Edge of the Apocalypse
Chapter 29 - 27: Zhou’s True Ability

Chapter 29: Chapter 27: Zhou’s True Ability

「Three days later.」

"We’re finally done organizing."

Yu Dong, Liu Ye’ye, and Zhou stood in the second-floor hallway, their faces filled with a sense of accomplishment.

Over the past three days, they had moved all the supplies from Building One into the three apartments on the second floor.

They had turned the entire second floor into their team’s supply depot.

Apartment 201 stored food and water, 202 held various tools, and 203 was for miscellaneous goods.

Under the guidance of Yu Dong’s pack-rat mentality, they moved nearly everything useful downstairs.

From things as small as a few screws to as large as thick wardrobe panels, they hauled it all down.

"I never would’ve thought... Forget about whether this is a ghost building or not, there’s actually a lot of food to be found in our community. Even with all the frozen stuff going bad, the remaining rice, flour, and oil are enough to feed the three of us for over half a year!"

Liu Ye’ye was thrilled. At first, she had been afraid that Zhou Jian Country’s arrival would mean he’d take food from their two-person team, but instead, they had ended up with even more.

Far more than the one-month supply she’d had at the beginning.

At this moment, she finally understood why Yu Dong had been so insistent on saving people.

’People... they’re the greatest resource.’

"Dongzi, Ye Ye, do you think the three of us can just stay here until the government rescue arrives? Didn’t the broadcast yesterday say the rescue operations were making preliminary progress?"

Zhou Jian Country had grown more comfortable over the past few days. He had found his role in the team, becoming Yu Dong’s most important right-hand man.

He knew that even though he was a bit old and a bit fat, he was still a man, and stronger than Liu Ye’ye.

He could help move all sorts of heavy objects that Liu Ye’ye couldn’t handle.

Like those thick door panels.

He and Yu Dong took care of cutting and hauling them, while Liu Ye’ye gathered the smaller items.

Hearing the probing tone in Zhou’s voice, Yu Dong shook his head helplessly.

"Zhou, if you don’t plan for the future, you’ll have problems in the present. Building One is very safe right now. If we just stop here, eat some staples and pickles, and collect rainwater from the roof to drink, we could indeed last for more than half a year. But... then what?"

"Have you ever thought about what we’ll do if the rescue hasn’t reached us by the time all this food runs out?"

Zhou said in a low voice, "We can worry about that when the time comes... Let’s at least wait for half a year and see. Maybe all the zombies will have starved to death by then."

"That’s what I thought at first, too... You guys heard the broadcast yesterday, right? Ye Ye, you have a good memory. Tell us what the broadcast said."

After speaking, Yu Dong subconsciously slapped his forehead.

He felt there was something strange about his mind. He remembered the seven days before the zombie outbreak in his previous life with perfect clarity, like a movie whose progress bar he could scrub through at will.

But after his rebirth, his memory was... just average. He’d still forget things he was supposed to remember.

For example, on the day he saved Zhou, he felt like he’d read something important somewhere but had forgotten what it was...

"Yesterday, the biologist Academician Wang said that recent studies on those infected with the S-virus show it is highly contagious and active. It drives its hosts to crave blood and spread the infection. The physical abilities of the infected are significantly enhanced, making them extremely dangerous."

"Furthermore, they can’t rule out the possibility of the S-virus mutating. It could lead to increased contagiousness, heightened senses, or it could even cause the zombie virus to gradually weaken and no longer be fatal. The direction of mutation is uncontrollable and unpredictable."

"But from a virological standpoint, the massive infected population will inevitably give rise to various mutated strains. We must prepare for the worst and try to eliminate the infected before the virus mutates."

Liu Ye’ye recounted the gist of it.

Yu Dong looked at Zhou and said, "We’ve pretty much figured out the current zombies. Although they’re physically stronger than us, we can still take them down with the help of cover and traps."

"While ensuring our own safety, let’s clear out the ones in our community first. Otherwise, I’ll never be able to relax..."

Zhou was convinced by Yu Dong.

"Dongzi, what’s our next move?"

"A tactical upgrade. Lure-and-kill at the door."

Yu Dong stood on the second floor and observed the zombies on the grounds of the Xiangti Bay Community with his binoculars.

"There are a total of 32 zombies on the ground right now, all wandering around the community. We’ll lure them over one by one and kill them..."

"I’ll do it!"

Liu Ye’ye volunteered eagerly. Her drone piloting skills were superb. As long as she was on the second floor, she could control the drone to toy with the zombies below.

Yu Dong nodded. "Mind the distance and be sure to protect that drone. It’s a strategic asset for us."

"Don’t worry, I won’t let them touch my drone even once."

Liu Ye’ye was very confident in her micro skills.

Yu Dong and Zhou prepared to go down to the first-floor entrance to execute their door-camping strategy.

To prevent any accidents, like too many zombies breaking the door lock, Yu Dong and Zhou had already reinforced the building’s main entrance downstairs with wooden planks.

But before going down, Yu Dong took another look at the property management office through his binoculars.

There were figures moving inside.

’Are there other survivors?’

’After we clear out the zombies outside, I’ll go take a look... If Liangzi is still alive, we can recruit him to the team.’

Liangzi was a very warm-hearted person; Yu Dong had a good impression of him.

Next, the well-coordinated trio began their lure-and-kill tactic.

Liu Ye’ye used the drone to attract one or a few zombies at a time to the entrance of Building One. Yu Dong and Zhou hid behind the cracked-open door, continuously stabbing at the zombies.

One... two... three... ten.

More and more zombie corpses piled up at the entrance of Building One. The thick stench of death penetrated their masks, making it almost impossible for the two men to keep their eyes open.

RUMBLE!

Suddenly, the sound of a massive stampede approached.

Liu Ye’ye’s panicked voice came from the second floor. "Not good! I lured too many!"

More than twenty zombies on the ground were all running toward them!

BAM! BAM! BAM!

The zombies slammed into the main door of Building One one after another, completely blocking the small gap.

The inward-opening door was slammed shut, and Yu Dong and Zhou couldn’t push it open even a sliver from the inside.

Fortunately, the heavy chain was sturdy enough. Plus, the force exerted by the zombies was in the opposite direction of how the door opened, so they didn’t have to worry about their safety.

Still, the constant CLANGING was terrifying to hear.

Zhou laughed and cursed, "Zombies are just zombies, all they know how to do is push and shove. If I could get my lab over here... I’d whip up a vial of mercury fulminate and blow them all to smithereens."

Hearing this, Yu Dong’s eyes suddenly lit up!

He remembered!

He finally remembered what he had forgotten.

Zhou, the chemistry teacher!

"Holy shit, Zhou!"

Even Yu Dong, who rarely swore, couldn’t stop a curse from escaping his lips.

This was a goddamn noble chemistry teacher!!!

According to the experts on Zhihu, explosives were the true god-tier weapon against brainless, swarming zombies!

A drone, a pack of explosives...

BOOM...