Chapter 143 Fangzhou, will not be looked down upon by them...
The authorities are powerful; they located the hooded woman's most recent appearance and quickly uncovered many clues.
Officer Chen led his team out again, vowing not to return until they found the den of believers.
“These bastards, they were probably no good before the virus outbreak, they probably have criminal records. If we can’t find the hooded woman, can’t we find her gang of followers? Not all of them wear masks when they go out.”
In Officer Chen's eyes, he couldn't participate in the game between higher-dimensional beings, but as a criminal investigator, as long as there were fingerprints, witnesses, and clues, he could continue the investigation.
Leave professional matters to professionals. During the short waiting period, Fu Qing was not idle.
She used the system to modify the daily tasks available on the school's wristbands. In addition to routine tasks such as patrolling inside and outside the school, guarding posts, and cleaning up corpses near the campus, she added many tasks to enhance and repair walls and traps.
In addition, Xu Mingyue was instructed to gather a group of outstanding students from the infrastructure course and begin to systematically renovate the abandoned buildings on the plains outside the school and around the school.
Xu Mingyue called the elite class students out that day.
When they returned, they had somehow "borrowed" several excavators and handed them over to the parents of several students whose majors were relevant to theirs.
Everyone worked with great enthusiasm, and even the rescued children added the task of helping to transport supplies to their daily work.
Bai Xianglei and the others pretended not to see the teachers and students digging holes in the plain and carefully filling them with unknown objects.
However, they were also secretly preparing for battle.
Tian Xuejun increased the number of patrols near Fangzhou, but unfortunately, the army of evolved zombies lurking in the city was like a time bomb that could explode at any time or in any place.
After more than a month of continuous fighting, all the soldiers were extremely exhausted. However, upon receiving the news, they still had to brace themselves and remain vigilant against any possible attack.
On the other side was a group of reckless lunatics, and they had far too many people to protect.
No one, no part of this land, can be sacrificed.
Too many constraints meant they were destined to be at a disadvantage from the very beginning.
The only saving grace is that, so far, the Fangzhou teachers and students, who are in the most need of protection due to their special status, are actually the group that requires the least amount of worry.
Everyone on campus, from the oldest to the youngest, was busy with their own work: exercising, farming, raising livestock, stockpiling goods, and building infrastructure.
Even knowing that someone was protecting them in secret, the teachers and students did not stop and continued to work on their own.
Clearly, for them, having their destiny firmly in their own hands is the most reassuring thing.
Every day during their patrols, the soldiers see new changes on campus, leaving them amazed by the soldiers' efficiency.
In the eyes of the teachers and students, they had a clear grasp of the situation, or at least the situation of the zombies, and everything they did had a clear purpose.
The reinforced walls can hold off hordes of novice zombies, but they cannot stop agile runner-type zombies.
If a giant zombie crashes into it dozens of times with all its might, or if several giant zombies charge together, there is also a risk of collapse.
Those traps were designed to deplete the strength of these special zombies before they arrived at the campus, thus reducing the defensive pressure on the walls.
The nearby renovated buildings serve the same purpose.
Fangzhou is the last line of defense, and they will never allow it to fall.
If the situation becomes truly critical, the students will take the initiative and be prepared to engage in urban warfare to deplete the enemy's strength.
The practical training was not in vain; they had absolute confidence in their ability to deal with and outmaneuver zombies in complex indoor environments.
Bai Xianglei's team watched as everyone gradually transformed the already well-defended campus into an impenetrable fortress, and they were completely convinced.
Soon, they couldn't resist joining in.
—It took less than half a day for me to go from observing with admiration to carrying an entrenching tool and helping out in the field.
*
[Northern perimeter wall reinforcement completed]
A new minefield measuring 30m x 10m has been added in the east.
[Reporting to the host, teacher 'Xu Mingyue' is leading a team to renovate the abandoned factory at the end of the escape route. The project is progressing well and is expected to be completed within 36 hours...]
The system dutifully broadcast the information to Fuqing.
Fueled by anger, everyone worked with extraordinary zeal, not only increasing their efficiency significantly but also making the most of their time for eating and sleeping.
As a result, Fu Qing had an additional task every day: to urge everyone to eat and rest.
So that you don't exhaust yourself before the zombies even arrive.
In the past, she was the one who followed behind them with a small leather whip, urging them on. The sudden change in her persona was something that not only Fu Qing was not used to, but the students were also not used to.
Walking on campus, the experience of being suddenly approached by the principal and asked in a friendly manner, "Have you had dinner?" "What time are you going to bed tonight?" is so terrifying that students are both touched and scared, and set more than a dozen alarm clocks for themselves that night.
