Chapter 47: The Tetanus Arrow

Indeed, some people were gradually beginning to realize Zhang Yi's abnormality.

Under this icy apocalypse, everyone was starving and freezing. Even those who usually kept some food at home were living in extreme hardship.

Yet only he was well-fed, warmly dressed, and had even chosen to install a fireplace in Tianhai City, a southern city!

Coupled with a sturdy security door, it was clear at a glance that he had prepared specifically for this kind of situation.

Zhou Peng curled his lips and said with bitter resentment: "If that's the case, this Zhang Yi is even more despicable! Knowing full well that the snow disaster was coming, he only looked out for himself and didn't even bother to warn his neighbors in advance!"

"Bah!"

He spat fiercely onto the ground.

Because of a personal grudge against Zhang Yi, Zhou Peng never missed any opportunity to slander him.

Wang Min and the others still furrowed their brows, ignoring Zhou Peng.

After all, if they were in his shoes, their top priority would certainly be themselves and their families, and they wouldn't give a damn about whether anyone else lived or died!

"The problem is, what should we do next? Picking the lock is out of the question, but could we break the door down directly?"

Wang Min said, casting her gaze toward Zhou Peng, Sun Zhichao, and Ge Jialiang.

These three were among the few men left in their group, and if they were going to force their way through the door, they would have to be the main force.

The few of them muttered among themselves and conferred for another while.

Through the surveillance monitor, Zhang Yi watched as they retreated toward the stairwell once more.

Holding a firearm in his left hand and a crossbow in his right, he watched them leave at his leisure.

Zhang Yi could easily have taken action and shot a couple of them.

However, he was in no rush at all. Life was a bit too dull right now, and he needed a little excitement.

Therefore, he wanted to see how these people planned on breaking down the door.

This would also serve as preparation for dealing with even more stubborn adversaries in the future.

After quite a while, the group returned.

This time, they were lugging a large, thick log.

Judging by its appearance, it had likely been dismantled from a bed.

Several of the women stood nearby holding umbrellas to prevent Zhang Yi from splashing them with freezing water.

The three men hoisted the log and charged straight toward the heavy door with a thunderous "Bam!"

The sound was deafening, and Zhang Yi could feel the walls trembling.

Yet he remained unconcerned. For a twenty-centimeter-thick steel plate to be breached by impact, the opposing team would need the Hulk among their ranks.

Zhou Peng, Sun Zhichao, and Ge Jialiang slammed into the door with all their might.

Zhang Yi simply sat on the sofa, his eyes fixed on them battering the door while constantly checking the structural status of his home through the mobile app.

This app had been specially designed for users by the Zhanlong Security Company, allowing them to monitor the overall dynamics of the house at any time.

He did not lower his guard either; his grip on his weapon remained steady, ready to strike the moment any anomaly occurred.

Yet, despite Sun Zhichao and the others hammering away with all their might until the entire building could hear the commotion, the door remained as sturdy as ever.

Aside from a few white marks, there wasn't even a dent!

Five minutes later, the entire group was left utterly dumbfounded.

"Just... just how thick is this door?!"

"Even the vault door of a bank isn't this solid!"

"Whose house uses a door like this?!"

Sun Zhichao and his companions nearly plunged into despair, letting out furious, roaring cries.

It was the sound of helplessness and absolute despair.

Watching this scene unfold via the surveillance cameras, Zhang Yi smiled faintly, feeling much more at ease regarding the quality of his safehouse.

"Alright, time to teach you all a lesson."

Zhang Yi stood up, slipped the pistol into his pocket, and opened an iron box.

Inside this iron box lay twenty crossbow bolts, but bizarrely, every single one of them was covered in rust.

Logically speaking, alloy crossbow bolts of this type were extremely resistant to rusting, yet these twenty were mottled with corrosion, as if they had been left in a damp environment for years.

In reality, the rust had been intentionally engineered by Zhang Yi.

Even a slight scratch to the skin would carry the grave risk of tetanus.

In an environment devoid of medical care, it wouldn't cause instant death; instead, it would cause the wound to become infected, fester, and rot away.

Anyone struck by these bolts would ultimately either choose amputation to save their lives or await death in excruciating agony!

Zhang Yi had learned this lesson from his experience with Chen Zhenghao.

Although Chen Zhenghao's leg had been crippled, he had somehow managed to survive.

Next time, however, if he were to be struck by these tetanus-laced bolts, Zhang Yi would love to see how he managed to pull through!

A demonic smile crept onto the corners of Zhang Yi's lips as he climbed up to the shooting port.

Protected by umbrellas, Fang Yuqing and the others could not clearly see the situation up above.

Ignoring them, Zhang Yi fired straight beneath the umbrellas!

If you die, consider yourself lucky; if you survive, even better!

"Whoosh!"

The tetanus-laced bolt pierced straight through an umbrella, immediately followed by a piercing, miserable shriek.

Without waiting for them to recover, Zhang Yi quickly loaded a second bolt. There was no need to aim; they were all bunched up together anyway.

The second bolt flew out, and another scream echoed through the air.

Zhang Yi rapidly reloaded and drew the bow.

By the time those people finally snapped out of their shock, shrieking as they scattered in all directions.

Unflustered, Zhang Yi calmly took aim and fired. Moreover, he intentionally avoided vital organs, targeting specifically arms and legs.

Out of the remaining six individuals, three were struck by the bolts, with one of them taking two hits.

However, due to the slow reloading speed of the hand crossbow, before Zhang Yi could hit every single one of them, they had scrambled into his visual blind spots.

Zhang Yi shrugged.

It didn't matter. Those fellows were dead men walking anyway, destined to perish in excruciating agony.

As for the rest of them, Zhang Yi had plenty of time to play with them slowly.

To reiterate: time was on Zhang Yi's side.

It just went to show how cautious Zhang Yi was. Even at a time like this, he still refused to open the door and go out to finish off the survivors.

Talk about prudence!

Even if there was a one-in-ten-thousand chance of getting hurt, Zhang Yi would never take that risk!

"The consumption of crossbow bolts is a major issue, though!"

Frowning, Zhang Yi began to contemplate the long-term perspective.

He had originally purchased three hundred crossbow bolts and three hundred regular arrows.

Every time he used them, it was inconvenient to go outside and retrieve them.

Although there were still plenty left, those who lack foresight regarding distant concerns will inevitably encounter immediate troubles!

After pondering for a moment, a sudden flash of inspiration struck Zhang Yi.

He opened his spatial dimension, rummaged through it casually, and immediately found what he was looking for!

The warehouse contained numerous steel ball bearings used for industrial bearings, which could also be fired from the hand crossbow.

There were also toy glass marbles; although their lethality wasn't quite as formidable as steel balls, when shot from a professional-grade hand crossbow, their impact was still quite impressive.

Even if the crossbow bolts ran out, there were plenty of metal items inside that could be dismantled and repurposed.

Zhang Yi instantly felt a wave of relief.

"With these supplies, I can live comfortably for the rest of my life!"

He was at ease, but certain individuals were currently suffering through absolute misery.

Fang Yuqing and the seven others had originally hoped to rely on their numbers to loot Zhang Yi's home.

Instead, they had tried to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice used as bait. Not only had one person died, but three others had been struck by crossbow bolts, forcing them to retreat in miserable disarray.

They didn't even dare to retrieve Lu Tao's corpse.