nycdaug Chapter 21: Zombie Clearance Completed
Chapter 21: Zombie Clearance Completed
Lu Chen stood there, watching Tie Zhu's retreating figure, quickly making an assessment in his mind.
One hundred meters! Not too far, but definitely not close either.
He had previously seen some information shared by people with superpowers on the official website.
Many ranged attack abilities, such as wind blades, fireballs, and telekinetic throws, have a maximum attack range of less than 100 meters.
Some people's fireballs dissipate after reaching fifty meters, while others' wind blades lose their accuracy after flying thirty meters.
His control range can reach 100 meters, which exceeds the effective range of most long-range abilities.
Moreover, this distance should be able to increase as the superpowers strengthen.
"How is it?" Shen Qingci's voice came from behind.
She came out of the building and stood next to Lu Chen, her gaze following his as she looked at Tie Zhu, who was walking back.
"Not bad, the maximum control distance can reach 100 meters," Lu Chen said.
Soon, Tie Zhu returned.
Lu Chen glanced at his watch; it was already 11 a.m.
Two hours have passed since they started their operation at 9 a.m., and they have cleared a total of five floors.
This speed isn't fast, but it's not slow either.
He led the zombie horde and two newly joined survivors back down the fire escape stairs to the fifth floor.
Xu Wan was sweeping the corridor floor with a broom, while Gao Yuan was squatting at the door of room 502, unpacking supply packages and sorting canned goods and rice/noodles. When they saw Lu Chen bring the new recruits up, they both stopped what they were doing and stood up.
Yingying, who was in Xu Wan's arms, woke up at some point. She quietly rested on her mother's shoulder, her big, dark eyes watching the increasing number of strangers in the corridor, without crying or making a fuss.
Shen Qingci led the bespectacled man and his girlfriend to 503, the one-bedroom apartment where the programmer had lived before.
The room had already been cleaned in the morning; the zombie corpses had been dragged away, the bloodstains had been wiped away with a mop, and the windows were open for ventilation.
After briefly explaining a few points to note, she returned to room 501 and began arranging lunch.
Lunch was cobbled together from the supplies we had scavenged. Self-heating rice was the staple food, accompanied by ham sausages and pickled vegetables. We also opened a can of luncheon meat, sliced it, and shared it with everyone.
Shen Qingci divided the food into portions and delivered them to everyone, as efficiently as distributing a meeting meal at the company.
Lu Chen took his portion, sat on the sofa in room 501 and finished eating in a few bites. Then he put the empty lunchbox on the coffee table, closed his eyes, and leaned back on the sofa.
An hour later.
Lu Chen stood up from the sofa. His powers had almost fully recovered, and he was ready to get back to work.
His goal today was clear: to clear out all the zombies in the building and rescue all the survivors he could.
Five floors have been cleared, but ten more remain untouched, and time is running out.
At the previous pace, it would take about half an hour to complete the investigation and cleanup of one floor on average, so it would take five hours for ten floors.
Adding to the various unforeseen circumstances that might arise, the process could take even longer. He wanted to finish before dark, so he couldn't afford to linger any longer.
With previous experience, the subsequent cleaning work became increasingly proficient.
Starting from the sixth floor and going up, the process has become muscle memory.
Shen Qingci scouted ahead, reporting the number and location of the zombies, whether there were any strong ones, and whether there were any survivors.
Based on the intelligence, Lu Chen decided on a strategy: if there were no strong individuals, he would have Tie Zhu lead the team to crush them; if there were strong individuals, he would switch to possessing them and capturing them alive; and if there were survivors, he would have Shen Qingci take the radio to negotiate.
The zombie team coordinated more and more smoothly. Tie Zhu took the lead, responsible for charging and killing, while Da Zhuang and Er Zhuang were responsible for flanking and finishing off the zombies. The rest of the ordinary zombies followed behind to clean up the mess.
On average, clearing an entire floor and killing zombies in the corridors and rooms takes no more than half an hour.
The actual time spent fighting on each floor totaled no more than 10 minutes. The rest of the time was spent breaking down doors, checking weapons, and negotiating with the survivors.
Negotiation is the most troublesome part.
Although the recordings of Project Dawn were available, not every survivor opened the door immediately upon hearing them, unlike Gao Yuan.
Some people hide in their rooms and, even after listening to the recording, still don't believe it and want to confirm it repeatedly.
