Shen Feng quickly left Rongcheng. Using "As Wind Follows," his speed was incredible, making him impossible to catch, except by bullets. However, Shen Feng only needed to activate the "Wind King Barrier" to withstand bullets for a short time.
After returning outside the city, Shen Feng instructed his subordinates to prepare for withdrawal and set up camp on a nearby small hill. Wang Yue Sheng, confused, asked, "Why are we withdrawing? Aren't we still supposed to tie down the zombie horde?"
Shen Feng shrugged and said, "I don't know either. It's an order from above. They just told us to find a good spot and watch the show. They said the decisive battle is tonight, and we don't need to participate. Anyway, I'm just relaying the message. Everyone, go rest on the hill. If these guys mess up, we'll have to fight again."
Wang Yue Sheng was somewhat skeptical, believing Shen Feng was making excuses to desert. He used his walkie-talkie to inquire with the command center. To his surprise, the command center gave the same instructions: stay far away and be careful of friendly fire.
Only then did Wang Yue Sheng believe it was a directive from higher-ups. He led his men to slowly retreat. They set up camp on a small hill five kilometers outside the city, leaving their vehicles at the foot of the mountain and proceeding uphill to rest.
Now that they were idle, Wang Yue Sheng suddenly realized that all two thousand of Shen Feng's subordinates were evolved humans. They had been mostly ordinary people before, but now, it seemed overnight, they had all become evolved individuals, agile and strong, like superheroes!
"Could it be the red jelly they ate last night?" Wang Yue Sheng recalled what he had secretly observed the previous night and suddenly understood. Shen Feng had discovered another method of evolution, which was why he could create so many evolved humans in a single night!
Wang Yue Sheng now understood Jin Zi Jue's words from the previous night. He realized why Jin Zi Jue had risked provoking Shen Feng to sneak a peek; it was to gather such crucial intelligence.
"If the army also mastered this method, wouldn't all soldiers become evolved humans in the future?" Wang Yue Sheng mused.
As evening approached, the distant sky was filled with the roar of engines. Shen Feng looked into the distance and could vaguely see some small black dots. At that moment, he understood why Xie Ba Teng had dared to say he didn't need to act. Fighter jets had arrived! Shen Feng immediately realized that these fighter jets were likely the key to victory. He wondered what kind of weapons they were equipped with and how powerful they were.
Jin Zi Jue, also in a vehicle, witnessed this scene. He saw many new fighter jets entering Rongcheng, and his expression turned serious. He murmured, "Fighter jets are here for support. It seems headquarters is taking the battle in Rongcheng very seriously. This means recovery operations in other areas have been postponed, and the large-scale annihilation of zombies will take a long time!"
Jin Zi Jue was aware of Rongcheng's situation. As a rear area, Rongcheng did not possess many high-yield weapons because these weapons had been sent to the eastern regions for combat. The eastern regions had a dense population, and thus the most zombies. It could be said that if the eastern plains were not secured, the plan to annihilate the zombies would never be considered successful!
But now, with fighter jets being sent to Rongcheng, did this mean the fighting in the eastern regions would be affected?
As night fell, Shen Feng's group chopped down trees on the hill for firewood. Many people lacked warm clothing and had to rely on fires for warmth.
Shen Feng sat on the trunk of a large tree, looking at Rongcheng in the distance, thinking, "When will the show start!"
At this time, Yang Chang returned from hunting with his men, bringing a mutated rabbit to Shen Feng. It was a gray rabbit, weighing fifty to sixty catties. It had been cut at the neck and was now dead.
"There are still rabbits here? Where did you find it?" Shen Feng asked Yang Chang, looking at the rabbit with confusion.
"Found it on a nearby mountain. Not sure if it's a wild rabbit or a pet that escaped. It's meat, so who cares!" Yang Chang said with a smile. They had been eating plain rice and pickled vegetables for days, and finally, they had meat, so they were happy to eat it.
Shen Feng took the rabbit and smiled, "Alright, it's perfect for a late-night snack. You go grill it too."
Afterward, Shen Feng skinned the rabbit and threaded it onto a wooden stick to roast over the charcoal fire. Chu Zhao Yan saw this and sidled over, holding a small knife and fork, clearly intending to mooch off the meal again.
Chu Zhao Yan felt no shame about her inability to cook. She was the daughter of a wealthy family; why would she learn to cook? She'd rather spend that time learning painting or piano.
Shen Feng didn't refuse Chu Zhao Yan's actions. He was very curious about how the fighter jets would perform. If they dropped bombs or strafed from the sky, it was unlikely they could deal with three million zombies. Shen Feng thought, "Could they be equipped with missiles?"
