Chapter 77: Modification completed and troubles

Wu Yujin seemed to be able to understand the thoughts of her childhood friend but in this case there were no words that could lift anyone's spirits. After all, Chen He had always been outstanding in everything and now that he was completely overshadowed naturally it was too abrupt a change for him and it would take time for him to get used to it.

In fact, many of the girls who previously seemed to have some sort of feeling or admiration for him could not help but look at him again and compare him with Bai Zemin unconsciously. If it were ten days ago, Bai Zemin would not even be worthy of a second look from the several beautiful women among the survivors, but now everything was different.

Many could not help but wonder; in a world where death is as natural as breathing, is it better to pursue a handsome man or a man of greater capability?

Chen He was, of course, skilled. It was just that Bai Zemin was too overpowered.

"I'll go scout the exit path to the south." Chen He said before turning around and leaving the scene, deciding that it was better to do what he asked to do. He too had his own strengths and it was better to appreciate them rather than demean himself.

* * *

Time passed quickly, the morning was over and the afternoon was half over but the sound of hammering, drilling, grinding, welding, as well as the sound of wheel nuts and screws falling to the ground could be heard everywhere in the university's subway parking lot.

The group of about 22 people worked almost without rest and only stopped to eat when they were hungry because the sooner they finished the job the sooner they could leave the university grounds and finally get to know what the situation was like in the outside world.

Apart from the 22 experienced in mechanics, there were also many more people helping to hold the metal parts in place or reaching for the objects and tools pointed out by any of them, which sped up the work process a lot more.

One thing worth noting was that when they started working, Bai Zemin, Liang Peng, and the other twenty students received the following message but with some differences, in the case of Bai Zemin in particular it was this: [You have learned the Unclassified Passive Skill Repair level 5].

The Soul Record was an unknown entity that recorded all the experiences in the soul of each existence and converted it into statistics and skills capable of being evolved and studied in greater depth, therefore, as people with experience in the field of mechanics they naturally acquired a corresponding skill.

Something similar had happened with the female students and male students who had helped in the kitchen, they acquired the passive skill Cooking and the level of the skill depended on the personal ability of each of them.

The amazing thing about the Soul Record was that each person's ability could grow much faster compared to the past thanks to the existence of Mana. The more they cooked, the more the Cooking skill of those in charge of the kitchen grew steadily and the more they hammered the more the Repair skill level of those they were modifying increased; this was another wonder of this strange unknown entity known as the Soul Record.

...

The appearance of the current buses was quite different when compared to the classic buses that were parked several hours ago.

In the past the vehicles were much safer from a certain point of view as they were made of almost pure iron while today's vehicles were made mainly of plastic and even fiberglass in some cases, which improved the appearance and comfort. 

Therefore, to better adapt to this new world and to everyone's needs, the front part of the buses had been almost completely removed and replaced by a large metal plate that left only the window and the headlights uncovered. In addition, all the other glass windows of the buses had been removed and replaced with a Blazing Beetle shell plate on each side.

Although it was a pity that most of the metal-hard shell had been used, the overall security of the ten buses had taken a tremendous leap forward compared to the previous ones. 

"Finally done." 

Bai Zemin looked at their work with a touch of satisfaction. Even though they didn't have all the necessary tools it had turned out really well and the ten luxurious looking buses now looked like ten steel monsters.

"Good job." 

Wu Yujin approached with a small bottle of water and handed it to him with a charming smile.

"Thank you." He thanked her and smiled politely back before he began to survey the surroundings as he sipped water slowly.

Bai Zemin saw that it wasn't just Wu Yujin; Gao Min, Li Na, Fan Wu, and many other students were handing out small closed bottles of water to each of those who helped modify the buses. At this point, everyone knew that they had to help in any way they could not only to exponentially increase their chances of survival and improve their lives but also not to be expelled from the group.

Even those who were unwilling to leave the safety of the enclosed places worked as long as it wasn't something that required going out in the open

"Now we can finally get out of here." 

Shangguan Bing Xue's voice sounded from behind and when Bai Zemin turned around he saw her slowly approaching as she looked at the buses before looking back at him.

"Good job."

Although her voice was cold, at least she sounded sincere and it would be a lie to say that Bai Zemin wasn't secretly surprised. This was the first time he had heard her say small words of praise, or at least towards him. While it wasn't much, it was a breakthrough as a group. It was what Bai Zemin believed.

"Yeah." He replied briefly and before the conversation had a chance to progress, a roar from outside silenced all sound underground.

Roar!

"Not good!" One of the survivors in charge of standing guard near the entrance shouted in fright, "Chen He is fighting an ape over ten feet tall! They are currently heading this way!"

Hearing the student's scream of terror and remembering the earlier roar, the survivors' faces turned pale as a sheet and they quickly ran to the back and deeper part of the subway. Some of them fell to the ground and a few were even stomped by those behind, being seriously injured and even dying in the process; after all, a stampede of over 500 people was no joke and most of them had thought that Chen He was an invincible existence, but since an ape forced him to retreat to this place it meant that he was weaker, which made the survivors think that they were going to die.

Liang Peng, Fu Xuefeng, Cai Jingyi, Zhong De, and Kang Lan quickly began to help those who could help and to beat up those who became disobedient or wanted to incite chaos in any way; this had been one of the rules and ideas that had been put forward not many days ago and for the first time it was being implemented to avoid major panic.

An ape of more than ten feet? Chen He? 

First Order! Bai Zemin's mind flashed with that thought and only now did he realize that the handsome archer was nowhere to be seen.

Whoosh!

Before he moved, a breeze rushed beside him and the next thing Bai Zemin saw was Shangguan Bing Xue dashing at full speed to the exit. Her speed was at least 8 or 9 times faster than a normal person before the apocalypse, which meant that her Agility stat was at least between 80 and 90 points!

Although he was surprised, he also charged towards the exit.

Like Shangguan Bing Xue, Bai Zemin was clear that it was absolutely impossible for Chen He to cope with a First Order existence on his own. Although the archer had become more powerful after absorbing some of the First Order Anti-Magic Zombie's Soul Power and defeating other enemies over the past few days, it was still not enough for him to survive against such a confrontation.