While everyone else was establishing bases on Hezhou, Shen Feng chose to explore the terrain downstream. He only brought Yang Ye, who could steer the boat, and took a gasoline-powered boat to the downstream of Luzhou before landing to survey the area.
The terrain here was particularly important, as it was the area Shen Feng needed to reclaim. There were tens of thousands of zombies here, surrounded by tall buildings, with zombies of all kinds emerging constantly. Both the strong types and the tank types were particularly numerous. The schools were all surrounded by buildings, making it very difficult to rescue them from so many zombies.
Shen Feng then went to inspect the granary and his heart sank. The area around the granary was open, and it was already occupied by zombies. With so many zombies, even a surprise attack wouldn't work. To get the granary, they would have to deal with the zombies outside first.
Shen Feng leaped across rooftops within the city while sketching a map of the urban area. Although Shen Feng had already obtained a map of Luzhou, the traffic conditions were very complex, with most roads basically jammed. If these traffic conditions were not clarified, it would be very difficult to reclaim the city in the future.
Shen Feng's rooftop traversal in the city also attracted a lot of attention, with many people calling out for help, hoping Shen Feng could save them.
These survivors waved strips of cloth or brightly colored items, hoping to catch Shen Feng's eye. They had placed their hope of survival on Shen Feng, hoping he would rescue them!
Shen Feng paid no attention to the people still alive in the city because he knew he couldn't rescue them from the zombie horde. The only way to save them was to annihilate all the zombies in the city!
"Hero, save us!" a person who saw Shen Feng moving around the city shouted loudly. He believed that Shen Feng, who could traverse the city with tall buildings as if walking on flat ground, must be a hero depicted in novels, and thus expected to be rescued.
Similar voices were constant, and Shen Feng couldn't be bothered to reply. He just wanted to quickly formulate a comprehensive plan to eliminate the zombies here, then occupy the granary and recruit students as subordinates. If zombies continued to evolve, he might fall behind in future battles.
Shen Feng also took the opportunity to visit the academy and found that a basic organization had already been established within the academy. The people here had begun using dormitories as strongholds, hunting zombies, and collecting food from the school. It was evident that these people had quickly united after the zombie outbreak, which allowed them to maintain their current difficult survival situation.
Shen Feng did not show himself to these people. He only observed from a distance before leaving, as he discovered that there were no evolved individuals among them. It seemed that without evolutionary agents or the meat of mutated animals, human evolution was very difficult.
Shen Feng investigated for two full days before returning to Hezhou. Simple sheds had already been built here. As for the collection of building materials, it was done from a nearby building materials market. In any case, these materials were ownerless, and it was better to use them than not, as they were perfect for building the base.
Chang Jianyi had also transferred over four thousand people here. The two met again, and at this time, Chang Jianyi had also undergone a second evolution. It was entirely thanks to the snake meat that Shen Feng had sent back. After diligently eating ten catties, Chang Jianyi finally obtained enough viral protein and evolved.
Hezhou was originally formed by the encirclement of the Yangtze River and an artificially excavated waterway. Moreover, after obtaining the dam, the people here no longer lacked electricity. Everyone began to cheer, finally able to live a life with electricity. With electricity, they could truly say they were living in the twenty-first century.
Chang Jianyi hadn't seen Shen Feng for several days. Now that Shen Feng had just returned, she immediately rushed forward and gave him a hug, complaining, "Why are you acting alone again? Don't you know the danger?"
Shen Feng hugged his senior sister and comforted her, "I'm also working hard to reclaim Luzhou as soon as possible. After all, we need to build a safe base to survive in this world overrun by zombies. How can we not take risks? Besides, zombies can't catch me."
Shen Feng patiently comforted his senior sister for a while before gathering the leaders of each group to prepare for a meeting. Now, they needed to attack the granary downstream and could not delay any longer. Moreover, the base on Hezhou was almost completed and could accommodate more people.
Yu Renshu also appeared at the meeting this time. She still held the title of vice-president, so she sat behind Chang Jianyi. It was evident that she was very unwilling, having been tricked out of her formula by Chang Jianyi. She always wanted to get revenge but never had the chance, so she could only suppress her dissatisfaction. Her participation in the meeting was purely to understand Shen Feng's plan, as she wanted to return to Yanjing as soon as possible, and reclaiming Luzhou would increase this possibility.
"The granary can be said to have fifty thousand zombies. It will not be easy to occupy it successfully, and the surrounding terrain is flat. Once the zombies are attracted, tens of thousands of zombies will charge forward in a line. We absolutely cannot win if we attack head-on. Now, let's gather everyone to discuss ways to eliminate the zombies," Shen Feng said directly.
"President, I think we can do as we did before," Ren Jing said first. "Dig a large pit, attract the zombies, and then burn them. There's a furniture city nearby, so we can use the furniture as fuel to burn these zombies to death."
As soon as this plan was proposed, Shen Feng rejected it, then said, "The effect of burning furniture will definitely be inferior to gasoline, and zombies will appear to attack when constructing fortifications. This plan is too dangerous, no!"
Tu Xuhuai said slowly, "Since we are by the Yangtze River, let's use the Yangtze River to attack. Perhaps we can lure the zombies into the water, and then let the Yangtze River wash the zombies away."
Tu Xuhuai provided this idea, and Shen Feng immediately provided a corresponding map. Downstream, there was a pier with many containers, and it was right by the Yangtze River, not too far from the city.
