“Actually, this idea came from the note you left me,” Sang Wenhao said.
Since the apocalypse, Fu Erdie had encountered only a few major crises, and the rest of the time could be considered leisurely and peaceful. It wasn’t until recently that she discovered her ability and began to explore what exactly her powers were.
Sang Wenhao had been fighting all the way through. He needed to snatch everything for survival, using up all his abilities; otherwise, he wouldn’t have survived to this day.
During his battles with the hardened metal zombies, he learned to change the shape of metal, reinforce it, and cover his body with it, turning himself into a weapon.
This kind of manipulation seemed simple but required extremely high precision.
For example, when Sang Wenhao exerted force, his muscles would bulge. At this time, the metal needed to expand with flexibility to follow the intense movements of the muscles. Without achieving this, the metal would become a burden in combat rather than an asset.
Based on this foundation, Sang Wenhao tirelessly underwent a lot of training.
For instance, in the morning, while waiting for Fu Erdie to join him for breakfast, he had been attempting to shape the metal into the form of sniper rifle bullets, designing them hollow so he could stuff messages inside.
“My idea is this: we stuff the messages we want to distribute into these handmade bullets and shoot them towards the direction of the university city. When the bullets hit the ground, they’ll burst open, revealing the messages inside,” he explained.
With that, he casually demonstrated by crafting a bullet shape out of spare parts. The tip of the bullet was sharp and thin, with even a faint crack visible upon close inspection.
Handing it to Fu Erdie, he said, “You can gently throw it against the wall.”
Following his instructions, Fu Erdie did so.
The bullet arched gently through the air and collided with the wall, emitting a soft friction sound.
In the next moment, the bullet head split open, and a piece of paper popped out.
[Rest well today. Tomorrow, let’s go out together to find livestock that can be raised for food.]
It was exactly the note Fu Erdie had left for Sang Wenhao in the morning.
“Very impressive,” Fu Erdie exclaimed.
Sang Wenhao: “I’m from the engineering department, so I often need to model experiments and designs. I also used to go to my family’s shooting training range, so I’ve simulated bullets in various trajectories to see how long they take to land and how far they go.”
“If shooting straight up, a bullet typically lands in about two minutes near the launch point. If shot at a 45-degree angle upwards in a parabolic trajectory, it lands in about 50 seconds, roughly 30 kilometres away.”
“These are very rough estimates. I simulated casually without carefully comparing different scenarios. In actual operations, factors like air pressure, air resistance, wind direction, humidity, and even rainfall can cause significant variations. However, one thing is certain: a sniper rifle can shoot these message bullets into the range of the university city.”
The university city is about 20 kilometres from the residential area in a straight line. Despite road twists, turns, and potential traffic jams, the bullet’s trajectory in the air is not affected by these factors.
“The only concern is that bullets in a parabolic trajectory end up traveling very fast. If one were to hit a person, there’s a chance it could cause injury. Though the probability is extremely low, it is a possibility.”
Fu Erdie found the concept intriguing. Bullet messaging—a truly unique way of communication!
However, she quickly regained her composure.
Assuming they could indeed send messages to the university city and someone found edible livestock, deciding on a meeting point for trade raised a critical issue. Not everyone had maps or the means to reach a designated location.
Could she and Sang Wenhao handle all these people who managed to emerge from the surrounding zombies, whether they were non-powered individuals or a cohesive team? If she were suspected of having water or plant-based powers and became a target for capture, could she resist?
Could Sang Wenhao handle such situations? Or more importantly, should he even have to?
Although she disliked thinking this way about him, the current situation demanded a worst-case scenario plan.
If he was someone with ill intentions and witnessed her in distress he could have simply walked away, potentially taking over her house and the mutated plants, leaving her powerless to stop them.
In the end, she felt an attraction towards him, but she couldn’t fully trust his character yet, nor was she clear about how his abilities compared to other powered individuals.
However, Sang Wenhao’s method of transmitting messages indeed opened up new possibilities and avenues for effective use. Having methods was always better than facing difficulties alone.
“Thank you for your insights,. I’ll keep them in mind,” Fu Erdie said, nodding.
Sang Wenhao nodded in return.
This matter also involved issues of water sources, food exposure, and safety during transactions. It wasn’t something she could decide on hastily. He wasn’t impatient by nature.
After the meal, Fu Erdie took the potato seedlings to tidy up Building 6.
The potato seedlings’ root system had grown to the size of a bathtub. Instead of rooting into the building, they consistently sought pots and containers that Fu Erdie could carry whenever she went out.
Fu Erdie had gained considerable strength now. With the bathtub and the potato seedlings, she could carry them around as part of her exercise when going to Building 6.
Sang Wenhao thought about helping Fu Erdie with chores, but he refrained due to the risk of suspicion. Instead, he stayed in the hallway on the 16th floor, eating unlimited fruits and vegetables while practicing his powers.
