Chapter 78: Mistake

The team leader must hold the Shield, because the person holding the Shield needs to have a strong physique first and foremost, but even more importantly, they must possess extraordinary courage; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to bravely confront the oncoming zombies.

So Zhang Zhe was the one holding the Shield, while the other Shield was held by Li Xiaodong.

Gao Yuan and Ma Zihang each had a long knife, then Li Changfeng took up an axe.

Why must there be someone with a short weapon? Because when entering a house, the Shield bearer goes in first, followed closely by the axe-bearer. Only after these two have entered do the long knife wielders follow suit.

In fact, it is only in the moment of entering that the axe-bearer is necessary, but until a better method is found, this role of the short axe wielder will continue to exist.

Standing before a large, iron door, the five of them paused. Zhang Zhe took a deep breath, then raised his Shield. Li Xiaodong beside him lifted his Shield too, leaving a narrow gap between the two.

Li Changfeng reached through the gap in the Shields and pushed against the door.

The door opened, it wasn't locked.

The five immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

If the door had been locked, it could mean that zombies were trapped inside, rendering them a potential hazard upon entry. But with the door unlocked, the likelihood of zombies inside was much less.

Li Changfeng retracted his hand, and just as Zhang Zhe was about to push the door open fully with his Shield, a figure darted out from the gap.

Thankfully, Zhang Zhe's Shield was still in position, and luckily, Li Xiaodong hadn't lowered his Shield either.

A zombie squeezed through the opened gap in the door and slammed heavily into the center of the two Shields where Li Changfeng was standing.

Li Changfeng should have swung his axe without hesitation, but he was stunned and didn't even lift it.

Gao Yuan was standing a step behind Zhang Zhe, not too close to the others, for if they stood too densely packed, it would be inconvenient to wield their long knives.

The moment the dark shadow darted through the door, Gao Yuan had already raised his knife.

Zhang Zhe and Li Xiaodong held their Shields, and they had not relaxed entirely. Though the zombie had pushed through them, breaching the gap momentarily, that brief instant was enough.

"Duck!"

As Gao Yuan roared, his knife was already swinging down. Li Changfeng didn't duck because he heard the shout but because he instinctively tried to duck and run backward.

Li Changfeng's instinctive action created space for Gao Yuan's descending blade, saving himself and the entire group.

With a light squelch and blood splashing everywhere, Gao Yuan's knife cleaved off half the zombie's head, then continued down, striking Zhang Zhe's Shield with residual force.

Zhang Zhe didn't fall; he had only turned around from the impact of the zombie, which is why Gao Yuan's knife hit the Shield rather than his shoulder.

So, this was not a finely coordinated move; it was a mere blunder.

"Block it!"

Gao Yuan bellowed again, for another zombie was squeezing through the door gap.

The gap wasn't wide. Had the zombie known to stretch out an arm and pull, it could have come out with ease, but instead, it chose to force its way through.

The double doors could only be opened from the outside. With the zombie's shoulder pushing against one of the iron doors, its head protruded outwards, but its body got stuck.

Finally, the zombie burst through the iron gate with a side lunge. But by that time, Gao Yuan pushed past Li Changfeng and lifted his long knife, bringing it down hard again.

Gao Yuan aimed for the zombie's head, but since the zombie had squeezed through, his blade landed on its shoulder instead.

The blow didn't split the zombie apart, but Zhang Zhe, with his Shield in hand, charged forward violently.

The door opened when Zhang Zhe fell forward, pressing the zombie down, hitting the door on the way.

Gao Yuan's knife was drawn out, and there was a Shield between Zhang Zhe and the zombie. Then the zombie, with Shield and man, pushed Zhang Zhe aside.

Gao Yuan struck again with his knife, and this time he hit the neck.

With a spraying sound, blood went everywhere, and then the headless zombie fell again, landing on Zhang Zhe's Shield.

"Ah... Ah! Ah! Ah!"

Zhang Zhe roared hysterically as he rolled over and sat up. He kicked at the zombie and scooted backward while sitting on the ground.

Zhang Zhe panicked because he couldn't see.

"Don't move! Don't move! Get into formation quickly, the leader stands up, don't take off your goggles!"

Gao Yuan stepped forward and gave a kick to Zhang Zhe's buttocks, then he yelled, "Don't move! It's okay, don't panic!"

The Shield was still on Zhang Zhe's arm, making it difficult for him to move, and by this time, Gao Yuan and the others had already entered the corridor.

There were only two zombies, but it was uncertain if there were more inside, so the most urgent thing was to quickly reorganize their formation, rather than panic.

"I can't see!"

"Don't take off your goggles! Second unit, your turn! Second unit!"

Gao Yuan held his long knife and called for the second unit.

The second unit was supposed to quickly replace the first unit, as it was their tactical duty, yet of the five people in the second unit, only two stepped up.

Team leader Sun Wang with his Shield came forward, along with knife handler Tong Siming. But the other three members just stood there motionless.

Li Xiaodong immediately stood beside Sun Wang and shouted, "Goddamnit, have you all lost your minds? Get over here!"

The remaining three members of the second unit, as if waking from a dream, hurried forward to form a complete formation, while by that time, Gao Yuan had finally pulled Zhang Zhe to his feet.

"Second unit, advance! Search the interior!"

Sun Wang called out, and the second unit began pushing forward, but Gao Yuan pressed down on Zhang Zhe, saying, "Don't remove your goggles!"

Everyone wore goggles to prevent zombie blood from splashing into their eyes and also wore masks to prevent blood from entering their mouths because the virus carried by zombies had mutated again, making it much more infectious than the virus in the air.

The second unit went inside, quickly searched the room, and then Sun Wang ran back out, saying, "It's clear!"

"Don't move! Don't move..."

Zombie blood covered Zhang Zhe's face and head. Gao Yuan's knife and body were also splashed with a lot of blood, but not as badly as Zhang Zhe, who had been sprayed by the decapitated zombie.

Zhang Zhe had calmed down; he stood still and wiped his goggles. Then, he immediately roared at Li Changfeng, who was still foolishly standing there, "Have you gone stupid? Dammit! You almost got me killed!"

If Li Changfeng had been quick to act and not frozen in fear, he could have struck down the zombie with an axe when it burst out and squeezed past the Shield. But he didn't, and the whole team nearly perished.

If the zombie had gotten close, even if they had killed it, Gao Yuan and his team wouldn't have survived.

Don't forget, the zombies could not only bite people to death but also spread the virus; even a small bite was a death sentence.

This was their first actual combat situation, filled with psychological breakdowns, coordination failures, and myriad problems. It was utterly chaotic and dangerous.

So it was Gao Yuan who saved their entire team, perhaps even the entire squad, as given the state of the second unit, it was doubtful whether they could have defended themselves effectively if the zombies had gotten close.