Chapter 38 Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland 1

[Transportation complete. Welcome to Wasteland World 07.]

Current coordinates: Post-apocalyptic wasteland (Energy level: Low Magic)

Main mission: Survive for 30 days and build a shelter that can safely sustain 100 people.

Side Quest 1: Collect samples of the original 'T-virus' strain and at least three variants.

Side Mission 2: Locate and bring back 'Power Armor' blueprints or physical samples.

Side Quest 3: Obtain at least 1 ton of 'Memory Metal'.

Side quests are not mandatory; the system will notify you that there are hidden rewards for completing them.

[Energy Reserve: 43% (minus 2% for travel energy, 1% for normal system mode)]

Before Zhou Jue could react to the series of system notifications, the next second, a pungent smell of rust and decay rushed into his nasal cavity.

She immediately activated the built-in environmental monitoring system of the "Obsidian" combat suit.

[External air composition analysis: Oxygen content 18%, carbon dioxide content 2%, presence of various unknown microorganisms and high concentration of suspended particulate matter. The environmental circulation system has been automatically activated.]

External temperature: 28 degrees Celsius. Humidity: 75%. No harmful radiation.

After confirming that there was no immediate threat to the environment, Zhou Jue slowly opened his eyes.

As far as the eye could see, there was a desolate, apocalyptic scene.

She stood in the middle of a wide but dilapidated street. The once towering skyscrapers were now nothing but ruins, their charred steel skeletons piercing the gray sky like the ribs of a giant beast. Rusty car wrecks were scattered across the street, and the rustling of discarded newspapers and plastic bags in the wind was the only soundtrack to this ghost town.

The air was filled with an indescribable stench, a mixture of dust, mold, and blood, so foul it made one want to vomit.

"Brother Tongzi, is this what you called... the post-apocalyptic wasteland?" Zhou Jue thought to himself, "This is too authentic. Are you trying to make sure I don't know I've changed maps?"

[Host, please remain vigilant. Energy fluctuations indicate the presence of a large number of low-energy life forms nearby.] System 001's voice was unusually serious.

"Low-energy life form? You mean... a zombie?" Zhou Jue's heart skipped a beat.

Instead of acting rashly, she quickly slipped behind the wreckage of an abandoned bus, using the triangular area between the bus body and the wall as cover.

Immediately afterwards, she took out a palm-sized device shaped like a metal dragonfly from her tactical pouch at her waist.

Hummingbird unmanned reconnaissance aircraft.

With a light tap on her personal terminal, the Hummingbird drone silently took off, quickly ascended, and projected real-time images of the surrounding five-kilometer radius clearly onto the visor of her combat helmet.

The God's-eye view is now open.

The entire city unfolded before her eyes in a way that was utterly shocking. It was a modern metropolis that had been completely destroyed, devoid of any signs of life... except for those...

Zhou Jue zoomed in on the image.

On the streets and in the collapsed buildings, figures wandered aimlessly. They were ragged, staggered, and moved stiffly and strangely. As the drone approached, one of the figures seemed to be attracted by the sound and slowly raised its head.

It was a face that could no longer be called a "face". The skin was an ominous bluish-gray, the muscles were rotting, the eye sockets were empty and dark, and a trace of dark red, long-dried blood still clung to the corner of the mouth.

"I*……"

Even though he was mentally prepared, Zhou Jue was still disgusted by the high-definition, uncensored close-up.

These are people infected with the T-virus? Just like in the movies.

She controlled the drone, quickly scanning the entire area and marking the terrain, zombie distribution, and possible safe points on the 3D map.

Just then, a sharp metallic scraping sound suddenly came from not far behind her.

Zhou Jue's heart clenched, and almost instinctively he turned around and drew a specially made silenced pistol from the holster on the outside of his thigh.

She saw three zombies, the same kind she had just seen, staggering out of an alley.

There were no roars or howls, only incomprehensible "hoho" sounds coming from the throat and "clatter" sounds from the twisting of joints.

They found her.

Almost the instant their eyes met, the three zombies suddenly went from slow to frenzied. They opened their dark mouths, took stiff steps, and charged straight at Zhou Jue!

Zhou Jue's pupils suddenly contracted, but he showed no panic whatsoever.

Countless simulated training sessions transformed into muscle memory at this moment.

She calmly raised her arm, lowered her body slightly, and instantly locked onto the head of the foremost zombie using the intelligent aiming system on her helmet visor.

"puff!"

A slight, almost negligible sound.

The specially designed subsonic bullet pierced the zombie's forehead with pinpoint accuracy. The zombie's forward momentum came to an abrupt halt, its body swayed, and it fell straight backward.

Without the slightest pause, Zhou Jue moved his wrist slightly, and the muzzle of the gun moved horizontally.

"Pfft!" "Pfft!"

Two more soft sounds rang out, and two more zombies fell to the ground, each with a bullet hole that was just as precise in the center of their foreheads.

The entire process was smooth and quick, taking no more than three seconds.

Only after confirming that the threat had been eliminated did Zhou Jue let out a long sigh of relief. His palms were already covered in a fine layer of sweat.

Simulated training and real combat are ultimately two different things.

"Brother Tongzi, is this the level of zombies in this world? They don't seem very strong..." she muttered to herself as she calmed her racing heart.

[Host, please do not let your guard down. According to the mission instructions, the T-virus has multiple variants; this is just one of them.]

"Okay, okay," Zhou Jue replied, already cautiously stepping forward.

She took an automatic sampler out of her tactical backpack and collected a sample from one of the zombie corpses.

[Ding! Original strain of 'T-virus' detected, sample collected. Mission [Side Mission 1] Progress: 1/3.]

Get one sorted out.

Zhou Jue felt a little more relaxed and began to search the surrounding buildings.

The most urgent task was to find a safe place to stay. The city was too big and too dangerous; she needed a temporary base to organize her equipment and plan her next move.

Her gaze finally settled on a building not far away, about ten stories high, that appeared to be structurally intact. On the roof of that building, there seemed to be a large red cross symbol.

Hospital?

Zhou Jue frowned slightly. In any biohazard apocalypse scenario, a hospital is definitely not a beginner's area, but rather a high-level danger zone.

But conversely, danger also means opportunity.

Perhaps more information about the T-virus, or even... clues to the origin of the original strain, can be found in the hospital.

She glanced at the countdown displayed on her personal terminal: 29 days and 23 hours.

There is still a long time to go, but the task is also very challenging.

"Fortune favors the bold, let's do it!" Zhou Jue made up his mind.

She retrieved the drone, checked her equipment, replaced the silenced pistol with a more powerful tactical rifle, and then, keeping a low profile, stealthily made her way towards the ominous hospital building like an agile black cat.