Chapter 15: Chapter 15：Helicopter Havoc
Chen Dao had upgraded all the skills he could enhance, but he still lacked some skill books and a few videotapes. Opportunities to visit other towns like West Point, Muldraugh, and Rosewood were essential to obtain the missing books and tapes.
For now, he had maxed out the skills he could enhance. The past few days of work were not in vain.
Chen Dao opened his information panel and reevaluated his skill points. Without the aid of skill books and videotapes, he would need a long time to level up his skills. One reason was that higher levels made it increasingly difficult to upgrade; the other was that late-stage skill enhancements require massive time investment.
Both are indispensable.
In the trait status bar, his continuous weight loss had effective results, but his other traits remained the same.
"Standard Weight (Maintain)"
"Elite Doctor (+4 First Aid; Familiarity with various medical supplies; Treatment and Bandaging Speed +100%, Effectiveness +200%)"
"Smoker (Requires smoking, otherwise feels anxious, but smoking helps you relax)"
"Unlucky (Your luck is not great)"
"Nearsighted (Cannot see distant objects clearly without glasses, but doesn't hinder field of view extension)"
"Organized (Orderly storage, +35% space when storing items)"
"Weak Stomach (Food poisoning chance +25%.)"
"Gun Novice (Never seen a real gun before, experience gain -50%, will disappear after reaching overall Gun skill level 2.)"
"Zombie Slayer (You have killed over 300 zombies, making you less afraid of them. Facing zombie groups below 50 doesn't cause any emotional fluctuations; you will unlock visual survivor data.)"
"Handy (Various action speeds +50%)"
"Sole Survivor (You haven't encountered other survivors for over half a month. This is bad for mental health but makes you heartless; mood cap -35%, mood fluctuation -80%)"
Here are the data for his skills:
Passive Skills:
Fitness: 5
Strength: 5
Crafting Skills (Industry Skills):
Carpentry: 7 (4x boost until level 9)
Cooking: 5 (4x boost until level 7)
Farming: 0
First Aid: 9 (34.5x boost to max level 10)
Electrical: 7 (2x boost until level 9)
Metalworking: 7 (0.35x boost until level 5)
Mechanics: 7 (48x boost until level 9)
Tailoring: 8 (48x boost until level 9)
Combat Skills:
Axe: 0
Long Blunt: 0
Short Blunt: 1
Long Blade: 3
Short Blade: 3 (3.6x boost until level 5)
Spear: 3
Maintenance: 6
Agility Skills:
Sprint: 3
Lightfooted: 2
Nimble: 2
Sneak: 2
Firearms Skills:
Aiming: 0 (16x boost until level 3)
Reloading: 0 (16x boost until level 3)
Survival Skills:
Fishing: 5 (16x boost until level 7)
Trapping: 5 (18.7x boost until level 7)
Foraging: 7 (19x boost until level 9)
Chen Dao noted that he had watched almost all the videotapes he could find, and the only leftover books were those focused on complex electrical work, mechanics, and welding.
With the help of videotapes enhancing skill-up speed, his skills had become exceptionally formidable, mostly above level 5, earning him the title of a master.
However, he found very few cooking skill books, and astonishingly, he couldn't locate a single agricultural-related educational book or tape.
His farming skill remained a pitiful 0, showing complete ignorance.
But by avoiding raw food over the past few days, the "weak stomach" debuff slowly disappeared, suggesting his initial gastrointestinal issues were due to unclean food.
Next, Chen Dao planned to collect gasoline from abandoned vehicles and see if he had time to visit the yacht club for agricultural books, thinking it was likely they would have some there.
He meticulously organized viewed VHS tapes, segregating and packing books by type. Although these items were of no further use to him, he figured why not take them if there was spare room in the car?
Chen Dao had made up his mind. Though the gated community was nice, it was still within the town. He might sleep tonight and wake to find his refuge surrounded by zombies drawn by unknown reasons or aimlessly wandering.
In the town, zombies were numerous. Without many high-rise buildings or dense forest coverage, zombies easily spotted survivors, increasing in numbers.
Over the past few days, Chen Dao had killed numerous scattered zombies near his temporary base, both walkers and runners.
Especially at night, zombies attracted by light would knock on the windows while he watched tapes, which was extremely annoying.
Chen Dao carefully recalled the in-game locations often used for makeshift shelters.
In the game, first considerations for a survivor base were resources, then high fences, and thirdly zombie groups. One could even build a home in the Louisville police station's fence, even if there were thousands of super city zombies outside.
But this was reality. In the game, resources respawned, so it was advantageous to choose a spot near resource points, and zombies couldn't destroy original high fences, wire meshes, or walls in the map. Thus, these factors were prioritized.
