thefictionvixens Chapter 1 Water Town
Chapter 1 Water Town
A lost water town.
The crimson sunset disappeared below the horizon, and the night swallowed the last rays of twilight, plunging the world into darkness.
In the shattered city, countless figures emerged from the shadows of the ruins, their steps faltering, filling the dilapidated streets.
Suddenly, the navigation lights on a small boat in the river lit up, attracting the attention of countless people.
[Survival Rule #1: Zombies are less active during the day, but avoid going into caves or the shadows of buildings, as these often hide some pleasant surprises.]
[Survival Rule #2: Lights at night attract zombies; if you don't want to die, stay in the dark at night.]
By the light of the navigation lights, Lorraine flipped through the files on the data board. This was one of the few intact electronic devices he had found after searching the entire ship, and these were the only two files stored on the data board.
The data entry time of "Doomsday Survival Rules" is more than ten years different from the time shown on the data panel, and the other document is a map from an unknown period of time.
Having transmigrated here, Lorraine only has this river gunboat with a barely intact engine, and a few electronic devices on board.
As an inland gunboat emphasizing rapid response, its weapon systems were completely damaged; the engine even took more than ten minutes to complete a cold start, and the noise generated during this process could even attract zombies from several kilometers away.
Taking advantage of the distance between the gunboat and the shore, Lorraine started the generator and used the navigation lights to observe the surrounding environment.
"1125, unfold ship panel"
Lorraine tapped the data panel, calling upon the ship's onboard AI.
1125 is the hull number of this ship.
[Self-test complete, panel now expanded]
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Ship Core: Tier 0
固定武器：1X76mm主炮（已损失），1X30mm机炮（损坏），2X德什卡重型机枪（损坏）
Individual weapons: one shotgun, one submachine gun, and four pistols
弹药：12.7mm子弹83发，霰弹25发，9mm子弹124发
Fuel: 20 units
Supplies: 7 potatoes, 1 can of oranges, 4 packs of military dry rations, and 5 liters of purified water.
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A very basic information panel popped up on the data board.
Weapons were lacking, food was scarce, medical supplies were nonexistent, and fuel was almost completely depleted.
[WARNING: The current environment is extremely dangerous. Commander, please stay away from the riverbank.]
[Please proceed with exploration after daybreak.]
A map of the area marked with danger levels unfolded on the data panel, and Lorraine's vision went black as she looked at her location.
"I wasn't born to be a paratrooper who gets surrounded."
Lorraine was indeed in a level zero zone, but the surrounding crimson areas indicated danger levels ranging from 1 to 3. Even with the ship repaired and the main guns fully loaded, Lorraine dared not venture deeper into the area.
However, the sheer number of Level 0 zombies in the Level 0 area is enough to pose a huge threat to Lorraine, which is currently poorly armed, not to mention that these zombies are the old six hiding in the shadows.
"Take it slow. Once the heavy machine gun is repaired and we have enough ammunition, we can start clearing the level zero area. But if we don't turn off the lights soon, we probably won't be able to get ashore by tomorrow morning."
Looking at the increasing number of Level 0 zombies piling up on the dock, with several already being pushed into the water, Lorraine gave instructions to the ship's core.
"1125, turn off navigation lights."
"Lights are off."
Without the stimulation of the lights, the splashing sounds of water gradually decreased.
The river returned to complete darkness and silence. The zombies on the dock, sensing the diminishing sound and the disappearance of the lights, stopped moving forward and began to slowly drift away.
Lorraine dragged a mat out of the cabin, laid a piece of cardboard on it, and slept fully clothed. Amidst the faint roars, she fell into a deep sleep and spent her first night in the post-apocalyptic world.
The next day, sunlight streamed through the driver's cab window, illuminating Lorraine and waking her from her sleep.
Good morning, Night City.
As soon as he woke up, Lorraine started rambling incoherently. Then he stretched and gradually became more awake.
Lorraine opened the cabin door she had locked before going to sleep and walked onto the deck she hadn't had time to inspect the previous night.
This ship is the key to Lorraine's survival on this land. As long as the ship's core is not damaged, he can upgrade his ship with raw materials or various weapons and equipment.
Concerned about his life and future prospects, Lorraine carefully inspected the ship and found a rope ladder on each side of the deck, five lifebuoys, and two lifeboats.
"The radar is completely missing, the searchlight is broken, the left anchor chain is heavily rusted, the right anchor chain is not rusted, and there is only a communication antenna on the mast."
Lorraine muttered to herself, "The information on the panel isn't complete. It seems I'll have to check it myself after each battle."
Lorraine completed the necessary information on the data board. "Now we can prepare to go ashore."
Lorraine looked towards the dock. The dense horde of corpses from last night had long since vanished, leaving only a few scattered zombies swaying in place.
"The threat to the dock is gone; we can go ashore and collect supplies now."
Lorraine turned back to the cockpit and gave the order.
"1125, report the remaining fuel."
"19.5 units of fuel remaining. 36 kilometers (19 nautical miles) remaining range."
"It seems the generator consumed a lot of fuel overnight; the little fuel left won't get us very far!"
Lorraine scratched his head.
"I need to find enough fuel and water before I run out of ammunition, and preferably a filter so I won't have to worry about water at all!"
Lorraine sighed, and after thinking for a moment about the weapons in the armory, he decided to leave 60 rounds of ammunition for the submachine gun and take out a pistol and 54 rounds of ammunition from the armory.
"The food is enough to support me for four days of high-intensity operations, and if I use it sparingly, it will last me for six or seven days."
Lorraine opened the map on the data panel and began studying the surrounding area where supplies might be found. While he was thinking, 1125 suddenly spoke.
[Intelligence module loaded, please check.]
[1. There is an abandoned gas station 7 kilometers due east, which can replenish 15 units of fuel.]
[2. There is a factory 10 kilometers due south; you will have unexpected gains there.]
3. There is an industrial zone 50 kilometers to the northeast, containing various production equipment and raw materials.
[4. The zombies are about to go berserk. Please take precautions. Countdown: 4 days, 13 hours, and 19 minutes]
Four messages appeared on the panel in a row, and Lorraine was immediately drawn to the first one.
"With 15 units of fuel, the remaining range can be replenished to 60 kilometers, and even a round trip to the factory will leave 45 kilometers to spare."
"Done!" Lorraine decisively tucked the gun into his pocket, opened a military ration, took the compressed cake and biscuits inside, grabbed a bottle of water, and headed out of the warehouse.
Lorraine threw the small boat into the water and climbed down the rope ladder. Once settled, he rowed towards the shore.