Zhang Xiaoqiang did not reply and shook his head. What he wanted was a large ship, or at least a ship that was over ten thousand tons in size. Such a ship was not available in a small city, so he had to go to a big city to find one. He did not want to reveal his ultimate goal of finding a ship, as there were too many things involved, and he had to complete it step by step.
The fleet slowly entered the 90 km long harbor. Zhang Xiaoqiang sat on the deck and looked at both sides of the river. As they neared the shore, he realized that zombies were a rare sight. Other than the occasional zombies hiding in the shadows, the large open space was filled with traces of large fish coming ashore.
Most of the buildings here had been destroyed. Between the broken bricks and tiles, all sorts of daily necessities were displayed. Occasionally, there would be piles of bones scattered everywhere. If one did not look carefully, it would be easy to miss them. Large tracts of farmland were barren, and within the barren fields, there was not a single trace of green.
The hull of the ship sailed in the harbor, and from time to time, they would come across a bridge in the middle of the river. The fleet passed under the bridge, and the buildings along the way became fewer and fewer, but the number of zombies gradually increased. The roar of the ship's engine could be heard in the quiet environment of the post-apocalyptic world.
Many wandering zombies were gradually attracted over. Facing these zombies, some of the civilian soldiers were nervous, holding onto their rifles tightly. On the other hand, the veterans and the experienced civilian soldiers did not care much, as the heavy firepower of the fleet was not to be trifled with.
As for the zombies that were staggering over, Zhang Xiaoqiang did not pay much attention to them. These zombies were not worth his precious ammunition. As the ship moved further away, the sound of dumplings being thrown could be heard from the back of the fleet. One by one, the zombies jumped out of the river and floated in the water.
In the end, more and more zombies jumped into the river. The depth of the river was different. Some zombies were standing in the water, while others were swallowed by the water. Maybe it was because this place had not been visited by large fish before, but more and more zombies gathered like ants. Seeing so many zombies, some of the people became even more frightened. Even some of the veterans became nervous, and nervously checked their ammunition and equipment.
Zhang Xiaoqiang unloaded the Type-81 Rifle on his back, and pulled the bolt open as he looked around vigilantly. Their sharp eyes scanned both sides of the river, not to guard against ordinary zombies, but to guard against the S2 zombies that could jump.
Maybe it was because of the poor environment, Zhang Xiaoqiang saw a lot of evolved zombies, but not many type 2 zombies. Even so, Zhang Xiaoqiang did not dare to be careless, and ordered his subordinates to be on full alert.
After staying on the wide lake for a long time, many people were not used to walking on the narrow river. Their eyes kept glancing at the zombies on the shore.
Time slowly passed. After three hours, no one in the entire fleet spoke. The air seemed to be even more oppressive. There was only the slight roar of the ship's engine, the subtle splashing sound of the bottom of the ship pushing the water away from the shore, and the sound of the zombies rolling into the river.
In this oppressive atmosphere, Zhang Xiaoqiang could not take it anymore. Even he could feel the oppressive mood gnawing at his soul. Needless to say, his subordinates did not have the same mental fortitude as him. If he did not think of a solution, their high morale would have been completely wiped out by the time they reached the mouth of the river.
Zhang Xiaoqiang stood on the front deck and looked around. His gaze swept to a small pier at the bend of the river. There was a small building area at the pier. There were not many buildings, only about three to five. Other than a three story building, the other buildings were like warehouses, neatly arranged behind the small building.
There were only seven or eight zombies there. Zhang Xiaoqiang decided to stop and rest here. After eating lunch, he signaled the fleet to approach the pier. Just as the ships approached, Huang Quan rushed forward. When Zhang Xiaoqiang stepped onto the wooden pier, he heard a few muffled gunshots, and seven or eight zombies fell to the ground, unable to move.
Later, other ships also docked at the pier. The noise of hundreds of people disembarking made the small pier livelier. On the shore, Zhang Xiaoqiang found out that it was a little past 11 o 'clock. After eating lunch and resting, they would be able to set off at 12 o' clock sharp.
The feeling of sitting on the ship was different from standing on the shore. At first, the militia felt fresh on the ship, but after a long time, they felt depressed. Moreover, there were zombies jumping into the river on both sides. They did not feel safe in the middle of the river. If something happened, they had no other choice but to jump into the river. However, when they got on the shore, they regained their confidence and started to talk and laugh.
Yang Ke-er and the others also followed Zhang Xiaoqiang to the shore. They stretched their arms and legs and moved their bodies. Shanghai Qiaoyun lazily stood beside Zhang Xiaoqiang and looked at the distant houses. Yuan Yi carried a big bag and prepared lunch for them.
Then they heard a few sounds of breaking doors. One door after another was smashed open. The team members held their shields and rushed in according to a fixed routine to clear the possible zombies. Not long after, one by one, the team members rushed out while covering their noses.
Following that, a pungent smell wafted out from the warehouse, causing the people around to move out of the way. However, one of the team members seemed to enjoy the smell, as he lowered his head and rushed in. After a while, he came out with something white, and presented it to Zhang Xiao Qiang.
The women around Zhang Xiaoqiang couldn't stand it and moved away. Zhang Xiaoqiang resisted the urge to cover his nose and frowned at the excited Uncle Yun.
"Zhang Xiaoqiang … all … all … all good stuff. In the future, we can rely on this to grow vegetables …"
When Uncle Yun handed the salt-like thing to Zhang Xiaoqiang, Zhang Xiaoqiang suddenly remembered where he smelled this thing before.
"This is fertilizer?"
Zhang Xiaoqiang remembered smelling it in his grandmother's house when he was a child. It was packed in a big bag and placed in a dark corner.
"This is carbamide … also known as nitrogenous fertilizer …"
After Zhang Xiaoqiang heard this, he expressionlessly turned around and stayed far away from Uncle Yun. This thing was useful, but Zhang Xiaoqiang couldn't use it for the time being. All the vegetable fields in the camp were made with human fertilizer. Humans would pee, so why would they need this synthetic carbamide?
Zhang Xiaoqiang asked Huang Quan to make a mark on the map. Once the shipping route was cleared, the base would come and unload it. He and his team members hid in the woods and ate lunch.
After lunch, the team members took a short break. Zhang Xiaoqiang stared at the map in front of him and frowned. From the map, the shipyard was located in the center of the city. It was the most populated area. It would be very difficult to attack the shipyard. Moreover, there were many workers in the shipyard and the terrain was complex. It would be impossible to deal with tens of thousands of zombies in a short time. Once the battle dragged on, more zombies would swarm over and cause more obstacles to the operation.
By noon, the team members had recovered their morale. They were no longer as depressed as before, sitting on the boat and pointing at the zombies on the shore, commenting on something. Zhang Xiao Qiang sat on the front deck next to the anti-aircraft machine gun, holding a parasol by his side. He squinted his eyes and leaned against the back of the chair, enjoying the river breeze ….
When the exit of the Yangtze River appeared in front of everyone, many people let out a long sigh of relief. It was the end of October. The hot summer weather could kill people. There was no shelter on the transport ship. The team members and the militia could only suffer under the scorching sun. They didn't even have the mood to worry about the zombies.
The only way to relieve the heat was to throw a bucket into the river and fill it with water. There were only a few wooden buckets for hundreds of people. In the hours after lunch, Zhang Xiaoqiang found the exit by listening to the sound of water behind him.
Seeing the exit, Zhang Xiao Qiang heaved a sigh of relief. Now that he was on the river, the river was wide and not as stuffy as here. At least there was a slight breeze. At the same time, Zhang Xiao Qiang knew that the search for a boat had officially begun.