TFRLTOP Chapter 80 Part 1

Chapter 80 – The Captain’s Little Widow (Part 9)

◎ When you’re out in the world, respect is something you earn for yourself. ◎

The explosion sent clouds of smoke billowing into the sky, staining half of it gray. The three of them stood shoulder to shoulder for a moment, their thoughts tangled in silence.

Ming Ming cautiously suggested, “Maybe we shouldn’t stay outside the base. Let’s head back first? If the noise attracts zombies or mutants, that’ll be bad…”

“How could it not attract them with a blast like that?” Guan Yi gave her a sideways look. “Didn’t you think of that before?”

Ming Ming drooped her head, answering honestly, “I did. The plan was to set off a small bomb to lure the zombies or mutants over, then use the rest of the explosives to take them out.”

“Well, isn’t that… thorough planning.” An Ning gave an awkward laugh and clapped her hands.

Ming Ming took that as a compliment and nodded in agreement, though she looked a little dejected. Her gaze drifted toward the box of “mushroom eggs” Guan Yi was holding. She muttered under her breath, “If I hadn’t mixed up the explosives, this would’ve been my first glorious moment across four worlds… what a waste. System, why didn’t you warn me sooner?”

Her voice was too soft for the others to hear.

“What was that?” Guan Yi asked.

“Nothing.”

The system piped up, “I thought you meant to pick that explosive—just misjudged its power. That’s why I suggested you move from inside the base to outside, and told you to place the small ball at least a kilometer away.”

“You were reading the instruction manual so seriously this afternoon—highlighting, labeling, taking notes. I thought you understood it…”

Ming Ming felt utterly defeated.

Guan Yi slung an arm over her shoulder. “It’s fine. We’ve still got time. Before those things show up, I’ll help you switch out the explosives.”

“Can we make it?” she asked nervously.

“We can. I’ve done this before—it’s quick. We’ll just get a few more hands.”

An Ning caught up. “I’ll help too. Honestly, if this thing works, it’ll be a huge help for the team when they go out to fight.”

Ming Ming pouted. “I just wanted to go out and fight myself…”

Guan Yi chuckled and pulled her closer when he saw her spirits dip. “Don’t worry, we’ll take you. Who else can handle the programming here? Without you, those things are just eggs—they won’t do any damage.”

“Really?” she asked, peeking up at him.

“Really.” He lowered his head until their foreheads touched. “I’ll protect you.”

Her gloom vanished in an instant. Her chin lifted, and her mood shot up like a rocket. “Hmph, we’ll see who ends up protecting who!”

Back at the base, chaos awaited them. The earlier blast had sent everyone into a panic.

“Calm down, everyone,” Guan Yi said. “That explosion was part of an experiment. It’s likely to attract zombies or mutants, so we need to make some adjustments based on the results. It might take ten minutes—or more. Everyone, get into battle positions immediately. Also,” he called out a few names, “come give us a hand. We’ll try to finish the adjustments before anything arrives.”

The group responded in unison, quickly falling into an organized rhythm.

In the lab, Ming Ming explained how to disassemble the small round devices. With everyone working together, the speed was impressive, and soon the new mushroom eggs were ready.

Guan Yi picked one up and studied it. “You made all these in one afternoon? So it’s not that complicated—could they be mass-produced?”

“In theory, yes. As long as we have enough materials,” Ming Ming said, pointing to the little robot still amusing itself on An Ning’s desk. “The principle’s about the same. It just needs external commands to roll the mushroom eggs to the right positions.”

Guan Yi nodded. “If it works the way we hope, let’s have everyone help make more in the next few days. Store some in your space—and maybe make a few of the big ones too, just in case.”

“Got it.”

“When we go out next time, we’ll grab more materials,” Guan Yi added, glancing at An Ning. “You’ve been to that old military base up north, right?”

An Ning nodded. “Yeah, though it’s a bit far. I can lead the way.”

Once everything was ready, everyone gathered outside the base.

“They’re coming,” Guan Yi said, his expression grave.

Zombies staggered toward them, drawn by the explosion. Most of the local ones had already been cleared, so only a few stragglers showed up. Ming Ming was about to guide a mushroom egg forward when Guan Yi stopped her.

“No need for heavy weapons on these.” He motioned to someone behind him—a scholarly-looking young man wearing glasses. The man raised his bow, loosed an arrow, and hit a zombie dead between the eyes.

Ming Ming gasped softly.

“He was a national archery champion before the apocalypse,” Guan Yi explained quietly. “Never misses. Great for saving bullets.”

Ming Ming turned to look at him.

Guan Yi shrugged. “Even with all our supplies, bullets run out fast. We still can’t make reliable ones ourselves—and a misfire could be deadly. But explosives? Those are easy.”

“Here they come!” An Ning pointed to the distance.

A heavy thud… thud… thud echoed closer, like drums beating against their chests.

Curses rippled through the group.

When Ming Ming finally saw it, her breath caught.

“That’s… one big guy…”

Her hands started trembling. “S-System, maybe I shouldn’t have shown off. My legs—my legs are shaking!”

Lumbering toward them was a massive mutated elephant, its body doubled in size—nearly two stories tall.

Half its face was rotted away, and even from a distance they could see the blood-red gleam of its eyes. It wasn’t just mutated—it looked infected, too.

A double mutation. Great.

The system encouraged her, “You’ve got this. Now—move the mushroom egg closer.”

Flustered, Ming Ming guided a mushroom egg rolling across the ground. “One’s enough, right? Should I send another? I can multitask!”

“No—too many and you’ll attract more.”

Guan Yi watched closely while ordering the others to prepare for battle, just in case.

“Mutants can zombify too,” he warned. “They’re harder to deal with, and we don’t know what tricks this one has. Stay sharp.”

The mushroom egg rolled farther out and waited quietly.

The mutant elephant’s footsteps shook the ground. Its trunk swung back and forth, smashing into the dirt with bone-rattling force.

Around it, other zombies and mutants shuffled aimlessly. The only saving grace was that these creatures still hadn’t learned to work together—often turning on each other instead.

In just a few moments, the elephant’s trunk had swatted five zombies away, its feet crushed two more, and it even snapped up a mutant wasp midair.

Guan Yi raised his binoculars and issued quick commands. “If its hide hardens, be ready with nerve-disrupting abilities. If the bomb doesn’t work, lightning-types—draw it away. Everyone else, stay with me.”

“Ready!”

Ming Ming held her breath and started counting down.

Three.

Two.

One.

As the mutant elephant lumbered over the mushroom egg, exposing its soft underbelly, she hit the Enter key.

Boom!

A flash of light burst from the egg. No one dared blink.

The explosion tore through the air—the towering elephant split apart instantly, flesh and bone scattering in every direction.

The massive body slammed into nearby zombies and mutants, crushing them on impact.

When the smoke finally cleared and the dust settled, a sharp whistle cut through the air—the final zombie fell to an arrow.

Silence.

Everyone stared.