Chu Chaoyan ate ten steamed buns for dinner, not because she was hungry and couldn't fight Li Keyi, but simply to stall for time and avoid admitting defeat in front of everyone.
Dejected, Chu Chaoyan returned to her tent. She regretted stepping forward in the first place. She had wanted to prove her strength by defeating her opponent, but now she had been thrown down twice by Li Keyi, losing all face in front of her subordinates. With the official match only a day away, how could she possibly win?
At this critical juncture, Shen Feng arrived with Lu Xian and Guo Pinming. With the three of them brainstorming, they could at least offer Chu Chaoyan some help.
Shen Feng spoke first, "Chu Chaoyan, tomorrow you should propose a weapon match. I'll teach you a move. Have you heard of quick-draw techniques? It's about drawing your weapon and fighting in the shortest possible time. Once you draw, your opponent will inevitably fall."
Chu Chaoyan's spirits lifted, and she asked, "You know quick-draw techniques? How come I didn't know?"
Shen Feng coughed and said seriously, "I don't know quick-draw techniques, but I understand similar concepts. This move is called quick-draw pistol technique! I'll lend you my Desert Eagle. You just need to practice drawing your pistol for the next day, and I guarantee you'll win without fighting! Do you understand what I mean?"
As Shen Feng spoke, he gestured to the Desert Eagle holstered at his waist. His intention was clear: to set a trap for Li Keyi. As long as the opponent agreed to a weapon match, they would use the Desert Eagle. After all, it was also a weapon, so what was the difference?
Chu Chaoyan shot Shen Feng a glare and said irritably, "You think you're so clever! Do you think Li Keyi won't use a gun? This is a terrible idea!"
Guo Pinming walked over at this moment, frowning. "I know grappling techniques, which mainly involve joint manipulation. However, with only one day, it's hard to learn. But if Miss Chu wants to learn, I'll teach you everything I know."
Chu Chaoyan shook her head and looked at Lu Xian, asking, "What's your idea?"
Lu Xian thought carefully and replied, "In short, to win in a short time, the normal approach is impossible. The only way forward is to resort to trickery."
"Trickery? What does that mean? Is there such a thing as trickery in combat? Besides, I'm already not as skilled as Li Keyi." Chu Chaoyan was very confused, not understanding what this so-called trickery meant.
Lu Xian looked around, ensuring no one was observing them, and then said in a low voice, "To put it bluntly, it's cheating. I have a set of miniature transmitters here. I can predict the opponent's movements, so I'll secretly give you hints. You need to be careful of their attacks. Also, have Old Guo make you a weapon on the spot. Can't he manipulate steel? Have him help secretly too. This way, you'll have the advantage!"
Upon hearing this suggestion, Chu Chaoyan was immediately moved. She quickly nodded and said, "This is a good idea. Tomorrow I will definitely win. I must make her taste the same humiliation I experienced today, or I won't be able to swallow this insult."
Shen Feng gently shook his head and said, "What's with this inexplicable desire for victory? It was my fight, and you forcefully took my place. Now, even if it means cheating, you have to win. It's not worth it. How about I mediate and we let it go with a laugh? As for me, I'll just go to the laboratory. That should be enough."
"No, do you think I'm working so hard for nothing?" Chu Chaoyan refused to admit defeat and resolutely rejected Shen Feng's proposal.
At this point, it was no longer a matter of Shen Feng going to the laboratory. Because Chu Chaoyan had lost face in front of everyone today, being thrown down twice. If it were a martial arts master, it would be one thing, but it was a woman of the same age. This made Chu Chaoyan unable to swallow her pride and determined to find a way to regain her honor.
At this moment, Shen Feng could only shrug and let Chu Chaoyan have her way. However, he also realized that even if he didn't use his abilities, he might not be able to defeat Li Keyi, especially since Li Keyi had been practicing martial arts since childhood. Against such a person, it was impossible to win without skill.
The laboratory in Yanjing was protected by a group of elite soldiers. The area around the building was covered by surveillance. If anyone attacked, reinforcements would arrive within twenty minutes. It could be said to be one of the safest places in the city.
After Li Keyi returned to the laboratory, she was also questioned by the director. The director was very anxious and wanted to understand the intentions of the Corpse King, which required sufficient intelligence.
"Shen Feng must have the intelligence I need. Although he doesn't understand the importance of this intelligence, intelligence is the most crucial thing for us. The video shows that Shen Feng paused for half a minute before killing the Corpse King, and during that time, there must have been some communication between them," the director said excitedly.
Li Keyi nodded and said, "I certainly know the importance of the intelligence Shen Feng possesses, but successfully getting Shen Feng to tell the truth is not something I can do alone. Unless the director contacts the Ability Administration and requests someone to be dispatched, I will find it difficult to succeed."
The director fell silent upon hearing this because he knew this matter was unusual. After a long silence, he replied, "Our contact with the Ability Administration is not frequent, and the people from the Ability Administration are very resentful of us. Our experiments often require their cooperation, making them feel like lab rats. I cannot guarantee a successful communication."
Li Keyi frowned, looking displeased. "These ability users are always so arrogant. If I don't use my abilities, no one is my match. Are they inherently superior just because they got lucky? If I had known, I would have tried to get rained on back then."
"Don't talk nonsense. Surviving after getting rained on is a one-in-a-million chance. If you want to gain abilities, you have to consider the risks. If you get rained on, you'll most likely not survive," the director said angrily. To gain abilities, she was disregarding her own life, which was too much.
