beat again. He tried to keep his tone calm and professional.

  "It's fine," Ka replied faintly, her tone carrying an unquestionable confidence. She took the heavy, long steel plate, walked over to another empty workbench, and looked at the large bench vise and the electric heating device Boyu had assembled.

  "Heat with this?" She looked up at Boyu, her clear eyes questioning.

  Boyu snapped back to reality and quickly went over, explaining in detail how to safely use the high-power battery bank for localized heating. "Be careful, always use insulated pliers to grip it tightly, and the contact time shouldn't be too long. As soon as you see the steel turn cherry red, remove it immediately, otherwise it can easily overheat or even melt." Ka nodded, indicating she understood. Mimicking Boyu's earlier actions, she put on thick gloves, used two large insulated pliers to grip the section of the long steel plate needing flattening, and, following Boyu's instructions, carefully and accurately moved it back and forth between the electrodes. After a few seconds, the corresponding section of the plate was evenly heated to a glowing red. Then, she also picked up a large hammer and began forcefully hammering the plate flat. Due to the plate's length, she needed immense patience and stamina, repeating the heating and forging process section by section. But her movements were precise and powerful, showing no sign of weakness.

  Meanwhile, Jakob had finished the initial grinding of his axe head and was working on finer refinements. Boyu went over to inspect, nodded with satisfaction, then removed Jakob's axe head from the vise and securely fastened Ka's mostly flattened long steel plate in its place. He took a deep breath, picked up the cutting torch, and began cutting along the outline Ka had drawn. Perhaps because this weapon was for Ka, Boyu cut with exceptional care and precision, striving for smooth lines and a single, continuous cut. After finishing his axe grinding, Jakob also proactively went to help Alice, heating and flattening the steel plate with her dagger outline.

  Once the cutting was done, Boyu picked up the angle grinder again and demonstrated to Ka how to grind the blade body and create the edge. "Like this, first use a coarse wheel to grind the rough bevel, then switch to a finer wheel..." Ka listened quietly, quickly grasping the technique. She took the angle grinder and began working on her long sword herself, meticulously grinding. Her movements were focused and steady, as if she were carving a piece of art rather than grinding a weapon.

  Afterward, Boyu also selected a suitable steel plate for himself, drawing a simple, practical spearhead shape, specifically emphasizing piercing capability and overall structural strength in the design.

  Over the next period, the four worked together, using the available crude tools to sequentially create the rough forms of all the weapons. Looking at the semi-finished products lying on the workbench—axe head, long sword, dagger, spearhead, still gleaming with a cold metallic luster—Boyu wiped the sweat from his forehead and began the final, most crucial process.

  "Alright, shaping is complete. Next is the critical step that determines the weapon's performance—heat treatment." Boyu explained to the others, "Simply put, by precisely controlling the heating and cooling process, we change the steel's internal microstructure, making the edge extremely hard and sharp, while keeping the body tough enough so it doesn't easily chip or break during use. This involves two main steps: quenching and tempering."

  Boyu modified the portable barbecue grill, reinforcing its walls with firebricks and mud to withstand higher temperatures, turning it into a temporary heat treatment furnace. He placed charcoal inside, lit it, and used power from the generator to connect a simple blower device (modified from a small fan) for forced air, increasing the combustion temperature. Once the furnace temperature stabilized, he carefully placed the edges of all the weapons into the furnace to heat evenly, closely observing the color change until they reached a uniform, bright cherry red (around 800-850 degrees Celsius).

  "First, normalizing treatment." Boyu explained, carefully removing the red-hot weapons with wire or long tongs and hanging them on a nearby shelf to cool naturally in the air until black. This process helps refine the steel's internal grain structure, improving its toughness.

