Chapter 227 - 211: I Fought Zombies All Day and This Is What I Get to Eat?

Chapter 227: Chapter 211: I Fought Zombies All Day and This Is What I Get to Eat?

Yu Dong said, "I don’t think there’s any need to take these three back for a trial."

Qiao Yunliang replied, "We shouldn’t let word of something this disgusting get back. It serves no purpose other than to sicken people... Execute them on the spot!"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The family who had been keeping zombies was executed on the spot by the soldiers.

The bodies of the three were thrown into the hospital’s backyard, left exposed in an open clearing.

Afterward, the logistics team got to work. Under the guidance of a military doctor, they moved important medical equipment onto the large cargo trucks. They set up a makeshift medical station in each of their two primary trucks, enabling them to perform emergency treatment at a moment’s notice.

"Huang, when we get back, find a combat medic to join your logistics team."

"No problem!"

Previously, Shen Xinyi had been handling the simple bandaging. Now, with more people, there were more injuries, so they needed to bolster their medical capabilities.

While the logistics team was bustling about, moving supplies, the mood among Qiao Yunliang’s troops was somber.

They placed the two soldiers who had been killed by zombies into body bags from the hospital. A small squad was assigned to escort the bodies back to the Zongshan Civilian Base.

Bringing them home.

"Huang, arrange for a team to take this muscle zombie to the research institute. Use steel cables and ropes to bind it completely. Wrap it in several layers, and make sure it can’t move an inch."

"Leave it to me. I’ve got a buddy here who’s into S&M. He’s an expert at bondage."

"?"

The corner of Yu Dong’s mouth twitched.

’Well, I guess that counts as relevant expertise,’ he thought.

"Li, find two men to go with them. Have them take guns and armor-piercing rounds. Guard that zombie 24/7. If there’s any risk of it breaking free, kill it on the spot!"

"Sir, we’re low on armor-piercing rounds. We only have 238 left."

"Give them 60 rounds. We’ll keep the rest with us."

"Yes, sir."

In Qiao Yunliang’s eyes, this one zombie was more terrifying than an entire horde.

They didn’t have many armor-piercing rounds left. If they encountered another one... they’d probably have to rely on the sniper grenade launcher, which had an even more limited supply of ammo.

"Commander Qiao, don’t worry too much," Yu Dong said. "At least, in the Yanhai City horde from my past life, there was nothing like this. I’m guessing it’s an extremely isolated case."

"I hope so... We need to hurry to that armory. I won’t feel safe otherwise."

Qiao Yunliang pushed his grief aside. There was no time to mourn the fallen soldiers; he had more people to protect.

"Right, we need to pick up the pace. We have to secure the armory before the horde arrives."

Yu Dong did a quick calculation. They had about twenty days left.

And that timeframe wasn’t even certain. The actions he’d taken in this life could have easily altered the horde’s arrival.

The main convoy continued to advance.

As they headed west along Binhai Avenue, they constantly saw bloated zombies floating on the surface of the sea, which the soldiers shot from the shore.

Yu Dong didn’t tell them to conserve ammunition, because crossbow bolts fired into the water couldn’t be retrieved.

"Clear out every one we see. It’ll prevent problems on the water later on..."

Yu Dong thought that they would eventually have to find a way to travel by sea. If they could clear out all these bloated zombies, they would have access to a waterway, an alternative to Binhai Avenue.

But for now... they weren’t confident that their cargo ships and fishing boats could handle the "Pudgies" that could leap and spray jets of water at sea.

Yu Dong had already tasked Sun Shan with modifying their remaining large cargo ship, outfitting it with specialized defenses. But that would take time, and... the risk would still be immense.

Once you were out on the open sea, if you couldn’t win a fight, you died.

It was nothing like Binhai Avenue, where they had tactical flexibility. They had plenty of vehicles, allowing them to advance or retreat as needed.

They could even outrun a horde if they had to.

Therefore, Yu Dong still preferred to advance along Binhai Avenue with the soldiers and clear a path all the way to the military sub-district’s armory.

The cleanup work that afternoon was much easier. They didn’t run into any more of those muscle zombies. There were a few climbers, but because of the North River District’s building height restrictions, their ability to launch surprise attacks was greatly diminished.

The few that managed to get close to the convoy were easily skewered by Uncle Yu Chengfei.

The value of an SSR-rank fighter was proven once again.

Yan Yikai had put away his crossbow for the day and was training with a long spear under Uncle Yu, fantasizing about the day he too could burst a muscle zombie’s eye with a single thrust.

Yu Dong was relieved when he saw this.

’Yan Yikai’s combat style gives him a higher-than-average chance of dying,’ Yu Dong mused. ’But with Uncle Yu Chengfei watching over things, it’s like everyone gets a reliable support buff, drastically lowering the team’s mortality rate.’

