The Reborn Otaku’s Code of Practice for the Apocalypse – CH183

Chapter 183 — The Silly Dog’s War

Truckload after truckload of soil was hauled out of the underground tunnel by the team members, transported up to the small plaza above, and piled up to dry. To everyone’s immense relief, now that the solar panels Luo Xun and the others had mounted on the walls were running smoothly, the new base’s energy crisis was solved. This meant they finally had a working elevator!

With the elevator helping to haul supplies, the lights inside the building could function normally as well. For safety reasons, heavy curtains had been hung in almost every room. Now, no matter what the team was doing inside, they didn’t have to worry about attracting the attention of passing zombies or survivors at night. Nor did they have to worry about an occasional satellite flying overhead and snapping photos of anything unusual.

Yan Fei and little Xinran worked in tandem. First, Yan Fei would retract a section of the metal reinforcement, and then Xinran would instantly turn the surrounding soil into loose sand. A group of able-bodied men would then shovel the sand into metal container carts, push them out of the tunnel, and haul them upstairs. After that, Yan Fei would reseal the freshly excavated tunnel walls with metal, retract a section of the metal wall further down, and reinforce the newly extended perimeter… and so the cycle went.

Through their flawless cooperation, the fresh earth brought to the surface soon piled up across almost the entire small plaza. The secret tunnel had more than doubled in width, and its height reached a staggering three-plus meters—spacious enough for most container trucks to drive straight through!

Once the soil had dried in the sun, Luo Xun and the others hauled it down to the first basement level, using it to replace the soil on the planting racks. Various strange and unusual crops had been grown on those racks previously, and Luo Xun couldn’t be absolutely certain whether those plants had mutated before they withered and died. It was better to be safe than sorry.

With all of that settled, the Otaku Team put together a manifest for their upcoming supply run. Aside from paint, metal, and solar panels, Luo Xun and the others also needed a massive amount of wood.

Yes, wood—lumber, tree trunks, anything worked. As long as it could be used to cultivate mushrooms, it could absorb the toxic substances released by the crops grown in the baseline rooms.

The volume they required was so vast that it was impossible for Luo Xun and the others to gather everything in a single trip. Much like the metal, it would likely take at least a few runs to slowly piece together everything they needed. Fortunately, the seeds they had brought out weren’t enough to fill two entire underground rooms yet, so they could afford to take their time and build up their stores gradually.

After a brief discussion, the group decided that everyone would go out together this time. This ensured they would have plenty of hands to haul supplies. After all, though this base looked relatively safe, if anything unexpected were to happen… it was simply safer for the entire group to move as one.

Once again fully armed, the group drove their vehicles slowly through the tunnel toward the exit. Their vehicles had been moved inside yesterday right after the tunnel was finished, precisely to avoid being spotted by anyone who might happen to pass by.

Driving out of the tunnel, they sealed the main entrance. Little Xinran covered it with sand, Song Lingling doused it with a layer of water, and Zhang Su blew a layer of loose dirt over the top to complete the camouflage. By now, they were incredibly adept at this routine; it had practically become an instinctive habit. The camouflaging effect was growing more realistic by the day. It would look even better if they threw a few random stones of varying sizes over it, but even as it was, the result was highly effective.

The convoy rumbled down the desolate, lonely highway. The surrounding wilderness had become quite mottled, with patches of black and grey earth and building ruins peeking out from beneath the melting white snow.

Yan Fei continued to collect metal along the way, carefully controlling the massive metal spheres to roll alongside the convoy in a precise, strategic position. If any danger arose, these spheres would be their lifesavers.

The convoy drove toward the location where they had previously encountered the zombie tide. A night had passed, and by early morning, they spotted the spot where they had first discovered the military vehicles. However, they didn’t unearth the two massive metal boxes hidden underground this time—if they hauled those boxes along, how could they possibly go further to search for other supplies?

Yan Fei used his ability to sweep the area, confirming that the two boxes were still buried safely underground and completely intact. Only then did the convoy leave the area, heading toward the solar panel factory they had failed to reach last time.

This area sat at the junction connecting City A and several other provinces, centered around a small county town that served as a transportation hub for the region. Because it was close to several major first- and second-tier cities, it was home to many factories, processing plants, and small workshops of all sizes. As they drove along, Yan Fei alone managed to scavenge a substantial amount of metal from both sides of the road to feed into his metal spheres. Plenty of metal remained, but the convoy couldn’t carry any more, so they had to leave it behind for the time being.

After entering the county town and driving south for a short distance, they finally spotted their destination in the distance: the solar panel production factory.

Observing the surroundings carefully, Luo Xun and the others noticed numerous signs of past combat in this county town, which still bore remnants of snow.

“Look, bullet holes.”

“There are tracks left by armored vehicles here too.”

“I just don’t know if there are still zombies left in this town.”

Having grown accustomed to encountering zombies every time they entered a built-up area, the sight of this completely empty town actually made Luo Xun and the others feel rather uneasy.

After a thorough scan to confirm that there were indeed no zombies nearby, they finally drove up close to the factory.

The military forces sent here in the past seemed to have fought a bitter battle. Even without getting too close, they could see a massive hole blasted through one of the walls. Judging by the state of the breach, it had likely been blasted open by the heavy firepower of an armored vehicle.

After a brief inspection, everyone gathered before the main gate, weapons in hand. Yan Fei directly ripped away the outer metal gate, exposing the desolate, ruined interior of the factory to everyone. Stepping forward slowly, they began to inspect this place that had long since lost all signs of life.

