The Reborn Otaku’s Code of Practice for the Apocalypse – CH144

Chapter 144 — Zombie Birds

The mutated strawberry seedlings were among the later mutated plants moved onto the balcony. These few plants had only appeared not long ago after the normal strawberry plants produced runners. Their leaves were golden yellow—not the withered yellow of dying plants, but a bright metallic gold. Mixed among the ordinary green strawberry leaves, they stood out immediately, dazzling and unmistakable.

Normal strawberries bloomed with small white flowers and bright yellow stamens.

But the mutated strawberries Yan Fei discovered…

Their flowers were actually pale green, carrying a strange fragrance. After sniffing carefully, Luo Xun felt the scent resembled cream.

“How should we handle these?” Although Yan Fei often helped Luo Xun care for the household crops, he still didn’t really understand much about handling plants. Of course, if Luo Xun marked when something needed watering or fertilizing, he could follow instructions just fine. But for plants they’d never seen before, he naturally remained cautious.

Luo Xun carefully examined the pale green flowers. After confirming the structure looked mostly identical to normal strawberry blossoms aside from differences in size and color, he picked up a small brush from nearby.

“We’ll need to pollinate them. The flowers are basically the same as ordinary strawberries.”

Under Luo Xun’s guidance, the entire Otaku Squad had already learned artificial pollination. They didn’t dare allow insects, butterflies, or bees into the house, so any plants requiring pollination could only rely on manual human labor.

Mutated plants in their home showing signs of flowering and fruiting were incredibly rare. Since nobody knew what kind of produce these plants might create, everyone felt excited and hopeful.

Fortunately, from outward appearances, most of the mutated plants they’d cultivated seemed to be beneficial varieties. If the harvests turned out well, then a bright future might truly await them.

Meanwhile, snowplows continued roaming busily throughout the base, clearing roads and making it easier for residents to move around.

Luo Xun’s group also benefited greatly from this. At the very least, the roads became much easier to travel when conducting trades with the other squads.

Perhaps because New Year was approaching, both the military and survivors gradually began decorating the base environment.

People trapped inside the base with nowhere to go actually used their spare time to build snowmen from the snow piled around residential compounds and roadsides, making the base feel noticeably livelier.

To stabilize morale, the military somehow managed to gather large quantities of colorful ribbons and hung them along the streets on old utility poles to create a festive atmosphere.

Unfortunately, after just one night, all the ribbons had completely vanished by the next morning.

Well, this was the apocalypse after all.

Supplies in the base were scarce, weren’t they?

If you rolled up those ribbons and stuffed them into blankets or bedding, they could at least provide extra warmth. And even without using them for insulation, they still worked as shoelaces or belts!

Using such things merely as decorations was far too wasteful, wasn’t it?

Just as everyone waited for spring in February so they could leave the base again, and looked forward to peacefully celebrating the Lunar New Year—

In the early hours of January 11th, beneath the thick blanket of snow outside the base, creaking noises began echoing one after another.

The sounds of ice and snow breaking moved from far away… gradually drawing closer…

Then—

WOOOOOOOOOO—

“What’s that sound?!”

“What happened?!”

“Air-raid siren… ALERT! Zombie siege!!”

Humans are creatures skilled at forgetting. Only by forgetting past suffering can they continue living in the present and struggle toward a future they aren’t even sure exists.

After waking up, Luo Xun froze for several seconds. But he quickly snapped back to reality and immediately got up to throw on his coat.

Yan Fei also rose at once, grabbing his clothes and outerwear.

Under the blaring alarms outside, the Otaku Squad quickly gathered together. Everyone’s faces carried tension, worry, and solemn seriousness.

“Zombies are attacking already? Weren’t they all frozen outside?” Li Tie asked Luo Xun in confusion.

Luo Xun shook his head slightly. “I’m not sure either. But if there are zombies capable of adapting to the cold—and helping other zombies thaw out—then it’s definitely possible for them to attack now.”

“Fire-type zombies? Did they make campfires all the way here?” Wu Xin’s imagination immediately ran wild.

“Who knows? Maybe they really can boil hot water with snow and ice while thawing each other out,” Xu Mei joked calmly, trying to lighten the mood.

At the moment, the entire Otaku Squad had gathered in a single room holding an emergency meeting.

Residents throughout the apartment complex had also all awakened. Lights of varying brightness illuminated window after window.

