Edge of the Apocalypse

Chapter 78: Chapter 73: Mandarin Duck Array, but Robot Dogs

「Early in the morning on the sixth day of the apocalypse.」

Yu Dong ate a scallion pancake while looking at Building Two through his binoculars.

After they hung up the banner that read, "Live and let live," the other party hadn’t responded.

It was still the same piece of paper: "STAY AWAY, OR DIE!"

"So they still don’t intend to communicate with us..."

Hearing this, Qiao Ping said, "Speaking of communication... Um, Captain, I’d like to borrow the satellite phone."

"Didn’t you already give your uncle this satellite phone’s number?"

In the two days before the signal cut out completely, Qiao Ping had called her uncle three times. Yu Dong, knowing the conventional networks were about to fail, had her exchange satellite phone numbers with her uncle in advance.

But another three days had passed, and her uncle had yet to call back.

"I... I’m worried something happened to him. I want to call and check."

Ultimately, Qiao Ping was pinning her hopes on the military for rescue. Life here was just a temporary measure, after all. She was due to give birth in less than three months...

She wanted her child to be born in a place with proper medical facilities.

This place... it was just a residential complex. There wasn’t even a doctor, only the young nurse, Shen Xinyi.

Yu Dong nodded and handed the satellite phone to Qiao Ping.

"Put it on speaker. We also want to hear how the military is doing."

Every evening these past few days, they would gather to listen to the radio for official updates.

When would the zombies be wiped out and order restored?

But so far, the officials hadn’t given a clear timeline. They just told everyone to continue sheltering in place and taught them how to survive in harsh conditions.

According to rough official statistics, about 90% of the population had been directly infected and turned. As for the remaining 10%... Although the officials never said so explicitly, Yu Dong’s experience told him that absolutely no more than half of that 10% would survive.

Most casualties occurred during the initial outbreak. The lucky few who survived... without a secure shelter, they too would eventually be found and eaten by zombies.

And this was just the conclusion Yu Dong drew from looking out at the streets and complexes from Xiangti Bay. Densely populated areas would only be worse.

Qiao Ping got through. When she heard a familiar voice on the other end, a huge weight lifted from her heart.

"Uncle, are you okay?"

"Yes... I’m in the mountains. We’re relatively safe here. What about you? You haven’t left the complex, have you?"

"No, I haven’t. A lot of us are living together. They’re taking good care of me, and we’ve killed all the zombies in our building."

"Good... Then just stay put. Don’t go outside."

Hearing the somber tone in her uncle’s voice, devoid of the bold promises he’d made at the beginning about rescuing her, Qiao Ping realized something was wrong.

"Uncle, the military... is it... okay?"

"The situation is worse than I initially expected. There have been too many casualties. I’m afraid we won’t be able to carry out effective rescue operations for civilians anytime soon... Pingping, you need to prepare for a long struggle."

"Mm... I understand."

’Qiao Ping had guessed as much. He hadn’t called her for three days. If he wasn’t in danger himself, then he must have run into trouble.’

"Pingping, have you chosen someone to be in charge over there?"

"Yes, yes, we have!"

"Put him on the phone."

Yu Dong took the phone, a little surprised.

"Hello, this is Yu Dong."

"Young man, you’ve done well, leading people to take out those infected in such a short time. I have a favor to ask: please look after Pingping. I won’t lecture you about patriotism or social responsibility... young people these days don’t respond to that sort of thing. When I get there, I will rescue all of you. From then on, you’ll have the military’s protection and food supplies. And when this disaster is over, you’ll be a benefactor to our Qiao Family. I won’t let you do this for nothing..."

Yu Dong smiled after listening.

"Actually, patriotism and social responsibility still work on me. I hope everything goes smoothly for you all."

Yu Dong was hoping the military could gather its forces and suppress the zombies as soon as possible.

’Otherwise, how could they possibly kill all these zombies by stabbing them one by one with spears?’

After the call, Yu Dong led the team down to the first floor.

This time, Liu Ye’ye used a new drone. She deliberately flew it around Building Two to scout the area below and found a straggler.

They lured it over and killed it through the door.

Afterward, everyone gathered in the first-floor lobby.

Shen Xinyi frowned at the bloodstains seeping into the building.

"If we don’t dispose of all these bodies, they’ll breed a ton of germs... We’ll get sick."

"That’s why we have to go outside, move the bodies, and bury them."

Besides the body at the entrance, there were also the ones they had thrown out of the apartments after clearing them, as well as the group’s daily waste. To avoid fouling the air inside, they had been tossing it all out the windows.

