Chapter 645: As Long As We

Whoosh! Gales whipped up sand, stones, and debris, slamming violently against the houses; tables and chairs inside the restaurant were tossed and clattered everywhere.

Bang! Thud!

A mysterious loud crash echoed outside the house, as if something had fallen.

Now, at last, the meaning of “gale strike” had become tangible…

Strangely, the wind wasn’t cold—it carried a peculiar odor, not unpleasant, even faintly fragrant.

“That smell!”

Zhang Su closed his eyes; as the faint fragrance drifted into his nostrils, he knew he hadn’t guessed wrong—this was definitely the explosion of a venomous zombie!

Not just him—others familiar with this scent also felt their hearts tremble.

The shockwave came ferociously and vanished just as abruptly; the gale lasted less than ten seconds, yet within those ten seconds, it inflicted heavy damage across Tianma Island and the satellite villages below the mountain.

Splash, splash, splash.

When the chaos subsided, Zhang Su was the first to stand, took two steps forward, slapped the dust off his body, and turned to face the stunned group. Though darkness surrounded them, he saw everything clearly.

“Everyone alright?”

After about two seconds, Zhao Dechu was the first to react: “Spit, spit, spit… damn, mouth full of dirt! Brother, what the hell just happened? Did a meteor hit Earth?”

First the earthquake, then the inexplicable aurora, now this violent shockwave—it perfectly matched the theory of a meteor impact.

“Definitely not a meteor impact. I felt something familiar just now…”

Liu Tianji’s gaze was strange.

Click.

Zhang Su switched on his flashlight, helped his companions up, and shook his head: “It was a shockwave from an explosion. Tend to the aftermath first—we’ll analyze later!”

Saying that, he pulled out his walkie-talkie to contact others and assess camp damage—but found no signal at all; it had turned to brick.

“Electromagnetic interference. Come on—two more people with flashlights, let’s get outside.”

Zhang Su led the Xiao Xingyun restaurant crew outside—and the scene before him left him stunned.

The gale had blown debris into the courtyard, piling it against the downwind wall. The heavy crash earlier had been the roof of Xiao Xingyun’s storage shed ripped off, smashing half the courtyard gate and over a meter of wall.

Many windows were shattered; only those facing away from the wind remained somewhat intact, still hanging by their hinges. The power and surveillance cables strung between the guesthouses were gone—no one knew where they’d been blown.

The shockwave’s path had just grazed Tianma Island. If the mountain had tilted slightly more, or if the guesthouse zone had been closer to the slope, the mountain would’ve blocked it entirely—and nothing would’ve happened.

“Wife! My wife!”

Zhao Dechu snapped out of his shock and bolted toward the courtyard gate—he had to check the surveillance room.

“Oh my god!”

Creak… crash.

Duan Wuhu pushed open the main door of Xiao Xingyun guesthouse—the broken panels collapsed on contact. With his flashlight, he saw the group in the courtyard, wheeled his chair to the entrance, and asked in confusion: “Guys, is the world ending?”

“Cough… cough…”

Fu Weijun, choked by dust, coughed a few times and said: “It was a shockwave from an explosion—some massive blast somewhere.”

His conclusion matched Zhang Su’s exactly—and he knew perfectly well what had caused the explosion.

“This… sigh…”

“Our camp, ruined all at once—so unlucky. What do we do now? Our vegetable sheds, our duck pens—gone, definitely gone!”

“Don’t be discouraged! Don’t lose hope!”

Hearing the complaints around him, Zhang Su shouted, removed his glasses, tucked them into his pocket, and felt a surge of fierce determination.

He declared loudly: “When disaster struck, we fought our way out of the city—how many trials have we endured? When we arrived at Tianma Island, we had barely enough supplies for one month. Now? Even after this disaster, we’re far better off than before! We came here, made this our home—it gave us shelter, so we must protect everything here. A strong wind broke our equipment? We rebuild. United, what can’t we accomplish? The sheds collapsed? We prop them up with wood again. The chickens and ducks flew away? We go catch them. As long as we’re alive, no difficulty is truly difficult!”

In the quiet, not only Xiao Xingyun’s people heard Zhang Su’s voice—several neighboring guesthouses heard it too—but those outside the courtyard remained untouched by his fiery spirit.

Yu Wen was still down the mountain. If he’d heard Zhang Su’s words, he’d have been deeply moved.

“United, we rebuild our home!”

