Another half month passed.
Tu Sanqi and Fei Yucheng had been working tirelessly and finally built a machine.
The machine was small enough to fit directly into their portable toolbox, required no extra power to operate, and could run just by hand.
Coincidentally, Yan Shuang’s squad had some free time, so Tu Sanqi invited them to the lab.
The group met at the shooting range in the training camp.
Yan Shuang hadn’t yet had the chance to ask Tu Sanqi how she suddenly ended up in the Engineering Department’s training camp, and naturally didn’t know she had recently handcrafted an ability-enhanced cannon.
Looking at the small machine before her, she asked curiously, “What does this do?”
“It produces bullets,” Tu Sanqi said without elaborating, signaling her to inject her ability into the machine.
Leng Xiangge and the others crowded over curiously. Following Tu Sanqi’s cue, Yan Shuang channeled her water-type ability directly into the machine. A stream of water flowed through but was constrained within a fixed space.
Next to her, Fei Yucheng began frantically operating the lever. The machine rattled and clicked, and everyone watched as bullets dropped one by one from the bottom.
Yan Shuang was still infusing her ability when Tu Sanqi picked up a bullet and handed it to Leng Xiangge. “Try it.”
The bullet looked ordinary, but Leng Xiangge had seen with her own eyes the water ability being infused into it. Her eyes lit up with excitement. She pulled out the pistol at her waist, loaded the bullet, chambered it, and aimed.
Bang—
A puff of smoke rose. Everyone turned to see the target directly in her sights completely destroyed!
“Whoa!” Han Fei, who had been waiting to watch, exclaimed instinctively. He looked at Tu Sanqi in disbelief, then ran over to retrieve the shattered target.
The target was even damp in places—clearly hit by that very bullet.
“The power is this strong?!” Yan Shuang gasped.
Fei Yucheng gestured for her to stop, but she eagerly picked up another bullet herself. “Can I try?”
Tu Sanqi nodded.
Moments later, the second target was utterly destroyed.
Everyone exclaimed in unison, then looked back at the little machine. Even Han Fei’s eyes now glimmered with excitement.
“Tu Sanqi! I want to try too!” he said, surprisingly flexible in his approach.
Tu Sanqi pursed her lips, about to respond, but Han Fei immediately knelt before her. “I’m sorry! I’ll apologize to you every day from now on. Just let me try—I want an ability bullet too!” He said this while tearing a lock of his hair and placing it in her hand as a sign of sincerity.
Yan Shuang: “…”Leng Xiangge: “…”Tu Sanqi: “…”
Tu Sanqi twitched at the corner of her mouth, disdainfully threw his “sincerity” back at him, then had Fei Yucheng monitor the bullet’s effect while she operated the lever herself.
Han Fei’s ability was fire-based, but with the higher-level Yan Shuang beside him, she generously let him try once.
A minute later, seeing a bullet create a small explosive effect, Han Fei: “!!!”
Han Fei had previously been resentful that Tu Sanqi gave up her ability. In the apocalypse, he believed nothing was more important than awakening one’s ability!
But now…
Han Fei stared at the gun in his hand and realized just how impressive Tu Sanqi really was.
Good thing he hadn’t tried to force her to awaken her ability…
Next, Leng Xiangge tested her lightning ability. The bullets struck everything in the path of her shots, leaving a scorched trail, and the target shattered into pieces.
Everyone looked at Leng Xiangge and exclaimed in awe, “Wow.”
Tu Sanqi and Fei Yucheng focused on the traces on the ground, their eyes gleaming with satisfaction.
In June, a new field mission was issued, and Tu Sanqi joined Fei Yucheng in her uncle Mei Jun’s team.
However, Mei Jun and most of his squad were on the southern front. This time, the two were accompanied by a member who had recently returned from recovery.
The squad member, Yu Pan, had overexerted his ability in a previous operation and was resting for two months.
Mei Jun’s mission was to reclaim a city recently attacked by zombies. With a shortage of personnel at the front, Yu Pan, who should have rested another month, insisted on going. He took reserve supplies and the two kids south.
Since the distance was long, driving would take at least five days, which would be costly time for Mei Jun’s team. So a small helicopter was dispatched for Yu Pan.
Yu Pan piloted the helicopter while Tu Sanqi and Fei Yucheng loaded bullets in the back.
Before departure, they had produced a few thousand ability-enhanced bullets, now being transported along with Yu Pan’s supplies.
Although Yu Pan briefed them on the frontlines en route, they were still shocked upon reaching S City.
Fei Yucheng grew up in the Fifth Special Zone’s human base and had only theoretical knowledge of zombies. Last time, accompanying his uncle, he stayed in logistics since he couldn’t contribute.
Now, as the helicopter slowly descended, he finally saw the mass—zombies everywhere!
Dense, ferocious, terrifying. One zombie snapped the neck of a nearby low-level zombie in the blink of an eye with its jagged teeth.
Fei Yucheng felt his scalp tingle.
Tu Sanqi, though experienced in encounters with zombies while fleeing, had only ever dealt with isolated ones.
She had never seen a massive horde like this. The visual impact was far beyond her imagination.
The helicopter landed at a northern S City outpost. Yu Pan immediately contacted logistics teammates to inventory the supplies.
After a brief moment of shock, Tu Sanqi and Fei Yucheng joined in to help.
Most of the logistics involved supplies, followed by the injured.
The two remained tense while assisting the medics, helping carry patients, deliver medicine, and relay messages. It took until late at night to adapt.
By then, combat had mostly ceased, and fewer injured were being brought in. Fei Yucheng then led Tu Sanqi back to the supply storage.
Their toolbox was there as well.
“My uncle should be back. Let’s find him so he can use these bullets tomorrow,” Fei Yucheng said, wiping his face. Despite fatigue, his energy remained high.
Tu Sanqi shook her head, opened the toolbox, and began preparing materials.
“You just go,” she said, opening the communicator and pulling up a blank holographic screen. “I’ll make a conveyor belt.”
Medics didn’t have the physical strength of other ability users, so labor-intensive tasks like carrying patients should be handled by machines.
Fei Yucheng rubbed his sore arms in agreement. “I’ll be back soon to help you.”
Tu Sanqi nodded.
Mei Jun did return, but he would soon leave again.
Zombies were more active at night than during the day; they couldn’t let their guard down.
Yu Pan had already loaded the supplies. After Mei Jun finished his patrol, they would depart.
Fei Yucheng didn’t find Mei Jun immediately, only Yu Pan and several boxes of bullets.
“Yu Pan, where’s my uncle?”
“The captain is on patrol,” Yu Pan said casually while checking messages from other teammates. “Can you wait a bit?”
“No problem,” Fei Yucheng said, then asked, “Will you be going into the city again later?”
Yu Pan nodded and reminded him, “Don’t wander off with your friend. It’s dangerous here. Zombies could sneak in at any time.”
Fei Yucheng nodded and said a few more words before returning to Tu Sanqi.
Soon, Mei Jun returned, got in the vehicle, and stepped on the gas. Tonight would likely be another brutal battle.
Yu Pan, in the passenger seat, equipped herself with weapons. When she touched a gun that Fei Yucheng and Tu Sanqi had loaded with bullets, she turned to Mei Jun.
“Captain, your nephew said they loaded three boxes of ability bullets… what exactly are these bullets?”