Ethan Blake led the soldiers from the clearing team to the unit entrance hall on the first floor and reported the results to Nathan Cole.
By then, Ethan had removed the face covering stained with zombie blood and brains, revealing his highly distinctive face.
Nathan was finally seeing the First Squad Leader's true appearance. Although he had already seen photographs of the soldiers on his personal terminal, this was his first time meeting them in person.
Ethan's cheeks were lean, his features hard and sharp, and his entire bearing spoke of competence and toughness.
His skin was somewhat dark and ruddy, clearly the result of long periods of training under the blazing sun.
Ethan cleared his throat and began giving Nathan a detailed report. "Commander, Unit One of Building One in Golden Fortune Gardens has ninety-two registered apartments. Ninety-one have been sold. The residents of six sold apartments were away from home. Of the remaining eighty-five apartments, we eliminated three hundred and twenty-seven zombies and rescued four survivors, including Qi Ting, whom you met earlier."
Nathan nodded slightly, privately impressed by the soldiers' efficiency.
Ethan continued, "Besides Qi Ting, we rescued three more survivors on the tenth and thirteenth floors. On the tenth floor, there was a father and daughter. The wife became a zombie after being infected with the virus. For his daughter's safety, the husband decisively locked his daughter in the bedroom, then endured the pain and fear and killed his zombified wife with his own hands."
"As for the survivor on the thirteenth floor..." Ethan's mouth twitched slightly. After pausing for a moment, he continued, "He's a young man. He graduated college two years ago but never found a job. Tired of his parents nagging him, he moved here by himself and spent all day shut up at home. When we breached his door, he was still wearing headphones and playing video games, completely unaware of the crisis outside."
As he listened to the report, Nathan opened the control panel and saw that his reinforcement points had increased by 654, bringing the total to 962.
This meant he could deploy another infantry squad. Tomorrow's clearing operation would certainly proceed much faster, and he would earn even more reinforcement points.
At that thought, the corners of Nathan's mouth lifted slightly. He was filled with anticipation for the coming operations.
Why tomorrow?
Because he had no intention of continuing the operation at night. For one thing, Ethan's squad had fought all afternoon and was already exhausted. For another, nighttime operations still carried considerable risks even with night-vision equipment. He did not want to gamble with his soldiers' lives.
Though these soldiers had been recruited through the System, they were living, breathing people. Apart from their unwavering loyalty to him, they had thoughts and preferences of their own.
At his current stage, Nathan could not bring himself to treat them as disposable resources.
After hearing the report, Nathan looked at Ethan and asked, "Does anyone among the soldiers know how to cook?"
Ethan immediately replied, "Commander, every member of First Squad can cook."
Nathan nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Take a few men to gather ingredients first. Then bring the survivors and find an unoccupied apartment to cook in."
Ethan answered, "Yes, Commander."
Just as Ethan turned to leave, Nathan called after him and added, "Make enough food for another squad. Second Squad will be here shortly."
Ethan was delighted to hear this. With a new squad arriving, they would be able to get a proper night's sleep.
After Ethan left, Nathan instructed Julian Shaw, the grenadier, to continue guarding the unit entrance. He then took Daniel Ward into the first-floor hallway.
Nathan brought up the control panel, selected another nine-man infantry squad, and called out to the System. "System, deploy the selected infantry squad by virtual deployment."
The System responded, "Understood, Commander. Deducting 700 reinforcement points. Deploying Infantry Squad x1 by virtual deployment."
Nathan quickly adjusted the deployment location, and nine soldiers equipped exactly like First Squad appeared in the building corridor.
One of the soldiers stepped forward, formed the team up, and completed the roll call. Then he jogged up to Nathan in short, quick steps and reported loudly, "Reporting, Commander! All members of Second Squad are assembled. Nine personnel expected, nine personnel present. Awaiting your orders. Second Squad Leader, Ryan Foster!"
"At ease."
"Yes, Commander."
Nathan continued, "Second Squad Leader, immediately arrange for your men to take over the security duties for Unit One. Your squad will also handle tonight's sentry duty. Make the arrangements as you see fit."
Ryan replied firmly, "Yes, Commander. I guarantee the mission will be completed."
After settling Second Squad in, Nathan took Daniel to the fifth floor. Ethan and his men had designated Apartment 501 as their temporary mess hall.
After Nathan entered, Victor Hayes, First Squad's deputy squad leader, who was directing the soldiers as they busied themselves, hurriedly stood up and saluted.
Nathan waved his hand and asked, "Where is your squad leader?"
Victor answered, "Commander, our squad leader is in the bathroom cleaning his gear. Some filthy stuff got on it during the clearing operation earlier."
Nathan was briefly stunned, then understood and nodded faintly.
His gaze swept around the room, and he saw the survivors helping nearby.
Qi Ting was intently helping the soldiers wash vegetables. Her pale face looked somewhat haggard under the lights, but when she saw Nathan come in, she still managed to force a faint smile.
As for the father and daughter, the little girl was sitting on the living-room sofa, completely absorbed in watching cartoons. Her eyes were fixed tightly on the screen, and she was so immersed in the animated world that she did not notice Nathan's arrival at all.
The girl's father was a fair-skinned man in his thirties. He was over six feet tall and fairly well built.
The gaming shut-in, meanwhile, had a chubby face and a round body. At the moment, he was clumsily picking vegetables in a fluster, and one look at his awkward movements made it clear that he had never done any housework before.
