QT: Against My Will (Volume 1)

3.39 - Not A Burden - Downfall of Humanity

To ensure that citizens were assisting one another effectively, the teachers established a detailed database to track those who contributed food and water to the warehouse, as well as those who accessed its resources. The most generous contributors were publicly recognized in a hall of fame, serving as an inspiration to others.

Teenagers were the new eyes and strength of the city; they accompanied and helped police and firefighters during the patrols. Bing Shi was afraid that if they were left alone, it'd get out of control.

For transportation, bicycles equipped with salvaged solar panels became the primary mode of travel. Even a small 200V panel, similar in size to a 19-inch monitor, could provide enough energy to charge a laptop for up to 22 hours.

Because of the highlighted awareness of renewable energy for this past year, there was an abundance of solar panels.

Knowing that fuel would go rancid in time, citizens used gas from abandoned cars for fuel generators. It was decided that gas stations were going to be used by soldiers, exclusively.

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While Ziek and Yi Zen engaged in a discussion about a new strategic approach, Bing Shi and Qua Tao found themselves on the open field outside. While she couldn't match their level of military expertise, Bing Shi was armed with a tablet and a determination to contribute in her own way. She began conducting experiments with groups of soldiers, organizing them based on their unique abilities.

Although it wasn't explicitly outlined in the world's history, Bing Shi hypothesized that if metal and earth users could manipulate objects in their environment, why couldn't others with different abilities do the same?

She believed that conserving energy and focusing on practical manipulation of the surroundings might be more effective than flashy moves, especially when facing not dozens, but potentially thousands of zombies.

The most beneficial advantage against the zombies was the ability to fight from above.

Air users had to learn how to control the direction of air enough to levitate themselves and others off the ground, and remain in the air for as long as they could.

Fire users had to learn how to levitate themselves with a thermal field. This would also train them on how to create, shape, and manipulate heat by increasing the kinetic energy of atoms and thus making things hotter, ranging from subjective feeling of heat to absolute hot.

Due to the limited quantities of water present in the air, about 1%, water users couldn't use their surroundings to their fullest without expending lots of energy. However, they were tasked to extract water from objects containing water, like grass and flowers.

Earth users were at the moment trying to sink a boulder into the ground forcibly; in the future, they could imprison their opponents or even suffocate them in the earth.

It was much more challenging than they had initially anticipated. It demanded both physical resilience and mental fortitude. Each time soldiers learned something new, they were required to share it with Bing Shi, slowly establishing a group of deadly combatants.

In her mind, she quietly lit a candle for all the zombies in city K.

'Whose idea was it to give humans so much power?'

Meanwhile, in the southern part of the city, a soldier sat inside a truck designed for drone pilots. The soldier's task was to track down high-level zombies.

According to Bing Shi, more intelligent zombies often brought fear to low-level ones. So wherever there was some irregularity among LVL 1 to LVL 2 zombies, a LVL 3 zombie or one of even higher rank was likely in close proximity.

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Five months after the apocalypse...

Bing Shi, embracing Kuro, cast a disapproving glance at the helicopter. "What if something happens to me?"

Fu Lian watched Bing Shi in annoyance, "Then stay back in the base." She turned her gaze to Yi Zen, "Nobody wants to carry a burden around."

These past few days, Bing Shi would always run away like a chicken during their sparring, fully showcasing how useless she was in combat.

Bing Shi shielded Kuro's ears and whispered, "Don't listen to her, Kuro. You're not a burden."

"💢," Fu Lian's irritation flared. "Don't play dumb. We all know who I was referring to."

Bing Shi raised an innocent gaze (which nobody saw because of her mask) toward the soldiers and cocked her head. "Oh, do we?"

Around ten men chuckled in response. "Definitely not."

Yi Zen inspected the rifle before handing it to Fu Lian, his concern evident, "How about you stay back with Bing Shi? It's dangerous out there."

Bing Shi agreed with a nod, chiming in, "Great idea. Miss Fu Lian, we should leave it to the professionals."

Fu Lian responded with a mocking smile, "Experts who can't even take down a woman," and smoothly boarded the waiting helicopter.

"..." The men, who had dedicated themselves to rigorous daily training and fierce combat for years, fell into a stunned silence. Their once-proud egos seemed to deflate as they regarded Fu Lian with a mixture of awe and suspicion.

The rich young miss must have been a hidden genius. As far as they knew, there was no information about her learning martial arts. They were unaware that within a year, Fu Lian had learned martial arts and swordsmanship from a mountain-dwelling elder. Her strength, enhanced by absorbing jades, allowed her to effortlessly defeat any challenger who dared to face her.

But how could sparing be combined with actual combat, where anything could happen? First and foremost, Fu Lian didn't listen to other's orders at all, mocking their every action! Just because she defeated them, she thought that she could order them however she wanted?!

Yes, she could, because their general Yi Zen acted as a wife slave!

┻━┻︵└(՞▽՞ └)

So whenever Bing Shi teased Fu Lian, soldiers put a blind eye to it and played along with her.

Like now.

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On their way to city D, Fu Lian noticed someone was missing, her gaze shifted to Kuro, "Where is Yi Zen?"

Qua Tao rolled his eyes and scoffed, "General Yi Zen's and Bing Shi's life is too important to go to the battleground. They can't be replaced like us, mere soldiers."

Fu Lian furrowed her brows, skeptical of his words, "I saw him during the cartel war. And he fought during the zombie lure too."