Chapter 330 - 251: Morning Training (Part 2)

Chapter 330: Chapter 251: Morning Training (Part 2)

Compared to the noisy breakfast from a little while ago, the camp now seemed much emptier.

Under the organization of Wang Yuanhua, Liu Bin, and others, the able-bodied men and some of the more nimble and daring women had been formed into several search parties. Led by soldiers and Awakened Ones, they headed out to explore.

Their objective was no longer limited to rice, flour, grain, and oil to fill their stomachs. Based on the research of Liu Bin and his team, the list now included many "hard currencies" that seemed inedible but were crucial for long-term survival.

These were the non-renewable industrial necessities that were dwindling in the wasteland: welding rods, motor oil, various screws, batteries, and so on, as well as the medicines that could snatch people from the Grim Reaper’s grasp, like antibiotics and painkillers.

Beyond just scavenging, the more important goal was to forge them into fighters.

Only through real combat with zombies, by overcoming their fear, could these ordinary people from an era of peace learn how to fight.

Only in this way could the group continue to function organically.

Lin Fan crossed the open area.

The survivors who hadn’t been assigned to the exploration teams due to physical limitations, along with the twenty-some people who had just been rescued from the hellish meat processing plant yesterday, weren’t idle either.

After a full day and night of rest, plus last night’s hot, filling meal, the deathly gray numbness had finally begun to fade from the faces of these poor people, who had once been penned up like "raw materials." Although they were still skeletally thin and a trace of terror lingered in their eyes, they at least had some life back in them.

They were shuttling about the camp, somewhat fearfully looking for work to do.

Some were carrying away cleared construction debris, others were squatting at the perimeter washing their clothes with hauled-in river water, and still others were helping the "central kitchen" sort fuel.

Everyone was cautious, afraid of being abandoned for seeming "useless."

Ultimately, it was a cruel but effective form of order.

Just as Lin Fan rounded the corner of the construction site wall, he came face-to-face with another figure who seemed like a wandering spirit.

Ye Qingzhou was walking out of a dim stairwell. The capable female officer, now Lin Fan’s chief engineer, looked absolutely wrecked.

The two dark circles under her eyes looked exceptionally black against her normally fair and delicate skin. From facing two bright white lights all night and overworking her brain, her skin was visibly shriveled and looked somewhat sallow and yellow.

She was clutching a roll of slightly crumpled blueprints to her chest, her head bowed. Her steps were unsteady, and she was obsessively muttering something:

"...Combustion chamber expansion coefficient, stress concentration point... No, that’s not right, it needs reinforcement..."

Her HP had even dropped from [72] to [69] from the exhaustion.

Completely immersed in her world of data, she hadn’t noticed at all that there was a person in front of her.

Seeing this, Lin Fan felt a mischievous urge.

He didn’t call out to warn her. Instead, he stood in the middle of the path like a wooden post, a faint smile on his face, quietly waiting for her to run right into him.

One step, two steps...

Her dust-covered combat boots nearly stepped on Lin Fan’s foot. When a human wall suddenly appeared in her line of sight, Ye Qingzhou finally slammed on the brakes.

"Ah!"

She let out a short, low cry, her voice hoarse and trembling with a hint of shock.

She subconsciously took half a step back, and only when she looked up did she see Lin Fan’s face, a mischievous grin on it.

"Morning, Colonel Ye."

Lin Fan greeted her, in a rather good mood as he looked at her dazed expression.

Although they had spent very little time together, all things considered, Lin Fan had a very good impression of the female officer before him.

It wasn’t just because of their interactions, but more so because of the green health bar above her head.

The health bar had turned green, and he subconsciously categorized her with Su Qing and Chu Zhaozhao’s group. As a result, his attitude toward her became much more casual and friendly.

Unfortunately, Lin Fan’s deliberate little scare didn’t get the panicked reaction he was hoping for.

Even in this state of extreme exhaustion and complete defenselessness, Ye Qingzhou’s face remained as still as a placid well, showing no major fluctuation in expression.

Her pupils only contracted for a brief moment and her gaze trembled twice before quickly returning to calm.

"It’s not early. I thought you would have been out long ago."

Her eyes, which usually sparkled with a rational light, were now somewhat dim and lifeless from the intense, all-night work, as if covered by a layer of fog.

"So even with your constitution, you need to sleep this long. I thought someone with your physique would only need four or five hours of deep sleep to restore their metabolism."

"I had a dream last night. Dreamt I couldn’t hit the brakes and flew into outer space... spent all night trying to get back. Didn’t sleep well."

Lin Fan didn’t have the heart to tell her he had actually woken up early and been busy with other things, so he just changed the subject.

"Looking at you, I take it you’re done?"

"The basic calculations are complete," Ye Qingzhou said, handing the paper to Lin Fan. "Go make a mold first."

"According to yesterday’s standards?" Lin Fan unrolled the paper, only to find it was a large-scale design drawing made from four A3 sheets taped together on the back.

It wasn’t much different from the previous sketch, but this one had detailed dimensions marked for every part.

"Four meters wide..."

The drawing indicated an overall width of four meters, a main body height of three meters, and three handles, the longest of which was about two meters.

"Why are there three handles?" Lin Fan asked, pointing to the strange tail structure on the design, confused. "And what’s this empty chamber under the handle for?"

"Just go make the mold according to this drawing for now. I’ll explain the specific shaping logic when you start working on it."