Chapter 228 - 212: The Liang Team Arrives Early

Chapter 228: Chapter 212: The Liang Team Arrives Early

Day 66 of the apocalypse.

After the main force advanced one kilometer to the west, they came across a large seaside tourist attraction.

The parking lot next to Binhai Avenue was packed with cars, and zombies were everywhere.

The roaming zombies had completely blocked Binhai Avenue.

The sea was also full of floating Bloated Zombies, with some occasionally jetting themselves onto the shore.

This was a dense tourist area in the North River District.

Yu Dong said from a distance, peering through his binoculars, "Looks like we’ve got another horde to deal with."

"We’re very low on ammunition. We have to save it for the final battle at the military district. We’ll have to rely on you for this one, Yu Dong."

Qiao Yunliang’s forces had been short on ammo for a long time. Although they had resupplied a little after taking down the public security detachment, their stocks were still stretched thin.

The military district’s armory also had a permanent garrison, which meant the zombies there were former soldiers—and extremely tough!

If some of them were mutated soldier zombies... their strength would be far beyond that of ordinary mutated zombies.

They had to save this ammunition to deal with that final, major threat.

"With a zombie density like this, disturbing one will alert them all. It’s guaranteed to form a massive horde of tens of thousands... Looks like we’ll have to build fortifications against the horde again."

Moreover, Yu Dong observed that the tourist zombies here were different from the ones before. As time passed and the zombies congregated, the number of mutated ones had clearly increased!

Within his line of sight, there were no fewer than twenty Climber Zombies, plus a group of Bloated Zombies by the sea that looked clumsy but could actually ’fly by farting’.

This was going to be tough.

Their only path to victory was through fortifications!

"My soldiers are at your disposal. They’ll help you finish the fortifications quickly."

"Thanks, but the fortifications will mainly require heavy machinery. We won’t need that many people."

With their path blocked by the tourist area’s horde, Yu Dong began constructing anti-horde fortifications two kilometers away from the horde, on the edge of the North River District.

This time, however, the fortifications had to account for a specific problem.

"Neither the zombie-gathering pits nor the container spikes can effectively contain the Bloated Zombies. They can jet-jump out, and we’ll be left with a bunch of them hopping all over the place."

Hearing Yu Dong thinking aloud, Huang Zhiqiang said, "I have an idea!"

"Oh? Let’s hear it."

"I went to see Professor Meng yesterday, right? She told me that these Bloated Zombies have a weakness."

"Huh? Why didn’t you tell me yesterday?"

"When I got back yesterday, I saw Sister Xinyi in your room..."

"Ahem, just tell me the weakness."

"She said that all mutated zombies actually evolve in stages. For example, the Bloated Zombies couldn’t jet-jump at first; they could only float in the sea to keep from sinking. As their mutation progressed, they gained the ability to jet-jump. This is because their stomachs are perfectly sealed and undergo a complex reaction, allowing them to expel high-pressure gas for a short, sudden leap."

"And?"

"As long as we break the seal on a Bloated Zombie’s stomach and make it ’deflate,’ it will lose its ability to jet-jump and can only walk slowly."

"Oohhh, so that’s how it is. You really can’t beat a scientist."

Meng Dongqing’s research was consistently producing scientific results that were far more precise than their own experience-based judgments.

"So, Dongzi, let’s just put out some ground spikes. The moment one of those things jumps on them, they’ll get punctured right through and turn back into dumbass zombies."

"Alright. You go get the ground spikes and lay them out around the fortifications."

This way, even if a Bloated Zombie jumped out of a gathering pit, it would be punctured and deflated. Or it would be punctured first and then fall into a pit...

Listening to this clever plan, Qiao Yunliang nodded repeatedly.

"Li, make a copy of Yu Dong’s design plans and study them carefully."

The army was constantly absorbing the experience of Yu Dong and his people.

That afternoon, the various pieces of heavy machinery entered the site and began to work.

As was his custom for this kind of work, Yu Dong conscripted a group of able-bodied men from the major settlements along Binhai Avenue.

Currently, there were four relatively large bases nearby, all located near Binhai Avenue: Song Jinchuan’s villa base, Ji Luo’s research institute base, the residential War God Settlement, and the Olympic Sports Center Settlement.

When Yu Dong returned with the men, a confused Qiao Yunliang asked, "Yu Dong, didn’t you say you wouldn’t need that many people? My men are all idle."

