When daytime arrived, the air was still filled with a chill. Shen Feng put on a sweater and long johns. Although he was an ability user, he was still human at the end of the day and couldn't resist the cold very well. Fortunately, it was winter, and the plague wouldn't spread too easily. The group Shen Feng brought with him had not shown any signs of plague transmission.
Shen Feng and Chu Chaoyan employed their previous tactic, creating chlorine gas in saltwater. Shen Feng then blew it into the sewers. Subsequently, the mutated rats in the sewers could only flee outwards. Many rats escaped the sewers and immediately collapsed on the ground, foaming at the mouth, clearly not going to survive. Even more rats, after leaving the sewers, ran around like headless flies. A closer observation revealed that these rats' eyes had been blinded.
During World War II, there were instances of gas warfare. Soldiers in the downwind positions either died from organ failure or were blinded, with very few surviving. Mutated rats generally weighed only twenty to thirty pounds. Now, facing the onslaught of poison gas, they could only flee. The number of surviving rats was not large, only a few hundred per street. Some soldiers didn't even need to use firearms; they could kill the rats with swords and knives.
Seeing the soldiers systematically killing the rats, Shen Feng said to Lu Kaiyang, "Take your men to clear out the nearby streets. Remember to deal with the rats in the sewers as well. It's best to seal off the cleared areas. I believe you can handle these tasks. I need to take some time to hunt the large crocodiles on the shore."
Lu Kaiyang looked around and realized he couldn't see Yang Chang. He couldn't help but feel a bit confused. "Logically, Yang Chang is the head of the personal guard. If the City Lord isn't here, he should be in command. But why don't I see him now?"
Lu Kaiyang couldn't figure out the reason, so he dutifully directed his subordinates to kill the rats. The cleaned sewers were all sealed. If the gas spread and the rats returned, it would be troublesome. Therefore, the sewers had to be blocked before the entire city was cleared.
While clearing the streets, Lu Kaiyang looked at the towering city center in the distance and couldn't help but feel a sense of awe. "As expected of a mountain city. The entire city is built along the mountainside. I wonder how long it will take to retake Chongqing. However, if successful, we can establish our own territory, right?"
Lu Kaiyang was not foolish. He joined Shen Feng's army not to kill all the zombies or to restore human glory. He only cared about benefits. He knew he was still young. Taking advantage of the current chaotic times, it was best to gain enough benefits. This was an opportunity to change his destiny, and now he saw it. As long as Chongqing was taken, Shen Feng's future would be limitless, and as Shen Feng's confidant, he would surely be heavily relied upon in the future!
"Heh heh, when I get rich, I'll marry two wives, have a bunch of kids, and become someone important!" Lu Kaiyang fantasized in his heart, working harder and harder unconsciously. For the imagined beautiful life, he had to strive!
Lu Kaiyang's thoughts were actually shared by many others. The reason people followed Shen Feng was initially for survival, to gain space to live, and that's why they fought alongside Shen Feng. However, they continued to follow Shen Feng now because they could have a better future. Who wouldn't want to hold power, who wouldn't want wealth and pleasure?
Shen Feng, along with Chu Chaoyan and a batch of weapons, arrived at the bank of the Yangtze River. He instructed, "You go up and act as bait. Be careful. Once you've lured the crocodiles, run back. Don't be foolish enough to get eaten, understand?"
Chu Chaoyan doubted her ears at this moment and looked at Shen Feng in surprise, asking, "You're a man, why aren't you going? Do you have any gentlemanly demeanor?"
Shen Feng raised the Barrett in his hand and said sternly, "I am a man! That's why I have more important things to do. I'm responsible for sniping the crocodiles. Ordinary weapons might not be able to kill these crocodiles, so the task of killing them falls to me!"
Chu Chaoyan frowned and said, "Why bother using guns to kill crocodiles? Can't you just produce enough chlorine gas and blow it over all at once to poison them all?"
Shen Feng shook his head gently and smiled, "That won't work. Your physics knowledge is lacking. Chlorine gas dissolves very easily in water, and most of these crocodiles are hiding in the water. Chlorine gas won't be very effective. Your ability is only suitable for land combat."
Chu Chaoyan's eyes darted, and she snatched the Barrett from Shen Feng's hand, saying seriously, "You're fast. You go lure the crocodiles, and I'll provide sniper support from behind. I'm also a third-tier ability user, so aiming is quite easy."