Li Keyi, however, continued to complain, "But we've clearly developed ability potions, yet we can't use them ourselves. If I had abilities, I would be invincible. It wouldn't matter if it were people from the Ability Administration or so-called folk masters like Shen Feng; none of them would be stronger than me."
"That's enough. It's good enough that you can drink the evolution potion. Besides, ability potions can only be made from the Corpse King's head. Such precious things cannot be used casually," the director continued to persuade Li Keyi, hoping she would calm down. The Corpse King's head was not something that could be easily picked up. Even with the numerous zombies outside Yanjing City, there were only two hundred Corpse Kings now. This was the gathering of zombies from more than half of the northern region.
However, Li Keyi heard something else from the director's words and quickly asked, "Director, does this mean that as long as I can get the Corpse King's head, I can obtain the evolution potion?"
"If you can get it, then go ahead and find it. You know how to make the potion yourself. However, only Shen Feng has killed a Corpse King in a one-on-one fight. I'm not looking down on you, but you are just an evolver. You can't kill a Corpse King," the director couldn't help but discourage Li Keyi.
At this moment, Li Keyi had a different idea in mind. As long as she could obtain the Corpse King's head, she could make the ability potion herself, and then she could also become an ability user!
"Corpse King, huh? It's really not easy to get one," Li Keyi muttered to herself, her eyes constantly darting around as if she were thinking of something.
Night fell, and the zombie tide outside Yanjing City had not receded. The zombies seemed to be truly fighting for their lives, attacking like a tide. Even at night, they were still charging madly. Such a relentless offensive day and night put immense pressure on the front lines. Ordinary zombies, when they died, were just added to the pile of corpses. However, the soldiers were fighting continuously, their minds constantly tense, making it difficult to fight for extended periods.
In fact, even the Battle of Verdun, known as the meat grinder, could not compare to the defense of Yanjing. Millions of zombies were killed in a single day, and as the zombies charged, the number of slain zombies continued to rise. Everyone had become numb to these numbers. Humans would surrender when they couldn't bear the casualties, as surrender would preserve their strength. However, zombies would not retreat or surrender, so both sides could only fight to the death.
Many searchlights were placed on the city walls, constantly illuminating the area below, making it as bright as day. The zombies might have intended to attack under the cover of night, but the presence of the searchlights thwarted their intentions. As for the combat personnel, they were constantly being rotated, rendering the zombies' war of attrition ineffective.
Within Yanjing City, several power plants were generating electricity day and night. Before the zombies surrounded Yanjing, the city had stockpiled enough coal. With so much coal stored, the thermal power plants could generate electricity around the clock. In terms of logistics, the zombies were completely outmatched by the humans.
The meteorological bureau also received uplifting news. The cold wave from Siberia was continuing to move south. In another five days, this cold wave would arrive, and the temperature would be even lower, creating suitable conditions for snowfall. At that time, the area around Yanjing would be frozen over, with snow covering thousands of miles. If humans didn't dress warmly enough, they would risk freezing to death. For zombies to survive in such low temperatures would be a complete fantasy.
"It's easy to hold on for five days, isn't it? It's impossible for the current zombies to even reach the foot of the city walls. As long as there are enough bullets, let alone five days, we can hold on for fifty days!" Everyone at headquarters heard this exhilarating news and burst into laughter. The zombies' actions were all within their expectations. In this case, victory would come once the heavy snow arrived.
However, the people at the meteorological bureau had a different perspective. He frowned and thought for a moment, saying, "It seems that the temperature this year is much lower than last year and the year before. If the temperature continues to drop, it won't be good."
The meteorologists' concerns were not unfounded. They were based on data predictions. Earth's temperature also followed cycles, and when temperatures dropped, it usually affected human agriculture, leading to reduced yields, and sometimes even complete crop failure. This extreme climatic phenomenon was called a Little Ice Age!
Considering the time, the Little Ice Age was almost upon them. If the temperature continued to decrease in the coming years, wouldn't it be even more dangerous? After all, the Northeast Plain only became a granary in recent decades. But once the Little Ice Age arrived, reduced yields would almost be a certainty, and the future of the north would be a true doomsday.
"We don't need to worry about that. Our primary goal now is to eliminate all the zombies. As long as we kill all the zombies in the country, the remaining land will be enough to support the survivors. Moreover, the Little Ice Age will not arrive quickly. We will have enough time to react, won't we? After all, it will only take five years for us to eliminate most of the zombies!" The people at headquarters were very optimistic. As long as the zombies were eliminated, all hope would exist. Therefore, dealing with the zombie siege was the most important task.
This was the reality. Ninety percent of humanity had turned into zombies, posing a great crisis to the remaining humans. If they didn't respond adequately, it would be a catastrophe for humanity. Some small countries had already perished under such circumstances. But if you think about it carefully, if ninety percent of humanity turned into zombies, then after eliminating the zombies, there would be enough resources to support humanity.
The Way of Heaven is to reduce the excess and supplement the deficiency.
The emergence of zombies had put humanity in a precarious position, but once the crisis was overcome, perhaps humanity could take this opportunity to evolve successfully and reach new heights in human history.
If you think about it, after the zombies appeared, humans discovered ability potions and evolution potions. If they continued to fight, perhaps more inventions would emerge. Humanity's dominance on Earth was never achieved through brute force, but through wisdom. When wisdom accumulated to a certain level, civilization would leap forward!