Bai Mu did not know what Misty Rain Traveler was thinking. He maintained his usual composure, walking up to the red Fire Extinguisher Cabinet and reaching out his hand.
His fingertips traced the edge of the glass door with incredible speed. The pads of his fingers brushed against microscopic chips and cracks invisible to the naked eye; the uneven, slightly sharp, cutting sensation was incredibly distinct to his touch.
He was searching for the weakest "joint" of the Fire Extinguisher Cabinet. Its paint had long since faded, and the iron plating had oxidized in the dark, damp, and neglected environment, sprouting rust and warping in places.
Retrieving the Fire Axe from a brand-new Fire Extinguisher Cabinet without shattering the glass door would naturally be a difficult task. However, the cabinet in front of Bai Mu was no longer young.
Its components had worn down over the years, the once-bright paint had grown dull, and the rubber weatherstripping used to secure the glass door had begun to age and lose its adhesive grip.
Bai Mu was looking for exactly these fragile points. In his eyes, this Fire Extinguisher Cabinet was not a single, solid object, but an assembly of individual parts—screws, iron plates, welded edges, rubber seals...
He examined the Fire Extinguisher Cabinet like a surgeon dissecting a human body.
This was a habit cultivated over many years. In a resource-starved apocalypse, he had explored countless sealed locations in search of usable items.
He had to unlock those sealed doors, pry open those warehouse crates, and smash through the glass blocking his path just to obtain the supplies necessary to survive.
Furthermore, he had to face not only these man-made obstacles but also the Zombies and Mutants lurking in the shadows.
Merely staying alert and dealing with enemies consumed the vast majority of his stamina and time. Expending a massive amount of energy on picking locks would undoubtedly be a foolish and dangerous endeavor.
Therefore, to speed up his scavenging efficiency, Bai Mu had honed a specific skill.
It was a unique technique forced out of him by immense survival pressure.
His passive skills provided an excellent summary of this ultimate technique.
[Passive Name: Lockpicking Mastery (Lv. Max)]
[Skill Description: Can use tools to open the vast majority of man-made and mechanical locks.]
[Mastery Effect (Reverse Engineering): Increases the success rate of dismantling mechanical structures barehanded.]
There is a well-known saying: do not use your hobby to challenge my profession.
Applied to Bai Mu, this saying had to be taken a step further.
Do not use your profession to challenge my survival instincts.
It took Bai Mu only a few seconds to find the Fire Extinguisher Cabinet's weak point. He saw right through the iron box, pressing his right thumb against the edge of the sealant while his left palm supported the cabinet to adjust the distribution of force. Then, his muscles contracted, and he gave it a gentle push.
Click. Accompanied by a subtle sound resembling a latch popping open, the tempered glass peeled away from the sealant.
In Misty Rain Traveler's eyes, she only saw Bai Mu run his hand around the cabinet and casually tap it, completely detaching the glass door along with its weatherstripping.
'Are Fire Extinguisher Cabinets really this fragile?' That was Misty Rain Traveler's first reaction, but she quickly realized that the cabinet wasn't fragile; Bai Mu had simply used some sort of lockpicking skill.
Paradise was a miraculous place where one could witness far too many unimaginable things.
Removing the glass of a Fire Extinguisher Cabinet entirely barehanded would certainly be considered a masterclass skill in the real world, but in Paradise, it did not seem like a big deal at all.
Thus, Misty Rain only felt a fleeting moment of surprise before returning to her usual calm. However, this also made her internal intuition increasingly apparent.
This F-grade rookie was definitely not a simple character.
Although he looked young on the outside, his very bones exuded a kind of tranquility that Misty Rain Traveler, Great Northern Wilderness, and Nancheng Port all lacked. That unwavering inner peace, the ability to calmly analyze situations in a place swarming with Zombies without displaying any signs of nervousness, had even managed to rub off on Misty Rain Traveler.
Standing beside him, Misty Rain actually felt a little relaxed. Even she found it strange, though it certainly wasn't a bad thing.
She watched Bai Mu gently place the dust-covered, blurry glass door on the floor, laying the interior of the Fire Extinguisher Cabinet completely bare.
The first thing to catch the eye was a woven red water supply hose, tightly coiled on a reel, with a hand-pressed fire nozzle attached to its tail end.
The most conspicuous features were the red water valve and the emergency button. Pasted on the inside of the Fire Extinguisher Cabinet was a detailed diagram of operational steps, guiding anyone who broke into the box on how to use the equipment.
Unfortunately, they were all useless. In a Zombie-infested city that had been out of control for a month, there wouldn't be a single drop of water in the pipes. Pressing the alarm button might trigger the system if there was still a backup battery, but the ones rushing over to the sound of the siren wouldn't be firefighters or security guards. Instead, they would be Zombies eager to tear you apart and pin you to the ground for a vicious feast.
Parallel to the hose, Bai Mu found the Fire Axe. It was a dark red, single-edged axe about seventy centimeters long. The blade was straight and sharp, born specifically to chop through wooden doors and windows. The other end featured a pointed breaching hammer shaped like an ice pick, which could be wedged into door cracks or wall panels to pry them apart using leverage.
It was clipped into a plastic bracket. Bai Mu gripped its wooden handle and pulled it out with ease.
Bai Mu tested its weight; it was roughly two kilograms. The grip had grooves specifically designed for the palm, making it difficult to slip out of his hand.
This was a Normal-Grade Melee Weapon. Compared to the garden shovel Bai Mu had briefly encountered during his last lottery draw, this was far more suitable as a weapon. After all, an axe was inherently made for chopping things.
[Name: Fire Axe]
[Type: Melee Weapon]
[Quality: Normal]
[Lethality: Medium]
[Attributes: None]
[Equipment Effect: Each attack has a chance to knock back or stun the enemy.]
[Equipment Requirements: None]
[Remarks: A Fire Axe that has remained dormant for many years. Legend has it that if someone finds two axes and learns a master skill to repeatedly throw and catch them, their account will be credited with fifty dollars every time they kill someone.]
Bai Mu weighed it in his hand a couple of times. The axe felt pretty good to wield. Aside from being a little light, there were no major issues.
Carrying the axe, he gave an "OK" gesture. Misty Rain Traveler nodded and continued walking forward.
Further ahead was the staircase. The corner of the stairs was shrouded in shadows, and a Zombie stood on the steps, blocking their path. It was a corporate Zombie dressed in a suit.
[Name: Common Infected]
[Type: Zombie]
[Level: Normal]
[Remarks: He wore a suit, tied his necktie, and styled his hair to look like a mature adult, eagerly anticipating a date with his girlfriend. But he waited a long time, and she never showed up.]
Bai Mu noticed a flower tucked into the pocket of the Zombie's suit jacket. Its petals had long since withered, leaving behind only a yellowed, dried-out stem. Judging by the thorns on the stem, it must have been a rose—perhaps a rose meant for his girlfriend.