You're going to fire me?

More than a decade ago, Renmin Road was the most bustling street in the old city. At that time, the Economic Development Zone was still a suburb. The city's tallest buildings, most upscale restaurants, and trendiest shopping malls were all located on Renmin Road, bustling with people during the day and brightly lit at night. With the rapid development of the new city and the large-scale demolition of the old city, the city center naturally shifted, and Renmin Road lost its liveliness and prosperity. Only the overpass built to divert traffic can still bear witness to its glorious past.

Looking down from the rooftop of the Municipal Health Bureau building, Renmin East Road seemed to have lost its former prosperity. The street was filled with corpses, their heads jostling, a veritable carnage. Some strolled alone, some walked hand in hand, some wandered in small groups, and of course, there were also those jogging with their arms hanging down and heels dragging.

I adopted a horse stance, elbows resting motionless on the half-wall, concentrating intently on observing through the scope. Sweat trickled down my forehead, soaking into my left eye patch, causing a slight stinging pain in my eyeball.

"Don't choose targets more than 100 meters away; 60 to 80 meters is best. Don't grip your right hand too tightly; just aim and fire."

I held my breath for five seconds, then pulled down my right index finger. With a soft "thud," my shoulder absorbed the vibration, and my body swayed barely. Only when I saw the bald corpse in the scope fall limply to the ground did I breathe a sigh of relief: "I hit it! The suppressor is amazing; the gunshot was quieter, and the recoil was even lighter."

Gao Chen squatted down next to me in a high-low squatting position and said, "That's just your imagination. Don't always think about recoil, otherwise you'll have to anticipate it. Anticipation is the worst thing a sniper can do."

"Oh, I see. I think it's also related to guns. Holding a powerful gun makes you feel more confident, haha."

He curled his lips into a smile: "Of course, the CSLR4 is equipped with a low-light image intensifier and rangefinder, making it very convenient to find and observe targets. However, it is not easy to hit the target precisely. You have talent, and you will get better with more practice."

I saluted him and said, "Thank you for your guidance, instructor."

Gao Chen paused for a moment: "Instructor... I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before."

I laughed: "You're a former special forces soldier, a champion of a major competition, and you're extremely familiar with all kinds of weapons. It's perfectly reasonable that you were once an instructor."

Gao Chen thought for a while, then shook his head and said, "Forget it, I won't think about it anymore. I'll remember when the time comes."

Just as I was about to show him more care, Guo Yang came running out of the stairwell. "Dr. Qi, Captain Yu is all ready. He said he only needs to leave the rooftop to Company Commander Gao. He wants you to come down."

"I spent the whole morning chopping until the blade was completely worn down. Every time I took a short break, he would rush me, like he was trying to kill me!"

Seeing that I was getting angry, Guo Yang was still clueless. "It's so hot and sunny up here, how can we rest without any shade? There are some shady trees in the small park next door. Why don't you go down and rest for a while, cool off before you move around?"

"Meddlesome, nagging, all your trouble!" I pouted and handed the gun back to Gao Chen. He told me to be careful, then quickly went into battle-ready mode. I had no choice but to pick up the pistol leaning against the wall and go downstairs.

He insisted on getting involved with Yu Zhongjian, and I couldn't force him, so I handed over the position of captain of the fifth squad to Zhang Yanhuang. The new recruit absolutely refused to accept it, stating that he would go wherever Gao Chen was. I talked to him twice, using all sorts of threats, inducements, and persuasion, but he remained unmoved. Having no other choice, I had to ask Company Commander Gao for help. After the two of them slept behind closed doors, Zhang Yanhuang finally agreed, still seething with resentment.

Under the guise of training Zhang Yanhuang and letting young people break free from constraints and give it their all, I took the opportunity to leave Team 5 and replaced him with a big guy named Gan Mingde from Team 3. Without Yu Zhongjian's consent, I forced myself into his team as well.

I thought to myself, "He wouldn't chase me away, would he?" Unexpectedly, although he didn't chase me, he didn't seem particularly happy either. Wang Lianshan said that Captain Yu greatly admired Gan Mingde. He was one of the first survivors, besides the auto repair shop sisters, to be accepted by the veterans, and had been fighting alongside Yu Zhongjian. Standing at 1.97 meters tall, only slightly shorter than Li Tonggu, he was burly and, when fighting alongside Little Li, they were like two heavy-duty road rollers, easily sweeping away zombies.

This road menace was casually replaced by me, who harbored ulterior motives, so it's understandable that Yu Zhongjian was unhappy. So I awkwardly put on a smiling face for two days, working even harder than before at killing zombies, thinking to myself, "My knife's dulled from all that, and I'm still no match for Gan Mingde?"