She was terrified of missing a meal, fearing that the principal would come knocking on her door in the middle of the night and ask, "Did you eat half a bowl less rice today?"
So how exactly does the principal know how many meals everyone ate and how long they slept each day?!
This is even more incredible than her previous ability to clearly grasp the learning progress of more than 2,000 people in the whole school, as well as each person's strengths and weaknesses.
—The principal really cares about us! She must expend so much energy keeping track of thousands of people!
The students were moved to tears.
After two days of persistent supervision, the results were immediate. Before Fu Qing could even catch her breath, she discovered that her students' popularity had quietly increased by a few points.
Fu Qing: "..."
Aren't these students' hobbies a bit strange?
She was somewhat confused, and at the same time instructed the system to turn off the sleep monitoring and eating supervision functions.
...
A week has passed in the blink of an eye.
This is destined to be a sleepless week for humanity, while their adversaries are lying in wait, conserving their strength.
It felt as if everyone knew the guillotine was about to fall, and even knew its speed of descent, enough to sever everything, but before that moment actually arrived, they could only look up and stare at the blade hanging in the air, their eyes aching but not daring to blink.
Even knowing it was an enemy tactic, everyone's nerves were slowly sliding towards collapse.
As commanders on both sides, Tian Xuejun and Fu Qing clearly sensed that something was wrong.
The riots broke out late on the seventh night.
Fu Qing opened her eyes as the system's voice sounded in her mind.
All around was quiet, but she felt as if mournful cries were being swept by the night wind from the distant darkness, sending a chill down her spine for no reason.
【here we go. 】
The system only said three words.
The emotionless electronic voice sounds particularly cold at this moment, like a chilling stroke in a history book.
Fu Qing jumped out of bed. She had only slept for less than three hours, but her mind was incredibly clear. She grabbed her coat from the back of the chair and strode out of the dormitory.
As she walked out, the system received a command and sounded a long, piercing alarm throughout the campus.
Dormitory buildings, teaching buildings, administration buildings... one by one the lights come on, and shadows move inside the windows.
Fu Qing continued her steps without stopping, and the entire campus quickly awoke from its slumber at her command.
Bai Xianglei, Zhou Lingxi, and others rushed over from different dormitory buildings. When they saw her, they said with grave expressions, "Five minutes ago, seven large hospitals and eleven primary and secondary schools converted into basic shelters in S City were simultaneously attacked by a zombie horde. According to current intelligence, there are at least tens of thousands of zombies involved in the attack..."
“Soldiers guarding various locations are working hard to clear out the zombies, but the zombie horde is too large, and the commander has urgently dispatched reinforcements to the scene.” Zhou Lingxi swallowed. “But we suspect that this is only the first step in their operation.”
This was something they had expected.
With limited capacity in official shelters, a large number of residents were forced to remain in primary shelters, which, along with hospitals, formed the weakest link in the city's defenses.
Due to their function, these buildings have almost no defensive capabilities and are extremely vulnerable. Yet, a large number of civilians, including the elderly, the infirm, and the disabled, gather here. Anyone leading an army would prioritize attacking these places.
In recent days, the military has tried its best to relocate and merge residents in some small shelters, while hospitals, due to the large number of medical facilities and seriously ill patients that cannot be moved, have had to remain as they are and have been garrisoned by soldiers.
If these measures had not been taken in advance, the number of locations attacked would likely have more than doubled, and defense would have been much more difficult.
Even with prior preparation, the horde of tens of thousands of zombies still made Bai Xianglei and the others look extremely grim.
The hospital and school are located in areas with extremely high population density in the city. The horde of zombies surged in from all directions through the streets and alleys. There were dense buildings on the side and vulnerable civilians in the center. This meant that they could not use any heavy firepower and could only resort to the most primitive means of attack.
Bai Xianglei could fully imagine the pressure the warriors were under at this moment, trapped in the zombie horde.
Fu Qing was not surprised by this number. "With a population of over ten million in S City, it's not difficult to mobilize a few hundred thousand zombies."
Bai Xianglei's facial muscles twitched violently, and he couldn't help but do a calculation in his mind as she said.
Based on the current infection rate, these hundreds of thousands of zombies may not even be one-tenth of the total number of zombies lurking in S City...
Fu Qing continued, "If we can attack in batches in a planned and disciplined manner like this, there is a high probability that there are devout followers leading the zombie horde. If we can kill their leaders, the situation will become much easier to deal with."