Thanks to their experience during the previous siege, people didn’t rush outside seeking information this time. Everyone remained indoors, waiting for instructions from the military.

The military, meanwhile, responded just like before.

Troops were immediately dispatched toward the city walls to begin the first line of defense. Inside the military camp, command staff hurriedly coordinated and organized all registered squads within the base, assigning rotations for defense and relief shifts.

Only after sorting out these arrangements could official deployment notices be issued. Otherwise, chaos and confusion would make things worse than simply letting the army defend alone.

Anyone who had experienced the previous zombie siege understood that even if zombies managed to reach the base walls, breaking through immediately wasn’t easy—especially during the initial stages of gathering.

The existing military forces could hold them off for now.

Just as everyone clung to that confidence…

Just as survivors quietly waited inside their homes…

A rustling roar suddenly spread from somewhere unknown, sweeping from outside the base walls all the way overhead—

The sky, already pitch black, became even darker and more oppressive.

Tonight the moonlight had already been dimmed by heavy clouds, but people could still vaguely see outside beneath the pale light.

Yet the moment that horrifying sound arose, the moonlight itself vanished completely beneath a newly arrived “cloud layer.”

“Zombie birds! Everyone upstairs, now! Bring your weapons!”

Luo Xun abruptly shot to his feet, unable to hide the shock on his face.

He clearly remembered zombie birds appearing much later in his previous life. At the very least, during his first winter at A City Base, they definitely hadn’t appeared yet.

Could his little butterfly wings really create such massive changes?

Had he flapped them hard enough to alter even the pattern of zombie sieges?!

Hearing his warning, everyone stared at him in shock.

Zombie birds?

What the hell were those?!

Then they remembered the zombie animals they’d encountered during previous trips outside. Even the dumbest among them could now guess what Luo Xun meant.

Flying zombies…

And in such huge numbers…

How were people supposed to survive this?!

Everyone immediately grabbed their weapons and rushed upstairs to the sixteenth floor.

Luo Xun’s balcony sat at the highest point of the building, making it the most vulnerable to attack.

Fortunately, Yan Fei had prepared in advance. Before autumn ended, he had deliberately installed metal frameworks outside the windows. Under his control now, the entire exterior of both the fifteenth and sixteenth floors became completely sealed in metal armor.

Only two firing ports remained open outside the windows of Li Tie’s rooms.

Everyone gripped their weapons tightly, splitting into two groups as they stared fixedly at the skies outside in opposite directions.

The heavens above remained a vast sea of darkness, like terrifying storm clouds blanketing the entire base. No one could tell exactly how many zombie birds were lurking overhead.

Suddenly, beginning with one unknown zombie bird, the horrifying creatures collectively beat their wings and dove downward!

The sounds outside had already attracted the attention of countless survivors throughout the base. When the creatures suddenly swooped down, many people secretly peeking outside instinctively cried out in alarm.

Those cries immediately caused nearby zombie birds to abruptly change direction and charge toward those apartments!

Luo Xun tightly gripped his homemade crossbow, staring intensely at every suspicious movement outside the window.

The room remained dark. Zombie creatures didn’t possess any special attraction to light itself, but after existing so long in the apocalypse, they had learned that illuminated places usually contained fresh, delicious food.

To minimize encounters with these terrifying things, Luo Xun’s group decided keeping the lights off was safest.

This wasn’t like before, when they deliberately lured zombies over outside the base to kill them.

Still…

Why did it have to be birds again?

These things were truly infuriating.

As everyone tensed nervously, the first wave of zombie birds descended.

But what horrified them now wasn’t merely the birds’ numbers—

It was their terrifying appearance and massive size.

Not a single feather remained on their bodies. Perhaps they had completely rotted away during the initial zombification process.

Now they resembled giant black hairless bats, each at least one meter tall. Their wingspans appeared even wider than their own height.

Their glossy black beaks looked unlike ordinary birds from before the apocalypse. The long shape resembled waterfowl beaks more than anything else, yet their talons were separated and razor-sharp like eagle claws.

Each bird locked onto a target and descended flapping violently, attacking any moving creatures within range.

Fortunately, Luo Xun’s group had metal shielding outside their position providing protection. The metal barrier blocked the birds’ attacks while allowing counterattacks.

Otherwise, their apartment would already be echoing with the same crashing sounds of shattering glass erupting from nearby homes.

