Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle

"More budget? Of course… I'm planning to expand it, including Project Warden. I confirmed from Cloud how useful they were during the Zombie Wave." Shane said as he indeed planned to create more Mech Frames and Warden Units.

Although his population was steadily increasing, they were still lacking soldiers or guards to protect their shelters.

Of course, it could be resolved if he managed to build the Tier III Training Hall, but since the Warden Units just needed power cores, they would be better guards, especially during the night.

"I think you should probably rest for now. You don't look good." Shane commented as he wanted this tired engineer to at least take care of his body.

"I'm good, I barely slept, but I feel alright. I even designed new kinetic mines and motion-triggered flame traps... I realized that our current traps weren't that good against fast-moving Zombies with thick skin. Right, I still need tungsten screws. If you have some to spare, let me know…" Eliot said...

"Tungsten… I'll look into it. Just don't forget to improve the barracks later. I will be recruiting a lot of people in a few days." Shane replied.

Eliot's eyes lit up after hearing this.

"You wanted me to enhance the barracks? I'll make a new design then." Eliot replied.

"Good… Then, draft a materials list and send it to Mr. Wadsworth... He'll help you get all the materials you need." Shane answered as he knew what this person could do.

After talking for a bit more, Shane thought for a moment...

Eliot had been working tirelessly and the guy deserved something.

"Let's see…" Shane muttered, pulling open his Anima Store Interface.

Soon, a radiant grid of icons and glowing categories hovered in front of him like a living catalog…

This store wasn't a simple item shop. It was a refined reward connected to his other life when he cleared the A.I. Rebellion.

There were several secret supplies that could never be found elsewhere... He could find rare materials, blueprints, and other pieces of technology that this world had never seen.

A few taps narrowed the list to Engineering / Crafting Support Items.

Too advanced, too exotic... not useful right now, Shane thought, skipping over options like Quantum Core Stabilizers and Aether Reformatting Wards.

Eliot was a genius, yes—but even he wouldn't benefit from stuff that required nanite tech or dragon-forged alloys of the Anima Civilization. Furthermore, those things are too expensive if he'd only pay with Reputation Points.

He needed something tangible.

Something Eliot could replicate, reverse-engineer, or mass-produce with their current resources.

Then, after looking around, he finally saw it.

[ Thunderbite Shock Traps – Pack of 30 ]

Item Description: Deployable shock-based trap system originally used in urban ambushes. Once activated, the trap emits a magnetic pulse followed by a high-voltage arc capable of stunning or killing small to medium targets. Triggers on pressure and motion, with adjustable delay timers and radius options.

Damage Type: Electrical

Effect: 3-second paralyzation, 20% armor degradation

Crafting Tier: Intermediate-Advanced

Material Requirements: Iron mesh, insulated copper coils, core capacitor, corrosion plating

Special Trait: Can chain-stun to secondary targets if they are standing within a 2-meter range. ]

Shane nodded.

'Perfect. Eliot could definitely copy these. Might even improve them. And the price?'

[ Price: 200 Reputations or 80 Reputation Points + 120 Power Cores. ]

Shane had to use Power Cores, so he couldn't trade them. He'd rather pay with his Reputation Points instead.

Then he scrolled to a different section: Prototype Weapon Blueprints.

Two designs caught his eye—ones Eliot would absolutely love.

[ Blueprint – Arcflinger Repeater (Tier II) ]

Weapon Type: Rapid-Energy Crossbow

Description:

A shoulder-mounted, repeating crossbow enhanced with an elemental capacitor. Fires conductive bolts that can arc between targets if Spirit-infused. Originally developed by hybrid tinker clans in the Wildsteel Zone.

Ammo Type: Charged Spirit Bolts ( modular tips optional )

Fire Rate: Semi-Auto or Triple Burst

Additional Trait: Bolts can store elemental effects like fire, ice, or shock

Crafting Tier: Advanced

Notes: Requires a stable Spirit Stone.

"Spirit Stones… Perfect." Shane muttered happily since he had a Spirit Vein in Silver Mine Camp.

'This one's definitely going to make Eliot light up like a kid at a festival.

[ Blueprint – Boomblade Lance ( Tier II ) ]

Weapon Type: Thrusting/Detonation Hybrid Weapon

Description:

A reinforced metal lance with a detachable tip containing a compressed combustion charge. Designed to penetrate armor, then detonate after embedding. Used in last-stand charges or ambushes.

