Cybernetic Grafting

That afternoon, Chu Fei headed straight for the Dawn Team.

The Dawn Team guarded the gate at the foot of the mountain. He passed by it every day while running.

He had just received another reward and needed to exchange it for money. He still owed Captain Huang two dollars from before.

When he arrived at the team's base, he found that Captain Huang was absent, but the sturdy female warrior, Zhao Hongyue, was there.

"Sister Zhao, I came to see you." Chu Fei offered a sweet smile from afar.

Zhao Hongyue chuckled. "You came empty-handed."

"I came laden with honors."

"Heh!" The female warrior rolled her eyes. "All right, then. Tell me what honors you have."

"Perfect scores on consecutive exams. And this morning, people from the Flying Cloud Battle Team and Greedy Wolf Team approached me. They wanted to invest in me."

Zhao Hongyue snorted. "You came to inquire about information on the teams?"

"Um... all right, yes. But compared to visiting Sister Zhao, that's still secondary, isn't it?"

"I do have information on all the teams here. But what can you offer?"

Chu Fei thought for a moment, then looked at Zhao Hongyue pitifully. "How about Sister Zhao naming a price?"

"How about washing my clothes?"

"..."

"How about this? Come help maintain weapons on weekends.

That way, you can get to know and handle weapons ahead of time.

From 13:30 to 17:00 on weekend afternoons.

I just don't know whether you'll be able to fit it into your schedule."

"Okay!"

Chu Fei agreed without hesitation.

Zhao Hongyue's invitation seemed like she was "exploiting" Chu Fei, but upon closer thought, it carried tremendous significance for him. For instance, he could familiarize himself with weapons ahead of time and gain hands-on experience with them.

In a world founded on science, the power of weapons could never be ignored:

Train for ten years, and one shot took you down.

Captain Huang and Zhao Hongyue had saved Shihe Village with just the two of them, relying precisely on the power of weapons.

In the apocalypse, repairing and maintaining weapons was an essential survival skill.

Time slipped quietly by. The setting sun gradually drew near the towering city wall, and Flying Tiger City was slowly shrouded in the High Wall's shadow.

Chu Fei wiped the sweat from his face, inserted the last magazine into the gunstock, and completed the day's maintenance work.

After putting the firearms away, Chu Fei greeted Zhao Hongyue. "Sister Zhao, I'm heading back to eat."

"Let's go together. This is some basic information about the teams."

Chu Fei accepted the information and quickly leafed through it.

As they walked, Zhao Hongyue gave him a brief introduction to the various teams.

Flying Tiger City's core field forces mainly existed in the form of "teams."

Ordinary military units and soldiers were primarily responsible for defense and rarely took the initiative to attack.

The core members of teams were Awakened and Semi-Awakened, while ordinary people generally handled logistics, technical support, and similar duties.

Part of a team's funding was raised independently, while another part came from the City Lord's allocations. Those allocations were related to combat achievements and the like.

The teams in Flying Tiger City were divided into two broad categories: city-affiliated teams and independent teams.

The city-affiliated team was the Flying Tiger Team. The Flying Tiger Team was further divided into eight divisions, each composed of at least five Awakened, fifty Semi-Awakened, and more.

Then there were four independent teams. From strongest to weakest, they were: Dawnbreak Team, Greedy Wolf Team, Army Breaker Team, and Flying Cloud Battle Team.

The Dawnbreak Team had eleven Awakened and forty-two Semi-Awakened, making it stronger than even a division of the Flying Tiger Team;

The Greedy Wolf Team had six Awakened and fifty-four Semi-Awakened;

The Army Breaker Team had four Awakened and thirty-six Semi-Awakened;

The Flying Cloud Battle Team had three Awakened and twenty-seven Semi-Awakened.

Among them, the Flying Cloud Battle Team had been formed most recently and consisted entirely of Dawn Academy graduates, though it was said to have several wealthy backers.

There were also some "security teams" and the like, with only one Awakened—or even none at all.

The team Zhao Hongyue, Captain Huang, and the others belonged to was Dawn Academy's security force. They also went out to "recruit people" in their spare time.

Although they usually called themselves the "Dawn Team," they were essentially the "Dawn Security Team." The strongest fighter in the team was Captain Huang, Huang Gang, a Semi-Awakened.

"Captain Huang is a Semi-Awakened?" Chu Fei asked curiously. "Didn't you say before that he was an Awakened?"

Zhao Hongyue smiled. "Have you ever seen someone constantly calling themselves deputy captain, deputy commander, Deputy City Lord, and so on?"

