Chapter 114: Snow
At town.
Currently, the zombies around have basically all been cleared. Apart from , the only remaining problem is this migration route through , formed for reasons unknown.
This migration corridor, running north-south through , is like a river that never runs dry.
Zombies stream north from the south without end, day and night.
No one knows why they head north, or what is drawing them.
As a result, no matter how the cleaned this line, it never did any good.
But that wasn't the point. The point was: if they were going to pass through the 's territory, that left room to operate.
So, after population growth forced a major expansion of the , and the others completely changed their approach here. Since they couldn't clear it out in one go, they would simply use the terrain to build a long-term defense line.
, once the last armed police officer in , was now of , newly added under the .
Their squad had only one mission: block this road and kill every enemy who came within the county town.
Using the county town's remaining buildings, three staggered defense lines extended outward for five kilometers.
Artillery positions on both sides fired directly at the , killing the vast majority of zombies outside the county town.
Only a few tougher advanced mutants were left to charge the solid defensive lines, where concentrated fire finished them off.
“Position Three, coordinate correction. Fire a saturation bombardment at the middle section of the migration route.” stood at the observation slit of the command bunker, binoculars in hand, issuing the order in a calm voice.
Behind him, a signal operator quickly relayed the order.
Seconds later, dozens of orange tail flames rose from the distant horizon, tore through the gray snow curtain, and slammed precisely into the writhing black tide.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Successive explosions sent whole swaths of zombies flying into the air, severed limbs mixed with mud and snow.
Yet the following seemed to have no instinct for fear. It still madly trampled over the remains of its own kind, trying to keep charging the line.
“Mr. , what exactly are these things? Why do they have to take this road north?” lowered his binoculars and asked a beside him.
[Based on 's tracking, their target seems to be in the direction of ,] 's voice came from the robot,
[But what exactly is there in , or why it has to be this particular road, is still unknown.]
[It's worth noting, though, that there are nine such fixed migration routes across the country, and this is only one of them.]
“Tsk. That really is a pain. I wonder if the brothers up north can still hold on?” shook his head.
[So setting up a checkpoint here to cut off one route can also be seen as a supporting action.]
Anyone who dares to cut through 's front door had better be ready to lose a layer of skin.
This wasn't only about weakening future potential threats. For , this place—like the research center in —was an excellent “grinding spot.”
An endless supply of zombies meant an endless supply of one-time repair tool drops, and the occasional brand-new had a chance to drop scattered or tech equipment blueprints.
Although no useful equipment had dropped yet, who could say for sure that none ever would?
Just as the defense line was routinely clearing the zombies that had arrived that day, an urgent transmission cut in from the forward observation post.
“Report! Abnormal ahead! monitor readings are climbing fast—already past Level 1-30!”
's face tightened. He immediately grabbed his binoculars.
On the distant snowfield, an extremely unnatural stretch of gray-white was spreading rapidly. Wherever it passed, the chaotic quieted for a moment, then charged forward at an even more frenzied pace.
immediately turned to the and shouted, “Report! checkpoint: an unknown fog mass has been observed driving zombies toward the defense line. Suspected ! Requesting air support!”
[Received.] 's voice sounded at once.
An hour and a half later.
The southern horizon was completely swallowed by a layer of viscous white fog. The fog rolled unnaturally low against the ground, like a great white river surging in reverse.
And ahead of the fog was a black tide almost too vast to see the end of—zombies.
“Scale confirmed: roughly fifteen thousand or more.” The observer's voice was a little tense.
This was the largest they had faced since moving in.
“Don't panic. Fight exactly the way we always fight,” said in a steady voice. “Position One and Position Two, open fire per standard procedure. Position Three, stand by and prepare for high-value targets.”
The guns opened up again, denser than ever before.
Rockets streaked across the gray-white sky, plowing walls of fire into the leading edge of the .
High-explosive shells from the gun-howitzers precisely blanketed the dense areas, each round taking out dozens of twisted figures.
But this time, the wasn't so easily whittled down as usual. The density was too high. The front rows fell, and the rows behind trampled over the remains and kept surging forward, even faster than before.
“ monitor readings have passed Level 2!” someone shouted.
raised his binoculars and looked into the fog.