Now, in real life, resource points could be pillaged at any time, as long as zombie groups weren't there. Resources once taken were gone for good, with no "system" to restock supermarket shelves with fresh produce.
Additionally, zombies' destructive power was formidable; high wooden walls and wire mesh fences could be toppled by zombies, and gathering enough, nothing could stand against them—for example, the high walls at Spiffo's or Sandy's Playground were pushed down by zombies.
Dealing with zombies best required separating and dispersing them, not blocking them. Without solid concrete or brick walls, wire mesh and wooden walls shouldn't be used to stop zombie hordes.
Survivor bases should therefore be either open spaces for easy escape, dense forest areas, or secluded places where zombies were hindered by natural barriers like mountains and rivers.
Hence, distancing from zombie groups was the prime consideration; time cost and proximity to resource points could be overlooked.
Riverwood's gated community, Rosewood's fire station, Muldraugh's sawmill—each potential refuge location Chen Dao recalled was dismissed.
Finally, Chen Dao thought of an ideal place—West Point's suburban lakeside mansion.
It was perfectly suitable, far enough from town, near a river, backed by forests and a lake, separating it from town by extensive farmland. It had a tidy cement road leading directly to the mansion. Although not very convenient for transportation, it was defensible against zombies.
Crucially, it had a small dock and a spike-reinforced iron fence like the one at the gated community, sturdy but still needing reinforcement.
If possible, Chen Dao thought it might be the safest place in all Knox County.
Leaving through the gated community's east gate and following the river should take him about an hour's drive to get there.
With this thought, Chen Dao decided he would set out for the mansion in a few days after thoroughly searching the yacht club.
In truth, he was just procrastinating.
Looking at his watch, it was 14:55. Chen Dao calculated he should have enough time to search the yacht club and perhaps siphon some gasoline from parked cars.
The truck's fuel tank wasn't very full; he needed to stay prepared.
Clearing some room in the vehicle, Chen Dao drove to the yacht club. The afternoon's tasks were plenty.
Meanwhile, a Hummingbird helicopter was ascending the Ohio River, having left the suburbs of Louisville and reaching West Point's fishing dock.
The small dock had a repair shop and an under-construction yacht refueling station.
As more residents in Kentucky owned boats, the demand for boat gasoline and diesel increased. It was impractical for people to always haul fuel from gas stations or travel many kilometers to Louisville's main docks to refuel.
West Point's layout was similar to Riverwood's—residential areas in the west, schools in the middle, and the downtown area to the east, with commercial streets, the municipal building, police station, and a large chain supermarket.
The only difference was that West Point's upscale residential area was centrally located, separating the school from the bustling commercial center.
Typically, West Point didn't have many zombies, but the helicopter's arrival had drawn a considerable number of runners to the dock.
"Look at them—they won't go into the water," Tom said to Benjamin, who was operating the camera.
"…" Benjamin remained silent, still grieving over the loss of a friend.
"Are they really acting purely on instinct? Can they all be afraid of water?" Tom observed the zombies crowding on the dock. They gathered more and more but didn't enter the water.
Zombies don't voluntarily enter the water.
Yet, if the helicopter stayed long enough, more would be drawn, inevitably some pushed into the water.
"Oh my god, they're really being pushed into the water!" Cartman, watching the commotion, suddenly pointed at the dock.
As zombies continued to gather, those arriving first were pushed into the water by newcomers. They floundered a bit before quickly disappearing in the churning waves, carried downstream by the murky Ohio River.
Interestingly, China's Yangtze River flows east, while many American rivers flow toward the central plains.
China's geography rises in the northwest and southwest, lowering to the northeast and southeast, directing most rivers to flow southeast into the ocean.
In contrast, America's mountainous west and hilly east influence several major rivers to flow from both sides toward the central plains, ultimately emptying into the southern Gulf of Mexico.
The Ohio River, as a tributary of the Mississippi, follows this westward flow. Being a stable river, during the high water flow of July and August, its rapid flow makes it unsuitable for rafting during the summer.
"Alive people?" Benjamin questioned as he looked at the zombies being pushed into the water. "How can living people act this way?"
"Alright, let's keep moving. Let's follow the river and see what we find, Cartman," Tom said as he tapped the pilot's seat, indicating Cartman to continue down the river.
They had captured enough shocking footage of the zombie horde at this dock. The only thing lacking was footage of any normal living people. Though it was somewhat heartless, Tom still hoped to catch some human survivors—after all, news stories without people didn't feel complete.
After glancing once more at the chaotic scene below, the helicopter proceeded downstream. Tom plotted the next route on the map, marking their intended path towards Riverside.
