Urban Powers After the Apocalypse

The amiable Lieutenant Li led Xu Mo to the temporary command post on the other side of the military vehicle. He poured a cup of water for him and asked, "Brother, you seem quite young. May I ask how I should address you?"

"My surname is Liu," Xu Mo instinctively responded, using his mother's last name. He wasn't sure if he could leave this place safely, and some precautions were necessary.

"Alright, Brother Liu. Since you're wearing a mask, I won't press for your identity. As long as you're not an enemy, there's no need to investigate too deeply. But I'm very curious—how did you end up here? And why don't the skeletons you kill revive? I know this may involve your secrets, but this is critical to us. It concerns the lives of all thirty soldiers in my platoon! I hope you can tell me the truth."

Since he might have to cooperate with them temporarily, Xu Mo didn't mind sharing part of the secret about the Doomsday Shards. He nodded and said, "I'm here for the same reason you are. There's nothing much to say about that—you all probably understand the situation better than I do. If anything, I'm just another victim. As for why I can permanently kill those skeletons, it's because…"

"Because of the Doomsday Armaments!"

Before Xu Mo could finish, a loud voice came from outside the tent. Immediately after, an elderly man in a white protective suit strode in.

"Professor Mo, you're here!" Lieutenant Li stood up to greet him with great respect, clearly indicating the professor's high status.

The gray-haired old man ignored the lieutenant entirely and walked briskly to Xu Mo's side. He picked up the kukri knife next to Xu Mo and struck it with his military knife. Then, putting on his glasses, he carefully examined the blade, murmuring excitedly, "Excellent! It has far less mass than conventional materials, yet possesses greater strength and self-repairing properties. This is indeed a Doomsday Armament! My hypothesis was correct—only Doomsday Armaments can truly kill the creatures in this apocalyptic mirage!"

As if he were giving away his own belongings, the old professor casually tossed Xu Mo's kukri knife to a soldier and ordered, "Take this to the perimeter wall—this is the only weapon that can kill those skeletons."

Seeing the soldier hesitate, Lieutenant Li quickly signaled him with his eyes and added, "Go ahead, take the knife to Tian Liang. He's the best hand-to-hand fighter in our platoon. The others should gradually let the skeletons through the wall and eliminate them using a 'trap and kill' method."

"Yes, sir!" The soldier immediately took the kukri knife and left the tent.

Xu Mo knew that the knife would be far more effective in the hands of trained soldiers than in his own. Right now, he still needed their protection, so he chose to turn a blind eye to Professor Mo and Lieutenant Li taking the knife without his permission.

Professor Mo sat down on an empty supply crate across from Xu Mo and poured himself a cup of water. After a moment of contemplation, he suddenly said, "I know you must be eager to understand where this place is and what those skeletons are. But before I reveal the truth, I hope you can promise me one thing... If you manage to escape, please deliver this report to the government."

As he spoke, he handed Xu Mo a printed document, not too thick.

This wasn't a difficult request, but Xu Mo didn't agree immediately. Instead, he asked curiously, "Sir, if you can't escape, why are you so sure that I can?"

Professor Mo held his cup with a calm smile. "I never said you were certain to escape—I just believe your chances are slightly higher than ours."

Xu Mo smirked, feeling slightly disappointed. He had thought he possessed some unique quality that ensured his survival, but it turned out to be just a matter of probability.

"Well, since you're not refusing, I'll take that as a yes. Now, let me tell you the whole truth…"

Professor Mo was about to continue when Lieutenant Li interrupted him, hesitating. "Professor Mo, are you sure about revealing this national secret to him? While I believe this young man is not a bad person, this is still a matter of principle."

"It's fine. Since he possesses Doomsday Armaments, he must already know a great deal about the Doomsday Shards. Our so-called secrets wouldn't be much of a revelation to him. Besides, our chances of making it out are slim. The more people who know, the greater the hope. If we need his help, we must show our sincerity."

Seeing that Professor Mo had made up his mind, Lieutenant Li no longer objected. He stepped outside the tent to stand guard.

Professor Mo took a sip of water before continuing:

"Doomsday Shards—that's the common name used globally. In the scientific community, we refer to them as 'Cognition-Sensitive Unknown Energy Crystals.' These are mysterious substances that appeared on the night of February 2, 2012. The cause of their emergence remains unknown.

"At first, we treated them as a potential new energy source and conducted research accordingly. However, we concluded that while stable, they were incompatible with existing technology. But an unexpected injury in the Academy led to a breakthrough.

"Doomsday Shards dissolve into the bloodstream, where they take shape under the influence of the host's thoughts. Through experimentation, we've identified six distinct types of shards."

1. Red Shards – Enhancement Type

"These directly affect the human body, enhancing one or more of four attributes: muscular explosiveness, physical durability, nerve reflexes, and brain capacity. The extent of enhancement varies from person to person."

2. Orange Shards – Chain Reaction Type

"These are unique. They cannot function alone but instead trigger a synergistic reaction with other Doomsday Shards, producing special abilities related to the original shard's properties. However, the pairing is entirely random and cannot be manually determined."

3. Yellow & Green Shards – Weapon and Object Types (Doomsday Armaments)

"These two are similar, so we categorize them together. They manifest as weapons (yellow) or objects (green) that fall within the host's conceptual understanding. Because they are energy-based, they do not adhere to conventional physics. In theory, one could even manifest a lightsaber or other impossible weapons."

4. Cyan Shards – Anomaly Type

"These remain largely unexplained. Once absorbed, they connect directly to the host's brain, allowing them to manipulate the world's rules as if rewriting reality itself. Studying these shards often gives one the illusion of stepping into ancient mythology."

5. Blue Shards – Intelligence Type

"These are extremely rare, so our research is limited. What we do know is that they create sentient lifeforms that usually possess the traits of one or more other shard types. These beings can act independently to a certain degree, making them far more versatile than other shards."

"According to our experiments and observations, all six types of shards can be strengthened by absorbing their own kind. However, this enhancement is not unlimited—once a certain threshold is reached, further strengthening ceases.

"Some data suggests that higher-tier shards could break this limit, but so far, all shards found worldwide are classified as Tier 1. We have yet to discover any Tier 2 or above, so this remains a theoretical hypothesis."

Professor Mo's detailed explanation suddenly connected all of Xu Mo's previous thoughts about Doomsday Shards, making everything clear. Comparing it to his own knowledge, he realized there was no discrepancy—Professor Mo had been completely honest with him.