Doomsday Cognition Guide

The next morning, before dawn, the square in front of the station was already full of people.

Li Xuan glanced around the ranks and roughly estimated the number of people. There were over two thousand people participating in the cleanup operation, at least a thousand of whom were regular troops—uniformed, well-equipped, with armored vehicles lined up at the back of the column, and heavy machine guns gleaming coldly in the morning mist. The other thousand or so, judging from their clothing, were likely military and police personnel drawn from various counties and cities. Each group maintained their original squad structure, without being dispersed or disrupted. This arrangement was correct; teammates who had trained and fought together didn't need a break-in period to coordinate.

But as Li Xuan's gaze swept over the armored vehicles, his heart sank. This equipment configuration had resulted in the deaths of thousands on another timeline. He had initially thought that operation might have been primarily composed of light infantry, lacking heavy equipment support, but now it seemed the danger was likely greater than he had anticipated.

At the front of the group, a woman in military uniform walked onto the makeshift platform. She was in her thirties, and the lieutenant colonel's rank on her shoulder gleamed coldly in the morning light. She didn't carry a folder, nor did she engage in any pleasantries; she went straight to the point.

"I am the tactical commander for this cleanup operation, my surname is Han. Today's mission is divided into two phases. In the first phase, the troops will use armored vehicles to clear the way and block off the entire street grid of the target area, cutting off the zombies' movement. In the second phase, each county's squad will clear the buildings one by one, ensuring the safety of the interior of each building. Before the blockade is completed, no squad is allowed to enter any building without authorization. Do you understand?"

"Listen carefully!" came the unified response from the square.

Then came the task assignments. Lieutenant Colonel Han's finger quickly tapped across the map, reporting the location of every tunnel entrance, the number of every street, and the area of ​​responsibility for each squad cleanly and without hesitation. Li Xuan's squad was assigned the task of sealing off the fifth tunnel entrance—cutting off the zombie flow between the old and new cities.

Fourth Uncle, who was standing next to Li Xuan, suddenly raised his hand upon hearing this.

"Report."

Lieutenant Colonel Han looked up at him.

"I can seal off the tunnel entrance by myself. I don't need many people."

Several squads around him turned to look at him. Lieutenant Colonel Han frowned slightly, about to say something, when his fourth uncle turned around and stretched out his right hand toward the bundle of steel bars piled up next to the podium.

No one saw what he did. He merely raised his finger slightly, and the bundle of steel bars seemed to be lifted by an invisible hand—more than a dozen three-meter-long steel bars simultaneously floated in the air, automatically unfolding and intersecting to form a uniform grid, the spacing between each bar as precise as if measured with a ruler. Then the net silently hovered above everyone's heads, casting neat shadows in the morning light.

The square fell silent for a moment.

Lieutenant Colonel Han's gaze lingered on the suspended steel mesh for a few seconds before turning to his fourth uncle. "Are you a metal manipulator?"

"Metal control." Uncle Si withdrew his finger, and the steel mesh gently fell back to the ground without making any clanging sound. "As long as it's metal, within a range of two or three meters, I can make it move however I want. For sealing the tunnel entrance, I can weld the steel bars directly into the rock wall, which is much faster and much stronger than building it manually."

Lieutenant Colonel Han did not answer immediately. She looked down at the map, then looked up at her fourth uncle, and then whispered a few words to the staff officers beside her. After a moment, she turned back to the podium.

"The plan has been adjusted. Comrade Li Lei will lead the supplies team to prioritize sealing off the key tunnel entrances within the target area. Each team will allocate personnel to assist, and after the sealing is completed, a small group will remain to guard the site. Then, all personnel will organize a unified cleanup."

The operation officially began at dawn.

Li Xuan's squad set off first, supported by two other squads. Armored vehicles led the way, followed by a truck loaded with steel bars. Uncle Si spent the better part of an hour sifting through the truck bed, picking out all the usable steel bars of varying lengths—the longer ones for the main grid structure, the shorter ones for auxiliary reinforcement. The truck stopped at the tunnel entrance, and Uncle Si jumped off. He raised his right hand, and the steel bars in the truck bed floated up one by one, lining up in rows before him like soldiers awaiting inspection.

He pushed his finger forward, and the thickest steel bars flew into the tunnel entrance first, their ends aligned with the rock wall, embedding themselves firmly. Debris from the rock wall cascaded down, and the sound of the steel bars embedding themselves echoed through the tunnel, like a knife piercing the stone's skeleton. Then came the horizontal bars, one by one crisscrossing through the gaps between the vertical bars, forming a uniform grid at the entrance.

