Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle

None of them had known Shane was planning to deploy ships at all.

Otto paused for a moment since he was sure that Shane’s shelters were only producing mech frames, androids, turrets, and other defensive weapons...

He had never heard anything related to shipbuilding at all.

”Wait... ships? Since when did Shane start thinking about naval operations? Can he just summon them out of nowhere or something?”

Tundra didn’t answer immediately. He was already checking the map projection using the System’s Map Feature...

The coastline was within range. The estuary looked promising, and if Shane really intended to use those bottled ships, they’d need a proper port for that...

”Right... Anyway, I heard he bought them from an auction house...” Tundra said finally. ”Miniature vessels sealed in enchanted glass. Break the bottle, and the ship expands to full size. I have never seen it work, but it seemed like he had galleons, frigates, cargo haulers, and others...”

Everyone was shocked since none of them thought that they would be exploring the sea really soon.

Of course, for Otto, traveling on the seas wasn’t something he really wanted as a fire magician. He’d rather explore a volcano than explore the seas. Nonetheless, he also liked the idea of seeing a different land...

Zephyrion’s skeletal bird clicked twice, then settled on the building where the shelter crystal core was...

”I’ll stay here instead, Tundra...” Zephyrion said. ”This place is still vulnerable. Until the crystal reaches full charge, it needs a guardian.”

Tundra nodded. ”Right... That makes sense. If anything approaches, trigger the perimeter barriers and don’t hesitate to kill anyone...”

Zephyrion raised a hand. A faint pulse of necrotic energy spread across the ground, marking his control zone. He was already forming a line of defense. ”Understood.”

Sona stepped forward, adjusting her scarf. ”We’ll handle the resource sweep. Five kilometers is a lot of ground. If Shane connects a gate here, he’ll want a full report.”

Otto agreed, since the may sound a small piece of territory, it was still huge for their small group. They have to properly map the areas of resources and other details they need to be aware of.

”I’ll check the forest edge. Look for lumber zones, fruit-bearing trees, and herbs. If there’s a quarryable area, I’ll mark it.”

Eldric nodded. ”I’ll handle terrain mapping. Wells, water flow, soil density. If there’s a good spot for farming or port construction, I’ll find it too...”

Tundra turned toward the hills. ”I’ll take the coastline.”

Otto raised an eyebrow. ”Alone?”

”I’m faster alone,” Tundra replied. ”And if I find anything hostile, I can plant traps.”

They all knew what that meant.

Tundra’s Terrorist Talent wasn’t just for combat... it was for control. Anything he touched could become an invisible bomb. They could be delayed bombs, remote-triggered, or proximity-based. He could lace an entire shoreline with traps in under an hour.

It means that even if those Shark Zombies started crawling up, he wouldn’t have any issues at all.

”Be careful,” Sona said. ”If there’s a Zombie Lord Territory nearby, we need to know before Shane steps through.”

”I’ll mark everything,” Tundra said. ”Let’s move.”

***

Just like that, Tundra was the first to disappear to continue with his exploration...

The coastline wasn’t that far, but there weren’t any signs of Zombies, so he felt a little relaxed.

Tundra walked through the gravel path that led down from the villa’s eastern side... and as expected, the air smelled of salt and moss.

However, to Tundra’s surprise, seabirds actually circled overhead. They also seemed like they weren’t Zombie birds!

’I guess the Zombie Virus isn’t that strong around here...’ Tundra thought to himself as he continued looking around.

The estuary was wide, and it had shallow banks. There was also a natural curve that could support docks.

’Hmm... Not bad...’

Tundra may not be an expert in this matter, but he had seen enough in his previous life, so he could imagine how the docks could work.

He then crouched near a cluster of rocks and touched the surface.

[ Explosive Fire Bomb Planted: Zombie Proximity Trigger ]

[ 72 Hours Duration ]

Well, it was a new skill he obtained where he didn’t have to trigger his bombs himself. Instead, if it detected a Zombie, it would automatically trigger.

This would be a good defense later when they had to sleep. Anyway, it only had 72 72-hour duration, so it wouldn’t be dangerous as well once other people arrived.

Anyway, he continued doing this around the coastline where sea-type Zombies might appear. He even placed other types of bombs and trigger.

[ Explosive Fire Bomb Planted: Remote Trigger ]

[ 24 Hours Duration ]

[ Graviton Imploder Planted: Remote Trigger ]

[ 12 Hours Duration ]

Tundra continued doing this until he spent over 1,000 Spirit Points...

Well, it wasn’t paranoia. He believed that it was protocol...

If anything came from the sea, zombies, mutated beasts, scavenger raiders... They’d walk into a minefield instead...

Tundra continued moving... There was actually a natural inlet to the south.

There were calm waters, and the soil was firm, not marshy. He marked it on his map...

Further inland, he found a grove of hardwood trees... They were not massive, but healthy. Some of them even bore fruit. He didn’t know what fruit it was, but it was small, red, and clustered.

He plucked one, and unfortunately, he had no recollection of this fruit at all.

It may be a mutated tree that created a mutated fruit or something. For now, he didn’t plan to open or taste it and let the experts deal with it...

They could be poisonous after all...

Anyway, he just continued moving and soon, he found something else.

A patch of herbs growing near a small stream. They were blue-veined leaves that had a bitter scent.

Again, he didn’t recognize such herbs, but they look precious.

However, what surprised him the most was the skeleton beside it... Furthermore, it seemed that this person died from natural causes instead of turning into a Zombie.

After all, it seemed that it was still holding a small book and a pen before he died and turned to his current state.