Chapter 7 Scavenging (Part 1)

The Shadow Survivor Base was officially established, and to celebrate its establishment, the system gifted two everlasting wall-mounted candles to each room and a bonfire iron bucket in the backyard to satisfy the basic lighting needs of the players. Moreover, a wireless radio was added at the position of the staircase on the second floor. Stone guided everyone into the base's construction mode.

This base is classified as a micro base, offering four building units, with the potential to construct up to a hundred different items, featuring a wide and varied range.

Stone said, "First, we need a place to sleep. Everyone must have a bed or else fatigue will continue to accumulate. Sacrificing one building unit for beds can yield two beds, and each bed can be upgraded once to a bunk bed, adding an extra sleeping space. Currently, we have four people and need nine units of construction material. Each construction material package put into storage can generate 3-6 building materials, so we need at least two construction material packages."

Stone continued, "Second is the medical room, which not only can treat infections but also produce materials like bandages and antibiotics. However, basic medical knowledge is required. For now, everyone first put the basic packs into the warehouse."

After Lin Wu's medical pack was put into storage, it generated four units of medical supplies, Little Knife's ammo pack produced four units of ammunition, Daiyu's food pack produced four units of food, and Stone's construction material pack yielded four units of construction material.

The base has five basic resources: medical supplies, food, ammunition, gasoline, and construction materials, primarily sourced from basic resource packs. The current resources of the Shadow Base are four medical, four food, four ammunition, zero gasoline, and four construction materials.

Stone said, "Building the medical room requires five construction materials, three medical supplies, and will consume one medical supply daily for maintenance. Hence, we now lack three construction material packages."

Daiyu suggested, "Everyone is in high spirits at the moment, so we don't need to rest just yet. We can postpone constructing the beds. I see that Lin Wu has also been infected, so we should prioritize building the medical room."

Stone nodded and said, "Then we are short of one construction material package... No, why are we consuming five units of food a day for four people?"

Little Knife raised his hand and explained, "As a Big Stomach King contestant with a 30% increase in strength value, my daily food consumption is 200% of the normal rate." Much like Lin Wu, the marathon runner, Little Knife had participated in the finals of the Big Stomach King contest organized by the large district and finished in seventh place.

Stone grimaced, clearly troubled by this issue, and said, "We'll need to get a food pack before 8 a.m. tomorrow. Lin Wu, pay special attention to the basic packs we currently need: construction material packs and food packs. Little Knife, join Lin Wu, and your task is to map out the stores and houses in the center of town as well as note the locations of the vehicles."

Stone added, "Daiyu, you have a high infection level, so do not go out. Stay at home and work on the radio. Set up our base channel, and listen to and log other channels. In the future, we'll need to interact with others."

Daiyu asked, "What about you?"

"I need to thoroughly study the base's operations. We still have more than an hour to establish the medical room, so there's ample time." Stone called out to Lin Wu who was about to leave, "Remember, food is accounted for tomorrow morning at eight, but construction material packs are the most urgent priority."

"Understood." In reality, Lin Wu only understood half of it and felt that Stone had other plans concerning the food issue.

Stone reminded, "Weapons, lots of weapons, the more the better, we're in short supply of defensive armaments." Stone believed he was among the first to arrive at North Town, where resources were most plentiful at that moment. As a leader, he couldn't just think about one or two days of living; he had to consider the future.

The radio crackled to life, "Wanderer calling, Wanderer calling."

Stone took the radio and responded, "Wanderer, this is Shadow."

"There are living people." The other side sounded very thrilled and continued, "Hey, brother, we're in North Down Town, Right County of North City."

Stone replied, "Good to hear, brother. We're in Left County's North Town. Please make a note of our channel." He silently prayed, hoping that North Town wouldn't get new neighbors too quickly.

...

The number of zombies in the commercial district of North Town was much higher than in the residential area, but fortunately, the commercial zone was large, and the zombies were scattered in all directions. As long as one carefully observed the zombies' behavior and didn't provoke them, one could move freely among them. North Town's commercial district also featured a T-intersection, with not only shops but also some residences and warehouses. The first shop was a clinic, and if you were to come straight down the steep slope from the back door of Shadow Survivor Base, it would be just about 50 meters away.

Lin Wu looked up at the Shadow Survivor Base and could see that the boundary line of the base was green; within the green was the safe zone of the base.

"Got it." Little Knife put away the paper and pen.

Next to the clinic was a truck, and beyond the truck was a gas station. Little Knife asked, "Is there any building material at the gas station?"

"Probably not." Lin Wu squatted in the middle of the road, pointing across from the clinic to a house about 20 meters away from them, "Looks like a warehouse."

The two moved one after the other and quickly arrived in front of the warehouse's metal door. Little Knife pulled on the door and found it locked, "Kick it open?"

"Don't." Lin Wu took off his backpack, rummaged through it, and pulled out a one-time lock picker.

This disposable lock picker, under system guidance, saw Lin Wu holding a hook in his left hand and a pick in his right, inserting them into the lock. Thanks to his Agility attribute, the difficulty of picking the lock was reduced, and in less than five seconds with a click, Lin Wu had the lock opened.

Next to the metal door was a workbench with poor lighting. Lin Wu slowly pulled open a drawer, rummaging inside he took out a screwdriver, a pair of pliers, and a set of small tools, finally pulling out a flashlight. This was not an ordinary flashlight, but one with a built-in charger that could be clipped onto clothing. The product description noted specially: The light from the flashlight would not attract any zombies.

Turning on the flashlight, the world lit up instantly, well, not that brightly, but it was enough for Lin Wu to see two zombies lying on the ground pretending to be dead.

Lin Wu pointed to a row of plank crates on the left and drew out his steak knife, heading towards the two zombies. Whether Little Knife was clever or not, he wasn't sure, but he was obedient, crouching down near the crates to search and see if he could find any useful items. After Lin Wu dealt with the zombies in the warehouse, he would later pry open the crates with a Nail-Pulling Hammer.

All four zombies resting inside the warehouse became ghosts under Lin Wu's blade. Lin Wu shone the flashlight towards Little Knife, signaling all was safe. Little Knife gestured for Lin Wu to go outside and keep watch; now that there was no threat inside the warehouse, any threat could only come from outside.

Upon pulling out the first nail, a loud noise was made. Little Knife clenched his teeth, closed his eyes and waited for a moment without hearing any movement, and then he pulled the second and third nails. Quickly, he dismantled a crate, only to be disappointed to find inside a bundle of ropes, weighing five kilograms, which could be exchanged for 0.5 units of building material at the base.

There were three metal doors in the warehouse. As Little Knife was prying open the second crate at the south door, he had barely had a chance to see the spoils when banging sounds came from outside the metal door. The noise was quite loud, and Little Knife subconsciously thought it was Lin Wu. He stood up, pressed down the door latch and pushed forward—huh? No one was there. He stuck his head out and looked for a while, but still, he saw no one.

Was it an illusion?

Little Knife shut the door, ready to remove the lid from the crate, when the banging sound came again. Opening the door once more, he still saw no one, with the nearest visible zombie being an old lady wandering the highway twenty meters away.

Could it be Ghost? Zombie Ghost?

Little Knife closed the door, rested his hand on the doorknob, and waited quietly. As soon as the banging began again, Little Knife immediately pushed the door open. This time opening the door made Little Knife's flesh creep, as still, there was nothing.

"Lin Wu! Where are you?" Little Knife called in a trembling, soft voice but received no response, and he could only close the door once more.