"Wait a minute." Li Xuan walked to his fourth uncle's side and pointed to a spot about ten meters ahead of the tunnel entrance. "Add another layer in front of the steel mesh."

"Add what?"

"Spiral spikes. Use the short ones." Li Xuan pointed to the pile of short steel bars less than two meters long on the ground. "Make them grow diagonally from the tunnel wall, varying in length, forming a spiral corridor. When zombies rush in, they'll be pierced by the spikes and hung on them. The ones behind will push the corpses in front of them and keep rushing forward, only to be caught by the next spike. Layer by layer, the impact will be much less when it reaches the steel mesh."

Uncle Si thought for a moment, then raised both hands simultaneously. One by one, short steel bars flew into the tunnel, piercing diagonally from the rock wall, their tips pointing outwards, forming a spiral passage. Looking into the tunnel from the entrance, it resembled a throat studded with metal fangs. The angle of each spike was slightly different—Uncle Si didn't use a ruler to adjust the angles, relying entirely on feel, but his perception of metal was more precise than any measuring tool. The distance between the spikes was just enough for a zombie to rush in, but upon entering, it would be pierced by at least two spikes simultaneously.

"That's enough," Li Xuan said.

Uncle Si withdrew his hands and clapped off the metal shavings. "Next tunnel."

And so, before the main force began blocking the streets, they sealed off six tunnel entrances in succession. Each tunnel entrance was treated to the same specifications—a steel mesh stretched on the outside, and spiral spikes installed inside. For some of the narrower tunnel entrances, Uncle Si welded the steel bars deep into the rock walls, making them even stronger than concrete. Old Ma, carrying his shield, watched the whole way, completely numb from the initial stunned silence of the first tunnel to the final one. He only muttered as Uncle Si finished work, "With your superpower, you're truly born for engineering."

Fourth Uncle smiled but didn't reply.

After completing the blockade mission, the team did not return to the assembly point, but instead joined the floor-by-floor clearing of the residential buildings according to the unified command.

Li Xuan pushed open the security door of the first building, with Xiao Zhou following behind carrying a gun, Lao Ma leading the way with a shield, and Xiao Liu bringing up the rear. The stairwell was dimly lit, filled with a musty smell and the stench of dried blood. Two zombie corpses lay at the corner of the stairs, their heads riddled with bullet holes left by the troops during a previous street clearing operation.

They cleared the zombies floor by floor. The zombies they cleared were indeed stronger than those they had encountered in the county—faster, with denser muscle tissue, and their bones were so hard that they took several heavy hits from Old Ma's shield. But they were only stronger. They posed no real threat to them. These men had fought zombie hordes together, encountered mutated bulls, and gone through one-on-one battles at the stairwell entrance; their teamwork required no words—Old Ma held the shield in front, Xiao Zhou provided follow-up shots, Xiao Liu provided support, Uncle Si blocked the retreat, and Li Xuan dealt with the most troublesome ones at the front. Uncle Si's throwing knives had an unexpected effect in the narrow space of the stairwell—steel nails silently grazed the corner of the stairs and pierced the eye sockets of zombies; before the zombies behind could react, a second nail had already arrived.

Throughout the entire building cleanup, Li Xuan only fired his short gun a few times.

Then came the second building, and the third. After clearing each building, Li Xuan would stop and stand by the window at the entrance of the building, looking out. The streets were deserted, with military armored vehicles quietly positioned at the intersections, machine gunners lying on their roofs on guard. In the distance, the dome of the high-speed rail station reflected a hazy light in the afternoon sun. Everything seemed normal. There was no large-scale zombie horde, no unusual activity, and even the howls of zombies were rarely heard. He observed for a long time but found nothing amiss. But it was precisely this tranquility that made his heart grow heavier and heavier. No problem—that was the biggest problem.

By evening, the cleanup was nearing completion, with most of the work finished. Each team began counting ammunition and regrouping. Occasionally, a few sporadic gunshots could still be heard on the streets, from the last few buildings still under clearing. Li Xuan stood at the intersection, his gaze fixed on the teams still working around him, his pistol still stained with blood. His fourth uncle tightened his throwing knife holster, Old Ma leaned against his shield, catching his breath, and Xiao Zhou gulped down some water. The cleanup wasn't officially over yet; everyone remained on alert—as long as even one building remained, the day wasn't finished.

Just then, a loud bang came from the end of the street.

An armored vehicle parked at the intersection suddenly jolted, leaving a huge dent in its side. Then a second jolt—a zombie burst out from behind the armored vehicle.

The moment Li Xuan's gaze fell upon the zombie, his pupils constricted sharply.

