Chapter 100: The Recapture of Tianjin (5)

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The scattered skirmish tactics against the zombies proved highly effective. By the afternoon, only 700,000 zombies had been eliminated, but the ammunition expenditure reached 100 million rounds of bullets and 1.2 million shells. The reduction in consumption was mainly due to slower firing and supply rates. Many times, zombies charged the front line but were held back by chainmail warriors wielding steel pipes and long knives.

After a day of combat, 1.9 million zombies had been destroyed, though the main zombie forces had yet to enter the battlefield. Night combat was next.

The zombies showed no signs of fatigue or fear of death; they attacked relentlessly, regardless of day or night.

“Why does this feel like real manliness?” Li Fengyi silently shook his head and asked the group, “Is there any other strategy?”

All officials above the divisional level were gathered in the Armed Forces Ministry conference room.

The room was silent. Some felt it would be better to quickly arrange a retreat and defensive positions, but no one voiced this thought.

“I recall from a previous observation report,” Minister Ou from the Health Department, who had just returned from the Old River Bay Zombie Observation Base, spoke up. “The experiment involved fire. The findings were: gasoline ignites zombies instantly, but a fully soaked zombie takes about fifteen to sixteen minutes to die from burning. Zombies igniting other zombies takes roughly ten minutes. Indirectly ignited zombies, lacking accelerants and burning mostly their own fat, take about an hour to burn down. If the fire covers a small area, it may even extinguish itself. A large-scale fire scene is needed to maintain temperature and ensure continuous ignition.”

Minister Ou looked at the projected image of the Ziya River battlefield and asked, “The site was bombed all day. Is the ground muddy or covered with powder? Would that slow down the zombies’ movement?”

“You’re referring to the first battle at Sede Park,” said Minister Liu from the Science and Technology Department, who had been in a rather sour mood lately. He privately confided to Li Fengyi the pressure he felt from dealing with unknown phenomena.

“But during the second battle at Sede Park,” Minister Liu adjusted his glasses—though he didn’t really need them now. Humanity’s physical condition had improved in this post-apocalyptic era. While no one could yet breathe fire or shoot lightning or wear underwear outside their pants, the need for such gimmicks was gone.

He continued, “Some zombies quickly realized that being soaked all over could reduce the suppressive effect of fire, causing serious losses to the army.”

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“The zombies must be evolving, showing some learning ability,” Minister Ou said, referencing the extensive data observed at the Old River Bay Zombie Observation Base. “They’ve discovered that jumping from heights can kill them, that water can lessen the effects of fire, and that when faced with annihilation, they will retreat. However, it’s unclear how they spread these learned experiences. Different zombie groups don’t seem to communicate much. At Old River Bay, we also found that zombies understand drowning in water is fatal; despite all attempts to lure them in, none jumped.”

The United Front Minister perked up, pondering silently, “It sounds like zombies have some intelligence and learning capacity. Surely we won’t need to conduct united front work on them, right? Oh dear, I can’t even bear to think about it; my heart is pounding…”

He lowered his head and stayed silent.

Currently, all known methods against zombies—steel pipe guns, long knives, artillery, machine guns, rifles, tanks charging wildly—had been considered. None proved effective against massive-scale assaults. Trenches and fortifications were of little use, and no trenches existed in front of the positions.

Outside, the streetlights flickered on. Every minute at the front line was hard to endure, with constant danger of being overrun.

“What about the river?” asked the newly appointed Minister of Water Resources, Yu Zhangcheng. Before the apocalypse, he had been a low-level employee in the Water Resources Department and had been honored to pass the examination for minister afterward.

With fewer people and the halt of large-scale industry and agriculture, plus ample rainfall, rivers and lakes were full. Frequent levee breaches caused floods, giving Minister Yu a strong urge to take charge, like the legendary Great Yu taming the waters. He was determined to make a difference, though many old hydrological records were now useless and required fresh surveys.

“It’s been filled in,” replied Chief of Staff Shi Yongcheng, returning with reports. “It seems this zombie group hasn’t learned the lessons others have.”

“And the water? What about the river water?” Minister Yu pressed for answers. “There’s been rain upstream the past few days; floods should be flowing down. Even without floods, if the river is blocked, the water has to flow somewhere.”

“The water has flooded both banks, spreading widely. It flows down through gaps in the zombie horde without forming swamps. Zombies charge with other corpses underfoot, and the shells lose much of their power being absorbed,” Shi Yongcheng said helplessly. “Several bulldozers used to clear corpses got stuck in the mud and had to be pulled out by tanks.”

“Could we send engineering vehicles during zombie charge intervals to dig a diversion canal along the Ziya River, restoring the river flow?” Minister Yu believed water could annihilate all zombies.

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“They’d get stuck in the mud, then be overwhelmed by zombies, and finally destroyed by shells,” Shi Yongcheng replied.

“In fact, about eight kilometers behind the defensive line, there’s a railway we can use,” said Minister Jiang Yu from the Transport Department, who had been reluctant to speak until now since no one had asked for his input.

Minister Jiang continued, “A large portion of our ammunition is transported by rail to Shuangjie Town, west of the Ziya River. From there, it’s just a short drive to the zombies’ rear. Recently, we’ve converted many armored trains, preparing to patrol the nation. I think we should give them a try.”

Shuangjie Town received orders and quickly prepared to receive the armored trains, while also scouting whether the railway southward to the rear of the zombie annihilation zone was passable.

The Special Committee believed that even if the railway was impassable, they could open a new front along the line to alleviate pressure on the main battle. Command of the armored trains was handed over to Li Qiang.

When Li Qiang received the order, he was already enduring long days by the Ziya River. The Ministry of Industry had installed floodlights to enable night combat.

Despite strict warnings to maintain military-grade standards—since damaged floodlights could cause disastrous consequences—some construction workers habitually cut corners, using substandard lamps and wiring. Li Qiang ordered immediate execution by shooting for those responsible.

Sun Xiaoshan felt humiliated and resolved that if such incidents occurred again, he would personally enforce discipline first to maintain dignity.

The railway from Beijing to Shuangjie Town was unobstructed. At 18:25, two armed trains sped toward the front line at 80 kilometers per hour, arriving within two hours.