Chapter 46: The Provisional Battalion Strikes (2)

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Their mission this time was not simply to clear the zombies out of the apartment buildings, but rather to seal off the entire area before beginning the sweep. After a short rest, everyone leapt onto the wall in turn and headed north, soon arriving at the entrance of a large residential complex. Li Fengyi noticed that the density of zombies was alarmingly high, with many of them still wearing school uniforms. “Damn, there must be an affiliated high school of the University of Chinese Medicine up ahead.”

A group crouched atop the wall, glancing warily in all directions. The zombies, having caught the scent of fresh humans so close by, began searching everywhere, gradually closing in on the wall.

Li Fengyi hurriedly called out, “Quick, follow the wall and climb over to the western side.” That wall was the dividing line between the already-cleared neighborhood and the large housing complex—one side safe, the other teeming with zombies. Humans, slower than zombies when moving along the wall, found the horde gathering ever thicker below. Fortunately, as long as they kept moving, the wall wouldn’t be toppled. Seeing the throngs below—far more than at the alleyway elementary school—Li Fengyi dared not linger. The greater the numbers, the greater the power, and who could say if the zombies might not bring down the wall altogether? He led the group quickly westwards along the wall.

At the far western end stood a neighborhood farmers’ market. Li Fengyi led the group further west; there weren’t many zombies at the market, as the apocalypse had struck before the morning rush.

With no living humans to be found in the complex, and blocked by the walls, the zombies began to wander aimlessly.

Li Fengyi, leading more than a hundred wall-climbers, panted heavily atop the wall, sticking out their tongues and glancing about like a pack of marmots. Suddenly, everyone burst out laughing—“Ha ha!”

After their laughter subsided, Company 1 continued to squat atop the wall, doodling circles in the dust.

Li Fengyi’s gaze swept around and suddenly landed on the western exit of the large neighborhood, where a steel arch was supported by old concrete pillars—solid construction, and still adorned with a banner: “Warmly Celebrate Children’s Day.”

He stared blankly at the steel arch, and Company 1’s commander followed his gaze. “Director Li, are we going to lure the zombies?”

Li Fengyi met his eyes. It seemed feasible—the concrete columns were about three meters high, with the steel arch adding another meter and a half, making a total height of four and a half meters.

“We’ll need to plan this carefully,” Li Fengyi said. “We just saw nearly three hundred zombies, and more are on the way. Will they pile high enough to reach it?”

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“How about sending someone up there to fire a shot, then having another person move west along the wall and fire from afar, splitting the horde?” the commander suggested, eyeing the length of the wall.

“It’s another two or three hundred meters to the next neighborhood, where the terrain is even more complicated and crowded,” Li Fengyi mused, refining the plan. “The team sealing off the park in the middle of the street must move quickly. Once that’s done, they’ll return immediately to clear the zombies from the main exit here. We’ll block it with cars. After someone gets up top, we’ll have a team lure zombies westward. They don’t need to draw the horde far—just disperse them a bit.”

“Let’s do it,” the commander replied decisively. “Squad Leader, assign someone to climb the steel arch and fire to attract the zombies. Assign another to move west along the wall and fire, drawing the zombies. The one moving along the wall must watch the zombies’ movement and keep a steady pace—not too far, just try to thin out the crowd. Can you do it?”

“Yes, sir!” the squad leader replied at once.

He gave his orders, “Yang Ziqian, head west along the wall. Take your rifle and grenades. Watch how the zombies move.”

He loaded his own magazines and grenades. “I’ll go up the steel arch myself.”

Yang Ziqian had already climbed to the far western edge of the group, eyeing the squad leader as he maneuvered onto the arch. The zombies below eagerly reached up to welcome him. The squad leader quickly reached the center of the arch, straddled it securely, then waved to Li Fengyi before raising his Type 95 rifle and gently squeezing the trigger—careful not to break it after so much training. The burst of gunfire splattered into the zombie horde, striking chests instead of heads; had they been human, they’d have been killed or gravely wounded, but zombies only staggered for a moment before charging onward.

The gunshots sent the horde into a frenzy, surging toward the squad leader.

Li Fengyi slapped the company commander’s shoulder. “Go!”

The team quickly withdrew. Seeing some zombies still chasing them, the squad leader tossed a grenade outside the neighborhood. The explosion was thunderous, sending the zombies into an even wilder frenzy.

The deafening blast was the closest Li Fengyi had ever been to such a sound. His knees buckled, nearly sending him tumbling from the wall, but a comrade behind him caught him just in time. Glancing back, he saw several men sprawled motionless on the wall, paralyzed with fear.

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Two men toppled headfirst into the large residential complex below, where the frenzied zombies instantly pinned them to the ground. Their screams echoed horribly. Another fell into the previously cleared neighborhood and, thankfully, wasn’t injured.

The zombies piled together, blood splattering everywhere. Li Fengyi squeezed his eyes shut, then told his men to pull up the lucky survivor and keep moving. He signaled to the company commander at the rear, gesturing with a grenade toward the men being torn apart by the horde. The commander nodded grimly.

The company kept moving. As they passed the two fallen comrades, the commander and another soldier each tossed a grenade. Explosions rocked the zombie pile, sending flesh and blood flying.

The radio crackled. “This is Advisor Liu, this is Advisor Liu. All units, report your status!” It was General Liu calling from inside.

Companies 2 and 3 reported all clear. Li Fengyi, ears ringing, replied, “This is Director Li. We threw grenades to lure the zombies and lost two men.”

The civilian soldiers of Company 1, urged along by their active-duty counterparts, moved efficiently and swiftly. No one cracked jokes now; all wore solemn faces. This was a battlefield, and everyone finally understood that.

They soon reached the eastern gate of the large community, where high school zombie students still poured in. Only now did they notice this entrance also had a steel arch. Li Fengyi led his people over it. To ease the pressure on the squad leader, the company commander stayed atop the arch. Once Li Fengyi’s group had gone on ahead, the commander raised his rifle and fired a burst.

Li Fengyi’s group followed the wall to the entrance of the Affiliated High School of the University of Chinese Medicine. The zombies had already been lured south. Only a few, emerging from the depths of the campus, remained at the gate and were quickly dispatched. They then shut the iron gates, dragged over several parents’ cars waiting to pick up their children, and barricaded the entrance. However, zombies from the city rail station continued to drift this way, thickening the horde.

Li Fengyi considered for a moment. “Up the wall again!” So Company 1 climbed the wall once more, reaching the last neighborhood on this road—a smaller area, quickly sealed off. They also blocked the entrance from the Third Ring Road to this street. Finally, only the Guangximen City Rail Station remained.