Courtyard House: I fish in the heavens, a professional bird abuser.

He Yuanchao did not rush to respond to the intermittent voice on the radio.

He silently noted down the frequency and direction—the signal came from the northwest, about 80 to 100 kilometers away.

Claire Redfield.

He knew that name all too well.

One of the core characters in the Resident Evil series. He possesses extremely high combat skills, outstanding leadership abilities, and a group of loyal followers.

If we could get her caravan involved—

He Yuanchao quickly considered the situation in his mind—that was a matter for later. He needed to deal with the immediate issues first.

He turned off the radio and walked out of the shack.

The camp was quiet now.

The campfire had burned down to its lowest point, leaving only a pile of dark red charcoal. He Yuanchao had set timers for the light bulbs, so they would only be turned on between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. – diesel fuel had to be used sparingly.

The lights are off now.

Only moonlight.

He Yuanchao walked out along the riverbank.

After walking about two hundred meters, he arrived at a "fishing spot" he had previously spotted—a large rock protruding from the river, with a wide view and not easily noticed by others.

He sat down on the rock.

He retrieved the fishing rod he could never get tired of looking at from the system space—the one for fishing in all the heavens.

The rod is entirely black, with several faint, flowing dark gold lines visible on it. The reel has a cool, icy feel, and its weight gives it a strangely reassuring weight when held in the hand.

He Yuanchao stretched his fishing rod out onto the river.

They weren't fishing in the river.

The fish in the river were not his target.

His target was on the river surface—or rather, in its reflection, in the depths of the shimmering waves illuminated by the moonlight.

That is the rift leading to all the heavens and myriad realms.

A system notification sounded in my mind.

The Heavenly Fishing Challenge is ready. Three attempts are currently available.

"Three times," He Yuanchao muttered. "No more, no less."

He adjusted his posture and cast the dark gold fishing line off the fishing rod.

The moment the fishing line touched the water, a pale blue ripple spread across the surface—the light was not a reflection of moonlight, but rather came from some deeper, more ancient power.

He Yuanchao waited quietly.

First cast.

The fishing line trembled slightly.

Then came a slight, sustained pull.

He Yuanchao steadily reeled in the line.

Something is floating up from underwater.

"Splash—"

A metal box floated up from the water.

It wasn't very big. About the size of a suitcase. The iron-gray surface was covered with a fine layer of water droplets, reflecting a cold light in the moonlight.

He Yuanchao pulled the box onto the rock and opened the lid.

Neatly stacked inside—

Military-grade compressed biscuits.

Three large boxes.

Each box is enough for ten people to eat for one day.

There were three sets of items underneath the box—judging by the material, they looked like some kind of light protective gear.

He Yuanchao picked it up, unfolded it, and examined it.

Stab-proof vest.

These aren't the flimsy, civilian-grade cut-resistant gloves—they're proper military-grade stab-resistant vests. The lining is made of high-strength polyethylene fiber, capable of blocking most direct punctures from blades and claws.

While it can't stop bullets, it's more than enough to deal with the scratches and bites of zombies.

"Practical." He Yuanchao folded the stab-proof vest and put it into the system space.

They also accepted the compressed biscuits.

The first cast yielded a mediocre result.

It's not amazing, but it definitely works.

The second cast.

After casting the fishing line, I waited longer than the first time.

About two minutes later, the fishing rod suddenly sank – the force was several times greater than before, almost pulling He Yuanchao off the rock.

He braced his feet against the edge of the rock and gripped the fishing rod tightly with both hands.

"Buzz—"

The fishing line taut in the air, emitting a low, trembling sound.

He Yuanchao gritted his teeth and pulled the line back in with all his might.

The light beneath the water's surface changed from pale blue to bright gold.

Something rose from the light.

a book.

A thick, well-bound hardcover book.

He Yuanchao pulled it up.

The book cover is a dark brown leather cover with the title printed in gold lettering.

Advanced Mechanical Engineering Handbook: Exoskeleton Section

He Yuanchao's pupils suddenly dilated by an inch.

He turned to the first page.

The densely packed engineering drawings, formulas, bills of materials, and assembly procedures—all in technical language he could understand.

This manual covers a complete knowledge system from "basic power frame" to "joint drive system" and "energy module integration".

Combined with the "Basic Exoskeleton Armor Blueprint" previously unlocked in the system shop—

He Yuanchao now possesses the complete theoretical foundation for manufacturing exoskeleton armor.

Of course, there is still a long way to go from theory to practice.

Materials required: special alloys, precision bearings, and miniature hydraulic pumps.

Tools are needed – at least a basic machine tool and welding equipment.

