The Coup of the Gate
June 28th, one month and twenty-eight days since I entered the veterans' quarters, and the eighth day of my solitary confinement and usurpation of power. I slept soundly, only to wake to the rumble of thunder. Outside, hurried footsteps echoed in the corridor, and a hoarse voice shouted, "Don't keep anyone here! Don't keep anyone here! Men and women, all of you, go down and assemble!"
I glanced at the wall clock and saw that it had stopped at 3:37. A few days ago, Liu Meili had said the clock was inaccurate, always running and stopping, and this morning the battery finally ran out.
The blankets on her bed were neatly folded, making it seem as if she hadn't returned home all night. The person outside was still calling out, "Is anyone still here? No one is allowed to stay in the building. Dean Qi will take attendance."
I felt sticky all over, and the blanket I had wrapped myself in while sleeping had long since been kicked aside. The room was unbearably stuffy and hot. I got up and opened the window, and a wave of heat hit me. There was a breeze, but it felt like it was burning with embers, mixed with a faint stench of corpses, making it hard to even catch my breath.
As I opened the door, a big, smiling face greeted me: "Good morning, Vice Dean Qi! You're up in person? Did you sleep well last night? The cafeteria is serving fried pancakes and spicy soup this morning, so you don't need to go all the way there. I'll get you a bowl."
I said with a dark face, "Over, you've been very busy lately. Who ordered you to guard my door this time? If it weren't for the fact that you saved my life, I would have thrown you out to feed the zombies long ago."
This man's surname is Liao, given name Donghui, nicknamed "Over Bro"—that's what I called him. He's of medium build, around thirty years old, and looks quite ordinary—the kind of person who wouldn't stand out in a crowd. He has a self-taught bachelor's degree and is currently pursuing a master's degree at a Party school. Before the apocalypse, he was the deputy director of the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau of the Qinghe District Government. A civil servant, someone who would normally have no connection with ordinary people like us, but ever since he became a survivor in the apocalypse and entered the veterans' hospital, he suddenly started using all the flattery skills he'd honed over the past half-life.
First, he tried to flatter the squad leader, Yu Zhongjian, but the guy wouldn't have it. The moment they went out, he kicked him right in front of zombies. With nowhere to retreat, he gritted his teeth and endured for a while. Then, thinking I was a woman and easier to talk to, he tried to strike up a conversation, but neither Lao Wang nor Guo Yang wanted to switch places with him. Finally, when I was kidnapped by Qian Shiqi, he went with Gao Chen to help me out, using his knack for seizing opportunities to warn me in a heavily accented foreign language – which saved my life. I thought I could finally get on his good side, but instead, my mom locked me up as soon as I got back, and then my dad usurped power.
Following Yu Zhongjian made his life a living hell. His path of flattery was fraught with twists and turns, but fortunately, he eventually met his mentor—my father, a former workshop director who now calls himself the hospital director. One loved to flatter, the other loved to listen; one dared to offer wild ideas, the other dared to implement them. They were like fish in water, hitting it off immediately. In just a few days, they turned the Veterans Hospital into a chaotic mess.
It's not that I don't want to take care of things, it's just that my mom is too strict. She won't let me go downstairs, and she comes to feed me at fixed times every day, like feeding a pig. At the same time, she blindly praises my dad's work ability, creating the unrealistic image that things are still great even without me. Whenever my dad comes to visit me, he always proudly believes that he has done a very good job managing things, and tells me to rest and not worry.
If Liu Meili hadn't come back and nagged me a bit at night, I wouldn't have known that Rongjun was now veering off course towards building a one-man show and promoting a personality cult.
Liu Meili has been very tired lately. My dad, without consulting anyone, took it upon himself to open the gate to welcome survivors, instructing his loyal follower Xiao Hei and other field agents to rescue anyone they saw. Those who found the gate were especially welcomed. In just over a week, the total number of people admitted to the hospital reached over a hundred. Many of them were pale, thin, and malnourished, while others had suffered minor injuries from falls and trips while fleeing from the zombies. Liu Meili took care of them all by herself, and hadn't had a full night's sleep for several days.
Yesterday, Han Bo angrily told me that Liao Donghui had set a plan for them, requiring their resource-gathering team to hand over a certain amount of supplies every week, and declared that this was his father's idea. He said he wanted to beat up Liao Donghui, but he was afraid of upsetting Uncle Qi, since everyone thought of the Qi family's goodwill and no one wanted to offend their elders in public.
