Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Contacting Liu Xuan, Borrowing Money from a Rich Woman

There was no radio in the lab, so Lin Qi headed out to the hallway.

The hallway was filled with numerous radios the survivors had put together.

Amid the crackle of static, the broadcast from the Modu Rescue Team filled the hallway in a low drone.

Nearly all of the three hundred-plus survivors had gathered in the hallway.

No one spoke. Besides the sound of breathing, the only noise in the hallway was the broadcast playing from the multitude of radios, their combined output creating a stereo-like effect.

"This is... Modu Rescue Team. Do not pro... Ning District... unknown... has fallen..."

"Survivors, please... await rescue..."

"Atten... Do n... use Alien Zombie Crystal Stones. Do not consume... Crystal Stones..."

The signal was terrible and the information they received was fragmented, but the gist of what the rescue team was trying to convey was clear enough.

The first message was a warning for survivors to stay away from a certain area. Based on the fragment "...Ning District," one could infer they meant Beining District—the place where Lin Qi had found the rescue team’s firefight.

The broadcast confirmed what Lin Qi had told the survivors earlier: a terrifying threat existed there. The rescue team had even used the word "fallen" to describe it.

The second message was to inform survivors that rescue efforts were still underway.

Lin Qi didn’t know if it was true, but it was likely a tactic the rescue team used to calm the survivors.

Without this message, there was no telling what terrifying things might happen in the apocalypse.

The dangers of the apocalypse didn’t just come from Zombies and monsters; they very well could come from other survivors.

Groups of university students like those at Modu University—united in spirit, pure of heart, and naively idealistic—were a rare breed in a city like Modu.

This was one of the core reasons Lin Qi had chosen Mo University as his base of operations.

The final message concerned the special Crystal Stones obtained from the brains of Alien Zombies.

These Crystal Stones were different from ordinary Crimson Crystal Stones; the Spiritual Particles they contained were far more concentrated.

Although still classified as Tier One Extraordinary Items, if an ordinary person were to use one rashly, an accident was highly likely. The rescue team had made a point to warn against it.

The radio signal was lost again, and silence returned to the hallway.

"Fellow students, don’t lose heart!" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Just then, the voice of Wang Ziru, the graduate student in whom Lin Qi had placed high hopes, rang out.

"The apocalypse has befallen us. We’re all in this together, and no one knows what tomorrow will bring."

"But for now, at least, we are alive! We have gathered together! We are survivors! We are citizens of the Dragon Country! We are still human!"

"The rescue team is still out there, and our camp is still standing. As long as we stay alive, there is still hope."

"The broadcast mentioned Beining District, which proves Junior Lin’s assessment was correct. The mecha went there and returned safely, which means the danger is manageable..."

Wang Ziru launched into a long speech.

His delivery wasn’t particularly skilled.

But in the middle of an apocalypse, having someone willing to stand up and speak, someone who could organize the group—that was what mattered most.

And at the very core of it, Wang Ziru had Lin Qi’s backing.

The powerful mecha, the tangible display of technological prowess—this was the guarantee that would help the survivors make it through the apocalypse.

’He really is a man of talent,’ Lin Qi thought with admiration.

After speaking for some time, Wang Ziru’s tone suddenly grew impassioned. "For the Mo University Camp, we must unite! We must continue to arm ourselves!"

"According to the engineering students’ estimates, the power grid won’t last much longer—one to three days at most. We need to use what’s left of the power supply to produce more weapons."

"We must build Mo University into a fortress, forge it into..."

Wang Ziru said much more, but Lin Qi didn’t stay to listen.

With a guy like him around, the camp’s operations would run smoothly.

He could probably handle a crowd of three thousand, let alone three hundred.

Lin Qi’s job was to continue providing technical support and bolstering the camp’s military strength.

’Only a few hours left. My body is still absorbing the Potion, so I can’t improve much more for now.’

Instead of returning to his personal lab, Lin Qi went to the experimental workshop, where the walls had been crudely patched.

The students in charge of producing Exoskeletons and Electromagnetic Firearms started trickling back from the hallway to their workstations.

Just as Wang Ziru had said, there was still much work to be done to fortify the camp, and they couldn’t count on the rescue team arriving anytime soon.

As Lin Qi was reviewing the production work, a bespectacled young man approached him with a few others. "Boss, we’ve run into some issues understanding the schematics. We can follow them to manufacture the parts, but we don’t grasp the principles. Could you possibly..."

His tone was somewhat timid.

But Lin Qi recognized him.

He was one of the survivors from the first building Lin Qi had cleared.

"Of course you can ask questions, no need to be shy. I seem to recall you shouting for ’Brother Dian’ to make the mecha bounce a few more times. You weren’t so reserved back then."

The young man’s face flushed red at the single sentence.

Humiliating!

So utterly humiliating!

He had been despairing for so long that when hope suddenly appeared, his normally reserved personality had broken free. He never thought Lin Qi would have remembered it.

"Boss, my name is Yu Wen. I’m a fourth-year in the robotics engineering program."

"I’ve seen you around the workshop for a while, but I never had a chance to introduce myself."

Yu Wen introduced himself. With his major being a perfect match for the work, he was able to understand the schematics very quickly.

Robotics engineering was a new major with sky-high admission standards.

’This one’s a talent.’

Lin Qi wasn’t about to be stingy with his knowledge from the Cyber World. He said to Yu Wen, "Compile all your questions into a document and give it to me. I’ll answer them for you."

"Science and technology aren’t like Extraordinary powers. You can’t get far by working in a vacuum. If you have questions, you should ask them."

The overall strength of the Survivor Camp directly translated to how fast they could collect Extraordinary Items, so Lin Qi had no reason to be secretive.

For the next few hours, Lin Qi remained in the experimental workshop, answering questions for the science and engineering students and even introducing them to the concept of "cyber-gear."

It wasn’t until the final hour before his departure that Lin Qi returned to his personal lab.

He mixed a new, enhanced version of the M-level Potion and stored it inside his Exoskeleton.

His body could absorb one vial of this Potion per day. Thanks to the properties of the Door, he could take and absorb a dose in both worlds simultaneously.

Lin Qi’s day was forty-eight hours long, allowing him to absorb two vials.

At this rate, in just six days, his physical conditioning would reach the Tier One Limit, on par with that of a Martial Artist from an Extraordinary Profession.

With five minutes to go, Lin Qi changed back into his clothes from the Cyber World and waited for the Door to open.

...

At 00:55 on March 5, 2089, Lin Qi returned to the Cyber World.

His posture was unchanged from the second before. The only difference was the addition of an enhanced M-level Potion inside his arm’s Exoskeleton.

His Spiritual Vision immediately expanded, monitoring his surroundings for any movement.

’Still nothing out of the ordinary, but I can’t just sit around and wait. First, I’ll contact Liu Xuan.’

’I won’t mention anything about the intel, but I can ask her... to borrow some money.’