Damage Type: Piercing + Explosive

Special Trait: Tip auto-ignites after 0.7 seconds post-impact unless deactivated.

Reload: Tip can be swapped manually; comes with 3 replaceable charges.

Crafting Tier: Intermediate ]

This one requires fuel, and he also had that, so there shouldn't be a problem for Eliot to make these.

It may seem like he just wanted Eliot to work more, but he knew that Eliot needed to advance his Skills as well. With these blueprints, he was confident that Eliot would benefit from it.

Furthermore, the blueprints cost only 30 Reputation Points each!

With a thought, Shane selected all three: the shock traps and the two blueprints.

[ Items Acquired from Anima Store:

– 30x Thunderbite Shock Traps

– Blueprint: Arcflinger Repeater

– Blueprint: Boomblade Lance ]

Shane then approached Eliot.

"What is that?" Eliot asked.

Shane smirked as he held out the small containment box containing the shock traps and the glowing blueprint scrolls.

"Just an early gift."

Eliot was still unsure but he slowly stood. He opened the box. He stared.

Then, he couldn't help but whistle "...Whoa~ These are beautiful."

Shane clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"You can replicate or modify it if you want. You do what you do best. And let's make sure the next Zombie Lord gets a proper welcome."

"With these? Oh, trust me—we're going to make them pay…"

After this, Shane finally left the place and visited the outer part of the manor.

***

Thud… Thud… Thud…

The sound of hammers striking wood could be heard across the battered outer wall of the Springriver Manor.

Some Super Soldiers were even breaking some stones to be used for the stone wall later on.

'Ahh.. That Super Soldier is new…' Shane mused before Cloud confirmed that the Super Soldier he was seeing was someone who had been injected with Super Soldier Serum in order to survive the Zombie Virus Infection.

As he looked around, he realized that there were actually about seven of them, mostly men who had become Super Soldiers.

At this time, most of these Super Soldiers were focused on rebuilding the walls but the others focused on the collapsed watchtowers.

Shane moved slowly to see what he could do to assist them.

The western perimeter wall, once reinforced with armored plating, now stood partially collapsed. Survivors rushed to and fro, working together, to repair the damage.

All the soldiers had already removed their armor and other pieces of equipment to lighten their load, while others wore tattered shirts and belts made of rope, allowing them to move quickly.

They carried what they could—planks, stone bricks, buckets of alchemical cement, even twisted turret components salvaged from collapsed defense towers.

One middle-aged woman, her sleeves rolled up, paused just long enough to wipe sweat from her brow and offer a short, respectful nod to Shane.

Seeing this, Shane decided to use Aura Sentinel and expanded it to cover everyone who was working…

"Ahh… That's a refreshing feeling…"

"Thanks, Leader!"

"It's quite similar to the Safety Token… Leader, will you distribute that token again?" Another one asked.

"Yes… Everyone with a Permanent Resident Token can get one monthly from Mr. Wadsworth. The others must buy it for 50 Zombie Cores." Shane replied.

"Ohh! We're lucky…"

"Great! We'll be looking forward to that."

Another young man, barely past his teens and limping slightly from an old injury, grinned and gave a firm salute as he hauled a basket of nails over his shoulder.

After a few moments, everyone started working again.

Shane couldn't help but smile as Cloud confirmed the identities of most residents here.

Apparently, there were only a few of them recruited through his Territory Lord Talent. Most of them were actually from Neutral Shelters, Scavengers, and even low-level Recruits of other Shelters that had already collapsed.

Indeed, since many Survivor Clans or Shelters were being destroyed by the Zombies, the recruits of the other Survivors had no choice but to flee if the Survivors who had recruited them had died or didn't bother to save them.

They have Loyalty Points that could go up or down after all.

Nonetheless, Shane was happy that he was able to give them a new home.

They knew that this was their fortress. And they would rebuild it with all their heart…

Shane then passed a cluster of repair crews, he then noticed the Field Mechanic Station, a haphazard yet functional repair bay near the inner walls.

They were the ones capable of repairing Automated Turrets, Ballistae, Flamethrowers, and even Warden Units.

After looking around, Shane noticed two new faces who were working under a canvas tarp held up by steel pipes and duct tape.