46: The zombie horde's counterattack terrifies the night; swindlers perish in the power struggle.

Chapter 48: Zombie Tide Counterattacks the Night, Fake Official Dies Fighting for Power

The peace in Transition Zone No. 3 lasted only five short days.

That night, just as most of the lights in the settlement had been extinguished, a sudden chorus of chaotic roars erupted outside the walls. The Security Group survivors on night watch were scared out of their wits, scrambling to ring the alarm bell, its sharp ringing instantly piercing the night sky.

"The zombies are counterattacking!"

"There are so many of them! They're sneaking in through the gap in the eastern wall!"

Lin Zhou's tactical terminal suddenly lit up. As he threw on his clothes and stood up, the Company Grade Commanders' report had already been transmitted: "Commander! The eastern wall hasn't been repaired yet, and about two hundred zombies are rushing inside! The Machine Gunner squad is in position, and the Grenadiers are flanking!"

"Hold the gap at all costs, don't let the zombies break into the residential area!" Lin Zhou ordered in a deep voice, grabbing his tactical helmet and heading straight for the high ground.

In the darkness, chaos reigned beneath the eastern wall. Shadows of zombies roared as they lunged toward the gap. Riflemen fired from behind temporary cover, bullets splattering black blood upon impact, yet they could not stop the relentless momentum of the oncoming horde. At the critical moment, three tongues of fire suddenly ignited—30 Machine Gunners had seized the rooftops on both sides of the wall. The roar of heavy machine guns was deafening, and the dense barrage acted like a metal barrier, mowing down the zombies at the front in droves.

System Prompt: Killed ordinary zombie × 17, energy points +2040, resource points +680!

System Prompt: Killed ordinary zombie × 23, energy points +2760, resource points +920!

The zombies' charge was suppressed, yet they still surged forward without fear of death. Just then, 20 Grenadiers arrived with their grenade launchers and pulled their triggers at the rear of the zombie pack. Grenades trailed fire as they slammed down, and the shockwaves from the thunderous explosions sent zombies flying, scattering severed limbs everywhere.

System Prompt: Killed ordinary zombie × 31, energy points +3720, resource points +1240!

Amidst the gunfire and explosions, the survivors of the settlement did not scatter. Men who had been tilling fields during the day grabbed shovels and steel pipes and rushed out of their houses; workers from the Construction Group carried newly repaired reinforced concrete blocks and managed to build a temporary low wall at the gap.

"Hold this position! This is our home!" a sturdy man roared with bloodshot eyes, knocking over a zombie that had climbed onto the low wall with a single shovel strike.

When people work together, they can move mountains. The zombie group, which originally would have taken half an hour to clear, was completely annihilated in just fifteen minutes thanks to the coordination between the soldiers and the survivors. The zombie corpses piled up like mountains beneath the wall, and the numbers on the system panel finally settled: In this repelled counterattack, a total of 197 ordinary zombies were killed, energy points +23640, resource points +7880!

As the smoke gradually cleared, the survivors looked at the mess on the ground without the slightest fear; instead, they burst into rounds of cheering. Fighting side-by-side just now had transformed them from the protected into protectors, and their morale soared to its peak.

However, before the cheers could subside, a discordant sound of arguing drifted over.

Lin Zhou looked toward the sound and saw a group of new survivors gathered around the Red Alert Soldiers of the Security Group at the settlement entrance, making a scene. Leading them was a middle-aged man with a protruding belly, wearing a crumpled suit and slicked-back hair. With an arrogant expression on his face, he was none other than Wang Decai, the former Deputy Director of the Civil Affairs Bureau who had escaped from the old city district.

"I am the former Deputy Director of the Civil Affairs Bureau of the county!" Wang Decai shouted at the top of his lungs, spit flying everywhere, followed by several thugs with fierce looks in their eyes. "It's true that your Red Alert Base built this safe zone, but now that there are more survivors, there must be a formal management system! I propose that I form a 'Temporary Management Committee,' and military power must also be under my coordination. Only I can lead everyone to survive!"

The thugs behind him immediately chimed in noisily: "Director Wang is right! He was a high-ranking official before the apocalypse; following him is definitely the right choice!"

"Soldiers should just worry about fighting. Military power must be handed over, otherwise how can we have unified dispatching!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the survivors present all furrowed their brows. Who didn't know Wang Decai's background? Before the apocalypse, he embezzled relief funds and forcibly occupied civilian houses; his reputation was rotten to the core. Now, he actually wanted to use his official status to seize military power—it was simply a pipe dream.

Lin Zhou walked over with a cold face, his gaze sweeping over Wang Decai's petty, triumphant face without a hint of warmth in his eyes.

Seeing Lin Zhou wearing a uniform with the rank of Major, a flash of wariness appeared in Wang Decai's eyes, but he still stiffened his neck and blustered: "Officer, I'm not here to cause trouble. I'm thinking about the long-term development of the settlement. You saw the zombie counterattack just now; if there wasn't a unified command..."

"Unified command?" Lin Zhou sneered, interrupting him. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a bone-chilling coldness. "When the zombies were rushing in just now, where were you and your people hiding? Were you cowering behind a house trembling, or were you plotting how to steal things amidst the chaos?"

Wang Decai's face instantly turned the color of pig liver, and he stammered, unable to speak. Seeing things going south, one of the thugs behind him actually pulled out a rusty machete and lunged forward, shouting: "Enough talk! If you don't hand over military power, we'll make things ugly for you today!"

"You're looking for death!" The Company Commander nearby reacted extremely fast, shielding Lin Zhou behind him. He swung his rifle around, and the 'da-da-da' of gunfire was short and sharp.

The thug didn't even have time to scream before falling straight down. Wang Decai was scared out of his wits and turned to run, only to be kicked to the ground by Lin Zhou. He lay on the ground, crawling backward with hands and feet, his face full of terror: "Commander, have mercy! I was wrong! I won't do it again!"

"Military power is used to protect survivors, not as a tool for scum like you to lord over others." Lin Zhou looked down at him, his tone grim. "The settlement doesn't need parasites, and it certainly doesn't need 'official lords' who want to ride on other people's heads."

As his voice fell, Lin Zhou raised his hand, the muzzle of his tactical pistol aimed at Wang Decai's head.

Wang Decai's pupils shrank, and a desperate whimper escaped his throat. The surrounding survivors instantly fell silent. Some instinctively looked away, but not a single person spoke up to plead for him—Wang Decai's actions before the apocalypse had long since made them hate him to the bone.

Bang!

A single gunshot broke the silence of the night.

Wang Decai's body twitched twice and then went completely still. Those few thugs were scared pale, collapsing to the ground and crying out for mercy.

"Drag him away and dispose of him with the zombie corpses." Lin Zhou put away his pistol, his voice as calm as if he were talking about a trivial matter. He then looked at the thugs. "Since you were only blindly following him, I'll spare your lives. Your punishment is to go repair the walls. Work as laborers for three full months, then we will judge your merits and faults."

The thugs felt as if they had received a grand pardon, kowtowing like pounding garlic.

The surrounding survivors were silent at first, but then erupted into thunderous applause and cheers. That scene just now had completely shattered their fear of "official authority" and made them thoroughly convinced by Lin Zhou's iron-fisted methods.

As the night deepened, the lights of the settlement were relit. After this zombie tide counterattack and the power-struggle farce, the hearts of the survivors actually drew closer together. They understood that only by following the decisive Lin Zhou and the disciplined Red Alert Base could they truly survive with dignity in this apocalypse.