As a result, the area below Building One was filled with a composite stench of rot and excrement, which was absolutely foul.

Yu Dong, living on the third floor, didn’t even dare to open his windows.

Huang Zhiqiang took a sharp breath. "Dongzi, there... aren’t still zombies outside, are there?"

"There are probably some we didn’t lure out. Maybe they’re stuck somewhere, or their hearing is bad... There will always be surprises."

"Huh? Then shouldn’t we wait a bit longer? Try to lure out more zombies before we talk about going out?"

"No need. We’re going to... face the zombies head-on."

Yu Dong planned to deal with those stragglers directly.

"It’s a perfect opportunity to test out a new formation I’ve been researching..."

"What kind of formation?"

"The Apocalypse Mandarin Duck Array."

The group followed Yu Dong to their armory on the first floor.

"The so-called Mandarin Duck Array is an eleven-man formation created by the famous general Qi Jiguang. It’s composed of two Shield and Saber Hands, four Long Spearmen, two Wolf Brush Hands, two Tangpa Hands, and one Firearms Shooter. The core concept is teamwork, a combination of long and short-range weapons, and integrated offense and defense. It relies on systematic coordination between team members to effectively strike the enemy while protecting each other."

This came from some of the materials and tutorials provided by the shop that sold the long spears, which Yu Dong had studied and adapted.

"If we’re going to go outside, we absolutely cannot fight scattered. We have to maintain formation. That’s how we can best ensure everyone’s safety and maximize our combat effectiveness."

"We don’t have eleven people, but we have about half that, enough to form a two-element variation of the Mandarin Duck Array."

"I’ll just make the assignments," he said, seeing everyone staring at him wide-eyed—impressed, even if they didn’t fully understand.

"Huang, you’re the biggest and heaviest, so you should be the front-line Shield and Saber Hand. You’ll use the large Explosive-Proof Shield to hold back the zombies, with a tactical knife for emergencies."

"Ah, this..."

Seeing Yu Dong staring at him seriously, Huang quickly said, "Alright! I guarantee I’ll hold the line!"

Huang was five-foot-ten and nearly 200 pounds, making him the stockiest of the group. Though a bit doughy, his weight was undeniable.

"Youcai, Zhou, you two will be the mid-rank Long Spearmen. Under Huang’s protection, you’ll be responsible for the main killing blows."

The two of them nodded without any objection.

After all, they had gained some experience and gotten a feel for stabbing zombies with spears over the past few days.

"I’ll be in the back as the shooter and commander, using a compound crossbow for long-range kills."

"Yan Yikai, you’re the fastest, so you’ll be the Tangpa Hand, which is a skirmisher role. You’ll use a Mountain-Cutting Saber and a small round shield to cover our flanks, protecting the formation from side attacks and finishing off any stragglers."

Yan Yikai raised his hand. "Brother Dong, where do I get a small round shield?"

"Here. I made this last night."

Yu Dong produced a round wooden shield from the armory, just large enough to cover the chest.

"Whoa, isn’t this a low-budget Captain America shield! How’d you make it?"

"I found a solid wood bed, cut out a piece of the wood, then bent a steel pipe into a handle and secured it with a few screws."

"Brother Dong, you’re awesome!"

Once Yan Yikai had it in hand, he looked just like a Dragon Country Captain.

"Finally, Liu Ye’ye. Your mechanical dog will act as the vanguard, scouting and creating distractions, reporting the battlefield situation to us in real-time."

"I guarantee I’ll complete the mission!"

Liu Ye’ye placed her silver mechanical dog on the ground and activated it. A red scanning light appeared on its head.

"Armor up!"

The five of them began to put on their full-body, stab-proof tactical suits.

Yan Yikai happened to be about the same height as Shen Xinyi, so he used her set of gear directly.

This time, Yu Dong didn’t wear a helmet, as it would interfere with his aim while using the compound crossbow.

Seeing this, Yan Yikai also took off his helmet, then removed his two knee pads.

"I’m not wearing it either. It blocks my peripheral vision. Anyway, I just need to be fast."

Yu Dong nodded. Yan Yikai’s role required him to control the battlefield and react to sudden situations from all sides. A wide field of view and quick support speed were essential.

Besides, an ordinary zombie couldn’t get through this stab-proof suit anyway.

"Open the door!"

The five men, wearing earpiece walkie-talkies, stepped out of Building One.

After scanning the area, Yu Dong’s gaze fell on the property management office next to the complex’s main gate.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!