Chapter 36: The People of the Shelter
The next day, a faint light began to show at dawn.
At the temporary training ground outside the power station, fifty-three figures stood in formation, solemn and still.
The air was thick with the raw smell of soil and sweat.
paced in front of the formation with his hands clasped behind his back.
His gaze was as sharp as an eagle’s, sweeping over every face—some nervous, some resolute.
He didn’t waste his breath on pressure-inducing platitudes. This collapsing world was pressure enough.
“The rules were made clear enough yesterday.” stopped. His voice wasn’t loud, yet it reached every person’s ears clearly.
“The receives the best treatment, but it also bears the greatest risk.”
“Every time you go out might be your last.”
He paused, his gaze sweeping across the entire field.
“If anyone here feels this deal isn’t worth it, thinks you’re getting a raw deal, or feels you don’t have the guts, you can step out of line right now and switch to another post.”
“Leave now, and no one will laugh at you.”
“But if you stay and later drop the ball during training or operations, that’s a violation of discipline.”
“You all know the consequences of violating discipline, don’t you?”
“Crystal clear!”
A perfectly unified answer rang out immediately.
The past few days of drilling and getting used to one another had had some effect—at least their voices were much more in sync.
After yesterday’s reorganization and screening, the now had fifty-four people in total.
They were split into two action groups of twenty-seven each, led by and , respectively.
Each group was further divided into three nine-man action squads, each with its own squad leader.
This was the ’s main force for future expansion beyond its walls.
But today, the ’s task was neither training nor going outside.
It was to help the ’s technicians carry parts to the surface and assemble drones.
***
“Seriously, why is this stuff underground?” and one of his teammates carried a heavy metal crate out from the lift platform of the , panting with exhaustion.
complained to the air, “At least the ammunition center has a loading port that connects directly to the surface. This pile of parts alone is going to work somebody to death.”
’s electronic voice came from the ID card in his pocket.
[No helping it—this stuff was underground to begin with.]
[Yesterday, I finally cracked the system defenses of a long-sealed area in , and that’s where I found these.]
“How convenient.” set the crate down steadily and wiped away his sweat, a note of negotiation in his voice.
“ , I’m just saying—our inspections of the power station haven’t exactly been meticulous.”
“If any more good stuff ‘spawns’ out of some obscure corner in the future, it’ll be a pleasant surprise for all of us!”
“Of course, preferably something we don’t have to carry.”
[...]
Dude, this makes me look like an idiot!
was momentarily speechless. So much for the tacit understanding they were supposed to have!
[Understood.]
’s electronic voice betrayed no emotion. [After this, I’ll search the entire power station more carefully than you all do.]
“Then I’ll leave it to you.” smiled in satisfaction.
He straightened and looked around.
On the open ground outside the lift platform, crates of parts, large and small, had already piled up, and the members were still hauling more out, trip after trip.
On the other side, the ’s technicians had gathered around a three-dimensional holographic blueprint projected by a and begun the initial assembly work.
The process was grueling, but everyone wore excited smiles.
In the apocalypse, aside from food, nothing soothed the heart like weapons—let alone weapons that looked this badass!
The members especially felt this way. Though they had some psychological expectations about how dangerous their future work would be, that didn’t mean they weren’t afraid.
But now, looking at these precise parts gleaming with metallic luster, that fear was rapidly being replaced by soaring fighting spirit.
This was far more powerful than they had imagined.
***
Meanwhile, on a road several kilometers from the .
The former Field Squad 3, led by —now the ’s Security and Sanitation Management Team—was carrying out its own work.
The zombies that had been killed with headshots on the road were loaded onto the truck one by one by team members, then hauled away for burning.
Bloodstains and bits of flesh were covered with quicklime. The whole process was practiced and swift.
’s experiments had already proven that even after a “died,” the cellular tissue in its body retained the potential to redifferentiate and evolve into even stranger forms under specific conditions.
Both the and the huge white unknown monster they had passed in midair had displayed behavior consistent with preying on zombies.
Though it was still unknown whether the evolution of mutant zombies was related to this, clearing away these “corpses” could never hurt.
“Bang!”
With a crisp gunshot, a wandering drawn over by the engine noise collapsed in the distance.
Two team members immediately came forward and dragged the body away with practiced ease.
[Good shooting.] An electronic synthesized voice of praise came from ’s speaker.
“Not bad. I guess my talent in this area is passable.” lowered the assault rifle in her hands and looked at the robot beside her. “The zombies around here are just about cleared out. Next, we’ll string up some netting by the woods and set up regular patrols.”
[According to the latest drone scans, the wandering within a five-kilometer radius of the power station have basically all been cleared out.]
[Thank you for your outstanding contributions to the ’s safety. The corresponding and have been credited to everyone’s ID cards.]
“No need for thanks.” turned and looked toward the towering silhouettes of the cooling towers in the distance. “We’re just defending our own home.”
This was their only stronghold in this changed world—or perhaps the starting point of their counterattack.
“ ,” said suddenly, her tone casual. “Do you have the book My University in your database?”