"..."

"All right, I'll stop teasing you. This involves another profession—Augmented Warriors.

Captain Huang himself is a Semi-Awakened, but after undergoing modifications and becoming an Augmented Warrior, his combat strength reached the level of an Awakened. So he also counts as an Awakened."

"Cybernetic Grafting?" Chu Fei recalled Captain Huang's electronic eye and Mechanical Arm, looking thoughtful. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Does this kind of body modification have any side effects?"

"How could it not?" Zhao Hongyue sighed. "If there were a choice, who would be willing to take this road?"

Chu Fei asked again, "Is Sister Zhao an Awakened?"

Zhao Hongyue gave a bitter smile. "Do you think an Awakened could have a build like mine?"

Before Chu Fei could say anything, Zhao Hongyue continued, "I've been modified too, but through biotechnology. It induced diploid changes and implanted a biological chip.

According to the formula S=A*B^n, an ordinary person's base value A is around 3,200. If you're diploid, it can double. With just one simple modification, computing power S doubles.

When computing power S doubles, actual combat strength may increase dozens of times over."

Chu Fei was puzzled. "Computing power doubles, and combat strength increases dozens of times?"

Zhao Hongyue explained simply, "If a bullet's range doubled, how much would its actual destructive power increase?"

Chu Fei suddenly understood. Looking thoughtful, he said, "Is that the significance of Cybernetic Grafting?"

Zhao Hongyue nodded slightly, then briefly explained Cybernetic Grafting and modification.

Cybernetic Grafting was a broad concept. Any modification beyond the human body itself could be considered Cybernetic Grafting, including but not limited to mechanical modification, biochemical modification, genetic mutation, organ transplants, and so on.

Cybernetic Grafting was not only an option for Semi-Awakened. Many Awakened also underwent Cybernetic Grafting modifications to obtain greater combat strength.

Ordinary people could also undergo Cybernetic Grafting modifications, but they found it difficult to bring out the power they were meant to have.

Considering the cost of modification, later maintenance and upkeep, and so forth, only Semi-Awakened and Awakened could afford it.

Of course, some people used Cybernetic Grafting modifications to extend their lifespans and the like. Ordinary people should not imitate that—there was no money for it.

Most importantly, modification damaged the body's structure and affected the growth of Awakened and Semi-Awakened.

But after most Awakened cultivated to a certain level, they would find themselves unable to advance any further. At that point, Cybernetic Grafting modifications could instantly grant them formidable combat power.

Not to mention that survival pressure in the apocalypse was immense, making Cybernetic Grafting modifications unavoidable.

For example, the recent Living Corpse Tide and Beast Tide.

A Beast Tide would have a small outbreak every three to five years and a major one every decade or so. This pattern repeated over and over—not entirely regular, yet not entirely without order either.

Amid their questions and answers, the two arrived at the cafeteria. It was already 17:15, yet there were still quite a few people inside.

Zhao Hongyue went upstairs, while Chu Fei ate on the first floor.

While waiting in line, Chu Fei heard several classmates discussing the matter of the class monitor.

But they were not discussing his name. Instead, they mainly mentioned Li Honggang and Lu Hong, followed by Zhang Xuan and several others.

Chu Fei did care somewhat about the position of class monitor, and at that moment, he suddenly realized—he had missed the election speeches!

That afternoon, he had gone to the Dawn Team, but Li Honggang and the others had not been idle.

Someone spotted Chu Fei and actually asked whether he supported Lu Hong or Li Honggang for class monitor.

Chu Fei looked at the guy and asked, "I think Zhang Xuan is more meticulous."

The person shook his head smugly. "Zhang Xuan's academic performance is slightly worse, and her physical performance is even poorer. She even secretly cries sometimes. How could someone like that be class monitor?"

Chu Fei narrowed his eyes. "What do you think of me?"

"You?" The person looked Chu Fei up and down. "You didn't give a speech this afternoon, and you're usually too much of a loner. Your potential is low too."

Chu Fei narrowed his eyes and asked around. It turned out that Li Honggang and Lu Hong had "analyzed" him during their "campaign speeches": he studied diligently but was indifferent toward his classmates, and he was older with low potential.

That evening, Li Honggang was elected class monitor with nineteen votes, Lu Hong became vice class monitor with eighteen votes, and Zhang Xuan lost with twelve votes. Chu Fei... was not even nominated.

Watching Li Honggang beam smugly on the podium, Chu Fei gave a soft snort in his heart. Very well. Let the competition begin!