Chen Yuan stood at the window and watched Jiang Nan depart. He respected her choice. Even though he knew it was dangerous to go out, he didn't ask her to stay.
He turned and went back to the warehouse, his fingers swiping across the blueprint screen. The matter of the generator was temporarily pushed to the back of his mind. The most urgent task now was to arm himself.
After producing a few more bags of combustion pellets, he set out with his three robot dogs.
His scavenging target for the day was the public security bureau. It had office computers, which could solve his need for microchips. Most importantly, it had an armory. If he was too late, he feared someone else would beat him to it.
The outside temperature remained at a steady negative fifty degrees Celsius. If not for his thermostatic suit, he would likely freeze solid after just a few hours.
Tieqiong and Tieniu cleared the path ahead, their pace much faster than his own when wading through the snow.
"In this environment, it would be great to have a snowmobile," Chen Yuan muttered to himself as he walked. Venturing out was always so difficult; he could probably only cover about ten kilometers in a full day. The world was so vast, yet he couldn't even go out and see it. And, according to Jiang Nan's description, those zombies were much faster than ordinary people.
Swish… swish…
The man and his three dogs pressed on through the snow. Tiedan's two red optical sensors continuously scanned left and right, observing the surroundings. Fortunately, the journey was peaceful; they didn't see a single other person.
However, when Chen Yuan arrived outside the security bureau, his brow furrowed slightly.
He clearly remembered that Tieqiong had only torn a small opening in the main gate before. But now, the entire gate had been violently smashed open.
"Could it be the Fenghuo Squad..."
By Chen Yuan's estimation, they had probably also sensed the threat of the zombies and had brought people here to find weapons. But, was the armory door really so easy to open?
Chen Yuan didn't overthink it and decided to go in and see. In any case, as long as they were only armed with cold weapons, Tiedan could handle them. And he figured they wouldn't have brought too many people on this trip.
He stepped through the gate of the security bureau. The inside showed clear signs of being rummaged through. Paying it no mind, Chen Yuan directly ordered Tiedan to rush up to the third floor.
Gradually, he began to hear the thump, thump of a door being battered. Hearing this, he felt a small sense of relief. Good, they can't open it. Then the things inside are mine.
When Chen Yuan reached the third-floor stairwell, he saw a man standing lookout. The man's head was wrapped up tightly, his face hidden, but from his build, he was likely male.
The moment he saw Chen Yuan, the man was clearly stunned.
"Hey, which squad are you from?" the man's coarse voice called out, laced with a hint of vigilance.
Chen Yuan chuckled. "I'm not from any squad."
Hearing this, the man immediately understood. The person before him was a lone wolf.
"Interested in joining our Fenghuo Squad? We're about to get our hands on the weapons."
Chen Yuan found this amusing. They couldn't even get the door open, and they were "about to get the weapons."
"Sorry, I have no intention of joining a squad. Please move aside."
The man was clearly surprised, but then a vicious light glinted in his eyes. If you're not one of us, then you're an enemy.
"Scram. While I'm still in a good mood and haven't decided to rob you of your supplies," he sneered, gesturing towards Chen Yuan's backpack. As for the robot dogs at Chen Yuan's side, he dismissed them as mere flashy trinkets.
"Heh." Chen Yuan shrugged. "Tieqiong, restrain him."
「Roger.」
Tieqiong shot out from behind him. It extended its industrial mechanical arm, opening the pincer at its end.
Seeing this, a fierce look flashed in the man's eyes. They were in the middle of breaking into the armory, and he didn't want any extra trouble. But this young man clearly wanted a piece of the pie. Since that was the case, he wouldn't be polite.
He took two steps back to build momentum, then brought his large machete down in a diagonal slash. In his mind, this kind of pincer-wielding robot dog could be taken out in a single blow. What kind of trashy gadget dares to mess with me?!
However, Tieqiong's agility had already been upgraded by Chen Yuan. Its four powerful mechanical legs pushed off to the side, easily evading the blade. In the next moment, its mechanical arm shot out with incredible speed, accurately clamping down on the man's right hand, which held the machete.
The pincer tightened. The man felt an immense force on his wrist and couldn't help but cry out in pain. At the same time, with a sharp clang, the machete fell to the floor.
Chen Yuan watched this scene, a smile spreading across his face. This was the first time he had ordered his robot dogs to fight, and the result was surprisingly good. He only needed to give a simple command, and Tieqiong could evade an attack on its own and strike at the right moment.
His gaze couldn't help but drift to Tiedan, who was watching menacingly from the side. If he let that one loose, the result would be truly terrifying.
The man gritted his teeth in pain. The mechanical arm shoved him forward, and he collapsed to the ground, his face a mask of agony.
Chen Yuan sneered coldly. "How does it feel?"
"What is this monster?! Let me go!!!"
Chen Yuan naturally pretended not to hear the man's roars. As he walked past, he kicked the machete on the ground away. What a piece of junk. I have the Flame Dagger.
The fight had been short, but it was enough to attract the attention of the men at the end of the hallway.
The three men who had been trying to break down the door turned around. The front of the wooden log they were using as a battering ram was already cracked and splintered. But even so, the steel blast door behind it showed no sign of budging.
Seeing the scene before them, the three men's expressions hardened. They dropped the log and drew weapons from their waists.
Chen Yuan stood his ground quietly, waiting for the three to approach. At the same time, Tiedan instinctively took two steps forward, positioning itself in front of him.
"It's you?!" Wang Hao, walking at the front, frowned slightly.
Chen Yuan wasn't showing his face, but his thermostatic suit was very memorable. In this frigid environment, there probably wasn't a second man wearing a silvery-gray windbreaker.
Seeing Wang Hao, memories also flooded into Chen Yuan's mind. Wasn't this the captain of Jiang Nan's squad? He hadn't expected to run into him here. But he hadn't had a good impression of this man before, and now, seeing him again, the smell of gunpowder instantly filled the air.
"Heh, it's me," Chen Yuan shrugged, his tone relaxed.
"Brother Wang, who's this kid?" a man beside him asked, looking back and forth with a puzzled expression.
Wang Hao sneered, a plan already forming in his mind. "This kid is all alone. He has no mountain to lean on and no organization."
As he spoke, he gave a meaningful look to his teammates on either side.
The two of them understood instantly. It was time to slaughter a sheep.
At that thought, they subtly raised the machetes in their hands.
In this apocalyptic environment, finding a fat sheep was a true gift from the heavens.