While Shen Feng was grilling, Rongcheng was still resisting the zombies. Millions of zombies were charging at the city relentlessly. The soldiers from Guanzhong had arrived on the front lines to support them. They had rested for a long time and were now full of vigor. With the addition of fresh troops, the defense line immediately eased, and dealing with the zombies became less difficult.
Suddenly, thousands of flares shot into the sky, illuminating the area around the city. Although not as bright as daylight, the zombies on the ground were now visible. With the lighting, more than a dozen planes flew out of the city. These planes soared through the sky, and ordinary people couldn't really see them.
Fighter jets are different from passenger planes; they don't have lights flashing all over them, as they need to hide on the battlefield. If they were covered in lights, they would be discovered long ago.
The fighter jets first arrived at the southern part of the city, where the zombie population was the largest, and thus the pressure on the defense line was the greatest. Besides that, there was the eastern part of the city, which also had the largest number of zombies.
When the fighter jets reached an altitude of several hundred meters, they dropped bombs on the areas outside the city with the most zombies. Dark bombs fell from the sky, but no zombies noticed them. At this point, the zombies only needed to reach the city to achieve their goal and obtain an endless supply of food. Therefore, the zombies were only focused on attacking and didn't realize that the attack was already descending from above!
Shen Feng was in the western part of the city and couldn't see any planes operating in the south. The night was too dark, so he couldn't see the fighter jets in the sky or the zombies on the ground.
As the bombs were about to land, an explosion occurred!
Shen Feng, sitting on the mountain, suddenly saw flashes of fire in the distance and a massive explosion in the southern part of the city! The light illuminated everything on the ground in the southern city. After more than ten seconds, the sound of the explosion reached the people on the hill.
The blast radius was enormous. If it had been a normal artillery shell explosion, Shen Feng, standing on the hill, would have only seen flashes of light, and the explosion sound wouldn't have been so clear. But at this moment, after the explosion, even the small hill where Shen Feng was located seemed to tremble. The battle ten kilometers away was already affecting their location!
Ten bombs fell and exploded one after another. Simultaneously, mushroom clouds slowly rose from the ground, stirring up countless dust and smoke. The zombie offensive in the southern city instantly halted.
"Mushroom clouds? That's a nuclear bomb!" Shen Feng exclaimed, completely surprised. He hadn't expected the fighter jets to be equipped with nuclear bombs. It was just to clear zombies; did it require such a massive display? Using nuclear bombs was truly excessive!
"Country bumpkin! That's a fuel-air explosive. If it were a nuclear bomb, the entire Rongcheng would be gone. Would you still be sitting here watching the show?" Jin Zi Jue, lying on a hammock not far away, taunted.
The others also witnessed this scene. They could only see ten small mushroom clouds slowly rising in the southern city, and it seemed like dust and smoke were also drifting towards their location.
Before Jin Zi Jue spoke, everyone who saw the mushroom clouds thought the military had finally dropped a nuclear bomb. But now that Jin Zi Jue said it was a fuel-air explosive, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't a nuclear bomb. However, they immediately became nervous. If something that wasn't a nuclear bomb had such power, then fuel-air explosives were also very formidable!
Shen Feng walked over to Jin Zi Jue with a rabbit leg and asked, "What is a fuel-air explosive?"
Shen Feng handed the rabbit leg to Jin Zi Jue, seemingly trying to bribe him with food.
However, Jin Zi Jue turned his head away and haughtily said, "You want to know? Then beg me. A rabbit leg isn't enough to buy me."
Shen Feng remained silent. He reached out and grabbed Jin Zi Jue's crotch, smiling and saying, "Say that again, and you won't have a future!"
Jin Zi Jue's face turned ashen as he felt his lower body being grabbed. He hadn't expected Shen Feng to resort to such a despicable tactic, threatening him with his future happiness. At this moment, he was very worried. Shen Feng was a fourth-tier ability user. If he squeezed his grip, wouldn't he become the last eunuch in human history?
"I think the rabbit leg tastes quite good. Please let go," Jin Zi Jue could only submit. He also realized that before his injuries fully recovered, it was best not to provoke Shen Feng, otherwise, it would be like a mouse biting a tabby cat – dying with dignity!
Shen Feng stuffed the rabbit leg, as thick as a dog's leg, into Jin Zi Jue's hand and asked, "Explain fuel-air explosives to me. I've never heard of this thing before, and I had no idea it was so terrifying."
