Doomsday Reboot: My Superpowers Absorb Everything

Thanks to Li Hu's brute force repairs, the filtration equipment at the purification station was finally able to operate with some difficulty. The turbid water, after passing through layers of sand and activated carbon, became clear by the time it flowed into the wooden tub, though it still carried a faint rusty smell. Lin Ye sat beside the water tank, watching the guard slowly tighten the loose bolts with a wrench. The old man's movements were slow, and he would catch his breath after each tightening. Holes had been worn into the elbows of his protective suit, revealing his thin, bony arms underneath.

"You've been here for five years, haven't you encountered any other survivors?" Lin Ye couldn't help but ask, toying with the crystal core he had taken from the crocodile's body. The dark green crystal core contained wisps of gold, traces of purification by the "Devouring" mark.

The guard stopped what he was doing, his cloudy eyes staring at the water tank. "Three groups have come. The first group was a mother and child fleeing from disaster. I gave them two buckets of water and watched them head south. I haven't seen them since." He paused, his voice lowering. "The second group was people from Black Wind Stronghold. They stole half a box of filter material and even tried to blow up the water tank. I used my supernatural ability to freeze their ankles, and they left cursing."

"What about the third batch?" Li Hu asked gruffly as he carried over a wooden bucket full of water, his forehead still smeared with oil.

"It's a little girl, about the same age as your sister." The guard's lips curled into a stiff smile. "She was carrying a medicine box and said she was going north to find herbs that could cure radiation sickness. I filled her backpack with water, and before she left, she left a packet of seeds, saying that planting them next to the water tank would purify the water. Look—"

Following his gaze, everyone saw several tender green plants sprouting from the cracks in the base of the water tank. Their leaves were strangely fan-shaped, swaying gently in the humid air. Lin Ye recognized them as radiation grass; Su Ya had also planted a few in her field, specifically to absorb radiation particles from the soil.

"This grass can indeed purify water." Lin Ye squatted down, his fingertips brushing the dark purple energy across the grass leaves, and he could feel a faint purifying fluctuation. "Su Ya said its roots can break down heavy metals in the water."

The guard's cloudy eyes brightened: "That girl didn't lie to me."

Lin Jianjun was inspecting the second gate when he suddenly called out, "Xiao Ye, come and take a look at this!"

On the inner wall of the sluice gate, there was a simple map painted in red paint, with arrows marking nearby water sources and mutant nests. One of the red circles was drawn three times, and next to it were the two crooked words "Iron Nest".

"What is the Iron Nest?" Lin Ye asked, pointing to the red circle.

The guard's face darkened. "It's the abandoned steel mill to the east. It's inhabited by a flock of mutated iron birds. Their feathers are as hard as steel plates, and their claws can tear through sheet metal. Even the people of Black Wind Stronghold dare not approach it." He paused. "But there are good things in the warehouse there—rust-free steel bars and nails, and half a can of welding flux."

Lin Ye and Lin Jianjun exchanged a glance, both seeing the surprise in each other's eyes. Although the fence of the stronghold had temporarily blocked the zombie wolves, wood was ultimately not enough. If it could be reinforced with steel bars and several layers of iron plates welded on, not to mention zombie wolves, even a few mutated bears wouldn't be able to break through it.

"Let's go to the steel mill." Lin Ye made the decision and looked at Li Hu. "You take the water back to the base first, tell Old Zhang about the situation here, and ask him to send two metal-savvy superhumans over. Also, pick up the guard."

"And what about you guys?" Li Hu frowned. "Just the two of you?"

"That's enough." Lin Jianjun patted his rifle. "Xiao Ye and I are fast enough that even if we can't win, we can run away." He looked at the guard. "Would you like to come with us? The purification station has materials from the steel plant; we can repair the water tank to make it more robust."

The guard remained silent for a long time, then pointed to the nameplate on the water tank, which read "Zhou Ming": "My name is Zhou Ming, and I'm the shift leader here. If the water tank can be repaired, I'll go with you."

Before leaving, Li Hu left the rocket launcher with Lin Ye and also gave him four homemade shells: "This thing is good for dealing with birds of prey. Just roast them after they come down."

Watching Li Hu's figure disappear at the end of the passage, Lin Ye began to check his equipment. Zhou Ming gave him a rusty fire axe, saying that the iron gate of the steel plant was too sturdy, and a military dagger might not be able to cut it open. Lin Jianjun, on the other hand, loaded a new magazine into his rifle; the bullets were ground from the bones of mutated beasts, and their penetrating power was much stronger than ordinary bullets.

