January 18
Xiangzi was so startled that she stomped on the gas, knocking the infected flat and crushing it into paste beneath the wheels.
Run over by nearly thirty tons of steel, the infected became a smear of mangled flesh. Meat and bone mashed together into something practically two-dimensional—so flattened you probably couldn't scrape it off with a shovel.
"Damn, that was close!"
Still shaken, Xiangzi patted her chest, only to feel not the reassuring warmth of a human heartbeat, but cold armor plating beneath her hand. She let out a long breath, and a cloud of white fog spread across the helmet visor.
Only then did she release the handbrake and truly calm down.
Because it had happened so suddenly, she hadn't reacted in time, and the vehicle had nearly slammed into the other armored cars nearby.
Fortunately, she let off the accelerator in time, hit the brakes hard, and brought the speed down. Otherwise, her very first test drive would have ended in an armored vehicle accident.
Xiangzi had never driven before. Even though the Seasoned Driver trait let her handle the controls well enough in an emergency, it didn't change the fact that she'd never even held a steering wheel before in her life.
Really, she didn't need to panic that badly. She was sitting inside this giant metal shell—what were the infected going to do, drag her out through the armor?
At the end of the day, she just needed more practice.
"Better get back home. Out here, trouble can pop out of anywhere."
She checked the real-time map again.
This thing really was like a cheat tool. A live map that showed enemy movements in real time—countless commanders in history would have killed for something like this.
If other military commanders had possessed a tool like this, they could have become legends of warfare.
If the Russians had had something like this, would the urban fighting in places like Mariupol, Bakhmut, and Kursk have dragged on for so long?
Find the enemy, level the place with artillery, then advance with infantry support.
Sure, modern reinforced concrete structures were sturdy, but once the buildings were blasted into half-ruined deathtraps, what defenders would still dare to stay inside?
After checking the surroundings and plotting the safest route, Xiangzi made her way home.
Once she got back, she planned to park the vehicle in the underground garage. The ground outside was already laced with anti-tank mines and barbed wire. She wasn't about to blow herself up by accident.
The IFV had no ammunition. Not a single 30mm round remained for the autocannon, and the coaxial Mk52 7.62mm machine gun was empty too. The previous crew had taken everything.
So Xiangzi had no choice but to rely on the oldest method of combat in the world—
running things over.
She carefully avoided snowbanks along the way, and sent any infected stupid enough to ignore traffic rules flying beneath the wheels.
The eight massive tires carved deep tracks through the snow, crushing infected bodies as they went.
…
The roar of that high-powered engine naturally carried a long way.
No matter how carefully Xiangzi picked her route, she couldn't avoid infected hearing it and gathering in little clumps here and there.
But even if they did hear her, those things couldn't possibly catch up to a machine that ran on petroleum.
And even if they somehow did—
What, you want to stop an armored vehicle with your flesh and bones?
Then you're just asking to die.
Anyway, she made it home without incident.
The eight wheels rolled straight over the broken entrance barrier, and the vehicle's bright headlights illuminated a corner of the underground garage.
The garage was empty, so Xiangzi could park anywhere she pleased.
She chose a spot, shut down the engine, locked everything up, climbed out in one smooth motion, and thought:
Time to go home and eat.
Let's see what delicious thing Huaxiu made for me.
At home, Huaxiu was staring at the mountain of canned food stacked in the room.
"There are so many cans and snack packs… If we don't have any fresh ingredients, I guess tonight we're eating from this pile."
She crouched down and began rummaging through the cans and vacuum-sealed packages, looking for something suitable to cook.
"Pork… kimchi… salted fish… huh? Why is there seafood canned locally in Fukushima?"
Fish from the waters near Fukushima… well, you could say the nuclear wastewater had thoroughly marinated them.
Whoever wanted to eat that stuff was welcome to it. Huaxiu absolutely would not.
These things were probably packed with god knew how many heavy metals. She'd rather starve or jump off the building than eat a single bite.
No sudden burst of deliciousness was going to change her mind here.
She casually shoved those cans aside.
"Hm? Was that a sound from outside?"
Hearing the commotion below, Huaxiu leaned against the window and looked down.
?
Had the Self-Defense Force come back?
Or were they people from the Apostles?
No wonder she'd heard explosions earlier that afternoon. At first, she'd thought Xiangzi was out making another racket, and because she trusted Xiangzi's abilities, she hadn't worried too much.
Wait.
Why was that vehicle coming this way?
Xiangzi wasn't home.
Damn it.
Without even thinking about dinner, Huaxiu rushed to grab the Invisifier XLT Crossbow Xiangzi kept in the house.
Which one was the explosive arrowhead again?
Faced with the choice of ammunition, Huaxiu suddenly froze.
Doris had heard the noise too. Upstairs, the two injured girls had heard it as well. Miranda was helping Brent sit up, and both of them had gone to the window.
A dark cloud of tension settled over everyone.
The vehicle had already reached the entrance to the complex.
Then it drove straight into the underground garage.
This was bad. It was coming here.
Not knowing whether it was friend or foe, everyone was on edge.
Xiangzi, realizing they might misunderstand, removed her full helmet and pulled the rope signal.
A moment later, the rope ladder dropped down from above.
She climbed up.
Gripping the rope and stepping on the wooden rungs, Xiangzi climbed to the rooftop and returned at last to the floor that was still faithfully hers—home.
