Chapter Twelve: The Mechanical Sentry

The events at the clinic were recounted by Zhao Qiang in a calm, understated manner. He neither embellished nor dramatized the tale, merely omitting the part where he had fought the zombies himself. He didn't want Zhang Yongming and his family to feel indebted to him.

Even so, Li Zihan's eyes grew wide as she listened, her heart racing in sync with the unfolding story. When she heard that Wei Tao had escaped just before the explosion, Li Zihan released a deep breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

Zhang Yongming looked at Zhao Qiang and Wei Tao with gratitude. He understood all too well the perilous ordeal that hid behind this seemingly simple account. He himself had nearly lost his life at the hands of the undead, let alone these two, who had braved a horde of zombies simply to fetch medicine for his son. "There's no need for more words. I, Zhang Yongming, thank you both from the bottom of my heart. If you ever need anything, just say the word, and I'll be there without question!"

Zhao Qiang smiled and replied, "Brother Zhang, you're too polite. Out here, we all have to look out for one another." He glanced at the little one, now breathing steadily after his injection, and added, "If someone else had been in our place today, they would have done the same."

At that moment, Wei Tao, who had been silently cleaning his gun in the corner, interrupted, "Zhao, did you notice anything unusual today?"

"Unusual? Other than there being more zombies than usual, not really," Zhao Qiang answered, puzzled by Wei Tao's question.

Wei Tao shook his head thoughtfully. "No, today the zombies were faster. Some even charged at us, running!"

What? They could run now? In Zhao Qiang's memory, zombies had always been lumbering, stiff, and slow. If these creatures could now run, what would future battles look like? More zombies would arrive from farther away, and their increased speed would pose even greater dangers. Imagine facing a horde of sprinting undead—how much time would he have to reload?

"So what do we do?" Zhao Qiang dared not follow the thought any further. If zombies could learn to run today, what might they learn tomorrow?

"I don't know. But this place should still be safe," Wei Tao said, his confidence buoyed by the ample weapons and favorable terrain of the SWAT base.

Without another word, Wei Tao turned and left. "Zhao, meet me on the roof in half an hour," he called over his shoulder before vanishing through the doorway.

As Wei Tao departed, Li Zihan finally exhaled in relief. Ever since Wei Tao had gone out, she hadn't been able to shake her anxiety. She had waited so long for their return, but now, every time she saw Wei Tao, she grew nervous. Could it be she liked him? No, that couldn't be—he was always so cold, and not nearly as kind to her as Zhao. Hmph, if Zhao didn't already have a wife, maybe…

Lost in her thoughts, Li Zihan didn't notice Zhao Qiang approaching. He patted her on the shoulder and said, "Little one, you did well today."

"Ah!" Startled out of her reverie, Li Zihan blushed, worried that Zhao might have seen through her thoughts. "It was nothing, I just… Wei Tao… I…"

Seeing her stammer, Zhao Qiang laughed. "Don't worry about Wei Tao or anything like that. I meant you took good care of the boy today." Chuckling, he left the infirmary, leaving Li Zihan standing there, face aflame, unsure what to do with herself.

Up on the rooftop, Zhao Qiang found Wei Tao already waiting.

"I'm here, Brother Wei," Zhao Qiang greeted him.

Wei Tao didn't look up, still tinkering with something in his hands. Zhao Qiang recognized it as the robot's control terminal. Why had he brought it here? Had wireless communications been restored?

At last, Wei Tao finished his work and the screen on the terminal displayed a view of the main gate. When the image appeared, Zhao Qiang grew excited. "Brother Wei, the robot's working again—does that mean communications are back too?"

Wei Tao shook his head and pointed to a cable on the ground. "Not yet. The robot is wired to the system."

"Then what's this for?" Zhao Qiang was puzzled. If the robot couldn't be operated wirelessly, what use was it?

"From today on, this robot will take over our guard duty," Wei Tao replied coolly.

Zhao Qiang was incredulous. What could a bomb disposal robot possibly do? Seeing his doubt, Wei Tao gestured toward the robot, "See for yourself."

Approaching the machine, Zhao Qiang realized he had underestimated Wei Tao. The robot's mechanical arm had a Type 95 rifle fixed to it with tape, its dexterous hand poised on the trigger, the safety already off. With just a small movement, it could fire.

Returning to Wei Tao, Zhao Qiang punched him playfully in the chest. "I didn't know you had it in you! With this thing, we won't have to worry about zombies anymore. Why not kit it out with an ammo belt for more sustained fire?"

Wei Tao ignored his enthusiasm. "Don't get your hopes up. It's just a bomb disposal robot," he said, dashing Zhao Qiang's dreams in a single sentence. "All I can guarantee is that if anyone moves in the yard, the robot will fire a warning shot. The rest is up to us."

"You mean this thing can only fire warning shots and nothing else?" Zhao Qiang was crestfallen.

"That's right. Because starting today, we won't have time to stand guard," Wei Tao replied coldly.

"No time? What are you planning?" Zhao Qiang couldn't understand—if anything, time was the one thing they had.

"Not me. You," Wei Tao said, pausing before continuing. "From now on, I'll be training you intensively until you have the skills to protect yourself."

Now it was Zhao Qiang's turn to be stunned. "Why me? What about Zhang Yongming?"

"He has a family to care for. And your wife is still waiting for you to rescue her," Wei Tao replied, his tone brooking no argument.

Zhao Qiang quickly recovered, excitement lighting his face. With a teacher like Wei Tao, what did he have to fear? Just you wait, darling—one day your man will come to rescue you, single-handedly cutting a bloody path through the undead. Lost in visions of heroism, Zhao Qiang's face twisted with anticipation.

Wei Tao snapped him back to reality with a cold splash of words. "If you can't pass my training in a week, you'll die."

Fail and die? What kind of logic was that? Zhao Qiang was dumbfounded. Would he really survive the zombies only to die at the hands of his own people? Maybe he should have let that zombie bite him earlier—at least then he'd come back as one of them. As long as he didn't run into Wei Tao, he might survive; but to die by Wei Tao's hand, that would be the end, with not even the right to become a zombie.

Seeing that Wei Tao wasn't joking, Zhao Qiang said helplessly, "Isn't that a bit much? Can't I just skip the training?"

"No. Better I kill you myself now than have you drag us all down later," Wei Tao replied, his expression as cold as ever.