Zhou Xiaoxiao pointed to the location of the pier and said, "Actually, we can use the terrain of the pier to our advantage. Zombies cannot swim, so if they fall into the water, they will definitely drown. We can lure the zombies to the pier and make them fall into the water themselves."
Shen Feng nodded in agreement, but there was still an important issue regarding the disposal of the granary: "When we lure the zombies, will anyone take the opportunity to attack the granary? And after occupying the granary, how will we manage it?"
Tu Xuhuai said firmly, "As long as we kill the zombies, all the supplies in the surrounding area will be ours! If others want to take advantage of the chaos, then we can only use thunderous means. It's best to find a few examples and hang them on the streetlights as a deterrent."
Killing was not the best method, but it was definitely the most direct method, especially hanging the corpses on streetlights to make dried meat. This kind of shock was a huge psychological blow to humans.
Yang Chang quickly said, "President, if anyone dares to cause trouble, I will be the first to deal with him!"
Shen Feng nodded and then said, "Don't worry about this. There are no evolved individuals among the survivors near the granary. Although a basic organization has been established, they pose little threat to us. Of course, the food inside cannot be moved, but we must leave people to guard it. I plan to select ten people from the upcoming combat personnel and reward them with evolutionary agents. Then, the guarding of the granary will be handed over to these ten people."
The people below had no objections to this, as everyone present at the meeting was an evolved individual, and they were not particularly eager for evolutionary agents.
Suddenly, Yu Renshu stood up and said, "President, I also want to participate in this battle. I hope you will approve."
Shen Feng looked at Yu Renshu and frowned, "Doctor, you only need to be responsible for producing the agents. Combat is not your forte, so it's better not to go."
"There should still be some evolutionary agents left, and besides, I want to witness the scene of fighting zombies. Please agree, after all, I am also an evolved individual now!" Yu Renshu said with a smile.
Shen Feng had no reason to object at this point. Since Yu Renshu wanted to fight, let her go. Anyway, his senior sister had already obtained the formula for evolutionary agents, so even without Yu Renshu, evolutionary agents could still be produced.
"Alright, be careful to protect yourself during the battle, and everything will be done according to my command," Shen Feng said seriously.
Yu Renshu nodded and then sat down. At this moment, her face was full of smiles, indicating that she was in a good mood.
After the plan was finalized, Tu Xuhuai did not leave but remained in his seat. Shen Feng understood his intentions and invited Tu Xuhuai to a private room for a confidential conversation.
After being alone with Shen Feng, Tu Xuhuai began to speak, "President, during the process of reclaiming the granary, I personally believe that it is better to proceed slowly and rescue people slowly, preferably saving a few hundred people each day. This will avoid survivors crowding together. The vice-president can continuously recruit people into the Self-Help Association at the base. This way, survivors are unlikely to rebel, and instead, the Self-Help Association will continue to grow."
Upon hearing this strategy, Shen Feng immediately frowned and said, "Mr. Tu, if the reclamation speed is too slow, I worry that the number of survivors will be very small. In that case, even if Luzhou is reclaimed, the number of people we can get will be fewer."
"President, twenty-eight days have passed since the zombie outbreak. If anyone was going to starve to death, they would have already starved. The survivors who are still alive have some provisions at home. Even if we reclaim Luzhou a few days earlier, we may not get more manpower. Instead, we need to consider our own authority!" Tu Xuhuai continued.
Shen Feng nodded in agreement. In fact, he really wanted to rescue the survivors in Luzhou quickly, but he also had to consider the situation of the Self-Help Association. If too many survivors flooded into the base at once, it would be a huge burden for subsequent management. If there were instances of people gathering to cause trouble, it would be even more unfavorable.
After much consideration, Shen Feng decided to follow Tu Xuhuai's strategy and proceed step by step. In any case, no one in Luzhou currently had more power than him. This meant that only he could accept enough survivors and was the only one capable of reclaiming Luzhou.
Afterward, Shen Feng had someone notify the members of the Self-Help Association about the plan to reclaim the downstream area of Luzhou. The members of the combat group began to sharpen their weapons, knowing that they would have to fight tomorrow. They needed to prepare their weapons in advance to avoid any unexpected situations during the battle.
After dinner, Shen Feng accompanied Chang Jianyi as they walked around Hezhou. At this moment, Shen Feng suddenly remembered that he and his senior sister had never had a formal date, and they had spent very little time together since falling in love. Therefore, he cherished this walk.
"Senior sister, after we reclaim Luzhou, I will hold the grandest wedding for you, and everyone in the Self-Help Association will come to congratulate us. What do you think?" Shen Feng said with a smile.
Chang Jianyi linked her arm with Shen Feng's as they walked and said, "After we reclaim Luzhou, we will definitely be busy every day. Where will we have time for a wedding? But if there's a chance, we must do it."
On Hezhou, everyone was busy repairing their shelters. Although they were simply built sheds, they were the places they would live in next. The temperature was a bit low at night, especially since Hezhou was surrounded by river water on both sides. The wind blowing made it even more chilling. Repairing the sheds could also block the wind.
In a slightly flatter open space in the distance, a group of children were playing soccer. These children, after being brought to safety, started running around again, bringing some joy to the base.
Further away, some people were fishing by the Yangtze River in groups of two or three. Since they were idle, they might as well fish and chat.
A harmonious scene appeared on Hezhou, with brief smiles on the faces of men and women, perhaps due to the safety they had gained, or perhaps due to the leisure they now possessed. If the zombie problem were disregarded, most people wouldn't like it here, but now, safety was the most precious thing.