Each Holds Their Own Ground

Surrender was surrender, but Wang Chen had no time to tie these people up like bundles. After all, this was the epicenter of the outbreak for over a month. Within just a few minutes, countless zombies began to appear around the road. Unable to move easily, Ma Tian rolled to the roadside and started picking off the closest zombies with his sniper rifle, indicating they were now less than two hundred meters from the Iveco van.

True, the effective range of the 88 sniper far exceeded two hundred meters. However, the 5.8mm machine gun rounds were still in the van, yet to be unloaded, so Ma Tian’s sniper rifle was firing standard rifle rounds, reducing accuracy. Moreover, Ma Tian had never received sniper training; his marksmanship at range was abysmal. Better to save ammunition and let the zombies come closer.

With Zhang Kaifeng’s cooperation, everyone entered the campus safely before the zombies arrived, though the tension never eased. From outside the wall, Wang Chen had already noticed this branch of Nantong University was spacious and relatively new, but only once inside did he realize just how vast it was—a place where even the front plaza could host a large cultural event.

If not for the zombie outbreak, anyone would wish for as wide a living space as possible. Now, however, it meant the entire campus’s security plummeted. If the wall collapsed or if there were slopes zombies could climb, survivors would abandon the campus, unless the civilians holding it possessed enough arms and ammunition to clear the zombies and repair the breach.

At that thought, Wang Chen understood another point. Ignoring the sea breeze mixed with the stench of decaying corpses, he looked at Zhang Kaifeng leaning against the wall, sitting among civilians under the watch of the South American trio. He glanced at his companions shooting zombies from atop their parked vehicles, confirmed no threats within a hundred meters of open ground, then stepped forward, standing three or four meters from Zhang Kaifeng. He slipped his NP22 back into its holster and adopted a relatively amicable tone. “If you have something to say, say it here, Lieutenant Colonel Zhang.”

Zhang Kaifeng, head bowed, finally looked up at Wang Chen’s call and suggested, “Perhaps... we should talk inside the laboratory building.”

“No, I don’t trust you, Lieutenant Colonel. I’d rather stay clear of those buildings. Enough explanations—I just want to ask, why?”

Removing his gas mask, Zhang Kaifeng pressed his lips together, glanced at the gathered civilians, and finally exhaled deeply. He stood up and spoke directly, “I need your blood.”

“At this point, I have no reason to lie to you. Frankly, my blood is useless to the infected, and even more so to the uninfected.” Wang Chen sounded impatient.

“It’s not for the infected.”

“If it’s not for the infected, then what—zombies? Don’t be ridiculous... You’re not seriously aiming to help the zombies, are you?” Wang Chen was genuinely shocked, but quickly pieced things together. “You used the civilians in the camp to push us here, generously handed over so many military supplies, using us as a transport crew—all for the dead who’d turned into zombies, right?”

“That’s correct. These civilians you see all have loved ones who became zombies. I—no, we—aren’t willing to simply watch them die…”

“But they’re already dead!” Wang Chen’s anger flared, unable to restrain his voice. “They’re dead! Dead! Don’t you understand? No heartbeat, no brainwaves!”

“Who says so? They can still move! They can still cry out! They still need to eat! My child isn’t dead! He’s just sick!” The voice wasn’t Zhang Kaifeng’s, but that of a woman who stood up behind him. Hearing Wang Chen declare her child dead, she disregarded the South Americans’ assault rifles, and retorted with desperate vehemence.

Her outburst spurred the other civilians, who chimed in all at once, filling Wang Chen’s ears with a cacophony that made his head ache. Joanna, seeing the rising chaos and fearing a civilian revolt, immediately fired a few shots above their heads to restore order.

The language of gunfire is universal; the crowd quieted once more.

“Alright, speak. I’m listening.” Wang Chen took a few deep breaths to regain composure, then tossed a cigarette to Zhang Kaifeng and lit one for himself. He knew that unless Zhang Kaifeng explained everything, these civilians would not be pacified.

Smoking was unhealthy, undeniably, but in this crumbling world, it was one of the few ways to relax. As smoke curled from Zhang Kaifeng’s mouth, the lieutenant colonel—who had exhausted himself protecting the camp and seeking ways to save his own kin—finally calmed, beginning his story.

