Chapter 67
Su Yu’s blood was burning, and her eyes brimmed with tears.
She realized that, in truth, she had been waiting for this day ever since the zombie virus first broke out. As an individual, she was far too weak—but her faith was not.
She had been waiting for this day.
For every weak person to join together and become a powerful whole.
But Su Yu could never have imagined that Jiang Cheng, who seemed to her to be surrounded by an aura of light, actually had no sense of shared feeling with her at all.
Jiang Cheng simply had to try.
If this was the only path out of their predicament, then regardless of whether she believed in it, she had to force her way down it.
She refused to be trapped.
Everyone held their breath, but no sound came from the building’s broadcast system.
In truth, there had been no sound from the telephone.
Jiang Cheng was at the property management office, with the phone in her hand, so she could hear some faint background static coming through the receiver.
Vice Mayor Zheng remained silent.
Jiang Cheng looked down at her phone without the slightest hurry.
At last, Vice Mayor Zheng’s low voice sounded again. “Jiang Cheng... is it?”
“I understand. I’ve received your proposal.”
“But this isn’t a decision I can make. I’ll report it to the central authorities and put forward the proposal.”
“Little Jiang,” Vice Mayor Zheng said solemnly, “thank you.”
The call ended.
Su Yu stood in the doorway and listened as Jiang Cheng’s voice came over the broadcast system:
“I’ve done what I should do... and what I wanted to do.”
“From here on, we’ll see what happens.”
No one knew who started clapping first. Su Yu wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes and began applauding as well.
Regardless of what decision the country made, as long as Jiang Cheng led the way, she would follow!
Su Yu made up her mind.
S City Emergency Command Center.
“She’s right,” Vice Mayor Zheng murmured.
His secretary did not dare say a word, waiting only for him to give an order.
Vice Mayor Zheng said, “We can’t continue looking at this situation through the lens of the past. This is completely different from anything we’ve faced before.”
It was nothing like floods, earthquakes, blizzards, or typhoons. Nothing like them at all.
“She’s right.” Vice Mayor Zheng raised his eyes. “We can’t let the people fall into the evil side of human nature as they struggle on their own.”
“That would be more serious than the deaths themselves.”
“Xiao Sun, put me through to the central authorities.”
Lively discussions broke out across the various group chats of the Youth Apartments.
As expected, someone soon declared, “I’m not going. I’ve only got one life.”
Someone immediately sneered, “I bet you’ve never helped clear out the zombies in our community, either. Whenever you went downstairs to buy supplies, you probably wedged yourself right into the middle of the crowd.”
A wave of mockery followed.
Quite a few people in the Youth Apartments had contributed to the community. Over the past few days, they had developed a sense of solidarity and cohesion. Some had displayed courage that would have been unimaginable in peacetime, breaking through their own limits and gaining an entirely new understanding of themselves.
As for those petty, selfish people who had never once gone downstairs to help, everyone looked down on them.
The man protested: “This isn’t something ordinary citizens should be doing in the first place. We should just stay put and avoid causing trouble for the country.”
Someone replied: “When the flood submerges the entire building, it won’t matter which room you hide in. You listened to what Jiang Cheng said, but you didn’t understand a word of it.”
Jiang Cheng belonged to very few group chats. She probably belonged to fewer groups than anyone else in the entire complex.
She was only in two: the management group for the provisional residents’ committee and the management group for Building Two.
But people kept forwarding her chat logs from all kinds of groups, large and small.
Song Jingshuo: “Overall, everyone seems to be pulling together now. That’s a good thing.”
“The only question is whether the government will really do this.”
Jiang Cheng typed back: “Those who have a grasp of the overall situation will make the right decision. Perhaps certain factors are preventing them from making it immediately, but sooner or later, they’ll do it. Otherwise, they don’t deserve to sit in that position.”
Song Jingshuo sat at home, looking at the words on his computer screen with a smile. He typed: “The way you talk makes you sound like some great figure who commands the winds and clouds of the world.”
Jiang Cheng smiled as well and casually replied: “Maybe I am.”
She was only joking.
That day, everyone sat in front of their televisions at the appointed time, waiting for the new announcement. But the television continued to play yesterday’s announcement on an endless loop.
“What’s going on today?” people wondered.
The residents of the Youth Apartments began speculating in their group chats:
“No way...”
“Could it be...?”
“It’s not impossible. She spoke directly with the vice mayor.”
“Does this count as taking our concerns straight to the highest authorities?”
Everyone knew that watching the government announcement each day had become a source of spiritual support for many people.
When more than twenty minutes passed without a new announcement, people began to grow anxious.
“What’s going on?”
“Are they just abandoning us?”
“Call the government hotline!”
Irritation and panic intertwined, leaving everyone restless and unable to sit still.
The ordinary people did not know that, at that very moment, in the capital’s Central Emergency Command Center, the leaders were listening to the final report from the head of the National Health Commission’s top expert panel.
“Based on the observation and dissection of four hundred samples, the genes of the infected have undergone irreversible mutations.”
“The control center is the brain. Destroying the brain or severing its connection to the body is the only way to completely eliminate an infected subject.”
“Because the infection is transmitted through highly concentrated blood exposure, second-degree exposure is sufficient to spread it.”
“This genetic mutation lies beyond our current understanding. In this field, we are essentially starting from a blank slate.”
The leader seated in the center asked, “Is it reversible?”
The expert shook his head. “We can’t do it. With our current level of technology, we can’t even understand the underlying mechanism.”
“Can we stop them on a large scale?”
