Chapter 51: Fortifications! Laser Guns!

Lu Feng's eyes lit up the moment he caught sight of that bank.

Where was gold most abundant? In banks, of course. Banks possessed specialized vaults, and those vaults stored gold bars.

Naturally, in real society, no one dared to waltz into a bank and take gold bars; that would earn you a date with a firing squad.

However, things were entirely different in this apocalyptic wasteland. With no one around to police it, the gold bars inside were free for the taking.

With this thought in mind, Lu Feng said to Lin Jiao and the other three, "Let's go check out that bank!"

The four of them exchanged glances and instantly grasped Lu Feng's objective.

Initially, the four of them had intended to suggest finding a safe place to settle down, or perhaps heading straight to the East City Alliance.

Now that their employer had spoken, they could only nod in agreement.

Even though they had already left the department store, the salary offered by this boss was still a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Out in the world, it was genuinely difficult to find a job with such generous compensation.

Once the group entered the street, they immediately turned into a narrower, more secluded lane and headed in the direction of the bank.

Generally speaking, pre-apocalypse humans frequented quieter side streets less often, which theoretically meant fewer zombies would be found there. Unless someone deliberately lured zombies in that direction, the infected wouldn't wander there on their own.

However, objects always look closer than they are. Although the bank was visible to the naked eye, after setting off and passing through several consecutive streets, the group still had not arrived.

Only after walking for a full half-hour did they finally reach the vicinity of the bank.

Yet, the scene in front of the bank left Lu Feng momentarily stunned.

A perimeter of defensive fortifications had been erected around the entrance of the bank.

Clearly, someone had constructed them with specific intent.

Lu Feng frowned. The sight before them seemed to indicate that the bank might already be occupied.

However, after observing for a long time, not a single human figure appeared within the bank.

"I'll go take a look." Gripping her steel spike, Lin Jiao crept toward the fortifications.

They watched as Lin Jiao crossed the barrier and entered the interior of the bank. A short while later, she emerged from the building and waved to them.

This indicated that the coast was clear inside.

Lu Feng immediately led Xu Bin and the other two across the fortifications and into the bank.

The interior was completely empty, though defensive structures could be seen set up to fend off external threats. Additionally, layers of defenses had been rigged behind the floor-to-ceiling glass windows of the bank.

One could say the bank had almost been transformed into a semi-fortified stronghold. For the sole purpose of dealing with zombies, this setup was absolute overkill.

At that moment, Lin Jiao walked over holding a notebook and reported, "Boss, a Salvation Army squad once intended to establish a base here, which is why they built these defenses."

"The Salvation Army?" Lu Feng was surprised.

Although he had been zapped into the game moments after starting *After the Apocalypse*, he had read up extensively on the game's background lore.

The Salvation Army was a military faction left over from the old government era.

When the government organized the aircraft carrier evacuation to transport a batch of selected elites into space, government authority collapsed, and the world plunged into total chaos.

Even so, a surviving remnant of the military attempted to salvage everything, calling themselves the Salvation Army, and engaged in many futile endeavors.

Their ideals were simply too idealistic; they wanted to restore everything to the way it was before the apocalypse.

Unfortunately, times had changed.

Lin Jiao explained, "That Salvation Army squad genuinely planned to use this place as a base, so they put a lot of effort into building these defenses. Relying on these fortifications, they could easily fend off zombies and even withstand certain mutant beasts."

Lu Feng asked skeptically, "How do you know? And what happened to the Salvation Army?"

Lin Jiao held up the notebook in her hand and said, "This is an officer's administrative log. It's all written in here. As for why they left, it was because they came into conflict with the East City Alliance. You have to understand, many factions despise the Salvation Army!"

Lu Feng nodded. After the apocalypse, government authority had crumbled, creating an opportunity for ambitious individuals to rise. For instance, the East City Alliance, constantly mentioned by people like Lin Jiao, was a faction that had emerged post-apocalypse.

Nearly all the survivors in the city were gathered there. The people controlling the East City Alliance were no different from local emperors, free to establish their own rules.

Since the Salvation Army's ideals directly conflicted with theirs, how could those people possibly like the Salvation Army?

Truthfully, most factions after the apocalypse operated along similar lines.