"Why are all of you staring like that? Does this suit look that weird?"
Seeing Huaxiu, Miranda, and the others all gaping at her, Xiangzi couldn't help asking. This equipment wasn't that ridiculous-looking, was it? Or had they noticed the new vehicle?
"Xiangzi, where did you get all that?" Huaxiu clearly remembered that this wasn't what Xiangzi had been wearing when she went out.
"I found some military leftovers outside. There was even a working vehicle."
There was no way she could tell them the truth, so she simply shoved all responsibility onto the already-vanished Self-Defense Forces.
As for how Japanese troops had somehow ended up with Russian-made powered armor, Xiangzi's answer was simple:
It was in the armored vehicle.
"That tank from earlier?"
"Yep. It's actually an infantry fighting vehicle. We've got proper transportation for going out now."
"Awesome!"
None of them had expected Xiangzi to bring back something this outrageous, much less drive it home herself.
Huaxiu's thought process was simple: My Xiangzi is a genius. She can even drive armored vehicles.
The other three, meanwhile, had their impression of her elevated yet again. In fact, they were practically spiraling into wild speculation.
Who exactly was Takajo Xiangzi?
She had all kinds of guns, absurd physical abilities, and a ridiculous range of skills—first aid, shooting, driving…
A person like that… what kind of background did she have?
She couldn't really just be an ordinary high school girl, could she?
"Eat first. After dinner, I need to discuss something important with everyone."
"Okay. Then you should rest a little first, Xiangzi. Dinner's not ready yet—I'll go make it now."
"Go ahead. Just be careful not to burn yourself."
After giving a few reminders, everyone split up again. Xiangzi removed her equipment and drank some water. Huaxiu went to cook. Doris followed her to help out. Miranda helped Brent onto the sofa, and Xiangzi sat down as well.
"Brent, are you really recovering this fast? Does the wound still hurt?"
"No. It doesn't hurt. It's just… itchy. And hot."
"That's good. Then just keep watching it for now. It was a tearing wound, after all."
Xiangzi really was concerned about Brent's injuries. It was hard not to be, seeing how badly she'd been shot. The wound had looked horrifying.
Pretending she wasn't worried would have been a lie.
But you're healing way too fast, aren't you?
Looks like there's something unusual about your body too.
She took another sip from the cup in her hand and turned to Miranda.
"And you?"
"M-me? I'm basically fine. I've been resting all day, so of course I'm better now."
The moment Xiangzi asked, Miranda rushed to answer. She hadn't even thought before blurting out that she was fine.
In truth, that wasn't really the case. Her calves still ached, her joints still hurt, and her whole body still felt wrong. But because she wanted to prove she could still help, she said it anyway.
"In that case, after dinner, come help me with something. Brent needs to keep resting."
"Okay."
Miranda nodded eagerly.
Seeing that, Xiangzi looked satisfied.
"Pretty capable, huh? Alright then—it's dinner time. Let's go see what's in the kitchen."
That evening's meal was beef ramen.
The beef came from canned stew, complete with potatoes.
Huaxiu dumped the beef into a pot of boiling water, then added the instant noodles after tearing open the package.
After simmering for about ten minutes, it was ready to be served.
Xiangzi and Miranda arrived just in time to help carry the bowls to the table.
The five of them ate like a storm blowing through fallen leaves. Doris, seated beside Miranda, still had a mouthful of beef she was happily chewing.
For all her spoiled upbringing, she didn't dare get picky with food.
These past several days, proper meals had been rare. Ever since Xiangzi brought them back on the sixteenth, every meal had been a luxury by apocalyptic standards.
She wasn't stupid. Any normal person knew better than to complain about food provided by the person keeping them alive.
No talking while eating. No talking while sleeping.
The meal was dealt with in about twenty minutes.
Then it was time to get to work.
Still holding her bowl, Xiangzi headed upstairs with the drone. She planned to go out again that night, so first she wanted a look at infected movements nearby.
She released the black little drone. The propellers whirred to life, and in no time it disappeared from sight.
The corpse tide from yesterday was still there. Through the drone's eye, she saw infected wandering around the park and the surrounding two-kilometer radius in scattered clusters. Among them were several special infected as well.
"That's a pain… there are really this many right outside our doorstep."
With both Miranda and Brent injured, Xiangzi would have to go out alone.
If she was fighting solo, Xiangzi—armed with her ridiculous physical gifts and her "traditional physics" style—was absolutely dangerous enough.
But she still needed new defensive gear.
Otherwise, the infected would tear her apart.
Then she remembered—
hadn't she gotten an equipment card earlier?
Now was a good time to use it.
"What? It's random?"
She had thought it would be a selection reward, or at least direct gear.
Instead it was basically a loot box.
As the card spun and flickered, Xiangzi's heart climbed into her throat.
Come on. Please give me something good.
A flurry of cards flashed past, and the pointer finally stopped on a set of gear Xiangzi had never even heard of.
[Russian-Made: Warrior-3 Individual Combat System]
"…What is this?"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
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TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
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I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter175)
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Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
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Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
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From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 100
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 170
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 145
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I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 69
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 90
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 100
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 70
Uma Musume: I Want All 90
I Can Copy Unique Skills 65
Summoning an Evil God, but the 52
Supernatural Multiverse 65
My Harem Is Indescribable 55
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 55
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 66
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 55
Still playing traditional Honk 35
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 35
What Should I Do After Switchi 24
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 35
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