Jin Zi Jue explained, "Fuel-air explosives, in the common sense, are not bombs. The explosion itself isn't the main purpose; the primary purpose is combustion! They contain fuel that burns intensely in an instant, capable of instantly depleting the oxygen in the surrounding area! Furthermore, they will then create high-pressure and high-temperature zones! Within a radius of several hundred meters, it can be said that nothing will survive!"
Upon hearing this description, Shen Feng couldn't help but exclaim, "My goodness, that's exaggerated? Is this the weapon the army uses to kill large numbers of zombies?"
Jin Zi Jue shook his head slightly and said, "In my opinion, killing ordinary zombies is only a secondary objective. The main purpose is to kill the Zombie Kings. Because the overpressure and high-temperature zones created by fuel-air explosives are most suitable for breaking through defenses! The Zombie Kings are likely hiding underground, which is why satellites can't find them. But with fuel-air explosives, hiding underground is useless! Because the overpressure and high-temperature zones can last for a long time, even if they hide underground, they will likely be cooked!"
At this moment, Shen Feng looked at the dense horde of zombies and suddenly understood, murmuring, "It seems the Zombie Kings can no longer win by sheer numbers! The zombies will be annihilated sooner or later!"
Jin Zi Jue strongly agreed with this statement, replying, "Exactly! As long as no creature with higher intelligence than humans appears on Earth, humanity will never perish! These zombies, no matter how numerous they are now, as long as our equipment keeps up, with fuel-air explosives, poison gas, and biological warfare, annihilating billions of zombies will be a simple matter!"
Hearing Jin Zi Jue's words, Shen Feng felt a chill run down his spine. That's right, people in peacetime still exercised restraint and generally did not use weapons of mass destruction. However, upon careful consideration of the battles during World War II, poison gas and biological warfare already existed. With nearly a century of technological development, humanity's combat power was truly formidable. Besides nuclear bombs, there were many more weapons available!
Jin Zi Jue secretly glanced at Shen Feng's expression and felt smug, thinking, "Now you know how powerful we are, right? It's important to recognize your own strength, lest you become arrogant and ignorant of the world's immensity. If you're sensible, you'll obediently follow headquarters' orders from now on."
At this moment, in the suburbs of the southern city, ten mushroom clouds rose into the sky, kicking up a lot of dust. At least two hundred thousand zombies were killed! These zombie hordes were densely packed together, but after the fuel-air explosives were dropped, more than half of them were instantly annihilated. In the center of the fuel-air explosive impact was a large crater, hundreds of meters in diameter. The zombies at the center had been cremated, and at the edges, one could still see zombie bones. Further out, many zombie corpses lay on the ground.
At the moment of the fuel-air explosive detonation, the zombies in the central area were cremated by the extremely high temperature. Their flesh, blood, and even bones were all burned to ash. The ashes rose into the sky with the mushroom clouds. The zombies at the edges were either killed by the overpressure wave or suffocated due to lack of oxygen. Their bodies appeared intact, but they were completely dead!
The zombies in the southern city instantly lost control and scattered. Some foolish zombies charged towards Rongcheng but were subsequently killed by bullets. The southern city, which had originally held nine hundred thousand zombies, now saw them all fleeing in disarray. Roughly estimating the numbers, six hundred thousand zombies remained alive!
Among them, three hundred thousand zombies moved towards the eastern urban area, indicating that another Zombie King was alive in the eastern urban area. As for the Zombie King in the southern city, it had very bad luck. Although it had hidden in a burrow dug by a digging zombie, it was also killed by the fuel-air explosive.
"Oh..." The soldiers in the southern city cheered upon witnessing this scene. After days of hard fighting, the dropping of the fuel-air explosives finally lifted the crisis in Rongcheng. They were the closest to the battlefield, so they had the most direct experience of the fuel-air explosives. The moment the mushroom clouds rose, they felt suffocated. At that time, they thought it was difficulty breathing due to fear, but in reality, much of the oxygen around them had been drawn away.
At this moment, the soldiers behind the low wall could still feel waves of heat. It was already late autumn, but the temperature was as high as if it were summer.
"The Zombie King in the south has been killed. The other two Zombie Kings are likely outside the northern and eastern cities!" Xue Ming Li reported cautiously to Xie Ba Teng. Xie Ba Teng was currently in command of the operation, and Xue Ming Li hadn't expected his new superior to turn the tide so quickly.
Xie Ba Teng, however, was not concerned with the report. He muttered to himself, "If I were a Zombie King, I would be preparing to escape right now!"
Xie Ba Teng was currently speculating on the Zombie Kings' intentions. Since the Zombie Kings were intelligent, they would surely react to a crisis. Now that the crisis had arrived, the zombies' actions would be key.