Chapter 178 - 169: Tackle the Hardest Bone First

Chapter 178: Chapter 169: Tackle the Hardest Bone First

When Zhao Wenjie heard Yu Dong’s question, an embarrassed expression crossed his face and he stammered,

"It’s just... on the way, that’s all. It’s not like it’s a must-go or anything. The main thing is that heading east toward the city will clearly yield greater rewards. That’s really what I was thinking, Brother Dong."

It was supposed to be a casual lunch, but the question drew everyone’s attention.

Wang Dingbei and Lin Mo both brought their people over.

Zhou slurped up a mouthful of noodles.

"I’ve been looking at the map for the past two days and found a fertilizer plant to the west. It should be full of chemical raw materials. If we plan on mass-producing explosives later, we should consider securing it sooner rather than later."

"There’s also a small port to the west. It can’t accommodate our giant cruise ship, but it can handle small cargo vessels. Boss Yu mentioned today that we need to have an option for a strategic retreat. I was thinking... if the land routes get blocked, it might come in handy," an experienced sailor said.

Shen Xinyi raised her hand. "Um... our ship has an infirmary, but it’s not equipped to perform surgery. I think if you all could secure that medical research institute, we’d have a proper place and the facilities to operate. If we had gotten there in time, we might have been able to save that person’s life yesterday."

They did have a professional surgeon with them—the female doctor from yesterday.

Hearing that everyone seemed to want to head west, Zhao Wenjie started to get anxious.

"But..."

Wang Dingbei cut him off. "No buts. We have to go east. There are so many people waiting for us. If we don’t save them, who will? People are what’s most important. Everything else comes second."

After hearing this, Zhao Wenjie immediately chimed in, "Right, right, right! That’s what I meant, too. We can’t just... watch people get trapped and die, can we?"

"I want to go back to Xiangti Bay Community... to check on my husband." Wang Xiuying, who had been successfully calmed by Lin Mo, rarely spoke, but she chose this moment to do so.

"Me too..." Yan Yikai echoed. His family members were still wandering their home as zombies.

Following that, everyone shared their thoughts on going east versus west. Each side had valid points, and no one could convince the other.

In the end, the decision fell to the three leaders.

Wang Dingbei had made his stance clear: he wanted to go east. He looked at Lin Mo, expecting him to state his position.

Lin Mo, however, turned to Yu Dong.

"Yu Dong, what’s your take on this?"

Seeing this, Wang Dingbei laughed in exasperation. "What are you two doing, trying to sideline me? Lin Mo, don’t ask him. Just say what you think."

"My apologies, Officer Wang. That wasn’t my intention. It’s just that when it comes to major strategic decisions like this, I think... I should defer to Yu Dong. His experience gives him more foresight than either of us."

Wang Dingbei turned to Yu Dong. "Fine, you talk. Let’s hear this brilliant insight of yours."

At the table sat the core members of Yu Dong’s and Wang Dingbei’s teams. They all knew Yu Dong was a Reincarnator. Although Officer Wang’s team was still skeptical, too many things didn’t add up otherwise. For now, they had to tentatively believe it, at least until they found evidence to either refute or support the claim.

For the time being, most of them were inclined to trust Yu Dong’s judgment.

Yu Dong tapped his fingers on the table, running scenarios through his mind...

’If Xufeng and his group were still alive, then there’d be no question. We’d head west and bring our people back.’

’But Xufeng and the others are dead. All that’s left is Lawyer Ji...’

"I choose east. We’ll tackle the toughest nut to crack within the next ten days! These zombies will have to be cleared out sooner or later, so we might as well do it now while they’re still manageable. As for the fertilizer plant, the research institute, and the other port... we can make plans for those later."

Shops, villa complexes, tourist spots, large supermarkets, banks, residential districts... while not as dense as the city center, this stretch of Binhai Avenue had the highest concentration of zombies along the coast.

"Now you’re talking," Wang Dingbei said. "Yesterday, I had someone modify the ship’s radio. It can send out broadcast signals now. Tonight, I plan to open up a channel adjacent to the Yanhai City broadcast frequency to reassure the citizens and let more people know about our operation. Then they can make their way to the cruise ship and join us."

’Here it comes. Officer Wang’s radio broadcast.’

’Even though his experiences were completely different this time, Wang still chose the same path.’

’Yu Dong had shaken up the timeline. Some things changed, but others, it seemed, never would.’

’Like Zhao Wenjie, for example, who still wanted to save Yang Yi even after watching that dark-skinned thing burst its guts...’

’He’s a reliable teammate, but his sense of responsibility is a little too strong.’

’It’ll take a while for him to shake off those old-world ideas.’

RING RING RING~

Yu Dong’s satellite phone rang.

Qiao Ping’s face lit up. "Is that my uncle?"

"Yeah, it is."

After Yu Dong answered, a hearty laugh came from the other end of the line.

"Hahaha! Comrade Yu Dong, we followed your advice and have secured the Zongshan Civilian Training Base. We’ve replenished a large amount of ammunition and rescued many militia members. Our strength has increased dramatically."

’By noon on the fourth day of the apocalypse, Qiao Yunliang had already taken the civilian training base. That was a full six days faster than in the last life!’

"Good! Excellent! Commander Qiao, this is a crucial step in changing your fate. Right now, the zombies haven’t evolved into climbers yet. You have six days to make a large-scale push. You must make the most of this time. Speed up your zombie-clearing operations before the rain starts!"

"Understood, we’ll do that. However, regarding what you said... about not taking in civilians, I don’t think that’s appropriate. Once the main army arrives, the civilians will have to come with us. We are the people’s army; we can’t turn them away."

This gave Yu Dong a headache.

"I know, I understand completely. But these are extraordinary times. You can’t waste time and manpower on logistics, nor can you allow chaos to erupt in your rear. All of your energy must be focused on clearing zombies."

"We will take the logistics into consideration as the situation dictates... Thank you, Comrade Yu Dong."

After hanging up, there was nothing more Yu Dong could do. He could only hope that Qiao Yunliang would learn from the mistakes of the past and not let the home front become the military’s Achilles’ heel again.

Qiao Ping stared at Yu Dong in astonishment.

"Huh? I didn’t even get to talk to my uncle... He hung up?"

It was one thing for Yu Dong to ignore her, but her own uncle hadn’t mentioned her either. Qiao Ping was deeply hurt.

That afternoon, the combat teams officially began their push to the east.

With their well-practiced tactics and coordinated logistical support, they cleared three hotels in a row.

They rescued numerous uninfected survivors from the rooms.

When they tallied the results that evening,

they had gained another 29 people, including a number of skilled technicians and strong laborers.

In this lifetime, the cruise ship base’s population was expanding rapidly, completely eclipsing what Officer Wang had managed to achieve in the last one.

...

PS: At the end of every month, Qidian holds a raffle based on the number of monthly tickets from the previous month.

You get one entry for every 1,000 monthly tickets. I won 100 RMB last month.

Since you’re the ones who voted for me, I figured I’d give it back to you all. I’ll hold a raffle for five prizes of 2,000 Qidian Coins. Just for fun.

My moderator has made a post in the comment section. If you’ve voted with a monthly ticket this month, go leave a comment there with a screenshot as proof. The winners will be announced in three days. If you win, just claim your prize in the reader group.

Feel free to join in if you have the time.

(There should be a lot more raffles at the end of this month, probably seven of them... I’ll distribute all the prizes at the beginning of next month.)