"Li Qianwan, you must stay awake tonight at all costs and keep a close watch. If the zombies attack, blow up the bridge immediately."
Only a hundred meters away from the bridge stood a small Western-style villa, which served as Li Qianwan's temporary residence.
As night was about to fall, Xiao Jun came in person to give her another round of instructions, not entirely at ease leaving her behind.
"But it's late at night."
"No buts. Either you get eaten by the zombies or you keep your eyes wide open. If you dare run, you're dead for sure."
Xiao Jun said sternly.
After all, there were only a handful of them, with an endless horde of zombies just a hundred meters away, not to mention the impending zombie siege that could happen anytime.
It would be a lie to say she wasn't afraid. Xiao Jun could only try to put her at ease with such harsh words.
"Captain, if I survive this time, will there be any reward?" Li Qianwan asked Xiao Jun expectantly.
"Any reward you want, as long as you survive this time. You can even live on the second floor."
[Hmm, could it be that the Captain has taken a liking to me and is using this opportunity to test the waters?]
"Smack."
Li Qianwan's forehead was struck hard.
"I'm leaving now. Keep a close watch. At most three days. There's a high chance of an attack tonight. Be careful."
Li Qianwan quickly nodded, and after Xiao Jun left, she went up to the rooftop terrace with four other girls.
The small villa was only three stories high. Standing on the terrace, they had a relatively open view. If there was any movement from the zombies across the way, they could react quickly.
Plus, being only three stories up wasn't too high. With their current physical capabilities, even jumping down wouldn't be a big issue and wouldn't hinder their actions later.
Xiao Jun returned to the territory, where the girls were all prepared, taking turns on watch tonight.
But everyone's weapons had to stay on them at all times. Even the girls resting had to hold their knives while sleeping, as long as they weren't afraid of accidentally stabbing themselves while turning over.
Apart from the girls, the Gale Gang and Tiger Leopard Gang were also fully mobilized. All members could receive an extra rice ball and a small bottle of water. Everyone had to hold their posts tonight.
By 7 PM, night had fallen completely, enveloping the entire Future City in an atmosphere of tension.
"New accommodations have been arranged. All of you move there."
Xiao Jun's current residence, the villa, was definitely no longer usable. Located in the center of the territory, it was not conducive for defense and had to be abandoned.
"I wish we could move this villa too," Jiang Yue muttered softly as they were leaving. The other girls nodded in agreement, having developed feelings for the place after living there for nearly a month. Who knew what would happen after the zombie siege was over?
"As long as we're alive, we can build another one later," Xiao Jun patted Jiang Yue's head and led the way to the back.
First, he had to settle the girls in a safe place, no matter what happened. They didn't need to go out.
Seven people remained in the residence: Little loli, the twin sisters, Jiang Doctor, An Qingyu, and two chef girls.
Meanwhile, Xiao Jun took Jiang Yue, Wan Qianya, and Li Jingyin back to the center of the territory.
They were the main forces for this battle and couldn't hide in the back.
Just like the men shivering in the cold wind now, many of them also wanted to find a place to hide. But they couldn't. Their families were in the back, and if they didn't fight with their lives, their wives and children would have to.
"Jiang Yue, go check again if everyone is in position."
"Li Jingyin, you take the lead at the front line. Remember, if it's impossible, retreat first."
"Qianya, I won't assign you a role. If you find that fifth-level zombie, don't engage it alone. Be sure to tell me."
The three girls left, and Xiao Jun took out a cigarette from his spatial storage and lit it up.
He took a deep drag and slowly exhaled the smoke into the sky.
9 PM.
Under the illumination of high-tech lamps, the entire Future City was as bright as day.
So far, there was no sign of a zombie attack, but no one dared to let their guard down.
11 PM.
Many people started yawning, feeling both sleepy and cold in the winter night.
12 AM.
This was supposed to be the time when the zombie rain would appear.
But there was no movement in the sky tonight, and the rift that had lasted for 14 days had simply vanished.
Xiao Jun wasn't the slightest bit surprised. He just lit another cigarette, the 17th he had smoked tonight.
Apart from Xiao Jun, Chen Gang and Zhuge in the west of the city, as well as the Lone Wolf Group in the east, White Robes in the south - at this moment, the majority of people in Future City had their eyes fixed on the sky.
Seeing that the zombie rain didn't fall, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately tensed up again.
The absence of the zombie rain meant that the zombie siege was imminent.
12:15 AM.
Xiao Jun suddenly dropped the cigarette in his hand, a strong sense of unease filling his heart. He had a premonition that it was about to begin.
"Go, tell everyone to be on high alert."
He said to the girl beside him, who swiftly ran ahead, notifying everyone one by one.
Soon after, Jiang Yue and Wan Qianya appeared behind Xiao Jun simultaneously.
12:30 AM exactly.
The first fire came from behind Xiao Jun's territory.
Due to the abundance of flammable materials, the flames quickly spread.
Behind Li Qianwan were thirty-four neatly arranged gas canisters.
Two of the girls had already picked one up each, using all their strength to throw them towards the middle of the bridge.
The other two girls, wielding steel knives, stood in front of Li Qianwan. If any zombies broke through the line, they would immediately strike to prevent interference with Li Qianwan.
"You two, don't throw like that. Aim for one spot."
After the two girls had thrown three or four canisters each, Li Qianwan started giving instructions.
Throwing like that, they might not manage to blow up the bridge completely, which would be troublesome.
"Take aim, throw towards the same spot."
The two girls realized their mistake and aimed for the same location before throwing, which reduced the deviation significantly compared to before.
"Keep it up, faster, just keep throwing like that."
With technological advancements, the quality of gas canisters had also improved.
Even if a gas canister caught fire, it wouldn't easily explode unless subjected to intense impact and rising surrounding temperatures.
The intense impact was now satisfied, but it would still take some time for the temperature to rise enough.
So after the two girls had thrown all 34 gas canisters, the first canister finally exploded.
Immediately after, as if triggering a chain reaction, continuous explosions rang out, with blood and flesh flying across the entire bridge.
This spectacle lasted nearly three minutes until the bridge could no longer withstand the pressure and collapsed.
Zombies couldn't swim, and the water below wasn't just a small pond or stream, but a branch of the Yangtze River.
The dense horde of zombies fell into the water, and by the time the ones behind fell in, the ones in front had already been washed away. There was no need to worry about them filling up the river.
Seeing the bridge finally collapse, Li Qianwan also breathed a sigh of relief.
Mission accomplished.
Of course, if she hadn't succeeded, she likely wouldn't have been able to escape.
The two girls in front of Li Qianwan also took care of the few remaining zombies that had managed to charge ahead, and the five of them quickly headed towards the territory.
The intense booming sound echoed far into the night, so far that even Xiao Jun could hear it.
"It's started."
Behind him, Jiang Yue and Wan Qianya instinctively gripped their weapons tightly.