Then he saw it.
In the heart of the white fog, a huge silhouette was slowly emerging.
The thing stood twelve meters tall. Six slender, bone-like limbs supported an inverted-triangle torso whose surface was covered in layers of dark gray carapace.
It had no head—at least, no head in any conventional sense.
At the very top of its torso ran a vertical crack that pierced the entire upper body from top to bottom, and its edges constantly seeped thick white fog.
It was as if all the fog swallowing the was leaking out of its body.
“What the hell...” muttered.
[New , temporary code name ' '.] 's voice sounded quickly. [Note: its fog seems to have an amplification effect. Zombies and mutants within its coverage have had their movement speed increased by about 40 percent.]
No wonder this was running so fast.
Realizing this, immediately ordered, “Position Three, target ' ', concentrate fire!”
Then dozens of shells landed on the monster, triggering extremely violent explosions.
The tremendous kinetic shock wave drove the twelve-meter monster back several steps, and two bowl-sized craters burst open in its carapace.
It let out a shrill screech like metal grinding. The vertical crack opened, as if it meant to strike back.
But above the clouds, a dark gray figure had already completed its dive.
's belly-mounted laser emitter fired at full power, and a purple high-energy beam sliced precisely into the opening crack.
Biological structures were vaporized one by one by the light. The 's body suddenly stiffened, and then the laser burned a great hole straight through it.
[Ding! Detected: killed ' ' x1. Obtained : 2000.]
[Obtained special drop blueprint: x1. Can provide illumination effects against “special fog tides.”]
The battle ended cleanly.
let out a long breath. Watching the battlefield return to order, he felt a hint of relief and pleasure.
Third-stage mutants—which had once given the such a headache—were already nothing much under today's fully enhanced firepower.
“Clean the battlefield and get ready for the next wave,” he ordered in a low voice.
As long as they stayed here, this road of death heading north would never be forced open.
***
Meanwhile, on a national highway thirty kilometers east of , City.
The man could no longer remember how long he had been walking.
The wind was strong, and the snow was cold.
He carried his daughter on his back, wrapping her in his down jacket three layers thick.
The little girl barely spoke anymore. She just buried her face against the back of his neck, her small hands clinging to his collar.
The weather was growing colder. In his field of vision, there was nothing but snowflakes filling the sky.
The only conviction that kept him walking was the plastic card clutched in his hand.
He had found it on the road half a month ago. Printed on the card was the silhouette of a bathed in morning light, with a line of small text underneath.
[The dawn endures forever; the sparks never die. — · ]
The back had a brief introduction and route-planning suggestions.
He didn't know whether he should believe it.
But other than this direction, he had nowhere else to go.
In this cruel world, not everyone was qualified to live.
At least, for a frail middle-aged man and a dying little girl, they didn't make the cut.
And so the flimsy card in his hand was the only hope in their hearts.
After walking for who knew how much longer, just as the man's consciousness was about to blur, he saw a faint, orange-yellow light flickering in the wind and snow ahead.
A hallucination?
He blinked hard. The light was still there, and it even seemed a little clearer.
It wasn't a hallucination.
It was a small shack built of sheet metal, no more than ten or so square meters.
A thin layer of snow covered the roof. A small window sat in one side, letting out warm yellow light.
An iron sign hung on the door, black lettering on a white background:
[Friend from afar, welcome to . Hot water and food are inside—please help yourself.
The is thirty kilometers ahead. Keep going! — ]
When the man saw the iron sign, his eyes burned, and tears nearly spilled out.
He pushed the door open, and a warm gust laden with the smell of instant noodles rushed at him.
Along the wall stood a row of metal shelves, neatly stocked with cartons of instant noodles, self-heating rice, and bottled water.
In the corner, an electric kettle was bubbling and steaming.
On the folding table lay simple maps with the route and distances ahead marked in red pen.
Outside, two drones circled, their blue indicator lights blinking in the wind and snow.
The man set his daughter on the simple camp cot and made two bowls of noodles as fast as he could.
When the warm broth slipped down his throat and drove out the chill coiled inside him, he finally let out a relieved breath and felt himself come alive.
After eating his fill and resting briefly, he carried his daughter on his back and set off again.
This time, the road ahead was completely different.
