Edge of the Apocalypse

Chapter 107: Chapter 101: Because I Am a Man

BAM!

The sturdy tactical helmet blocked the green zombie’s teeth!

The loud noise made Yu Dong and the others whirl around!

The sight made Yu Dong’s eyes widen in fury!

He drew his tactical knife and lunged at the zombie!

But Liu Ye’ye reacted even faster!

After being knocked down, she immediately took out her high-voltage stun baton and jabbed it at the green zombie!

BZZZZZT~

The green zombie convulsed violently from the shock, collapsing off of Zhao Wenjie while foaming black liquid from its mouth.

PFFT!

Yu Dong’s knife plunged viciously into the green zombie’s head, sending black blood spurting out!

A fatal blow!

"It’s a climbing zombie! On guard!!!"

Huang picked up his Explosive-Proof Shield, while Zhao Youcai and Zhou raised their spears, aiming them toward the stairwell.

After a quick glance outside confirmed no more zombies were coming, Yu Dong turned back, pushed the green zombie’s corpse off Zhao Wenjie, and helped him up.

"Are you okay, Wen Jie?"

He checked Zhao Wenjie’s helmet. There was only a black bite mark; the zombie’s teeth clearly couldn’t penetrate the tactical helmet’s defense.

It was made of high-strength synthetic fibers designed to stop stray bullets. A zombie’s bite force was nowhere near strong enough, at most causing some impact trauma.

Yu Dong took off his helmet and saw only an imprint on his face.

’Thank goodness...’

The owner of Tactical Foreword charged a fortune, but there was no question about the quality of his gear.

Just as Yu Dong thought everything was fine, Zhao Wenjie, who hadn’t said a word, suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood!

SPURT!

Then he began to cough violently.

Yu Dong froze.

"What’s wrong, Wen Jie?"

"My stomach... it hurts so much..."

Yu Dong laid Zhao Wenjie flat. Moving aside the small round shield, he noticed Zhao Wenjie’s other hand was pressed against his lower abdomen, where blood was seeping out, having completely soaked his clothes.

"How... is that possible!"

"How could a zombie’s hand pierce your stab-proof vest..."

"No! No, no, no!"

Yu Dong moved Zhao Wenjie’s hand away and saw it—at the junction between his top and pants... there was a small gap, unprotected by the stab-proof vest. And that was where Zhao Wenjie had sustained the fatal wound!

Suddenly, Yu Dong remembered... Zhao Wenjie was wearing the size 170 tactical suit originally bought for Shen Xinyi!

Because Shen Xinyi was the same height as Yan Yikai, and since she didn’t participate in combat, Yan Yikai had been the one wearing it.

After Yan Yikai’s death... the suit was given to the newcomer, Zhao Wenjie.

But Zhao Wenjie was the tallest among them, a towering one-point-eight meters tall!

The tactical suit had good flexibility, so he could just about squeeze into it, but it was just that little bit too short...

And that tiny gap had cost Zhao Wenjie his life!

"Cough, cough... Brother Dong... am I going to die?"

Zhao Wenjie said between coughs.

Hearing this, Yu Dong felt a sting in his nose.

He wanted to say something comforting, but the words wouldn’t come...

Meanwhile, Liu Ye’ye knelt on the ground, clutching Zhao Wenjie’s hand and sobbing loudly.

"You got hurt saving me... sob, sob... This shouldn’t have happened to you. It was after me... Why did you do it...?"

Zhao Wenjie looked at Liu Ye’ye and gave a weak smile, his eyes clear and free of any impure thoughts.

"Because I’m a man. A man... is supposed to protect women. It’s a man’s... responsibility. Cough, cough, cough!"

Hearing those words again after two months, Yu Dong could no longer hold back. Hot tears streamed from his eyes.

He knew that the words Zhao Wenjie had spoken on the first day they met... weren’t false.

That was truly what he believed.

The others had often privately called Zhao Wenjie a simp, but with his actions, he had proven...

He wasn’t a simp; he was a man.

"Wen Jie, do you have any last wishes? Tell me... We’ll fulfill them for you," Yu Dong said, gripping Zhao Wenjie’s other hand tightly.

He had been through this before. He knew Zhao Wenjie’s infection was severe; his time was running out.

"Brother... Brother Dong, I... I don’t think... I ever thanked you for saving me."

"That’s not important! Tell me what’s important!" Yu Dong cried, holding Zhao Wenjie as tears streamed down his face.

"Give 10 gold bars to Yang Yi... and before the army comes... take care of her. Leave the other 10 for... for... cough, cough, cough!"

Zhao Wenjie coughed violently, his complexion growing even worse.

"Who do you want to leave them to? After order is restored, I’ll find a way to find them for you!"

"Leave them for... everyone."

"Brother Dong, you... you’re a natural-born leader. You’ll lead everyone to do great things... Consider these 10 gold bars my investment... a shame I won’t be able to see that day..."