  After normalizing, he placed the weapon edges back into the furnace, reheating them to the precise temperature required for quenching (usually slightly lower than the normalizing temperature). "Quenching temperature and timing are crucial; they directly determine the final hardness." Boyu stared intently at the weapons in the furnace. Once the color reached the requirement, he decisively removed them and quickly, smoothly immersed them in a large bucket of waste engine oil prepared nearby (oil quenching is gentler than water quenching and less likely to cause cracking). "Tsssss—!" A violent sizzling sound erupted, accompanied by a thick plume of oil smoke, as the incandescent steel rapidly cooled in the oil. Ka's long sword, being the largest, required particular skill and patience for uniform heating and quenching to avoid warping or cracking. But under Boyu's precise guidance and Ka's own steady hand, everything went quite smoothly.

  After quenching, the weapon edges achieved extremely high hardness but also became brittle like glass, potentially breaking with a light tap. "Can't use them yet, too brittle. We need to temper them to reduce brittleness and increase toughness," Boyu explained. He removed most of the burning charcoal from the furnace, leaving only a small amount of embers. By controlling the airflow, he lowered the furnace temperature and maintained it within a lower range (typically between 200-300 degrees Celsius, the specific temperature depending on the desired balance of hardness and toughness). Then he placed the quenched weapons back into the furnace for low-temperature tempering, holding them for a period (duration also depends on the steel and size).

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  After tempering, the weapons were allowed to cool slowly in the air. Boyu picked up a file and gently rubbed it against an inconspicuous spot on each weapon's edge. The file skidded across the heat-treated edge, leaving only very faint white scratches and producing a clear metallic "ting" sound. "Good, hardness is up to standard." He then carefully inspected the weapons again, ensuring no obvious warping, deformation, or micro-cracks had occurred due to the complex heat treatment process. "Looks like they all turned out well," he said with satisfaction.

  "Wow, they all turned black, so cool! But you can't tell how sharp they are anymore," Alice said, curiously poking at the blade edge covered with a layer of black oxide scale after heat treatment.

  Boyu chuckled, "This oxide layer isn't pretty, and it affects sharpness. The final step is just grinding and sharpening the edge." He took out the angle grinder again, fitted it with sanding discs of different grits, from coarse to fine, and began the final grinding, polishing, and sharpening of the weapons. As the wheel spun, the black oxide scale was gradually removed, revealing the gleaming metal underneath, the sharp edge reflecting a keen light. In a short while, these initially rough semi-finished products were transformed into truly deadly weapons.

  The final step was installing and finishing the handles. Jakob found a sufficiently thick and tough hardwood stick, carefully shaped it, and securely mounted the axe head using wedges and epoxy resin, also wrapping the grip area with non-slip cloth strips. For Alice's Elvish-style dagger, Boyu meticulously crafted a handle that was both beautiful and comfortably non-slip using leather stripped from car seats and thick rubber pieces. Ka's long sword received a more practical treatment: a base layer of shock-absorbing rubber, then tightly wrapped with durable paracord or cloth strips in a specific pattern to create an excellent grip. The handle length was also sufficient for a two-handed grip, facilitating power generation. Boyu himself ground a bevel on the base of his spearhead, then used the generator, battery bank, and welding rods found in the warehouse to carefully weld it onto a suitable thick-walled seamless steel pipe. The joint was additionally reinforced with steel wire, and finally, the grip area was carefully wrapped with rubber and cloth strips.

  By the time all the weapons were finally completed, it was already afternoon. Boyu felt his understanding of metalworking and melee weapon crafting had deepened, as if some invisible 'experience points' had actually increased. Sure enough, his game interface prompted that his [Crafting] skill had successfully leveled up to 1, with the effect: [Crafting Speed +1%, Crafting Quality +1%]. "Better than nothing," Boyu thought. Then, with a thought, he began checking the detailed stats of the new weapon he had poured his heart into.

