bookbashuk Chapter 20 Helmet
Chapter 20 Helmet
Lu Chen had a zombie take Gao Yuan back to the fifth floor so that he and Xu Wan could clean the empty room on the fifth floor first.
Gao Yuan nodded and noted it down, then followed the zombie upstairs.
Only after his figure disappeared around the corner of the stairs did Lu Chen turn to Shen Qingci.
"Let's go, let's continue."
The two led the zombie horde to the second floor.
As usual, Shen Qingci closed his eyes to check the fire door, then opened them a moment later.
"There are no survivors, they are all zombies."
Lu Chen nodded. The absence of survivors actually made things simpler; there was no need for negotiation or persuasion, just a matter of cleaning up.
He pushed open the door, and the zombie horde filed in.
The situation on the second floor was simpler than on the third floor. There weren't many zombies roaming the corridors, and the zombies locked in the rooms were all ordinary, with no strong ones.
Tie Zhu led the way, with Da Zhuang and Er Zhuang on either side, and the rest of the zombies followed, pushing through room by room.
Prying open the door, entering, and killing—each room took no more than a minute.
The entire second floor was cleaned in ten minutes!
The group continued down the fire escape stairs.
Upon reaching the first floor, Shen Qingci's expression shifted slightly after completing her investigation.
"There is a couple, both alive, in 104."
Lu Chen indicated that he understood.
The layout of the first floor is slightly different from that of the upstairs. Because there is a parking area for electric bicycles downstairs, the corridor on the first floor is wider and leads to the lobby at the end.
Several zombies were wandering in the corridor. Hearing the commotion, they rushed towards them but were quickly killed by Tie Zhu and his team.
After cleaning the corridor, Lu Chen and the others arrived at door 104.
Shen Qingci walked up to the door with the radio in her hand and knocked.
Boom boom boom!
There was a rustling sound behind the door, followed by silence, a long silence. No one opened the door, and no one spoke.
"Did you hear the Dawn Project broadcast this morning? It's the official announcement of the rescue policy for people with superpowers, did you hear it?"
Silence remained inside.
Shen Qingci wasn't in a hurry. She held the radio to the crack in the door and pressed the play button.
The same male voice that had been on the radio this morning came through, steady and clear, with a slight hissing sound from the static.
The contents of Project Dawn were played one by one: the recruitment policy for superhumans, the military merit rewards for rescuing survivors, the supplies and equipment in the exchange list, and the rescue priority promised by the military.
After the recording was played once, Shen Qingci finally spoke: "We are superhumans, and we are clearing out the zombies in this building and rescuing the survivors."
"What was just shown was the official announcement of Project Dawn this morning. If you..."
Before he could finish speaking, the door opened.
The person who opened the door was a young man in his late twenties, and behind him stood a woman of the same age, dressed in home clothes.
"Are you really superhumans?" The bespectacled man's voice was a little hoarse, but he couldn't suppress the excitement in his tone.
"Yes! I am a reconnaissance-type ability user. This is our captain. His ability is to control zombies." Shen Qingci turned to the side and pointed to the zombie horde behind him.
The man with glasses and his girlfriend looked over at the same time.
"Holy shit!" The bespectacled man couldn't help but swear in surprise.
His girlfriend pinched him from behind, but her eyes were also fixed on the zombies, her gaze filled with disbelief.
Next up was Lu Chen's turn to play the bad cop.
He stepped forward and repeated the conditions for joining the team in the exact same tone he had used when speaking to Gao Yuan.
You must obey orders unconditionally, which may require you to perform dangerous missions that you cannot refuse until the military arrives.
After listening, the bespectacled man and his girlfriend exchanged a glance. Neither of them spoke, but their unspoken understanding transcended words.
The woman hesitated for a moment before asking, "What if I don't join?"
"It's okay if you don't join," Lu Chen said. "The zombies on this floor have been cleared out. You can stay in your rooms and wait for the rescue team. But we won't provide any supplies or send anyone to protect you."
The bespectacled man glanced at his girlfriend again. This time, the woman didn't speak, but simply nodded slightly.
"We're in!" the bespectacled man said crisply as he turned around.
At this point, all the zombies on floors one through five have been completely cleared away.
Lu Chen did not go upstairs immediately. He led the zombie team through the first-floor corridor, pushed open the glass door of the lobby, and came to the electric bicycle parking area downstairs in the community.
