Ice Age Apocalypse: I Hoard Billions of Supplies

Chapter 447: Shaking Jiangnan

Outside the subway lines, seven or eight massive armored zombies emerged from the tunnels, tightly surrounding a short humanoid figure covered in white fur.

No one could have imagined that this unremarkable creature, with seemingly no combat abilities, was the Zombie King commanding the entire subway horde.

The white Zombie King stared at the now-flooded subway tunnels, a flicker of confusion in its gaze. It had been tasked with building a massive zombie horde here, which would eventually march southwest to annihilate the humans in the nearby shelter.

But now, the subway had been completely destroyed. The zombie army it painstakingly cultivated was nearly wiped out, and the remaining few were insufficient to form a horde capable of attacking the shelter. The Zombie King seemed lost, uncertain of its next move.

The eight armored zombies surrounding it stood silently, heads bowed, awaiting its orders. Without its command, they wouldn’t act unless triggered by the presence of living humans.

After what seemed like an eternity, the Zombie King’s mind appeared to reboot. It made a decision, turning northward and taking slow steps in that direction. The eight armored zombies followed closely behind, braving the ice and snow as they moved north.

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Zhang Yi’s method of flooding the tunnels had successfully eradicated all zombies within the Ci Qu Line. From that day on, no zombies appeared near the shelter, a testament to the effectiveness of Zhang Yi’s strategy.

Deprived of their habitat, neither the Zombie King nor the other zombies could remain in the subway tunnels. Elsewhere, no underground space large enough to support the zombies and rats existed.

Moreover, the mutated virus within the zombies couldn’t survive in temperatures as low as minus 60 degrees. Just as humans can function briefly in extreme conditions but cannot survive indefinitely, the zombies were similarly constrained.

Zhang Yi’s next steps were straightforward:

1. Enjoy the peace and quiet for now.
2. Monitor how other factions were faring against the zombies to stay vigilant.

Yang Xinxin maintained real-time surveillance of networks across various regions. Through their communications, Zhang Yi could track the progress of battles against the zombies.

Among the major factions, the Followers of the Snow God suffered the heaviest losses, with over 3,000 deaths so far. Most were bitten to death during combat, while others showed signs of mutation after being bitten. Before fully transforming, they were executed by their own people, a process they referred to as "returning to the Snow God’s divine kingdom."

At Yangsheng Base and Chaoyu Base, the situation wasn’t much better. Both had suffered significant losses, with 500–600 soldiers killed in action. Chaoyu Base even abandoned its harbor and fled to the sea to escape the zombie disaster.

Although Wei Dinghai was pained by the loss, he saw an opportunity. He hoped the zombie tide would wipe out everyone in Tianhai City. Once the city was devoid of life, his faction could return to claim dominance. Zombies couldn’t survive forever; they relied on humans for sustenance. When all humans in Tianhai City were gone, the zombies would also disappear.

At Yangsheng Base, Xiao Honglian adopted a ruthless approach. She ordered trenches dug around the base and filled them with crude oil. Whenever zombies or rats approached, the oil was ignited, creating a five-meter-high wall of fire around the refinery. The inferno incinerated countless zombies and rats. ꞦÂ𐌽Ö𝔟ΕS

Fire proved highly effective against the zombie and rat hordes, but fuel was a scarce resource. Xiao Honglian’s method was extravagant, though her faction’s substantial oil reserves could sustain it.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yi’s old friend, Xing Tian, faced equally dire circumstances. Under Xing Tian’s guidance, the lumberjacks from the steel mill transformed into formidable warriors capable of fighting ten zombies at once. Armed with axes, sledgehammers, and iron rods, they launched fierce battles against the zombies.

However, the disparity in numbers was glaring. While they could endure one or two battles, fighting swarms of zombies daily drained their strength. Eventually, Xing Tian led his remaining men into the depths of their underground shelter, temporarily abandoning the steel mill to the zombies.

The zombies posed no threat to the steel mill’s equipment, as they had no use for it and only cared about human flesh. Xing Tian’s plan was to wait for the zombies to vanish before reclaiming the facility.

The underground shelter was highly secure. Zhang Yi had tested its defenses before; only a high-yield bunker-buster missile could pose a threat. Even a horde of tens of thousands of zombies would take an enormous amount of time to breach the shelter.

In the short term, Qingpu Base’s strategy of retreating seemed sound. However, the outcome of the zombie crisis remained uncertain in the long run.

Zhang Yi appreciated Xing Tian’s approach. Though not particularly intelligent, Xing Tian knew his limits and withdrew at the right moment, preserving Qingpu Base’s strength.

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A week passed.

Zhang Yi and his team enjoyed a tranquil routine, drinking tea and reading books at home as if the zombie and rat hordes had never been an issue.

In contrast, the other factions were on the brink of collapse, tormented by relentless zombie and rat attacks.

The Zombie King, which Zhang Yi had driven off, led its eight armored zombies northward, where they established a new nest. Tianhai City’s sprawling, interconnected subway network provided ample hiding spots.

However, the zombies still needed food. With Tianhai City’s human population dwindling to less than one million, the remaining survivors became prime targets. The zombies could detect living humans from vast distances and slowly advanced toward them.

As the number of zombies in Tianhai City surged, the availability of food dwindled. Smaller factions were nearly wiped out, and the zombies began to spread to nearby cities, driven by their instinct to find food.

The apocalyptic zombie tide, which began in Tianhai City, was now expanding on a much larger scale. This alarming development finally drew the attention of neighboring cities and even alerted Jiangnan District, the region’s most powerful faction.

Author's Note