Inside the barren factory, the workshops were thick with dust. Some instruments, equipment, and production lines were even flipped on their sides. After checking the front and back of the facility, the team made a few disappointing discoveries.

“The solar panels are almost all gone. We only found a few crates of storage batteries in the warehouse.”

“The production lines are basically all ruined. There’s no way we can haul them back to use…”

“We found three and a half barrels of diesel over there! It should still be usable.”

All in all, they managed to rummage up a few usable items, but there was basically nothing else worth making a special trip to haul back. However, the sheer volume of scrap metal left behind in this factory was substantial. After a quick discussion, Zhang Su took little Xinran and a few others outside to find a concealed spot and began digging a pit. Meanwhile, Yan Fei began to “extract” the massive amount of metal from the factory.

They planned to dig a pit and hide a portion of the metal. After all, other survivors from the base would come out to scavenge, and people from other bases might show up here too. A concentrated, massive hoard of metal so close to home was hard to come by, and they would need it to build their new base later. They had to make preparations in advance; even if they couldn’t take it with them this time, they could always come back for it later.

Before long, a large pit was dug. Yan Fei directly “poured” the metal into it, little Xinran buried the pit, Song Lingling doused it with water, and Zhang Su blew loose dirt over it… Right, there was no need to detail how practiced they were at this routine.

Yan Fei didn’t strip the factory entirely bare of metal; they only took a little over half of it. If anyone came along later and needed some, they could naturally take what was left.

Leaving the factory, they headed toward a slightly more remote direction. Paint factories were heavily polluting, so this one was located in a fairly secluded part of the small county town, near a small river.

From a distance, before they even reached their destination, Luo Xun and the others actually heard the sound of dogs barking out in this desolate wilderness!

They exchanged glances, and the puppy in the car instantly pricked up its ears. The entire dog sat bolt upright, its eyes staring intently outside, its tail stiffening.

“A dog?”

“Or a zombie dog?” Luo Xun and Yan Fei exchanged a look, and Luo Xun reached for the walkie-talkie. “Heads up, there are dog barks coming from the village ahead. Everyone stay sharp…”

Before Luo Xun could finish his sentence, the puppy in the backseat suddenly let out a loud woof and unexpectedly squeezed itself right out of the half-open window!

“Puppy!” The car was still moving!!

The puppy didn’t seem to hear Luo Xun’s shouts at all. Leaping out of the car window, it charged like a bullet toward the nearby village, which was packed with single-story flat-roofed houses!

“Woof! Woof!” More barking erupted from the village. Just as Luo Xun and the others had anticipated, several zombie dogs—their bodies covered in horrific sores and stripped of fur—charged out from the village! The puppy actually rushed right out to meet them head-on!

“Damn it…” This stupid dog. It’s trying to take on four or five of them at once—does it think it’s Super-Dog?! cursing under his breath, Luo Xun pulled out his crossbow. Yan Fei also quickly drew a thread of metal from the spheres alongside the car, shooting it toward the distant pack of dogs.

Before either of them could strike, the puppy, who had already charged into range, let out two more loud barks. Caught completely off guard, the charging zombie dogs were instantly slammed to the ground by a sudden burst of gravity!

Neither Luo Xun’s team nor the puppy was about to pass up such a golden opportunity. Digging its hind legs into the ground, the puppy lunged at the lead dog, sinking its teeth right into its thigh.

The zombie dogs might not have possessed an annoying superpower like the puppy’s, but who knew how long they had been roaming the wilds? Their actual combat experience was vastly superior to that of a pampered indoor dog like the puppy. With a single sharp roll, the lead zombie dog pinned the silly puppy beneath it!

With a sharp thwack, Luo Xun fired his crossbow and struck one of the dogs. Yan Fei’s metal instantly wrapped around the remaining few, crushing the zombie dogs to death before they could even scramble back to their feet. Only the puppy… was rolling around on the ground with its opponent, constantly swapping who was on top, fighting an incredibly chaotic and noisy battle…

The two humans exchanged a helpless glance. While they wanted the puppy to grow stronger and gain some real combat experience, it was still their pet. How could they stand by and watch it get bullied? Driving the car forward, Yan Fei waited until the zombie dog pinned the puppy down again and went in for a bite, then sent a sheet of metal flying, cleanly slicing off the zombie dog’s head to finish the job.

Returning from its grand battle, the puppy trotted slowly back to the car with its ears drooping and its tail tucked. It bore a few minor scratches, and as it raised its head, its tucked tail wagged weakly side to side, looking utterly dejected and wronged. Luo Xun sighed inwardly. Was this really his fault? How did he manage to raise a perfectly good German Shepherd into a Chihuahua?

By then, the cars behind had pulled up beside them. Song Lingling quickly used her water ability to wash away any potential zombie virus from the puppy’s bite wounds. Once it was thoroughly rinsed and its fur was patted dry, Luo Xun took out some medicinal ointment to bandage its wounds. “Look at you. What did you think you were doing charging out like that? From now on, you stay inside the car, got it? Your ability is for support, understand! You don’t need to charge the front lines!”

Though the puppy couldn’t understand Luo Xun’s words, it could feel his affection and concern. Its tail finally perked up, wagging with renewed energy as it kept nuzzling its head enthusiastically into Luo Xun’s chest.

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