Shen Feng snatched the sniper rifle back. "No, I won't let anyone point a gun at me, not even a teammate. I've been injured several times by sneak attacks from behind, so I'm naturally unsuited for this. You go lure them."
"We're fellow townsfolk, how could I harm you? You still go attract the crocodiles." Chu Chaoyan was still unwilling to face the large number of crocodiles, so she snatched the sniper rifle.
Chu Chaoyan had also heard from Shen Feng that there was a Crocodile King hidden in the Yangtze River, over forty meters long, almost like a monster from Ultraman. That's why she was unwilling to face such a creature. If she were swallowed in one bite, wouldn't that be a disaster?
Shen Feng said disdainfully, "Fellow townsfolk meet, stab each other in the back! Kill half the strangers, conquer all the familiar faces! I don't believe in 'fellow townsfolk.' You go lure the crocodiles."
Chu Chaoyan gnashed her teeth. Why did she have to be the one to lure the crocodiles? She thought carefully and suddenly crouched down shyly, saying, "It's inconvenient for me. My period has come, I'm weak all over and very frail right now."
"That's even better, it's full of the smell of blood, which will attract the crocodiles more easily!" Shen Feng said with a grin, showing no concern for the female comrade.
Just as Shen Feng and Chu Chaoyan were discussing who would be the bait, the satellite phone in his hand suddenly rang. He picked it up and found it was a call from headquarters. "Shen Feng, you are now ordered to take five thousand soldiers north to reinforce. Arrive in Yanjing within a week!"
Shen Feng had fallen out with headquarters only a week ago. At that time, headquarters had directly hung up the phone, and he couldn't even get material support. Shen Feng suspected that headquarters might isolate him. He never expected headquarters to call him a week later. Wasn't that too fickle?
Regarding this order, Shen Feng said helplessly, "Please understand, superior. I have 400,000 subordinates waiting to be fed. I need to lead them to retake Chongqing to support my people. As for five thousand soldiers? I only have four thousand men in total, where would I get the troops?"
Shen Feng suspected that the reason headquarters wanted him to send troops to Yanjing was to delay his progress in retaking Chongqing. If he took five thousand soldiers to Yanjing, wouldn't he no longer have enough strength to retake Chongqing? In that case, he would miss the opportunity to retake Chongqing, so Shen Feng was unwilling to obey headquarters' orders at all.
At this moment, headquarters said, "Chongqing is yours! You can retake it whenever you want, but you must lead your men north to reinforce now. Please consider the bigger picture!"
Shen Feng felt something was wrong. Headquarters had adamantly refused to let Chongqing fall into Shen Feng's hands before, but now they were relenting. Wasn't the change of heart too fast? Or was there a greater danger emerging?
Shen Feng quickly asked, "Is Yanjing in danger?"
Headquarters replied helplessly, "Many zombies are preparing to attack Yanjing. The entire country is mobilizing to defend the capital. Please hurry and bring your men to support. Once the crisis is over, we will appoint you as the City Lord of Chongqing and allow you to govern the area."
Shen Feng couldn't help but worry when he heard this. "Zombies besieging Yanjing? How many are there? Is the entire nation's strength mobilized?"
Headquarters did not directly answer Shen Feng's question but vaguely said, "There are dozens of zombie kings. In short, the number of zombies is not small. Just bring your men."
"Is that so? Wait for me to find someone to discuss it with. I will give you an answer as soon as possible!" Shen Feng did not answer headquarters directly but quickly hung up the phone. At this moment, he had no mood to kill crocodiles. Water sources could be obtained from upstream, but the news from headquarters was too shocking, and he had to consider it carefully.
Shen Feng handed the sniper rifle in his hand to Chu Chaoyan, picked up two long swords, and said seriously, "You take your men to guard Chongqing. I'll go back to Jiangyang for a while. There's something I need to discuss. I can't make up my mind myself. You just need to lead your men to slowly clear the streets."
Chu Chaoyan looked bewildered and asked, "Did something happen?"
Shen Feng nodded and said, "Headquarters is willing to acknowledge my claim to Chongqing and wants me to send troops. It seems Yanjing is in trouble. I must return to Jiangyang to discuss it. You and Zhou Xiaoxiao are responsible for stabilizing the situation here. Yang Chang is currently evolving, so don't disturb him."
After that, Shen Feng didn't say much more and directly ran west along the road. Shen Feng's current speed far exceeded that of a car. According to his own estimation, he could reach speeds of up to two hundred kilometers per hour. Therefore, Shen Feng didn't need to drive to Luzhou; he just needed to run all the way, and he could also take shortcuts to Jiangyang.