  Unlike the simple "Attack Power: XX-XX, Attack Speed: X.X" displays in traditional RPGs, this Full-Dive game called "Zombie Apocalypse" was renowned for its highly realistic physics engine and crafting system. The same weapon, in the hands of different players, would produce vastly different actual damage effects and attack frequencies based on the user's strength, agility, skill proficiency, power application method, attack angle, and even the hit location. Therefore, the weapon's stat panel didn't feature simple "Attack Speed" or "Fixed Damage Value." Instead, it was described by a series of more fundamental, specific physical characteristic parameters. Players needed to judge the weapon's pros, cons, and suitability based on these parameters, their own character abilities, and combat style:

  * **Damage Potential:** [0-20] Represents the maximum base damage potential achievable by the weapon's material (hardness, toughness), geometry (sharpness, pointiness), and structural strength. Actual damage is influenced by user's strength, skill, hit location, and various other factors.

  * **Durability:** [0-20] The amount of use and stress the weapon can withstand before breaking or requiring repair. Durability is consumed by attacking, blocking, or hitting hard objects.

  * **Ergonomics:** [0-20] Measures the weapon's ease of use, grip comfort, and handling flexibility. Higher values mean less fatigue during use, smoother movements, and better ability to execute techniques precisely.

  * **Weight:** [Actual value kg] The actual weight of the weapon. Directly affects the player's stamina consumption rate, swing inertia (influencing wind-up and recovery speed), and total encumbrance.

  * **Balance Point:** [0-20] The influence of the weapon's center of gravity position and distribution on its handling feel. Higher values indicate a more reasonable center of gravity, making the weapon feel more 'handy,' agile, precise, and easier for rapid consecutive attacks or changing attack direction.

  * **Length/Reach:** [Actual value m] The total length of the weapon and the effective attack distance it provides in the user's hands.

  * **Penetration:** [0-20] The weapon's ability to pierce armor, hard shells, bones, or tough skin. Effectiveness varies significantly against different types of defenses.

  * **Impact/Stagger:** [0-20] The weapon's ability to cause the target to lose balance, retreat, flinch, or have their actions interrupted upon hitting. High-impact weapons can effectively interrupt enemy attacks, providing tactical advantages.

  * **Stealthiness:** [0-20] The amount of noise the weapon makes when swung or hitting a target. Higher values mean quieter operation, better suited for stealth or assassination. May differ based on attack type (e.g., thrust, slash).

  * **Repairability:** [0-20] The ease of repairing the weapon after damage or the rarity of required materials. Higher values indicate easier repairs or lower maintenance costs.

  (0-20 is only the initial limit which increases as game goes on.)

  Boyu first checked the stats of the short spear he had meticulously crafted. He had deliberately chosen the relatively short length of 1.6 meters, sacrificing some maximum reach for better balance and handling, allowing flexible use in mid-to-close range combat without losing the piercing advantage of a polearm.

  **[Handmade Short Spear] (Boyu)**

  * Damage Potential: 8

  * Durability: 14

  * Ergonomics: 14

  * Weight: ~1.5 kg

  * Balance Point: 13

  * Length/Reach: ~1.6 m / ~1.3 m reach

  * Penetration: 15

  * Impact: 6

  * Stealthiness: Thrust: 16 / Sweep: 10

  * Repairability: 13

  "Hmm, not bad. High penetration, suitable for dealing with potential mutants. Flexibility is decent too." Boyu nodded with satisfaction.

  The others in the squad also checked their new weapon stats, faces showing excitement and satisfaction.

  **[Handmade Viking Axe] (Jakob)**

  * Damage Potential: 17

  * Durability: 17

  * Ergonomics: 7

  * Weight: ~2.5 kg

  * Balance Point: 8

  * Length/Reach: ~1.3 m / ~1.1 m reach

  * Penetration: 14

  * Impact: 18

  * Stealthiness: Chop: 7 / Thrust (if applicable): 9

  * Repairability: 12

  "Hahaha! This axe packs a punch! It'll be awesome to chop with!" Jakob hefted the heavy battle axe, already eager to try it out.

