Chapter 37: The Special Committee (4)

That evening, Li Fengyi, Li Qiang, and Commander Liu arrived at the training camp behind Mary Hospital, where the Department of Armed Forces was conducting exercises. The soldiers were drilling in the rain, practicing how to block off intersections. Several men bearing half-body shields formed a line, while others acted as zombies, lunging forward in mock attacks. At the moment when a steel pipe struck above their foreheads, they would collapse. Meanwhile, soldiers pushed cars one after another into position at the simulated intersection, forming double rows. Then, those wielding long steel pipes climbed onto the car roofs, repeatedly thrusting at the zombies’ heads with the pipes angled at thirty degrees.

“Though zombies have physical strength comparable to humans, the real challenge is that they don’t tire. They don’t need to sleep, never rest, and have no fear of death or danger,” explained Li Fengyi. To face such unprepared-for foes, the Department of Armed Forces had set up a new tactical guidance group within the training platoon. Li Fengyi served as its head, with Mao Wanyu, one of Commander Liu’s security officers, as deputy.

Mao Wanyu wiped raindrops from his face and continued, “That’s why we focus on drilling rotation tactics. Facing zombies, if we can’t kill them all in one go, we’ll be the ones wiped out. Scattered zombies are manageable, but hordes are a problem. Even with their limbs torn off, they’ll still crawl toward us. The fatal area—the brain—is just too small.”

Across the field, a table cluttered with guns and spare parts stood to one side. Soldiers practiced handling firearms, raising them and dry-firing. A squad leader yelled angrily, “If anyone breaks another trigger, you’re going on lockdown!”

“Human strength becoming greater is both a blessing and a curse,” Li Fengyi said, waving for the squad leader to continue, then explaining, “All these weapons were designed to the physical standards of people before the apocalypse. Take the simplest example—the trigger. Since the world changed, people keep breaking them. We’ve all heard gunshots in the city: a burst from an automatic weapon, then silence after just a shot or two. Besides running out of ammo, this is probably why. The Ministry of Industry is working on improvements, but without the right equipment and materials, it’ll be a while before we see results.”

After observing the training, they proceeded to the Department of Armed Forces office, where camp staff and company commanders were discussing operational plans.

“Attention! Salute!” The camp security officer opened the door and called out loudly as the leaders entered.

“Reporting, sir!” Acting First Battalion Commander Wei Yong announced, “We’re discussing the needs of each department and how to fulfill them. Awaiting your instructions!”

Wei Yong and Liu Bin had both survived a full-scale zombie-clearing operation, saved by Li Fengyi’s own hand. Now, Wei Yong served as battalion commander, Huang Shunyi as deputy, and Liu Bin as political instructor. Wu Tianxiong, famed for his cooking, joined the Party on the front lines and became assistant instructor. The remaining officers were split half and half between survivors from Compound Number Five and military personnel, with staff duties handled by professional soldiers.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs requested that the first priority be gathering supplies and rescuing survivors. Their report noted that most survivors were likely in residential buildings, as commercial and office spaces were too open and lacked food, making them less likely to shelter people. Supplies were concentrated in supermarkets, and large warehouses were chiefly in the suburbs. There were rumors of a national reserve warehouse in the inner city, but its location was unknown. They urged intelligence gathering on this point.

The Ministry of Science and Technology, as well as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, asked for a focus on collecting industrial equipment and raw materials. Major depots for these were also in the suburbs, while the inner city mainly had shops for renovations and decorations. They also called for the collection of fuel—mainly from gas stations—and for the search for a sturdy, relatively isolated building to convert into a crematorium tower. Ideally, this building would be near a river or accessible roadway to facilitate the transport of ashes and fuel.

Even among soldiers, who were accustomed to questions of life and death, this proposal made them sweat—what bold ambition!

The Ministry of Health requested medical equipment and personnel. Mary Hospital and all known survivors together had just five doctors and no nurses, with only the simplest instruments. They could not conduct further experiments. The Ministry listed the needed devices and medicines and noted that medical staff would most likely be found in hospitals—a statement everyone found rather obvious.

The Ministry of Public Security did not ask for supplies or rescue missions, but raised concerns about sewer security. Having read Minister Ou’s report on animal mutations, they worried about the possibility of rats mutating in the sewers and called for increased patrols and contingency planning.

The Ministry of Organization had no special requirements; whoever was found would be assigned as needed.

The United Front Department, still unclear about future partners, merely requested prompt reporting of relevant information and cautioned against hasty use of force.

The Ministry of Education asked if schools could be prioritized for reclamation, as there might be surviving children inside. They suggested starting with School 171—an idea prompted by Minister Zuo Fang, a former teacher there.

The Department of Armed Forces’ own plan was to link these areas together as much as possible for easier defense and safer transport, to avoid retaking ground only to lose it to zombies again.

The method Li Fengyi had recently used to block intersections and entrances was about to be adopted widely. This tactic was especially suitable for cities like Beijing, plagued by traffic jams. The zombies had already been effectively segmented into different blocks, so all that was needed was to fill the gaps.

The staff made rough calculations of efficiency. Theoretically, clearing a standard three-bedroom apartment took about fifteen to twenty minutes. A small supermarket, like Jikelong, would take at least half a day, even with riot shields. These estimates depended on local conditions and could not be turned into a concrete timetable.

Taking into account the zombies’ sense of smell and the prevailing northwesterly winds and sandstorms in Beijing during spring, the plan was to clear the northwest first. The city rail line blocked zombies from the east and could serve as a defensive line, while the Second Ring’s moat formed a barrier to the south. By blocking the crossings over the railway and the moat, the east and south could be secured.

The plan was as follows: First Company would deploy along the city rail, blocking its east-west passages from the moat at the Second Ring up to the North Third Ring. Then, First Company would clear westward along the Third Ring, sealing off sections as they advanced. Second Company would defend the North Second Ring, blocking bridges over the moat and clearing gradually westward. Once their mission was complete, the Ministry of Industry and Information would install electronic surveillance systems. Third Company would clear west along Hepingli North Street, which lay between the Second and Third Rings. To avoid getting trapped in zombie hordes, the staff would coordinate troop movements in real time according to the progress of the operation.