’These newcomers have made me and my original teammates much safer.’

’This must be what unity is all about.’

After the day’s cleanup, they returned to the cruise ship for the night.

Yu Dong’s group and Qiao Yunliang’s soldiers went their separate ways, heading to the dining halls on the third and fourth floors for dinner.

The chef on the third floor served the combat and logistics teams beef and potato stew, mapo tofu, fish stew with flatbread, and a wakame seafood soup. The main staple was rice.

The cooks on the fourth floor served large flatbreads, a communal stew, and a bowl of reconstituted powdered milk.

The communal stew was made by tossing whatever ingredients they had into a large pot to be stir-fried and simmered. It was an easy way to manage portions and ensure a mix of meat and vegetables. With a few cans of food thrown in, everyone could at least get a taste of meat.

Qiao Yunliang’s troops were particularly short on protein, making powdered milk a decent option.

The cooks usually arranged for the soldiers to have soy milk in the morning and reconstituted powdered milk at night.

This was to ensure their nutritional needs were met as much as possible and to prevent malnutrition.

In the past two months, they hadn’t had any major health issues within the troops.

But as for the taste... one could only say it was decent. It was a hot meal, at least.

CREAK~

The blond punk, Sun Yu, returned to the ship and first stashed the six boxes of condoms he’d pilfered from the hospital in his room. Then he took the elevator down. When it stopped on the fourth floor, he stepped out automatically.

The dining halls on the third and fourth floors had very similar layouts. Sun Yu wasn’t surprised to see the soldiers, so he just grabbed a tray and got in line for food.

The soldiers glanced at him but didn’t say anything.

Back at the Zongshan Civilian Base, they had often eaten with civilians. Some people who didn’t have their own food would eat with the military.

How could they refuse a civilian a meal? They would just eat a little less themselves to share.

Sun Yu got his food and looked down at his tray in confusion.

"Huh? Are we having a ’kitchen sink’ stew today?"

"How come there’s only one dish?"

After two bites, Sun Yu slammed his tray down on the table.

The soldiers, who had been eating in silence, all turned to look at him.

"Seriously? This stuff tastes awful!"

"Chef? Get the chef out here! I fight zombies all day, and this is what you feed me?"

"Where are the other dishes? Are you slacking off? Don’t make me smack you around!"

A young cook came out and looked at the long-haired blond punk, completely baffled.

"And you are...?"

It was only when Sun Yu saw the unfamiliar cook that he realized... ’Wait, something’s not right!’

’We don’t eat with the army anymore, do we...’

Under the stares of a room full of soldiers, he let out an awkward laugh and put down his chopsticks.

"Hahaha~ My mistake, wrong floor. Man, this is awkward... Hey, bro, I wasn’t talking about you. I meant our chef! Yeah, I was just eating and... I’ll just be heading downstairs now."

Sun Yu scurried away in embarrassment, but his words hung in the air, refusing to dissipate.

The tray he had abandoned after only a few bites remained on the table, a stark reminder to the soldiers that... just one floor below, another kind of life existed.

In that moment, an indescribable feeling began to spread through the air...

CLINK! CLINK! CLINK!

The sound of beer bottles clinking drifted up from downstairs, followed by the rich aroma of beef stew seeping through the floorboards. Below, the sounds of hearty laughter echoed.

Just as the soldiers were finishing their meal and preparing to rest, the members of the combat and logistics teams from the third floor came up to the fourth.

They walked through the soldiers’ dining hall on their way to a brightly lit street of shops... to go shopping.

Those who didn’t drink took their chips and ordered freshly made milk tea. They browsed the goods, milk tea in hand, buying new clothes, a new pair of sneakers, or some snacks.

The colorful chips they clutched in their hands were a beautiful sight.

Qiao Yunliang watched the scene, looking somewhat dazed.

Suddenly, a young voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"Sir! I’d like to request a pair of thick socks. Mine have holes in the toes, and I got frostbite today."

A young soldier saluted.

Qiao Yunliang nodded. "Quartermaster, get him two pairs of thick socks."

"Sir, our spare clothing and supplies are all back at the training base. Should we... get a pair from them for now?"

"’Get?’ We’re not ’getting’ anything. Go buy them. Trade some of our supplies for their chips and buy two pairs of socks."

"Yes, sir!"

A short while later, the young soldier had the thick socks he wanted, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.

Although he had other problems that needed addressing, he didn’t want to trouble his commander with more requests. After all, it seemed the chips used on this ship were hard to come by.

If his feet kept getting frostbitten, he would quickly lose his mobility and become a burden on the unit, so this was a problem he had to solve immediately.

Any other problems that didn’t immediately affect his ability to fight could wait.