I know Han Bo is trying to remind me that I'm the only one who can deal with my increasingly arrogant father.
Liao Donghui was unfazed by my assessment and still smiled, saying, "What are you saying, Vice Dean Qi? How could I dare to stop you? I care about the veterans and just want to contribute more to our survivor group. I have no selfish motives. The word 'flattery' doesn't apply to me at all."
I thought to myself, "Fine, he thinks he can't do anything to me because I'm Old Qi's daughter, and he's just arguing and teasing me! I'll show him what he's got in common later."
I pushed him aside and went downstairs. A large crowd had gathered in the small square in front of the inpatient building—men, women, young and old—I didn't want to look or count. The sea of heads was lined up in several rows, all looking up at the middle-aged man standing on the steps, holding a notebook and looking quite pleased with himself.
"Huang Dachao".
"arrive."
"Ding Yumin".
"arrive."
"Jia Minxue".
"arrive."
The roll call alone took almost ten minutes. After the roll call was finished and the people were divided into groups, the middle-aged man waved his hand and said, "Group one, continue the work of building the barbican and raising the wall today; Group two, take stock of the newly delivered supplies and put them in the warehouse, and then carry out grassland improvement; Group three, add two drilling rigs and try to get water out of pits number two and number three as well. Do you all understand?"
The crowd below responded in unison, "We understand."
"Alright, let's shout our slogan and get to work today! Comrades, give it your all!"
"Hey hey yo!"
"The competition has reached its climax!"
"Hey hey yo!"
Liao Donghui rushed to my father's side and said passionately, "Thank you, Dean Qi, for providing us with shelter. Thank you, Dean Qi, for your hard work and dedication to the survivors. We salute Dean Qi!"
The crowd below shouted in unison, "Salute to Dean Qi!"
I didn't say a word, silently watched the so-called "morning meeting," and silently left the scene, going straight to the cafeteria to find my mother.
She was directing several women to remove the cloth from the large steamer and wash it. When she saw me, she looked at me with a kind expression and said, "Why did you come down here? I just saved some fried pancakes for you. They're still warm on the stove. Go and eat them."
I pulled her aside with a stern face and said softly, "Mom, I've listened to you and stayed home this past week. I also listened to Dad and handed over the acting head position to him. I think I've had enough of my confinement and I've fully recovered. I still need to take responsibility for our team's affairs. You and Dad, take a rest."
My mom was baffled: "What are you saying, child...?"
"Go and take a look. My dad has turned Rongjun into a giant pyramid scheme brainwashing site. He even has a barbican. Is he trying to become Song Jiang or Fang La or something? Anyway, I can't stand this mess in the courtyard anymore, so I came to tell you that I'm leaving today!"
Before my mom could say anything, I turned and walked away, leaving behind the words, "Nobody can stop me!"
After informing my mother, I walked back into the yard and saw an old man with gray hair leading several young men pulling a small drilling rig. Outside the gate, my father was leading a group of people building a wall at the T-junction, while Liao Donghui stood beside him, talking animatedly.
I stepped forward and said expressionlessly, "Dad, you should go back and rest."
My dad, full of energy, said, "What are you resting for so early in the morning? I just got up."
Thunder had been rolling in the sky for an hour or two, but not a single drop of rain had fallen. The weather was so hot and humid that it made me want to explode. I walked up to the wall they had built with six or seven rows of bricks, and without saying a word, I stomped my foot hard. The brick wall collapsed with a crash.
My dad roared, "What are you doing?!"
Everyone who was working was startled by me; those carrying bricks, mixing cement, and wielding shovels all stopped what they were doing.
I ignored him, turned to face the astonished Liao Donghui, and started cursing: "If you don't want to stay here, then get out! Don't make a racket all day like you're so busy. What are you doing, building walls and pulling weeds? We can't even get food, and you're still pulling weeds! The supplies and food were brought by the combat team going out to kill zombies and clear the way. You all come here to seek refuge, just to talk your way out and do some shady work, thinking you can get a free meal? It's not that easy!"
Everyone's faces darkened, and they stood frozen in place. My dad tried to pull me away: "Dafeng, what nonsense are you talking about?"
