In the afternoon, Chu Fei went straight to the Dawn Squad.
The Dawn Squad was stationed at the foot of the mountain, near the gate. He passed by there every day during his runs.
He had just received a reward, which he planned to cash in. He still owed Captain Huang two yuan.
Upon arriving, he found that Captain Huang wasn't around, but the sturdy female warrior Zhao Hongyue was there.
"Sister Zhao, I came to see you," Chu Fei greeted her with a sweet smile from afar.
Zhao Hongyue chuckled. "You came empty-handed, huh?"
"I come bearing honor."
"Pfft!" The female warrior rolled her eyes. "Alright then, tell me what honor you've brought."
"I got perfect scores on all the tests. And this morning, people from the Feiyun Squad and Greedy Wolf Squad approached me for investment."
Zhao Hongyue snorted. "So you're here to dig for intel on the squads?"
"Well… yeah, but compared to seeing Sister Zhao, that's secondary, right?"
"I do have intel on all the squads. But what can you offer me?"
Chu Fei thought for a moment and gave her a pitiful look. "Maybe you can name your price?"
"How about doing my laundry?"
"..."
"How about this—come help with weapon maintenance on weekends. That way, you can get hands-on experience with weapons ahead of time.
Weekends, 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM.
The only question is, will you be free?"
"Deal!" Chu Fei agreed immediately.
Though it looked like Zhao Hongyue was taking advantage of him, a closer look revealed this was a huge opportunity for Chu Fei—to understand and handle weapons early on.
In a scientifically advanced world, the power of weapons could never be underestimated:
Ten years of training—defeated with one bullet.
Previously, just Captain Huang and Zhao Hongyue alone were able to save Shi He Village, relying purely on their firepower.
In the apocalypse, knowing how to repair and maintain weapons was a critical survival skill.
Time passed silently. The setting sun was nearing the tall city walls, casting Feihu City in its long shadow.
Chu Fei wiped the sweat from his face and slotted the last magazine into the gun stock, finishing his maintenance work for the day.
After carefully storing the weapon, he turned to Zhao Hongyue. "Sister Zhao, I'm heading back for dinner."
"Let's go together. Here's some basic intel on the squads."
Chu Fei took the info and flipped through it quickly.
As they walked, Zhao Hongyue gave a brief explanation of the squad system.
Feihu City's core offensive power came from "squads."
Ordinary soldiers mainly stayed on the defensive and rarely took the initiative.
Squads were made up of Awakened and Half-Awakened, while normal people were usually in charge of logistics and technical support.
Squad funding was partially self-sourced and partially allocated by the city lord, based on performance.
Within Feihu City, there were two main types of squads: City-Affiliated Squads and Independent Squads.
The City-Affiliated one was the Feihu Squad, divided into eight sub-teams. Each sub-team had at least 5 Awakened and 50 Half-Awakened.
Then came the four Independent Squads, ranked by strength: Dawn, Greedy Wolf, Broken Army, and Feiyun.
Dawn Squad: 11 Awakened, 42 Half-Awakened — even stronger than the sub-teams of Feihu Squad.
Greedy Wolf Squad: 6 Awakened, 54 Half-Awakened.
Broken Army Squad: 4 Awakened, 36 Half-Awakened.
Feiyun Squad: 3 Awakened, 27 Half-Awakened.
Feiyun Squad was the newest, formed entirely by graduates of Dawn Academy, reportedly backed by several wealthy investors.
There were also other units like security squads, which had only one—or no—Awakened at all.
Zhao Hongyue and Captain Huang belonged to one such security unit from Dawn Academy. Though they often called themselves the Dawn Squad, they were actually just the Dawn Security Team. The strongest in the team was Captain Huang—who was a Half-Awakened.
"Captain Huang is a Half-Awakened?" Chu Fei asked curiously. "I thought he was Awakened?"
Zhao Hongyue laughed. "Do you ever see anyone walking around calling themselves 'Deputy Captain' or 'Vice Commander' all the time?"
"..."
