Zhang Shi noticed the unusual behavior of the zombies and quickly ordered his soldiers to throw explosives and Molotov cocktails at the front.
The sulfur saltpeter mine had only been operating for a day, so gunpowder production was low, explosives were scarce, and Molotov cocktails could only be made from the remaining fuel and alcohol—each one used was one less available. Zhang Shi was worried about the endless number of zombies, so he didn't unleash full firepower from the start.
Now that he saw that the zombies seemed to have the ability to heal themselves, Zhang Shi dared not hold back any longer. He used explosives and Molotov cocktails to create a wall of fire at the front of the zombie horde. Any zombies that dared to cross the wall of fire were burned by the flames and slowly turned to ashes.
"Reporting to the lord, a large number of zombies have appeared behind the shelter!"
Cai Yi, a winged human scout, spread his wings and swooped down from the sky, landing on top of the wall.
Upon hearing this news, Zhang Shi immediately sensed something was wrong and gritted his teeth as he gave instructions.
"Brother Feng, you hold on up front, I'll be right back!"
After saying that, Zhang Shi used a Shadow Step to move to the bottom of the wall and jogged towards the back of the shelter to check.
Upon arriving at the back gate, several scouts were hovering in the air observing the enemy situation. A large group of zombies were constantly pacing along the riverbank, but not a single one of them was wading across. It was as if the river was a clear dividing line, blocking the zombies' advance.
Seeing that the zombie horde did not take any further action, Zhang Shi felt a little more at ease. After ordering the scouts to keep a close watch on the zombies' movements, Zhang Shi took Cai Yi back to the front lines. He had a hypothesis in his mind that he needed to verify through experiments.
Ge Dalong was pale at this moment. Despite taking a lot of potions to restore his magic power, he was still struggling to stay afloat.
With a whoosh, Zhang Shi teleported to his side, startling Ge Dalong.
"Old Ge, take a break first, listen to my command, and then fight with all your might in the direction I point out."
Hearing Zhang Shi's voice, Ge Dalong felt relieved, guessing that he must have come up with some new ideas.
A moment later, thorny vines wrapped around a large pile of ice and climbed up the wall. Zhang Shi took out a catapult and launched the ice blocks toward the outside of the fire wall.
"Let's do it!"
The scouts in the sky also hurled large chunks of ice towards the outside of the fire wall, instantly turning many zombies into mincemeat. Ge Dalong also joined in, using ice spikes to pierce through zombies within a certain range.
Moments later, the intense heat of the flames rapidly melted the ice, and the icy water spread along the zombies' severed limbs, dissolving the filth and debris. The zombies seemed to have an instinctive aversion to water, subconsciously avoiding any wet spots. Those that couldn't avoid it emitted blue smoke the moment their bodies touched the water, their skin and flesh corroded, and the zombie horde was gradually dispersed.
Zhang Shi figured out why zombies fear water. Although he couldn't directly kill them, he could produce an effect similar to sulfuric acid, making zombies fear him. If used properly, this could greatly reduce the pressure of dealing with zombie hordes.
Under the combined influence of flames and high temperatures, the ice quickly melted into water, which then evaporated into steam. Zhang Shi gritted his teeth, took out all the ice stored in the basement, and hurled it like cannonballs. The effect on the zombies was remarkable, greatly slowing down the advance of the zombie horde.
The battle raged into the night, until midnight, when the moon high in the sky lost its blood-red hue and shone with a pale white light. The remaining hundreds of zombies, as if receiving a command, turned and disappeared into the dense forest.
Inside the shelter, the group of fifty-odd people had held off thousands of zombies and were already exhausted. Zhang Shi and his three companions, as survivors, had plenty of consumable resources and ate voraciously due to the food's stat boosts, until their bellies were bulging. Wu Qing, who had a smaller appetite, even vomited while clinging to a wooden bucket.
Seeing the zombie horde recede, Zhang Shi rubbed his aching shoulders and ordered the Black Mist Guards to keep watch for the night. He then led Lao Bai and Xiao Mei to take stock of the battle losses.
A flash of bloody light streaked across the landscape, as if a brush had wiped away the corpses that littered the plain. The blood and limbs that had covered the ground disappeared, and even the vegetation affected by the flames was restored to its original state.
The accompanying system notification shared a huge amount of experience with everyone who participated in the battle. Zhang Shi leveled up three times, and Zhao Feng and others leveled up two times. However, the lower-level guards seemed to be restricted by their level and could not gain any more experience from the battle after reaching level 5.
"Misfortune and fortune are interdependent."
Zhang Shi sighed softly.
Ge Dalong smiled helplessly and pointed to the empty quiver.
"I hope this kind of good fortune comes less often. If it happens a few more times, even with our material reserves, we won't be able to hold on."
Zhang Shi ordered all soldiers to take turns resting. Although everyone was exhausted, the night watch could not be relaxed, since zombies don't get tired, and no one knew if they would launch a surprise attack in the middle of the night.
The four of them did not rest immediately, but instead gathered together to discuss countermeasures.
This fight against the zombie horde depleted the shelter's weapon reserves by more than half, and rare items like gunpowder and alcohol were completely exhausted. If another wave of zombies of the same size were to occur, Zhang Shi didn't know what he would use to fight it off.
"Looking at the chat channels, almost everyone in the entire wilderness world has been attacked by zombies at the same time."
Zhang Shi glanced around and saw that the world chat channel was full of discussions about the zombie attack. Many large organizations had been impacted, and some had even been breached by zombies, with their members scattering and fleeing.
According to survivors, the zombies in the wilderness are just like those in movies and TV shows. They are not very intelligent or capable of moving, and can only hunt by instinct. Once infected by a zombie, the survivor will mutate within 30 minutes and become a member of the zombie army.
"According to various sources, the scale of zombie attacks is related to the number of people and the level of the shelter. There was a relatively backward survivor I knew in the ward. According to him, he only encountered a group of less than ten zombies and easily dealt with the attack using a bow and arrow and a spear."
Ge Dalong pointed to a private chat message and analyzed the pattern of the zombie attack's scale.
Zhao Feng looked mournful.
"We can't just split up, can we? This damn system has even learned to treat people differently based on their status."
Zhang Shi patted him on the shoulder, signaling him to relax. Just now, he had completed the check-in for the sixth day of the extreme heat disaster, or rather, the first day of the zombie outbreak, and obtained an incredible item.
"It takes time for the zombie horde to gather. We need to seize the time to develop before the horde takes shape."
Afterwards, Zhang Shi generously took out the sign-in props and shared the information with everyone.
[Teleportation Array (Purple) x2: After deployment, it allows for rapid teleportation.]
Zhang Shi had checked it out before and found that the teleportation array was a set of two, which could allow for teleportation between the two arrays. However, the array was limited to being used only twice a day.
"This thing is more convenient and flexible than the Traveler's Journal, allowing multiple people to travel between two places. My plan is to place it near sulfur and saltpeter mines, continue mining minerals to make gunpowder, and gradually develop firearms, so that everyone can have a musket in the later stages."
Ge Dalong and his two companions examined the teleportation array with great interest, but remained silent about its origins, refraining from asking any questions. In this desolate world, everyone has their own little secrets, and as friends and partners, there's no need to pry into everything.
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