VAPBDB Chapter 22

White smoke was coming out of the charred hole.

Zhang Lu, who was holding the energy gun, felt a little confused, his hands were shaking violently, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat because he was scared. His adam’s apple rolled and he swallowed his saliva “Is my eyesight not so good? When did a gun become so powerful?”

Zhou Fei wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the energy gun that was powerful enough to pierce his chest. He was filled with fear and couldn’t help but touch his chest to see if it was okay before he breathed a sigh of relief.

Just now, when Zhang Lu took the gun, he waved it towards him, trying to scare him a few times.

He thought it was just a welding gun and smiled nonchalantly. Zhang Lu found it boring so he curled his lips and pointed the gun at the ground.

If this gun had been pointed at him just now, he wouldn’t have been able to block it even if he was a sixth-level psychic!

“I have never seen such a gun. If I had this gun, I wouldn’t be afraid of zombies. At least low-level and mid-level zombies can be killed instantly!”

Zhou Fei looked at the energy gun in Zhang Lu’s hand with increasingly enthusiastic eyes.

Which psychic doesn’t want a handy weapon, especially one that can attack from a distance, so that they can shoot zombies without getting close to them? But guns are not that difficult to get. He still has channels to get them, but the bullets are expensive!

One second-level crystal core can be exchanged for about thirty metal bullets filled with gunpowder, which is already a preferential price at the Lucheng base.

Those with superpowers who have guns will buy some for self-defence. After all, after using up their superpowers, they can’t fight zombies with their bare hands.

But the zombies’ skin becomes stiff after death, and their flesh is thick and tough. It would be difficult to penetrate the dead skin unless you shoot five or six bullets at the same place with the accuracy of a sharpshooter, and the skull, the fatal area is even harder.

If you don’t have ten or twenty bullets in one trip, you may not be able to kill a zombie.

So generally you use bullets to destroy the zombies’ mobility, and then save some bullets to kill the zombies.

This is still based on the situation where zombies can be attacked with guns. If you encounter a powerful zombie, bullets cannot break the zombie’s defense, and in the end you still have to rely on superpowers to fight it off with difficulty.

If you are unlucky and encounter a zombie with superpowers, if you dare to take out a gun, your teammates will blow your head off first!

The metal bullets flying out at any moment were controlled by the zombies and turned around to hurt teammates.

It’s a sad story to talk about. Sometimes when you are killing zombies outside, you not only have to face the zombies, but also have to be on guard against teammates who are stupid in various situations. It turns out that staying at the base and watching the door is the best job!

Zhou Fei looked at the energy gun greedily several times, and couldn’t restrain his impulse and asked: “Brother Pei, are you selling this gun?”

Unexpectedly, Zhang Lu next to him wanted it too, and he shouted even louder than him, his eyes sparkling with excitement, and shouted to Pei Zhaozhou: “Brother Pei, name a price, and I’ll give you everything I have! Please–!!!”

“Wait a minute—!!!”

An old man with a scruffy beard appeared out of nowhere and shouted at the energy gun with golden eyes: “If you want to sell it, I’ll sell you a sixth-level crystal core!!!”

Seeing someone trying to snatch something from them, Zhou Fei and Zhang Lu stood on the same front for once: “Who are you?! Brother Pei, if you want to sell it, sell it to us. We’ve also offered a sixth-level crystal core!”

Pei Zhaozhou paused as he was about to retract the energy gun.

I started calculating in my mind how many points I could get for a sixth-level crystal core, and how many apples I could buy.

He didn’t know much about the currency exchange system in this high-dimensional world. He only knew that a first-level crystal core in Lucheng Base could be exchanged for 200 points. A sixth-level crystal core was definitely more expensive than a first-level crystal core…

The old man seemed to see Pei Zhaozhou’s intention, and took the opportunity to pursue him, “You are new to our Lucheng base, right? If you sell me this gun for research, I, Old Hu, will make a promise to you. If you have any machine or car that breaks down in the future, you can come to the research institute of Lucheng base to find me. If you want a weapon for self-defense, I can sell you weapons and bullets at half price! Free repair and replacement!”

Zhou Fei also realised that the old man with the scruffy beard was Professor Hu, who was notoriously stubborn and difficult to deal with in the research institute. He looked dirty because he often crawled under cars to repair them, and there was oil between his fingers.

