Dawn broke, and golden sunlight pierced through the clouds, spilling over the rugged mountain path like melted cheese sauce, barely chasing away the wasteland's night chill. Lucas Witt walked at the back of the group, his wounds throbbing—every move felt like someone was yanking his flesh with rusty tweezers—but his gaze was harder than the base's steel gates. Last night's mutant wolf attack had been a wake-up call for everyone: in this godforsaken place where even grass struggled to grow, without solid defenses and real strength, they might as well be delivering themselves to the mutants on a silver platter.
"That's the military base I was talking about." Lucas pointed to an abandoned complex halfway up the mountain ahead, his tone as casual as if he were saying "We're having bread today." "I stumbled across it when I got lost nearby—there should still be some weapons and supplies inside. And the place is strategically located; the stone walls are sturdier than Captain Marco's muscles. A little touch-up, and it'll keep those howling mutants out."
Marco followed his gaze. The complex halfway up the mountain was wrapped in a ring of tall stone walls, pockmarked with bullet holes and scratches—like a burly guy who'd been beaten black and blue but still refused to back down. The overall structure, though, was mostly intact. "Looks way better than our old farm camp that could've blown over in a strong wind," Marco scratched his beard, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "But don't let your guard down. Pretty mushrooms are poisonous in the wasteland, and places that look solid might hide even bigger pitfalls. We'll scout first—make sure it's safe before setting up camp."
The group crept toward the abandoned military base, with Lucas leading the way, alert as a stray cat, his ears pricked up, scanning every bush and rock. Perched halfway up the mountain, the base had a cliff on one side and dense woods on the other—a natural defensive fortress. If he followed the engineering knowledge from his textbooks, reinforced the stone walls, built a few arrow towers and traps, not even mutant wolves, let alone bigger creatures like mutant bears, could get past the gate without getting their asses handed to them.
"For real, Lucas—are you lost, or do you have a cheat code?" Sophia walked beside him, muttering. "This place is hidden tighter than my grandma's chocolate drawer. How'd you 'stumble' across it?"
Lucas's mouth twitched, and he lied with a straight face. "Just lucky. Back at my old job, that bastard Brian would send me to the middle of nowhere to deliver files all the time. I got pretty good at finding hidden spots to slack off." That part wasn't a lie—back at the company, he'd hide in the fire escape for hours to avoid Brian's PUA. His skill at finding secret spots was better than any guard in the camp.
Soon, they reached the base's gate. It was made of thick steel, with a rusted padlock hanging on it, the hasp as loose as a tooth ready to fall out. "C'mon, strong guys—let's move." Marco waved at two burly survivors beside him. "Push hard—don't act like you haven't eaten in a week. If we can't even open a gate, we might as well lie down and surrender the next time mutants show up."
The two壮汉 exchanged a look, took a deep breath, grabbed the door handles, and pulled with all their might. "Squeak—clang!" With a loud crash, the gate creaked open, and a pungent mix of rust and mold hit them, making Sophia cough so hard she almost threw up the mutant boar meat from last night. "Jesus, that stinks worse than Brian's breath!" Sophia covered her nose, looking disgusted.
"Everyone be careful. There might be mutants inside, or traps set by other survivors." Marco lowered his voice, gripping his longsword tightly as he stepped inside first—like a warrior about to enter a haunted house, calm on the surface but sweating through his palms. Lucas followed close behind, his eyes darting around the base: several low warehouses and barracks were scattered about, their walls worn and cracked, as if they'd been punched repeatedly; the yard was overgrown with waist-high weeds, which swayed in the wind like monsters hiding in the shadows, sending chills down everyone's spines.
"Looks like there are no mutant tracks here—nothing." Sophia sighed in relief, lowering her wooden spear and plucking a weed. "Guess this place has been abandoned for ages, even mutants can't be bothered to come here."
Lucas, though, didn't let his guard down. His gaze fixed on an abandoned monitoring room in the corner of the base. Half the room's window was broken, and it was pitch-black inside, but he could faintly see some equipment. "I'll check the monitoring room. Maybe I can find something useful—like where supplies are stored, or what the base was like before." He said to Marco, heading toward the room before Marco could respond. He knew the base's value was far more than just a few run-down buildings and weapons.
The monitoring room door wasn't locked— it swung open with a light push. Inside was pitch-black, so dark he couldn't see his hand in front of his face. Lucas fumbled for the light switch on the wall; when he flipped it, a dim light bulb sputtered to life, its glow as weak as a dying phone screen, barely illuminating the room. There was an old computer inside, its screen cracked, its case covered in dust—even older than the beat-up laptop he'd had before he time-traveled.
"Can this thing even work?" Lucas squatted down, wiped the dust off the computer tower, and pressed the power button. The tower hummed like it was on its last legs, the screen flickered a few times, and somehow—miraculously—it turned on. "Whoa, that's luck like winning five bucks on a lottery ticket!" Lucas couldn't help cheering, leaning in to check the files on the computer.
The computer stored some military base data and surveillance footage. Most of the files were corrupted, opening to gibberish as incomprehensible as Brian's project plans. But luck was on his side—he finally found a base layout map and a weapons/supplies list, the text clear enough to even show the exact quantity of each item.
"Yes! Captain Marco, Sophia—get over here!" Lucas shouted excitedly, unable to hide his joy. "I found the base layout and a supplies list! There are rifles, pistols, grenades, food, and medical supplies—enough to last us a good while. No more chomping on protein bars until our mouths bleed!"
