20: Chapter 20 The Night is Coming

Some also asked, why not seize the time to eliminate all the zombies?

On one hand, the security issues of the Citizens had consumed all mobile forces; on the other hand, zombies were nocturnal, making search extremely difficult; furthermore, zombies were extremely hard to “kill” unless their heads were completely destroyed, which also meant that unless specially trained, ordinary civilian teams were not capable of this work.

Another 20 days passed in a flash.

Subsequently, large-scale zombie attacks successively broke out in several other districts of Binjiang City, with the same tragedies repeatedly unfolding. Within 20 days, two more districts were completely occupied by zombies.

Left with no choice, after research and decision by the Municipal Virus Control Group, six emergency shelters were established in Qinghe Ridge of Suirong County, Wudao Gully of Linshui County, and Gaoheba of Huai Town, all located in Binjiang City, and the Citizens were relocated. They hoped to completely block off zombies from uninfected people through this method.

There were many benefits to doing this: on one hand, centralized management could save a large amount of manpower, thereby allowing combat forces to be concentrated to eliminate zombies; on the other hand, it blocked geographical contact between zombies and people, preventing more people from being attacked and infected; furthermore, it could improve the speed of resource allocation and supply…

These emergency shelters were the predecessors of later human survival bases.

And the urban area of Binjiang City became the first city in Huaguo to be occupied by zombies.

At the same time, nationwide, 60% of cities had experienced large-scale virus infections, and 95% of cities had been forced into martial law.

Even more seriously, the national power system had already begun to experience intermittent power outages.

Night was coming…

“Commander, the Central Hall has been set up. Should we start setting up the experimental cabin?”

“Start.”

“Understood, Commander.”

“Commander, the number of Bee Ant Robots has reached 1500, meeting the basic conditions for building a geothermal power generation room. Should we start building the power generation room?”

“Start.”

“Understood, Commander. Please select the construction location for the power generation room.”

As Xiao Lin finished speaking, a 3D image of the base appeared on the screen.

The base only had three underground floors, but the surroundings of each floor and the area below the third floor in the 3D image all showed that they could be expanded.

“Can Bee Ant Robots expand the base?” Oriental Chen asked curiously.

“Yes, Commander. The first generation Bee Ant Robots are just a bit inefficient and a bit large in size. But they already possess most functions, including excavation, collection, construction, and conversion. You can understand them as a kind of Ants, but they have many advantages that Antss do not have. For example, they can work 24 hours a day, and do not need to hibernate in winter.”

“That’s truly amazing. I didn’t expect such small robots could accomplish so much,” Oriental Chen exclaimed.

“Actually, the ability of a single Bee Ants is very limited, almost negligible. But when thousands of Bee Antss gather together, they can accomplish unexpected work,” Xiao Lin explained.

“That’s true! Let’s choose the fourth underground floor then,” Oriental Chen said.

“Commander, the Bee Queen has not yet built a nest. Should the Beehive be placed next to the power generation room?”

“What’s your suggestion?” Oriental Chen had no good ideas either, and it was not wrong to listen to Xiao Lin’s suggestion in this regard.

“I suggest you place the Beehive on the fourth underground floor and the power generation room on the fifth underground floor. It is safer for the power generation room to be isolated from other areas,” Xiao Lin replied.

“Alright, do as you suggest,” Oriental Chen said.

“Understood, Commander.”

…

Underground Base, Second Floor Office Area.

Almost everyone in the base was gathered here, all anxiously waiting for Oriental Chen.

“Captain, what does the boss mean now? Should we leave?” Ruan Xinghua asked.

Brother Zhang did not answer.

“Now, in the entire West District, it’s just us. The power has gone out 3 times today, and perhaps in a few days, we will be completely out of power. Once the base loses power, there will be no ventilation or lighting, and it will truly be impossible to stay here,” Tong Li said.

Brother Zhang still did not speak.

“There’s also another problem. Although our reserves of supplies can last for a long time, we are still living off our past savings. Once the supplies are exhausted, only death awaits us!” a doctor said.

Everyone spoke one after another, all full of worry about the future.

“Don’t be so anxious, Brother Dongfang will definitely have a solution!” Luoer said unhappily.

Her brother, Shen Wengang, quickly pulled his sister Luoer, signaling her not to speak.

“What’s wrong? The atmosphere is very heavy!” Oriental Chen slowly walked over, noticed the unusual atmosphere, and said generously.

Everyone consciously made way, and Oriental Chen strolled to the center.

No one spoke, all quietly looking at him.

“Everyone find a place to sit. Today, let’s have a good talk.”

Seeing the current situation, he knew that he had to unify their thoughts.

During this time, he had been somewhat evasive.

Because deep down, he was not yet ready to bear the weight of this: the weight of life.

Everyone’s future rested on him. This made him very uncomfortable.

However, whether he liked it or not, he had to bear it. For his own survival, and for the survival of those who followed him.

Hearing Oriental Chen’s words, everyone consciously found a place to sit down.

“I know everyone has been very anxious during this time. The West District is already empty, and the entire Binjiang City is estimated to be completely evacuated in the next two days. We have fallen into a completely isolated situation. But what I want to say is, this is just the beginning.”

Speaking of this, Oriental Chen paused, looked at everyone, and continued:

“Soon, perhaps half a year, perhaps a year. Most cities across the country will become empty cities.”

Some were shocked, some were doubtful; everyone looked at each other.

“No need to be surprised, no need to doubt, this is absolutely true,” Oriental Chen said with certainty.

“Boss, I think your view is too pessimistic. From ancient times to now, how many major epidemics have broken out? Which time did humanity not win? I think this time is no exception,” a doctor said.

“Do you really think humanity won?” Oriental Chen asked slyly, implying for him to think again.

“Isn’t that so?” the doctor retorted.

“I don’t think so,” Oriental Chen replied.

“No?” The doctor was puzzled.

“Yes, no. I think that in the struggle between humans and viruses, in most cases, a symbiosis eventually formed. Perhaps we found some way to resist the virus, but it only accelerated the end of the epidemic and reduced deaths. We are not children of luck; the collective efforts and civilization-built wisdom of all humanity can only allow us to find a small space for survival, and such space may not always exist. So, what you call victory, in my view, is merely securing some living space,” Oriental Chen said.

“What you’re talking about is a bit far-fetched. What we are most concerned about now is where do we go from here?” another doctor interrupted.

Oriental Chen’s expression turned cold. He said:

“How about this, let’s vote by show of hands. If anyone wishes to leave here and go to an emergency shelter, I will allocate some equipment and supplies to you and send you off. For those who wish to stay here, I hope everyone can unite and look out for each other from now on.”

“Let’s begin. Those who want to stay, please raise your hand,” Oriental Chen said.

“Xiao Chen, does this mean we’re not leaving?” Brother Zhang asked.

“Brother Zhang, I’m definitely not leaving,” Oriental Chen said.

“Alright, then I’m not leaving either.” Brother Zhang raised his hand.

As Brother Zhang raised his hand, his comrades also raised their hands one after another. Immediately after, their family members also raised their hands.

Niu Xingwang’s wife had already become familiar with everyone. And Niu Xingwang had instructed her before he left not to go anywhere and not to trust anyone except Oriental Chen. So, Mrs. Niu also raised her hand.

Shen Miaoluo and her brother Shen Wengang, after hearing that Oriental Chen was not leaving, exchanged glances and also raised their hands.

Finally, there were the few doctors and nurses, whose opinions were not entirely unified.