Chapter 14: Clearing Courtyard No. 5 (2)

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“The direction out of the city is extremely dangerous. So far, none of those we’ve contacted have managed to escape. For now, gathering within the city appears to be safe, but who knows what the future holds?” Li Fengyi gazed heavily at the other team leaders, whose faces were equally burdened with worry. From now on, meetings would be held jointly by the team leaders.

“Yes, leaving the city is perilous, but staying inside, who can say whether the zombies won’t suddenly swarm us?” Tian Ming, usually a doomsday enthusiast, had consumed countless apocalyptic works where the undead would rise en masse, devouring human flesh and blood to evolve.

“There aren’t any bases left outside the city either,” Sun Xiaoshan, who had summarized the latest news, added dejectedly, though he didn’t seem particularly grief-stricken.

As an orphan, Sun Xiaoshan had never felt attachment to family. But after following Li Fengyi, he often found warmth in Li’s home, experiencing the comfort of family for the first time. Despite his higher education, he always felt safer following Li Fengyi—loneliness was a hard companion. “There’s some news from the afternoon. The shelters are no longer encouraging people to go there; they’re now calling for support. All signals have disappeared. The network, the communication systems—they might have failed.”

Everyone checked their phones. No signal strength remained.

For a moment, the room was deathly silent, and everyone fell into inexplicable panic. These communication facilities had been the sole link to civilization. Though zombies roamed everywhere, it had always felt temporary. Now they truly understood what it meant to be isolated, what apocalypse really meant.

The meeting ended just like that. Everyone took their teams and settled in Unit Two. Each team was assigned a unit and went to sleep early. The next morning, electricity, gas, and running water were all gone. The city was beginning to collapse.

Courtyard No. 5 was steeped in silence. Li Fengyi knew things couldn’t continue like this; everyone would break down soon. Yet he had no solution, and despair began to set in.

That evening, at the meeting, Wang Shujuan held her notebook and reported, “Our food and water won’t last much longer. Counting everything, with two meals a day, we have about thirty days of food, and just over ten days of water. All the water comes from household dispensers, but supplies are low—most homes have half a barrel, the maximum is two barrels, plus the one on the dispenser.”

Everyone exchanged uneasy glances. The future was uncertain, their destination unknown, and soon they’d have no food or water.

“We’ll have to go out and search. No living person should die of thirst,” Li Fengyi pondered, weighing the options. “Let’s treat it as if we’d been eaten by zombies from the very start.”

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Outside the sturdy iron gate of Courtyard No. 5, zombies were everywhere. No one wanted to risk venturing out, but with no rescue and no foreseeable future, starvation could be their fate.

They allocated tasks: Groups 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7 would act; Groups 5 and 6 would stay behind. Li Fengyi, familiar with the area, led the expedition.

He took out a full-sized Beijing map, marked 787 by 1092 millimeters, and assigned tasks to everyone.

“We shouldn’t use firearms. Three people per team, using bed boards as shields, steel pipes, hammers, and axes to deal with zombies.” He traced winding routes on the map with his finger. “From the rooftop, it’s clear the park behind the street is impossible—too many zombies. We’ll exit through the main gate, head west, cross the alley by Hepingli Central Primary School, and beyond that, there’s a grain and oil store that also sells drinking water. They usually stock over a hundred barrels of water. That’s our target. When we pass through the alley, see if we can seal it off. Once the zombies are cleared, it’ll be safe. In the future, the northern street will be half within our grasp.”

He looked at Li Qiang. “I’ll lead Groups 1, 2, and 3 at the front. Li Qiang, take Groups 4 and 7 to cover the rear. No one should leave the formation.”

“We’ll practice coordination downstairs in a bit,” Li Qiang continued, “And check every household for useful tools. If possible, we should retrieve all weapons from the tanks and practice a little as well.”

Everyone gathered their teams. Group 6 left two women with the children, while the rest joined Group 5 to search all households in Courtyard No. 5, focusing on door panels, single bed boards, steel pipes, hammers, axes, and the like.

“Each group has ten people; three groups will move in triangular formation. The team leader stays in the center for observation and support. Everyone’s familiar with using the boards, pipes, hammers, and axes from our practice in the corridor the other day,” Li Qiang, the training leader, barked quietly in the yard. “Understood?”

“Yes, understood. Got it. All right,” the group replied, none of them ever having served in the military, except Wei Yong and Liu Feng, who answered crisply, “Understood!”

“Go!” someone suddenly shouted enthusiastically.

Everyone burst out laughing.

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“You fool, do you think this is an online forum?” Li Qiang shook his head helplessly. After decades of peaceful life, people had grown accustomed to indifference, oblivious to the urgency of life and death at the dawn of the apocalypse.

Groups 5 and 6 gathered a pile of suitable door and bed boards. Steel pipes were scarce, so they used pipe wrenches to dismantle some from the water system, ensuring everyone had one. Each group received two hammers and two axes. No one knew what they’d encounter. Everyone carried a different style of bag, with orders to pack as much food and water as possible if found.

The weapons collection at the gate of Courtyard No. 5 proceeded smoothly. The paving stones in the yard were stacked up; Group 5 lured zombies from the rooftop. Li Fengyi and Li Qiang led Group 7 out first, clearing a path and holding their position. Group 1 advanced next, followed by Groups 2 and 3. The zombies were once again drawn toward the city rail bridge; the situation was tense, urgency gnawing at everyone.

They acquired a total of twenty-five Type 95 rifles, thirty-five magazines (twenty-one empty), sixty-one grenades, twenty-eight backpacks, and twenty-nine military knives.

“We hardly fired our guns here; the tanks crushed most of them,” Li Qiang said, staring at the heap of ammunition in Courtyard No. 5, his face pallid. “At the bridge, we used the tanks to clear cars, mine was at the front but broke down. The remaining five tanks had to turn back. The infantry rode on the tanks, but most were left behind… right before my eyes, they were eaten alive!”

He crouched down, clutching his head as tears streamed down his cheeks.

A wave of sorrow swept through the group; everyone recalled the scene from two days ago. Li Fengyi thought of the child devoured by his parents and heavily patted Li Qiang’s shoulder, at a loss for words.

After a while, Wang Shujuan finished her count. She looked at Li Fengyi, her eyes red with tears.

“Form the teams. Prepare to set out,” Li Fengyi commanded.