Chapter 7: Remains of the Survivors

Shen Cong had never witnessed such a disgusting scene with his own eyes, and he nearly retched.

Shen Cong focused his mind and used his willpower to guide the activity of the Vajra, attempting to locate the area with the most intense activity. However, after searching extensively, he was unable to find such a place.

This seems to be caused by the survivors battling the monsters. Given the level of decay, it has been at least one month. Could it have occurred before the storm ceased?

The next day, there was still no sign of activity

Therefore

For three consecutive days, Shen Cong encountered the "survivors" three times, yet they were the three mutated creatures: the burrowing worm, the wolf, and the giant rat. It seems that all the surviving organisms have already undergone mutations.

Interestingly, the activity of the battle armor seems to have a remarkable reaction with the fangs, organically combining together, which makes Shen Cong feel that the rate of activity loss of the battle armor has significantly slowed down. The active battle armor, which is expected to last for half an hour, can be used for at least three hours at this rate of loss.

Shen Cong first arrived at the first compartment, where he had previously noticed some black spots on the toy car. Shen Cong was very curious about what they were, and upon walking closer, he discovered that these dark black spots resembled traces left by blood.

Shen Cong dropped half of the mousetrap, directly returned to the Jingang ship, and then set off without hesitation, heading towards the water treatment plant.

This discovery immediately made Shen Cong tense, but he could not discern whether the bloodstains were from two months ago or from after the apocalypse

Including himself, all have already been actively changed

... ...

After clearing a passage at the entrance, Shen Cong did not recklessly walk in again, as the experience at the Carrefour supermarket had left him with a shadow of fear

There is nothing more harmless than the dead ... Of course, the world of zombies is an exception

Shen Cong could not help but feel a sense of pride

Even if faced with that monster capable of biting through rebar, one may not be able to defeat it, but at least there is the ability to escape

The infrared thermal imager at the left eye wwwhetushucomcom did not detect any objects with high thermal energy.

While manufacturing the active battle armor, he had a whimsical idea: if the active core were embedded into the active battle armor, and his own activity were used as a guide, could it not enhance the duration of the armor's activity?

Is it possible to use the active steel plates of the Vajra model to create active battle armor

After observing the corpse for a while, Shen Cong covered his nose and turned to leave, proceeding to the third compartment

The toy car dashed into the underground warehouse, and the video feed began to transmit. This warehouse is quite large, divided into individual compartments. In the first compartment, the toy car found nothing but some gravel and patches of dark stains.

Take the tusk dagger as an example. When not infused with active guidance, it is merely a relatively hard ornament. However, once it is infused with activity, a qualitative change occurs immediately. Shen Cong attempted to infuse it with activity and directly cut through an ordinary knife.

So where is the active core of the Vajra?

On the third day, Shen Cong roasted the mole cricket meat and placed it on the mousetrap, yet there was still no movement. Additionally, Shen Cong took another batch of drinks and tobacco, but still did not encounter the big-toothed rat; it seemed that there was truly only that one mutated rat.

Since the tusk dagger can be infused with vitality, it stands to reason that a set of active battle armor could be crafted using vitality cores such as tusks. Currently, due to constraints, there are not enough vitality cores available for use, so Shen Cong thought of the Jingang号, which possesses vitality throughout its entirety

Clang, clang

A genius idea

Upon reaching the second compartment, there is a closed door that blocks the remote-controlled car from proceeding further.

This inspiration is similarly derived from the tusked dagger cleaving the skull of a large rat

There is insufficient information, and ultimately, we can only set aside our inferences for the time being

As a patient with persecutory delusions, one is always fighting against the entire world alone; Shen Cong only believes in himself

Shen Cong could only explain everything with the "activity" brought about by the meteor shower that changed the world

The amount of bottled water taken from Carrefour is truly insufficient, adding up to probably less than the equivalent of two barrels of bottled water, and the small bottles also take up space

However, on the fourth day, the mousetrap showed signs of activity

In that case, there must certainly be quite a number of survivors in large cities or military garrisons, thought Shen Cong.

Therefore, Shen Cong no longer consumes such junk food as earthworms

It is truly terrifying

One cannot possibly wander the world alone for a lifetime, yet before the end of days, he did not enjoy interacting with others... Or rather, in Shen Cong's eyes, there was little difference between survivors and mutated monsters, at most adding an option of "exchanging resources"... The human heart is the hardest to fathom; dealing with people is even more nerve-wracking than dealing with monsters

In novels and films, such incidents of "cannibalism" occur frequently

Push open the door of the second compartment

This ability was named "Sharpening" by Shen Cong, the fourth ability of vitality

The tusked dagger was capable of cleaving the head of a large rat, providing Shen Cong with numerous insights. He realized that the utility of vitality far exceeded his previous assumptions regarding its three functions: extension, alloying, and substitution.

The earthworm meat has disappeared, and half of the mouse traps are also gone. It seems that something has bitten through the steel rebar, which is as thick as a thumb, and at the breakage point, there are clear bite marks and scratches.

Shen Cong, clad in active combat armor, wielding a high-fidelity replica of the Type 64 pistol that has undergone active assimilation, with two fang daggers sheathed at his waist and a crossbow slung across his back, approached the warehouse in a fully armed manner

After replenishing the water resources, we will head towards the provincial capital to see if we can find a gas station. If we can manage to save some diesel or gasoline, the Jinganghao will be able to continue its journey. If not, we will have no choice but to bask in the sun and charge slowly while wandering around.