“Thanks to Brother Su’s reminder, none of us are hurt—that’s the greatest luck. The damage isn’t that bad—houses are fine, only windows broken. Nail on wooden boards, still usable. What’s the big deal?”

Thanks to Zhang Su’s warning, none of us were injured—that was the silver lining—and the damage wasn’t severe; the houses were intact, only the windows were broken, and nailing up wooden boards was enough—no big deal.

His words ignited everyone’s fighting spirit. The saying “as long as the green hills remain, firewood will never run out” had never been more vividly proven.

“Honestly… I never expected this. Lord Yama, we’re willing to help Tianma Island with cleanup. Tomorrow… I know you probably won’t have spare hands, but we must return to Longtou Camp.”

Shen Linrui spoke heavily. His camp had sent him to request aid—but now the aid side had been hit too. He felt embarrassed, worried Lord Yama might think they’d brought bad luck.

Zhang Su looked at Shen Linrui with an odd expression, paused for four or five seconds, then forced a smile.

“You probably can’t return easily either. The roads… never mind. Let’s start cleanup first. You’re our guests—find a place to rest, or you can go down the mountain to check the situation.”

Shen Linrui’s face grew even heavier after hearing Zhang Su, but he didn’t sit down to rest—he still intended to help. After all, they’d truly come with sincerity to seek aid, hoping to do good and build good karma; if they could help, they would.

After hearing Zhang Su’s words, Shen Lin’s expression grew even heavier, yet he did not rest; he still intended to help, for in truth, the few of them had come with sincerity to seek aid, driven by the wish to do good and cultivate good fortune, and if they could lend a hand, they would.

At that moment, electromagnetic interference weakened, and the walkie-talkie crackled to life: “Zhang… zzzz, Number Two… zzzz, multiple injuries, no deaths reported yet. I’m heading to Village Three!”

It was Yu Wen. He’d been busy in the village, received Zhang Su’s emergency message, and without hesitation, found a house to hide in. The earthquake and the thunderous noise made him think of the Tunguska event, so he guessed a shockwave was coming—and chose an excellent spot. Sure enough, he suffered no injury.

It was Yu Wen who spoke—he had been busy in the village, and upon receiving Zhang Su’s urgent message, he said nothing, immediately found a civilian house, and took shelter inside; the earthquake and the thunderous noise made him think of the Tunguska event, so he guessed an impact wave was coming, and thus chose an excellent spot—sure enough, he suffered not a single injury.

But others weren’t so lucky.

Many didn’t receive any warning in time; by the time they heard the alert, the shockwave had already hit. Some didn’t even get the message before being blown into rolling balls. Fortunately, they wore thick clothing—there was some cushioning; otherwise, they’d have been dead.

Aaoo! Aaoo! At the same time, Zhang Su’s ears twitched—he heard zombies howling in the distance. Not Type One… then it must be…

“Old Yu, old Yu! Immediately organize the uninjured villagers to begin self-rescue and cleanup. First, deal with the zombie cows and horses at the generator—don’t let them bite anyone. We’re coming to support you right away.”

Every village now had cow-and-horse-powered generators. The shockwave likely freed those zombie animals—this was no small problem! “Oh no, I’d better go check too!”

Jia Shiqin was right in the courtyard—he couldn’t hear the zombies, but Zhang Su’s warning jolted him awake. He hurried toward Tianma Island’s generator.

Jia Shiqin was in the courtyard; his hearing couldn’t pick up the zombies’ cries, but after Zhang Su’s warning, he suddenly realized and rushed toward the generator on Tianmayu.

Zhang Su gave the order, then switched frequencies: “Yan Luo Army, listen up! Guo Dachao, Wang Xin, Wang Longzhong, Wu Lue, Duan Wuhu, Zhao Xue, Pei Lan, Yang Wenjie—you stay on Tianma Island and immediately assist Yi Xiaoling, Mo Qianlan, and others in rescuing livestock and crop facilities!”

“Xinyu, accompany Xiaoshan to the warehouse for medicine. Later, Xiao Chen and Xiao Liu, you two go together to help clear debris.”

“Bozi, go notify Old Ding and Old Wang—we’re heading down the mountain for rescue. Oh, and get Zhu and his wife too!”

Orders flowed from Zhang Su’s mouth—transmitted via walkie-talkie or spoken directly to those nearby.

Orders issued from Zhang Su’s mouth, transmitted either via walkie-talkie or spoken directly to those beside him.

(End of Chapter)