Lin Jiao added, "As it turns out, the food inside that department store was hauled away by this very Salvation Army. The intelligence the East City Alliance received wasn't wrong."

"After securing the food from the department store, rather than continuing their conflict with the East City Alliance, the Salvation Army chose to leave and seek out another location for their garrison."

These words excited Xu Bin, who chimed in, "That means these defenses are currently ownerless? We can use this place as a temporary resting spot? Otherwise, if we go to the East City Alliance, we'll either be crammed into shacks in the slums or forced to pay for housing using food or source crystals."

Chen Tao and Chen Hao nodded in agreement.

In the apocalyptic wasteland, empty buildings seemed to be everywhere, and it appeared one could live anywhere. However, a mutant beast—or even mutant insects capable of taking a life—might burst into those abandoned homes at any moment.

Generally speaking, camps like the East City Alliance, surrounded by high walls with patrolling guards and sufficient power to handle crises, were relatively safe.

Lin Jiao stated, "Boss, we can genuinely stay here for now. Besides, even though that Salvation Army squad left, they still left behind some good things."

"What kind of good things?" Lu Feng asked with curiosity.

Lin Jiao walked over to an inner storage room and emerged carrying a long and a short tubular object.

Their outer appearance clearly resembled firearms, yet their design was entirely different from modern weapons.

Lin Jiao explained, "These are the latest pre-apocalypse weapon products—the HL laser rifle and the HL laser pistol. Such items are exceedingly rare, and many survivors yearn to acquire one. Compared to old-fashioned bullet-firing guns, these are not only low-noise and highly accurate, but they also pack tremendous firepower. The only problem is that outside of former military facilities, getting your hands on these was completely impossible. Now, that Salvation Army unit left two behind right here."

Laser guns.

Things commonly seen in movies. Filled with curiosity, Lu Feng took the pistol and inspected it using his scanning ability:

[This is a high-tech laser firearm with superior performance compared to older weapons, but this laser gun is currently depleted of energy and cannot be used!]

"This gun has no power?" Lu Feng frowned.

Lin Jiao clarified, "Laser guns do require energy to fire. However, we currently have no way to find a power source to charge them, which is likely why these weapons were left behind. Still, I've heard rumors that crystal sources can apparently recharge laser guns."

Upon hearing this, Lu Feng immediately retrieved a crystal source from his backpack space.

[This is the crystal source of a mutant beast, the Slaughter Hound. It is quite valuable, usable as currency or an energy source, and possesses 13 units of energy!]

Searching along the laser pistol, Lu Feng located an energy replenishment port.

He tried pressing the crystal source against it, and the very next moment, the indicator light representing energy on the laser gun actually lit up.

This crystal source really could recharge the laser gun's energy.

A moment later, the laser gun was fully charged, showing a total of ten energy bars.

He scanned the crystal source again using his probing ability:

[This is the crystal source of a mutant beast, the Slaughter Hound. It is quite valuable, usable as currency or an energy source, and possesses 11 units of energy!]

Clearly, recharging the laser gun had consumed 2 units of energy from the crystal source.

Lu Feng looked back at the laser pistol with renewed interest, pointed it at the wall, and pulled the trigger.

The next instant, a beam of laser energy shot out from the laser pistol and struck the bank wall instantly.

There was no violent impact sound, yet the energy beam had blasted a bowl-sized hole directly into the wall. The sheer destructive power was astonishing, vastly exceeding the force generated by modern handgun bullets.

Moreover, after firing a single shot, the ten energy bars on the laser pistol dropped by one, leaving nine remaining.

In other words, 2 units of crystal energy could trade for 10 laser shots from this pistol?

Gazing at the bowl-sized crater in the wall, Lin Jiao looked eager to try it herself.

Lu Feng did not hesitate, tossing the crystal source in his hand over to her.

Lin Jiao immediately pressed the crystal source against the charging port of the laser rifle, and a moment later, the rifle's energy gauge was also full.

She walked to the entrance of the bank, aimed the rifle at a tree across the street, and pulled the trigger. A beam of energy pierced straight through the trunk; the struck area shattered violently, causing the tree to collapse amidst a flurry of swirling leaves.