The cleaning work lasted for one and a half hours

Ugh

Therefore, Shen Cong took out his high-tech equipment—a remote-controlled toy car equipped with a camera

After vomiting for a while, he felt much better and rationally accepted everything, choosing not to leave. Although the corpse was disgusting, it was safe; Shen Cong instinctively did not fear the body.

However, when Shen Cong wears it himself, he feels a strong sense of security

Indeed, in the third compartment, traces of the survivors' habitation were discovered, including remnants of food, bedding, and other living utensils such as chamber pots. It was due to the presence of water and their refuge in the underground warehouse that these survivors managed to survive the ravages of the storm, but unfortunately, they encountered mutated monsters

No one answered him, so he could only slowly adapt.

Safety first

It is just right for luring the big-toothed rat

The battle armor can be handed over to the King Kong for alloy capability assimilation, followed by the infusion of activation. When needed, it can be severed for connection, allowing for an additional half an hour of active battle armor time

Blood Seal

It is difficult to connect a pile of rubble with the original water treatment plant. There used to be a reservoir next to the water treatment plant; while I cannot say it was vast and magnificent, it certainly had a gentle mist rising. Now, all that meets the eye is rubble and yellow sand, with neither the plant nor the reservoir in sight.

He believed that steel was the most direct barrier against monsters, yet at this moment he suddenly realized that there existed a certain creature that could even bite through steel

This is roughly the place; let's dig a bit to see if we can find the location of the warehouse

This discovery left Shen Cong drenched in cold sweat

Two days later, a rough, composite structure made of steel plates, embedded with two tusks—Optimus Prime 1.0 model active battle armor—was born

The pincers of the earthworm and the large front teeth of the capybara are both vital components of their active core

Currently, Shen Cong possesses 14 fangs of the tooth wolf, a pair of digging insect pincers, and a pair of incisors from the giant tooth mouse

Is this the end of the world, or a new world? Shen Cong could not help but ask

The appearance is extremely ugly, even more so than the most primitive Iron Man suit

Survivor

Large cities have many basements, and many supermarkets are located underground, providing abundant supplies. There are also facilities such as air raid shelters, which can help avoid apocalyptic storms. Naturally, military districts will have such refuge places as well. Shen Cong survived while hiding in the Jingang, so it is easy to imagine that those who take shelter underground, as long as they do not worry about food and drink, will find survival not difficult

Due to the need for his arm to heal, Shen Cong did not leave the Carrefour supermarket for the next few days. With one hand, he welded a mouse trap and then donned some earthworm meat, quietly placing it in the Carrefour supermarket. He prepared to eliminate the entire nest of big-toothed rats in the supermarket, if there were any remaining.

The bulldozer worked diligently, clearing away a layer of yellow sand and rubble from the surface, but it also consumed a significant amount of diesel, which made Shen Cong quite distressed. Diesel is consumed little by little, and in the absence of a new energy source to replace it, it has become a strategic resource more precious than gold.

He also did not realize that he had an active core

A trace of seriousness flashed in his eyes as Shen Cong silently walked past the third compartment and arrived at the fourth compartment, which was filled with barrels of water. Shen Cong planned to transport ten barrels back and also get two more barrels for a shower. For nearly two months, he had only been wiping his body with a wet towel and had not taken a shower at all

However, during the shower, Shen Cong felt very complicated emotions, his thoughts were quite chaotic, as he did not know how to deal with the survivors

However, the seduction process did not go smoothly. On the first day, there was no response at all

sufficient to validate his ideas

As for why the flesh of the burrowing worm is used as bait, it is because the meat quality and active content of the three mutated creatures—Wolf, Big Tooth Rat, and Burrowing Worm—are ranked from high to low, with the taste also following the same order.

As the door opened, a foul stench immediately assaulted the senses. Inside the warehouse, which was supposed to store bottled water, lay a chaotic pile of more than a dozen human corpses, along with the decaying remains of several unidentified creatures.

Once the half-hour deadline is reached, the battle armor loses its activation

Is my inference incorrect

One can only be more careful and prudent

Shen Cong also discovered that the only pair of fangs on the tooth wolf that could infuse with active sharpening seemed to be the essence of vitality in the tooth wolf, or rather, its core

Although the components will quickly lose their activity once cut from the Diamond-class vessel, there is a period of half an hour during which the activity will not disappear. Shen Cong can utilize this process of losing activity to create active battle armor that is only sufficient for use for half an hour.

With the active steel plate armor, the protective capability is significantly enhanced compared to that of plain steel plates

Where exactly is the problem, could it be that non-living entities do not have an active core

The greatest confidence that the Jingang class provides to Shen Cong is its thick steel plate armor

The warehouse was empty, with only Shen Cong's footsteps echoing.

Finally found the entrance to the underground warehouse

As a highly skilled DIY enthusiast, Shen Cong intends to create a battle armor that is quite simple, and given his robust physique, he does not need to consider the weight of the armor, as he can easily bear it.

Thinking of this, Shen Cong once again focused his willpower back on himself. He had also received a strengthening of vitality, which, in principle, could be considered a form of mutation. If other mutated organisms possess a core of vitality, perhaps he would have one as well. However, ten minutes later, Shen Cong shook his head again.

Shen Cong could only drive the remote-controlled car back and then prepare to go down himself. The ordinary stab-resistant suit no longer provided much protection, so to enhance his sense of security, he planned to make himself a set of armor—active combat armor