"Iron birds are afraid of fire." Zhou Ming found an old kerosene lamp and poured some filtered alcohol into it. "Although their feathers are hard, the downy feathers under their wings are easily burned. Last year I saw one whose wing was struck by lightning and it fell into the water and drowned."

The three followed the markings on the map toward the steel plant. The passage became increasingly dry, the rust on the walls thickened, and scattered steel nails and screws could be seen from time to time, making a "creaking" sound underfoot. Lin Ye's senses remained wide open, and he could detect faint noises coming from the pipes above his head, like some kind of creature crawling.

"Watch your head," Lin Ye whispered, gripping his military dagger in a reverse grip. "Something's coming."

As soon as the words were spoken, the ventilation duct above their heads suddenly broke with a loud crash, and more than a dozen palm-sized iron beetles fell down. Their shells gleamed with a bluish-black metallic sheen, and their wings vibrated with a piercing buzzing sound. These insects were thicker and stronger than those in the field, their mandibles flashing coldly, and they crawled onto the three people's feet as soon as they landed.

"They're worker ants of the iron beetle!" Zhou Ming quickly lit the kerosene lamp. The light from the flame made the iron beetles retreat. "They're gnawing on metal; the steel mill is their nest!"

Lin Jianjun fired several shots from his rifle, but the bullets bounced off the beetle, leaving only white marks. Seeing this, Lin Ye channeled dark purple energy into his fire axe, instantly covering the axe with a pale purple halo. He swept it across, splitting the beetle in two, and green fluid splattered on the ground, making a sizzling, corrosive sound.

"These beasts' shells can stop bullets!" Lin Jianjun cursed, drawing his machete from his waist. He imitated Lin Ye, wrapping the blade with energy, and sure enough, he could chop much more easily.

Zhou Ming held up a kerosene lamp for cover, keeping the beetles at bay. The battle with the insects lasted for nearly ten minutes. When the last beetle was crushed, all three of them were covered in green fluid, and their protective suits were corroded with several small holes.

"The back gate of the steel mill is just ahead." Zhou Ming said, panting, pointing to a tightly closed iron gate with rusty chains wrapped around the doorknob. "Watch out for iron birds. They nest on the roof of the factory during the day, and their hearing is better than a dog's."

Lin Ye gestured for the two to stop, then reached the iron gate alone. His senses penetrated the thick steel plates, allowing him to detect energy reactions inside the factory—at least twenty iron birds, mostly gathered on the beams above the warehouse. One of them had an exceptionally strong energy reaction and was likely much larger than its kind, probably the bird king.

"The King Bird is in the warehouse, sleeping on a pile of steel bars," Lin Ye said, stepping back. "Let's climb over the side wall and go straight to the warehouse, trying not to disturb them."

Zhou Ming took out a cloth bag from his backpack, inside which were several pieces of black grease: "This is grease scraped from mutated hyenas. Applying it to your body can mask the smell. Iron Birds have a very keen sense of smell."

The three smeared some grease on their clothes, and a fishy, ​​pungent smell wafted out, causing even the surrounding iron beetles to retreat. Lin Ye used a fire axe to break the chain, and the iron gate creaked open. The three quickly slipped inside and pressed themselves against the rusty steel pillar.

The factory reeked of rust and bird droppings. Sunlight streamed through the broken roof, casting dappled patterns on the ground. The beams were swarming with iron birds, these mutated creatures about the size of geese, with dark gray feathers that shimmered with a metallic sheen. Their beaks were curved and sharp like eagles', and they were dozing with their necks tucked in, their claws gripping the rusted steel beams tightly.

The warehouse was at the very back of the factory. A steel plate, half a person's height, was piled up at the entrance, and the exposed rebar could be vaguely seen inside. Lin Ye made a shushing gesture and led the way toward the warehouse. The scrap iron underfoot made a slight noise, causing several iron birds to raise their heads and warily scan their surroundings.

"Don't move." Lin Ye lowered his voice and pulled the two of them close to the steel pillar. The iron bird's eyes were cloudy grayish-white, obviously with poor eyesight, but its hearing was exceptionally sensitive. As long as it remained still, it would not be easy to be detected.

After the iron bird lowered its head again, the three continued to move forward and finally reached the warehouse door. Just then, the sound of flapping wings suddenly came from inside the warehouse. An iron bird, nearly twice the size of its kind, raised its head from the pile of steel bars, its gray-white eyes fixed on the doorway. It was the king bird.

"Damn it, we've been discovered!" Lin Jianjun quickly raised his rifle.

