Chapter 3: Repairing the Backup Power Supply
crouched down and picked up that silver-white metal cylinder.
It wasn't large—a bit shorter than a thermos—and its surface had no buttons, seams, or markings.
It felt cold to the touch, yet it was very light, as if hollow.
But a soft white light shone out from inside, even and steady, unlike any luminous material she knew.
"What is this?"
The screen flickered with text:
[Black tech from a great power. Can be used to repair complex machinery.]
turned the cylinder over but still couldn't find a switch.
"What kind of machinery, exactly?"
[Anything, probably.]
looked at the in her hand, then at the cylinder.
"Can it repair weapons? Like turning this into a chainsaw or something?"
[Please note: it's repair, not an upgrade. And it's definitely not a wish-granting device.]
[Also, I'd suggest not letting anime mislead you. A chainsaw isn't necessarily better than a .]
"Then what do you want me to do with this?"
[Repair the backup diesel generator.]
frowned. "Reason?"
[Because the power supply for the entire station is extremely fragile right now. If anything else goes wrong on the main circuit, without backup power I won't even be able to control the access control system.]
[In that case, you'd be facing more than three hundred zombies, holding a single , fighting alone.]
was silent for two seconds.
"Understood. I'll fix the generator."
[Here's your route map.]
displayed the overall route map on the screen. To get from the to the diesel generator room, she would have to cross the duty corridor in —about eighty meters in total.
He had three surveillance cameras available along this stretch. He'd just scanned it and found only two zombies lingering near the storage room in the middle of the corridor.
Not too hard.
Before set out, also downloaded " Lv.1."
In an instant, a data stream composed of a vast amount of knowledge poured directly into his mind.
He immediately gained a clear picture of the extent of damage to every piece of equipment in the station, the cause of each fault, and the repair plan for each.
At the same time, he began using the ability to repair the three damaged cameras along the route.
The repair process didn't require to lift a finger—the Lv.1 ability allowed him to remotely repair lightly damaged electrical equipment, at the cost of a small amount of per device.
Three cameras cost him 60 points, but his visual coverage immediately expanded, and he discovered three more zombies wandering in the previous blind spots of the cameras.
It was well worth it. After all, was his only worker at the moment.
Reducing her risk was absolutely necessary.
The screen refreshed the route map:
[ duty corridor: 5 , marked. Exit right, follow the pipes.]
pushed open the door and walked into the corridor.
This stretch was cleaner than , without much overturned clutter.
A few emergency lights were still on, their pale white light falling onto the floor and dragging out long shadows.
After walking about forty meters, passed a duty room.
The door was half open, pitch dark inside.
The camera had just repaired covered this area. There were no zombies inside, but he noticed something else.
[Stop. Go into this duty room. There's something in there you might find useful.]
slipped in sideways and rummaged through the cabinet, finding some candy and two sets of work clothes.
In the corner sat a box of compressed biscuits, a few bottles of mineral water, and an orange-red .
The axe wasn't big—swingable in one hand—and the edge was still fairly sharp.
It was a bit shorter than the , but clearly more efficient for chopping.
pulled the axe out, weighed it in her hand, gave a casual swing through the air, and put it away.
Then she sat on a chair, rested for a while, ate some compressed biscuits, and drank a bottle of water. Her mental state was noticeably better.
Once rested, she tucked the into her backpack strap as a backup, held the in her right hand, and began moving stealthily again.
Midway through the corridor, had used the broadcast in advance to lure the two zombies to the end of the side passage, then sealed the shut.
As she passed that door, she heard the pounding from inside. Her pace quickened a couple of beats, and her expression relaxed considerably.
After taking some trouble to go around the other three zombies, she reached her destination without incident.
The door wasn't locked. pushed it open and went in.
The machine room was much more spacious than the . Two large diesel generator units stood side by side, their military-green steel shells printed with serial numbers.
The air carried a distinct smell of diesel. A pool of dark liquid spread out from beneath Unit No. 1.
The leak in the fuel line was obvious—a hose joint had split open, diesel seeping down through the crack and pooling across the concrete floor.
wrinkled her nose.