  **[Handmade Long Sword] (Ka)**

  * Damage Potential: 15

  * Durability: 16

  * Ergonomics: 17

  * Weight: ~1.4 kg

  * Balance Point: 18

  * Length/Reach: ~1.2 m / ~1.0 m reach

  * Penetration: 16

  * Impact: 10

  * Stealthiness: Slash: 12 / Thrust: 15

  * Repairability: 10

  **[Handmade Elvish-Style Dagger] (Alice)**

  * Damage Potential: 6

  * Durability: 10

  * Ergonomics: 19

  * Weight: ~0.3 kg

  * Balance Point: 19

  * Length/Reach: ~0.3 m / ~0.2 m reach

  * Penetration: 12

  * Impact: 2

  * Stealthiness: Slash: 18 / Thrust: 19

  * Repairability: 15

  "Wow! This dagger is so light, it feels like it was tailor-made for me!" Alice exclaimed happily, swinging the dagger in a few graceful arcs.

  Boyu quickly scanned all the weapon stat panels. The results were just as he expected, perfectly matching each person's characteristics and needs: Jakob's axe was a typical high-damage, high-impact heavy weapon, devastating with wide swings; Alice's dagger maximized lightness, flexibility, and stealth, making it the perfect tool for assassination and sneak attacks. But when his gaze fell upon the stats of Ka's handmade long sword, he couldn't help but be secretly amazed again—its damage potential, penetration, and durability were all excellent, while its ergonomics and balance were ridiculously high. This meant that in the hands of a master like Ka, the sword had almost no handling limitations, allowing her to unleash her speed and skill to the fullest. Apart from slightly lower repairability (meaning maintenance might be more troublesome), it had almost no obvious weaknesses. "This thing... is truly a 'stat monster' through and through..." Boyu marveled inwardly.

  Ka herself remained quite calm about the stats. She merely glanced over the panel, then found the 20kg barbell rod she had replaced, checked its stats as well, seemingly making a comparison.

  **[Standard Barbell Rod - 20kg Improvised]**

  * Damage Potential: 15

  * Durability: 19

  * Ergonomics: 3

  * Weight: ~20 kg

  * Balance Point: 3

  * Length/Reach: ~1.8 m / ~1.5 m reach

  * Penetration: 1

  * Impact: 25

  * Stealthiness: Swing: 5 / Poke: 8

  * Repairability: 18

  *(Note: Using estimated data for a 20kg standard rod, different from the 11kg rod mentioned earlier)*

  After the comparison, Ka seemed to confirm the superiority of her new weapon. She casually tossed the heavy barbell rod aside and began to slowly swing the long sword in her hand. She closed her eyes, carefully feeling the sword's weight, center of gravity, and inertia during the swing. A moment later, she opened her eyes. On her usually expressionless, cool face, a barely perceptible hint of satisfaction appeared. "Not bad," she nodded slightly, offering her assessment.

  Seeing everyone equipped with new, suitable weapons and eager to try them out, Jakob laughed heartily and proposed, "Alright folks! New gear in hand, shouldn't we test its sharpness on something? Let's go find some unlucky 'customers' in the supermarket to practice on!"

  "Hmm, suits me fine," Boyu agreed with a nod. "Besides, I want to look for some more things inside anyway." He then grabbed an empty shopping cart he had cleared earlier.

  And so, the newly armed squad re-entered the perilous main area of the supermarket. The zombies aimlessly wandering the aisles were completely unaware that they were about to become the first victims for these 'novice village blacksmiths' to test their new weapons' performance. Ka still led the charge, her speed astonishing. She moved like a swift black shadow, darting between the shelves. The long sword in her hand seemed alive, each swing precise and deadly. A zombie blocking the path seemed only to feel something lightly brush past its neck. It sluggishly turned to see what it was, and the next second, its entire head slid off its neck. Ka moved like an elegant yet ruthless dancer of death, flowing through the narrow aisles, swinging her blade. Wherever she passed, zombie heads or necks were cleanly severed, falling silently behind her, dark red blood spreading across the floor.

