Chapter 262 - 240: Maggie’s Gift

Chapter 262: Chapter 240: Maggie’s Gift

Heavy snow fell, the flakes landing on the research institute’s three hemispherical buildings, making them look like three pretty snowballs.

Pure white and peaceful.

When Yu Dong and the soldiers arrived at the research institute, all they saw was a single zombie wandering inside.

The zombie was trapped inside the institute, surrounded by the many members of the Battle Group. Yet these warriors, who usually slaughtered zombies as if they were pigs, couldn’t find the courage to raise their weapons.

It was as if this one zombie exuded an immense pressure that kept everyone frozen in place.

"Brother Dong!"

They looked toward Yu Dong, their eyes red-rimmed.

Yu Dong gazed at the ravaged laboratory. He stumbled forward a few steps and saw him—Zhao Youcai, wandering within.

The muscles in his face twitched. Then, without warning, tears streamed down his frost-reddened cheeks. The scalding drops landed on the snow, melting the thin layer to reveal the crimson beneath.

"Youcai... why..."

Behind him, Yan Yikai—who had been on the verge of injecting himself before Yu Dong’s call stopped him—spoke, his eyes red.

"Brother Dong... Brother Youcai heard you were surrounded by the army and wanted to save you... He said we couldn’t fight the military... that the Zombie Man, Cai Hong, had been let loose by the soldiers, killed everyone, and then ran... He said Cai Hong would definitely come back to kill you... that the only way to save you was to become a big-muscled zombie... so he injected the vaccine... Waaaaah! How could Brother Youcai have failed?!"

Zhao Youcai hadn’t transformed successfully. He had just become an ordinary zombie.

A perfectly ordinary zombie.

No evolution, no mutation, nothing earth-shattering.

And so, Zhao Youcai—with his dream of saving his brother and turning the tide—was laid to rest.

Professor Meng was dead. The vaccine was gone. His brother was a zombie.

"AHHHHHH!!!!!!"

Yu Dong fell to his knees, letting out a strangled roar as he wept uncontrollably.

"Why did it have to be this way!!!"

He had done everything just so he and Zhao Youcai could retire in peace, live out their lives, and leave the task of saving the world to the army and the police. They... they had already done their part.

They had fought so hard to save Yanhai City!

’Zhao Youcai should have been enjoying retirement with me... We should have been on the cruise ship, sipping drinks and watching the army fight zombies... waiting for the Wilderness Battle Corps to arrive and finish the job... or for a breakthrough with the vaccine... Whatever the future held, life or death... at least we would have been together.’

Now, it was all gone. Everything.

His best brother... was dead.

The other members of the Battle Group stood behind Yu Dong, their own sorrowful and desolate cries joining his.

The sound drew the attention of the zombified Zhao Youcai. It snarled and lunged, but its body was blocked by debris. All it could do was reach desperately toward the outside.

Its hands were covered in frostbite... just like everyone else in the Battle Group.

The harsh winter was taking a toll on all of their bodies.

A short distance away, the military officer Zheng Zhonghu said, "Should we collect their weapons now? If not... what if they get hysterical and think we’re to blame..."

Qiao Yunliang raised a hand to stop him, a hint of guilt in his eyes.

"No need. We... let’s go. We’ll wait for them back on the cruise ship."

"Dispatch two teams with grenade launchers to track the Zombie Man, Cai Hong. If he’s found... kill on sight."

"This time, our intelligence was seriously flawed... We were too hasty..."

Just then, a scout ran over. "Sir, the team sent on the mission was wiped out. We’ve searched the area and confirmed their grenade launcher... is missing."

"Hm?"

’Who took it?’

’The Battle Group? The people from the institute? Or...’

’The Battle Group can’t have it on them right now. The thing’s too big to hide.’

"Let’s go. We’ll head back and see this Ji Luo first. Let’s hear what he has to say about what happened..."

Qiao Yunliang and his men departed.

Only the weeping members of the Battle Group remained.

The snow drifted down, covering them, covering the institute, covering glory and sin, covering everything.

On that day, Yu Dong and his group remained in the snow for a long, long time.

....

「Three days later.」

Day 118 of the apocalypse. The heavy snow of the past three days had finally stopped. The ice beneath the cruise ship had grown even thicker.

Cruise ship, main conference hall, award ceremony.

Over 1,800 soldiers and civilians from the cruise ship were packed into the space, with many spilling out into the foyer beyond the conference hall doors.

Onstage, a smiling Qiao Yunliang presented a red medal.

"In the early days of the apocalypse, Comrade Yu Dong rallied civilian forces to fight zombies, rescue survivors, and provide the military with critical intelligence. He laid the indelible foundation for the prosperity of our cruise ship base!"

"Under the leadership of the committee headed by Yu Dong, the cruise ship base re-established order, restored production, maintained public safety, restarted the economy, and exterminated zombies... making an outstanding contribution to the peace of Yanhai City!"

"His courage, wisdom, and magnanimity are an example to us all. Yu Dong is the model of a hero for this post-apocalyptic era!"

"On behalf of the Yanhai City military, I award Comrade Yu Dong the Red Flag Medal. We thank him for his contributions and hope that in his future role as an honorary military advisor, he will continue to work tirelessly for the liberation of Yanhai City!"

Yu Dong stood on the stage, his expression calm, showing neither joy nor sorrow.

Qiao Yunliang personally pinned the Red Flag Medal to Yu Dong’s chest.

A red flag, a military insignia, the Great Wall, a peony blossom, and a command arrow.

A brilliant medal of honor, dazzling to behold.

"Let’s have Comrade Yu Dong say a few words!"

Yu Dong took the microphone and glanced out at the crowd below—the civilians, the soldiers, his own old crew... He gave a slight nod.

"It wasn’t easy... for us to get to where we are today. We worked hard, and the military worked hard. No matter what, I don’t want to see us destroy this peace we’ve fought so hard to win."