Chapter 526

Ju Wuying leaned over to sit in the driver's seat and was just about to close the door when she heard Chen Hanzhou's words and exchanged a look with Zhang Su, the information in her eyes complex.

"He won't take medicine even when told to, don't know what he's thinking. Brother Su, why not just let him go back early."

"Yeah, Little Chen, why not take medicine? You're just suffering for no reason, right?"

Zhao Dezhu and the others didn't understand what Chen Hanzhou was thinking.

Others might not know, but Zhang Su did; this guy was definitely eyeing the Liquefied Gas Zombie...

"Why are you joining in the fun?"

Zhang Su shook his head and said very naturally: "This vehicle is mainly to send back the companions who were bitten by zombies. Your injury doesn't fall into this category. Just nurse your wounds here. The conditions at Le Gou Mall aren't bad. If you're willing to go to the barracks with us tomorrow, you can; if you don't want to, stay here, and we'll pick you up when we return."

The meaning was clear: in front of so many people, you cannot receive special treatment.

"Ah, this... alright."

One sentence blocked Chen Hanzhou's path. He couldn't continue to argue; saying anything more would be clearly talking back to the leader, which would be too inappropriate...

He showed a depressed expression and, with the help of Qi Xiaoshuai, went back to Le Gou Mall to rest.

"Then I'm leaving, going back... going back to Tianma Island to wait for you all to return!"

Liu Tianji was the last to get in the car, looking at everyone with reluctance. Although his desire to survive was strong, he still couldn't overcome his worry, fearing that this parting would be a final farewell.

Zhang Su patted Liu Tianji on the shoulder and encouraged him: "You used to work at an internet company, so you can be considered to have received a higher education. You must believe in science; Dr. Fu and the others will have a way!"

"Alright, Brother Su, I believe in science."

Liu Tianji nodded heavily, then talked to Wu Lue about some issues regarding the construction of communication relays, before walking into the vehicle, looking back with every step.

The vehicle started and gradually moved away. The sky had turned completely dark. People on the road were still busy, and everything was deathly quiet dozens of meters away.

Everyone returned to Le Gou Mall. A fragrance wafted through the air. They had already started cooking before the final battle with the Liquefied Gas Zombie, and later it was delayed because of watching the battle, but now it was almost ready.

The dead are gone, the living must go on. One has to do what one has to do. Having experienced too many life-and-death partings, everyone had learned to adapt.

Yu Wen and Li Zongkai reported the specific situation of the battle to Zhang Su. The series of numbers was cold, but the meaning behind them made people feel very sigh-worthy...

This battle resulted in a total of fifty-two deaths, including thirty-three ordinary members and nineteen combat personnel. Four seriously injured people had been sent away, and minor injuries were not counted.

The number of zombies annihilated was also not counted; it was inconvenient in the dark. It was only roughly estimated to be between twelve hundred and fifteen hundred.

Just like when they were outside Yujing Garden, Wu Baokang and many of the Civilization Guardians couldn't believe this number. They felt that the zombies they faced were endless and could not be killed. In the end, it was only a little over a thousand? They would have thought ten thousand was a low estimate! And even this was only because the big brothers of the Yama Legion had rushed back in the end, otherwise they would have been swallowed! The strengthening of the zombies was like a heavy stone pressing on people's hearts, especially for the combat personnel who had experienced it firsthand. Fortunately, there were still warriors who could slaughter zombies like dogs and chickens, standing like monuments and radiating a halo to boost people's confidence.

"Today we encountered an unprecedented impact..."

On the first floor, right on the most tragic battlefield, a large open area had been cleared. Zhang Su sat in front of the crowd, with used bowls and chopsticks beside him. After a simple meal, he was speaking to everyone.

The box truck carrying the fire-breathing zombie was driven into the mall, acting as a big stove, and everyone felt warm.

"The battle was tragic, and many friends have left us forever. You all are fortunate to be among the survivors. Don't be depressed, don't be negative. We are the hope of humanity. Since we are alive, we must carry the will of those who sacrificed and continue to move forward. Come!"

As he spoke, Zhang Su picked up a disposable cup that had been prepared, which contained half a cup of white liquor.

"Let us raise our glasses to the sacrificed, and send our brothers off properly!"

Zhang Su raised the wine glass in his hand and took the lead in bowing three times toward the direction where the bodies were laid out.

