79: Chapter 79: Dead Rising

“We’ve made contact. The troops are on their way and are expected to arrive in two hours,” the secretary beside him said.

“Two hours! I wonder if we can hold out that long,” Left Wen Shan said worriedly, looking at the dense horde of zombies on the bridge in the distance.

This was the first time since arriving here, in several months, that they had been attacked by so many zombies.

Left Wen Shan felt uncertain; he didn’t know how to defend against these zombies.

Only some of their police officers had guns, and ammunition was not plentiful. The rest of the people only had kitchen knives.

“Mayor Zuo, I don’t think these zombies intend to attack us,” the secretary beside him said.

“Oh? How so?” Left Wen Shan asked.

“Think about it, if they really wanted to attack us, wouldn’t they swarm us? Two kilometers, they’d rush over quickly. Look now, they’re just walking so slowly. It’ll probably take them over an hour to reach this end of the bridge,” the secretary analyzed.

Left Wen Shan also nodded; it was a bit strange.

However, zombies have no brains, everyone knows that. So, you can’t use normal logic to think about it.

The Matang Settlement’s gate was tightly locked, and behind it, stones were used to block it securely. Those responsible for the city wall’s defense stared intently downwards, not daring to act rashly.

An hour and a half later, the zombies arrived at the gate.

They roared lowly. Although the sound of each zombie was not loud, the aggregated sound of countless zombies was like surging river water, deep and continuous, making people’s eardrums ache.

As the secretary had just said, these zombies stood below the city gate and did not attack.

They seemed to be waiting, but for what, no one knew.

“Mayor Zuo, do you think they might be waiting for the troops to arrive?” the secretary asked.

“Don’t talk nonsense, have the zombies become sentient?” Left Wen Shan was starting to dislike this secretary; why was his ominous prediction so accurate?

The secretary hurriedly shut his mouth, no longer speaking.

Another half an hour passed, and gunshots were heard from the bridge, indicating that the troops had arrived.

The zombies on the bridge began to stir. They frantically rushed towards the other side of the bridge, completely oblivious to what death was.

The gunshots grew fainter and fewer, gradually fading until there was no sound, and the zombies quieted down again.

“What’s going on? Could it be…” The secretary was about to say that the Soldiers had been wiped out by the zombies, but Left Wen Shan interrupted him.

“Shut your ominous mouth!” Left Wen Shan reprimanded.

It was too dark; they couldn’t see what was happening on the other side of the bridge.

Half an hour later, the zombies ran back and furiously attacked the Matang Settlement.

Unable to break down the gate, they piled on top of each other like a human pyramid, forming a ramp as wide as the bridge. The zombies behind them then frantically poured into the Matang Settlement.

No one could resist; the Matang Settlement’s defenses were as good as nothing and were quickly breached.

March 19, 2055, 3:00 AM.

The Matang Settlement was breached, and all 320,000 residents perished.

...

Southeast Military Region Command, Kunfeng City, Yusu Province.

“Still no contact?” Zongzheng Yue paced anxiously, shouting in the Commander-in-Chief's office.

“Not yet,” the Signal Soldier said, lowering his head, not daring to make a sound.

The military satellites were still usable, and satellite calls could be made.

“Outrageous! Outrageous! A force of ten thousand men just vanished? What about the Matang Settlement? Have we made contact?” Zongzheng Yue continued to ask.

For ease of communication, most Settlement Command HQs were equipped with a satellite phone.

“No,” the Signal Soldier replied.

“Commander, I have a bad feeling…” the secretary said from the side.

“Go, send a reconnaissance company to check it out. Remember, if there’s danger, retreat immediately,” Zongzheng Yue instructed.

He also had a bad feeling.

“Yes!” The secretary took the order and left.

Five hours later.

“Commander, something terrible has happened!” the secretary rushed in, saying anxiously.

“What’s the situation?” Zongzheng Yue quickly asked.

“The reconnaissance company reported back that the Matang Settlement is empty, and there are many zombie corpses on the ground. From the scene, it appears to have been a zombie attack,” the secretary said.

“What about our people?” Zongzheng Yue continued to ask.

“On the opposite bank of the Settlement, our troops’ vehicles and weapons were found, and a large number of spent casings remained on the ground…” The secretary didn’t continue.

“Clang.”

Zongzheng Yue slumped into his chair.

Ten thousand people! That was his most elite unit! Those children were so young!

He was heartbroken at this moment.

He was extremely reluctant for these children to go out and kill zombies, as the casualties were too severe. But facing the Matang Settlement’s plea for help, he couldn’t ignore it.

But what was the final outcome?

Fulfilling the sacred promise of protecting the border and ensuring the people’s safety not only didn’t change any outcome but also needlessly sacrificed ten thousand vibrant lives.

Why did this happen? What should be done?

Zongzheng Yue was caught in an unprecedented dilemma.

“Report!”

“Enter!”

“Commander, Commander Yan of the Southwest Military Region is here,” the Soldier from the duty guard company reported.

“Oh? Please, come in quickly!” Zongzheng Yue forced himself to perk up.