The Cube's radio analysis revealed three critical facts:
1. National forces remained scattered and disorganized
2. Global collapse meant self-reliance was paramount
3. Cities had become death traps - rural areas offered sustainable survival
In the cargo container, debates erupted:
"Countryside? Why abandon stores full of supplies?"
Fatty Wang snorted. "Ever seen moldy rice warehouses? Urban food stocks rot within months. Rural areas mean fresh crops and cleaner water."
Up front, the Cube projected coordinates onto Zhang's visor - Long Mountain, seventeen kilometers northeast. Steep southern cliffs, fertile northern valleys, and an abandoned golf resort turned survivalist haven.
Braking abruptly by a riverside barracks, Zhang discovered an overrun border patrol station. "Army gear," she breathed, eyeing the compound through rifle sights.
The Cube transformed, clanking up the concrete steps. "Armory: second floor. Hostiles: four."
Zhang cleared floors methodically:
*Bang!* A headshot dropped a zombie corporal mid-lunge.
*Schlik!* Her combat knife pierced a trapped private's eye through cell bars.
On the second floor, a lieutenant's reanimated corpse sniffed the air. "Over here, handsome." Zhang's mocking call drew its charge. The 9mm round punched through its forehead before the dead officer completed two steps.
The armory's vault door gleamed. The Cube extended lockpicking tools from its fingers. "Primitive Earth security." *Clunk.* Hydraulics hissed as the door swung open.
Racks of QBZ-95 assault rifles greeted them. Zhang reached instinctively before the Cube shoved a compact PDW into her hands. "Type 05 submachine gun. Integrated suppressor. Perfect for your... subtlety needs."
The weapon's specs flashed across her visor:
*Length: 27.5"
Weight: 5.9 lbs
Ammo: 5.8×21mm DAP92*
Outside, students gasped as Zhang emerged cradling the blackened steel. The Cube dragged ammunition crates containing 8,000 rounds. "Field trip bonus," it crackled through external speakers. "Next stop - farming lessons."
Dawn's light glinted off the convoy's new arsenal as the truck rumbled toward mountain shadows. Behind them, the river carried drifting spores from burst zombie skulls - evolution's next wave brewing in the polluted waters.