"This is your medicine for today, and these are the firearms you need to repair and recycle this week. Also..."
At the Seventy-Third Shelter on the Ruined Star, the clerk at the management office placed a pile of worn-out firearms onto a cart, then took out a vial of amber-colored liquid and handed it to Su Yu. After a moment of hesitation, the clerk added a reminder:
"Due to the recent expansion efforts of the Nightshade Squad, the shelter's stock of anti-radiation medicine is running low. This is your third vial… and also your last one. Good luck."
Su Yu rubbed his face vigorously, forced a smile, and took the vial. "Thanks. I'll take any luck I can get."
With that, he carried the cart and the medicine back to his repair shop.
"Compared to other transmigrators out there, my new life is really starting off on the wrong foot…"
After tidying up the workshop, Su Yu looked at the anti-radiation medicine in his hand and let out a bitter laugh.
Strictly speaking, he wasn't originally from this world he was a transmigrator from a planet called Blue Star.
The world he found himself in now was a post-apocalyptic wasteland, far harsher than his homeland.
[Ruined Star]
This was a frontier outpost established during the Great Crusade of the Human Empire, a star stationed at the edge of the galaxy to provide navigation and logistical support for the expeditionary fleets.
But this was the 40,000th year of the Empire's reign over the galaxy.
The glory of the Great Crusade had long been buried in the dust of history. Civil strife and alien invasions had torn the once-great empire apart, and its dominion over the galaxy was no more.
The people living on this ruined planet were descendants of survivors from the end of the Great Crusade. Due to lost technology and the planet's depleted resources, they had no hope of ever leaving.
All that awaited them was a short, grueling life, struggling to survive amidst radiation and dust.
Fortunately, thanks to a stroke of luck and the advantage of his physical transmigration
Though his body had regressed in age during the crossing, reverting to that of an eleven- or twelve-year-old, his untainted physique (free from prolonged radiation exposure) and his above-average learning ability allowed Su Yu to become a resident of the Seventy-Third Shelter, working as an apprentice mechanic.
However, a year ago, the only mentor willing to teach Su Yu mechanical repair skills an old man had died of radiation sickness.
Not long after, Su Yu was unlucky enough to contract radiation sickness as well.
He looked down at his right arm, where large patches of muscle tissue had turned a dark purple under the radiation accompanied by a persistent weakness on his body.
Over time, the radiation would spread across his entire arm, leaving amputation as the only option.
Compared to many fatal forms of radiation sickness, Su Yu's condition was relatively mild.
But for an apprentice mechanic with barely over two and a half years of experience, losing an arm would mean he could no longer handle repair work.
And the shelter had no use for idle hands.
Without his job as a mechanic and no other work experience, Su Yu would be forced into far more dangerous labor. Given his deteriorating health, he'd likely end up as a skeleton in the wasteland within a year or two.
His only hope was the anti-radiation medicine in front of him.
It was one of the few benefits afforded to shelter residents.
Those infected with radiation sickness could receive one vial per week, up to three vials total. Depending on the type of sickness, there was about a 10% chance of recovery, and a 20–30% chance of slowing the progression.
Considering Su Yu's relatively mild symptoms, his odds of recovery might even be slightly higher.
At the very least, it should slow the spread!
Su Yu gritted his teeth.
Though the Nightshade Squad's recent expansion had driven up the cost of supplies including anti-radiation medicine, now 20% more expensive if he could just buy himself some time, he could earn enough contributions by repairing firearms for the shelter's hunting teams to afford more medicine.
After finishing his work for the day, Su Yu took out the vial of anti-radiation medicine, pulled out the stopper, and poured it directly onto the radiated tissue on his right arm.
The Seventy Third Shelter was small, and the anti-radiation medicine it produced was crude, harmful to the body whether ingested or applied via immersion. This brutal method was the most effective.
"Hiss—!"
Like ice water hitting burning coal, thick white vapor erupted from the radiated flesh, accompanied by searing pain. Su Yu clenched his jaw, veins bulging on his forehead as he collapsed onto the floor.
Even though this wasn't his first time using the medicine, the agony was still unbearable.
Only after half an hour did the pain begin to subside.
Su Yu put his clothes back on, took out a simple nutrient paste from a shabby cabinet, and ate the tasteless, calorie-dense sludge for dinner before hurriedly turning off the lights and going to bed.
The medicine needed a full night to take effect. His fate would only be clear by morning.
With anxious hope for the next day, Su Yu drifted into sleep.
Yet, when dawn came
Standing before a broken, half-shattered mirror, Su Yu rolled up his sleeve… and what he saw left even the ever-optimistic young man utterly speechless.
The worst possible outcome.
The radiated tissue on his right arm showed no signs of improvement not even a slowdown. Overnight, the corruption had spread further toward his wrist.
At this rate, within three months, his entire arm would be lost.
And given the growing weakness in his right arm, he might lose his job as a mechanic in just two.
Did all my luck get drained by gunsmithing? But these aren't even the same kind of 'guns'!
(TL NOTE: this word play is reference to fate series game lancer which has low luck stat, so why lancer it is cause the word gun=spear have the same character 枪 in it)
Su Yu was on the verge of tears.
But then
He noticed something else in the mirror.
No
Not on the mirror.
In his vision, as he focused, a faint blue virtual screen slowly materialized before him.