Chapter 48: The Provisional Battalion Strikes (4)

When they were blocking the road just now, one of the vehicles was placed in the direction of the exit, with soldiers pressing hard against its rear, locked in a stalemate with the zombies. Upon receiving orders, the soldiers exerted their strength, steel pole wielders climbed along both sides of the car, stabbing wildly into the air. The car was pushed forward, one after another, but by the third or fourth vehicle, it became difficult to push. So, they temporarily applied the handbrake to the car at the gap, steel poles stood like a forest, their lethal tips protruding, piercing into ranks of zombies.

Soon, the zombies piled up as high as the cars, some even began to climb onto the roofs. But the car roof was narrow. “Shield bearers to the first row of cars!” Li Fengyi commanded. “Steel pole wielders, fall back to the second row of cars for rotation!” He then ordered a barrier to be set up five meters behind the roadblock, constructed in the same movable style as before.

Once the barricade was in place, the first line of defense was teetering on the brink of collapse. The shield bearers were forced onto the second row of cars, while the steel pole wielders kept jumping down. “Shield bearers, form ranks below the cars and cover the retreat!” Li Fengyi raised his steel pole and charged forward.

Before long, all were forced behind the second row of barricades. Li Fengyi was the last to leap down. He glanced toward the subway entrance; zombies no longer surged forth in large numbers, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Company One commander, take your men to the wall, circle around to the subway entrance and seal it off!”

“Yes, sir!” The Company One commander responded, leading his squad along the wall toward the subway entrance.

Li Fengyi ordered preparations for the third and fourth barricades. Eventually, they wore down the zombies, isolating them between the vehicle barricades. The Company One commander completed his mission as well, sealing the subway entrance and leading his squad to attack the zombies from behind.

It took another half an hour to clear out the zombies—no fewer than five or six hundred of them were slain. The soldiers sat on the ground, gasping for breath. Zombies in open spaces were hard to deal with, mainly because of their momentum. A body weighing one or two hundred pounds charging forward was hard to withstand, even if it wasn’t a zombie; and zombies, with only their brains as a fatal weakness, were harder still.

“Firearms are still the best for this,” Li Fengyi thought. “It has to be heavy firepower, capable of continuous damage. If it stops for a moment, it could be fatal. Otherwise, the zombies will swarm for a feast.”

The special committee sent people to escort the survivors and brought a large number of banners to hang in conspicuous places—bedsheets and duvet covers. Li Fengyi looked at the colorful banners, all urging survivors in unrecovered areas to hold on, reminding them that the People's Liberation Army was reclaiming lost ground, and the government had not forgotten them.

It was already 4:30 PM. Li Fengyi organized Company One to sweep through the isolated central park. The large residential area and high school would be reclaimed tomorrow. At 6:00 PM, he led Company One back to Mary Hospital.

“You all did well today,” Commander Liu greeted them at the hospital entrance. “Get some rest, take a shower.”

Rainwater collected from rooftops was channeled down, heated slightly, and several tents were set up in the training yard for the returning soldiers to shower in turn.

Company Two and Three’s areas had no large open spaces or vehicle vacuum zones, only a few minor injuries. Their operations went smoothly.

Company Two advanced along Metro Line 13 to the Second Ring Road, sealing off Xiaojie Bridge and rescuing over five hundred people, mainly from the many small shops on both sides.

Company Three sealed off the junction of North and Middle Hepingli Streets, cleared the west side of North Hepingli Street, reclaimed School 171, and rescued more than three hundred people, mostly students hiding in classrooms. These students had suffered greatly—starved for days, forced to eat books and drink ink. It was the first time survivors had appeared in such dire straits, but there would surely be more in the future. Company Three had equipped two newly made crossbows, which seemed effective, though accuracy was lacking. Everyone was short on training experience.

After dinner, Commander Liu arranged for each squad and platoon to conduct after-action reviews and discuss tactics for fighting large zombie hordes in open spaces.

“The council of wisdom,” Commander Liu explained, “is a fine tradition in our army. With it, we fought with broadswords and spears against Hanyang rifles—though I wasn’t born then, of course. But we took on the Type 38 rifles with broadswords and spears, beat Chiang Kai-shek’s American gear with our old rifles, and drove out the American devils with fried noodles.”

That night, the Ministry of Armed Forces convened a meeting of battalion and company leaders to summarize lessons learned.

“With obstacles, zombies are easy to clear,” Li Qiang spoke first. “We can use all kinds of obstacles to split them up, preventing their momentum. Basements are no issue—a push of a train solves visibility, and with shields raised, we can hold our ground. The real challenge is field battles against large zombie hordes.”

“Rifles and grenades aren’t very effective,” said the Company One commander. “We need weapons that can cover a wide area without interruption. Zombies don’t fear death or injury, don’t experience pain or terror. If we can’t knock them down continuously, we’re in trouble.”

“Artificial obstacles are effective,” Li Fengyi shared, “but time and the environment are crucial. Newly rescued survivors need to become combat-ready quickly. Fortunately, they’ve overcome their fear of zombies. Cold weapons are easy to train with, so we should establish a training platoon or company to speed up organization. Today’s banners were a great idea—they boosted survivor morale.”

When everyone set out today, they carried the military flag outside the hospital gates but left it behind, thinking it inconvenient. Now, in hindsight, it seemed more reasonable to carry it along.

“An old lesson,” Commander Liu said proudly. “People fear having nothing to hope for; with hope, they can overcome difficulties.” He continued, “We must take care of the fallen heroes today. If survivors have families, the special committee must look after them, ensure proper burials, and hold farewell ceremonies.”

Li Fengyi looked around carefully; everyone nodded in agreement, setting his mind at ease. Today, only his team had suffered casualties.

“Thankfully, the zombies haven’t organized themselves,” Company One commander said, still shaken. “If they ever adopt strategy, humanity is in real trouble.”

It was decided to establish a training company. Li Fengyi’s earlier training platoon had performed well, so he was appointed company commander. Noticing the squad leader who had taken charge under pressure, Li Fengyi appointed him as platoon leader.

“Shouldn’t we issue a medal or something?” Li Fengyi wanted to go further. After all, everyone had been terrified at the time, but that squad leader had accomplished his mission admirably. After so much training, Yang Ziqian had snapped the trigger in a panic, and others hesitated to throw grenades, merely brandishing them.