During the afternoon, Fu Erdie cleaned every floor of Building 6 thoroughly.
She sorted the materials into four categories: seeds for experiments, essential consumables like oil, salt, and sugar, electronic products such as chargers, sockets, power banks, desk lamps, fans, and small cooking stoves.
The last category consisted of various broken or useless metal items.
Fu Erdie gathered all the discarded metal from each floor and placed them neatly by the windowsills. From now on, Sang Wenhao could easily access them from most windows whenever he needed.
There were plenty of items from the building, and for now, these were what she had extracted.
She worked tirelessly, like an industrious ant, hauling things back and forth.
On the 16th floor, Sang Wenhao practiced his powers and could see Fu Erdie bustling in and out of the scene. When she returned carrying a large box for the third time, Sang Wenhao couldn’t resist any longer. He flew out of the window and helped Fu Erdie lift everything up. “Where do you need these? I’ll help you deliver them.”
Fu Erdie was momentarily taken aback.
Sang Wenhao quickly added, “I won’t take anything for myself. I’ll accompany you.”
Fu Erdie furrowed her brow slightly, feeling a bit unhappy inside.
She genuinely wanted him to rest.
If it were her, not to mention struggling for half a year in the apocalypse, even during the intense preparation for the college entrance examination, once it was over, she would want to lie flat… to the point of feeling like the world was ending, let alone helping others or working for them.
However, she was indeed on guard against him, and it was understandable that he was involved in this matter.
“Thank you. Please deliver these things to 16-3. I’ll continue to move things inside the building,” Fu Erdie said, a bit reluctantly.
Sang Wenhao was somewhat surprised.
Didn’t she plan to keep an eye on him?
He wasn’t one to talk much anyway. Upon hearing this, he didn’t say much and silently got to work.
He could fly, much faster than Fu Erdie. By the time he finished delivering the items downstairs, Fu Erdie hadn’t returned to Building 6 yet.
“You can trust me for the rest,” he said.
After a moment’s pause, Fu Erdie didn’t insist on doing it herself and asked him to move the remaining items.
Under the setting sun, she sat beside the green vine in the flowerbed, watching his busy figure.
She had a new understanding of him.
He was very sensitive.
He noticed her vigilance, so he took the initiative to avoid suspicion.
He sensed her unhappiness, so he cleverly spoke up to ease the tension.
Even though Fu Erdie’s fleeting moment of unhappiness was quickly suppressed by her normal logical thinking, he still managed to catch it.
Fu Erdie propped her chin up, watching him finish moving things back to Building 6 for the fifth time and starting on the sixth. Suddenly, she felt that if he were a good person, he must be feeling very wronged right now.
After thinking for two hours about a way to convey her message without receiving a reply, she realized that her good intentions to help had been thwarted by her own wariness.
She mustered the courage to take that step, only to provoke more unhappiness…
Fu Erdie: “…”
Why did she feel so bad about herself?
If it were her in this situation, she would definitely feel wronged.
At dinner, Fu Erdie said, “I plan to alternate between going out to explore and looking for livestock one day and cleaning the apartment building the next. That way, it won’t be as exhausting as cleaning the apartment building, and I won’t be as mentally strained as when I go out exploring. Actually, only the exploring requires you to come with me. I can handle cleaning the other apartment buildings by myself, but if you’re willing to help, we can collect the supplies we find and discuss how to divide them according to our needs. What do you think?”
Sang Wenhao swallowed the rice in his mouth and looked at Fu Erdie seriously. “You’ve already put the metal I need in the spot closest to the window. I don’t need to move them; I just need to know their location so I can access them anytime in the community. Thank you.”
Fu Erdie was once again amazed by his perceptiveness. Clearly, she hadn’t even mentioned the reason and purpose for placing the metal by the window, yet he knew everything.
A weight lifted off her heart.
It was better that he figured it out himself. Otherwise, if she had to explain, it would seem like she was trying to take credit or offer charity. “Look, I’ve prepared your things for you.”
She felt embarrassed to say it.
Sang Wenhao directly provided the most straightforward response.
Fu Erdie smiled sincerely, “Thank you again for helping me move so many things.”
“It’s not helping you. I want to live here permanently.”
Fu Erdie’s hand holding her chopsticks froze in mid-air.
Looking into Sang Wenhao’s big, puppy-like eyes, she suddenly understood what he meant and anticipated what he was about to say.
Sure enough, the next moment came.
“I want to earn your trust. I want to treat this place as a home where I can live long-term. Everything I do at home is for myself.”
“I’m not helping you; I’m doing what I should do.”
**Nomad: Sorry, I was sick for a while and haven’t been posting new chapters. Only the ones I had scheduled were posted. I will try to get back on track, but please bear with me in the meantime. Thank you.
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