The Bird King let out a sharp cry, its wings flapping violently, whipping up a gust of wind mixed with the sound of rust. The iron birds on the beam were startled awake, spreading their wings and staring intently at the three of them with their greyish-white eyes, a scene that sent chills down one's spine.

"Hurry into the warehouse!" Lin Ye pushed aside the steel plate blocking his way and rushed in first. Sure enough, the warehouse was piled with a lot of steel bars, as well as several bundles of brand-new iron wire and half a can of welding flux. There was even a rusty welding machine in the corner, which looked usable.

The Bird King, accompanied by more than a dozen iron birds, swooped down, its sharp claws reaching for Lin Ye's back. Zhou Ming reacted extremely quickly, pressing his hands to the ground. Pale blue water-based energy instantly spread, freezing the water on the ground into ice. The iron birds' claws slipped on the ice, causing them to fall to the ground.

"Impressive skills!" With Li Hu gone, Lin Ye finally had someone to lend a hand. He grabbed a steel bar, injected dark purple energy into it, and the steel bar instantly turned red-hot, like a red-hot branding iron, and swept it towards the iron bird that had fallen to the ground.

"Sizzle—"

The steel bars burned through the iron bird's feathers, emitting a burnt smell like roasted meat. The beast let out a painful scream, flapping its wings as if trying to take flight, but Lin Jianjun's machete sliced ​​off half of its wing, splattering green blood onto the pile of steel bars.

The bird king screeched angrily, and with a flap of its wings, several feathers shot out like arrows, piercing Zhou Ming's protective suit and leaving several bloody scratches on his arm. The old man groaned, and the water-based energy immediately became chaotic, causing the ice on the ground to melt.

"Keep an eye on the Bird King!" Lin Ye shouted, throwing the fire axe. The axe, imbued with dark purple energy, precisely struck the Bird King's wing. The beast's feathers were indeed tough; the axe only embedded itself an inch, but it still caused the bird to lose its balance and crash heavily into the welding machine.

Taking advantage of the lull, Lin Ye rushed to the corner, grabbed the half-empty can of welding flux, untied the cap, and threw it into the flock of birds. Zhou Ming immediately understood, flicked his finger, and a small cluster of flame flew toward the welding flux—it was the ember he had just lit from the kerosene lamp.

"boom!"

The welding flux exploded, and although the force was not great, the splattering hot liquid instantly ignited the feathers of the iron birds. Seven or eight iron birds were engulfed in flames, emitting mournful cries, rolling wildly on the ground, and quickly turning into charred heaps.

Seeing the situation was dire, the king bird, enduring the excruciating pain in its wings, crashed through the tin roof of the warehouse and soared into the sky. The remaining iron birds, leaderless, panicked and were quickly slaughtered by Lin Ye and Lin Jianjun. The few remaining birds fled in disarray, disappearing into the shadows of the factory.

Lin Ye leaned against the pile of steel bars, panting, looking at the mess in the warehouse. The iron bird's corpse lay scattered, its green blood staining the ground. Zhou Ming was bandaging the wound on his arm with strips of cloth; the old man's hands trembled, but he didn't utter a sound.

"These steel bars are enough to reinforce the fence," Lin Jianjun said, picking up a steel bar and weighing it in his hand. "And this welding machine, if we find someone who knows what they're doing, maybe we can weld an iron gate."

Lin Ye's gaze fell on the gap in the roof that the Bird King had smashed through, where sunlight streamed in, falling on a pile of rusty iron nails and reflecting a faint light. He suddenly remembered the loose wooden nails on the stronghold's fence, those substitutes made of tree branches that swayed in the wind.

"Take these nails with you too." Lin Ye bent down and picked up a handful of nails. The dark purple energy at his fingertips brushed over them, and the rust fell off, revealing the silvery metal inside. "The old fence needs some new nails."

Zhou Ming looked at the iron nail in his hand, his cloudy eyes glistening with tears: "That girl said that even the most rusty iron can be turned into a good nail if you are willing to polish it."

Lin Ye smiled. Yes, just like this ravaged world, just like these people struggling to survive, as long as they put in the effort to polish themselves, they can always find something useful, and they can always sprout from the cracks.

He walked to the warehouse entrance, gazing at the gradually quieting factory outside. He could hear Li Hu's loud voice in the distance, presumably indicating that the people from the stronghold had arrived. Lin Jianjun was counting the supplies, while Zhou Ming carefully held the half-empty can of welding flux in his arms, as if cradling some precious treasure.

A few sparrows flew in through the gap in the roof and landed on the steel beams that weren't occupied by the iron birds, chirping crisply like bells. Lin Ye looked at them and suddenly felt that this steel factory covered in rust didn't seem so cold anymore.