Chapter 11: The Surviving Soldier

May 30, 2015. Seven o’clock in the morning. Another night had passed, yet the adults still wandered restlessly from one end of the apartment to the other, from inside to out, occasionally exchanging uncertain, fearful glances. The children remained asleep, their lips smacking now and then, sometimes murmuring in their dreams, calling for their mothers.

Those on rotation watching the drying balcony and the internet reported no new developments; the network threatened collapse, but power, water, and gas were still running. The two women continued preparing meals as usual.

Because the drying balcony didn’t face the main road, the view outside remained hidden. The skylight leading to the rooftop was in Unit Three.

Li Fengyi recalled how, when the safety grills were installed, the worker had grabbed the low parapet above the drying balcony with one hand and vaulted up. Li Fengyi, however, knew better than to try such a feat; city-dwelling white-collar workers rarely had the chance to exercise and were certainly no match for professionals in agility or strength.

He found several bedsheets, soaked them in water, twisted them into ropes, and tied one end around his waist, with Sun Xiaoshan and Huang Shunyi anchoring the other. Placing a chair at the balcony, he climbed up, balancing on the window frame, and, after much scrambling, managed to pull himself onto the rooftop.

He had them tie together a few more bedsheets and secured them to a sturdy spot on the roof. Leaving the two women to stand guard below, the men climbed up one by one. They ran to the south end of the building to look down at Tu Cheng Road and Hepingli North Street.

Everyone gasped at what they saw. Right in front of Courtyard Five’s entrance on Hepingli North Street, a horde of zombies was clawing at the exposed barrel of a tank. If not for the barrel, no one would have guessed a tank lay buried beneath that sea of the undead.

Yesterday had not been a dream—there really were zombies filling the streets.

To the east of the tank, the tracks of its passage stretched from beneath the city rail bridge, flattening cars in its wake before halting inexplicably at the gate. The road was littered with white bones, scattered firearms and ammunition, and windblown shreds of bloodstained clothing, all thickly coated in dust.

It looked as if the military unit from yesterday had been wiped out. Yet survivors might still be inside the tank; zombies could do nothing against thick armor.

Had tanks really entered the city just hours after the outbreak? And even they had been annihilated? The situation was dire—what could possibly withstand the zombies now?

Li Fengyi moved to the south side of the rooftop and looked down. The gate guard, now a zombie, was ramming the iron gate toward the direction of the tank. The gate was sturdy, and the undead guard’s relentless efforts were futile.

He crossed to the roof of the adjacent Mary Hospital’s main building, overlooking Hepingli North Street to the west. The street was choked with cars of every type, black smoke rising in columns from wrecks, forming a forest of smoke against the windless sky. Zombies wandered between the vehicles.

“We have to find a way to rescue those soldiers in the tank—they’re professionals, trained for killing and surviving,” Li Fengyi urged, leading everyone to the west balcony of apartment 607. They climbed down using the rope of bedsheets and sent Tian Ming, Wang Shujuan, and Chu Zhen to pry up cement floor tiles and carry them to the rooftop. At Li Fengyi’s hand signal, they began throwing tiles from near to far along the tank, luring the zombies toward the city rail bridge.

To kill zombies by dropping tiles from above was something none of them would have dared imagine before.

Armed with steel pipes, hammers, and axes, and carrying a single bedboard for cover, they descended to the ground. The zombie girl thrown down yesterday still lay sprawled nearby; the sight, though unsettling, gave them a bit more confidence.

Huang Shunyi and Sun Feigang lifted the bedboard and moved towards the zombie guard at the gate. As they approached Unit Two, the undead guard caught the scent of living flesh and charged. Li Fengyi noticed it was faster than yesterday—it could now move at a living person’s jogging pace.

He and Sun Xiaoshan each took a steel pipe and, standing behind the bedboard, made growling noises to attract the zombie. With its arms blocked, they battered the guard’s head until white brain matter splattered out and the creature collapsed. They prodded it with their pipes—no reaction. Li Fengyi had Huang Shunyi and Sun Feigang take turns with the hammer and axe for practice.

Once Tian Ming signaled from the rooftop that all was ready, Li Fengyi clenched his fist and waved—a sign for Tian to begin. Soon, the sound of tiles smashing east of the tank echoed through the air. The zombies reacted instantly, swarming toward the noise like a disturbed hive, though a few remained, still clawing at the tank.

Li Fengyi eyed the weapons scattered across the ground. “When we head back, grab whatever you can,” he whispered.

He took the keys, opened the iron gate, and led the group to the front of the tank, wanting those inside to see them and coordinate their escape.

Two zombies at the rear of the tank paid them no mind, but one at the front caught their scent and charged, growling. Again, the bedboard was raised, and Li Fengyi and Sun Xiaoshan dispatched the creature with their steel pipes. The tank’s hatch opened; a soldier in a tank crew helmet peered out, then quickly leapt down with a short rifle, followed by two more.

Li Fengyi and his people hurried back. The restaurant was empty—yesterday’s clearing operation had lured the zombies onto the road.

Running, Li Fengyi asked quietly, “Do you have any way to contact the outside?”

The first crewman replied, “There’s a radio in the tank. We have tools, but we’ll need some time to remove it.”

“We’ll buy you that time. Take anything useful from the tank,” Li Fengyi said.

Once plans were set, one soldier ran to the tank’s front while the others joined Li Fengyi at the rear. One of the soldiers raised his gun, but Li Fengyi stopped him. “It’s too loud. That’ll draw every zombie in the area. Use this—aim for the head.” He handed him a steel pipe.

Together, they quickly finished off the remaining zombies. Li Fengyi glanced up—Tian Ming was still on the rooftop, hurling tiles farther and farther to keep luring the undead deep under the city rail bridge. The main horde chased the flying tiles into the tunnel’s depths.