The Reborn Otaku’s Code of Practice for the Apocalypse – CH139

Chapter 139 — Slaughtering the Sheep

Yan Fei instinctively lifted the metal plate that had been knocked back toward them—luckily preventing it from crashing into the sleds. As the plate rose, a towering figure covered in wind and snow appeared before them.

It was a sheep—but far larger than any normal one. It had slammed into the metal plate and was clearly dazed, its front legs raised high as if it might topple backward. Only the strong wind behind it helped it steady itself.

“…Is that a mutated mountain goat?” Luo Xun froze for a moment before speaking.

“…Seems like it,” Yan Fei confirmed behind him.

“Is now really the time to discuss its species?” Zhang Su snapped impatiently. “Shouldn’t we either kill it or run?”

As if responding to his words, the goat steadied itself, lowered its head, pawed the ground like a bull—and charged.

Luo Xun’s expression changed when he saw its hooves standing firmly on the snow’s surface without sinking. That meant its ability was likely related to ice or wind.

“Metal plate!” he shouted briefly.

Yan Fei instantly raised the metal shield again—

“Clang!”

This time, he angled it slightly so the goat slid off instead of hitting head-on. The impact no longer shook him like before.

But the goat didn’t stop. It lowered its head again and prepared to charge once more.

“Is this thing insane?!” Zhang Su’s voice rose. “Are we killing it or what?”

After another failed charge, the goat seemed to realize brute force wasn’t enough. It suddenly stood still—and a swirling storm of wind and snow began gathering around it.

Wind-type ability.

“…It’s wind-type too…” Zhang Su’s expression darkened. The vortex it created was even larger than his own, tearing up snow, stones, and soil alike.

“Damn it!” Yan Fei cursed, instantly reshaping the metal into a dome that sealed everyone inside.

Outside, a barrage of impacts followed—

Bang bang bang—

Whoosh—

Scrape—

“What do we do now?” someone shouted. They couldn’t just wait for it to leave.

Luo Xun frowned, thinking quickly. Then his eyes lit up.

“Can we trip it?” Song Lingling suddenly called out. “Like something from the ground!”

“Yeah! Trip it—and add spikes if possible!” Luo Xun clapped his hands excitedly.

Before they could act—

“BANG!”

The goat slammed directly into the dome. The entire structure vibrated violently, making everyone dizzy.

“No problem.” Yan Fei steadied himself, then quietly extended metal beneath the snow along the goat’s charging path.

The goat backed up again, gathering wind energy, snow swirling violently around it—

Then it charged.

At that moment, the hidden metal shot up from the ground—sharp steel spikes erupting through the snow.

BOOM!

The ground shook violently. Even the sleds rocked.

When they looked outside through the viewing slit, everyone froze.

The goat had fallen—and in its fall, its neck had been slashed open by the spikes. Bright red blood spread across the white snow.

Its massive body twitched a few times… then went still.

Silence.

Then—

“…Ah. Meat.”

Everyone turned to see Zhang Su staring at the goat with shining eyes.

They all went speechless.

Then—collectively—they glared at him.

This guy ate the most meat, yet somehow still had a slim waist even under layers of winter clothes. It was infuriating.

But…

Meat.

Real lamb.

“We need to process it fast! Before it freezes solid!” Luo Xun’s eyes lit up as well.

Mutated animals were rare and unpredictable. You never knew what you’d encounter outside.

They opened the dome. Yan Fei and Zhang Su confirmed the goat was fully dead, then everyone rushed over with freshly made blades.

The goat stood nearly three meters tall—massive and incredibly well-fed.

“This thing’s huge…” Luo Xun muttered while cutting.

There was more than enough meat to last them a long time.

They quickly butchered it, bundled the hide, and Yan Fei shaped a large metal slab to carry the meat.

But the delay cost them time.

The snowstorm had grown fierce—howling winds and dense snowfall reduced visibility drastically.

Luo Xun could only rely on a compass to find the way back…

“Brother Luo and the others still haven’t come back…” Li Tie put down his phone again—it still wouldn’t connect. When someone was outside the base, normal calls simply didn’t go through. Only in emergencies, when a distress signal was sent, might it be relayed via satellite to the military. But how many people could actually survive long enough to be rescued?

And whether the military could dispatch a rescue team in time was another issue entirely. As far as they knew, almost no one who sent out a distress signal during an expedition had ever been successfully rescued.

Luo Xun and the others had left early yesterday morning to hunt crystal cores. They were expected back today. But before noon, it had already started snowing, and by afternoon the snowfall grew heavier and heavier, nearly blotting out the sky. By the time Li Tie and the others returned from work, the roads were extremely difficult to navigate. When they reached home, they found no sign that anyone had come back.

Unease spread among them.

What if they never came back?

They all thought the same thing—

They shouldn’t have let them go.

Wang Duo’s eyes were red. Several times, he had almost rushed out to the city gate to wait for his lover—or even gone out of the base to search.

“I can’t take it, I have to go check!” Wang Duo stood up again, only to be held down by Han Li and Wu Xin.

“What are you going to do? Do you even know where they are?”

“I can’t just sit here and wait!!” Wang Duo struggled.