When asked, "How do you prove you are superhumans?", Shen Qingci could only have the zombies demonstrate it once.
When asked, "Can you guarantee our safety?" Lu Chen could only be more blunt: he couldn't guarantee absolute safety, but he could guarantee that it was better than them hiding and waiting to die.
Some people were about to open the door, but hesitated after hearing Lu Chen say "obey orders unconditionally." One couple discussed it inside for almost ten minutes before coming out.
If it weren't for Project Dawn's backing, and if it weren't for that official male voice on the radio repeatedly vouching for their credibility, gaining this level of trust in the apocalypse would be virtually impossible.
Besides negotiation, another situation that takes up a lot of time is encountering zombies that need to be captured alive.
Whenever Lu Chen encountered a zombie that was significantly larger than its ordinary counterpart, he would stop, switch bodies, and let Tie Zhu and the others subdue it, then tie it securely with nylon rope.
This process takes several times longer than a direct kill, but it's also the happiest time for Lu Chen.
After all, each additional strong zombie meant an increase in the combat strength of his subordinates.
5:30 p.m.
Lu Chen led his zombie team and cleared out all the zombies from the fifteenth floor.
The door to the last room had been pried open, and the last zombie inside was beheaded by Tie Zhu with a single blow; its body lay on the living room floor.
The bloodstains in the corridor were a mix of fresh and old, and the air was thick with the stench of blood and the putrid smell of rotting zombies. But throughout the entire building, all dangers had been eliminated.
The building has 15 floors and 90 apartments. Just three days ago, it housed over 200 people. Now, only about 20 are left alive.
Lu Chen leaned against the wall in the corridor and let out a long breath.
The tightness in his chest that had been there all day slowly eased. Nearly ten hours of continuous combat, from eight in the morning to five-thirty in the afternoon, had left him extremely exhausted, and his superpowers were almost depleted.
Shen Qingci stood beside him, her forehead beaded with sweat, but she still looked very energetic.
Behind them were two survivors who had just been rescued from the fifteenth floor: a middle-aged man and his elderly mother in her seventies.
The elderly woman's legs were not very strong, and she was being supported by her son, walking very slowly.
The middle-aged man's face wore a blank expression of gratitude, as if the shock of surviving a disaster was too great for him to process for a while.
The zombie horde led the way, but Lu Chen only brought nine zombies with him when he left, and now eleven have returned.
The two extra ones were bound tightly with nylon rope, their mouths stuffed with cloth strips, and were carried by two zombies, one on each side.
They were all significantly larger than ordinary zombies, with broad shoulders, thick arms, and clearly defined muscles. While not quite as strong as Da Zhuang, they were far superior to the average zombies.
Lu Chen felt that killing zombies of this level directly would be a waste.
They are stronger than ordinary zombies, only slightly weaker than Da Zhuang. Such useful subordinates are not easy to find.
His control quota is currently full, so he can't take any more in for the time being. He'll tie them up and keep them locked up until his abilities improve and the control limit increases, at which point he can take them in.
As for safety, Lu Chen was not worried.
On one hand, the two zombies were bound like rice dumplings with nylon ropes, their hands tied behind their backs, and their legs were tied from ankle to thigh. They couldn't even stand up, let alone break free.
With a rag stuffed in its mouth, it couldn't make a sound, and even if there were other animals nearby, it couldn't be summoned.
On the other hand, these zombies will not be placed on the fifth floor, but on the fourth floor.
Lock the fire door and have a zombie guard it; that will ensure everything goes smoothly.
There are already 28 such zombies locked on the fourth floor.
With these two added, that makes 30.
And today's gains are far more than that.
He has acquired two more zombies of Dazhuang's level, bringing his total to five now, in addition to the three he already had.
When the five burly zombies lined up in a row, the silent oppressive feeling was so overwhelming that even Lu Chen himself felt it was a bit excessive.
Even stronger than Dazhuang are the Iron Pillar-level zombies; I encountered another one today on the ninth floor.
Lu Chen spent a lot of effort to capture it alive and named it Erzhu.
There are currently two Iron Pillar level zombies, five Big Strong level zombies, and three reserve zombies stronger than ordinary zombies. These ten zombies form the zombie horde controlled by Lu Chen.
In Xiangyang Residential Area, Lu Chen dared to say he could walk sideways.