His expressionless face betrayed no emotion, but he was quick to order me around. The day before yesterday morning, he sent me to the flood control headquarters to haul sandbags; in the afternoon, he assigned me to clear half the road. Yesterday morning, he had me set up cover in the zombie-infested area on Renmin East Road; in the afternoon, he sent me to clear the other half. Today, I spent the whole morning killing on Renmin West Road, and I have another important task this afternoon. I only had time to learn sniping from Gao Chen for a short while, and he couldn't stand me being idle. What else could it be but displeasure?

Thinking of Gan Mingde's thunderstruck expression when he heard he was going to be transferred from the third team, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. What kind of medicine did Yu give these people? From Han Bo and Zhou Yi to Gao Chen and Da Gan, why do they all like this lunatic so much?

They went downstairs and followed a quiet path next to the health bureau to the park in the center of the street. The small pond in the park was dry, and more than a dozen zombie corpses lay at the bottom. A circle of trees was planted outside the walkway, providing some shade, but the leaves looked dry and scorched due to the lack of rain. Further out to the street, a ten-meter-long, half-person-high sandbag fortification had been built, and three teams of team members were concealed behind it, spying on the movements of the zombies on Renmin East Road.

The main focus is on the movement of zombies near the overpass.

These are the same zombies that besieged the Qi family courtyard a few months ago. After continuous clearing operations, we discovered that while there are many zombies in Huaicheng, and quite a few are clustered together, groups the size of those under the Renmin Road overpass are almost nonexistent. After days of observation and reconnaissance from hidden locations in various surrounding buildings, we estimate that this group of zombies numbers no less than two thousand. This is an increase from the end of March, further confirming that, whether consciously or unconsciously, zombies do exhibit a tendency to gather and attract each other.

If we let them gather into a swarm of locusts and sweep through Huaicheng to attack Rongjun, that would be terrible. Therefore, we decided to tackle this toughest nut to crack.

The night before last, a large-scale training course on the use of military equipment was held at the veterans' quarters. Yu Zhongjian and Gao Chen served as instructors, and the course covered the use of rifles, heavy machine guns, submachine guns, and various types of grenades. These are all weapons currently in our stockpile, and different equipment was distributed to each team according to the nature of their missions. Even the thinnest, most timid, and most refined-looking man was incredibly excited to receive a gun, and his enthusiasm for exterminating corpses was at an all-time high.

Two boxes of sixty hand grenades were placed open under the sandbags. These were old-style throwing weapons confiscated from the auto repair shop, the kind with wooden handles and cotton-linen fuses. They were probably stockpiled from the early days of the military district. Compared to the high-end hand grenades they got from the special operations team, they looked rather simple and unassuming.

Back then, these simple "border area-made" weapons bombed Japanese soldiers, Indians, Americans, and reactionaries. Today, the zombies can taste their delicious flavor, which is a testament to their worth in their zombie life.

Three field teams participated in this operation. Han Bo led one team to guard the intersection of Renmin Road and Shengli Road on the west side, while Zhou Yi led the second team to guard the Dongda intersection of the overpass. The main task of these two teams was to intercept the scattered zombies in the city who were attracted by the sound of gunfire.

The main force consisted of three teams, led by Captain Yu Zhongjian, with a total of nine members. Using the park in the center of the street as their stronghold, Gao Chen provided high ground cover, while Wang Lianshan, Guo Yang, and Chen Shuo used heavy machine guns and submachine guns from their bunkers to suppress the zombies from the front. The brothers Dai Haichao and Dai Hailang positioned themselves on either side of the bunker, providing fire support against the zombie horde positioned diagonally. Li Tonggu, a guy named Duan Mingzhe who was supposedly a fitness instructor, and I served as the grenade throwers.

"The explosion will definitely attract a large number of zombies, including the unknown number of zombies currently under the overpass, which will also crawl onto the ground. Please be prepared and listen carefully to my ceasefire and retreat orders. Throw grenades at the areas where the zombies are concentrated. For zombies within 20 meters, use regular rifles and submachine guns. I don't expect you to hit every shot, but after the battle, I will check the spent cartridges and calculate the number of corpses and the manner of death. If any team member has more than a certain percentage of unloaded shots, please have Captain Qi reassign them to a different position."

Yu Zhongjian's pre-battle mobilization made everyone nervous. Before the battle even started, they had to worry about their hit rate. This wasn't just a few dozen or a hundred zombies; it was thousands! When the guns were firing and the fighting got heated, who cared about hitting anyone? You should just charge forward and sweep wildly from left to right, turning everything moving within twenty meters into sieves.

He called me captain, but unfortunately I was no longer the captain and had no say in the third team. I could only ignore the solemn expressions on the faces of my teammates, pick up a grenade, and say, "Okay, okay, we'll listen to you. We're just waiting for your order."

