029 The Way of Survival (Please keep reading, tra-la-la)
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“Why would the guy controlling the drone lure the zombies into the residential compound...?”
Zhong Xiaoshan watched the dense black mass of zombies clamber over the collapsed wall, and a chill rose in her heart.
At first, there had been no more than a dozen zombies wandering within sight of the compound. There were surely others hidden among the buildings beyond their view, but they had been scattered and sparse. Now, with hundreds or even thousands suddenly drawn inside, their density had increased dramatically.
If there had still been some hope of slipping away unnoticed through the zombie horde, then now, unless they could sprout wings like that drone, even the God of War would be gnawed down to a pile of bones!
Zhang Su wore a grim expression and said nothing. After a moment, he tilted his head and listened. “Listen. What’s that loudspeaker saying?”
When the drone drew a little closer to Building Three, the three of them finally made out the announcement blaring from the speaker.
“Attention, all survivors! Attention! We will establish a safe zone along the road to Funing County. We will establish a safe zone along the road to Funing County. Survivors capable of making it out of Qin City are welcome to join us. Let us unite and overcome this crisis together!”
“Attention, all survivors! Attention! We...”
The repeated announcement echoed from the loudspeaker, reverberating across the skies above Shengqin Garden.
The drone flew everywhere with the speaker attached, drawing nearly all the zombies in the streets into the compound. Just then, three vehicles sped down the road. As they passed, the booming announcement abruptly fell silent. The drone turned and flew after the cars, disappearing beyond the range of sight.
The zombies clawing at the sky suddenly lost their target. They looked around in confusion as the tightly packed horde gradually dispersed, drifting aimlessly in every direction, their necks extended as they sniffed furiously for fresh prey.
What sounded like heartening news had instead created enormous trouble for the survivors of Shengqin International!
The three speeding SUVs pulled over after passing through the stretch of road crowded with zombies. The passenger door of the lead Land Cruiser opened, and a man in a leather jacket stepped out, reaching up to catch the returning drone.
Once he had climbed back into the vehicle, the convoy continued forward.
“Now that’s what you call a drone—a two-hundred-thousand-yuan drone. Damn, that’s impressive!”
He handed the drone to someone behind him, then turned to the driver. “Brother Kai, if we hide out at Boss Liu’s farm-style restaurant, we won’t have to fear the apocalypse outside. We can live in comfort. Why are we calling in all these other survivors?”
“Exactly. Those people are nothing but useless wastrels who consume food without contributing anything.”
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A lean man in the back seat joined in. His smile held a vicious edge; he was the sort of person even an old grandmother would instinctively avoid provoking.
“Heh heh heh. Useless?” The driver chuckled softly, his voice somewhat hoarse. “Have you already forgotten how we fought our way out? Without all those cannon fodder shielding us, would we have made it out alive? Or do you want to be the cannon fodder yourselves?”
At a critical moment, you did not necessarily have to outrun the zombies. You only had to outrun the other survivors. That alone could give you a chance to live.
The men in the vehicle suddenly understood. Someone immediately clapped his hands. “That’s right, that’s right! We warmly welcome all survivors!”
“Hahahahaha...”
A sinister burst of laughter filled the vehicle.
In the apocalypse, every person and every group had their own way of surviving.
Inside Shengqin Garden, every survivor who was still capable of moving was peering out from behind a window. The sudden announcement filled many hearts with hope, and rare smiles appeared on their faces.
Qin City governed four counties, the nearest being Funing County, only thirty kilometers away. Under normal circumstances, it was little more than a press of the accelerator. Unfortunately, these people had yet to realize how unimaginably distant twenty or thirty kilometers could be in times like these.
Given the current state of Shengqin Garden, simply fighting their way out of the compound would already be an extremely difficult challenge.
“They said... they’re going to build a safe zone on the way to Funing County?!”
Zhong Xiaoshan was visibly excited. “I’m from Funing County. My parents are in Xiaopu Village!”
Although she had not said it outright, Zhang Su could tell from the eagerness in her eyes what she meant to express. He poured cold water over her without hesitation. “They lured a huge number of zombies into the compound just to broadcast news about a safe zone. Do you think those people are acting out of kindness or malice?”
Judging from the drone operator’s practiced control, Zhang Su suspected that group had pulled this trick more than once on their way here.
On the surface, they appeared to be kindly informing survivors about the establishment of a safe zone. In reality, they were merely clearing the road for their own convoy to escape the city.
When fighting for survival in a desperate situation, as long as survival was the goal, there was no right or wrong—only life or death. Still, Zhang Su felt that anyone willing to use such despicable methods could not be a good person. Of course, he did not consider himself one either.
Zhong Xiaoshan froze after hearing his words. She frowned and pondered for a moment, then looked down at the many more zombies below than before. Once she had calmed down, she acknowledged that Zhang Su was right.
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Zheng Xinyu looked helplessly at the densely packed zombies, some of which occasionally collided with one another. “Brother Su, if ordinary people really had the ability to establish a safe zone, the authorities would surely have acted already. Don’t you think so?”
“Exactly. Given the authorities’ emergency response capabilities, they certainly wouldn’t be slower than civilians. I think the relevant departments must have established a safe zone immediately—and it may very well be in a hospital!”
Hearing Zheng Xinyu, Zhong Xiaoshan quickly agreed.
Zhang Su shook his head. “You two are rather optimistic, but also somewhat blindly so. First of all, those people only said they were going to build a safe zone. They haven’t even started. It’s nothing more than an idea—an idea you can have, and I can have.”
“Then they only said it would be somewhere along the road to Funing. That road stretches for twenty or thirty kilometers, and they never specified an exact location. That means they themselves have no clear target.”
“To look at it optimistically, building a safe zone is merely their preliminary plan. To look at it pessimistically, they’re using the announcement as an excuse to lure away the zombies along the road so they can pass through the dangerous stretch. As for an official safe zone, I imagine there may be one, but it would certainly be small-scale and targeted. It probably has little to do with us.”
Neither Zheng Xinyu nor Zhong Xiaoshan was a child. After hearing Zhang Su’s explanation, they understood what he meant.
After this small interlude passed, some of the survivors remaining in Shengqin Garden shared Zhang Su’s view, some began to stir restlessly, and others had already started taking action.
A little after four in the afternoon, with the sun slanting westward, Zhang Su and the others finished exercising. They ate snacks to replenish their energy while analyzing possible solutions to the various situations they faced, as well as the habits the zombies might possess. Then, once again, the sound of a loudspeaker rang out beyond the window.
“Burning up my calories, bye-bye, doughnut...”
A pop song suddenly blared into the air, especially jarring in the otherwise silent surroundings.
The three of them hurried to the window to investigate. Because of the direction the windows faced, they could not see the source of the sound. With no other choice, they ran to Apartment 802, where they finally saw what was happening through the south-facing windows.
Someone was copying the earlier method, using a drone to suspend a loudspeaker and lure the zombies away. However, this drone’s performance was clearly inferior. Its speed, altitude, and stability were all far worse than those of the previous one. It wobbled precariously as it struggled to remain airborne, looking as though it might crash at any moment.
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