As dawn broke, Chen Shouzhou, forcing his exhausted body upright, began his career as a "construction fanatic."
While last night's unconventional "zombie disco" had been remarkably effective, it also exposed a fatal flaw in the safe house's defenses: an over-reliance on electricity and one-time traps. If the generator ran out of fuel, or if the zombie horde breached the first line of defense, the two of them, plus one dog, would have to pack up and run immediately.
Therefore, the [Simple Fence] crafting blueprint awarded by the system had come at the perfect time.
"Morning, Dr. Su!" Chen Shouzhou greeted Su Wan'er enthusiastically as she emerged from the basement. "Sleep well last night? Were you captivated by my DJ talents?"
Su Wan'er didn't speak. She silently handed him half a compressed biscuit and a small bottle of water, then pointed to the bloodshot veins in his eyes. On her notepad, she wrote: "You need to rest."
"The revolution is not yet won, comrade! We must press on!" Chen Shouzhou declared, stuffing the biscuit into his mouth and speaking through the crumbs. "Once I've built our 'Great Wall,' I'll sleep for three days and three nights."
He opened the system interface, where the blueprint for the [Simple Fence] was clearly displayed. Unlike last night's electric grid, the materials list for this project was more complex. It required not only large quantities of scrap sheet metal and rebar but also rope, wooden stakes, and even some nuts and bolts.
"This is a pretty big job," Chen Shouzhou muttered, smacking his lips. But when he saw the defense rating listed at the bottom of the blueprint—"Can effectively withstand the impact of low-level zombies and possesses basic physical damage capabilities"—his motivation surged again.
He got straight to work. First, he used his [Resource Appraisal] skill to conduct a thorough scan of the entire scrap heap, tagging all materials that matched keywords like "sheet metal," "rebar," and "rope."
[Rusted billboard sheet metal. Material: Thin iron. Condition: Edges are sharp. Utility Value: Medium. Remark: Be careful, this thing will cut you faster than a zombie can bite.]
[A broken piece of construction rebar. Material: Threaded steel. Condition: Sturdy. Utility Value: High. Remark: Can be used as a weapon, or as a clothesline.]
[A roll of discarded fire hose. Material: Nylon. Condition: Partially aged, but the core is tough. Utility Value: High. Remark: Stronger than you think. Good for tying people up or for a hanging.]
Chen Shouzhou couldn't help but chuckle at the system's quirky remarks. This system had a real personality sometimes.
For the better part of the day, the warehouse echoed with the clang of hammering.
Chen Shouzhou displayed astonishing stamina and endurance. Like a tireless worker bee, he shuttled back and forth between the scrap heap and the warehouse perimeter. Using a wrench and a hammer, he flattened and pieced together sheets of metal of various sizes, using rebar as a framework and reinforcing it all with the fire hose and iron wire.
Su Wan'er didn't stand idle. First, she helped clear the zombie corpses from last night's battlefield, burning them with gasoline to prevent the spread of disease. Then, she became Chen Shouzhou's most capable assistant: passing him tools, pulling wires, holding rebar in place… Though she wasn't strong, she was meticulous, always managing to hand him the right tool at the right time.
There was little verbal communication between them, yet a strange, unspoken understanding formed. Sweat soaked their clothes, and their faces were smeared with grime and grease, but their eyes were filled with hope for the future.
By evening, a two-meter-high fence—crooked, but looking exceptionally "menacing"—finally enclosed the core area of the warehouse.
The fence was a masterpiece of post-apocalyptic postmodern art, bristling with sharp metal spikes and protruding steel rods. Chen Shouzhou had even deliberately hung several empty cans and pieces of scrap metal on it.
"What are those for?" Su Wan'er finally couldn't resist writing down her question on the notepad.
"A natural alarm system!" Chen Shouzhou said proudly, flicking one of the cans to produce a crisp clatter. "Think about it. If a zombie tries to climb the fence at night, the moment it touches this stuff, clang, clang, clang, we'll know, won't we? I call it 'My Singing Wall.' How's that for clever?"
