Chapter 407: Defined as Mentally Disabled

In the world of junk, there is no such thing as fresh, clean air; sky‑filled sandstorms, radiation storms, garbage rain, sulfuric acid mist—these are all common.

Especially some irritating odors—basically everyone has grown used to and adapted to them, so ordinary bad smells are hardly a big deal.

But today is different.... It's a completely new... never‑before‑experienced smell... a smell etched into our genes, utterly irresistible.

A reek centered on rotting protein, mixed with corpse stench and fecal odor—just a whiff and you'd feel like you're ascending to heaven on the spot.

"Ugh....."

"Urp.... you Feng...."

"Can you still bark like a dog?"

Zhang Jie, wearing a gas mask, gave a hehe laugh, then launched another ultimate poison‑gas bomb; a chorus of dry retches rose and fell as a group of half‑grown Wasteland Dwellers was chased and blown up by Zhang Jie all the way.

"You... urp... what do you want..."

Looking at Zhang Jie slowly approaching, one of them, enduring the stench, asked.

In response, he received a sandbag‑sized iron fist; that Wasteland Dweller instantly saw stars and couldn't help stumbling backward.

This person was the ringleader who acted most arrogantly that day, and it was he who gave Zhang Jie a black eye on his left socket—still swollen to this day.

"You like stealing things? Your parents never taught you not to lightly provoke a lone Wasteland Dweller?"

The other's eye was already bleeding; Zhang Jie's punch wasn't light. Compared to this gang of half‑grown kids, Zhang Jie's build is clearly that of a slightly thin adult.

This group of fifteen‑ to sixteen‑year‑old Wasteland Dwellers is obviously a bunch of uneducated hooligans—loosely organized, bullying the weak and fearing the strong; moreover, what Zhang Jie carries in his hand is certainly not a common rusty knife.

It is a genuine, high‑quality handgun.

As Zhang Jie, who at six years old could blast a human female with a single 'cocktail', his creativity is beyond ordinary people.

Last time it was merely his oversight—he didn't bring any handy weapon, since he usually tosses a cocktail at radiation beasts when he encounters them.

Firing a shot into the sky, the surrounding half‑grown Wasteland Dwellers were utterly terrified, losing all the arrogance they'd shown when robbing Zhang Jie, merely trembling like leaves.

"Yes... sorry..."

"We...."

With a bang, Zhang Jie's gun answered their question.

"Return everything you stole from me, every last item."

"I'll give you one hour—don't think about fleeing; my poison‑gas bomb can kill you in two hours."

"You've successfully carried out a revenge! Although, to some extent, it's just a kids' squabble, on the Wasteland you have to be ruthless."

"You've recovered the looted supplies—those several decent‑quality steel plates torn from the container—making you very proud, but this also made you wary of these Wasteland Dwellers."

"Before the human female returns, you need to protect your life as best you can, but right now it's obvious your surroundings are still very dangerous."

"Whether it's the radiation‑beast disaster that may appear at any moment around you, or the tiger‑eyed Wasteland Dwellers, their threat to you is lethal; to deal with this you need not only powerful weapons and gear, but also a trustworthy companion."

"Then the biggest problem arises: aside from beings like the human female who raised you by hand and can be fully trusted, how can the rest of people be made trustworthy?"

"In the scheming Wasteland, this is obviously unlikely—like trying to build a spaceship by hand."

"By comparison, you still decided to arm yourself with your own wisdom; at least when facing such ever‑present danger, you shouldn't pin your hopes on such illusory things."

"You began researching weapons and armor....."

With the sound of rustling, the half‑lidded, listless 7089 slowly opened its eyes and looked toward the doorway.

'He's back.'

Before she knew it, she had been staying in this junk heap for almost a month, and during that month 7089 did nothing but laze around and observe Zhang Jie, this human.

According to her understanding, this adult human before her seems to have some mental defect, constantly showing childish behavior—like muttering to oneself, or striking some neurotic, chuunibyou pose.

In her database, such behavior is normally seen only in human infants; it shouldn't appear in an adult.

So 7089 defined Zhang Jie as mentally disabled.

Just as she was about to continue watching what this human intended to do, the door opened.

Zhang Jie, wearing a gas mask, slipped in, and at the same time came an indescribable protein stench....

That odor was like a terrifying insect disaster, constantly drilling into her nose, and 7089's face instantly turned green.

She isn't a pure machine; she is a new lifeform produced by bio‑mechanical synthesis, so she possesses some biological functions, such as breathing....

Actually, she doesn't need to breathe; she merely expels waste from her bodily circulation.

But this doesn't prevent her from having olfactory function, which is also a necessary ability to avoid toxic substances.

Yet this very function has caused her to suffer greatly right now....

Taking a breath, 7089 almost retched on the spot; her pale little face turned green in patches, and coincidentally this change was noticed by Zhang Jie.

"Hey? Why did this thing change color?"

As Zhang Jie drew nearer, that suffocating stench grew stronger; 7089 hurriedly held her breath—she hadn't had enough of this lazy‑around life, and she absolutely couldn't let Zhang Jie discover she was awake!

Zhang Jie pinched her cheeks, observed carefully; as seconds passed, 7089's little face was no longer green, it began to turn red.....

However, Zhang Jie didn't notice anything; he just thought it might be dust accumulating on her, paid it no mind, and this gave 7089 a slight chance to relax.

As Zhang Jie walked away, 7089 furtively opened one eye, watching his back, and bit by bit exhaled the gas.

'Phew....'

Just as she was about to inhale, she suddenly thought of something, and her expression changed.

She felt a bit regretful.... Could it be that she really has to endure this stench?

'No... cannot...'

"Is there any other way?"

7089 searched around and finally, not far from her, saw a paper towel—apparently used by Zhang Jie, unknown whether he blew his nose or did something nasty with it.

No matter what! Anyway! Can't worry about that any longer!

7089 snatched the paper towel with lightning speed and instantly refined it!