"Send the brothers off!"

The remaining three hundred or so people followed Zhang Su's actions and bowed in unison.

The ceremony ended, and Zhang Su tilted his head back and drank the wine in the cup in one gulp. These remains were to be taken by a special vehicle to the northern suburbs. According to the result of his discussion with Yu Wen, a peaceful piece of land would be specially opened up for combat personnel to build a Warrior's Mausoleum, specially for burying the soldiers who sacrificed in battle. As for the ordinary members, it was easier; there were so many villages, and each village had a cemetery nearby.

It was not that there was a lack of manpower or resources to find a decent place for ordinary members to be buried, but that the difference of the combat personnel must be highlighted. This was the glory deserved by the heroes who died for everyone's survival.

Cherish the martyrs, inspire the people, and strive for strength.

The ordinary members were very satisfied with this arrangement. Being able to be buried in the earth after death was already rare and commendable; how could they dare to ask for the same treatment as the martyrs.

After a simple memorial service, Zhang Su arranged the night duty tasks on the spot. Considering that the zombies had been strengthened, each shift was arranged with a full ten people, divided into the first half of the night and the second half of the night. All selected were the elite of the elite, which meant that everyone in the Yama Legion had been assigned a task.

Under normal circumstances, those assigned to night patrol would complain, but with Zhang Su's arrangement, it was the people who weren't selected who felt very embarrassed. Why weren't they selected? Because they weren't good enough...

Not just combat personnel, in order to let ordinary logistics members personally feel the harshness of the environment, twenty people were specially selected to be on duty together. Slowly, tasks like sentry duty, which were low-risk and didn't require high technical content, would be transferred to ordinary members.

"The duty arrangement for tonight is like this. Old Liu, Old Yang, you keep close contact with the kindergarten side, let them also arrange sentry posts well, and report any disturbance in time!"

Zhang Su looked at Liu Yao and Yang Xinqi.

Liu Yao patted the walkie-talkie at his waist and said: "Understood, Brother Su. I just contacted Ma Xiyu, and the Xinglong Huafu side is as quiet as a ghost town. It's fine, don't worry!"

"Alright, as long as there's no problem, hm?"

"Hello, hello, hello, Old Liao, can you hear me? Answer quickly!"

While Zhang Su was speaking, he suddenly heard a sound coming from Zheng Xinyu's backpack nearby, very faint, and no one could hear it except him.

Zhang Su had taken all the walkie-talkies from Liao Youzhi's study. The one speaking right now was one of them, but it wasn't clear who it was.

"Brother Su, what's wrong?"

Yang Xinqi was a bit worried about the situation at the kindergarten and was planning to ask Zhang Su if he could go back there to spend the night. Seeing his gaze freeze, he asked very nervously.

Zhang Su waved his hand: "It's nothing. Everyone follow the arrangement and start acting, each performing their own duties and doing their own things!"

"That..." Yang Xinqi raised his arm, and finally smiled: "Understood, Brother Su."

Zhang Su could naturally see that Yang Xinqi was hesitant, and he also roughly understood what he was thinking, but he didn't pick up the topic. Since they had already joined Tianma Island, they could not take the former Apocalypse Group as the center. All arrangements must listen to the command. Liu Yao did this very well!

"Xinyu, open the bag, someone was talking just now."

Zhang Su and the people of the Yama Legion walked toward the safety exit, while patting the large backpack behind Zheng Xinyu.

"Ah? Really? Which one..."

While walking, Zheng Xinyu turned the backpack around to find the walkie-talkie. She hadn't heard anything just now, but she didn't hesitate at all.

"Hello, hello, Old Liao, don't play dead! Speak quickly, I am Hu Yongan!"

"This one!"

Zheng Xinyu held the backpack and just pulled the zipper open when she indeed heard a faint sound. She held it in confusion and said: "That's not right, I remember they were all turned off?"

Zhang Su took the walkie-talkie from Zheng Xinyu's hand and smiled: "I turned them on."

Before cleaning up the battlefield, Zhang Su had turned on the walkie-talkies found in Liao Youzhi's study one by one. Several were already out of power; it could be seen that Liao Youzhi usually neglected maintenance.

There were still a few left with power. Zhang Su didn't try to contact the other side, but he felt that he might receive some news, and sure enough, it came.

(End of chapter)