Plane Supermarket Plane 2: Luoyang Base C4
A convoy of bullets was transported to the “inner city walls.” Most soldiers, who had just prepared to engage in close combat with the approaching zombies, were unaware of what had actually happened. They didn’t dare to approach the supermarket without getting instructions from the command center, so they immediately withdrew after receiving orders.
No one wants to die. Everyone desires to survive.
Zhang Yao and He Zihao also arrived within the “city walls” by car. Although just moments ago, Zhang Yao could confidently converse with Ye Zhou, leaving the supermarket seemed to cast her into confusion and uncertainty. It was as if she finally realized that everything that had happened before was not a dream, but a tangible reality with real people and dangers.
“Can you pinch me to check?” Zhang Yao stood at the ammunition distribution point, looking at He Zihao with a puzzled expression.
He Zihao’s lips curled slightly, “I thought you actually considered that supermarket to be ordinary.”
Zhang Yao didn’t wait for He Zihao to pinch her and did it herself. After a painful pinch that brought tears to her eyes, she sighed in relief, “Who cares if it’s ordinary or not, the important thing is we’ve got the bullets!”
“Just a moment ago, when they gave us the orders to go to the front lines, I thought I was about to be scared to death,” Zhang Yao rubbed her face. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
“If I were to die, even if the base isn’t breached, my parents would probably have to rely on government assistance, barely getting enough to eat but never starving,” Zhang Yao laughed bitterly. “If they could get into that supermarket, they would definitely cry tears of joy.”
That supermarket was just too ordinary, but it was precisely its ordinariness that made people feel like they were in a world before the apocalypse.
No zombies, no viruses. Everyone lived busy lives without worrying about what they would eat next or whether they’d survive the next wave of zombies.
They stood in line, waiting to collect their bullets.
The soldiers remained silent, receiving their ammunition in silence and loading their weapons in silence.
“No grenades?” Finally, someone in the front couldn’t help but ask.
“No explosives either?”
In the battlefield, firearm bullets were not as effective as artillery, nor as potent as grenades and explosives. The former’s ability to hit a zombie’s vital points depended on luck, and as for the latter, even the most exceptional sniper couldn’t take down more than a few zombies with headshots in a day.
What they needed most right now were weapons that could cause damage to zombies on a large scale without endangering their own base.
But in the absence of the former, having the latter was already a stroke of luck.
Zhang Yao smiled after hearing this, “Why aren’t you asking why there are no cannons? We were just about to go on a suicide mission a moment ago, so having bullets is already pretty good.”
After all, firearms were always better than cold steel weapons.
Whoever was willing to engage in close combat with the zombies could go ahead. She wasn’t up for it.
He Zihao possessed a semi-automatic sniper rifle that could load five bullets at once.
He was in the vanguard camp, and his gun was one of the bes. The typical snipers’ rifles were often more like semi-automatic rifles with scopes, lacking the power and stability of his firearm.
He Zihao caressed the cold barrel of his gun, thinking he’d never get the chance to touch this weapon again.
The officer holding a megaphone shouted, “Those who have collected their bullets, move over there!”
“Snipers, to the city walls!”
He Zihao hoisted his rifle and, along with his comrades, climbed the city walls once again. With sufficient supply of bullets, his aim was even steadier.
As for Zhang Yao and her group, they had assault rifles and needed to be on the front lines. Only the snipers could pick off zombies from the city walls.
They couldn’t pass through the barbed wire, nor could they get too close to the zombies. The vanguard camp’s personnel were steady, making sure the barbed wire remained intact.
As gunshots echoed outside, Ye Zhou, who was in the middle of his lunch, nearly jumped off the sofa.
He looked at the bowl of rice in his hand, finding that he really had no appetite. If it weren’t for Cao Er Niang already bringing the meal in, he might not have even realized it was mealtime.
But except for him, everyone else was taking it well.
Even the seemingly frail Zhou Yuanhe was burying his head and eating heartily.
On the other hand, Sarah indulged in the plate of spicy chicken specially prepared for her by Cao Er Niang.
“Can’t eat?” Zou Ming set his bowl down, his gaze fixed on Ye Zhou’s face.
His voice was nearly drowned out by the gunfire. Ye Zhou asked blankly, “Huh? What did you say?”
Zou Ming raised his voice, “You have no appetite?!”
Ye Zhou nodded, leaning in close to Zou Ming’s ear, he confessed, “I just can’t eat right now. My mind is filled with nothing but zombies.”
With every blink and every glance, the face of the eyeless zombie would haunt his thoughts.
He couldn’t help but feel like there was something moving inside the eye sockets of that zombie. Maybe it was maggots?
With this thought, Ye Zhou not only lost his appetite further but also felt a hint of nausea creeping in.
In the previous plane, he often encountered corpses, most of which had already turned into bare bones, devoid of flesh. Although it made him uncomfortable, the impact of the human skeleton never really compared to the magnitude of decay and putrefaction.
Ye Zhou leaned in close to Zou Ming’s ear once more, whispering, “You all go ahead and eat. I’ll go outside and take a look.”
As he spoke, his warm breath gently caressed Zou Ming’s earlobe, causing Zou Ming to purse his lips, and even his ear trembled slightly. Once Ye Zhou moved away, Zou Ming reached up to touch his ear.
‘It was very hot, and must be really flushed.’ Zou Ming thought expressionlessly.
Ye Zhou stood up, holding his handgun, and walked alone to the supermarket’s entrance and looked outside through the anti-theft glass door.
Beyond the barbed wire stretched an endless sea of corpses, with no end in sight. Inside the barbed wire stood a limited number of soldiers who didn’t communicate but conserved their strength, all poised with their weapons at the ready.
Ye Zhou really didn’t want to look at the zombies. There was nothing to see.
One thing he just couldn’t understand was why, after so many years, the zombies hadn’t completely decayed. If they rotted into bare bones, with no brains left, wouldn’t the virus become ineffective?
In the past, when he watched zombie movies, he found it illogical. Zombies needed to bite in order to infect people, and most zombie films depicted slow-moving, feeble zombies. Not to mention facing a trained military force, even ordinary people could handle them if a zombie crisis broke out.
Even the elderly, weak, and sick could outrun them. And even if the zombies were stronger than those in movies and TV shows, all humanity needed to do was fortify defensive lines and hide. In less than a decade, zombies that had turned into bare bones would no longer pose a threat.
Not to mention that humans had tanks, cannons, and missiles – a real firepower. Zombies didn’t stand a chance against humanity.
Although the zombies in this plane adhered to logic — like parasites, they controlled human bodies for reproduction rather than devouring them. They were fast, powerful, and remained mobile as long as their brain or spinal cord wasn’t hit. And they transmitted the virus through the human mouth and nasal wounds or their larvae.
The infection requirements were lower, and the chances are much greater.
“Zhang Yao said it’s been thirty-two years since the zombie crisis broke out. Why haven’t the zombies decayed yet?” Ye Zhou wondered. “Is it because of the parasites? Do they keep the human bodies intact?”
“Why did that eyeless zombie have maggots in its eye sockets?”
Zou Ming paused briefly at Ye Zhou’s question and leaned closer, saying, “I’m not sure, maybe those maggots were specifically there to feed on decaying flesh?”
Ye Zhou nodded, “That makes sense.”
The war between humans and zombies continued into the deep night.
The soldiers rushed to the battlefield one after another in waves, rotating for rest, with each break lasting less than half an hour.
During their brief break, they drank water and consumed food to recharge their strength.
And what they ate were corn cakes.
In times of scarce resources, they had stopped producing canned goods altogether. The factories were churning out mostly corn cakes and compressed biscuits.
Ye Zhou could see the soldiers sitting cross-legged on the ground after retreating, drinking water, and eating their rations against the clock.
Once they finished eating, they would quickly pick up their rifles and return to the frontlines.
This made Ye Zhou uncomfortable.
He didn’t even know if he could reach the same level of selflessness and sacrifice if he were one of these soldiers.
“I don’t even have corn cakes back at the base,” Zou Ming suddenly spoke up. “People on the lower levels of the compound can’t even get a single biscuit. They have to eat dirt. An edible kind of dirt, it fills the stomach and won’t kill you, but if you eat it for too long, you’ll bloat, and eventually, you’ll die.”
“So, the lower-level folks do whatever they can. Both men and women can sell their bodies, as long as there’s food to eat, a way to survive. There’s not much they wouldn’t sacrifice.”
“This place is heaven to them.”
Facing the constant threat of zombies and death at every moment is still better than not even getting a meal.
Ye Zhou turned to Zou Ming and after a moment of hesitation, asked, “What about you…?”
Zou Ming’s lips curled, a rare smile gracing his face. His previous smiles had always seemed forced, but now, his expression was genuine, carrying an indescribable warmth. “I was lucky. I met someone who took care of me until I could handle a gun and then left me with quite a few things.”
Ye Zhou felt that something was wrong.
If Zou Ming had a lot of resources, why would he sign a contract with the system and travel across planes for employment?
Furthermore, Zou Ming had previously explained to him that one could only earn money within the contract period to purchase goods in the system.
He naturally assumed that Zou Ming had signed the contract because he was poor and struggling to make ends meet.
But now, what Zou Ming was saying didn’t align at all with his speculation.
“So, why did you sign a contract with the system?” Ye Zhou asked when the thought crossed his mind.
Zou Ming’s smile faded. “There are other reasons.”
Ye Zhou could sense that Zou Ming was not keen on elaborating, so he didn’t press further. He simply nodded to indicate that he had heard.
Everyone has their own secrets, so why dig too deep?
Zou Ming looked at the side of Ye Zhou’s face, his deep eyes gradually moving away and landing in the direction where Ye Zhou’s gaze had settled.
·
In the middle of the night, the soldiers were already showing signs of exhaustion, but the zombies were still as relentless as ever.
They didn’t rely on visual “hunting”. It could be scent, or maybe body heat, but in any case, they appeared to be completely unaffected by any source of light.
Ye Zhou watched the exhausted soldiers racing about, and couldn’t help but finally say to Sarah and Zou Ming beside him, “Why don’t they come to me for some energy drinks and canned goods?”
He restocked solely through the system. Fortunately, as long as the supermarket carried the items, their prices during restocking were based on the prices from his original plane, unaffected by the price fluctuations in other planes.
The mass-produced canned goods were reasonably priced, packed with meat and broth, and now they can also be self-heated.
Not only did they taste great, but they were also convenient and cost-effective.
From braised pork, ham hocks, fish, and more, the variety was extensive. And there were no added preservatives.
Sarah yawned, “It’s good they have something to eat, Boss. Why aren’t you going to bed? You should get some rest. If you need anything, just wake me up. If there’s any danger, I’ll turn the computer on for you, and you can jump to another plane as needed.”
Ye Zhou didn’t feel sleepy at all, “I can’t sleep. If you’re tired, go ahead and rest on your own.”
Sarah: “If you’re not sleeping, then I won’t either. I’m here to watch over you, to protect you.”
Ye Zhou: “…Actually, there’s no need.”
Zou Ming and Chen Shu are still around.
Although Sarah was over four hundred years old, her appearance was quite deceiving. Ye Zhou would occasionally forget her true identity and be even more “tolerant” of her.
Indeed, looking young on the outside made it easier to take advantage.
They kept watch until four in the morning when a middle-aged man in a suit knocked on the supermarket’s door.
“General!” One of the soldiers behind the man couldn’t hold back any longer. “We still don’t know what this supermarket really is! Your safety is at stake…”
The General waved his hand, “A general is just a military position. If I die, there will be another.”
The General looked at the people behind the glass door, the leader of the group clad in a black coat. He looked at the General with an expressionless face, as if nothing before him could sway his composure for even a moment.
The General’s heart, already on edge, now sat in his throat as he took a deep breath, waiting for someone to open the door for him.
After a mechanical yet sweet “Welcome,” the automatic glass door opened slowly before him.
Beyond that door lay the old world, but it was also the new world they longed for over the past few decades.
“Hello,” the General said as he approached the man.
The man nodded at him. “Follow me.”
The General didn’t ask where they were going. As the highest-ranking officer at the base, this task fell squarely on his shoulders.
Although he knew coming here was risky and might not be able to return, he would still go.
But aside from him, no one was better suited for this task. If the other party had ill intentions, he had to determine the supermarket’s firepower and personnel deployment, and relay that information before his life reached its end.
The General tightened his grip on the handheld radio and pressed the button.
Both his and the other party’s conversation was being recorded at the base.
If possible, he hoped that the other party was a time traveler from a science fiction story, someone who had come back to provide assistance, to help humanity get through this crisis.
His own life wasn’t important. It was the fate of humanity that truly mattered.
For that, he was even willing to make a deal with the devil.
The General sat on a sofa in the lounge, and several rifles were pointed directly at him.
But the General remained calm, looking into the man’s eyes. “My last name is Yang, Yang Guoqin.”
Ye Zhou replied, “Ye Zhou.”
The General let out a sigh of relief, but his expression remained as serious as before. He spoke seriously, “Mr. Ye, we have no ill intentions towards you. At this moment, the base is in a life-and-death situation. Regardless of where you come from or who you are, as long as you harbor no ill will towards us, we will do our best to fulfill your wishes.”
“I hope we can cooperate. You can stay here as long as you don’t endanger the base’s security or harm the civilians within the base. I believe we can work together very well.”
The General spoke in a single breath and then nervously watched the man named Ye Zhou.
He wasn’t clear about the other party’s background. Instead of a tough stance, he knew that what he needed to do now was to show weakness.
Even if he had to be tough, he needed to wait until he knew the other party’s cards.
For now, he had to display all his sincerity, and continue to do so until the zombies were repelled.
Its the 20th and I still have two more reports to pass TT
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