Marco and Sophia rushed into the monitoring room when they heard his voice. When they saw the layout map and supplies list on the screen, their faces lit up with surprise. Marco even slammed his fist on the table in excitement, nearly shutting the computer down. "There's a god after all!" Marco exclaimed. "With these supplies, we can set up camp here—no more wandering like homeless people, no more worrying about mutants sneaking up on us while we sleep!"
Sophia leaned in, pointing at the medical supplies on the list, her eyes shining. "Antibiotics and bandages too! Perfect—our injured friends can finally get proper treatment, no more chewing herbs to stop bleeding. The herbs I chewed last time were so bitter, I lost my appetite for three days."
Lucas nodded, pointing to a warehouse marked "Armory" on the layout map. "This warehouse has the weapons and ammo. Let's check it first to make sure the supplies are still there. This is the wasteland—anything can happen. They might've been looted by other survivors, or taken over by mutants."
The group followed Lucas to the armory. The door was made of thick steel, with a combination lock hanging on it—much sturdier than the gate's lock. "What's the code?" Marco frowned, staring at the lock. "We can't just smash it with a rock, can we? This steel is so thick, we'd be at it till tomorrow."
Lucas racked his brain for the info from the computer, a smile tugging at his lips. "Don't worry—I remember the code: 123456. Probably some soldier got lazy and set the easiest code possible, just like my old company's WiFi password. Total freebie." He stepped forward, typed in the code, and with a click, the lock opened. The steel door creaked heavily, swinging inward.
The warehouse was stacked with weapons and ammo—rifles and pistols lined the shelves neatly, grenades filled crates in the corner, and some heavy weapons leaned against the walls. Dusty as they were, they still glinted with a cold metallic sheen. Everyone's eyes lit up, excitement flooding their faces like kids who'd just gotten new toys. "Jesus, so many weapons!" A young survivor couldn't help picking up a rifle, hefting it. "With these, we won't have to fear mutants anymore—even raiders will get their asses kicked!"
"Don't get too excited. First, move all these weapons and ammo to the barracks, then check the other warehouses for more supplies." Marco calmed down, starting to direct everyone. "Hurry up—no dragging your feet. Who knows what could happen next."
Lucas didn't join the moving—instead, he went alone to the highest point of the base, overlooking the entire layout. He pulled out the textbooks he'd found at the watchtower, flipped to the engineering chapter, his fingers brushing the yellowed pages. The blurry knowledge gradually became clear. From memory, he picked up a piece of charcoal and drew a blueprint for repairing and expanding the base's defenses on the ground—reinforced stone walls, arrow towers, traps, a simple water system—every detail marked clearly.
"With this blueprint, we can add defensive structures to the stone walls—like arrow towers and catapults—dig trenches around the base, and set traps. Spiked traps, tripwire traps—simple, but they'll work against mutants and raiders." Lucas muttered to himself. "That way, even if there's a large-scale mutant attack, we can handle it calmly. No more running around like headless chickens, chased by mutant wolves."
Just then, a blue light flashed in front of him, and the system panel appeared out of thin air, glowing green text flickering: [Detected Host Drawing Infrastructure Blueprint. Reward: 50 Survival Points] [Survival Points: 60/100] [Unlocked Basic Infrastructure Knowledge Pack: Stone Wall Reinforcement, Trap Design, Simple Water System Construction]
A flood of information surged into his brain, like a thousand knowledge points bouncing around. Lucas grunted in pain, nearly collapsing. After what felt like forever, the pain faded. When he looked at the blueprint again, he suddenly understood infrastructure even better—details he'd missed earlier now clear as day.
"This system is a lifesaver—way more reliable than that slacker intern at my old company." Lucas rubbed his throbbing head, smiling. "With the system's help, I'll definitely build a truly powerful base in this wasteland. No more being looked down on, no more being pushed around."
He looked up at the sky, sunlight warming his face, chasing away all the darkness. "From now on, this is our new home." Lucas shouted to the sky, his voice firm. "I'll use my knowledge to turn this place into an unbreakable fortress. I'll make everyone who ever looked down on me see—Lucas Witt is no longer the bottom-feeder who let everyone walk all over him! Brian Cole, just you wait. One day, you'll regret tearing up my project plan—it'll be the biggest mistake of your life!"
A bird chirped in the distant mountains, as if echoing his vow. Lucas clenched his fists, his heart burning with determination. He knew the road ahead was still dangerous—mutants, raiders, the three superpowers, and Brian Cole, the other time-traveler who saw him as an eyesore—but he wasn't afraid. He had knowledge, the system, companions to fight alongside, and a heart that refused to be mediocre, a heart that craved revenge and success.
Soon, Marco and the others finished moving the weapons and ammo, joining Lucas at the top of the base. "Lucas, what are you doing up here?" Marco patted him on the shoulder, following his gaze into the distance. "Are you thinking about what we do next?"
Lucas nodded, pointing to the blueprint on the ground. "I drew a blueprint for repairing and expanding the base. Next, we'll follow this plan to turn this place into a truly safe, strong camp. As long as we work together, we'll stand firm in this wasteland."
Marco and the others stared at the blueprint, admiration filling their eyes. "Lucas, you're amazing!" Sophia couldn't help saying. "I didn't just think you could fix tools—you know infrastructure too. You're a jack-of-all-trades, better than anyone I've ever met."
"It's nothing—just a little engineering knowledge I picked up before." Lucas smiled, deliberately hiding his strength. He'd learned the art of pretending to be weak to catch others off guard from Brian himself. "As long as we work together, we'll turn this place into a real home—no more wandering, no more living in fear."
Everyone nodded, their faces set with determination. Sunlight shone down on them, and on the abandoned military base, breathing a glimmer of life and hope into the desolate land. They knew—from this moment on, their fates would be completely rewritten.
(End of Chapter 3)