I turned around and smiled: "Dad, I haven't been feeling well lately, so please go back and rest. Don't listen to those irrelevant people spouting nonsense. Let's not build the barbican for now; the zombies haven't learned their siege tactics yet. I won't turn away the survivors you've welcomed since you're kind-hearted, but the Rongjun don't belong to the Qi family. People who want to make a living here can't win no matter who they try to curry favor with. Neither you nor I have the final say; it's the zombies' heads that decide."
My dad frowned deeply: "What do you mean? We're doing legitimate work, all for the good of the veterans. Look at the safety issues, the vegetable gardens, the well digging, isn't that...?"
I saw Wu Bainian craning his neck to listen in the security room, and I shouted to him, "Wu Bainian, come and help my dad back."
Wu Bainian ran straight this way, and my dad angrily shouted, "Strong wind..."
“Dad,” I interrupted him, staring intently into his eyes, “there are outsiders here. Don’t embarrass your daughter. I’m, after all, the person in charge chosen by everyone.”
My father was ultimately not completely brainwashed by bureaucracy. Although he was very angry, he just pointed at me with his finger and left without saying a word, following Wu Bainian.
After he walked away, I gave Liao Donghui a sinister look, which startled him so much that he stumbled: "Vice Dean Qi, things aren't what you think, I..."
"Was it you who instigated my father to unconditionally accept survivors? Was it you who instigated my father to build the barbican? Was it you who brought a group of people to drill holes all over the yard, causing a rumbling noise that attracted two zombie hordes in three days?"
"No, no... I just wanted to do my part for the veterans..."
I sneered, "You're treating the military like a government office, only concerned with achieving political success and ignoring the lives of ordinary people. Which of these tasks doesn't require material support? Where will the supplies come from? Will we need to send people out to gather them? You're sitting here in the court, trying to win people over, but have you considered the risk of injury or death for those going out? You're someone who's walked through hordes of zombies with us, someone who's witnessed Qian Shiqi's ruthlessness firsthand. The weapons you got from the special operations team almost cost me my life!"
Liao Donghui lowered his head and remained silent.
I stopped looking at him and continued speaking to the unfamiliar faces: "You all understand that this is the apocalypse, not a game. The zombie outbreak has been going on for almost four months. Those who have survived to this day are no ordinary people, right? Show us your real skills. Those who can participate in combat will join the field operations team. Those with professional skills, register and be assigned positions. Those who don't know anything can get lost now. We're not running a charity here. If you want someone to protect your life, you'll have to see if you're worth protecting!"
After saying that, I kicked again, stomping down the half of the wall that hadn't collapsed yet. Then I said to Liao Donghui, "Didn't you always want to team up with me? Fine, take your walkie-talkie and come with me to kill zombies."
His face was ashen, and no one onlookers uttered a sound. I coldly and ruthlessly finished my performance of the "coup at the gate," and when I turned around, I saw Han Bo and Zhou Yi leading their men, preparing to leave.
Han Bo chuckled and said, "You can tell if someone's got skills as soon as they make a move."
Zhou Yi raised his fist at Liao Donghui and said, "You dare to order me to hand over supplies? Take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror. Do you even look like supplies? You dare to boss me around like that? If your sister Feng had arrived even a moment later, you would have been splattered with blood at the gate today!"
After persuading my dad to quit, I left that mess behind and decided to let those people panic first. So I gathered the original team members together and went out to fight again, following Yu Zhongjian around.
After a week without any business, I slashed at the zombies with ferocious speed, all the strength my mom had given me from the various supplements she fed me was channeled into the zombies. With Gao Chen protecting me from behind with his excellent weapon, I fearlessly charged into a clump of seven or eight zombies, hacking and slashing wildly until I was covered in blood before stopping to catch my breath. Liao Donghui stood beside me, his hand on a knife trembling.
Yu Zhongjian swept up a few scattered cigarettes as if chopping melons and vegetables, and tossed me a cigarette. I subconsciously took it and was about to put it to my lips when I suddenly remembered Gao Chen was behind me, so I quickly threw it back to him: "Why are you giving me a cigarette? I don't smoke."
The cigarette fell to the ground. Yu Zhongjian glanced down at it and kicked it aside with his toe: "The zombies are more active than before. Whether they are conscious or not, they are gathering in groups to hunt together. This is also one of the reasons why the number of veteran survivors has increased. It is easy to be surrounded if you scatter and hide, because their sense of smell is also more sensitive than before."