Shen Feng knew that he had no overall strategic vision, so at this time, he could only return to Jiangyang to seek answers. Whether it was his senior classmate or Professor Chu, they were both calmer and could offer better advice for his choices!
On the way, Shen Feng suddenly remembered what Mr. Lu Xun had said, "Chinese people like to compromise. If you suggest opening a skylight on the roof, you'll likely be met with refusal. But if you suggest tearing down the house, people will agree to opening a skylight."
Before, headquarters was unwilling to let Chongqing fall into Shen Feng's hands, so they had issued several warnings. Now, Yanjing was in danger, so headquarters was willing to hand over Chongqing to Shen Feng. As long as Yanjing could be saved and Shen Feng was willing to send troops, it would be enough.
Shen Feng took forty minutes to run back to Jiangyang from Chongqing. The scenery flew by on both sides, and the wind whistled continuously. With the "As the Wind Follows" ability activated, Shen Feng moved with ghost-like speed. In just forty minutes, he could cover dozens of kilometers.
When Shen Feng returned to Jiangyang, he was particularly careful not to be discovered by others. He didn't want his actions to be seen by many people, so he specifically climbed over the city wall to enter the city.
Shen Feng first returned to his own home and found Chang Haojie watching TV. He patted Chang Haojie's shoulder and said, "Xiao Jie, go to the City Lord's mansion and find your sister and Professor Chu. Remember, do it quietly and don't let anyone hear. If Yang Ye and Tu Xuhuai are also there, ask them to come too."
Chang Haojie didn't expect his brother-in-law to return so suddenly. He quickly turned around, only to see Shen Feng covered in sweat and looking travel-worn, clearly having rushed back. He immediately nodded and said seriously, "Okay, I'll go find my sister and Professor Chu right away."
After speaking, Chang Haojie summoned a cloud of mist and flew out on it. Since it was best not to expose this matter, he chose to fly from the sky! After all, no one was constantly looking at the sky with binoculars. Chang Haojie chose the safest method.
Soon, Chang Jianyi and Chu Yangtian arrived at the house. Yang Ye and Tu Xuhuai also came along. Shen Feng waited for the four of them in the study. They had also learned about the zombie incident in Yanjing through the City Lord's mansion's radio. Shen Feng's rapid return to Jiangyang indicated that he also attached great importance to this matter.
Chu Yangtian slowly sat down, leaning on his cane, drinking tea while frowning in thought. The other three had different expressions.
Chang Jianyi looked at Shen Feng, his clothes soaked with sweat, and felt a pang of heartache. She kept wiping Shen Feng's face with a towel. Yang Ye took out his phone and searched for information online. Tu Xuhuai, meanwhile, was staring blankly at the map on the wall. For a moment, the study was very quiet.
Shen Feng spoke first, asking, "Headquarters has ordered me to lead troops on a campaign, and I cannot make the decision. I request everyone's advice. Please state your opinions without speculation."
Chang Jianyi said in a low voice, "Chongqing hasn't been retaken yet! Headquarters has only promised a title. Why should we go on campaign? I think we should ignore it!"
Yang Ye also nodded in agreement. He said while looking at his phone, "I found a news report on an underground website, supposedly internal information. The zombies besieging Yanjing number two hundred million. Even if that's exaggerated tenfold, it's still twenty million zombies! When Rongcheng was attacked by only four million zombies, it was already precarious. Now Yanjing will only be more dangerous!"
At this point, Yang Ye's meaning was very clear: Yanjing is in danger, don't go to the rescue.
Chu Yangtian coughed a couple of times and said after drinking his tea, "Yanjing is the center of the nation. How can we stand by and do nothing? I think we must save them, but we should also demand certain benefits in return, such as weapon blueprints or obtaining oil. This way, we can account for our actions to headquarters and also gain substantial benefits!"
Shen Feng felt a headache hearing the three people's suggestions. Everyone had a point, and it seemed difficult to make a decision. It was currently winter, a good opportunity to retake Chongqing. Once missed, it might not be so easy to retake Chongqing when spring arrived. And Chu Yangtian's point was indeed valid; demanding benefits could help him develop further.
At this moment, Shen Feng looked at Tu Xuhuai and asked, "Sir, do you have any suggestions?"
Tu Xuhuai smiled and said, "I have no suggestions!"
Shen Feng was stunned and asked, "What do you mean?"
Tu Xuhuai looked at the people in the study and smiled, "One word: 'Stall'!"