The expert continued shaking his head. “None of our biochemical weapons are effective. Apart from large-scale explosions, we currently have no means of stopping them en masse. Tear gas, poisonous gas, and anesthetics are all useless. Unless an electric gun reaches a voltage capable of destroying the central nervous system, it won’t work either.”
The expert said, “You can think of them as dead people who can still move. Only destroying the brain or beheading them can stop them.”
“Dead people...” the leader sighed. “So many dead people...”
When they were alive, they had all been ordinary citizens.
The leader felt a pain that cut straight to the bone.
For someone in his position, even personal interests did not come first.
What mattered more was the kind of reputation he would leave behind in the history books.
Who wouldn’t want to leave a glorious name in history? Who would willingly make such agonizing decisions?
But someone had to make them.
The leader opened his eyes and calmly ordered, “Prepare the televised address.”
At last, more than thirty minutes late, the screen suddenly changed.
A face familiar to every person in the country appeared on the television—the Supreme Leader.
His familiar voice came through the speakers as well. It was the Supreme Leader’s first national address since the outbreak of the zombie virus.
“Fellow citizens, comrades:
“Today, I deliver this address with a heavy yet unwavering heart.
“Our country is facing an unprecedented and extraordinarily grave challenge...”
“Our family members, friends, and neighbors have been transformed by this virus into irrational, bloodthirsty monsters that prey on human flesh.”
“Following the suggestions of our citizens, we will officially name them ‘zombies.’”
For the first time, the government officially used the term “zombies.”
Jiang Cheng watched the person on television, resting her chin in her hand.
The change in terminology meant that the government had finally accepted that those who had mutated were no longer human.
【Our military, brave and fearless, has stood on the front lines, using flesh and blood to fight the zombies who have lost their humanity, sacrificing themselves without hesitation.】
【But this crisis has already exceeded the scope of what the government and military can resolve on their own.】
【It is unprecedented and unheard-of.】
【Our soldiers have already reached the limits of human courage.】
【However, to completely eliminate these threats and reclaim our living space, relying on them alone is not enough.】
【We have reached a moment that will determine the survival or destruction of our entire race.】
【This is a war between humanity and monsters for the right to survive.】
【It is everyone’s war.】
The speech played over footage of soldiers fighting on the front lines.
A soldier being tackled by a second-generation zombie.
A soldier using his own body to protect civilians.
A soldier who was bitten and infected, then took his own life with a gunshot.
While everyone complained, “Why hasn’t the rescue reached us yet?” the soldiers were risking their lives to push the boundaries of the safe zones forward.
Many people shed tears in front of their televisions, unable to hold back their sobs. Mothers hugged their children, husbands clasped their wives’ hands, and fathers rested a hand on their sons’ shoulders.
【We now call upon all citizens: tomorrow, Wednesday, June 26, at 9:00 a.m., take up your weapons and leave your homes.】
【Heaven helps those who help themselves; salvation comes to those who save themselves.】
【Our people and our nation stand as one. United, we are an impregnable fortress.】
【Victory is ours!】
The Supreme Leader’s voice echoed through the corridors of the Youth Apartments in the New Technology District.
To make things convenient for residents whose homes did not have televisions, the building’s public-address system had been connected to government broadcasts, allowing everyone to hear official announcements.
【Victory is ours!】
【Victory is ours!】
【Victory is ours—ours—】
The final note echoed through the hallway.
Inside Apartment 0306 of Building Two, Jiang Cheng’s lips curled into a smile.
Just as you wished, the nation has issued the call.
What about you? What happened to all of you who kept saying that you would rush out of your homes the moment the nation called?
Jiang Cheng opened the group chat. The messages were surging, with countless people calling for her.
【Jiang Cheng!】
【Jiang Cheng!】
【Jiang Cheng!】
【Jiang Cheng, say the word!】
Jiang Cheng smiled faintly and called Yang Xinyan in the group. As expected, Yang Xinyan was online. Who could possibly be offline at a time like this? After watching the broadcast, everyone was waiting eagerly for Jiang Cheng.
Jiang Cheng: 【Xinyan, send out a notification to everyone. Tell them to prepare protective gear and bring food. We’ll meet tomorrow at 8:30.】
Yang Xinyan: 【Got it!】
The screen was immediately flooded with messages saying 【Received!】.
When Su Yu heard the broadcast begin again, she hurried to open the door.
This time, the atmosphere in the hallway felt completely different.
One neighbor called out loudly, “So, eight-thirty tomorrow morning!”
Several people answered at once.
“Sounds good!”
“Okay!”
“It’s a deal!”
“See you tomorrow!”
Su Yu was filled with excitement. She loudly reminded the neighbors, “Don’t forget to prepare some food!”
Everyone had experience from their previous trip to the Fifth Ring Road to seize supplies. Any extended outing required them to bring their own food to replenish their strength.
The neighbors answered one after another. “I’ll go get it ready now.”
Inside Apartment 0308 of Building Two, Master Luo smoked a cigarette. When he finished, he said, “I’m going too tomorrow.”
Aunt Pan thought for a moment and said, “I’ll make some rice balls. I’ll wrap some canned meat inside.”
“Let’s bring two flasks of water as well.”
The couple had always been frugal. They each owned a water flask, so they wouldn’t have to buy drinks when they went out, saving money.
Master Luo said, “Why bring two? One is enough.”
“Then what am I supposed to drink?”
“...You’re going too?”
“I swung a hoe back in my hometown, and I swing a ladle here. I’m no weaker than you.”
“All right. We’ll go together.”