Around 16:00, Chen Dao had turned the entire yacht club upside down. Aside from some oars and diving suits in the locker room, nothing particularly valuable was found.
However, the good news was that the club had a fair collection of books—complete sets on fishing techniques, specialized diving magazines, and agricultural journals like "Quarterly" and "Seeds."
Sitting in the parking lot of the yacht club, Chen Dao ate some peanut butter snack bars from a vending machine on the second floor while organizing his truck's bed. He had preemptively sorted and excluded redundant technical books and useless general books. Now, it was just about planning placement and stacking order to maximize the limited truck bed space.
As his snack bar was finished and he drank a can of unsweetened soda, an unusual sound reached his ears.
Chen Dao crushed the soda can, looking around in puzzlement. With nothing but the bodies of the zombies he had killed and trash scattered about, he wondered if stress was causing auditory hallucinations.
Chen Dao opened his information panel. His stress bar was full, boredom index healthy, and mood maintained at a full 65 thanks to a recent smoke.
Listening closely, the sound seemed to ebb momentarily, leaving only the rustling of leaves and trash bags in the wind—it must have been his imagination.
With lingering doubts, Chen Dao started his car, planning to siphon fuel from some vehicles and perhaps check the local Pharmacy for supplies. He guessed that the drugstore was likely emptied by pre-outbreak panic buying and hadn't visited it yet.
In the parking lot behind the Pharmacy, he found several cars parked. Chen Dao took the 15L fuel canister found in a suburban garage and started siphoning gas, moving from car to car. To his surprise, he managed to extract three full canisters, albeit slightly murky, but usable fuel nonetheless.
Post-fuel collection, Chen Dao noticed the Pharmacy's back door lacked a door, deciding to take a look inside. Entering, the sight was only of trash and fallen IV stands.
The prescription drug storage room, despite being labeled with a secure door in the past, was now doorless. Stepping inside, nothing was found apart from disposable medical masks strewn across the floor—clearly ransacked many days ago, indicated by a layer of dust.
Unlike in the game, this Pharmacy was much larger, featuring two consultation rooms. According to the job offer from the "Friendly Pharmacy," Chen Dao could have become a certified physician here, treating and prescribing medication if there were no zombies.
Chen Dao walked past the drug-dispensing area, peeking into the front lobby. It was just as expected—shelves empty, glass in doors shattered.
Despite the predictions, the empty Pharmacy left him slightly disappointed. Licking off the peanut butter crumbs from his lips, Chen Dao wandered back to the parking lot aimlessly.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz—"
What was that noise?
Chen Dao heard the annoying buzz again, like a dull saw cutting through metal or poorly lubricated door hinges creaking.
Pausing in confusion, he focused on the sound. This time, it wasn't ambiguous—the wind carried it louder and clearer.
Chen Dao spotted it at a distance, in the sky above the Ohio River, reflected in the yacht club's glass walls—a helicopter.
"Fuck!"
Chen Dao quickly tightened the fuel canisters, tossed them into the truck bed, scrambling into the car to avoid the helicopter's notice. But clearly, the chopper had already spotted him, swiftly turning from the river and heading his way.
The "Helicopter Event" in-game was a random occurrence designed to trouble players.
In the original game, random sounds like "gunshots" or "screams" would draw zombies, thus disrupting the player's plans by causing an influx of zombies at a player's route or temporary refuge.
Such events as house and car alarms added difficulty and variability while significantly increasing the game's challenge.
After all, this was the sadistic, black-humored Spiffo that included a tutorial saying, "Press Q to use anti-zombie serum."
The "Helicopter Event" was essentially when a news chopper discovered you and followed you for 15 minutes to an hour, making a loud enough noise to attract every zombie in town.
Being an experienced player, Chen Dao knew how terrifying this event was.
In the "More Helicopters" mod, air events were diversified, featuring a variety of aircraft like fixed-wing bombers, rescue helicopters, military choppers dispatched for extermination, raiders' choppers, as well as Samaritan's relief helicopters.
There was also a "Realistic Crash" mod, randomly generating various crash sites across the map, adding realism and extra resource points for a more immersive experience.
With mods, such events typically occurred a week into the game, lasting for a month and a half intermittently, leaving only raider helicopters after six months.
Having spent nearly 20 days in this world with the power cut off, Chen Dao had assumed the likelihood of a "Helicopter Event" was nonexistent.
Yet here, this black Hummingbird helicopter was unlike any he'd seen in the game.
Chen Dao sat in the driver's seat, eyeing the chopper. It flew over the nearby trees, ascending over the yacht club.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone