bookbashuk Chapter 51: The Rescue is Complete
Chapter 51: The Rescue is Complete
Lu Chen was naturally unaware that he had become a key target of the military's attention.
But at this moment, he was in a pretty good mood.
This is not only because the cleanup mission is about to be completed, but also because of the zombies harvested this time.
As he was cleaning the fire escape staircase of Building 6, he had just reached the corner when a burly zombie rushed towards him; it was an Iron Pillar-level zombie.
Lu Chen's eyes lit up immediately, and he immediately ordered the horde of corpses to suppress them. They quickly brought the Iron Pillar-level creature into their fold.
This brought the number of Iron Pillar-level zombies under his command to six.
Not only was everything going smoothly for him, but Shen Qingci was also doing well.
When her team came out of Building 7, the elite zombie was followed by 6 zombies that were tied up like dumplings with ropes. They were all captured alive and were of the strong and powerful level.
After Lu Chen finished rescuing the last batch of survivors in Building 6, he led his team back to the entrance of Building 3, where Shen Qingci was already waiting.
Lu Chen immediately stepped forward and took control of the six large zombies one by one, replacing all the remaining ordinary zombies in his team.
The six ordinary zombies were released from control, and the field personnel re-tied them up and sent them back to the fourth floor to be kept in custody for later use.
After finishing, Lu Chen stood at the entrance of Building 3 and glanced at the horde of corpses behind him.
The elite zombies stood at the forefront.
Behind it were six iron pillars, standing in a row, each one stronger than the last, their shoulders forming a wall of muscles.
Following them were 21 large, strong zombies, each one a size bigger than a regular zombie. They held kitchen knives or cleavers, wore helmets, and had scarves around their necks, quietly awaiting orders.
There were 28 zombies, none of them ordinary. Compared to when we set off in the morning, it was like night and day.
Moreover, he didn't thoroughly search buildings 5 and 6; his afternoon objective was to rescue the survivors hanging red cloths, and he completely ignored the zombies in the rooms.
There are definitely still a lot of zombies locked up in these two buildings, and there might even be Iron Pillar-level and Big Strong-level zombies hidden inside.
When I have time, I'll take Shen Qingci on a trip there to thoroughly sift through the ranks and replenish our reserves.
Of course, the harvest was not limited to zombies.
During the afternoon rescue of buildings 5 and 6, every time a door was knocked open and a survivor was brought out, a wave of gratitude was received.
Especially for those who have been trapped for several days and are so hungry that they are dizzy, the gratitude that wells up from the bottom of their hearts when they open the door and see living people and food is frighteningly high.
The meteorite mark on Lu Chen's wrist has once again filled the entire pattern with fluorescence, and it can be enhanced again.
However, he did not plan to make a move now. The last time he strengthened his mental power, he was unconscious for a full half hour.
It's almost 3 p.m., and the military liaison team will be there soon. If I faint now, the consequences will be no joke. We'll have to wait until a more suitable time later.
"Only 20 minutes left."
Lu Chen glanced at his watch and said in a relaxed tone, "Let's go, go upstairs and get ready to welcome the military."
Lu Chen and Shen Qingci led the last group of survivors toward Building 3. This last group consisted of 28 people, each with a dazed expression of having survived a catastrophe.
Gao Yuan was already waiting at the entrance of Building 3, with five assistants standing behind him, each holding a registration form and a pen.
Behind the registration desk were several small folding tables, with stacks of blank registration forms and several bottles of mineral water on them.
This is the experience Gao Yuan summarized this morning: the first thing new survivors need is a sense of security, and the second is water.
As soon as I handed the glass of water over, the other person's hand stopped shaking, and they spoke more fluently.
Looking at the approaching crowd, Gao Yuan quickly counted the number of people.
His gaze swept from the front row to the back of the line, his lips moved slightly, and his fingers flew across the notebook, marking tally marks.
After taking his order, he quickly made a registration and handed the record to Lu Chen.
A total of 59 survivors were brought back from the four buildings rescued in the afternoon.
Including the previous 66, the total number of survivors in the team has reached 125.
Ten of them were considered part of Shen Qingci's preliminary mission quota, while the remaining 115 were all counted as his military merits.
According to the Dawn Project, rescuing one survivor earns 10 military merit points. With these 115 survivors alone, he would have 1150 military merit points.
If an ordinary person only completes the preliminary tasks, they will only have 100 merit points. His military merit is more than 10 times that of an ordinary person who completes the tasks.
According to Lu Chen's estimate, this number should be quite remarkable within the military.
For others, this might be enough: military merit earned, equipment exchanged, and military rescue teams coming to pick them up—mission accomplished.
But for Lu Chen, this was only the first step.
What he needs to consider is how to gain more influence within the military system.
Moreover, the shorter the time, the better. His parents and younger sister are still waiting for him in the village below Ningcheng City. Every extra day they wait increases the danger.
He needs a higher military rank, the authority to mobilize more resources, and the ability to directly contact the Ning City shelter to request them to send out rescue teams.
1150 military merits are a stepping stone; whether you can open that door depends on your subsequent contact with the military.
He was pondering his next move, while Gao Yuan and the others busied themselves around him.
The first and second floors have now been cleared out, and Gao Yuan is leading a group to arrange accommodations for the newly arrived survivors.
His scheduling skills have become increasingly proficient. Families with children are given priority for private rooms, single men and women are separated into large shared rooms, and older people are arranged on lower floors for easy access.
Everything is proceeding smoothly.
At the same time, Gao Yuan also had simple meals prepared for the newly arrived survivors. These were not formal meals, but just things to fill their stomachs: a bowl of porridge, half a steamed bun, and a small dish of pickled vegetables for each person.
Several people in the group had been hungry for more than a day, and their hands were trembling as they held the porridge. After drinking the hot porridge, their complexions visibly improved.
After watching them finish eating, Gao Yuan had the dishes and chopsticks cleared away and told them that dinner would be served in the lobby on the first floor, and that they would be notified when the time came.
Now that we have enough manpower, we don't need to do everything ourselves.
He has five assistants: two for registration, two for room allocation, and one for supplies allocation. He only needs to set the direction and let them handle the specific execution.
Lu Chen watched for a while and, seeing that Gao Yuan had arranged everything in an orderly manner, did not linger any longer.
He greeted Shen Qingci and went up the fire escape stairs alone, arriving at the rooftop.
The clutter on the rooftop had long been cleared away, and a huge red cloth was laid out.
The red cloth was made up of dozens of pieces of red fabric of varying sizes. When laid out, the entire red cloth covered at least a hundred square meters, almost completely covering the top of the rooftop, and it was dazzlingly red in the afternoon sun.
There were four observers standing on the rooftop. When they saw Lu Chen come up, all four of them quickly put down their binoculars and came over to greet him.
"You guys just do your own thing, don't worry about me," Lu Chen waved his hand.
He casually found a folding chair on the edge of the rooftop and sat down. With only a quarter of an hour left until 3 p.m., he planned to wait there for the military personnel to arrive.