Seeing the look on his face, practically begging for praise, Su Wan'er couldn't help but smile and nod.
Just as they were admiring their "masterpiece," Xiao Hei suddenly began to growl at a corner of the outer perimeter.
They both tensed up immediately.
Walking over, they found Xiao Hei growling at a patch of ruins not far away. Chen Shouzhou followed its gaze and saw the mutant white dog, "Bai Bai"—the one from the supermarket, the one he'd scared off with "The Most Dazzling Folk Style"—staring at them from a distance, with its remaining zombie dogs in tow.
It seemed it wasn't ready to give up on this location.
Chen Shouzhou's heart leaped into his throat. Was their brand-new fence about to face its first real test?
He stood behind the fence, meeting Bai Bai's gaze without flinching. Just as he was about to tell Su Wan'er to activate the electric grid, Bai Bai did something unexpected.
It stared at Chen Shouzhou for a few seconds, then at the gleaming, sharp fence. Finally, with a low growl, it turned and led its pack away.
"Well, well, you've got a good eye," Chen Shouzhou whistled, shouting at its retreating back, "Hey, buddy! If you change your mind, come back and join me! I offer room and board, plus benefits!"
Bai Bai's figure quickly vanished into the shadows of the ruins. But in its eyes, Chen Shouzhou had seen something that didn't belong to a beast… a flicker of struggle and intelligence.
He retracted his gaze and, in the spot where Bai Bai had just been standing, he noticed something.
It was a metal dog tag, stained with blood, with a line of small, blurry text engraved on it. He walked over, carefully picked it up, and wiped away the grime.
"No. 07, Test Subject 'Bai Bai'"
Chen Shouzhou's heart sank.
Test subject?
This dog wasn't a natural mutation? It was the product of some kind of experiment?
He immediately thought of the notebook Da Liu had given him before he died, the one that mentioned a "black market" and "Old Scar." He thought of the note Zhao Tie had left behind. Beneath the seemingly chaotic surface of this wasteland, there seemed to be a vast, invisible web.
[Ding! Critical clue detected. New mission triggered!]
[Main Quest: A Mysterious Past]
[Mission Objective: Investigate the origin of 'Test Subject Bai Bai' and uncover the secrets behind it.]
[Mission Reward: Unknown.]
"Unknown reward? Now you're being all mysterious on me, System," Chen Shouzhou thought, pocketing the dog tag and staring pensively at the mission screen.
It seemed that a quiet life of farming and construction was not going to be possible. Some trouble, even if you don't look for it, comes looking for you.
That night, with a sturdy fence and a "singing" alarm system, the two of them could finally get a peaceful night's sleep.
Lying on his "bed" made of rags and cardboard boxes, Chen Shouzhou found it hard to fall asleep. He took out the dog tag and examined it repeatedly in the faint moonlight.
"No. 07, Test Subject 'Bai Bai'..." he murmured.
Just then, the system interface suddenly updated, and a new construction option appeared before his eyes.
[Detecting preliminary completion of the Safe House's defense system. Living facilities module unlocked.]
[New craftable option added: Simple Watchtower.]
Chen Shouzhou's eyes lit up instantly.
A watchtower meant the high ground, a wider field of vision! It would be a major upgrade for both defense and reconnaissance.
He leaped excitedly from his "bed" and ran to Su Wan'er's partition, whispering loudly, "Dr. Su! Dr. Su! Wake up! Time to party! Phase two of our 'Safe House Real Estate Development Project' is about to begin!"
Startled awake, Su Wan'er poked her head out, looking sleepy and exasperated.
But Chen Shouzhou was practically vibrating with energy. He pointed to the warehouse roof, his voice full of passion. "See that starry sky? Tomorrow, we're going to stand higher than we are now and see a grander view! Our first watchtower is about to be born!"
Su Wan'er looked at him, acting as excited as a child, and finally shook her head with a resigned sigh. But the corner of her mouth curved once again into a gentle smile.
She picked up her notepad, wrote a sentence, and handed it to him.
It read: "You're not a weakling. You are hope."