Edge of the Apocalypse

Chapter 81: Chapter 76: Clearing the External Threats First

Day seven of the apocalypse.

"Hey! You two, put on masks."

As the five of them were heading out, Shen Xinyi, already wearing a mask, ran after them and handed medical masks to Yu Dong and Yan Yikai.

The other three members of the team were fully equipped with helmets, which had built-in filters that were more effective than medical masks.

However, Yu Dong needed to aim and shoot, while Yan Yikai had to constantly scan their surroundings and be ready to run. Since neither of them would be taking a direct hit, they were much safer than the others and weren’t wearing helmets.

"This is better than a helmet, at least it doesn’t block my vision... But I’m worried I won’t be able to breathe if I run."

"It’s still better than getting sick. With so many bodies piled up outside, who knows how many viruses are breeding... Watch out for plagues!"

Speaking as a nurse, Shen Xinyi strongly insisted they wear them.

Yu Dong nodded as well. "Wear it, Kai. Getting sick would be a huge problem... A minor illness could kill you if it isn’t treated."

Hearing them both say so, Yan Yikai pouted but put the mask on anyway.

"You guys be careful."

Liu Ye’ye said softly from behind them, giving Yu Dong a little "you can do it" gesture.

"Yeah."

Today, at the request of their nurse, Shen Xinyi, the entire team began wearing masks.

Once they were ready, Huang Zhiqiang asked, "Dongzi, are we going to tackle Building Three today?"

Yu Dong glanced at Building Three, then turned to look at the community’s main gate. Zombies were already starting to wander around the entrance again, and the pile of bodies was noticeably higher than yesterday.

They were standing on several layers of zombie corpses.

"Let’s deal with the ones outside first. We’ll have Zhou burn them, then we’ll see."

This time, Zhou had come out carrying a plastic box.

"Yeah, these bodies are going to take a while to burn properly."

Huang Zhiqiang looked pained. "The thought of all those supplies in Building Three just sitting there makes me feel like I have ants crawling all over me."

"Heh, it’s better than having a zombie sneak up and gut you from behind. Let’s go."

Yu Dong stuck to his decision to regularly eliminate external threats and thin out the zombie density nearby.

Twelve hours had passed, and the number of zombies on the street had increased again, wandering in from who knows where.

Seeing Yu Dong’s group approaching the gate, three zombies immediately lunged forward, roaring at them from the other side.

They were met by four long spears.

Yan Yikai had also brought a spear today. When he used it, he would drop his sword and shield on the ground nearby, ready to switch weapons at a moment’s notice.

The Xiangti Bay Community had a separate entrance and exit gate.

With two spears at each gate, they began furiously stabbing at the zombies outside.

The zombies’ roars attracted more of their kind. Just like yesterday, zombies from the surrounding area started converging on the community.

Zhou remarked, "Zombies are sensitive to sound. The cries of their own kind attract others. You could almost call it a pack hunting tactic, couldn’t you?"

Yan Yikai said, "So if that’s the case... doesn’t that mean you can’t run if you encounter a zombie outside? More and more would just keep coming. Isn’t that a death sentence?"

"That’s right."

Yu Dong knew this from bitter experience. In his first life, he had been spotted by a single zombie. As he ran, more and more joined the chase until he couldn’t shake them. In the end, he was tackled by the fastest one, Xufeng.

Zhao Youcai added, "This area isn’t even that densely populated, it’s mostly tourists... I can’t imagine what it would be like in a school."

Huang Zhiqiang said, "Dongzi, how about I help you guys with the stabbing? I don’t see any zombies left in the community, and just holding this shield is so boring..."

"Don’t!"

Four people shouted in unison.

"Huang, holding that shield steady is the biggest help you can give us."

"Having Kai help is enough. If we don’t keep someone ready for emergencies, something is bound to go wrong."

Huang Zhiqiang sighed.

"Alright... well, whoever gets tired can switch with me."

Yu Dong found it amusing that everyone was no longer afraid of the zombies and was even volunteering for combat.

’Is this human adaptability?’

"Huang, you can grab a bite to eat since you’re free. Did you bring that shredded rabbit jerky I gave you yesterday?"

"Huh? Eat again? We just had breakfast..."

"It’s good to get more protein. It’ll give you energy."

Yu Dong chuckled.