It takes time—even the most simplified version takes at least a month from parts manufacturing to assembly and testing.

But with this manual, the direction is clear.

The road has been paved.

All that's left is to walk.

"Good stuff." He Yuanchao put the book into his system space.

The third cast.

This is the last chance.

He Yuanchao took a deep breath and forcefully cast the fishing line out.

This time, the line was cast farther than the previous two times—it drew an elegant arc in the moonlight and fell into the deepest part of the river's undercurrent in the middle of the river.

wait.

ten seconds.

Thirty seconds.

One minute.

There was no movement.

He Yuanchao frowned slightly.

Was it a missed shot?

Just as he was about to reel in the line—

"bite."

A very crisp sound, like metal striking crystal.

A strange sensation came from the fishing line—not tension, but a kind of vibration. It felt like something had gently, tentatively touched the hook.

He Yuanchao held his breath.

Then slowly lift the rod.

The water surface did not churn.

There was no golden light.

Only one small thing was caught on the fishing hook, and it slowly floated to the surface as the fishing line was reeled in.

A dagger.

It doesn't look long—the overall length is about 25 centimeters, with the blade taking up more than half of it. The handle is dark black, wrapped with some kind of unidentified animal skin rope, and feels excellent in the hand.

But what truly made He Yuanchao hold his breath was the blade.

The color of that metal was not ordinary silver-white or gray-black—but a very special dark color with a cool blue luster.

It was like frozen moonlight.

He Yuanchao held the dagger in his hand and weighed it in his hand.

light.

It's much lighter than it looks.

However, the grip is extremely solid, and the center of gravity of the entire knife falls precisely at the point between the tiger's mouth and the index finger—this perfect balance demonstrates that the craftsman who forged this knife had an unparalleled understanding of cold weapons.

The system displayed the assessment results on his retina.

"Cold Iron Dagger".

Source: A martial arts world.

Material: Refined from millennia-old cold iron.

Features: Incomparably sharp, capable of cutting through iron like mud. Corrosion resistant, never rusts. The blade releases a faint chill upon contact with fresh blood, which can slow down cell activity at the wound site.

Grade: Premium (Blue).

He Yuanchao gently tested the blade with his thumb.

It was just a very light touch.

A drop of blood oozed from the fingertip.

There was almost no pain.

It's so sharp—cutting a zombie's head will probably be as easy as cutting tofu from now on.

He Yuanchao flipped the dagger in his hand a couple of times, found the most comfortable way to hold it, and then tucked it into the leather holster on his waist—perfectly replacing the hunting knife he had picked up from the hardware store.

The game ended after three shots.

He Yuanchao put away his fishing rod.

Tonight's haul wasn't earth-shattering, but everything was genuinely good stuff.

Compressed biscuits and stab-proof suits—to fill their stomachs and save their lives.

Exoskeleton Manual – The Foundation of Future Combat Power.

Cold Iron Dagger—his new personal weapon.

He retrieved the fishing rod into his system space and prepared to get up and go back.

Just then.

A new prompt box appeared in the system.

Unlike the previous blue or green prompts.

The frame is gold.

A "hidden mission clue" has been detected in this dimension.

Related figure: Ozwell Spencer, founder of Umbrella Corporation.

Content: Spencer has built multiple secret laboratories around the world, one of which is located within a 300-kilometer radius of this region. The laboratory's code name is "Pandora".

Mission hint: Find the "Pandora" laboratory to obtain a large number of causal points and rare rewards.

He Yuanchao stared at the few lines of golden words for two seconds.

Ozwell Spencer.

The founder of Umbrella Corporation.

The ultimate mastermind behind the entire Resident Evil universe.

If Kane is the clown on stage, then Spencer is the hand pulling everything from behind the scenes.

T-virus, Progenitor virus, Wesker—all these things that plunged the world into apocalypse can be traced back to this old man.

His secret laboratory—

What might be hidden inside?

A more advanced virus strain? A more sophisticated biological weapon? Or perhaps those legendary "immortality" technologies?

He Yuanchao's lips curled slightly.

Make a note of it first.

Let's talk about it after we finish dealing with what we have to do.

The most important thing right now is—

We should focus on managing the campsite well.

To grow the grain.

Train people.

Then go and rescue Claire.

Then go and pack up the protective umbrella.

Take it one step at a time.

He Yuanchao stood up from the rock and stretched his legs, which had gone numb from sitting.

The river flows quietly beneath my feet.

The moon hung above the mountain ridge, round and bright.

He took a deep breath of the cool night air in the valley.

Then he turned and walked towards the camp.

His steps were steady.

His shadow stretched long in the moonlight.