Chapter 647: Far-Reaching Consequences

The aftermath at the mountain camp was important, but rescue efforts in the satellite villages were equally urgent.

Compared to Tianma Island, the situation in the satellite villages was far worse!

Not all the houses in the village were newly built concrete structures; some were old earthen brick homes, which had suffered severe damage…

Fortunately, no one had taken shelter in those ruined houses, nor had anyone chosen to live in them—most were used only to store trivial clutter, barely even qualifying as storage sheds.

But shattered doorframes, window frames, tiles, and bricks had caused considerable harm to other buildings and people…

The satellite village wasn’t just in chaos—it was devastation. The shockwave had swept through at incredible speed; many hadn’t even received the warning, let alone time to flee. Many had bleeding heads, others were knocked unconscious by falling debris, some had broken arms or legs, and cries of agony rose and fell everywhere.

While the zombie horde’s attack was dire, this disaster—whether natural or man-made—was no better. Blood splattered across broken walls, the living and dead lay scattered among rubble, and children’s sobs drifted through the village…

Fortunately, the stock of zombie brain matter was sufficient; the Yama Legion’s mission was to deliver the medicine to the critically injured immediately—not only a rescue, but also an opportunity to stabilize morale.

When people learned the Yama Legion possessed life-saving spiritual medicine, their sense of belonging to Tianma Island deepened further.

Treating the wounded was only part of the aftermath; many other tasks needed attention. Dinner was out of the question—everyone was working frantically.

Darkness on Tianma Island did not last long; within less than an hour, light returned. The lighting equipment was crude, but adequate.

The zombie generator’s location had been lucky—it wasn’t completely destroyed. Though the zombies had been thrown off track by the shockwave, a slight adjustment could restore functionality. But rewiring was an extremely tedious process, so Jia Shiqin simply connected several high-power lamps directly beside the generator.

The lamp posts were as thick as thighs, illuminating nearly the entire Tianma Island—even the highest point, Jingxin Garden—while even shadowed areas were dimmed by diffused light.

The satellite villages weren’t so lucky. The later zombie generators had been crudely built and all failed under this shockwave—shattered beyond repair, and the zombies pulling them had broken free. Fortunately, Zhang Su had warned in time; people immediately killed the escaped zombies, or the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Without zombie generators, there were still fuel-powered ones—perfectly usable for temporary needs.

Humans needed light. Working in darkness was clumsy and mentally crushing, but once light returned, the dire situation turned around quickly—the whole situation improved greatly.

None of the former leaders of the various divisions were injured in the shockwave, because they were among the first to receive the warning. As beneficiaries, they all took the lead in the aftermath work.

Whether former leaders or frontline fighters, none dared to stand idly by after seeing Zhang Su personally descend the mountain to assist in rescue efforts.

Zhang Su wasn’t a leader who only shouted through a megaphone. In the rescue work, he not only acted but also thought—handling tasks himself while issuing orders to others, his muscles and mind both working.

The proof was clear: a good mind was vital in a major disaster! Many were dazed in the chaotic environment—not because they lost the ability to act, but because they temporarily lost the ability to think. Once clear orders were given, they executed tasks well.

By nine p.m., after four or five hours of aftermath work, Tianma Island had gradually grown quiet, and order had been restored in the satellite villages.

“This disaster left 128 seriously injured, 275 lightly injured, and two dead—both elderly people, found already without breath. All seriously injured received medicine; some lightly injured, considering their physical condition, were also given medicine. The scientific research’s value continues to rise—if not for the medicine, the death toll would have skyrocketed!”

In the shadow beside the flaming zombie cargo truck at Tianma Island’s parking lot, Yu Wen was reporting to Zhang Su. Both sat on broken, tilted chairs, each holding a cigarette.

According to several people with medical experience, if not for the Yama Legion’s medicine, at least fifty more would have died today, and many others would have gradually succumbed over the coming weeks…

For a camp with barely 800 people, fifty deaths would have been a shocking number!

Yu Wen saw Zhang Su just smoking in silence, so he continued: “We haven’t yet tallied material losses, but based on visual estimates, food losses won’t exceed five percent—heartening. Other materials suffered damage ranging from five to twenty percent—all within tolerable limits.”

“But one thing is infuriating: the zombie corpses piled at the foot of the mountain were scattered. Some flew hundreds of meters, landing in the opposite farmland. Re-piling them will be labor-intensive.” “Also, Village One has thirty-six buildings damaged to varying degrees, ten of which are currently uninhabitable. Village Two is better off—twenty-five damaged, five uninhabitable.”

“Village Three, due to its geographical position, suffered the worst: over fifty Nongjia Academy buildings were destroyed, with thirty-two completely uninhabitable—not even counting the old earthen brick houses, which are now one in ten.”

“Huh!”

Zhang Su exhaled smoke, gazing at his companions still busy among the ruins, and said with quiet sorrow: “The housing damage is worse than I imagined. Are there difficulties relocating people?”

“No need to worry. Each village originally housed about two thousand people. Even with some houses damaged, accommodating two hundred is still more than enough. I’ve already organized the relocation—just haven’t updated the records yet. Also…”

“The newly installed walkie-talkie relay station has malfunctioned. The guards returning from Xida Ying Village reported no casualties, but the river is clogged with more debris. Building collapses were minimal—likely because Xida Ying Village had better economic conditions and built more solidly.”

“The return journey was rough—some trees blocked the roads, so we had to walk through the fields…”

“The guard posts are in bad shape, especially the eastern watchtower…”

One by one, Yu Wen reported each piece of information he’d gathered from all directions.

“You’ve worked hard, Lao Yu!”

When Yu Wen paused, Zhang Su patted his shoulder, looked toward the east, and murmured softly: “Today’s explosion was terrifying.”

“It must have been that thing that exploded?”

Yu Wen closed his notebook, lit another cigarette. As a core senior of the camp, he hadn’t participated in the research but knew some secrets.

“Yes. Our worst fear has come true. You must’ve smelled it—the shockwave carried that unique faint fragrance. That’s the raw toxin’s scent!”

“I smelled it. No idea which fool set fire to a toxin zombie. Ignorance is fearless.”

Yu Wen sighed helplessly.

After learning that zombies catching fire became like gods possessed, Tianma Island had largely abandoned fire attacks against zombies. Later, they discovered mutated zombies could be harvested for explosives, further reinforcing the Yama Legion’s ban on fire.

Unfortunately, not everyone followed their lead. Some still thought burning zombies was easy—even if zombies went mad after ignition, setting traps in advance could avoid danger.

Normally, that worked fine. But abnormal situations always arise. Now look what happened…

A giant purple flower blazed across the sky—not only killing its creator, but also harming other survivor camps kilometers away…

Tianma Island wasn’t the only one affected. In Qincheng, only survivors from Beicheng had evacuated to Tianma Island; other camps remained in Zhongbu and Nancheng. They felt sudden, inexplicable tremors, then a shockwave—windows shattered, people stunned.

Even farther south, other counties felt varying degrees of the tremor. After weakening through urban buildings, the shockwave’s power dropped sharply by the time it reached the south, causing no damage to those camps—but inevitably sparking wild speculation.

The biggest problem is Putaogou!

The massive zombie horde, once in delicate balance, had become visibly agitated after the shockwave passed. Survivor factions who learned the news were deeply troubled.

(End of Chapter)