Even so, the creatures’ horrifying beaks and deadly claws still posed danger.

The firing slits in the metal weren’t large—but their beaks were narrow, long, and extremely dangerous.

“Use the water guns! Xu Mei, thaw the mushroom extract!”

Thank heaven they hadn’t brought all the mushroom extract with them during previous outings. Since staying home recently, they’d accumulated quite a lot more.

Otherwise, even if they wanted to hold out here, they wouldn’t possess any suitable weapons for defense.

Surely they couldn’t just hide inside a metal shell created by Yan Fei and wait helplessly for rescue?

“Got it!”

Xu Mei snapped out of her daze and hurriedly called over two others to help retrieve the frozen mushroom extract from the freezer to thaw it.

The entire room only retained two tiny openings facing north and south to serve as firing ports against the zombie birds. Under most circumstances, only two people needed to guard each opening.

Luo Xun and Yan Fei held their customized crossbows, though accurate shooting was now practically impossible.

At least seven or eight damn zombie birds crowded outside the opening, frantically trying to shove their beaks through the gap.

So Luo Xun simply changed tactics:

One bird opened its mouth and shoved forward—

Shoot.

Another shoved in—

Shoot again.

Once he found the rhythm, the efficiency became surprisingly effective. The only problem was that most of the birds’ heads got stuck in the opening afterward, requiring effort to push them back out.

After realizing the birds currently posed little real danger, Yan Fei simply opened another small metal firing slit.

Whenever a zombie bird managed to shove its beak—or even its head—through the opening, he immediately trapped it with metal, split open its skull, and extracted the crystal core directly from its brain.

And honestly?

That method worked even better.

After testing the strategy successfully, the pair immediately informed Zhang Su’s group guarding the opposite side. They quickly adjusted tactics as well and rapidly adapted to the new combat method, greatly increasing efficiency.

But soon, the balance collapsed.

People had forgotten something important:

These zombie birds possessed abilities too.

CLANG CLANG CLANG—

Several explosive cracking sounds suddenly erupted from the small firing slit, forcing Luo Xun and Yan Fei to throw themselves aside.

“They’re ice-type!”

Luo Xun exclaimed in shock just as another cracking explosion erupted from the window area.

“No wonder they can still fly around in freezing weather like this,” Yan Fei muttered.

He immediately reinforced the firing slit with another metal layer before pulling Luo Xun upright and quickly checking him for injuries.

“I’m fine. I was just startled.”

The instant Luo Xun saw the ice-blue glow forming, he’d reacted instantly and dropped alongside Yan Fei, avoiding the exploding ice fragments.

“How’s your side, Zhang Su?”

Listening to impacts hammering the metal outside, the pair knew the birds couldn’t breach the defenses immediately.

“Those damn birds used abilities here too,” Zhang Su answered darkly. “Lightning-type. We got shocked a bit, but it’s manageable.”

He shook his numb hand, glaring murderously toward the firing slit.

Li Tie and the others had already brought over the water guns, spraying wildly through the opening and barely forcing back that wave of zombie birds.

BOOM—

A violent explosion slammed into the metal plate beside Luo Xun and Yan Fei.

CRACK—

A sharp splitting noise followed immediately afterward.

Clearly the ice-type attacks had come right after.

“Not good! They’re alternating heat and cold attacks against the metal! Some sections are already cracking!” Yan Fei instinctively checked the condition of the outer metal layers, and his face immediately changed.

“What?! They know how to use tactics like that?!”

Alternating heat and cold against hardened materials—

Even ability users themselves might not think of such methods immediately.

Yet these zombie birds were actually coordinating attacks to weaken the defensive metal plates?!

Was it coincidence…

Or intelligence?

Everyone desperately hoped it was coincidence.

But when “coincidences” repeated over and over again, whether they were accidental stopped mattering.

Luo Xun grabbed a loaded water gun and prepared himself.

Yan Fei instantly opened a small slit in one location, and Luo Xun immediately sprayed mushroom extract outside.

Fortunately, although the zombie birds could damage the metal defenses somewhat, they had no way to counter Luo Xun’s mushroom extract or Yan Fei’s metal spikes piercing into their bodies.

That gave the pair an excellent opportunity to switch attack methods.

Xu Mei arrived with Li Tie and Han Li carrying every frozen batch of mushroom extract from the freezers into the room.