"Alright, I won't tease you anymore. This actually relates to another profession—Colonization Gear Warriors.
Captain Huang is originally Half-Awakened, but after undergoing modifications and becoming a Colonization Warrior, his combat ability reached the level of an Awakened. So, he's considered Awakened too."
"Colonization Gear?" Chu Fei thought of Captain Huang's cybernetic eye and mechanical arm. He paused, then asked, "Do such modifications have side effects?"
"Of course they do!" Zhao Hongyue sighed. "If there were a choice, who would willingly go that route?"
Chu Fei continued, "Sister Zhao, are you Awakened?"
Zhao Hongyue gave a bitter smile. "You think someone with my physique could be an Awakened?"
Before Chu Fei could respond, she added, "I've been modified too—using biochemical methods. It induced a double-body transformation and implanted a biochip.
Using the formula S = A * B^n, a normal person's base value A is around 3200. With a double-body, that doubles. Even with just a simple modification, computational power S doubles.
And when S doubles, actual combat power might increase dozens of times."
Chu Fei frowned. "S doubling leads to dozens of times increase in combat power?"
Zhao Hongyue explained simply: "If the range of a bullet doubles, how much more lethal would it be?"
Chu Fei understood, thoughtful. "So that's the meaning of Colonization Gear."
Zhao Hongyue nodded slightly and gave a general explanation.
Colonization Gear was a broad concept. Any physical modification beyond the human body could be considered such—including but not limited to mechanical implants, biochemical enhancements, genetic mutation, organ transplantation, etc.
It wasn't just a path for Half-Awakened; many Awakened also opted for it to gain even stronger power.
Ordinary people could also be modified, but they couldn't fully utilize the power.
Plus, the cost of such modifications, and the maintenance involved, meant only Half-Awakened and Awakened could afford it.
Some even used it to extend their lifespan. But that's not for the average person—it's too expensive.
Most importantly, modification damages body structure and could hinder the growth of Awakened or Half-Awakened.
But once most Awakened reach a bottleneck, they stop progressing. Colonization Gear allows for an instant leap in power.
Especially in an apocalyptic world, with intense survival pressure, it's often a necessity.
Just look at the recent outbreaks of the Undead Swarm and Beast Tide.
Beast Tides break out every few years—minor ones every 3–5 years, major ones once a decade. It's not entirely regular, but not entirely random either.
As they conversed, the two arrived at the cafeteria. It was 5:15 PM, and the place was still crowded.
Zhao Hongyue went to the second floor, while Chu Fei stayed on the first floor to eat.
While waiting in line, Chu Fei overheard some classmates talking about the class president election.
But no one mentioned his name. The hot topics were Li Honggang, Lu Hong, and Zhang Xuan, along with a few others.
Chu Fei did care about the position, and it suddenly hit him—he missed the campaign speeches!
He had gone to the Dawn Squad that afternoon, but others like Li Honggang hadn't sat still.
Someone noticed him and even asked, "Chu Fei, who are you voting for—Lu Hong or Li Honggang?"
Chu Fei looked at the guy. "I think Zhang Xuan is more meticulous."
The guy shook his head. "Zhang Xuan's grades aren't great, her physical performance is even worse, and she sometimes cries secretly. How can someone like that be class president?"
Chu Fei narrowed his eyes. "Then what about me?"
"You?" The guy looked him over. "You didn't give a speech this afternoon, and normally you're too much of a loner. Plus, your potential seems low."
Chu Fei squinted and asked around. It turned out that during the campaign speeches, Li Honggang and Lu Hong both "analyzed" him on stage—saying he was hardworking in studies but cold toward classmates, older in age, and low in potential.
That evening, the votes were cast. Li Honggang was elected class president with 19 votes, Lu Hong became vice president with 18 votes, and Zhang Xuan lost with 12 votes.
As for Chu Fei—he wasn't even nominated.
Looking at the proud Li Honggang standing on the podium, Chu Fei scoffed inwardly:
"Good. Let's get competitive."
(End of Chapter)