When the two men heard the soldiers address Nathan as Commander, they had wanted to stand and greet him. But seeing that Nathan had no intention of speaking with them, they silently returned to their tasks.
They now understood the situation they were in. They knew that following the military was their only chance to survive, so they behaved with extreme caution, terrified of angering the soldiers and being abandoned.
Nathan sat at the dining table for a while. Once the meal was ready, he arranged for the soldiers to eat in shifts.
The food tasted fairly good. Though it was only home-style cooking, after an exhausting afternoon, being able to eat a hot meal brought a satisfaction that was beyond words.
After dinner, Nathan summoned Ethan and Ryan and began arranging lodging for the soldiers and survivors.
Of the six apartments whose owners were away, Nathan and Daniel took one. The soldiers of First and Second Squads were distributed among the other five.
As for the survivors, Qi Ting returned to the apartment she had rented, while the father and daughter went with the gaming shut-in to his home.
After making the lodging arrangements, Nathan took Daniel around to each sentry position, inspecting the guard placements and the soldiers' vigilance. Only after ensuring that everything was safe and secure did they return to the apartment where they would stay.
Nathan took off his gear and gave a long, heavy stretch.
The equipment looked cool and was highly functional, but he still was not used to wearing it. After having it on all afternoon, his waist and back were aching.
When he reached the master-bedroom door, he found Daniel still standing rigidly by the sofa like a wooden post. He asked, "Daniel, why haven't you gone to rest yet?"
Daniel immediately sprang to his feet with a snap and answered, "Commander, I'll stand night watch for you."
Nathan smiled faintly. "No need. You should rest too. Take the guest bedroom next door. Leave the door open, and we'll hear immediately if anything happens."
Seeing that Daniel was still hesitating, Nathan said directly, "That's an order. Carry it out immediately. If you don't rest properly, how are you supposed to protect me?"
Only then did Daniel stop insisting and turn toward the guest bedroom.
Nathan entered the bedroom and first called his parents to briefly let them know that he was safe.
After finishing the call with his parents, Nathan eagerly dialed his girlfriend's number. However, no one answered on the other end.
He then called the Party secretary and the town mayor, but neither call was answered.
He pulled up an old duty roster on his phone and called the County Party Committee's general duty office, the county government's general duty office, and the county emergency bureau's duty office one by one. Again, no one answered.
With no other options, Nathan used WeChat to contact several town officials.
He sent messages one after another, anxiously waiting for replies.
In the end, he only managed to contact Martin Hale, the director of the local judicial office.
Martin told him that he was currently hiding in a residential compound not far from Golden Fortune Gardens and was relatively safe for the time being.
Nathan told him to stay there, not to wander around, and to wait for rescue. He also asked about the situation in town and the whereabouts of the other officials, but Martin knew very little and could not provide further information.
Nathan put away his phone and lay on the bed, but he could not fall asleep no matter what he did.
Everything that had happened today was too bizarre and absurd. The appearance of zombies, the arrival of the System, the intensity and brutality of the clearing operation—it all felt like a nightmare.
He even pinched himself hard several times, but the sharp pain in his thigh clearly told him that everything before him was real. He had no choice but to face this cruel reality.
Nathan's thoughts began drifting uncontrollably toward the future. What worried him most were the problems of electricity, water, and communications.
Heping Town relied entirely on Yuzhong County for electricity and water. Yuzhong County's power and heating plant happened to be coal-fired. If the workers at the plant turned into zombies, then the entire town would definitely lose power as soon as tomorrow or, at the latest, the day after tomorrow.
Once the power went out, the water plant naturally would not be able to operate either. The entire town would then face a predicament without water.
Moreover, the backup power supplies at the communications base stations would not last long. That meant that within the next two or three days, they would be facing power outages, water outages, and a communications blackout.
At this thought, Nathan abruptly sat up, grabbed the communications device, and called out, "First Squad Leader, Second Squad Leader, this is Nathan Cole. Respond if you receive this."
Very quickly, Ethan and Ryan's voices came through at the same time. "Received, Commander!"
Nathan said urgently, "Immediately mobilize everyone except the sentries. Clear the zombies from every apartment into the corridors, then use every container you can find to fill with water. Execute immediately."
After giving the order, Nathan immediately called Daniel over. Together, they dug out every pot, bowl, basin, and container in the apartment where they were staying and began filling them with water.
Nathan's movements were somewhat frantic. His heart was filled with anxiety and unease because he had no idea how long the power plant could keep running.
At an ordinary coal-fired power plant, if fuel delivery stopped, the generating units might shut down within just a few hours. Although Lanzhou also had hydroelectric and wind-power facilities, those had nothing to do with Heping Town, and with his current strength, he did not dare venture to those places lightly.
The only thing he could do now was store as much water as possible first, ensuring enough drinking and cooking water for the next few days.
As he filled containers with water, Nathan silently calculated his next steps.
After taking control of these two residential compounds, he would lead the team to sweep the nearby supermarkets and stores, collecting bottled water and jugs of water to stockpile as much water as possible.
Then he would concentrate his forces for a rapid strike to seize Yuzhong County's power plant and water plant, and find a way to restore electricity and water supplies. Only then could they provide the basic foundation for future survival and development.
After all, in modern society, without electricity, how could they even talk about restoring production?
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register