Reborn in the Apocalypse: A Commoner's Survival Log

When I woke up the next day, it was almost 7 a.m.

After a good night's sleep, Zhou Yang stretched and slowly got out of bed to wash up.

As soon as I stepped out of the room, I saw Pea lying at the door. When she saw me come out, she immediately wagged her tail happily and panted with her tongue out.

"Sweetie! Are you hungry?"

Zhou Yang stroked Pea's fluffy head and went straight to the living room, where he poured a bowl of dog food and a basin of spring water into Pea's food bowl.

"Eat some dog food first to fill your stomach, and I'll make you a dog meal in a bit."

Pea wagged its tail, not being picky at all, and started eating the dog food in big gulps.

Zhou Yang then turned and went to the kitchen to wash the rice and cook a small pot of porridge for himself. Because he had eaten too much oily food yesterday and didn't have much of an appetite this morning, he only cooked some plain porridge.

Then, she took out a bowl of leftover rice and fresh chicken breast and vegetables from her space, and made dog food with peas.

Because the mutated animals can now eat hot food, there's no need to let it cool after cooking; they can be poured directly into the peas' rice bowl.

While the porridge was still cooking, Zhou Yang went to the balcony to check on the vegetables and mushrooms she had planted.

Perhaps it was thanks to the spring water that not only did every vegetable seedling survive, but they also grew exceptionally well, looking incredibly fresh and vibrant.

The mushroom cake has started to grow mushrooms, but they've only grown to the size of a fingernail so far. We'll have to wait a little longer, but I estimate we'll be able to eat them in a few days.

After spraying some spring water on these precious little things, Zhou Yang turned around and went back to the kitchen. He took out a bag of mung beans from his space, put warm water in a small basin, and soaked the mung beans in it.

He plans to learn how to sprout beans online.

Because the online guide said that the beans needed to be soaked for 24 hours, and even if he soaked them now, they wouldn't sprout until tomorrow, he put them into his space as soon as he started soaking them to save time. That way, he could try sprouting the beans in the afternoon.

"Ding!"

A crisp notification sound interrupted Zhou Yang's thoughts.

The porridge in the rice cooker is ready.

Zhou Yang ladled out the white porridge and added a packet of pickled mustard greens, completing a simple yet refreshing breakfast.

After quickly finishing breakfast and tidying up the kitchen, Zhou Yang returned to the living room, took out a blueprint from his storage space, and placed a bunch of tools of various sizes on the floor.

Then I turned on my computer and started watching videos to study.

He plans to make a crossbow himself based on the blueprints he downloaded and the video tutorials online.

Although Shen Zechuan gave him a gun, once such a firearm runs out of bullets, it's just like a toy gun. At most, it's only good for hitting people and hurting them a little. In the apocalypse, cold weapons are still superior.

He already had a crossbow in his spatial storage.

He had specifically gone to the border region when he passed through Xiguang before, and spent a lot of money to buy a ready-made crossbow from someone on the road there. However, because such a powerful crossbow is a controlled item in China, he had only practiced shooting it in his spatial storage and had never taken it out.

That crossbow bolt was indeed very powerful; it could easily penetrate even car door panels and bulletproof vests.

Although no one cares if he takes it out to use it now, the crossbow is not only large and heavy, but also inconvenient to carry. So far, it has been gathering dust in the space most of the time.

So he decided to make a smaller, portable crossbow. He searched online for a long time and finally found a suitable blueprint for an improved version of the Zhuge Repeating Crossbow.

He planned to make a wooden one first to test it out. If the power wasn't ideal, he would ask Shen Zechuan and the others for help later. He would pay Yan Fei a fee to make a full metal one for him, and also have him make more arrows.

While watching videos of various homemade crossbow bolts and studying the blueprints, Zhou Yang finally got a general idea after pondering for a long time. He then took out a few wooden boards and started operating the machine.

He first used a marker to mark out all the necessary parts, and then used a saw and a small cutter to cut them out one by one.

Next, I used a marker to mark the locations where holes and grooves needed to be drilled, and then used an electric drill and file to make the holes. Finally, I used sandpaper to sand them one by one.

Despite being small parts, Zhou Yang worked tirelessly until the afternoon, barely managing to eat a quick lunch, before finishing all the parts before sunset.

Next comes the assembly process.

Following the diagrams on the blueprints, Zhou Yang assembled and glued the various parts together, added two high-elastic ropes, and worked for nearly an hour to finally complete the simple repeating crossbow.

Because it is mostly made of wood, this crossbow is very light, weighing less than one kilogram and only half a meter long. It can fire three arrows at a time.

As for the arrows, he had already bought them when he bought the crossbow bolts. Later, fearing that he wouldn't have enough, he bought all the arrows and metal arrowheads that might be compatible online.

The crossbow bolts are ready; now it's time to test their power.

Zhou Yang first set up a simple ladder on one side of the living room near the wall as a base for placing the target.

The first test was for accuracy, so he simply placed a paper bag on it as a target.

Walking to a distance of about 5 meters from the paper bag, Zhou Yang placed three arrows in the crossbow, adjusted it, aimed at the paper bag, and pulled the trigger. The arrow shot out with a "whoosh," piercing the paper bag and embedding itself in the wall.

Looking at the paper bag that had been pierced through by a crossbow bolt and fallen to the ground, Zhou Yang touched the crossbow bolt in his hand with satisfaction.

The accuracy seems acceptable, but one test is not accurate enough, so Zhou Yang plans to continue testing.

This time he replaced the paper bag with a large Coke bottle that was half-filled with tap water.

Retreating back to a distance of 5 meters, Zhou Yang raised his crossbow, aimed at the bottle, and fired.

One shot, and the cola bottle was pierced through again; the arrow struck the wall once more. Zhou Yang went up to check, and the two arrows had penetrated to roughly the same depth, indicating that there was quite a lot of room for testing the strength of the crossbow bolts here.

So the third time, Zhou Yang took two large apples that were about the size of his palm and went up to them.

Aim, fire, and with one arrow, pierce two apples again, embedding the arrow directly into the wall. However, this time the arrow didn't penetrate the wall as deeply as possible.

Because the results of the first three tests were not significantly different, Zhou Yang was not satisfied. So for the fourth test, he simply tied a 3-centimeter-thick synthetic wooden board to the ladder.

He aimed and fired again, and the arrow flew out, hitting the wooden board directly. This time, the arrow's tail fins on the board provided significant resistance, preventing the arrow from piercing through but instead getting stuck on the board.

Zhou Yang was quite satisfied with the result.

Clearly, the crossbow bolts here are quite powerful, more than enough to deal with the current low-level zombies and living people outside. However, they probably won't be effective once the zombies evolve after the extreme cold, so he'll have to find an opportunity to ask Yan Fei to make him another all-metal one.

After temporarily putting away the crossbow bolts, Zhou Yang tidied up the messy living room before rushing to make dinner.

Because he was busy making crossbows at noon, he didn't eat much, and Pea also only ate some dog food and spring water. Now both of them are starving.