"Heh... it was great... meeting all of you. If only... if only I’d gotten my hands on those gold bars sooner..."

"Sigh... my life... what can you do."

After saying this, blood began to pour from Zhao Wenjie’s seven orifices, and his whole body started to convulse.

The zombie virus, injected in a massive dose directly into his abdomen, caused him to turn with extreme speed!

Within a few minutes, he was already turning.

"Wen Jie..."

Tears streaming down his face, Yu Dong plunged his knife into Zhao Wenjie’s head. The convulsions slowly stopped...

Zhao Wenjie was dead.

Yu Dong stared blankly at the dead climbing zombie on the floor for a long time... The team fell into silence.

Suddenly, Yu Dong spoke.

"I know what happened to those three survivors."

"That opening on the 12th floor... it was their door to life, and also their door to death."

"They lived by it, and they died by it."

At that moment, everyone had a sudden realization.

And they also understood... what kind of enemy the army would have to face.

A type of zombie that could climb and move with stealth.

It no longer roared meaninglessly. Its joints had become flexible, its nails sharp. Its body had grown a deep green camouflage like a military uniform. Like a clouded leopard, it would slowly approach its prey... then pounce from above for a one-hit kill!

It still had a human body and organs, and it would still die if stabbed in the head, but its method of attack had surpassed that of an ordinary zombie by an entire dimension.

The heavy rain continued to fall.

Suppressing their grief, the group recomposed themselves and reinforced the defenses behind them.

Then they left Huang Zhiqiang, Zhao Youcai, and Liu Ye’ye to stand guard in the outer hallway, while the robot dog crouched on the floor above, acting as a stationary camera.

Only Zhou Jian Country and Yu Dong remained in the vault.

Zhou used ultra-high temperature thermite to burn through the safe locks one by one, with precision and elegance.

Meanwhile, Yu Dong stood behind Zhou, mechanically cooling down the safes and taking out the items one by one.

Cash... cash... and more cash...

Stacks upon stacks of RMB and US dollars. Before the apocalypse, they were the best thing one could have; now, they were just piles of waste paper.

Even if order was restored to the world, they would still be useless.

Afterward, they found some valuable calligraphy, paintings, jewelry, antiques, and the like. Yu Dong couldn’t tell their worth, but according to Zhou, they were very valuable and might be useful in the future.

But there were too many things; they couldn’t possibly carry them all.

Holding these once-priceless mementos, Yu Dong felt a sense of listlessness.

’Even without any of these things, if it meant Zhao Wenjie could be alive... we could still live very well.’

"Huh? This safe... only has a notebook inside."

Zhou opened the last safe and pulled out a large, reddish-brown notebook.

The word [Accounts] was written on it.

Zhou opened it, took a look, and then handed it to Yu Dong.

"Is this Shuangyang Group from your Yanhai City? This seems to be the private notebook of their boss, Yin Shuangyang. Want to take a look?"

Shuangyang Group?

Yu Dong definitely knew that name; in fact, most people in Yanhai City did.

One of the stops on the number 8 bus route was called Shuangyang Building, the very next stop after Yanhai University.

It was a 180-meter-tall, 46-story Twin Towers complex, a large-scale urban development integrating a shopping center, office buildings, apartments, and a hotel.

The tallest landmark building in Yanhai City.

Shuangyang Group was a real estate developer that owned multiple large office buildings, high-rises, and villas in Yanhai City.

If Yu Dong remembered correctly... the Bihai Building District right across from the Xiangti Bay Community was built by Shuangyang Group on reclaimed land. They weren’t just powerful; they had serious connections.

Yu Dong took the notebook and started reading.

After flipping through it, Yu Dong sighed.

"Collusion between officials and businessmen... This notebook is filled with things that could destroy Shuangyang Group and their patrons. If this came out in peacetime, it would shake the entire Yanhai City to its core."

"But now... who knows if Yin Shuangyang himself is even alive."

"In the future, no one will be held accountable. It’s just a useless book..."

Yu Dong tossed it casually to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

With that, the vault had been completely cleared out. Yu Dong only took the gold bars and a few pieces of what looked like very expensive jewelry, packing them away.

After all, each of them now had to carry 24 kilograms of gold bars back, which was already a very heavy load.

Yu Dong left the bulky calligraphy, paintings, and antiques behind.

Huang Zhiqiang, in the throes of his hoarding addiction, tried to grab one more item but was stopped by Yu Dong.

"Getting back alive is more important than anything..."

"When the army comes later, if we have time, we’ll come back for the rest."

"Let’s go. We still have to bring Wen Jie back."

Yu Dong had to carry Zhao Wenjie’s 66.5-kilogram body back to the Xiangti Bay Community to bury him.

He couldn’t just leave him here.

The Dragon Country People believe in laying the dead to rest in the earth for peace.

The heavy rain was still falling as Yu Dong trudged back to Xiangti Bay one heavy step at a time... Their family was there.

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