Chapter 4: The Entire City Enters a State of Emergency
walked at the front, his combat boots landing on the concrete floor with a steady tap, tap, tap. He took a few steps, paused for half a second, and swept the muzzle across the windows of the offices on both sides, making sure nothing was missed.
The door to the on the third floor was still shut. He raised his hand and knocked twice.
"Comrade Lin, Comrade Zhang, the wants you on the sixth floor."
There was a rustling inside for a moment, then 's voice came through.
"Coming, coming."
The door cracked open. She poked her head out, saw it was , and her shoulders relaxed.
followed her out, the wrench still in his hand, but the tension in his face had eased considerably from before.
"All clear?" asked in a low voice, still glancing down both ends of the hallway.
"It's safe." turned and started walking.
"Follow me."
The two hurried after him. The corridor was very quiet, the only sound the footsteps of four pairs of feet on the concrete.
Zombie corpses lay twisted and sprawled all along the path, the black blood on the floor already clotted into dark brown patches, dried through.
covered her mouth, turned her head away, but her pace actually quickened.
The door to the broadcast room on the sixth floor was slightly ajar. stood by the window.
It was nearly dark. The last sliver of light was withdrawing from the city skyline, and several fires flickered in the twilight at a distance.
" , the personnel are here." came to attention.
turned around.
"Come in."
The broadcast room wasn't big. Against the wall, a row of old equipment was thick with dust. Microphones and tape were scattered across the desk.
A diesel generator sat in the corner, its metal casing covered in greasy handprints—clearly someone had been using it recently.
"Master Zhang, check if this equipment still works."
put down the wrench, walked over, crouched down, and opened the cover of the junction box. He ran his fingers along the cable, then reached over and rocked the generator's crank handle.
"The wiring is fine, and the backup unit can start. The electronic broadcast line is down, but the old wired broadcast still works—it should cover most of ."
nodded.
"Start it up."
filled the generator with diesel and pulled the starter rope three times.
On the fourth pull, the engine shuddered, spat out a puff of black smoke, and began running steadily.
The ceiling lights in the broadcast room came on. The indicator lights on the equipment panel lit up one by one.
adjusted the microphone, then turned back and gave a thumbs-up.
walked over, straightened his uniform collar, and pressed the broadcast key.
"This is the . I am , and I am now acting as the city's interim supreme for emergencies, issuing an urgent notice to all survivors."
"The virus outbreak has been ongoing for over two hours."
"All infected individuals have mutated into aggressive zombies, transmitted through bodily fluids, which survive outside the body for no more than five minutes."
"All survivors must remember: do not have any physical contact with zombies; stay indoors with sealed rooms and do not go outside; conserve your water and food."
"All major leaders of the Party Committee and City Government have lost contact, and the original administrative system has collapsed."
"In accordance with the Eastern Continent Emergency Response Law, the has automatically taken over the city's emergency command authority. The Interim Emergency Command Headquarters has been established, with me as the -in-chief."
"The headquarters address is: No. 73 , , Building."
"The building has established a comprehensive defense system, with a stockpile of weapons and supplies."
"Survivors who can make their way here may come. The headquarters will provide security and basic necessities."
"Communication is currently cut off, and the situation outside is unknown, but every city is facing a similar predicament."
"Survive tonight, and there will be a hot meal tomorrow."
"Myself and all the personnel at the headquarters will do our utmost to hold this place. Please, all those still alive, hold on to yourselves."
"I repeat the address: No. 73 , , Building."
He released the key. The broadcast room fell silent, leaving only the rumble of the generator and the hum of the equipment.
turned and glanced at and .
"The broadcast will loop for three hours. You two take inventory of this floor's supplies."
"Yes, sir!" acknowledged.
lowered his eyes to the system panel. The kill rewards had been credited: 126 zombies, 12.6 .
Enough to summon two more.
In his mind, he silently recited the summoning command.
There was no flash of white light, no chime, but a line of small text appeared on the system interface: [Target location confirmed. En route to report.]
Three seconds later, through the broadcast room's back window, he saw a figure flash past on the second-floor window of a residential building diagonally opposite.
withdrew his gaze and opened the map on the desk.
——
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