Professor Hu is considered a respectful title. Normally, those psychics would call him Old Man Hu, the car mechanic, out of annoyance. But when Old Man Hu got stubborn, he even scolded the captain of the high-level psychics.

Once, when a captain of the superpowers was returning his car, Old Man Hu discovered that there was a big crack on the wheelbase. Old Man Hu was so angry that he pointed at the captain’s nose and cursed him, and almost angered the captain of the high-level superpowers. If Old Man Hu’s old body had been hit by such a punch, he would probably have fallen to the ground and died. Later, Chief Cao came out to smooth things over.

To some extent, Zhou Fei admired this old man Hu.

It is said that this old man Hu is a widower. His child was bitten to death by zombies, and his wife lived with him through the apocalypse for many years. In the end, she couldn’t bear it and died of illness. Later, he was brought back by Commander Si for some reason and has stayed in the base for some years. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that old man Hu cherishes this base that provides him with a place to stay, and he does his best to protect and love this place.

Apart from anything else, Old Man Hu’s car repair skills are quite impressive. Several scrapped cars that were originally stored in the base warehouse have been repaired by Old Man Hu. It is the fact that he takes care of the cars like his own children that annoys people who come to borrow his cars. If they damage them even a little, Old Man Hu will chase them and scold them.

Old Hu looked at the energy gun with a burning gaze, his eyes full of excitement: “How about it? If you have any other requirements, I, Old Hu, will try my best to satisfy you!”

This is a new type of weapon that has never been seen before. The absence of metal bullets means that it will not be restricted by metal zombies. Moreover, the huge charred pit on the ground is a strong proof of the extraordinary power of this gun. If used on zombies, it will definitely kill those damn zombies!

Lao Hu originally wanted to visit the trading area, hoping to find suitable car repair materials or some valuable metals, but he got an unexpected surprise. Not only did he discover this special energy gun, but he was also overjoyed and moved that there were humans who could develop such an energy gun. In a place that Lao Hu couldn’t see, it turned out that human technology had developed to this point. Now they were one step closer to exterminating the zombies and taking back human territory.

Zhang Lu shrugged. It seemed that he had no hope. He stared at the energy gun and sighed again and again.

Pei Zhaozhou’s eyes sank slightly as he fell into deep thought. There was one thing that made him a little confused. The performance of the energy gun he personally modified was much better than the ordinary energy guns on the interstellar market, but it still couldn’t hurt Si Huaixi at all. This shocked him at first and gave him an illusion about this high-dimensional world, where technology was backward but relative to human beings, it was incredibly strong.

Pei Zhaozhou himself is an S-class alpha, his genes have reached the limit of interstellar humans, and he has learned all kinds of combat skills. Basically, no one in Interstellar can beat him. But in this high-dimensional world, any man can defeat him.

Just when Pei Zhaozhou thought that even if there were not most people, there must be quite a few who were as powerful as Si Huaixi and were inhumanly strong. Then he easily defeated a psychic in the base. The three people in front of him were eager to buy his energy gun that could not hurt Si Huaixi at all. This made Pei Zhaozhou feel a little curious about Si Huaixi’s strength.

As for the energy gun, it is not difficult to make. At the beginning, the Silver Arc was asked to analyze the elemental composition contained in the soil of this high-dimensional world, and it can be replaced with ordinary materials from this world.

However, this energy gun consumed a lot of energy during the battle, and only 30% of the energy grid was left. Zhang Lu had just accidentally opened the energy valve to the maximum value, and with one shot, another 6% of the energy was lost. Without a suitable tool to replenish energy, the gun would become ineffective after a period of use.

The structure of the energy gun is simple for Pei Zhaozhou, but it is completely different for people here with backward technology. The technological gap is too large, and the greater the power that the energy gun can cause, the more likely it is for accidents to occur and lead to tragedy.

Pei Zhaozhou said with a firm look in his eyes: “I can’t promise you.”

Old Hu thought Pei Zhaozhou didn’t want the technology of the energy gun to be leaked. He couldn’t help struggling after feeling regretful. His old, cloudy eyes were filled with pleading: “Then I won’t buy your gun. Let me study it for a while and then return it to you. I guarantee you with my reputation. The sixth-order crystal core and other conditions I promised to give you will remain unchanged… The gun will be returned the same way it was when you gave it to me. I just want to research another weapon to kill zombies for the psychics in the base…”

Zhang Lu looked at Lao Hu’s pitiful appearance and wanted to persuade him, but he and Pei Zhaozhou had only known each other for a short time, so he didn’t have the confidence to persuade him to sell such a powerful weapon. He would not sell it if he were in his shoes.

