Chapter 107: The Recapture of Tianjin (12)

The gargantuan herbivorous fish in the river sensed a threat; their primal, instinctive senses flared, causing them to thrash about in a desperate attempt to escape this ominous premonition.

Inside the containment zone, the horde of zombies surged forward, following the path of the armed reconnaissance vehicles. They plunged into the Chaobai New River one after another, churning up immense waves. Faced with the aerial assault of unidentified objects, the fish became even more agitated.

As expected, after casting tens of thousands of their own into the river, the zombies ceased their self-destructive behavior. They wandered along the banks, coming to a standstill.

Artillery stationed behind the Chaobai New River commenced fire. Though the towed cannons were aged, after being cleaned and refurbished, they once again displayed the formidable prowess of the God of War.

After colliding frantically for a time, the zombie horde began to drift slowly toward the upper and lower reaches of the river, their pace quickening. It seemed the zombies realized that the further they moved, the less likely they were to be struck by shells.

Wei Yong, the frontline artillery commander, felt his heart rise to his throat. He had been specifically rescued from the containment zone after new deployments were established to serve as the commander-in-chief of the artillery. The Special Committee had originally intended to rescue Li Qiang as well, but Li had refused; he insisted on watching the zombies meet their end from within the perimeter, or else perish alongside his soldiers.

Before the containment circle closed, Li Fengyi had issued a strict order: Li Qiang must rendezvous with the armored train on the railway and establish a forward command post there.

Li Qiang had barely escaped. It took several armed reconnaissance vehicles circling the mass of zombies piled atop him—slashing and firing—to clear a patch of his chainmail just enough to hook a fishing net onto his gear and drag him out.

A small group of zombies pursued the reconnaissance vehicles. Now equipped with substantial weaponry and supplies, the vehicles had been fitted with a heavy machine gun, giving them a long-range killing capability, and they opened fire with a thunderous roar.

Li Qiang seemed oblivious to the pursuing zombies, nor did he register the heavy machine gun shells being ejected from the chamber and clattering against his chainmail. He could think of nothing but the zombies—always the zombies.

The zombies were becoming increasingly cunning. Their inherent brutality remained, but they were employing swarm tactics with greater efficiency. They knew how to disperse their formations for an attack, how to prioritize the main threat, and how to realize that jumping into the river was dangerous. What would they learn next?

This current tactic of digging pits might protect the soldiers for now, but what about next time? By the time the reconnaissance vehicle reached the vicinity of the armored train, the zombie horde was being wiped out from afar by the train’s cannons and machine guns.

***

When Li Qiang entered the carriage, he found the walls covered with LCD screens displaying the situation at the logistics camp, where zombies had begun "pulling radishes"—plucking soldiers from the ground.

The zombie horde split, moving toward the upper and lower reaches of the Chaobai New River. The river narrowed sharply here, and with the bridges destroyed, the zombies began a full-scale charge, seemingly intent on damming the river with their own corpses.

By this time, sporadic shells were landing far to the north and west, striking behind the zombie ranks and causing ripples of chaos. As the fire from the north and west grew denser, the density of the zombie horde decreased further. More machine guns were brought to the east, and eventually, even manual rifles were pressed into service, their sharp reports ringing out.

The General Staff finally breathed a sigh of relief. The tide had turned; the high density of the horde was being diluted by the expansive terrain. The long front line allowed for the deployment of more equipment, and although the range of the machine guns was limited, the artillery could cover every target within the area.

Because this was not a pre-planned combat zone, the area had not been cleared. Many buildings were pulverized by the thundering barrage, leaving ruins and rubble everywhere.

Li Qiang ordered the armored train to cease fire and directed the reconnaissance vehicles to lure the zombies north of the railway, hoping to rescue the soldiers trapped along the Ziya River.

Except for about 100,000 zombies that remained gnawing on the steel plates of the armored train, the rest of the horde followed the vehicles across the tracks into the new containment zone. The vehicles drove north, jumping out of the perimeter across a bridge on the Chaobai River, which was immediately demolished behind them.

The reconnaissance soldiers stood on the riverbank, pointing and jeering at the zombies. "Hey, grandsons! If you’ve got the guts, come on over! We’ll treat you to some blade-cut noodles!"

The enraged zombies roared at the river. Without hesitation, they began their grand leap into the water. The zombies in the front were aggrieved, not wanting to enter, but were pushed in by the tide of corpses behind them.

Machine guns and artillery blanketed the area once more. The now-thinned horde was decimated by wave after wave of fire. No matter which direction they charged, the artillery from all sides converged on the densest, most threatening groups.

Now, the outcome of the battle depended on the speed of transport. Unlike the beginning, where supplies were only moved toward one side of the Ziya River, now they had to be moved toward three.

***

The southern side of this region was the railway line, and the Ziya River had already been filled; it would be impossible to clear it in the short term.

To prevent the zombies from turning back, the forward command urgently requested that the Special Committee send in cold-weapon troops to reclaim the area between the railway and the Ziya River and rescue the trapped soldiers.

The cold-weapon troops were re-equipped with shielded stands to withstand the zombie charge. Behind the shield-bearers were soldiers wielding steel pipes and long-handled *mo dao* blades. Step by step, they carved their way into the camp.

They pulled the soldiers out one by one. The rescued men were laughing, finding the experience thrilling.

As they fought their way to the last row, they were shocked to discover that the zombies had already begun digging into the ground. Some soldiers were dragged out only to die in a final embrace; the zombies were clutching them tightly, greedily sucking the blood as it seeped through the links of their chainmail.

"They’re cunning as hell!" Li Qiang shouted in fury. "Will this never end? It’s truly a case of 'as the way rises one foot, the devil rises ten!'"

The Special Committee once again demanded that the Science and Technology Department accelerate its research on the zombies.

Minister Liu, under immense pressure, told Li Fengyi, "Any research is based on long-term observation and experience summarized from data. Faced with an entirely new and constantly evolving species, we simply don't have enough data."

Li Fengyi asked without hesitation, "How many zombies do you need? I'll send men to catch them for you!"

Minister Liu replied aggrievedly, "We have enough zombies; the Jiuhewan experimental base consistently maintains about a million. But analysis and observation require time."

"If nothing else," Liu continued, realizing he had to be explicit, "take cell analysis as an example. It requires testing with various chemical reagents, followed by microscopic observation and documentation. Do you know how many types of chemical reagents there are? We have to run an experiment for every single one... The apocalypse has only been going on for two months. We are scientists, not miracle workers."

Li Fengyi waved him off and headed to the General Staff headquarters.