At the end of both the first and second lifetimes, there appeared advanced zombies with the ability to command novice zombies.
As leaders, if they die, the cohesion of the zombie horde will drop significantly, and the zombies on the periphery will gradually be attracted to the humans who are closer, thus gradually dissipating.
This was all information that Fu Qing had already given them.
Bai Xianglei nodded: "We understand."
That being said, finding the special one among tens of thousands of similar-looking zombies is no easy task.
The devout believers don't have more eyes or fewer mouths than other zombies.
As they spoke, they arrived at the administration building. Tian Xuejun stood in the conference room, her military uniform jacket buttoned up perfectly without a single wrinkle, clearly indicating that she had not rested all night.
She brought devastating news: "The attacks didn't just happen in S City; there have been reports of attacks on key facilities almost all over the country."
"The good news is that the pious cleanup operation has been underway for some time. The zombie hordes that have broken out in most areas are not as organized as those in S City. Although they have gathered together, they are like headless flies without a leader, only more irritable and angry than usual."
Tian Xuejun calmly pointed out: "For these areas, this is both a crisis and an opportunity. They may be able to take this opportunity to clear out most of the zombies in the city."
"—Of course, the price is that we will hardly receive any assistance in the short term. In fact, it could be said that the Zombie King's goal is to leave us isolated and helpless."
Everyone in the room listened quietly, and no one showed any surprise.
Tian Xuejun straightened up and her gaze swept across everyone's faces.
"Both sides have revealed their cards; this is the final battle. If we can hold out, the entire country will have a chance to breathe, the spread of infection will be significantly delayed, and the scales of victory will tip in humanity's favor..."
She paused for a moment, and just when everyone thought she was about to say something else entirely, Tian Xuejun changed the subject: "But what I want to say is that there is no other possibility. We must hold on. I urge everyone to join me in putting life and death aside and fighting to the very last moment for the future of our families and compatriots."
"Victory will ultimately belong to humanity, and it must belong to humanity."
When Song Rushuang and the others rushed into the room, they happened to hear Tian Xuejun's last words.
"The command center has decided that City S will spare no effort to buy time for the rest of the country to clear the zombie horde."
The six words, "at all costs," resonate powerfully.
The group stopped in their tracks, a surge of hot blood rushing to their heads.
They had no time to think; they couldn't wait to rush to the front lines and fight.
Just then, Fu Qing's voice rang out, clear and cold, yet like a sharp arrow piercing their confused minds, instantly bringing them to their senses.
She stood in the corner of the room the entire time, yet no one could ignore the weight of her words.
"Perhaps we don't need to be so pessimistic."
Seeing the fearless look in Bai Xianglei and the others' eyes, Fu Qing calmly said, "S City is the center of the nationwide zombie outbreak, but the center of S City is Fangzhou."
"It is Fangzhou that truly wants to turn it into an isolated island."
"Following the normal line of thinking, the next step after attacking the primary shelters and hospitals should be the major high-voltage substations, communication base stations, satellite ground stations, and sewage treatment plants located in the suburbs... The remaining forces of the Zombie King are enough to cover all of these infrastructures. In this way, no one will be able to come to Fangzhou's aid anymore."
Fang Zhou is the real target hidden behind S City.
And hidden behind Fangzhou...
Fu Qing's expression remained calm, yet his composed voice offered immense comfort and encouragement.
"As long as Fangzhou doesn't lose, S City won't lose. And Fangzhou isn't a place they can easily conquer."
The sirens overhead ripped through the long night, and instead of weakening, they grew even louder and sharper.
Bai Xianglei finally realized something, his expression subtly changing: "This alarm, could it be..."
He initially thought the alarm was to warn everyone on campus that a zombie horde had broken out in the city.
After all, he had only just received the news from Tian Xuejun when the alarm went off.
But the horde of zombies was still in the city, some distance from Fangzhou, and he realized that the alarm seemed to be sounding too urgently.
[Host, the first wave of evolved zombies will arrive in five minutes.]
A system notification appeared in Fu Qing's mind.
The phrase "It has begun" never referred to the zombie horde in the city.
At the same time, Su Huaijin also answered Bai Xianglei's question: "The meaning of this alarm is that the campus will be attacked by the enemy within ten minutes, and everyone should enter a state of combat readiness."
The group's gazes simultaneously turned to Fu Qing, their expressions resolute. Their young faces showed no fear, only unwavering courage.
“Principal, we are ready,” Su Huaijin said.
-----------------------
Author's note: Sorry I'm late. I got a fever after going out for the holiday, so I'm a bit out of sorts.
...And although it's a bit late, Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