Just as Zhang Kaifeng had said before, he used his position when the SH quarantine zone was established, gathering a few like-minded civilians to stay behind, all for the sake of caring for their “sick” relatives and searching for a cure. None of them had even a college-level background in biomedicine; their “care” and “treatment” consisted of finding fresh food for their zombie kin and injecting whatever antibiotics they could find, then any available drugs once those ran out.

Ultimately, these civilians refused to accept that their loved ones were dead—brains and hearts stopped, bodies animated only by the virus’s primitive stimulation. They stubbornly believed that the dead should lie still, become cold corpses, so as long as their relatives moved, there was hope. They simply hadn’t found the right cure yet.

Until Wang Chen arrived.

Truthfully, Zhang Kaifeng had never doubted what Wang Chen said earlier. The reasons offered to persuade Wang Chen were ones Zhang Kaifeng himself believed. But privately, he wanted to bring Wang Chen here and inject Wang Chen’s blood into his relatives’ veins. Maybe it couldn’t help the living, but perhaps it might work on those fully zombified?

That was the reason Wang Chen and his companions stood here now.

Just a hypothesis from Lieutenant Colonel Zhang Kaifeng, lacking any scientific basis, rooted in misinformation.

Simple, isn’t it?

Absurd, isn’t it?

After hearing Zhang Kaifeng’s story, Wang Chen looked at these pale, hollow-eyed civilians, most over thirty, clearly malnourished. Their hopeful gazes pierced Wang Chen’s heart, stirring memories of his father, who had died in Harbin.

Wang Yefei.

How long had it been since he remembered his father’s smile? Once, to help Wang Chen escape, his father lured the zombies away alone, glancing back at him one last time with eyes just like these.

“Xiaohua, come here,” Wang Chen made a decision even he hadn’t expected, calling Yang Xiaohua, “Go get a syringe.”

Yang Xiaohua was stunned, confirming, “A syringe?”

“Yes, I’m going to draw blood for Lieutenant Colonel Zhang.”

“What?” Yang Xiaohua nearly bit her tongue, thinking, is this a sudden reversal, is he planning to kill them?

Wang Chen saw Yang Xiaohua’s confused expression and couldn’t help but toss a wadded tissue at her. Did he look so ruthless?

“He wants to inject it into his zombified relatives—let him try.” Wang Chen, before the crowd, didn’t elaborate further. He knew his blood would be useless, but perhaps this would help these pitiful civilians give up, abandon the dangerous life in the SH quarantine zone, and follow Lieutenant Colonel Zhang back to the army camp.

Though judging by their expressions, the likelihood of them giving up was slim.

Still, Wang Chen could only do what was within his power.

Zhang Kaifeng, overjoyed that Wang Chen agreed to give blood, immediately selected two people to fetch his son from the teaching building.

The mood eased, but Wang Chen still didn’t return their weapons. His caution was justified; until it was confirmed his blood had no effect, these civilians who’d risked everything for their loved ones might act unpredictably.

Frankly, after confirming Wang Chen’s blood was ineffective, what these people would do was anyone’s guess. Whether their mental state was stable, nobody could be sure—not even themselves.

Waiting for several minutes, conversation was needed to fill the silence. Zhang Kaifeng broached a topic, “Actually, I’d like to know—how did you see through my plan and prepare in advance?”

“You put so many weapons and supplies in the van, which made me suspicious. Even if there weren’t many soldiers in the camp, there were plenty of civilians. Weapons and ammo are consumables; you’d hoard as much as possible, yet you gave them away so freely. Maybe you really wanted us safe, but when I saw fires blocking several roads, I knew we’d be ambushed.”

“I know the quarantine zone had been closed for nearly a month—any fire would have burned out by now. SH is in early autumn, rainy season. Fires at key intersections are easy to spot as traps. We had little time and manpower, so to ensure safety and set up obstacles, we had to use fire. You saw through it.”

Wang Chen waved dismissively, implying it wasn’t a big deal, then continued, “I have another question. If you wanted to capture us, why did you give us the chance to create chaos?”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“Military smoke grenades—big, clunky ones. You don’t think the security department’s supply includes those, do you?”

“You used grenades I provided?” Zhang Kaifeng was baffled. When had he arranged for smoke grenades to go to the security team? Was something amiss?

Wang Chen, seeing Zhang Kaifeng’s confusion, asked, “What’s wrong?”

Shaking his head and forcing a smile, Zhang Kaifeng replied, “Nothing, nothing. Just nerves. Maybe a soldier moving supplies grabbed an extra box of smoke grenades.”

