Chapter 38: What Is She Searching For?

A smirk played on Chen Yuan's lips, his face a mask of supreme confidence.

Where to? To find more materials, of course. If he was going to build a truly devastating weapon, he needed the right components. He'd already planned it out last night: he was going to craft a weapon of ludicrous power from the Apocalypse Store. Once he paired that with an upgraded, defense-oriented thermostatic suit, wouldn't he be unstoppable?

"First, back home!"

Roger.

Tieniu set its four legs in motion, beginning the journey home. Without Tieqiong to clear the way, Tiedan could only stand guard at his side. The way home wasn't too far. For the ten-plus kilometer journey, he first traversed the frozen river surface before turning onto the main roads.

By evening, he was back in familiar territory. No matter how good it was outside, nothing beat the comfort of home. This trip had taken longer than expected, but the combustion pellets had held out. His apartment hadn't frozen over. He collapsed onto the sofa, watching the warm, red glow of the stove, and felt his entire body relax.

After a short rest, he pulled the headset from his backpack.

Why had he "lent" Tieqiong to her? Because Tieqiong had a video transmission function. After its upgrade, the transmission feature was integrated directly into its glowing red optical sensors. If he didn't mention it, she would never know.

You say you're official, so I should just believe you? This world isn't that naive. Who knows if you're some kind of spy?

So, to play it safe, Chen Yuan had chosen to lend her Tieqiong. If she was an ally, it was only right for Tieqiong to help. If she wasn't, then great—she would eventually reveal her true colors.

He slipped the headset on and pressed the power button. The view flickered to life, and Tieqiong's perspective filled his vision.

On the screen, a woman and a dog were in some underground parking garage, a searchlight illuminating the surrounding space.

Clank... clank... clank...

The plates of Lan Ya's armor clanked against each other as she moved, the sound echoing in the empty garage. Before long, a series of low growls came through the headset's microphone.

Zombies!

Chen Yuan's heart tightened, and he instinctively sat up straight on the sofa.

The camera feed rounded a corner of the garage, the light piercing the darkness.

Report. Thirty zombies detected.

Lan Ya heard Tieqiong's report and nodded slightly. This little machine had given her too many surprises today. Especially in terms of reconnaissance, it operated completely autonomously, requiring no input from her. While puzzled, she also had to admire Chen Yuan's technical skills. How did he build something like this? I shouldn't have been so stubborn with him. If I could learn this technology, who knows what it could lead to in the future.

Of course, now wasn't the time for such thoughts. She focused her attention on the horde of zombies about two hundred meters ahead.

Meanwhile, Chen Yuan was also getting a clear view of the situation through the camera. In a corner of the garage, a group of zombies with stiff, unnatural movements were gathered around something, gnawing on it. The wet, crunching sound of their chewing was enough to make one's ears tingle.

Lan Ya seemed accustomed to it. She spread her arms, the blade-tips extending from her five fingers glinting with a cold light. With a burst of speed, she charged headfirst into the horde.

Hearing the noise, the zombies stopped what they were doing and turned in unison. Upon confirming the arrival of fresh food, excited growls rumbled in their throats. Shaking off their stupor, they surged toward Lan Ya, claws outstretched.

The scene that followed was... graphic.

In any case, it took Lan Ya less than five minutes to eliminate all the zombies. Her movements were clean and efficient, every strike ruthlessly precise. Her black armor was splattered with dark green blood, from which wisps of acrid white smoke rose, making her look like a god of slaughter from the depths of hell. And every single one of the zombies had had its neck severed, their bodies twitching on the ground.

Chen Yuan covered his mouth. It was a good thing he hadn't eaten, or he would have thrown up. When he had hunted zombies, he used high-explosive incendiary arrowheads. Once they exploded, there was nothing left to see. But this... this was unwatchable.

Just as he was about to take off the headset, he saw Lan Ya walk over to one of the zombies and crouch down. Through Tieqiong's camera, he watched as Lan Ya plunged her sharp blade into the zombie's chest and slowly slid her hand downwards. Then, she shoved her entire hand into the zombie's chest cavity and began to search frantically inside.

The image was simply... beyond words.

"Huh? What is she looking for?"

Chen Yuan fought back his nausea and watched quietly. It wasn't until she had cut open and searched through every single zombie that she shook her head, a look of disappointment on her face.

"Why aren't there any..."

"Does it have to be a high-level zombie..."

Lan Ya muttered to herself and walked over to a nearby pillar to rest. She had no idea that Chen Yuan had observed everything with perfect clarity.

There wasn't much else to see after that. After a short rest, Lan Ya continued her sweep with Tieqiong.

Chen Yuan took off the headset and stared at the stove in front of him.

"What in the world is she searching for..." he murmured to himself and fell into deep thought.

It was obvious his new "teammate" hadn't given him all the intel. She was hiding something. But based on her words, it seemed he wouldn't find the answer until they encountered a high-level zombie.

He mulled it over but couldn't come up with any leads. He decided to leave the soft sofa and head for the warehouse. He tossed the portable tent onto the floor. With a pop, it expanded to its full two-by-two-meter size.

"You two, stand guard outside."

Roger.

...

His fingers swiped back and forth across the Apocalypse Store's screen as he began to search for what he needed.

First, he had to upgrade his thermostatic suit. Its insulation was top-notch, but it had no defensive capabilities. In other words, he lacked protection in close-quarters combat. Even if he avoided melee, it probably wouldn't hold up against the corrosive blood of the zombies.

The thermostatic suit had many upgrade options. Chen Yuan tapped through them one by one.

Thermostatic Suit, Upgrade: Anti-Corrosion. Materials required: Ceramics. Thermostatic Suit, Upgrade: Anti-Puncture. Materials required: Carbon Fiber Materials, Graphite. Thermostatic Suit, Upgrade: Anti-Blunt Force. Materials required: Copper, Aluminum, Steel, Carbon Fiber Materials, Graphite.

Chen Yuan looked at the descriptions on the screen and nodded slightly. Not bad. He had all these materials. He took off his suit, gathered the necessary materials, and tossed them into the insertion port. He pressed the red button, and a prompt box popped up on the screen.

Materials inserted successfully. Thermostatic Suit upgrading: Anti-Corrosion, Anti-Puncture, Anti-Blunt Force. Upgrade time: three hours.

He closed the pop-up and continued to search through the blueprints. His arsenal was still too limited. Although he could engage in close combat after his suit was upgraded, and the effect with the Flame Dagger would certainly be good, he needed more. A dagger for melee, a bow for ranged attacks.

But he needed a weapon for crowd control.

He rummaged through a pile of blueprints for a long time. His finger paused, his gaze fixed on one icon.

Plasma Hand Cannon: Uses a laser to heat deuterium into a plasma state, then uses an electromagnetic field to contain the charged particles into a "sphere" and launch it to destroy the target.

Warning: The Plasma Hand Cannon is extremely powerful. Please use with caution.