Chapter Forty-Eight: A Useful Person

Tom’s experience with resetting the timeline was to keep as low a profile as possible—the lower, the better—because he was a “deserter.”

Zhou Shu’s experience, on the other hand, was that the more natural he acted, the better, since he was just an ordinary soldier in this camp.

Last time, Zhou had entered this place purely out of curiosity—back then, Earth “didn’t have” monsters yet, so he was more interested in play than in getting stronger.

But this time was different. Now that he’d seen the real world, his goal was crystal clear.

Get stronger!

By any means necessary!

So, while Tom tried to sneak along the wall, Zhou had already flagged down a convertible.

“Hey, brother, give us a lift to the training center—we’re on a mission.”

“Hop in.”

Watching Zhou slip nimbly into the car, Tom whispered, “Is this really okay? After all, we’re…”

“What’s not okay about it? Our mission is urgent—just get in!” Zhou yanked him in, slapped the roll bar, and called out, “Go! This is a critical mission!”

“No problem, hold on!”

The engine revved, and as the wind whipped past, Tom felt a little lost.

He puzzled over it the whole ride, unable to figure it out.

Not until Zhou smacked him on the head. “What are you spacing out for? Time to get out. Let’s go find the Valkyrie.”

“Oh, right.” Tom scrambled out, following Zhou toward the training center. He opened his mouth several times, but in the end, said nothing.

In his mind, he reassured himself: Once we meet the Valkyrie, it’ll be my turn to shine. Since Zhou brought me along, I must be useful.

The two quickly found the special operations team’s training ground. As soon as they approached, the team members began to encircle them.

This wasn’t a place for ordinary grunts.

Zhou ignored them and walked straight to the edge of the field, where he saw the battlefield Valkyrie performing Russian push-ups, and the spinning “steel sparring bots.”

From this angle, the film’s heroine truly lived up to her reputation—no wonder she could single-handedly take down hundreds of alien monsters.

Even if most of her kills were thanks to the reset ability, her prowess was real.

But as he watched the whirring steel targets, Zhou hesitated. Even though no one got hurt at this point in the movie, this wasn’t the film; it was a reimagined version based on his own memories.

The story had only just begun—he hadn’t trained or learned anything yet. If he got killed by those things now, it would be a total waste.

He turned to look at Tom.

Tom: “…”

I knew I’d be useful.

Tom steadied his nerves and stepped over the edge marked by the infrared sensors.

Anyway, I can always try again.

The sensors detected an intruder, and the “steel sparring bots,” which had been rotating on fixed paths, immediately switched to pursuit mode, speeding up as they rushed toward Tom.

Since it was only the beginning, the machines weren’t moving very fast, so Tom dodged them easily. Zhou watched from outside, wondering if he himself could avoid those things.

Inside the training ground, the Valkyrie noticed someone had broken the rules. She stood and addressed Tom sternly, “Who told you to come in? Who gave you permission to speak to me?”

“Uh…”

Tom was stumped. He glanced at Zhou, who simply waved, signaling him to start bluffing.

Convince her.

“It’s like this, Sergeant Vrataski. You might not believe me, but I—and him too,” Tom pointed at Zhou, “we’re going to die on the beach tomorrow. You’ll die too.”

“I saw you die with my own eyes, and then suddenly I was alive again, back at the start—but I know I’ll die tomorrow on the beach…”

“Uh, maybe I’m not making sense, but—”

“I understand.”

“But what I’m saying is—wait, what?” Tom stared blankly.

“I said, I understand!” The Valkyrie looked nervous but deadly serious. “Come with me, now!”

“Okay.” Tom nodded, stunned.

She threw on a jacket and led them out, immediately dropping a bombshell: She had once experienced the same thing.

Both Zhou and Tom were shocked.

“Remember—don’t tell anyone about this. Best case, you’ll end up in a psych ward. Worst case, you’ll be dissected. Got it?”

“Got it.”

The two newbies nodded obediently at her stern warnings and followed her to a car.

As she drove like a bat out of hell toward the mechanical maintenance bay, she continued her lecture.

Once inside, Zhou began scanning the room, searching the crowds of welders in protective masks for a familiar face. Soon enough, a “well-known” figure lifted his mask and hurried over.

It was Dr. Carter.

Zhou chuckled inwardly: So there you are—you were hiding over here.

He’d run by this place before, but with so many people and most in masks, he hadn’t found anyone. Now, following the Valkyrie, Carter showed up on his own.

Proof his plan was working.

The Valkyrie found a weapons maintenance room, deftly entered the code, and Zhou discreetly memorized it.

She brought Zhou and Tom inside; Dr. Carter followed, glancing around to make sure no one had noticed.

“Rita, what’s going on? You should have warned me before coming,” Dr. Carter said from behind.

The Valkyrie didn’t waste words. “These two have the ability I had before Verdun…”

And with that, the plot resumed.

Zhou left them to advance the story and turned his attention to the maintenance bay.

There were two complete powered exoskeletons, plenty of spare parts, and several cabinets full of guns.

Various workbenches and tools lined the room, but what caught his eye most was the holographic display in the center.

It was loaded with data.

The three’s conversation didn’t take long. While Zhou was inspecting a mechanical arm, Dr. Carter’s moment arrived.

He pulled the dusty cover from the holographic display, revealing the clearest schematic of the powered exoskeleton armor Zhou had ever seen—exactly what he’d been searching for.

But that wasn’t the focus of the story. Dr. Carter added his fingerprint and a passcode, unlocking his secret files and launching into an explanation of the alien creatures’ composition.

But in the end, Tom reverted to his early characterization—fear of death.

He didn’t want to go to the battlefield.

“You see, there’s also Zhou,” Tom explained to the Valkyrie, introducing his partner. “He knows what will happen tomorrow. You can have him take you instead.”

“No. One person isn’t enough. Both of you must come. You have to get me in, and let me kill the boss. That’s the only way this ends.”

Rita Vrataski looked at him sternly.

She didn’t look at Zhou because Zhou showed no hint of stage fright, and she agreed two people were safer.

Since they were both here, one more was better than none.

Even if it just meant another decoy.

As her gaze bore into him, Tom stammered, “But I’ve never had any combat training.”

At that, Rita tilted her head and smiled.

Strangely, even though her smile was beautiful, Tom gulped nervously.

While he was still making excuses, Zhou leaned in to Dr. Carter. “Dr. Carter, I have no objections to the plan, but for such a dangerous mission, can you modify our powered exoskeletons to improve our survival on the battlefield?”

“Especially since the armor covers the lower legs, thighs, and torso—why not add more protection?”

“If you’re worried about battery life, why add extra armor to the legs?”

Dr. Carter perked up at Zhou’s questions. Even though he’d been branded a “crazy mechanic,” his talent was real, and this was his domain.

He tapped a few times on the holographic display, calling up several different exoskeleton schematics.

“Actually, there’s a reason for not using full armor. Look—shoulders, elbows, hips—these are the joints responsible for large movements. They determine flexibility. If you armor them, the suit turns into a clumsy tank. And because exosuits have limited power, their protection can’t match a real tank…”