Shen Feng, having received no orders, stayed in the hospital with Chu Chaoyan, planning to act once the situation stabilized. He wanted to leave the hospital, but the dean was constantly fussing over him, offering tea and water, clearly not wanting him to depart.
Shen Feng felt helpless. Since he was here to save people, he might as well save a few more by staying in the hospital.
As chaos erupted in the city, Shen Feng recalled the riot he encountered in Rongcheng. Back then, only a few zombies had breached the city, and opportunistic villains on the city's outskirts took advantage of the situation, leading people in vandalism and looting. The damage caused by them was ultimately greater than that of the zombies. The current predicament in Yanjing was similar to that of Rongcheng.
Thus, Shen Feng sat in the hospital lobby and said helplessly, "Besides the zombies, there are probably lawless individuals taking advantage of the chaos, just like in Rongcheng!"
Chu Chaoyan frowned and nodded. After some thought, she said, "I fear the Corpse King will keep air-dropping zombies into the city. If that happens, people might storm the city walls."
In reality, Shen Feng and Chu Chaoyan's concerns were not unfounded. Even in Yanjing, this so-called most populous city with tens of millions of inhabitants, there were no shortage of lawless individuals. Previously, the military and police had kept them in check, preventing them from openly acting out. But now, with half of Yanjing in chaos, when else would they seize the opportunity to profit from the disorder?
Consequently, looting occurred. Many burly men stormed into people's homes, stealing their possessions and food, and then continued to spread rumors to incite further chaos.
Meanwhile, the zombies were rapidly gathering. Under the covert instructions of Scar Corpse King, the zombies targeted the city's power plants. Yanjing had three large thermal power plants, their chimneys emitting black smoke day and night. The existence of these power plants provided electricity to the entire city, allowing Yanjing to remain lit even in the apocalypse. The power plants were crucial.
The searchlights on the city walls were also powered by the power plants. Even late at night, the areas around the city walls were brightly lit, thwarting the zombies' plans to fight under the cover of darkness.
Therefore, the Corpse King first set his sights on the power plants. It was nighttime, and if the power plants were destroyed, the lighting on the city walls would also be affected. At that point, the zombies could easily reach the city walls under the cover of darkness. Once they formed a gentle slope, millions of zombies could pour into the city at once!
The Corpse King's plan was ambitious. He wanted to attack the power plants now, but his objective was discovered by the command center. They immediately mobilized sufficient soldiers to defend the power plants. Yanjing now had millions of soldiers. Although a small portion were civilian forces, the numbers were substantial, and there was no shortage of combat power.
The command center was already redeploying resting frontline soldiers to continue the fight. The number of zombies within the city was only around ten to twenty thousand. Mobilizing a few armies would definitely be enough to eliminate the zombies in the city. The only tricky part was the chaotic situation on the streets; if the chaos couldn't be stopped, it could easily lead to a dangerous situation.
The Corpse King gathered numerous zombies to attack the power plants, but as they approached the power plants, they were met with a barrage of bullets. After leaving behind three thousand corpses, Scar Corpse King chose to retreat. The power plants were already fortified, and many streets were being sealed off. The army's strategy was simple: prioritize eliminating large hordes of zombies and then deal with the smaller groups within the city.
Scar Corpse King sensed something was wrong. He took out a map and looked at it, muttering, "They're trying to surround us like dumplings. Damn it. The team I painstakingly assembled has now become the army's target. If this continues, I'll be in danger."
Scar Corpse King had volunteered to be the commander in Yanjing. His idea was simple: seek wealth through danger. Since most of his regular zombies were already dead, his influence would inevitably diminish. It would be better to perform exceptionally well in the Yanjing conquest, which would earn him favor with Ma Jing Shuang in the future.
Scar Corpse King carefully examined the map and suddenly discovered a new target: the television tower. Fortunately, there were no troops protecting the television tower. If he could reach it, he would definitely be able to capture it, and the television tower in his possession would be of immense value!
Scar Corpse King acted immediately. Since the army was encircling the main zombie forces in the city, he decided to go along with their plan!
A horde of twelve thousand zombies suddenly moved towards the city center. This obvious direction of movement was immediately spotted by the army, which mobilized troops to block the streets and then prepare to surround this small zombie horde that had appeared in the city. The number of mutated birds in the sky was gradually decreasing, and the number of zombies airdropped was also relatively small.
However, as the army focused almost all its attention on this small zombie horde, hundreds of mutated zombies broke away from the army's blockade by splitting up. After escaping the encirclement, they regrouped.
Scar Corpse King appeared within this group of hundreds of mutated zombies, a smile on his face. He knew that the feint strategy had succeeded. The army certainly wouldn't have expected the zombie horde to be just a bait, with everyone's attention focused on it, while he himself led hundreds of elites to attack the television tower.
The command center people also didn't expect that the zombie horde of tens of thousands of zombies was merely a tool used by the Corpse King to attract attention. They were still mobilizing soldiers, setting up a encirclement, and then began to annihilate the zombie horde.
The plan to annihilate the zombie horde went smoothly. The battle lasted only half an hour, and the entire horde was annihilated. The zombies, with their bared teeth and claws, looked particularly ferocious, but as soon as the bullets struck, no matter how ferocious, the zombies would fall. Their previous ferocity seemed to be just a show.
The mutated birds were no longer flying towards Yanjing because their casualties had reached eight thousand. Many birds had poor night vision, so the zombie birds stopped flying after successfully transporting enough zombies. Most of the mutated birds were resting in the wilderness, but they did not leave the vicinity, seeming to prepare to assist the zombies in future battles.
