The settlement celebrated for a night. They ate full rations. They drank clean water. The wounded were treated. Laughter, real laughter, echoed in the warehouse for the first time in weeks.
Lin Feng did not celebrate. He worked.
While others slept off the feast, he sat on his blanket, eyes closed. He focused on his green system screens. The numbers were right.
[Low-Grade Metal: 112/100]
[Idle Points: 109/150]
[Quest: Support the Expedition - COMPLETE]
[Final Reward: +150 IP, +1 Settlement Reputation]
[Total IP: 259/150]
He had more than enough. It was time.
He opened the Construction & Upgrades** menu. He selected the option that had been greyed out for days.
[Basic Workshop - UNLOCK]
[Requirements Met: 100 Metal, 100 IP]
[Construct? Y/N]
He selected Y. The cost was deducted.
[Constructing: Basic Workshop (Lv. 1)]
[Designated Location: Hidden Cache - Janitorial Closet B-10.]
[Estimated Time: 8 hours.]
[Your asset, Z-001, has been assigned construction duty.]
On his map, he saw the green dot of Z-001 leave its rooftop perch. It descended into the building and moved toward his secret cache. The construction began. A slow, automated process.
For eight hours, his most experienced zombie would be busy. It was a vulnerability, but a necessary one.
The new workshop would change everything. He could turn raw metal into tools. Into parts. Maybe, eventually, into weapons his zombies could use. His power was about to take a qualitative leap.
He opened his eyes. Dawn was coloring the high warehouse windows. The celebration was over. The new day brought new politics.
Zhang Wei found him before the morning porridge was served.
"Lin Feng," he said, his voice a friendly rumble that didn't match his eyes. "Walk with me."
It was not a request. Lin Feng followed him to a quieter corner, near the Union's private stash of loot.
"You did well with those nails," Zhang Wei said, leaning against a container. "Lao Chen sings your praises. Says you have a good eye for what's useful."
"I was lucky," Lin Feng said, looking at the ground.
"Luck is a skill," Zhang Wei replied. "One I value. My Union is always looking for skilled people. People who understand... value."
Lin Feng said nothing. He knew what was coming.
"The settlement is weak," Zhang Wei continued, his voice dropping. "Captain Luo is sentimental. She wastes resources on the old and the sick. She doesn't understand that strength is the only law now. My Union understands. We protect our own. We reward talent."
He gestured to his stash. Better food. Bottled drinks. A small generator.
"I could use a man with a good eye on my team. Scouting. Resource assessment. You'd eat better. Sleep safer. No more latrine duty." He smiled. It was a thin, predatory smile. "All you have to do is be loyal to the Union. First."
It was an offer. It was also a threat. Joining Zhang Wei meant protection from him, but also becoming his tool. It meant being watched even more closely. It meant abandoning the fragile community that had, despite everything, taken him in.
"I... I need to think," Lin Feng stammered.
"Of course," Zhang Wei said, clapping him on the shoulder. The grip was too tight. "Think. But don't think too long. Opportunities fade. And in this world, you're either with the strong or you're under them."
He walked away, leaving Lin Feng cold.
The pressure was now explicit. Zhang Wei wanted to own him.
Lin Feng got his porridge and sat alone. As he ate, Mei slid onto the bench opposite him. She placed her own bowl down carefully.
"Zhang Wei is recruiting," she stated.
Lin Feng nodded, not looking up.
"He sees utility," she said. "He's a scavenger. He sees you as a piece of useful scrap. Be careful. Once you're in his inventory, you never get out."
"Why do you care?" Lin Feng asked, a spark of defiance in his voice.
"Because I don't like him," Mei said simply. "And because I still don't know what you are. A scared boy? Or something else? I'd like to find out before he turns you into one of his blunt instruments."
She stood up. "Oh, and I'm going out today. Scouting. Following up on a rumor about a... plank-carrying mutant. It seems to have vanished. How curious."
She walked away, leaving him with two threats: one that wanted to use him and one that wanted to dissect him.
The day passed with agonizing slowness. Lin Feng performed his menial duties, his mind split three ways.
1. Monitoring the slow progress of his Workshop construction (6 hours remaining).
2. Dreading Zhang Wei's next move.
3. Worrying about where Mei's scouting would lead.
In the afternoon, a system chime echoed in his mind. A different sound. Urgent.
[Alert: Asset Z-003 - Under Observation!]
He snapped his focus inward. Z-003 was his decoy, the plank-carrier. It had completed its meaningless delivery and was now idling in the ruins of the office building at 44 Shennan Road.
On the map, a white dot was in the same building. [Neutral - Survivor].
The dot was moving carefully, stealthily, from floor to floor. It was hunting.
Mei.
She had followed the trail. She had found the zombie.
Panic shot through Lin Feng. He issued an immediate command.
[Z-003: Evade. Maximum stealth. Do not engage.]
The zombie began to shuffle, trying to lose itself in the dark, labyrinthine ruins.
But Mei was a hunter. The white dot matched its movements, floor by floor, corner by corner. She was getting closer.
Lin Feng had to choose. Let her discover a mindless zombie, which might end her investigation. Or intervene and reveal he could control it.
He made a desperate gamble.
He commanded Z-002, his factory guard, to leave its post. He sent it towards Shennan Road. Not to fight. To create a diversion.
[Z-002: Create audible disturbance at 46 Shennan Road (adjacent building).]
Minutes later, Z-002 arrived. It began to smash glass. It moaned loudly. It knocked over metal shelves with a terrific crash.
On the map, the white dot (Mei) froze. It stopped pursuing Z-003. It turned, its attention pulled to the new, louder noise next door.
She was smart. She would be suspicious of the coincidence. But the immediate threat to Z-003 was over.
As the sun set, a final, soft chime sounded in Lin Feng's mind. A good one.
[Construction Complete: Basic Workshop (Lv. 1) is now operational.]
[New Blueprints Available: Simple Tools, Basic Repairs, Structural Components.]
[Automated Crafting Queue Unlocked.]
He had his workshop. A new tier of power.
But as he looked across the warehouse floor, he saw Zhang Wei watching him from across the fire. He saw Mei return, her expression thoughtful and unsatisfied.
He had gained a tool. He had also drawn the focused attention of two predators.
His power was growing. So was the cage forming around him.