Long-term stress makes anyone act oddly. Wang Chen was unfazed. Just then, Zhang Kaifeng’s son was brought over, and Wang Chen’s attention shifted to the cage before him.

Yes, a cage—holding a zombified boy.

Clearly, Zhang Kaifeng’s eleven-year-old son was fully zombified, and with so many living beings watching, the boy did only one thing: stretched his hands through the bars, clawing blindly, ten fingers hooked, mouth issuing meaningless growls.

Anyone seeing Zhang Kaifeng’s expression and the way he looked at his son would feel a chill. Wang Chen was no exception. He turned his head, extended his arm, and signaled Joanna to begin.

A slight sting in his elbow, and not much blood flowed—Joanna’s technique was deft, though she was more accustomed to injecting certain “medications” than drawing blood.

Soon, a syringe full of Wang Chen’s blood was injected into the major vessel near the zombie boy’s heart, as per Zhang Kaifeng’s suggestion. The heart had stopped beating; he hoped Wang Chen’s blood might clear the virus or stimulate the heart to beat again.

It was a futile hope.

Though the zombie pathogen sounded like science fiction, it was something human technology could create. Wang Chen’s symbiosis with the virus was rare, but not unprecedented in nature, and with enough resources and time, it could be replicated. But to use a syringe of active zombie-virus blood to transform a body wholly infected with the virus, restoring normal bodily functions? That was not just wishful—it was baseless fantasy.

And so it proved. Zhang Kaifeng watched his son, longing for him to call him “dad” once more, but after the injection, the zombie boy did not change. Still driven by instinct, still craving flesh, still exhibiting no sign of intelligence.

Zhang Kaifeng’s gaze shifted from hope to yearning, and finally to a deep, gray despair.

“I don’t mean to discourage you, but I still suggest everyone follow Lieutenant Colonel Zhang back to the army camp.” Seeing the civilians sigh, Wang Chen’s anger at the ambush evaporated. Ma Tian, limping over, pulled Wang Chen aside and challenged, “You’re just letting them go? Do you know what would have happened if we’d been captured?”

“I do. But what could you do to them? For their loved ones, they broke their principles, lowered their standards. Could you do that?” Wang Chen shook his head helplessly.

Ma Tian was unhappy—his feelings obvious. Sunny and straightforward, the son of officials, he’d never step on anyone who respected him, nor let them off lightly if they didn’t. He wasn’t ready to forgive these people so easily.

Joanna observed their debate, unable to understand the language, so she had Sheng Qingru translate. Listening to Wang Chen’s reply, Joanna was moved. A leader with a heart of iron could ensure survival but lose humanity. Wang Chen’s choice, though not ideal for leadership, reassured her. After some thought, she had Sheng Qingru translate, “Since neither side shed blood, even if one held malice, I think this matter can be resolved peacefully. I suggest, following ancient Western custom, that Lieutenant Colonel Zhang exchange the supplies for his and the others’ freedom.”

Joanna’s proposal fit the group’s mood perfectly. In this broken world, weakness meant you deserved to be discarded. Survival of the fittest! If you can’t protect your valuables, it’s your own fault—that’s the iron law of the apocalypse.

Hearing Joanna’s suggestion, Zhang Kaifeng, who’d hoped to exploit human frailty, could only smile wryly. No one was a fool; if he didn’t offer something substantial, he’d be hard pressed to avoid trouble. If pushed, the security team might well shoot him—who would avenge him?

In the end, Wang Chen and his group received a gift they never expected.

A brand new armored vehicle.

“This is the latest upgraded model of the Type 92 series. It was specially transferred here when the SH quarantine zone was established, converted from a transport vehicle into a communications command and reconnaissance type. I used its communication equipment to remotely control matters in the army camp and coordinate helpers among the civilians to push you into the SH quarantine zone,” Zhang Kaifeng explained, pain in his voice as he recounted the past. Determined to satisfy the group and send them on their way, he continued, “Six wheels, no need for air, high load capacity, the armor protection and engine are the newest lightweight design. Heavy firepower is limited to the roof-mounted 12.7mm heavy machine gun. With enhanced protection, the total weight is over a ton lighter than the old model, top speed over a hundred kilometers per hour. It’s equipped with the latest satellite communications and command reconnaissance systems. The attached trailer contains heavy machine gun ammo, auxiliary fuel tanks, diesel generator, folding solar panels. When diesel is scarce, the solar panels power the satellite equipment. With the auxiliary tanks full, maximum range exceeds a thousand kilometers; fully loaded, seven hundred is no problem. The downside is that the auxiliary tank can’t be directly connected to the main tank—manual pumping is needed.”