When the zombie horde was annihilated, there were at most two to three thousand scattered zombies left in the city. This meant that most of the zombies that had appeared in the city had been dealt with. Now, as long as the remaining zombies were eliminated, the situation in the city would surely stabilize!
Those involved in the command felt smug. They were very satisfied with their command because it was under their leadership that the threat posed by the zombies was eliminated. Such a great achievement would surely be rewarded in the future, right?
But then, the devastating news arrived: the television tower had been captured by zombies!
When the people in the command center heard this, they doubted their own ears. Hadn't the large zombie horde been annihilated? Then why were the remaining zombies able to orderly capture the television tower?
Frontline reports came in, stating that the zombies who captured the television tower were all mutated zombies, and the Corpse King's trace was found among them. A Corpse King had entered Yanjing!
"Corpse King? The Corpse King is in Yanjing! Quickly prepare missiles! We must kill the Corpse King! Damn Corpse King, playing a feint!" The command center personnel were on the verge of going mad upon hearing the frontline news.
No wonder the zombies could capture the television tower; it was all the Corpse King's doing. Knowing that following the zombie horde would be dangerous, he played the trick of "golden cicada shedding its shell," capturing the television tower at such a critical moment. If the Corpse King wasn't eliminated, and he continued to scheme from the shadows, wouldn't that bring even greater trouble?
Therefore, the commanders all wanted to use missiles to directly kill the Corpse King. Only then would the situation in the city be completely stabilized.
But at this moment, another message came from the front line: the zombies had taken hundreds of people inside the television tower hostage. If missiles were used, the hostages would be eliminated along with them. Therefore, missiles could not be used now, as it would result in friendly fire.
"Damn Corpse King, he's even learned to take hostages!" The commanders felt the situation was tricky, facing a dilemma.
The command center began to discuss whether to prioritize rescuing the hostages or launching a missile. Rescuing hostages was the most important thing to do, but this would inevitably prolong the time it took to stabilize the situation, which was detrimental to ending the war.
At any time, hostages presented a difficult choice because it was a no-win situation, especially at such a critical juncture.
If they were to be unyielding and kill the hostages along with the zombies, they would surely be condemned. But if they rescued the hostages, it would lead to the worsening of the situation in the city, and such responsibility was not something ordinary people could bear. This was a situation of being caught between a wolf in front and a tiger behind, unable to advance or retreat.
While the command center was in discussion, the Corpse King inside the television tower found the station director and said contemptuously, "I've heard for a long time that television stations have been propagating the evils of zombies. Heh heh, humans are truly unchanging. They viciously slander those who are not on their side."
"Kill me or flay me, as you wish. Don't preach to me! Ptooey!" The station director was also spirited, spitting a mouthful of phlegm, unwilling to say another word to the Corpse King.
Scar Corpse King wiped the phlegm from his face, opened his mouth, and emitted an ultrasonic wave, instructing the mutated zombies beside him to take the man away and then bring someone else to question.
The second person was a spineless fellow. When he was brought before the Corpse King, he immediately knelt down and said, "Mercy, good sir!"
The Corpse King shrugged, sat down in a chair, and said, "I want to use television to broadcast some words. Can you help me? If you can do it, I'll let you go. What do you think?"
The spineless fellow immediately nodded, his face filled with joy, and said, "Yes, yes, good sir, I can do whatever you say. I will do my best to help you!"
Ten minutes later, the television tower began broadcasting new content. Scar Corpse King sat in the studio and began, "Citizens of Yanjing, I am the Corpse King. In reality, we should not be enemies. Because I retain human memories and human thoughts, I am unwilling to increase bloodshed. We should be able to coexist. Because the existence of the Corpse King can restrain the zombies under his command, you should agree with this point."
As the number of zombies in the city gradually decreased, many people calmed down because the zombies that threatened their lives were being cleared. Soldiers were also moving on the streets. As soon as they spotted a zombie, they would immediately kill it. Many individuals who had taken advantage of the situation to cause trouble ran into the line of fire and were also dealt with by the soldiers.
Consequently, many calm people stayed at home and turned on their televisions to obtain information. For a long time, communication had been restricted, and the best way to get information was to watch television. Therefore, smartphones had become mere decorations, and televisions were becoming increasingly popular.
However, when the survivors turned on their televisions, they discovered that the Corpse King was speaking on television. This situation caused widespread panic. Weren't they told that all the zombies in Yanjing were being gradually cleared? Then why could the Corpse King openly appear on television? Was this a prank by the television station?
Since the emergence of the zombie virus, nine-tenths of the world's population had turned into zombies. The fear of zombies among the survivors had reached an extremely high level. Upon seeing a zombie, their first reaction was to flee, regardless of whether the zombie was powerful or not; fleeing was the only option.
And now, with the Corpse King appearing on television, many people's first reaction was to turn off the TV. But then, they heard incredible news from the Corpse King, and they were stunned. Could zombies coexist with humans? How was that possible?
"Can it really be done? Is this really possible? Can zombies coexist with humans?" This was the doubt in many people's minds. If they could truly coexist with zombies, wouldn't they not have to fight anymore? Wouldn't there be peace in the world from then on?
In despair, even a glimmer of hope would cause people in dire straits to desperately grasp it. Even if what they grabbed was a thorn that would cause bleeding, they wouldn't care about anything else.