"If they’re idle, let them get some proper rest! These small settlements along Binhai Avenue aren’t under our management and don’t contribute anything to us, yet they get to enjoy the stable, safe environment we create by clearing out zombies. You think they should get a free ride? If they won’t provide resources, they have to provide manpower. That’s a rule I set for them, so we don’t end up raising a bunch of ingrates."

"Haha, that makes sense."

Yu Dong was resourceful and treated his own people well, which put Qiao Yunliang at ease.

He was also constantly observing and noting Yu Dong’s every move.

Only through close contact could he find out if Yu Dong was truly the Reincarnator he claimed to be...

Qiao Yunliang looked around. There was nothing more to be done for the day.

He prepared to take his men back to rest in shifts, leaving a small contingent behind to protect Yu Dong and his team.

But his guard, Li, whispered, "Sir, I saw their combat teams heading out to scavenge for supplies. Shouldn’t we go gather some too? On the cruise ship... we can exchange them for point chips. It’ll be more convenient for us if anyone needs to buy something."

Thanks to Huang Zhiqiang’s packrat mentality, whenever they went out, they would haul everything—useful or not—back to the ship, resulting in a rich and diverse inventory in the cruise ship’s warehouse.

You could buy anything from a pair of thick socks to an entire desktop computer.

Huang Zhiqiang would even empty out an entire internet cafe if he came across one!

He’d turned the logistics team into a bunch of packrats just like him; they’d even pluck leaves from the roadside greenery to take back and feed the rabbits...

Qiao Yunliang’s soldiers, on the other hand, did much less of this. They generally only took supplies that were useful to them and would never do something like clearing out an internet cafe...

"Alright, go scavenge a bit then. Conserve your ammo, and don’t fire unless you have to."

Qiao Yunliang sent his own men out to gather supplies from the surrounding area as well.

Without realizing it, they had joined the cruise ship’s economic system and become a part of it.

After returning that evening, Qiao Yunliang’s men sold their gathered supplies to the cruise ship. However, since they didn’t understand the ship’s purchase prices, they brought back many worthless or unaccepted items and didn’t earn many points.

For instance, they had looted a rural grain and oil shop for hard currency items like rice, flour, and cooking oil, but it turned out... the cruise ship didn’t buy those things.

They had the massive granary at Port C and more rice, flour, and oil than they could ever use, so they didn’t accept any more.

Besides, the cruise ship sold them relatively cheaply; a bag of long-grain or millet rice cost only 20 points.

In contrast, luxury goods like cigarettes, alcohol, betel nuts, canned foods, and chocolate consistently fetched high prices on the ship.

After exchanging for a small number of points, the military unit purchased some urgently needed daily necessities for the soldiers under their command, improving everyone’s living conditions.

It’s just that when they saw the members of the other two teams shopping every day with bags full of chips, they looked at them as if they were rich young masters.

In the soldiers’ eyes, ’Haven’t we all been operating together these past few days?’

’Why do those guys get to eat and drink well and have tons of chips to spend when they get back?’

’While we’re over here living so frugally?’

...

Day 67 of the apocalypse. It was raining.

The icy raindrops pelted down, feeling as if they could freeze a person stiff.

Yu Dong stood on the deck of the 16th floor, his hand outstretched to feel the raindrops.

’This is the last rain of the year. I hope everyone can seize the opportunity.’

Wang Dingbei, who hadn’t been working with them these past few days, came up and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Yu Dong, gazing out at the misty Yanhai City.

It was as if the city were shrouded in a layer of fog.

"This is our last chance to recruit people on a large scale... We won’t have such good conditions again after this."

"Yeah. After this rain, the zombies’ mutation rate will increase again."

Overall, the zombies’ mutation rate was steadily catching up to what Yu Dong had faced in his past life’s hordes.

This time, however, Yu Dong had a silent quarantine zone, Binhai Avenue, and a cruise ship.

Perhaps the destructive power of the horde would be bearable now.

After a moment of silence, Yu Dong took the initiative. "Officer Wang, have you considered coming back?"

"The decisions you and President Qiao are making are excellent. The path forward is clear, so there’s no need for my involvement... It’s enough for me to handle security."

"The three of us would all welcome you back."

"Heh..."

Wang Dingbei just chuckled and didn’t say more. He pointed to a string of figures on Binhai Avenue and said, "Look, people are coming."

Yu Dong raised his binoculars and saw a convoy of mountain bikes riding over at high speed from the east end of Binhai Avenue.

That familiar equipment and those familiar figures...

"Liangzi???"

He glanced at the time. Liangzi and his group had actually arrived twenty days earlier than in his past life.