Before Yu Zhongjian could finish saying "action," I tilted my head, bit off the fuse, took a step back, and threw it towards the zombie-infested area.

Everyone immediately ducked, and three seconds later, a deafening roar came from directly in front of them. A wave of heat rolled in, and leaves fell from the trees overhead. The once quiet zombie horde began to stir, and their howls of hunger filled the air.

Wang Lianshan looked up from the sandbag and exclaimed in surprise, "A bunch of them were knocked down! Captain Qi's throw was thirty or forty meters! That's amazing!"

I proudly shook my head. Would I tell you that I didn't do well in high school but wanted to pursue a career as an athlete and trained in shot put for half a year?

Yu Zhongjian said expressionlessly: "Barely passable. Li Tonggu, Duan Mingzhe, throw the bomb."

Passing grade? Barely? I sneered. Come and see, Xiao Yu is showing off again.

"Bang, bang!" After two loud explosions, I peeked out and immediately started sulking: "Little Li, the zombies are laughing at you in the middle of the road. How many did you kill? If you threw it five meters more, you could have blown up the hot pot restaurant across the street. What's the use of throwing it far!"

Li Tonggu ignored me completely, treating me as if I didn't exist. Under Yu Zhongjian's command, he and Duan Mingzhe launched grenades one after another with great force, filling the air with smoke and deafening explosions. The zombies, like lumps of water-soaked popping candy, were blown to pieces in various ways, flying, darting, and pouncing, with flesh and bones flying everywhere.

In fact, no one could hear my taunts. Grenades were going off, submachine guns were firing, and rifles were firing. The real battle had begun.

The acrid smell of gunpowder masked the presence of the living, and the sounds of gunfire and grenades caused chaos among the zombies. They would sometimes head towards the cover, and sometimes be drawn away by the explosions. Under our powerful barrage of fire, they fell in droves.

I was swept up in the intense, war-like scene, my heart pounding and my blood boiling. Unwilling to cower under cover, I threw three or four grenades, then grabbed Guo Yang's submachine gun, jumped onto a sandbag, and unleashed a furious barrage on the zombie horde. Forget aiming, forget hitting anything! The zombies were everywhere, densely packed targets, enemies. No need to aim; one burst and none would escape!

Half an hour later, Yu Zhongjian issued a ceasefire order. The team members obeyed the order without question, but I was still in a frenzy, standing on the highest point and constantly pulling the trigger, firing rapidly and enjoying myself immensely.

"Cease fire!"

"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat." The sound of gunfire deafened me, and I couldn't hear anything.

"Cease fire!" Yu Zhongjian nudged my leg with the butt of his rifle.

"Da da da da da." Even though I heard it clearly, I pretended not to.

"Cease fire!" he roared.

"Da da da..."

When I ran out of bullets, I threw down my submachine gun and bent down to grab Chen Shuo's gun on my left, but Yu Zhongjian snatched it away. He squinted at me, his eyes like they were filled with knives, which made me shudder, and I suddenly felt my hearing return to normal.

"Entering the second phase of cleanup!"

This was a zombie extermination plan devised at home: the first phase would use firearms, and the second phase would involve manual labor. The moment the artillery fired, half of Huai City's zombies could hear it and would rush towards the scene. Based on a rough estimate of the number of zombies in various parts of the city, and calculating the fastest speed at which they could run after mutation, the groups closest to Renmin Road could reach them in half an hour. This was the limit that Han Bo and Zhou Yi's two teams could withstand; any longer, and any more zombies attracted, and they wouldn't be able to hold out.

Fireworks roared along Renmin Road, obscuring the sky, and through the swirling black smoke, the silhouettes of zombies still walking upright could be seen. I holstered my gun, drew my knife, and without even removing my blindfold, leaped back onto the sandbag cover, shouting, "For the veterans, charge!"

Guo Yang and Wang Lianshan emerged from behind the cover, looked up at me, paused awkwardly for a moment, then quickly raised their knives and shouted, "Charge!"

I fought from dawn till dusk. Both of my machetes were dulled, and my body was constantly soaked with sweat, drying and then getting wet again. My sun-protective shirt and work pants were so dirty that their original color was unrecognizable. I was fearless in the face of the zombies' sharp teeth and claws. When my machetes were dulled, I used a shovel; when they broke, I used steel bars. At first, Wang Lianshan was helping me out, but later he slung a large bag over his shoulder, protecting my back while handing me tools.

That old guy was no saint either. Every time I killed one, he'd yell, "Doctor Qi is mighty!" Every time I killed another, he'd yell, "Doctor Qi is awesome!" Later on, even female assassins and female tyrants started appearing. And I just love hearing compliments, especially praise for my heroism. Once someone started fighting me, I couldn't stop. I was exhausted but too embarrassed to rest until I was completely drained and collapsed headfirst into a pile of zombies.