  Alice followed closely behind Ka like a happy little shadow. Taking full advantage of Ka drawing the attention of zombies ahead, she moved like a phantom to their backs or sides. Using her Elvish-style dagger, she aimed for vital spots like the back of the head, temples, or cervical spine, launching swift and lethal sneak attacks. If a strike succeeded, she immediately withdrew the blade and sought the next target. If a strike failed to kill or she was unfortunately spotted, she remained unflustered, immediately using her agile footwork to retreat while calling out sharply to draw the zombie's aggro, leading it towards Ka for an easy finishing blow.

  Witnessing this, even though it wasn't the first time Boyu had seen Ka's prowess, he was once again deeply shaken by her almost artistic killing efficiency and astonishing combat power. "So strong..." He steadied himself, forcing his attention back to scavenging supplies. Pushing the cart, he carefully searched for what he needed in relatively safe areas, placing several suitably sized seamless steel pipes, some ball bearings, strong springs, and other potentially useful metal parts into the cart. Just then, two zombies at the end of the aisle spotted him, let out low growls, and shambled towards him. Boyu immediately stopped, raised his short spear, and calmly assumed a standard defensive counter-attack stance. He coolly judged the distance and timing. The moment the first zombie entered effective range, he suddenly stepped forward, twisting his waist and thrusting his arm forward. The spearhead shot out like a striking viper, whistling through the air! "Pfft!" With a dull thud, the sharp spear tip accurately pierced the zombie's rotten eye socket, penetrating deep into the cranial cavity and destroying its brain. With a flick of his wrist, Boyu quickly withdrew the spearhead, twisted his body顺势, and almost without pause, used the momentum of the turn to thrust forward again! The second zombie's head was instantly pierced, and it collapsed forward limply. The entire process was clean and fluid. It was a military assassination technique he had once pestered a distant relative with army experience to teach him. Although he had only learned the basics due to laziness, it was effective enough against these slow-moving, unintelligent common zombies.

  Boyu disgustedly wiped the filth from the spear tip on the zombie's dirty, tattered clothes, then continued his scavenging. He spotted several large rolls of industrial high-strength plastic strapping tape on a shelf. His eyes lit up as an idea struck him, and he unceremoniously took several rolls, adding them to the cart.

  Ka continued her efficient cleanup, systematically moving between rows of shelves, clearing remaining zombies. Jakob wasn't far from Boyu, excitedly swinging his newly acquired Viking axe, testing its power. The heavy axe head whistled through the air as it chopped down. Whether hitting a zombie's torso or limbs, it caused massive damage, accompanied by the sounds of shattering bones and tearing flesh. Against these common zombies, he was practically taking them down one by one, looking effortless and full of violent aesthetics. "Awesome! So awesome!" he yelled while chopping, clearly favoring this type of weapon.

  Before long, Ka had completed a large sweep, and the area near the back entrance of the main supermarket was mostly clear. She silently circled back near the group, with Alice bouncing happily behind her like a cheerful bird, playfully twirling the bloodstained Elvish dagger in her hand. Alice still wore a sweet, innocent smile, which, combined with her slightly-too-clean dress in this environment and the deadly weapon gleaming in her hand, created a strangely unsettling and eerie beauty.

  "The 'customers' here are mostly cleared out. We can go deal with the main entrance area now," Jakob proposed, walking over with his blood-splattered battle axe slung over his shoulder, looking at Boyu who was still stuffing things into the cart.

  "Yeah, good idea," Boyu agreed. Pushing the half-full cart, he headed towards one of the three supermarket entrances they had seen earlier, grabbing a few more potentially useful items along the way—rolls of wire, tape, and some bottled chemicals.

