Chapter 136: Homemade Incendiary Bombs |
Day five, early morning.
Bai Mu lifted a corner of the curtain and peered down at the street. The soldiers and tanks had departed before dawn, and no new corpses had appeared outside.
The lingering stench of charred flesh and ash still hung heavy in the air. He poured himself a glass of water, tore open a packet of compressed biscuits, and chewed on the rough, unpalatable food as he walked into the bedroom.
His first task after waking up was to check on the gray rat. Bai Mu opened the lid of the observation box. The rat inside was quite active; the water and biscuit crumbs in its bowl had been reduced by half, and a few pellet-like droppings now littered the corner.
Overnight, Bai Mu noticed that white mycelium had grown on the fur covering the rat's back. It kept rubbing against the rough surfaces inside the box, clearly finding the fungal growths incredibly itchy.
'The infectivity of this mushroom is incredibly strong, just as I suspected.'
Wearing his gas mask the entire time, Bai Mu added more food and water to the bowl before sealing the box shut. He then documented his observations for the day in a dedicated journal to maintain a strict record.
Afterward, he left the apartment to check on the woman's three children.
He brought a bag of butter-flavored potato chips with him. Following a brief greeting, he simply left the chips behind the door, just like yesterday, and turned to head back home.
His stockpile of food and drinking water was becoming quite abundant, easily enough to sustain him for at least half a month.
This time, he handed over the cash he had scavenged yesterday, asking Lucy to buy some canned fruit and sausages for him.
Evening fell. After collecting his daily water ration, Bai Mu slung his black backpack over his shoulders and stepped out the door.
While taking a detour the previous day, he had spotted a Gas Station. He decided to head there to siphon some gasoline to craft incendiary bombs.
He didn't need much. Just a jerrycan or two would be enough to make a substantial arsenal of firebombs.
Lurking in the twilight, he approached the Gas Station, only to find that the place was not abandoned. Several soldiers were standing guard inside.
Bai Mu hid around a corner to observe. The Gas Station was fully operational, but it only serviced military vehicles and cars from the Emergency Center, keeping foot traffic exceedingly low.
For Bai Mu, this was a mixed bag of news.
The good news was that it guaranteed there was gasoline on site. The bad news was that to get his hands on it, he would have to sneak past the military sentries like a thief.
Since he was already here, Bai Mu had no intention of leaving empty-handed.
He waited silently for the sky to darken completely. The people in this city had been forced to become nocturnal creatures, and the soldiers were no exception. As the temperature dropped, military vehicles rolled out of the Gas Station one after another to patrol the urban sprawl.
Once the area had thinned out, Bai Mu silently crept toward the sentry post.
Tucking himself into a blind spot beneath the guard tower, he aimed his Tranquilizer Watch at a soldier's neck.
Just as the guard let out a yawn, a transparent dart shot out from the timepiece.
At such close range, there was no chance of missing. The soldiers here possessed no special buffs to evade attacks, and the dart found its mark with perfect precision on the right side of the man's neck.
The soldier had been sitting on a stool, drinking and smoking. Upon being tranquilized, his head simply drooped, and he slumped forward onto the table.
Bai Mu had bought himself three precious minutes. He seized the opportunity to slip past the outpost. He knew he had to be fast; while the tranquilizer was a powerful crowd-control tool, any external disturbance could jolt the victim awake.
Before entering the station, he had already pinpointed his target. Hiding near the restroom entrance, he deployed the Hand of Walrider to steal a canister of gasoline from beneath the eaves.
It was a two-liter plastic fuel jug. The Hand of Walrider, entirely invisible to the naked eye, grasped the handle and rapidly ascended. It bypassed the security cameras from above and hoisted the container directly over Bai Mu's head.
The entire process took less than ten seconds. As the white plastic container dropped down, Bai Mu caught it with both hands, stored it in his inventory, and retraced his steps. He fled past the tranquilized soldier's post without looking back.
He was certain he had left no traces behind. No soldiers chased after him. Even if they noticed the missing gasoline, it was highly unlikely they would launch a massive manhunt over it.
It was just a single jug of fuel, after all. If a rifle or a few grenades had gone missing, they would undoubtedly be on high alert, as stolen weapons meant a Doppelganger might be armed.
But gasoline wasn't an exceedingly dangerous or precious commodity. Without any clues to follow, the matter would likely be brushed under the rug.
Bai Mu successfully slipped out of the area. Without lingering outside, he headed straight back to his apartment.
Following his standard inspection to ensure the house was secure and untampered with, he set to work crafting the incendiaries.
Using the beer bottles he had scavenged yesterday and some old clothes he found in the apartment, he began assembling the firebombs. This kind of handiwork was second nature to him.
Working steadily until nine o'clock, he managed to produce twelve Molotov cocktails in just an hour.
[Name: Homemade Incendiary Bomb]
[Type: Consumable]
[Quality: Common]
[Note: 100% handmade, satisfaction guaranteed.]
All he needed to do was light the rag stuffed in the bottleneck with a lighter and smash the glass against a hard surface to unleash a raging inferno.
Despite their unassuming appearance, they were incredibly hazardous. Thanks to Bai Mu's exquisite craftsmanship, his handmade firebombs would trigger an initial explosion upon ignition, much like a grenade.
While their sheer power paled in comparison to a proper military explosive, they packed more than enough punch to blast a Zombie into a gory mess. He had proven this in real combat; the glass shrapnel and gasoline would lodge deep into the Zombie's flesh, igniting it and burning the creature to a crisp.
Bai Mu stacked the twelve incendiary bombs into the second slot of his inventory, feeling a substantial sense of relief wash over him.
Even if a Doppelganger came knocking on his door tonight, he felt fully prepared to deal with it.
Still, he deeply hoped the Doppelgangers wouldn't wreck his sanctuary. Staying in this house granted him a free daily supply of drinking water, an absolute necessity for survival. Moreover, his entire water reserve was stockpiled in the bathroom's cistern, and he had absolutely no desire to abandon such a precious resource.
Fortunately, the night remained peaceful so far.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Bai Mu returned to the bedroom and opened the observation box once again.
A full day and night had passed since he placed the gray rat inside with the mushroom.
A bizarre transformation had overtaken the creature. It was dead. Yes, when Bai Mu pressed his hand against its body, there was no warmth. Simply put, it was stone-cold.
Yet, it was still moving. It scurried around the box exactly as it had in life. Startled by a sudden noise, it huddled into a corner, its beady black eyes silently staring up at Bai Mu's gas mask.