I know he has never stopped observing and researching, but we are powerless against the mutation of zombies. "As long as they don't mutate into abilities like the Calabash Brothers, all we can do is kill as many as possible."
“No,” Yu Zhongjian shook his head, “What I’m worried about is that we don’t have much time to fight conventional battles and take them down one by one. This change in the zombies could very well trigger a zombie horde.”
"A zombie horde?" I looked around. "You mean all the zombies in Huai City will gather together and swarm the city's inhabitants like locusts?"
"Well, that's not the worst part. The worst part is that all the entrances to the city are open. If a large number of zombies enter Huai City from the highway or national and provincial roads, the day of the city's destruction will be imminent."
Zhang Yanhuang, wiping away beads of sweat, chimed in, "It's quite possible. Tongcheng, where the company commander and I were originally stationed, was practically in a state of annihilation. When the zombie outbreak first started, a large number of people fled the city, and our troops were rescuing people inside. There were very few survivors. Later, as more and more of our comrades became infected, the regimental commander, fearing the annihilation of the entire army, ordered the remaining battalion to leave the city immediately. On the highway, we encountered a large group of zombies gathered together. They... were all Tongcheng residents who were stuck on the road."
This kid used to use confidentiality regulations to brush me off, but now he realizes we can't go back to the way things were, so he just told the truth.
Yu Zhongjian said, "It's not just the people of Tongcheng who want to escape. You can imagine how many zombies are on the highway. They walk along the road, and wherever there is an exit, that's where they'll suffer."
I was taken aback: "Didn't you say there were very few zombies at the Guantang service area you went to last time?"
"That's heading northwest, and it's the first service area. We can't guarantee there won't be any zombies returning in the next few days. Think about it, if you were to flee the city, where would you go first?"
"...The capital." The heart of the nation, the political, economic, and cultural center, with a strong military force, there is no reason for it to fall.
"People in all the cities south of Huaicheng think this way."
"Are we supposed to flee north?"
“Nowhere is safe.” Yu Zhongjian flicked away his cigarette butt. “Your father’s motives were good. We do need to prepare for the worst, fortify the veterans’ quarters, and try to be self-sufficient. Once we encounter a zombie horde, no one knows how long we will be trapped.”
No wonder he remained unmoved while my dad and Liao Donghui were making a scene; it turns out he approved of my dad's actions.
"We can't stay on the defensive forever. How should we deal with the zombie horde?"
"You're in charge, so you make the decisions."
I got impatient: "Worst-case scenario, worst-case scenario, you only bring up the worst-case scenario, you don't want to plan for the worst? You put me in charge just to make me take the blame? There are over a hundred veterans now, how can I make the decision on matters of life and death by myself? You trust me, but I don't trust myself. Besides, I'm just an acting person in charge. If it doesn't work out, I'll resign and you can choose again!"
Liao Donghui moved closer to me: "Vice Dean Qi..."
"Don't call me vice dean!" I glared at him irritably. "There's no such thing as vice dean or vice dean. Don't give me that bureaucratic airs!"
He bowed and scraped: "Acting Director Qi, is that the right way to address me? Hehe, about Captain Yu's prediction of this zombie horde, I actually had an idea I wanted to report to you."
Before I could even reprimand him, Yu Zhongjian spoke up: "You say it."
"A few years ago, I don't know if you remember, there was a large-scale nationwide epidemic that infected tens of thousands and killed over a thousand people. Although it wasn't as terrifying as a zombie virus, it spread very quickly. At that time, everyone was on edge and fearful. Because there was no effective treatment, the country's control measures were isolation and containment. Roads were closed, cities were locked down, villages were sealed off, and residential areas were sealed off. By blocking the roads and isolating people, the virus had no space or channels to spread. After two or three months, the epidemic was brought under control, and a cure was developed."
"So?" I remember, of course I remember. It was my third year of university. Winter break was over and I couldn't go back to school. Community workers set up a checkpoint at the entrance of Xingfu Lane, patrolling several times a day. No visiting each other's homes or gathering in groups. Even peeking out of your door would get you sprayed with disinfectant. I stayed home every day watching movies and reading novels, which made me incredibly creative and bursting with inspiration. I almost gave up my dream of being a wandering swordsman and became an online writer instead. But after the pandemic ended, I forgot all about it.
"So let's block the roads, seal off all the entrances to Huai City, and cut off the zombies' way into Huai City."
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