  Arriving at one of the main entrances, they found the electric metal rolling door had been violently impacted from the outside by some immense force. It was severely twisted and deformed, jammed tightly in the frame, and riddled with dents and cracks. It looked completely wrecked and beyond repair.

  "Tsk, this door is totally busted. Looks like we'll have to use the old method, block it with empty shelves," Jakob said, about to drag over a collapsed empty shelf nearby.

  "Wait," Ka suddenly spoke, her voice soft but clear in the spacious supermarket. "Don't block it completely. Like before, use shelves to form a circle inside, leave some gaps."

  Jakob didn't immediately understand, a confused expression on his face. "Leave gaps? Won't zombies be able to squeeze in then?"

  But Boyu instantly grasped Ka's idea, a flash of admiration in his eyes. "Ka means we deliberately create the illusion that 'this place is already overrun by zombies, but the entrance is mostly blocked'." He explained to Jakob, "Think about it. If passing survivors see the entrance wide open, or completely sealed tight, they might get curious and want to check inside. But if they see the entrance blocked haphazardly, and can glimpse zombies moving around inside through the gaps (we can intentionally leave a few alive near the entrance), most people won't risk breaking in. Ostensibly, it's to keep zombies out, but more importantly, it's to deter other survivors with ill intentions."

  "Ohh—! I get it! Brilliant! Ka." Jakob's realization dawned, looking at Ka with admiration.

  "Is that what you mean?" Alice also tilted her head, looking at Ka for confirmation. The latter gave an almost imperceptible nod with the most tiny grin, tacitly confirming Boyu's explanation.

  So, they proceeded according to Ka's strategy. On their way to another entrance, they passed through a special area. A storefront sign reading "Hunter's Cabin" immediately caught Boyu's intense interest—it was a small firearms and outdoor goods shop embedded within the supermarket!

  The four immediately heightened their vigilance and cautiously entered the shop. However, the sight before them quickly led to disappointed sighs. The shop was almost completely looted. Display case glass lay shattered everywhere, shelves were empty, and the floor was littered with empty casings of various calibers. Forget a complete firearm, even gun parts were hard to find. Only a few stray bullets remained scattered on the floor; the previous scavengers had clearly been thorough.

  They checked the small workshop-like area at the back, presumably for repairs and modifications, with equally depressing results—not only were there no firearms, but even the manual reloading press, dies, primers, gunpowder, and related tools and materials for reloading ammunition had been completely cleaned out.

  "Sigh, got excited for nothing. Seems like getting guns in this game is really tough," Jakob said disappointedly, kicking an empty shell casing on the floor.

  The only find of any value were two large parts boxes bearing a certain firearm brand's logo, piled in a corner. One box was damaged, its contents spilled out. Boyu approached for a closer look and found they contained non-essential replacement parts for firearms, such as various styles of stocks, handguards, grips, scope rails, and a large quantity of common small parts like screws, pins, springs, trigger groups, and hammers.

  "Looks like these are useless too, can't even piece together a parts gun," Jakob had completely given up hope.

  "Not necessarily." Boyu, however, crouched down and began carefully picking up the scattered parts, placing them in the shopping cart. "While these things can't directly build a gun as we know it, maybe... they can still be useful." He took both parts boxes with him.

  Afterward, following their established strategy, they proceeded to barricade all three supermarket entrances from the inside using empty shelves, collapsed pillars, and various heavy debris. They deliberately left small to medium-sized gaps, ensuring that the interior scene was vaguely visible from the outside, successfully creating the illusion that "this place is occupied by zombies."

  By the time all this was done, it was already afternoon. After a whole morning of intense activity—scavenging supplies, clearing zombies, crafting weapons, setting up defenses—everyone felt quite exhausted. Boyu, having filled one cart and gone back for another, now had two carts brimming with loot. Dragging their tired bodies, they returned to the relative safety of the employee breakroom.

