Still hoarding supplies in the apocalypse? I'll just go on a killing spree and looting!

Lin You moved her finger away from the four buttons and placed it on the line of text in the information window, which was illuminated by a cold blue light.

Her hand hovered in front of the screen for a moment. Then her finger tapped on "Disassemble".

The button lit up briefly.

Information window refreshed:

Touch the target object to begin scanning.

Lin You frowned, patted her body, and then took out the Sig Sauer.

The information window refreshed again: An unknown industrial machinery product was detected. Should it be recycled?

It's not decomposition, it's recycling.

Lin You fell into deep thought. The two phantom mantises seemed to be directly decomposed, so why was the pistol recycled?

After a brief hesitation, Lin You put away her pistol.

This is the only weapon I currently possess with long-range lethality, and it's also a weapon to guard against unforeseen events.

Even if there are only five bullets left, they cannot be recovered.

After thinking for a moment, he took out a fruit knife from his pocket.

Choose to recycle.

The blade changed instantly.

It's not peeling off, not melting, but dismantling.

Fine gray particles rose from the surface of the blade, then began to disperse from the wooden handle, as bundles of cellulose unraveled, and grayish-white wood fibers drifted gently in the air, carrying a very faint, dry wood scent.

The blade begins to thin.

The blade's outline went from sharp to blurry, then from blurry to transparent, within two seconds, like a pencil sketch that had been erased.

The last thing to come loose was the metal fitting inside the handle.

Three seconds.

All the suspended powder and light spots converged towards the center, coalescing into a dark sphere of light about the size of a fist. The sphere flew into the material library, and the interface refreshed.

1 basic metal unit x 1 wood unit

At the same time, a tiny badge appeared on the Blueprint Library icon. She clicked on it, and a new blueprint appeared:

Basic Tool Blueprint (White): 3 Basic Metal Units, 2 Wood Units

This is... recycling?

It seems that recycling is only for industrial machinery, while decomposition is for alien beasts?

Lin You keenly noticed that her spirit, which was originally 32 points, was now 31 points.

Is this what consumption is?

It seems that it's not just that. Two units of material were recycled, but recasting requires five units. Could it be that the missing materials became blueprints?

Or is this a necessary expenditure?

Lin You frowned and closed the interface; the blue light retreated back into the lines on her arm. The golden tattoo dimmed and disappeared back into her skin.

He pulled out his pistol again, looked at it for a while, and still couldn't bear to part with it.

Let's wait until we get other firearms before trying.

Lin You began to control her breathing, closed her eyes, and quickly drifted into a state between sleep and wakefulness.

Anyone who survives five years in the apocalypse will never truly fall asleep outside of a safe house.

The sounds of packing up things kept ringing in my ears, along with the hushed chatter of a few college students.

That was some curiosity about the mantis knife.

Time flies when you're half asleep and half awake.

When Lin You opened her eyes, it was already afternoon. She glanced at her watch.

It was already 4:13 PM.

I slept for more than ten hours without realizing it, and I've never slept so peacefully since the apocalypse.

Even if this is not a true deep sleep.

"Sis, are you awake?"

Charlene's voice came from outside the tent.

"Okay, I'll be right out." With that, Lin You unzipped the tent and crawled out.

The three tents that were originally outside have been taken down.

Everything else was also packed up, clearly indicating that they had been preparing for a long time.

Lin You felt a warmth in her heart, but the inertia of life in the apocalypse prevented her from expressing her current feelings.

He picked up the mantis twin blades that had already been cleaned from the ground and casually held them in his hand.

"Let's go."

The five of them then began their descent down the mountain.

The atmosphere was somber throughout the journey; everyone seemed preoccupied.

Lin You was used to the silence during the journey, and she felt uncomfortable if someone suddenly started talking.

Any extra noise will attract the attention of the keen-eyed beasts and distract others, which is extremely dangerous in the post-apocalyptic wasteland.

The lingering effects of life in the post-apocalyptic wasteland still influence her.

Around 5 p.m.

The five of them finally arrived at the roadside. The tall boy looked around and then disappeared into the woods on one side.

Soon a car drove out of the woods.

Charlene smiled and said, "Sis, I'll take you to the city."

Lin You looked at the SUV in front of her and asked, "Is this your car?"

Xia Lin said with a grin, "That belongs to Brother Tao. His family is very wealthy."

The SUV window rolled down, and the tall boy waved to the crowd, saying, "Get in, we're going back."

A flurry of activity ensued.

The SUV drove towards the city center.

