The entrance to the old subway tunnel was wedged open with collapsed steel beams and rusted scaffolding. A narrow crawlspace—just enough to slip through—led them down into a half-buried station platform.
The air changed instantly.
It was colder—damper, and heavier. The kind of air that clung to skin and seeped into the bones. The place reeked of old moisture, rusted metal, and burnt plastic. Flickering emergency lights—long since disconnected from any real power—still pulsed weakly, likely from a backup capacitor deeper underground.
Every step echoed like a gunshot. Their boots pressed into damp dust, fragments of shattered tiles crunching underfoot. Old advertisements—torn, water-damaged, and faded—fluttered faintly in the stale air.
Two stairways led into the platform. One was completely caved in. The other, narrow and curved, had been half-blocked with fallen vending machines and debris, forming a crude chokepoint.
"Good fallback position," Yue Fei muttered, checking the corners. "Single entrance, thick walls, natural funnel. If we get attacked, we'll have some advantage."
Lu Zhen nodded, eyes scanning the shadows. "Even if we had to retreat, we could rig the path with traps."
There were old maintenance closets along the platform. One had its door half-ripped open, revealing old utility tools and scrap metal. They broke in and found enough to patch up small gaps. Yue reinforced the chokepoint with discarded chair legs and rail pipe. The barricade wasn't pretty—but it was enough to slow something down.
Not a fortress. But better than open ground.
Lu Zhen slumped near the base of a cracked pillar, his legs sore and arms trembling. Hunger gnawed at his stomach. He hadn't eaten in over three days. The adrenaline of survival had masked it—until now.
Yue tossed him something from her bag.
He caught it mid-air: a dented can, half-covered in dust. He turned it slowly. It was still sealed.
"Where'd you get this?" he asked.
"Vending depot two blocks back," she replied. "Didn't mention it before. Thought you'd collapse first."
He popped it open. The contents didn't look appealing—thick paste with an artificial smell—but he didn't care. It tasted like chemicals and old beans. But it was warm, and it stayed down.
Food is food.
After finishing, he wiped his hands and accessed the HUD. He flicked through the blueprint menu while Yue silently kept watch by the barricade.
[Crafting Lv.2 – Material Synthesis Unlocked]– Tier 0–1 materials may now be synthesized if blueprint exists.– Limitation: Cannot synthesize materials equal to or higher than current Crafting Level.
Blueprints flickered:
Basic Gunpowder Synth,Bullet Magazine,Rusted Frame Pistol,Survival Barricade v0.1
Lu Zhen's attention focused on the last one.
He checked his Vault.
[Vault Capacity: 0.94m³ / 1.00m³]Material Match: 82%Deficiency: Polymer Binding Agent
His eyes scanned the platform.
Vending machine: burnt out, half-melted… but the inner layers still held intact plastic.
He knelt beside it and touched the remains.
[Scan Initiated – Vending Machine (Interior)]Scan Time: 2 minutesDecomposition Time: 1 minuteMaterial Extraction Focus: Polymer + Circuit FragmentsBlueprint Match: Survival Barricade v0.1
His hand pressed against the vending frame. A soft hum vibrated into his palm. The world narrowed. Vision dimmed slightly. The machine's shape unraveled in his mind's eye—each bolt, each molded edge breaking apart slowly.
It was mentally exhausting. His breathing quickened halfway.
[Scan Complete – Blueprint Updated][Decomposition Initiated…][Extracting Material: Polymer Fragments]Decomposition EXP: [46 → 54 / 100]
Vault pinged.
New Materials: Polymer Fragments x1, Scrap Insulation x1Vault: 0.98m³ / 1.00m³
He stepped back, blinking. A faint headache buzzed behind his eyes.
"Don't push it," Yue Fei warned, not looking back.
Lu Zhen chuckled faintly. "Was that... concern?"
"No," she said flatly. "I don't want to fight alone."
Back in his corner, he activated crafting.
[Crafting – Survival Barricade v0.1]→ Estimated Time: 4 minutes→ Focus Required: Moderate→ Output: Crude defensive cover, 1.2m width→ Durability: Low, impact-resistant
He sat cross-legged. As the pieces floated before him—hazy fragments reconstructed in his mind—he began forming them together.
His muscles tensed involuntarily. Sweat dripped down his temple. Each second demanded total concentration. Just a slip, a stray thought, and the form would collapse.
He gritted his teeth.
4 minutes passed.
[Crafting Complete – Survival Barricade Created][Crafting EXP: 6 → 39 / 300]
Yue turned to look at the newly constructed cover.
"You built that from scrap?"
He smiled weakly. "No. I forged it."
She smirked—just a little. "You're full of weird surprises."
Lu Zhen leaned back against the wall, exhaling slowly.
"Where do you think Base Tianlei is?" he asked.
Yue Fei hesitated. "Rumors said it was near the eastern coast. One of the last early-warning cities with power grids and walls. Some evacuees made it... most didn't."
"If that signal is still broadcasting," Lu Zhen murmured, "then someone's still alive."
"Maybe."
The silence stretched.
He glanced at the cracked ceiling, then closed his eyes.
Three days ago... he was just a tech student.Now he was forging weapons in the ruins of the world.
Later that night, the radio blinked.Ping. Ping.
Lu Zhen sat up, HUD flickering to life.
[Tracking Update – Signal Node Ping Received]→ Base Tianlei Range Estimate: 139.7 km→ Signal Strength: Weak→ Estimated Path: Unmapped Terrain→ Team Formation Recommended
His throat tightened.
139.7 km.
Too far for now. But not forever.
"We'll need others," he said quietly. "Can't do it alone."
Yue Fei leaned her back against the wall. "Then be careful who you choose."
That night, under flickering yellow lights and behind crude barricades, they slept in shifts.
Above ground, the monsters screamed into the dark sky.