Chapter 22: The Danger Index of the Revived

“What the hell?”
“Make a giant mushroom???”
Interesting, playing with technology inside the red mist—quite a clever idea.
After instructing everyone to head toward the food processing plant, he began to contemplate the relevant knowledge while sitting in his wheelchair.
Gunpowder...
The main ingredients are saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal.
The ratio of the three components by mass is 15:2:3.
He was well-versed in this; he had read many books on the subject years ago, and thanks to his eidetic memory, he had even secretly made some while at the welfare institute.
The problem was, where would a food processing plant get so much saltpeter and sulfur?
“It seems... this food processing plant isn’t exactly operating above board.”
In earlier years, there was a method for curing meat called “saltpeter meat,” once made with “local saltpeter,” now directly with sodium nitrite. This process turned the meat a visually appealing red and preserved it for a time.
However, as food safety standards grew increasingly stringent in recent years, the old methods had become obsolete.
After pondering this,
Mu Chen’s expression softened into a calm, gentle smile, one that grew more serene by the moment.
He longed to bring a baptism of fire to this land—for all fear stems from a lack of firepower.
...
Countdown: 83:11:23...
In front of the food processing plant’s gates.
Aside from eliminating a few scattered “juvenile aberrants,” they encountered no monsters beyond their ability to defeat.
This time, the gates were open.
The courtyard was empty; after venturing a short distance inside, they found a truck crashed against the wall, a juvenile aberrant trapped and struggling between the vehicle and the wall...
Mu Chen’s expression shifted, his gaze lingering on the aberrant.
“Is someone still alive?” The thought flashed through Mu Chen’s mind.
After ordering Sade to finish it off, they searched the area, but found no signs of human survival. Instead, they discovered several crushed corpses nearby, and not far from the bodies, an old radio and a speaker.
There was even a memory card inserted.
It seemed the original owner had been engaging in some annoying activity in the open space before the outbreak of the red mist.
[Behold this excellent noise maker. Simply give it two C batteries, and it will keep your neighbors awake all night—provided, of course, they don’t call the police.]
Gathering up these unclaimed devices, they didn’t linger; once Mu Chen opened his eyes, he led the group straight toward the workshop.

Inside the workshop, a series of machines had shut down due to the loss of power. Further in, piles of bagged cooked chicken legs appeared before them, at least three or four hundred bags in total.
“......”
“Should we take them?”
“We just said the place was unscrupulous...”
“But, judging by the look, they probably taste pretty good.”
[Do you see the door at the very back of the workshop? What you seek lies within. Take the first brave step toward ‘Ivan the Great.’]
After receiving the information, Mu Chen didn’t instruct the group to proceed.
“Ahem... gather the food on the ground quickly. Once we’ve packed it up, we’ll move deeper inside.”
The collected food was placed in Mu Jiu’er’s backpack.
At the innermost part of the workshop, a heavy iron door barred their way.
There was no lock, only a small pull ring.
He told Sade to pull the ring, and the door slowly opened, releasing a wave of cold air.
Mu Chen shivered, and the others—Mu Jiu’er, Lillian, and Sade—fared no better.
The outbreak of the red mist had occurred in early autumn; he and Mu Jiu’er were dressed lightly, while Lillian and Sade wore only linen shorts.
Standing at the doorway, feeling the chill, Mu Chen turned to Mu Jiu’er: “The cold storage is below five degrees. Jiu’er, if you feel too cold, you can dispel the red mist and wait at the entrance with Lillian.”
Mu Jiu’er shook her head vigorously; she had no desire to be separated from Mu Chen.
Understanding his sister’s resolve, he hesitated no longer, and the group entered the cold storage.
There was no light, no windows.
Dim and bone-chilling, the gloom caused Mu Chen to frown.
Suddenly—
“Ah!”
Mu Jiu’er cried out, retreating a few steps in fright.
“Brother, there’s someone crouched over there...”
Squinting, they saw a worker in ordinary clothes, crouched by the wall opposite the cold storage door.
The worker’s head was bowed, unmoving in a rigid squat...
“Hiding in the cold storage—did he freeze to death?”
As Mu Chen pondered, the worker slowly turned his head, though his body remained still. His head twisted in an unnaturally contorted arc, and a pair of lifeless, ashen eyes stared vacantly at Mu Chen.
Dead—he was dead?

If so, how could he still move?
Was he about to become a monster?
Mu Chen tensed, his vigilance sharpening.
Yet the corpse simply stood there, making no move, only slowly turning its head back, then resuming its previous pose—head bowed, motionless.
“No reaction... it seems he poses no immediate threat.”
After observing, Mu Chen relaxed slightly.
[A puppet moved by invisible strings, one among hundreds. Its master has already noticed you; if you remain here for more than eight minutes, your fate will be no better than his.]
A rare, straightforward warning, but its content left him unable to celebrate.
He glanced at the dozen or so bags stacked beside the worker.
After Sade pushed him forward, he tore open one of the bags.
Inside were chunks of white, glassy stones, each bag marked as weighing 25kg.
Without hesitation, he packed up the saltpeter, with only one bag containing sulfur.
Mu Chen kept two pieces in hand, exerted some force, and managed to crush out a little powder.
These saltpeter blocks were clearly refined, with few impurities.
He set up his workbench, and with a thought, synthesized multiple batches—transforming the blocks into powder.
Once he confirmed all the goods were packed up,
He spoke in a low voice, “Let’s leave quickly!”
...
...
Less than twenty hours had passed since the appearance of the red mist, and Mu Chen had already brushed against death countless times.
After several minutes of escape, they left the food processing plant, heading toward the Tumor Meat Mountain range.
Nearby, they found a temporary shelter, and after dispatching a juvenile aberrant inside, Mu Chen ordered the group to stand guard.
“Brother, will this stuff really work...” Mu Jiu’er couldn’t help but whisper.
“For now, we really need it...”