  Everyone found a place to sit and rest. Ka again pulled out new chips and drinks from her backpack, eating and drinking nonchalantly. Although her face remained expressionless, Boyu could sense from her more relaxed posture that she was probably in a relatively good mood, or at least had temporarily let down her guard. Outside, the sun blazed, the heat intense just looking at it. Compared to that, this relatively cool indoor space, despite lacking air conditioning, felt like paradise.

  Alice curled up like a kitten beside Ka, noticing that Ka, while eating chips, was thoughtfully examining the contents of the two shopping carts Boyu had brought back, especially the second one filled with parts scavenged from the gun shop, along with the previously collected steel pipes, springs, strapping tape, and other miscellaneous items. She nudged Ka gently with her elbow and whispered curiously, "Ka, guess... what new gadget Boyu is planning to tinker with this time?"

  Ka paused her chewing, her gaze sweeping over the items in the cart. After pondering for a moment, she replied in her characteristic concise manner, "Probably... some kind of projectile launcher. Like a gun."

  "A gun?" Alice's interest piqued, and she joined Ka beside the cart for a closer look.

  "Look," Ka pointed at the items in the cart, explaining her deduction to Alice, "These thin seamless steel pipes can be barrels. These strong springs and those gun shop parts might be used for the firing or feeding mechanism. And these..." She picked up a roll of plastic strapping tape. "I'm not sure about this one."

  "Want to come over and take a look? I have a rough idea now." Boyu's voice came timely from the workbench; he seemed to have already drafted a new blueprint.

  "Boyu! Are you really making a gun? Ka already guessed it!" Alice immediately turned around and ran to the workbench, asking with an excited and expectant smile.

  "Well... calling it a gun might not be entirely accurate. It's more like... a simple projectile launcher." Seeing that Ka had roughly deduced his intentions just from the scattered materials, Boyu was once again surprised by her observation and analytical skills, and also felt a strange sense of joy. He nodded in acknowledgment.

  "What about bullets? What's the use of a gun without bullets?" Ka also walked over, took out the rifle bullet she had picked up earlier from the gun shop floor as a trophy, placed it gently on the workbench, and raised the most critical question.

  "Yeah, yeah, we don't have a factory or special materials, how can we make such complex bullets?" Alice chimed in, full of curiosity about Boyu's 'crafting everything from scratch' ability.

  "Exactly, we definitely can't make complete modern standard bullets under current conditions, it's too complicated." Boyu picked up the gleaming brass rifle bullet from the table and explained to them, "Making this kind of bullet requires extremely precise stamping equipment for the casing, and special chemical formulas for the primer compound and the propellant powder inside the casing. None of these are easily obtainable for us. But," his tone shifted, a confident smile appearing on his face, "we don't actually need a complete bullet. We just need..." He pointed to the very tip of the bullet, "this—the projectile."

  "Just the projectile?" Ka frowned slightly, still seeming not quite to understand.

  "Right! We just need a 'pellet' that can be fired out and cause damage!" Boyu stated firmly. "And, I've already found a substitute material for making these simple pellets, and in considerable quantity!" He proudly patted the large box of thick, long industrial steel nails found in the warehouse. "As for the other parts of the bullet, they can all be replaced with simpler things!"

  "What about the gunpowder?" Ka pressed, seeming very interested in this technical detail, a departure from her usual taciturn nature.

  Boyu smiled mysteriously and pointed towards the red pickup truck parked in the corner of the warehouse.

  "The gasoline... in the fuel tank?" Ka, sharp as ever, guessed the answer almost instantly, a flash of understanding in her beautiful eyes.

  "Absolutely correct!" Boyu snapped his fingers. "Gasoline! But not the diesel our generator uses; diesel is too stable, hard to ignite. We need gasoline! Gasoline's volatility and explosive potential are much higher than diesel's, making it easier to ignite and generate enough explosive force. It's perfect as a propellant for our simple launcher. Our next goal is to figure out how to get some gasoline." As he spoke, he took out paper and pen and began quickly sketching the structure of a tube-like object on the workbench.