Yang Xiaohua’s eyes sparkled, and Fang Qiang was nearly drooling. Pablo simply stood behind the vehicle’s 12.7mm heavy machine gun, laughing heartily.

With this treasure, what were zombies? Unless you foolishly ran out of fuel, hundreds of zombies would be nothing but minced meat.

Thus, Zhang Kaifeng finally watched Wang Chen’s group leave the QD campus. Fang Qiang drove the armored vehicle, Wang Chen the Iveco; it didn’t matter if he was inexperienced, with the armored car leading, Wang Chen could practice. As for their destination, Zhang Kaifeng didn’t ask, and Wang Chen wouldn’t tell.

The rescue plan for his son had failed once again, but Zhang Kaifeng was not utterly despondent. As long as he retained his lieutenant colonel rank and had army supplies behind him, he believed he would someday save his son.

After settling his son, promising the civilians he would bring another batch of supplies and weapons soon, Zhang Kaifeng drove a lone SUV back to the army camp.

Along the way, he encountered some stray zombies, but no greater danger. Only when he entered the range of the camp’s light weapons—seeing a military vehicle parked at the entrance with a familiar figure leaning against it—did a sense of foreboding arise.

Major Luan.

As the SUV approached, Zhang Kaifeng braked, sitting in the driver’s seat, staring motionless at Major Luan.

Major Luan, on the other hand, looked relaxed, even pulling out two cans of beer and showing them to Zhang Kaifeng.

After a long pause, Zhang Kaifeng, having composed himself, smiled wryly, got out, strode up to Major Luan, grabbed a beer, opened it, gulped half down, and exhaled. “Was it you who put smoke grenades in the van?”

“Yes.”

“To seize power? Hoping we’d destroy each other?”

“Yes—and no.”

“Now I’m back. What are your plans? Send me to a military tribunal?”

“No, exile. We’ll just consider you dead.”

“Damn, just exile? I should really thank you.”

Faced with Zhang Kaifeng’s sarcasm, Major Luan tried to ease the mood, drank, and shook his head. “Whether you’re willing or not means little to us. You know what you’ve done. Frankly, even execution wouldn’t be too much.”

“What did I do? I was saving lives! I stabilized the camp!”

“Saving lives? We all save lives—but not zombies! You stabilized the camp? We did that! We—there’s more than one lieutenant colonel here! We won’t watch you waste camp resources and personnel on meaningless efforts!” Feeling his tone grow heated, Major Luan took a deep breath, calmed himself, and continued, “Kaifeng, you know my daughter died in the outbreak, my wife couldn’t take it and took her own life, Xiao Liu put a bullet in his own mother. You must accept the facts—Qiang can’t be saved!”

“Accept the facts? If I do, will you accept me again?”

“Regrettably, no. I’m telling you this so you’ll let go of your burden. With your abilities, even in the quarantine zone, you’ll do well. Honestly, your actions haven’t fooled everyone; sooner or later, the civilians will learn you abused your position. When you planned to ambush the security team, some proposed using drones with air-to-ground missiles, 155mm extended-range howitzers, or rocket artillery to bombard the QD campus and eliminate the threat! I was the one who stopped them—asked them not to act rashly, to give you one last chance, since avoiding deaths is best!”

“Hmph, who are you kidding?” Zhang Kaifeng sneered, “Hoping to see mutual destruction on drone footage, right? If I died at the hands of the security team, all the better; if the security team died, you’d have every excuse to bombard the campus. In the end, you’re all cowards!”

“Kaifeng! Your good intentions are wasted! If I really wanted that, I’d have just put a bomb in the Iveco and pushed it your way! You know full well that the girl handling the security team’s communications used the camp’s network to open a satellite channel, tapping into the security department’s internal network! That’s a real ID! Yes, central control over military camps is basically zero now, but we don’t know their origins, purposes, or importance. Don’t underestimate how much the security department values its people! Beware of payback!”

“Damn!” Zhang Kaifeng, unable to argue, jabbed his finger at Major Luan, tossed the empty beer can, and drove off.

Both had hoped for a peaceful resolution, but in the end, tensions flared. Watching Zhang Kaifeng depart, Major Luan could not say whether his decision was right or wrong.

Perhaps, at the chaotic dawn of this broken world, no one knew what direction humanity should take.