A roughly leveled road stretched through the snow. At intervals along the roadside, streetlamps shone, casting warm halos in the wind and snow.
Most incredible of all, he finally noticed that along this road, there wasn't a single to be seen—there was even very little blood.
If not for the grim silhouette of the abandoned city in the distance, the man would almost have thought he was back before the disaster.
They walked along this road for about half an hour when an armored patrol vehicle painted in dark green camouflage pulled up beside them. The door opened, and two young men in standard-issue padded coats with rifles on their backs jumped out. They looked like soldiers.
Their eyes were sharp and alert, but there was no hostility.
“Survivor?” the lead soldier asked.
“Yes, I'm Jiang Ming. This is my child,” the man said hurriedly, nodding and holding up the card.
The soldier glanced at it and nodded. “Get in. We'll take you to the registration center.”
Sitting in the warm compartment, the man who called himself Jiang Ming watched the scenery racing backward beyond the window, his heart still full of an unreal feeling.
When the patrol vehicle entered , he was utterly stunned by what he saw.
Streetlights grew denser, and so did the pedestrians. Factories lined both sides of the road, huge chimneys venting white steam, and the hum of running machinery could be heard even through the windows.
People came and went along the streets. Everyone hurried, but there was no fear or numbness on their faces—instead, they wore busy, spirited expressions.
From time to time, large drones swept across the sky. On the ground, children chased and played on cleared lots, their laughter crisp.
This... really was a !
At last, the vehicle stopped in front of a building bearing a sign that read “ .”
The process was quick. Registration, physical exam, , temporary housing assignment.
The staff were neither warm nor cold, but extremely efficient.
“This is your ,” a short-haired young woman said, handing him a black card.
“The cafeteria is in , open 24 hours.
“The also doubles as a communicator. If you have any problem, press and hold the button on the side to call a staff member.”
The man took the card and examined it over and over for a long while.
The card bore his name and a number, with a small green icon blinking in the upper-right corner.
“Daddy, I'm hungry,” his daughter said, tugging at his clothes.
“Mm, come on. Daddy will take you to eat.” The man looked down at his daughter's pure eyes and nodded firmly.
His voice was a little choked, but his eyes were no longer despairing.
***
, control center.
The night was deep, and the snow was still falling.
came in from outside wrapped in a padded coat, stamped the loose snow off her boots, and sat down at the console.
“ , how many people did we take in today?”
[307 people.]
“Are the warming points along the road working?”
[Yes. The temperature has dropped faster than expected these past few days, especially at night. Thanks to the warming points, many survivors made it through the cold nights instead of falling before dawn.]
“If they're useful, we should keep extending them outward,” said with a frown, picking up a pen and writing a few lines in her notebook. “I'll have people install electric heating equipment tomorrow and stock a few more boxes of supplies.”
[I agree,] 's electronic voice sounded, adding, [the can be adjusted too, especially regarding heating equipment.]
“I know,” nodded, turning her gaze to the window.
Glistening snowflakes covered the whole world, dyeing everything in pure white—quiet and serene.
But 's brows were knit tight. She was silent for a few seconds, then said, “ , do you have any monitoring data on this snow?”
Snowflakes swirled down beneath the streetlights. It wasn't a heavy snow, but this was already the third day, and it still showed no sign of stopping.
[There's no doubt that the weather really has changed. It's mid-November now.
In past years, 's first snow usually fell in early December. This year's snow has come too early and lasted too long.]
's voice was equally grave.
Whatever the cause, this sudden, prolonged drop in temperature was absolutely not good news for the survivors scattered outside.
The room fell quiet. walked to the window, opened it a crack, and reached out to catch a snowflake.
“Whatever the cause,” she said calmly, “first, take care of the people. We still need to keep gathering supplies for the winter, start moving the coal from , and then there's the heating system...”
At that, she shook her head and gave a bitter laugh. “Great. This world really doesn't leave a person any way to live!”
[If it doesn't give us one, then we'll open one ourselves—that works just as well.] 's tone came through steady, yet carried an air that brooked no argument.
was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and nodded. “Mm!”
Outside the window, the snow was falling harder.
But beneath the snow curtain, the lights of countless homes still glowed warm and bright.