  Seeing Boyu drawing blueprints again, Ka and Alice both gathered around curiously. Ka, especially, leaned in very close, almost shoulder-to-shoulder with Boyu as she looked down at the drawing. Her nose could even catch the faint scent of sweat and machine oil on him, making Boyu's heart skip another beat and his cheeks flush slightly. But he forced himself to remain calm and continued explaining his design concept.

  "The projectile... the steel nail, where does it go?" Ka asked, pointing to a structure resembling a barrel on the drawing.

  "Here, in the back, the semi-automatic bolt I designed," Boyu pointed.

  "Then the gasoline... the propellant, how is it loaded? And how is it ignited?" Ka fired off a series of key questions.

  "Hmm, I think we can design it like this..." Boyu said while quickly adding details to the drawing, even rummaging through the nearby parts box to find a pump-action shotgun forend (commonly known as a 'pump') and some spring and linkage parts he had found earlier at the gun shop, holding them up to illustrate. "We can use this pump mechanism to design a simple system. Push the forend forward to open a 'chamber', pour in a small amount of gasoline; pull the forend back to close the chamber, simultaneously activating an ignition device like a flint striker or piezoelectric ceramic... Of course, this is just a preliminary idea."

  Ka also listened intently, occasionally raising her own questions or suggesting improvements. The two went back and forth, completely absorbed in this tech-nerd discussion, seemingly forgetting everything around them, including the subtle distance between them.

  Standing nearby, Alice listened to Boyu and Ka discuss technical terms like "combustion chamber volume," "ignition reliability," and "locking mechanism." Her head soon started to spin; she couldn't understand a word they were saying. After watching for a while, she couldn't help but let out a big yawn, looking rather bored.

  "Ahem, it looks like Boyu and Ka won't be finishing their discussion anytime soon. Alice, let's not disturb these two 'scientists'. How about we go rest over there?" Jakob, seeing the situation, tactfully stepped in to smooth things over.

  Alice immediately looked relieved, nodding repeatedly. "Okay, okay, I was getting sleepy anyway." The two then walked over to the sofa in the break area and started chatting quietly.

  Ka merely glanced back at the departing Jakob and Alice before her attention was quickly drawn back to a new design detail on Boyu's blueprint, continuing the intense discussion with him.

  "By the way, Alice, do you watch that show 'Space Babies'?" Jakob found what he thought was a good conversation starter and asked quietly.

  "You watch it too?! Really?!" Unexpectedly, upon hearing the show's name, Alice immediately perked up, her voice uncontrollably rising in volume, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

  "Space Babies" was an incredibly popular, cheesy romance idol drama set in the future era of space colonization, currently airing on the Full-Dive entertainment platform. Its plot focused on various extremely romantic, extremely melodramatic, and extremely obsessive love triangles and relationships. Although scorned by many critics, it precisely captured the hearts of a large number of young viewers (especially female viewers), gaining countless fervent fans. Of course, a considerable number of people had no interest in this type of show, even looking down on it.

  "Of course! I'm a die-hard fan!" Jakob immediately played along. "The latest episode is premiering on Full-Dive's official channel in five minutes. Want to watch it together in my personal theater? My screen is huge, and the sound system is great!" He smoothly extended the invitation.

  "Yes, yes! Definitely!" Alice agreed without hesitation, her face beaming with anticipation.

  Before choosing to temporarily go offline, Alice glanced back again at Boyu and Ka, who were still huddled over the workbench, heads close together, deep in discussion. They looked exactly like two mischievous children who had found a shared new toy and were having the time of their lives. She couldn't help but chuckle, then made a funny face at Jakob before choosing to temporarily leave the game, her consciousness following Jakob to his personal space. The two game characters left behind—Alice and Jakob—instantly lost all their vitality, sitting quietly on the sofa with vacant eyes, clearly no longer being controlled by players.