"But you’re making me eat while also forcing me to lift weights and climb stairs every day... Are we trying to lose weight or gain weight here?"

"We’re building muscle."

Yu Dong hadn’t been kidding before. He really was making Huang Zhiqiang climb 32 floors every day, as well as practice with dumbbells and do squats.

Huang Zhiqiang had a pudgy, out-of-shape physique. He lacked exercise and was all flab.

He would get completely winded after running for just a short while with the shield.

But the swordsman-and-shield-bearer Yu Dong envisioned had to be strong and powerful, able to run while carrying a heavy load, and capable of overpowering zombies with sheer strength and physique.

That was why he had designed a strength training regimen for Huang and constantly reminded him to get more protein.

Packaged meat was a scarce resource, but to build muscle, you had to eat enough.

This time around, when preparing supplies, Yu Dong had taken some advice from netizens. In addition to canned food and sterilized canned milk, he had also stockpiled large quantities of more shelf-stable milk powder and protein powder.

He intended to use them to supplement the team’s protein intake for their post-apocalyptic training.

To be honest, aside from Yan Yikai, everyone else on the team was physically unfit and needed intensive training.

While Huang chewed on rabbit jerky in the back, the four people at the front cleared out zombies.

As they were stabbing away, a more agile zombie scrambled up the folded pile of corpses and lunged down at them.

"Take this!"

BANG!

Huang executed a bull rush, sending the zombie that had just landed flying. It crashed hard against the gate, spewing a mouthful of black blood.

Yu Dong casually finished the zombie off with a spear thrust.

This morning’s cleanup work was clearly much more difficult than yesterday’s.

Unexpected incidents kept happening, and Huang found he was actually the busiest person there. He was constantly putting out fires and ramming into zombies, his Explosive-Proof Shield now covered in black blood.

After finally dealing with all the zombies gathered at the gate, everyone let out a long sigh of relief.

Then they glanced at each other, all realizing there was something that had to be done immediately.

"We have to get rid of all these bodies at the gate, and fast. The zombies behind them are using them like a ladder to get in... If the pile gets any higher, we’ll be forced back to Building One!"

Zhao Youcai sat on the ground, exhausted.

The others also collapsed to the ground, their bodies aching all over.

Even someone with Yan Yikai’s physique was struggling to keep up. He stared at Yu Dong, who was casually nudging zombie corpses around as if it were nothing.

"Seriously, Boss? What are you made of? Don’t you get tired? These bodies are so heavy..."

Hearing this, Huang Zhiqiang and Zhao Youcai burst out laughing.

"Kai, you just don’t get it," Huang Zhiqiang said. "What Dongzi usually does is way more intense than this. No matter how heavy these bodies are, are they heavier than the packages on a conveyor belt?"

A nostalgic look appeared on Yu Dong’s face.

"That day, there were just too many packages. I was starting to get low blood sugar. In a daze, I saw a forklift coming..."

Yan Yikai immediately said, "See, you gotta use machinery! A forklift can carry so much!"

"No, a forklift came down the conveyor belt."

Yan Yikai: "..."

Everyone: "..."

After they worked together to push over the pile of bodies, Yan Yikai went to the property management office and brought back a ladder.

Zhou climbed onto the perimeter wall with his plastic box. He scooped out globs of a yellow paste from the box and continuously sprinkled them over the pile of zombies below.

Once the surface was mostly covered, he wrapped a rag around a spear, soaked it in the yellow paste, and forcefully shoved it deep underneath the bodies.

Before long, the yellow paste had been smeared all over the top and bottom of the corpse pile at the gate.

Huang Zhiqiang hesitated for a moment before saying, "Zhou, did you... crap that out this morning?"

"Er... this is a slow-release incendiary agent I just made yesterday."

"But it really looks like it..."

"Get the matches."

Zhou lit a match and tossed it down.

Flames spread across the yellow paste...

WHOOSH!!!

The zombies caught fire.

At first, it was just a thin layer of sustained flame, but as fat dripped from the corpses...

BOOM!

The fire gradually grew larger.

A thick plume of black smoke rose from the entrance of Xiangti Bay!

Survivors in the surrounding communities all went to their windows, looking in the direction of the black smoke...

...

PS: Writing about digging a pit to bury the zombies yesterday was too stupid, so I’ve changed it to burning the bodies.

Everyone just pretend it didn’t happen, haha~

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