Zhang Lu sighed inwardly and asked cautiously, “Brother Pei, if you have other ways to buy this kind of gun, I will also give you a sixth-level crystal core as a reward. If it is not enough, I will go to the base to find someone to exchange for a seventh-level one. Lao Hu and Commander Si also know each other and have helped everyone a lot…”

Zhou Fei also coughed lightly twice. Being a keen observer, he knew that Pei Zhaozhou didn’t care that much, at least not as much as they did. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have casually lent the energy gun to Zhang Lu just because he was curious.

Zhou Fei asked cryptically: “Brother Pei, if you have any concerns, we can try our best to find someone to help you solve them.”

The implication may be that Pei Zhaozhou obtained the energy gun through some illegal means, and if he offended someone behind the scenes, he could ask them to help solve the problem, or solve the person behind the problem.

Zhou Fei had been in the apocalypse for so long, and his hands were stained with blood. He was sharp-tongued and cunning, but he was slightly influenced by the two enthusiastic companions next to him and was kind-hearted for once. Pei Zhaozhou’s eyes swept across Lao Hu’s sincere and enthusiastic face. Even Zhou Fei, whose enthusiasm was only superficial, followed Zhang Luwei and talked to Lao Hu, whom he didn’t know very well.

He couldn’t help but smile. It seems that people’s hearts are warmer in acoplyptic times. Pei Zhaozhou inexplicably missed Si Huaixi. A soft light flashed across his amber eyes. He pursed his lips and smiled softly, saying, “Okay, I agree.”

“Great! Thank you Brother Pei!” Zhang Lu cheered.

Old Hu also thanked him, staring at the energy gun eagerly and asking, “Can I take it back to the research institute now and find some old friends to study it together?”

Pei Zhaozhou: “Well, the energy gun is a dangerous firearm after all, I have to be there to watch.”

Old Hu was so focused on the energy gun he was going to research that he didn’t care about Pei Zhaozhou’s request at all. He quickly replied, “No problem! No problem!”

Pei Zhaozhou: “Also, I hope we don’t study too late. I have to go home.”

Lao Hu made a gesture that it was all right: “Don’t worry! Don’t worry!”

After saying that, Lao Hu took Pei Zhaozhou to the research institute.

It just so happened that Pei Zhaozhou was also curious about the level of this high-dimensional world research institute. The laboratory he built in the interstellar space could not be used, which was a pity for his new batch of super-high-tech mecha materials and equipment.

As soon as Si Huaixi returned to Lucheng base, there were a large number of matters waiting for him to deal with.

He hadn’t stopped working since the morning meeting, whether it was arranging the next transportation or asking other base psychics to come to him for questions about their cultivation…

Chief Cao seemed to be gloating, saying that he had shared Si Huaixi’s work for so long and it was his turn to rest. Until ten o’clock at night. Only then could Si Huaixi get away from the pile of affairs.

Walking in dim light Si Huaixi walked home hurriedly, his deep sea-blue eyes were anxious, his brows were furrowed even tighter, and his face was cold as ice. He was eager to go home.

His heart was full of thoughts about the cat at home.

‘I don’t know what’s happening with the cat. Will it lose its way? It should be home safely now. Will it wait too long?’

Although Si Huaixi had given Pei Zhaozhou the keys and explained some things to him a long time ago, Pei Zhaozhou was not an ignorant child, so how could he not be able to do even these small things?

But the moment he saw Maomao, Si Huaixi’s face was still cold and tense. The emotions that are invested unconsciously are as restrained as a deep-sea volcano, yet turbulent and ready to erupt at any time.

Until…

Si Huaixi stopped in front of a house with no lights on in the windows. The sea-blue pupils shrank instantly. Then Si Huaixi opened the door.

The room was still quiet. The floor was covered with a layer of dust as no one had lived there for some time. There was no sign that anyone had been in.

No one? No maomao? Si Huaixi’s eyes suddenly darkened.

Maomao didn’t come home.