Li Tie tried to calm him. “Think about their abilities. If we went out, we’d be dead. But they have a metal-type that can build shelter, a fire-type for warmth, and a water-type… Even if they can’t find food, water alone can keep them alive for days. Don’t forget how strong they are!”

Wang Duo took a deep breath and slumped back into his chair, covering his face.

“I… I’ve already lost everything… he’s all I have left…”

Since the apocalypse, he had completely lost contact with his family. He didn’t even dare to ask about their fate. If something happened to Zhang Su too… he didn’t know how he would go on.

The others exchanged helpless glances.

They understood.

Compared to Wang Duo, they weren’t much better. At least Wang Duo had found Zhang Su—though the man had a sharp tongue and looked unreliable, he actually treated Wang Duo well. And when they were alone… well, it was said to be sickeningly sweet.

But now…

If they didn’t come back…

Silence fell again.

Strictly speaking, they weren’t that close as a team. Everyone mostly lived their own lives. If this were another team, people might even feel lucky to inherit all the supplies left behind.

But Li Tie and the others knew—

Without Luo Xun and the others, even if they inherited everything, they’d only be able to barely survive in the base—and constantly fear others coveting their resources. Especially now that the base policies had changed, they’d face trouble not only from other ability users, but possibly from the military too.

Even putting that aside…

The thought of losing their companions was unbearable.

The little dog lay listlessly on the floor, chin resting on its paws. It didn’t understand why its owners kept leaving for so long.

It only knew one thing—

It wanted them to come home.

The room was filled with heavy silence. Outside, the wind howled, and the snowstorm showed no sign of stopping—if anything, it was getting worse.

After a long while, the little dog suddenly lifted its head. Its ears perked up, tail stiff, and it ran to the window, barking loudly.

“What is it?!” Everyone jumped.

He Qiankun pointed at the window. “Could it be Brother Luo and the others?”

“…We’re on the sixteenth floor…” Someone muttered.

“Or something happened outside?”

They rushed to the window, but the wind was too strong. They couldn’t even open it. The metal framework rattled violently, and the snowstorm blocked all visibility.

The dog’s behavior only made them more uneasy.

They didn’t dare approach it either—it wasn’t their dog, and if it bit them…

After about ten minutes, the barking stopped. They sighed in relief—only to tense up again when they saw its ears still twitching.

Sure enough, five minutes later—

It started barking toward the door.

Everyone froze—then their eyes lit up.

“Could it really be them?!”

“Dogs have sharp hearing!”

They rushed toward the door. Suddenly, the dog darted forward, leaping past them. At the same moment, Li Tie and the others felt their legs give out—as if pressed down by something—and all fell to the ground.

“What… what was that?”

Before they could figure it out, faint metallic sounds came from outside.

They scrambled up and rushed to the door.

Luo Xun and the others stood there, carrying piles of supplies, several large metal boxes floating behind them.

“Hurry, take these inside,” Luo Xun called.

“Got it!”

Meanwhile, Wang Duo dashed forward and threw himself into Zhang Su’s arms, kissing him fiercely in front of everyone. Zhang Su paused briefly—then returned the kiss just as passionately.

Whistles and cheers erupted.

“Hey! How about getting the stuff inside first? You can do whatever you want after you go home!” Xu Mei snapped from behind, clearly annoyed.

“Yeah, we’re freezing to death!” Song Lingling laughed.

They were still between the fourteenth and fifteenth floors, and neighbors had already begun peeking out through their doors.

Fortunately, they quickly moved everything inside.

“Brother Luo, what’s in these boxes?” Li Tie asked.

Luo Xun grinned. “Good stuff. If your fridge is full, just hang it outside the window to freeze.”

“Outside?!”

“Freeze?!”

“Don’t tell me it’s meat again?” He Qiankun swallowed.

Xu Mei smirked. “Open it and see.”

Yan Fei opened one box—

“Ahhh! It’s meat! Where did you get this?!”

“How, in this snowstorm?!”

After everyone settled in, Luo Xun explained what happened. The goat had been pure bad luck—a crazed mutated animal roaming in the snow. Without Yan Fei and their quick thinking, they couldn’t have killed it.

Thinking about it, their methods weren’t much different from ancient hunters—using traps and strategy rather than brute force.

They began dividing the spoils. Even though Li Tie and the others hadn’t gone, they still received a generous share.

With leftover duck meat and now lamb added, they’d have a good winter.

Then came the crystal core count—

Nearly 30,000 in total.

Mostly Level 2 and 3.

After setting aside the team’s share, each person still got over 4,000—enough to cover several months of team obligations and personal consumption.

They could even make it through the winter without going out again if they were careful.

As they chatted, Xiao Xinran fell asleep in Song Lingling’s arms. The dog rested its head on Luo Xun’s leg, eyes opening and closing drowsily.

Wang Duo and Zhang Su sat together, Wang Duo clinging tightly, afraid to let go—even while dozing off.

Luo Xun couldn’t help but smile.

“Alright, let’s call it a day. Everyone go rest.”

It had been even colder than last time. The storm had nearly blown through their clothes, and when they found their cars, the engines wouldn’t start. The wheels were buried in snow. It took everything they had—metal manipulation, clearing paths—just to make it back.

They had almost not returned at all.

Thank you for reading 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