By the time we got back to Z city, it was already dark.

We said goodbye to the simple and honest group of four college students.

Without a moment's hesitation, Lin You took a taxi directly to the largest drone store in the city.

The store is large, but there are few customers at the moment, and the sales assistant is leaning against the counter scrolling through her phone.

Lin You glanced at the display case and quickly locked onto her target—the DJI Mini 4 Pro, an older model, priced at only 3700 yuan.

Yes, 3700 yuan, which is considered "cheap" in the current drone market.

But its specifications are impressive: 20km video transmission range and 51 minutes of battery life for the long-range battery version.

Lin You didn't haggle; she simply pulled out two stacks of cash from her bag and placed them directly on the glass counter.

Two units.

The sales assistant was taken aback; it had probably been a long time since she had seen anyone buy electronics with cash.

But the money was verified as genuine by the money detector.

The salesperson didn't ask any questions and quickly opened the box, tested the machine, and packed it up.

Lin You took the brand-new drone packaging box, her fingers tracing the smooth paper surface, and a strange emotion welled up inside her.

These two machines are her eyes and wings after the apocalypse.

But who could have imagined that two days later, the factories that made them, the shops that sold them, and the world that used them—all of them would be gone?

This is probably the last embers of civilization.

She stuffed the drone into her backpack, turned around, and went out.

Then she saw a police officer.

A dark blue patrol car silently pulled up in front of the store, the passenger window rolled down halfway, revealing half of a middle-aged man's face.

He wasn't wearing a uniform, had the other person not been sitting in a patrol car.

Lin You might not actually recognize him as an undercover officer.

Those sharp eyes were fixed on Lin You.

No, to be precise, he was staring at the backpack she was carrying on her back.

Lin You's heart skipped a beat, but her feet didn't stop.

She maintained her previous pace, pushed open the glass door, turned right, and walked straight to the bus stop not far away.

She didn't run away.

They can't run away either, because if they do, it will just be the start of another chase.

The end of the world is fast approaching, and she doesn't have much time to play hide-and-seek with the police now.

They also do not want to have any conflict with these defenders of order.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the reflection in the glass door. The plainclothes officer pushed open the car door, got out, but didn't chase after her; he simply stood there.

He took out his phone, as if he was dialing a number.

Who are they talking to on the phone? Are they checking security footage? Or are they calling for help?

Lin You's mind raced. (Cash transactions are too conspicuous in the current anti-fraud system. Over 20,000 yuan, two drones, and no electronic records—that alone is enough to trigger an alert. If the system detects that she used cash "borrowed" from Qian Yuan… then…)

She couldn't think any further... otherwise, she might not be able to resist taking action.

The bus arrived, and Lin You jumped on, dropped in two coins, and chose a window seat in the last row.

The car started.

She looked out the back window and saw the plainclothes officer still on the phone, his eyes following the bus until it turned the corner and disappeared.

Lin You hugged her backpack to her chest and closed her eyes for a few seconds.

That was close.

I hope I'm just overthinking things.

What had just happened reminded her of one thing: this is not the end of the world yet, and she must restrain the instincts she had developed for the end times.

Lin You began to repeat a sentence in a low voice, "It's safe here, it's safe here..."

He's like a lunatic.

This continued until she got off at the next stop and disappeared into a small alley.

After circling around three times to make sure no one was following them, they finally hailed another taxi.

The second stop was a water purification equipment technology company in the suburbs.

She was greeted by a bespectacled technician who spoke slowly and deliberately, and liked to push up his glasses before speaking.

Lin You got straight to the point, saying she wanted a water purification device that could be used for a long time.

The technician asked, "For home or industrial use?"

"Industrial grade".

The technician looked her up and down. She was a young woman, looking travel-worn, carrying a large backpack. She didn't look like a factory purchasing agent at all.

He's more like a backpacker or a working-class person.

But as usual, he took out the product catalog and flipped to the middle few pages.

"Small to medium-sized equipment with a water production capacity of 1 to 10 tons per hour is priced between 5 and 60 yuan."

Lin You's gaze froze.

Starting at 50,000, capped at 600,000.

She only had 100,000 yuan in cash that she had "borrowed" from Qian Yuan. She had just spent more than 7,000 yuan on a drone, and the remaining money wouldn't even cover the cheapest industrial-grade equipment.

She didn't speak, but her fingers unconsciously tapped the countertop, and her other hand was already in her pocket.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and his gaze became somewhat dangerous.

She was calculating the pros and cons of taking action.