Chapter Fifteen: A New Crisis

At last, the special training was completed, and its effects left Zhao Qiang astonished. Was he becoming someone like Alice? Zhao Qiang recalled that iconic film series, Resident Evil, where the formidable heroine possessed nearly invincible abilities. He chuckled to himself—aside from the superpowers, he wasn’t that far off.

While lost in thought, Zhao Qiang returned to the training room with a silly grin on his face. Over the week of training, the number of survivors had grown considerably. Gradually, more police officers arrived, bringing their families or other fortunate survivors who managed to reach this temporary shelter. With more hands to help, everyone shifted from the office building to the adjacent dormitory.

After practicing with the sandbag for a while, Zhao Qiang was interrupted by Li Zihan’s arrival.

“What is it?” Zhao Qiang wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel. Li Zihan had spent these days caring for Zhang Yongming’s little one, though sometimes he’d catch sight of her seriously training at the shooting range.

“Brother Wei asked you to come over. They’re waiting for you in the conference room on the second floor,” Li Zihan explained her purpose.

“Oh?” Zhao Qiang tossed the towel aside and glanced at Li Zihan, asking, “Who else is there?”

Li Zihan shook her head. “I don’t know. I heard they’re holding a meeting. I won’t keep you—Brother Wei also wants me to notify Brother Zhang.” With that, she turned and left.

“Alright, I’ll head over right away.” With his promise, Zhao Qiang bent down and picked up his combat uniform. These days, he had grown accustomed to never being without it.

In the conference room, Wei Tao sat in the corner with a grave expression. The increase in survivors meant more people to assign tasks to, but also more mouths to feed. After checking the food supplies in storage, he found the shortage had become dire. Even with strict rationing, the remaining supplies would last no more than two days.

Zhao Qiang surveyed the equally somber faces around him but said nothing. Since the special training, he had discovered not only his abnormal recovery abilities but also an equally abnormal appetite. To keep up with the daily energy demands of his training, Wei Tao had allowed Zhao Qiang unlimited food, and had even replaced physical punishment with withholding meals.

Zhang Yongming cleared his throat, rousing everyone from their pensive silence. “How about this: we send people out every day to search for food. That would solve our supply problem, wouldn’t it?”

Everyone’s gaze shifted to Zhao Qiang and Wei Tao. The results of recent training were obvious to all; when it came to fighting ability, Zhao Qiang and Wei Tao were undisputed.

“No. The risk of splitting up is too high,” Wei Tao replied coldly, rejecting Zhang Yongming’s proposal. “If Zhao Qiang and I go out, who will protect you?” It wasn’t that Wei Tao doubted the other police officers, but once he and Zhao Qiang left, if the zombies broke through the main entrance, the remaining officers wouldn’t be able to guarantee everyone’s safety.

“Then how about one of you leads us out to search while the other stays behind to guard? That should work, right?” Zhang Yongming persisted.

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“Zhao Qiang isn’t mature enough yet,” Wei Tao said coldly, glancing at Zhao Qiang, who looked eager to prove himself. “And I don’t feel comfortable entrusting my back to you all.” With that, he retreated into the shadows, hugging his rifle.

As silence fell again, Zhao Qiang spoke up with his own thoughts. “Those zombies outside are evolving. We can’t expect that retractable gate to protect us forever.” He paused, scanning the group. The gate had already been breached once; though he’d reinforced it, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t happen again. Seeing no objections, Zhao Qiang continued, “We need to leave this place—everyone must go.”

“Leave?” “Go where?” “The outside is crawling with zombies. Leaving is suicide!” The group erupted into argument. Wei Tao, still lurking in the shadows, stepped forward and motioned for silence. The room quieted, and he looked at Zhao Qiang. “Tell us your plan.”

With all eyes on him, Zhao Qiang thought for a moment before responding, “We can leave by bus and find a safer place.”

“That’s impossible. It’s too dangerous,” Li Zixin objected. His car window had been shattered by zombies on the road, and if Wei Tao hadn’t rescued him, he wouldn’t have made it back.

“If we all drive separately, safety can’t be guaranteed. But we have a bus. That way, everyone stays together, and Brother Wei and I can look after everyone.” Zhao Qiang believed that with the bus’s mobility and himself and Wei Tao on board, passenger safety would be assured.

“What about the weapons?” Zhang Yongming was worried about the arsenal. Without weapons, survival was out of the question.

“Take as many as we can. The bus has a luggage compartment, and the armored van can carry plenty too.”

“The armored van? You and Wei aren’t coming with us?” Zhang Yongming asked.

Wei Tao interjected, “No. Zhao Qiang will ride the bus with you, and I’ll handle the armored van. It’ll be safer that way.”

With Wei Tao supporting his plan, Zhao Qiang felt more confident. “With Brother Wei providing cover, security won’t be an issue. All we need is to find a safer place.”

After much discussion, they finally reached a consensus—the departure was set for the next morning. As everyone rose to leave, Zhao Qiang called them back, struck by a sudden concern.

If those zombies could evolve and already had the ability to run, what if they learned to jump? With their strength and explosive power, even the height advantage of the bus might not prevent a breach.

“We’ve overlooked something!” Zhao Qiang voiced his worry.

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Seeing no one had a solution, Wei Tao stood up and said, “Don’t worry. There are still plenty of riot shields in the storeroom. We’ll weld them over the bus windows, and there won’t be any problem.”

As the group dispersed, Zhao Qiang turned to Wei Tao, who had retreated into the shadows again. “Thanks, old Wei. No one else’s got my back like you.” With Wei Tao’s support, Zhao Qiang’s proposal had passed.

“I only consider security. The rest doesn’t concern me,” came the icy voice from the darkness.

Zhao Qiang was used to Wei Tao’s cold demeanor and said nothing more. Everyone went off to help modify the vehicles, while Zhao Qiang, unable to assist, returned to the dormitory to prepare for the coming battle. Alone, he didn’t have much to pack; after hurriedly stuffing his belongings into a bag, he began cleaning his gun.

A knock came at the door. Li Zihan entered, leading Zhang Yongming’s little one. During these days, the child had grown so attached to Li Zihan that he rarely left her side. Before she could speak, Zhao Qiang put down his gun and picked up the adorable child. “Hey, little guy, tell uncle—what’s your name, and how old are you?”

Under Li Zihan’s attentive care, little Zhang Yongming had recovered his health. Though he’d never spoken to Zhao Qiang, he was familiar with the chubby uncle he saw every day, and didn’t resist being held. His eyes twinkled curiously, staring at the pistol on the table. “My name is Zhang Yu. I’m five years old.”

Noticing Zhang Yu’s keen interest in his gun, Zhao Qiang promised, “When you’re older, uncle will teach you to use it, okay?” Zhang Yu, unhappy at being underestimated, pouted and said grumpily, “My dad says I’m already grown up, a little man, and I have to protect mom from bad guys.”

After amusing Zhang Yu for a while, Zhao Qiang remembered Li Zihan, who sat quietly nearby, a hint of worry in her brows.

While entertaining Zhang Yu, Zhao Qiang asked, “What’s on your mind, kid?”

Li Zihan nodded. “I heard we’re leaving here?”

Zhao Qiang told her everything discussed in the meeting, holding nothing back.

“Can you tell me where we’re going?” Li Zihan was anxious about her family, afraid this move would take her further from home.

Pinching Zhang Yu’s chubby cheeks, Zhao Qiang gently replied, “Little Octopus, tomorrow uncle will take you shopping at the supermarket. How about that?”