Doomsday: I Build a Space Fleet

Chapter 3 Log: The Strange Horde of Corpses

The sun swept across the earth, and night fell as expected, along with the zombies that were almost invisible during the day.

According to the Survival Guidelines, zombies like to hide in the shadows of buildings and caves during the day, but when Lorraine was carrying supplies during the day, she did not see any zombies hiding in the shadows on both sides of the road.

The zombies found at the gas station convenience store only reacted to his scent after the door was opened. The cause and specific manifestations of the "zombie frenzy" mentioned in the intelligence system are also unclear.

"1125, do you know what special changes a zombie apocalypse brings?"

"Commander, in addition to increased sensory sensitivity and aggression, zombie frenzy will also produce new mutated individuals after the frenzy ends."

"Mutant zombies? Are there any known types?"

"There are several variants: some grow sharp claws and resemble lizards, enabling them to climb walls; some can accumulate acid in their abdominal cavity; and another has a larger sensory range and can call for its companions. Please note that there is a chance that new mutated individuals will emerge after the berserk state ends."

"Understood," Lorraine replied. "Crawlers, eyebugs, fat guys... I've encountered these before in games. Hopefully, nothing like exploding bugs will appear. Turn on the navigation lights, let me see how they've changed since yesterday."

The riverbank was shrouded in shadows, and large groups of corpses had gathered on the streets.

"Have these zombies learned to burrow? Why do they have to go and crawl into holes when they can just wander around on the ground? It's so annoying. Never mind. I hope my trip to the factory tomorrow will allow me to find a comfortable bed, or at least a thick mattress. It would be even better if I could find some clothes. Oh well. 1125, turn off navigation lights."

The lights went out. Lorraine lay down on the mat and drifted off to sleep, lost in thought.

As darkness faded, the sun rose above the horizon, and a ray of sunlight shone directly onto Lorraine's face through the window.

"Hmm... I definitely need a thick mattress." Exhausted from yesterday's day, Lorraine's bones cracked all over when he got out of bed. He poured himself a glass of water, tidied himself up, and stretched as he stepped out of the cockpit. After his usual rounds of the gunboat and finding nothing amiss, he gave the order to 1125: "Anchor, sail downstream, target: the factory 10 kilometers away."

"Yes, Commander."

The anchor chains rattled, and soon the anchor rose to the bow deck. The engines were started, and the ship began to sail downstream at a slow speed.

"Commander, at the current speed, we are expected to arrive in one hour."

During that hour, Lorraine did not need to steer the ship. Instead, he began to study the ship's core, check the materials and time required for the repair of weapons and equipment, and the upgrade conditions for various parts of the ship.

An hour passed in the blink of an eye.

"Commander, we have arrived at the factory. The factory dock is located to our right front."

This time, just in case, Lorraine brought a shotgun and a pistol to prevent insufficient firepower. When Lorraine rowed to the factory dock, he noticed what appeared to be shadowy figures moving inside the factory. He slung the shotgun over his back, held the pistol in his hands in front of his chest, and walked to the factory entrance, finding it unlocked. He gently pushed the door, carefully checking the floor near the entrance for anything to avoid traps, but thankfully found nothing.

When Lorraine entered the factory, she discovered that twenty or thirty zombies had gathered on the first floor, seemingly out of nowhere. The door leading to the second floor appeared to be locked.

"It seems that the people in the factory are the unexpected bonus."

Thinking of this, Lorraine decisively raised her pistol and fired, killing zombies while using the gunshot to attract their attention.

Seeing that his taunt had worked, Lorraine quickly exited through the small door she had just come in through. Sure enough, the zombies rushing towards them had no concept of yielding, and apart from the first one, all the others got stuck in the small door that could only allow one person to pass through at a time.

Lorraine took a step back and began target practice. After using up two magazines, all the zombies had fallen. Lorraine raised his entrenching tool and decapitated all the zombies.

A soft clicking sound came from upstairs. Lorraine put away his entrenching tool, drew his pistol, and made his way up the metal staircase. Reaching the door, Lorraine held the gun in his right hand and gently pushed open the door with his left. He saw a white-haired woman sitting against the wall. A forging hammer lay on the ground not far behind her.

Seeing Lorraine enter, the woman said in a weary voice, "Don't shoot..."

Lorraine remained alert, gun still drawn, while scrutinizing the woman from head to toe: long red and white hair tied in a ponytail, elf ears. A white coat was draped over her shoulders, and a red vest accentuated her cleavage, revealing large expanses of fair skin.

Her lower body was clad in white denim shorts and white high-top shoes, with a long tail resembling a python behind her.

"Please, please give me some food, I'm starving..."

After confirming that the pale, trembling woman in front of him seemed to have lost the ability to move due to hunger, Lorraine put the pistol back in its holster and prepared to take out food from his backpack.

Lorraine stared at the scene before him, utterly speechless. The woman who had been lying weakly on the ground just moments before, the instant he lowered his gun, had grabbed his leg with a speed he couldn't even see, and looked up at him begging for food.

Lorraine held the pistol in one hand and lifted the woman who was clinging to his leg with the other.

"Before I give you food, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" Lorraine asked the woman with a tone that was both wary and helpless.

"My name is Ouyang Nian, and I am the owner of this forging workshop."

"My name is Lorraine. My first question is, how did you get so hungry?"

Ouyang Nian swallowed hard. "The day before yesterday, we ran out of blacksmithing materials, so I went out to gather some. When I came back, I forgot to lock the door, and these zombies, who knows where they came from, blocked the downstairs. I had no choice but to store my food downstairs, and all I had upstairs was a bottle of water and half a loaf of bread. If you hadn't come, I probably would have starved to death upstairs."

"You seem quite agile, don't you? And you have a forging hammer in your hand, don't you?"

"Don't even mention it. That forging hammer was destined for remelting. The wooden handle near the hammerhead is already cracked. If I swing it a couple more times, the hammerhead will fly off. No matter how strong or fast I am, I can't kill twenty or thirty zombies downstairs with a wooden stick that's not much longer than a dagger."

"My second question is, as a craftsman, don't you have any other weapons at your disposal?"

"I was tidying up materials on the first floor when suddenly more than a dozen zombies jumped out. I grabbed a hammer and killed one, but then I realized something was wrong. They had already surrounded me, and I didn't have time to go to the locked armory to get it, so I could only escape upstairs." Ouyang Nian spread his hands, indicating that he was innocent.

"One last question." Lorraine pulled out his pistol and held it to his chest. "As a craftsman who supplies weapons to the surrounding survivor organization, you shouldn't be so kind to a stranger like me."

The atmosphere instantly turned cold, as if a fight could break out at any moment.