Chapter 98: Tension Before the Great Battle

The affiliated forces had more men, nearly fifty thousand in all, but they were not especially formidable. Yet with a unified command in place, the nightly zombie rain felt almost like child’s play; an hour or so each day was enough to see it completely dealt with.

...

Today was the seventh day of the second wave of zombie rain.

That also meant the time of the zombie siege was drawing ever closer.

The traps within Fang Xia’s territory were nearly finished; at most, they needed another half day to complete.

During the day, Fang Xia made another trip to the outer edge of the territory. The presence of the tier-five zombie was still there, but he was not worried. When the zombie siege began, he would simply blow up the bridge. By then, it would only be able to enter the city from elsewhere.

A zombie siege generally triggered within one to three days after the zombie rain ended, and it always began at night.

Night combat weakened humans to a certain extent, while granting a tremendous boost to tier-one zombies.

So there was still at least one more day of daylight to prepare.

The zombie rain on the seventh day was no different from the previous days. In the eyes of the major powers of Dawn City, such a rain no longer posed any real threat.

If it were not for the coming zombie siege, they would already have been preparing to strike back and expand their territory even further.

On the final day of the zombie rain, not long after daybreak, Fang Xia had already left the territory again.

At Guo Yu’s home.

The two of them sat face to face, smoking together, the entire room thick with the heavy smell of tobacco.

Guo Yu’s mother had long since been sent to Fang Xia’s territory and placed in the residential zone behind the traps.

When the zombie siege began, that area would become the final line of defense for Fang Xia’s team.

“Brother Fang, I’ve got five thousand men under me now.”

As Dawn City filled with more and more people, Guo Yu’s own forces had also kept growing, and now they had reached five thousand.

“Five thousand is fine. Once the zombie siege starts, don’t worry about anything else. Just bring your men over.”

Guo Yu nodded. Leaving aside everything else, his mother was still there, so of course he would have to bring people over to protect her.

After a few more words, Fang Xia left Guo Yu’s house.

Walking along the streets of Dawn City, the last round of competition over the air drops was still going on.

The streetlights along both sides of the road had all been fitted with new lamps.

These lamps automatically adjusted their brightness according to the surrounding light, making them extremely practical.

Even at night, they could keep Dawn City brilliantly lit.

The business district of Dawn City had already been evacuated entirely, including the licensing hall, which now stood empty as well.

Only after this zombie siege ended, and once the earthquake was over as well, would Dawn City truly be able to take shape.

By then, Dawn City would become a city with rules.

Of course, those rules would apply only to ordinary people.

Heh. He really wanted to see the day Chen Gang’s son, so arrogantly and overbearingly raised, would have to watch someone else trade a life for a life.

Fang Xia thought with malicious delight.

When he returned, Liu Rui was already back.

“All the zombies on the road leading to the bridge have been cleared out. Li Qianwan is also in position.”

“Also, our team has enough tier-two upgrade crystals to raise three more people.”

Fang Xia nodded and lit a cigarette.

The three tier-four slots had to be used where they mattered most.

“Any fighters with special ability talent?”

“No.”

Liu Rui shook her head. That was indeed a little disappointing.

“Use all three to upgrade fire-type abilities.”

In large-scale combat, fire abilities still had the greatest killing power. Even someone as strong as Fang Xia could only cut down enemies one by one with his blade.

A tier-four fire ability user, with that half hour each day when her skill could be used, would be enough to kill several thousand zombies.

If the zombies were packed densely enough, killing a hundred thousand would even be possible.

Everything was ready. From here on, all that remained was waiting.

“Li Qianwan, do not sleep tonight. Keep a sharp watch. The moment the zombies attack, blow up the bridge at once.”

Less than a hundred meters from the bridge stood a small Western-style villa, which was Li Qianwan’s temporary residence.

As nightfall drew near, Fang Xia came over once more, unable to shake his concern, and gave her a personal reminder.

“But it’s the middle of the night...”

“No buts. Either you get eaten by zombies, or you keep your eyes wide open. If you dare run, you’re dead.”

Fang Xia said with a ferocious expression.

After all, there were only a handful of people. A hundred meters away lay an endless sea of zombies, not to mention the zombie siege that could appear at any moment.

It would be a lie to say she was not afraid, so Fang Xia could only use this sort of method to help her relax a little.

“Captain, if I survive this time, will there be any reward?”

Li Qianwan looked at Fang Xia with eager hope.

“Anything you want. As long as you live through this, even moving into the second floor is fine.”

Eh? Could it be that the captain has taken a liking to me and is deliberately using this chance to test me?

Smack.

Li Qianwan was struck hard on the forehead.

“I’m leaving. Keep a close watch. At most three days, and the chances are greatest tonight. Be careful about everything.”

Li Qianwan hurriedly nodded. After Fang Xia left, she led four young women up to the rooftop terrace together.

The little villa was only three stories high. Standing on the terrace gave them a much wider view, allowing them to respond quickly to any movement from the zombies across the way.

Besides, three stories was not very high. With their current physical conditioning, even jumping straight down would not be much of a problem, and it would not affect their movements afterward.

When Fang Xia returned to the territory, the young women were all fully prepared, taking turns on duty tonight.

But no one was allowed to be without a weapon. Even the women who were resting had to sleep with a blade in their arms; as long as they did not mind stabbing themselves if they rolled over in their sleep.

Besides the young women, the Gale Team and the Tiger-Leopard Team had also been fully mobilized. Every member could receive an extra rice ball and a small bottle of clean water, and everyone had to hold their post through the night.

By seven o’clock in the evening, the sky had completely darkened, and the whole of Dawn City was shrouded in a tense atmosphere.

“New lodgings have already been arranged. All of you move over there.”

The villa Fang Xia had been living in could no longer be used. It was in the center of the territory, which made it unsuitable for defense, so it had to be abandoned.

“I really want to move this villa away too.”

As they were leaving, Liu Rui suddenly muttered this in a low voice, and the others all nodded in deep agreement.

They had lived here for almost a month and had grown attached to it. Who knew what would happen after the zombie siege was over?

“As long as we’re alive, we can always build another one later.”

Fang Xia patted Liu Rui’s head and led the way toward the rear. He would first make sure all the women were settled; no matter what happened, they would not need to go outside.