[What’s wrong? Is there some problem with that book?]
“Nothing.” shook her head and raised her gun again, locking onto a staggering figure at the edge of her vision through the scope. “It just suddenly came to mind. Feels pretty ridiculous.”
“The crisis broke out on my very first day of college. The classmates and teachers I never even got the chance to know turned into monsters in the blink of an eye.”
She squeezed the trigger.
The black speck in the distance toppled over.
“When I was preparing for the college entrance exam, I never imagined my ‘college life’ would turn out this ‘exciting.’”
[That’s true.]
[I never imagined my first job in my AI career would be such a huge deal either.]
[Heads up—you’ve startled them.]
In the distance, a small horde of a dozen or so zombies, attracted by the gunfire, howled and shambled toward them.
“That’s exactly what I wanted—it saves a lot of trouble.” smiled and raised her gun.
Beside her, the team members had already fanned out with practiced ease, raising their guns to form a sparse line of defense. They no longer even needed ’s fire support.
They were finally starting to get used to defending their home with their own hands in this end-times world.
***
Inside the power station, .
[Mr. Zhao, are you serious?] Even ’s electronic voice seemed to carry a note of disbelief.
Electrician shook his slightly numb fingers, a somewhat embarrassed smile on his face. “Small issue, small issue. I’ll definitely pay attention next time.”
[I can’t always notice things in time.] ’s tone turned serious. [I can’t always notice things in time, so please, you must be careful.]
After a pause, added anyway, [It wasn’t easy surviving this disaster. Don’t get too cocky.]
“Yes, yes, yes, I understand. Mr. is right to scold me.” nodded and bowed, his attitude toward admitting fault impeccable.
But watching him like that, felt not the slightest sense of achievement from saving someone—only admiration for this old electrician’s hint of “fierce courage.”
Even the newly added electricians, who were clearly younger, wouldn’t dare pull off a stunt like that!
Working on live wires over here—old pal, I really don’t know what you were thinking!
So it’s true that 220 volts can’t kill a 250-grade fool, is it? But the key point is, the voltage here isn’t just 220V!
[All right, be more careful from now on. And this section of the wiring needs to be reinspected.]
“Got it!”
***
, education area.
[If you don’t finish your homework, you won’t get today’s .]
[Without , don’t even think about snacks from now on.]
[Crying?]
[Crying won’t help.]
[And crying counts toward your homework time, too.]
“Oh...” , a little girl whose eyes had already welled up with tears, instantly held them back at these words.
She obediently sat back down, picked up her pen, and wrote stroke by stroke in her copybook.
could only marvel at her performance—the way she could summon tears and rein them in at will.
He had been about to cave and soften, but when he learned that the homework had assigned consisted merely of a few sheets of copybook practice and ten addition-and-subtraction problems within twenty, he was outraged.
As someone who had fought his way out of an ocean of exam questions, he absolutely couldn’t accept that anyone could have so little homework!
And even less could he accept that someone would dare not do it when there was so little!
Besides these elementary school kids, under the “education” of a that had specially deployed, the three underage boys who had come from ’s convoy were also reluctantly doing their homework.
Of course, they were deeply unhappy about being forced back into the classroom. They stubbornly wanted to join the , feeling that only holding a gun could give them a sense of security.
could understand their anxiety. After all, when the disaster broke out, all they had seen was the evil in people.
But also knew very well that being precocious and being psychologically mature were never the same thing.
Experiences during one’s youth could easily influence a person’s entire life.
He didn’t want these children, who had fought so hard to survive, to end up with serious psychological problems.
So, for these children and the ’s three current teachers, he had subdivided the task allocation of and in extra detail, keeping the focus firmly on the field of education.
At most, it could include only moderate participation in the ’s work tasks—never the killing of those humanoid monsters.
***
In the evening, the afterglow of the setting sun dyed the entire a magnificent golden hue.
When the last piece of modular armor was installed, a deep hum rang out across the field.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and, without prior arrangement, turned to look at the center of the field.
There, a behemoth stood silently.
It looked like a giant metal honeycomb made up of countless hexagons, about twenty meters long and pitch-black all over, its surface covered with intricate pipelines and heat-dissipating grilles.
Dense launch ports covered its top and both sides, and behind every port, the faint shape of a compact drone was visible.
“Hum—”
As energy surged in, the entire “ ” mother unit lit up.
Pale blue streams of energy flowed through its internal structure, and thousands of launch ports lit up with a faint glow all at once, like stars awakened simultaneously in the night sky.
“I... damn... that’s awesome!” tilted his head back, his mouth stretched wide enough to fit a light bulb, his Adam’s apple bobbing, but no more sound came out.
stood beside him, equally stunned.
He hadn’t expected the thing to look this “magnificent” after assembly, either! Just looking at it, you could tell it meant business.
[“ ” Drone Combat System, assembly complete.]
’s voice, calm and steady, reached everyone’s ears through the broadcast.
[It contains five thousand “ ” miniature bombing drones and five thousand “ ” miniature laser drones.]
[Congratulations, everyone. From today onward, our firepower will climb to a brand-new level.]