Chapter 145: The Indestructible Cockroach

If Fang Xia and his people had not come, Yancheng would probably have triggered a zombie rain before long, followed by an assault on the city by fourth-rank zombies.

But their arrival had thrown everything out of balance.

The number of third-rank zombies had suddenly increased, allowing them to skip the zombie rain entirely and meet the requirements for a siege. Thus, no one knew where it had come from, but a fourth-rank zombie had appeared and immediately rushed over to trigger the assault.

In that case, Fang Xia had actually done Yancheng a favor.

Their third-rank zombies had already been close to the required threshold, and his arrival had solved one of their greatest problems. They should be able to withstand the zombie rain.

“Brother Fang, a large group of people is coming from that direction. It should be Xiao Qiang’s team.”

Fang Xia was still deep in thought when Bai Xing spotted the situation in the distance.

At a time like this, aside from them, only Yancheng’s largest faction could have fought its way here, though they had suffered considerable losses as well.

“Don’t worry about them. If they can make it inside, help them out. But we want all the upgrade crystals.”

With yesterday’s zombie siege followed by today’s zombie rain, the group would gain several more fourth-rank fighters.

Bai Xing immediately went downstairs and found Liu Rui and Guo Yu, relaying Fang Xia’s instructions.

The two understood at once. A gap was opened in the previously impenetrable defensive line.

Before long, Xiao Qiang and his people had fought their way over. When they saw the passage deliberately left open for them, they were overjoyed and hurried through it.

Xiao Qiang did not have many people with him.

Several thousand had been hastily assembled, but more than half had already been lost on the way over. Now, barely two thousand remained.

Although their numbers were roughly comparable to Fang Xia’s group, their strength was worlds apart.

“City Lord Xiao, our leader says that you may rest here. We will clear out the zombies in the city, but please make sure your people do not take the upgrade crystals without permission. Otherwise…”

Being threatened by an ordinary female squad member caused Xiao Qiang’s expression to shift repeatedly, but in the end he swallowed his anger.

Even if he advanced to the fourth rank right now, he would be no more than one of Fang Xia’s bodyguards. He could not stir up the slightest trouble.

Xiao Qiang nodded and instructed his men to rest properly. He himself then went to the center of the fighting.

Fang Xia had not even appeared, yet with only his more than two thousand subordinates, the zombies had no chance of entering their residential compound.

They were organized into units of one hundred, with five units rotating in shifts. This preserved their stamina while maintaining the efficiency of the cleanup.

“Brother Fang, the zombie rain in Yancheng is far smaller than the one in Dawn City. We should be able to clear it completely in two or three hours.”

Bai Xing appeared behind Fang Xia once more and reported the situation.

Fang Xia nodded.

Dawn City had once held two or three million people. How many did Yancheng have? Perhaps a quarter as many.

Although he seemed to be slaughtering every zombie in the entire city, in relative terms this zombie rain was about the same as the one in Dawn City—perhaps even smaller.

The zombies were also far weaker. Finishing the battle in a little over two hours was entirely within expectation.

“Once it’s over, have everyone rest immediately. Tomorrow, we’ll proceed according to the original plan.”

As for whether the zombie rain would continue after they left, or whether Yancheng’s survivors could successfully defend the city, Fang Xia was not overly concerned.

If they were smart enough, they should head straight for Dawn City. With their current strength, even if half of them died along the way, they would still be far better off than if they remained in Yancheng.

The longer they delayed, the stronger the zombies outside would become, and the less hope the weaker humans would have of surviving.

Just as Fang Xia was thinking this, something unexpected happened downstairs.

The fourth-rank zombie that had attacked the city yesterday had not been a native of Yancheng. This wave of zombie airdrops was supposed to produce a local fourth-rank zombie, which would launch its attack after the zombie rain ended.

But now, outsiders had stolen its opportunity.

With no other choice, it had made its way toward Yancheng, determined to accomplish something on its own.

Just moments ago, it had suddenly appeared, targeting one of the third-rank young women in Fang Xia’s team.

After fighting for some time, everyone had already gauged the zombies’ strength and paid them little attention.

The sudden attack left the women momentarily stunned.

The fourth-rank squad leader could not reach them in time. Even if she had, she might not have been able to defeat the fourth-rank zombie one-on-one.

At the critical moment, Xiao Qiang suddenly appeared.

With a third-rank body, he met the fourth-rank zombie head-on.

The zombie slashed down with one claw. The 999-damage strike it had imagined never came. Instead, it felt as though it had struck a titanium-alloy steel plate.

It refused to believe it. This human was clearly supposed to be weaker than itself.

It attacked again, but Xiao Qiang remained firmly in place, as though the blow had merely scratched an itch. He even swung the battle blade in his hand in retaliation.

Unfortunately, the zombie was too fast, and the strike ultimately missed.

After Xiao Qiang delayed it for two attacks, Bai Xiaochun had already arrived.

The moment he activated his skill, he chased the fourth-rank zombie down and pummeled it mercilessly, quickly putting an end to the disturbance.

Every other person, including Fang Xia upstairs, had turned their eyes toward Xiao Qiang.

Was this man an unkillable cockroach?

A third-rank fighter had taken two blows from a fourth-rank zombie without suffering even a scratch?

A faint smile appeared on Fang Xia’s face. It seemed he would have to speak with Xiao Qiang after all.

“Tell Xiao Qiang to come see me tomorrow.”

Although the most powerful fourth-rank zombie had been killed, at the current rate it would still take more than an hour to finish everything. Fang Xia prepared to go to sleep.

After all, he had just gone through a fierce battle and released so much essence that he was slightly weary.

The fighting downstairs continued, while Fang Xia had already fallen into a deep sleep.

Being able to sleep amid the noise was one of the most basic survival skills of the apocalypse.

The next morning, Fang Xia rose early.

More than six hours of sleep had been sufficient.

Still, someone had risen even earlier—or rather, had not slept at all.

When Fang Xia went downstairs, Xiao Qiang was squatting outside his villa, red-eyed and smoking.

There had certainly been heavy casualties. Even with Fang Xia’s team present, the sudden zombie rain had caught many people completely unprepared.

“How are the casualties?”

Fang Xia had already walked up behind Xiao Qiang, yet he remained completely unaware of his presence. Only when Fang Xia spoke did he seem to awaken from a trance.

“Severe. We haven’t finished counting them yet.”

“Without your people, this disaster might have plunged us directly into an abyss of ruin.”

As a city lord, Xiao Qiang had a sound grasp of the bigger picture.

With a zombie rain like this, if it could not be wiped out every day, then once it reached full scale, there would be only one possible outcome: waiting for death.

Neither daylight nor darkness offered any loophole to exploit.