It was a long, narrow area covered by a makeshift awning, where dozens of electric bikes and a few motorcycles were parked.
Shen Qingci had confirmed that there were no zombies nearby, so Lu Chen walked to a motorcycle and took off the helmet hanging on the handlebars.
It was a full-face helmet with a matte black outer shell. The visor was a bit scratched, but the overall structure was intact. He turned the helmet over to check the lining, and after confirming there was no damage, he handed it to Tiezhu.
"Put it on."
Tie Zhu took the helmet and clumsily tried to put it on. The zombie's fingers weren't very dexterous, and it struggled to fasten the chin clip several times. Lu Chen went over and helped it fasten it, then stepped back to check the result.
The full-face helmet covered Tiezhu's entire face, leaving only a pair of gray-white eyes visible behind the goggles.
With its 1.9-meter height and the cleaver in its hand, it stood there like a silent god of death.
Da Zhuang, Er Zhuang, San Zhuang, and the rest of the zombies also received helmets one after another, some full-face helmets and some half-face helmets.
With the helmets in hand, Lu Chen's group of zombies were now fully equipped.
Weapons include knives, and protective gear includes thick clothing and scarves; now, helmets also protect the head.
The most fatal weakness of zombies is their heads. Now that this weakness has been covered, it won't be an easy task for an ordinary zombie to bite through a motorcycle helmet.
In this situation, his zombies are fully capable of fighting against opponents far stronger than themselves.
Lu Chen looked at the fully armed Tie Zhu, then glanced at the distance of the residential area.
The landscaping in their community is quite nice. Several residential buildings are surrounded by a small garden with cobblestone paths, rows of trimmed shrubs, and a dried-up fountain in the middle.
Looking over there now, groups of two or three zombies are wandering aimlessly.
"Go over there." He pointed towards the small garden and gave Tie Zhu an order.
He wasn't asking Tiezhu to clear out the zombies; that was something to be done later, not something to rush into.
Now he wants to test something he couldn't test before—what is the furthest distance he can control a zombie?
When moving around inside the building, the distance is too short to measure the limits.
Now that we're on the first floor, the view is much wider, with an open space in front of us – the perfect time for testing.
Iron Pillar strode toward the small garden, moving much faster than an ordinary zombie.
Lu Chen stood still, his gaze fixed on Tie Zhu's back, while focusing his attention on the invisible connection between himself and Tie Zhu in his mind.
The connection is invisible and intangible, but when he consciously tries to perceive it, he can clearly sense its existence.
The iron pillar moved about twenty meters, and the connection remained unchanged, as stable as a steel cable.
30 meters! There's still no sign of it weakening.
Tie Zhu's figure had already reached the edge of the small garden, walked around a pavilion, and stepped across a patch of withered yellow grass.
Iron Pillar continued walking, its shadow growing smaller and smaller in the sunlight. It crossed the small garden and reached the main road of the residential area.
50 meters! At this distance, Lu Chen could already sense the change.
The invisible connection was no longer the same thickness; it was as if it were being gently pulled by something, constantly becoming thinner.
Iron Pillar did not stop; following Lu Chen's previous instructions, it continued walking towards the entrance of the residential area.
60 meters! The weakening of the connection became even more obvious. Lu Chen could feel an extremely slight delay in the transmission of his commands.
80 meters! The delay became more obvious, and Tie Zhu's steps began to become less stable, as if he had received intermittent signals.
100 meters!
Just then, Lu Chen felt the connection suddenly vibrate violently, as if it had been yanked by something.
Tie Zhu subconsciously took a step forward.
It's broken!
The location and state of the iron pillar that he could originally sense had all disappeared.
In the distance, Tie Zhu suddenly froze on the spot.
It stood straight in front of the community gate, still holding the cleaver in its hand and wearing its helmet, but all its movements were stopped.
However, Lu Chen could sense that the connection had not completely disappeared.
It's still there, but only a hundred meters away. The connection is so weak, it's as if it's vanished into thin air.
Lu Chen immediately took two steps forward, reducing the distance to less than 100 meters.
Sure enough, the connection was back, and Tie Zhu's presence reappeared in his perception.
"return!"
Tie Zhu immediately turned around and started walking back.