The surrounding scenery faded into darkness, and Renmin Road was a scene of devastation, littered with corpses. Yu Zhongjian finally gave the order to retreat. Wang Lianshan carried me to the car, still showering me with compliments: "I forgot to bring my camera. If I could have taken a picture of your heroic figure just now, I would have developed it, enlarged it, framed it, and hung it at the entrance of the Rongjun (Veteran's Army) compound. Any zombies or bandits would tremble at the sight of it!"

I was so tired I couldn't even laugh anymore: "You're exaggerating."

"Really, if you don't believe me, ask Xiao Guo, Xiao Chen, and the others. You may not have noticed, but we saw it clearly. There must have been at least forty or fifty zombies that died at your hands just now. That guy was wielding his big knife with a whooshing sound, spinning steel bars with a whooshing sound, wearing a black eye patch, and flicking his hair. Hey, he looked just like that Somali female pirate captain, so cool."

Me: ...Isn't she a female tyrant? How come she's a pirate captain now?

My arms were sore and numb, my waist was strained from overexertion, and my legs felt like lead, so I slumped in the back seat. I was exhausted, but listening to Wang Lianshan's endless flattery, I still felt a surge of pride. Who says women are inferior to men? In the whole team, except for a few individuals, who am I inferior to? Before, four of us struggled to kill fifty zombies; now I can do it all by myself! And that doesn't even include those killed by grenade throwing. This rate of growth, this intelligence and skill—choosing me as the leader was the wisest decision those guys ever made!

I became so arrogant that when I returned to the military base and saw Yu Zhongjian getting off the bus ahead of me, I couldn't help but think with my nose in the air, "One day I'll surpass you and make you admit defeat."

All three teams assembled and lined up. The captain gave a brief mission summary, ordered everyone to check their weapons, verify their ammunition, and hand over their firearms, then dispersed to rest. Everyone was dirty and tired, but they didn't leave immediately. Instead, they huddled together to discuss the day's battle. The Dai brothers and Xiao Chen and Xiao Duan were all new survivors. As I said, few could survive this long. This was their first time participating in a group field mission, and they all showed unity, tension, seriousness, and liveliness. No one held back or showed cowardice. Their combat skills were also evident when they fought the zombies hand-to-hand. Right now, they were exchanging ideas and sharing their experiences.

I nodded with satisfaction and limped towards the administration building. With fewer of those sober-minded guys in the cafeteria and more of those intelligent and hardworking individuals, we can definitely live confidently and vibrantly even in the apocalypse.

"Captain Qi."

I turned around and saw Yu Zhongjian standing behind me with his eyes downcast.

"What's up?"

"You don't need to come to the third team tomorrow."

I was taken aback for a moment, then laughed: "I'm not injured, just tired. I'll be fine after a good night's sleep. Don't worry, I'm in good health."

Gao Chen passed by and smiled at me, her dimples quite charming. I quickly waved, "Hey, wait for me!"

Just as he was about to leave, Yu Zhongjian spoke again: "You disobey orders and cannot follow orders. You will have a negative impact on others in the team. Don't come tomorrow. Go patrol other teams instead."

The team members' voices, discussing the battle situation, suddenly fell silent, and several pairs of eyes glanced over, trying to conceal their true intentions.

Gao Chen was just a few steps away. Not only did I hear Yu Zhongjian's words clearly, but he did too. He paused, about to speak, but I waved him off, saying, "Go back and rest."

He glanced at the two of us, and then noticeably slowed his pace as he took another step.

I didn't even have the strength to glare at Yu Zhongjian, and went straight to the point: "What do you mean by making trouble? It's not like this is the first day I've gone out with you. I've always been like this. Why didn't you say so before? Today, I only fired an extra magazine of bullets, and you have to make me look bad in front of the team?"

He continued smoking with his eyelids downcast: "Different missions, different requirements. If you disobey orders and fire an extra burst every time, it will eventually bring consequences you don't want to see. Besides, you were the captain back then, but now I am the captain, so I have the final say on personnel adjustments within the team."

Although I was embarrassed, I decided to give him another way out: "If you don't come tomorrow, I'll come the day after tomorrow?"

"Don't come the day after tomorrow either."

"Are you trying to kick me out of Team Three?"

"Yes." He didn't hesitate for a moment.

After he finished speaking, he left. The three teams of members passed by in single file, tiptoeing. I stood in front of the building entrance for a long time, then limped to the main gate. I saw Han Bo's convoy return, park, and get out. I went up and blocked his way.

"I'm definitely going to put Yu Zhongjian in a sack this time, so tell me if you're going to help me or not!"