The plant shelves near the windows had already been relocated against the opposite wall. For safety reasons, every surface near the combat openings had been completely wrapped in metal, including walls and floors, to prevent accidental damage that would later be difficult to repair.

When Xu Mei’s group entered, a small black figure darted in at their feet and immediately ran toward Luo Xun and Yan Fei.

“The little guy? Why’d it come here?” Something brushing against Luo Xun’s leg startled him badly. Looking down carefully, he realized it was the dog.

“I heard it whining in your room, so I brought it over,” Xu Mei explained while setting things down. “I was worried the noise would attract zombie birds if it kept barking there alone.”

Zombies were attracted by sound and scent. If the little dog stayed alone in Room 1604, it really might attract zombie birds there.

As they spoke, Yan Fei suddenly shouted:

“Careful!”

He yanked Luo Xun into his arms and instantly raised a metal shield, blocking a zombie bird that had shoved its beak through the opening and spat out some unknown substance at them.

Something on the metal floor began making a sizzling sound. Hearing it made Luo Xun’s scalp tingle.

“Don’t tell me that’s a corrosion-type zombie bird…”

Before he even finished speaking, the little dog—already startled enough to jump straight into the air—suddenly turned toward the metal opening and began barking furiously.

“Hey—”

Luo Xun was just about to pull his dog back when his legs suddenly went weak, nearly causing him to collapse. Yan Fei immediately caught him, simultaneously realizing something strange was happening.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The giant birds that had been circling outside the windows—even those perched on the rooftop stretching their beaks into the firing slit—suddenly started dropping from the sky one after another!

Everyone stared blankly at each other.

After barking several times and realizing it had successfully frightened away the target creatures, the little dog turned back around. Its titanium-alloy dog eyes glowed brightly in the dark room like eerie light bulbs in the pre-dawn gloom, while its expression clearly screamed:

Praise me. Pet me. Hug me.

As it wagged its tail happily at Luo Xun.

Honestly…

The scene was still pretty terrifying.

Luo Xun bent down and rubbed the dog’s glowing head, opening his mouth as if to speak, only to realize he had no idea what to say.

After all, if communication with this idiot had been possible, they’d have done it long ago. Hadn’t he already suspected the dog was mutated?

But now that it had truly displayed an ability, Luo Xun still felt like he was dreaming.

Its appearance hadn’t changed.

Its personality hadn’t changed.

Its intelligence definitely hadn’t changed.

So was a dog with abilities but no obvious changes really a mutated dog?

One human and one dog stared blankly at each other for a moment when several more zombie birds suddenly swooped over outside.

Luo Xun and Yan Fei simply pushed the little guy toward the firing slit again.

The fading glow in its eyes instantly brightened once more. A crushing pressure washed over the room, nearly forcing Luo Xun onto the floor again, while the birds outside began dropping from the air with repeated thuds.

“Metal-type! This bird has metal abilities!”

Suddenly, Zhang Su’s group shouted from the opposite window.

Yan Fei immediately rushed over while Xu Mei stayed behind to defend this side. Fortunately, there were barely any zombie birds remaining outside anymore.

Luo Xun also hurried over with the little dog.

The moment they arrived, they discovered that some of the metal shielding outside the other firing slit had mysteriously vanished.

Hovering outside was a mutated bird with glowing red eyes. Around its talons had formed a pair of enormous metal claws!

Not only did the bird’s feet possess metal armor, but as Luo Xun and Yan Fei approached, nearby metal fragments outside the building began flying toward the creature’s beak.

The beak rapidly enlarged, thickened, and sharpened, gleaming with terrifying cold light.

Yan Fei instantly manipulated nearby metal into a massive blade and viciously thrust it upward toward the bird’s jaw.

But the bird suddenly beat its wings and forcibly rose half a meter higher. A faint metallic glow flashed across its beak.

Yan Fei immediately sensed danger and rapidly formed a thick metal wall in front of himself—

The bird’s metal beak shot forward like a bullet, slamming violently into the metal wall!

Even after piercing through it, the attack continued driving forward another half meter, nearly stabbing straight into Yan Fei behind the barrier!

Luo Xun sharply inhaled.

This metal-type bird’s ability level was absolutely higher than Yan Fei’s.

Before he could think further, the metal wall in front of Yan Fei suddenly twisted and warped under the zombie bird’s control, curling backward toward Yan Fei himself!!

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