Chapter 49: A Small Boom in the Special Committee (Part 1)

“It wouldn’t hurt to hand out a few medals, since this is our first battle,” Commander Liu agreed. Li Qiang thought to himself that if they handed out a medal every day, the sky would soon be filled with them, but he kept silent. After all, the first day was crucial; it marked the beginning of their organized counterattack.

The final decision was that every participant in the first operation would receive a commemorative medal inscribed with “First Counterattack Operation Commemoration, 2015-6-11.” The two fallen comrades were to be cremated and temporarily placed in the Armed Forces Department office at Mary Hospital; when conditions permitted, a proper martyrs’ cemetery would be established.

Squad Leader One received a “Bravery Medal” and a third-class merit citation. At the drill ground podium, Minister Liu spoke about this achievement. “We already have our first hero. Don’t be discouraged, everyone. With so many zombies, are you afraid there won’t be enough merit to earn?”

Squad Leader One was also given a bottle of Five-Star Erguotou and two cans of beef. This made everyone else envious. Since the apocalypse began, the Special Committee’s people hadn’t starved, but meat products had become increasingly scarce and were strictly rationed. Only combat personnel got a piece of meat each day, while others, even on work rations, received it only once a week according to a set plan. Non-work meals never included meat at all. Alcohol had been banned by Ma Huai-bo, who feared drunken troublemaking would only add to their woes; spirits could be distilled for medical use, but were otherwise unavailable.

Squad Leader One also received his appointment letter: “Hereby appointing Comrade Duan Tie as the platoon leader of the 1st Platoon, Instruction Company, Provisional 1st Battalion of the People’s Liberation Army. We hope you continue to fight bravely in your new position and strive for the eradication of zombies for the sake of humanity.”

Li Fengyi did not appoint a deputy company commander. Instead, he ordered Duan Tie to first organize the 1st Platoon, then select some former soldiers and outstanding performers from this battle to construct 2nd and 3rd Platoons. Good experience needed to be passed on. He spoke to Duan Tie with gravity: “A lack of weapons is one thing, but if you’re not armed in spirit as well, you’re just sending men to their deaths.”

Commander Liu, standing nearby, nodded approvingly and thought to himself, “This young man has promise.”

By the end of that day, the army had been reorganized; following the structure of the 1st Battalion, they also established a Provisional 2nd Battalion. “If we keep this up, conservatively, we can form a new battalion every day. That’s not bad at all,” Li Qiang said optimistically. But Li Fengyi was less upbeat. Beijing’s terrain was wide and densely populated; who knew what complications might arise.

“That large residential complex is quite suitable—it’s reinforced concrete, not much new material used,” Sun Xiaoshan said, as he and the construction engineer scouted the area, circling several buildings. “But transport access isn’t great. We’d be better off finding a tower at a major intersection on the Third Ring Road, for easier logistics.”

Everyone agreed to search for a more suitable building.

The Provisional 2nd Battalion completed its organization that night, but did not deploy the next day; they had one more day for training, but no more time could be spared.

The industrial team went wild again, stripping water pipes and security doors from the buildings. This time, a plumber they’d just rescued informed them that these weren’t steel pipes but galvanized cast iron, but no one paid him any mind—such a name didn’t sound impressive enough. The Industrial Department also assigned people to remove bicycle handles, brake cables, and to saw through steel railings to make bows and crossbows.

On the second day, the Provisional 1st Battalion’s mission was to clear all the zombies from the area isolated the day before and rescue survivors, advancing in a direct line to Hepingli Middle Street.

As before, survivors in the residential compounds were in better shape, while those in the office areas had suffered much more.

“At this rate, survivors will need a period of recovery before they can be useful again,” Li Fengyi thought. He wasn’t leading the expedition today; he was in charge of the Instruction Company’s work and training the Provisional 2nd Battalion. “So they’ll need two, three, four, maybe five days of rest,” he mused glumly. That would put much more pressure on supplies, but there was no use worrying about it.

He had Duan Tie lead the 1st and 2nd Platoons of the Instruction Company to train the new battalion, while he took the 3rd Platoon to explore tactics for field battles against zombie hordes.

In Hepingli’s central park, now cleared, the 7th Squad played the army, while the 8th and 9th Squads played zombies. Steel pipes had all been replaced with bench and table legs wrapped in thick clothing, slathered in muddy water. The rules were: if your head was touched by the mud, you were considered killed by a zombie; if a zombie’s mouth touched any part of your body, you were also out.

The first time, the 7th Squad was completely defeated. The 8th and 9th Squads charged in at full speed and scattered them in an instant—everyone was “killed” except for less than ten “zombies.” The 7th Squad’s soldiers lay scattered on the ground according to the exercise rules, baring their teeth in frustration.

For the second try, the 7th Squad improved their shields, adding braces, and managed to hold off the first wave. This time, it went better, but as those hit in the head had to lie down and serve as stepping stones, the balance was soon broken. After just a few had fallen, the 8th and 9th Squads broke through again—another total wipeout, though it took a bit longer. Li Fengyi realized this was partly because the “zombie” squads hesitated to lie down—no one wanted to be trampled by so many people.

Another failure. Everyone sat in the park, drawing circles in the dirt, dejected.

What about using guns? The thought flashed through Li Fengyi’s mind, but live ammunition was out of the question—firing would attract swarms of zombies, which would be disastrous. Still, he could theorize; he remembered reading that bullets’ effectiveness on real battlefields had declined—didn’t it take thousands, even tens of thousands of rounds to kill a single person?

“Staff Officer Yu, how effective are bullets in real combat? I recall that in some wars, it took thousands of rounds to kill one enemy?” Li Fengyi asked Staff Officer Yu, a career soldier.

“In the Iraq War, it took 300,000 bullets to kill one person, but the American example isn’t typical. Our army, back in World War II, averaged about thirty rounds per enemy, and that included many killed by grenades, mines, and artillery,” Yu replied knowledgeably. “I think the ratio would be higher for zombies, since they don’t dodge or use tactics, but most modern weapons are still fully automatic. Often, a burst of bullets just sprays everywhere.”

“So let’s call it even. Most of our people have never fired a gun, and few have even handled one,” Li Fengyi thought, considering the pros and cons of gun control. “We don’t have mines or artillery either. Let’s say sixty rounds to kill one zombie. After all, unless you hit the head, a zombie won’t die, whereas a human is nearly done for if shot in the heart, abdomen, or a major artery.”