It was at least a size larger than a normal zombie, with broad shoulders and a thick back. Its muscles were knotted together on its bones like old tree roots, and its eyes were a dark red, like two pieces of iron that had cooled halfway after being heated to a high temperature. Every step it took on the ground made a heavy, dull thud, like someone was pounding concrete with a sledgehammer.

tyrant.

He didn't name it himself. In another timeline, people gave this name to these physically enhanced mutant zombies. They had amplified primal strength to the extreme. Their muscle density was ten times that of ordinary zombies, their bones were as hard as steel, and their explosive sprint speed could match that of a moving vehicle. In the early days of the apocalypse, these physically enhanced mutant zombies were more troublesome than those with superpowers. Superpowered zombies had a variety of abilities, but most required specific conditions to unleash their power—their attack power was limited. But the Tyrant needed no conditions; it had only one ability: rampage. There were no fancy tricks, just pure strength and speed. You hit it, it can withstand the attack; it charges at you, you can't withstand the charge. Before humanity had developed a countermeasure, a single Tyrant could destroy an entire squad's defenses.

The Tyrant landed without hesitation and charged straight at the nearest armored vehicle. The machine gunner on the roof opened fire immediately, bullets hitting it and splattering a dark mist of blood, but it only swayed slightly before continuing its charge. Its speed was unbelievable for a creature of its size—from a standstill to a sprint, there was almost no acceleration, like an iron ball launched by a slingshot.

It rammed into the side of the armored vehicle, its shoulder striking it hard—the vehicle shook violently, and the soldiers inside were thrown from their seats. The second impact—a deeper dent appeared in the side of the armored vehicle. The third impact—the vehicle tilted sharply, one tire lifting half a foot off the ground before slamming back down. The people inside were thrown about, some clutching their helmets, others gripping the handrails.

A dozen guns opened fire simultaneously. The tyrant's body trembled violently from the barrage of bullets, but it didn't stop. After its third ramming, it rammed a fourth, and then, as it charged for its fifth, a bullet finally shattered its spine, causing it to crash to its knees. Its massive body slumped beside the armored vehicle, its muscles still twitching slightly, dark blood slowly seeping into the cracks in the concrete.

Several seconds of silence followed. Then some people began to curse under their breath, while others went to check on the wounded near the armored vehicle. Those pulled from the vehicle all bore varying degrees of external injuries—some had suffered concussions from the impact, others had cuts on their arms from flying debris. None were life-threatening, but everyone was in pain, wincing in agony.

Li Xuan stood a short distance away, not approaching. He looked at the Tyrant's corpse lying on the ground, his brows slowly furrowing. The Tyrant's impact was indeed astonishing, but as long as the firepower was sufficient, the formation remained intact, and the reaction speed was fast enough, it wasn't invincible. Although the zombie density was high today, it hadn't formed a large-scale horde. The process of sealing off the tunnel entrances went smoothly; all six tunnel entrances were sealed off, and the barbed wire remained intact. The only few seconds that brought them close to danger were when the Tyrant nearly overturned the armored vehicle—but it was only a near miss. Ultimately, no one was killed, and the wounded only sustained minor injuries.

With such equipment, such firepower density, and such tactical organization, if this was the only level of threat, how could thousands have been sacrificed in the previous life?

There must be something he hasn't encountered yet.

In the square, the cooks had already brought out the food. Steam rose in the night, and some people squatted by the fire, eating while blowing on their lunchboxes. Old Ma leaned his shield against the armored vehicle's tires, Xiao Zhou was wiping his gun barrel, and Xiao Liu squatted beside him, arranging bandages and hemostatic medicine. Uncle Si unsheathed his throwing knife and placed it at his feet, taking out each of the twelve steel nails one by one to check them. Then, using his supernatural ability, he lifted one up and slowly rotated it in his palm, controlling the speed and angle. Several military and police personnel from other counties passing by couldn't help but glance at him a few more times. One of them asked in a low voice, "Is that the person who sealed off the tunnel today?" The person next to him nodded, and his expression changed from curiosity to respect.

Li Xuan sat by the campfire, a compressed biscuit clutched in his hand, chewing slowly without speaking. He was thinking about every detail of the day—the zombie density, the number of Tyrants, the tunnel entrance sealing, the troop's firepower deployment. All the data went through his mind, and he concluded that the threat he encountered today was far from enough to explain the sacrifice of thousands in his previous life. Either the more dangerous mutated zombies hadn't appeared yet, or this operation had been brought forward by six months, and certain things that should have happened hadn't yet occurred. But he leaned more towards the former possibility—the real danger was yet to come, and today was just an appetizer.

Lieutenant Colonel Han walked over from the campfire, carrying several reports on casualties and ammunition consumption submitted by each squad. She paused when she reached her fourth uncle, glancing down at the throwing knife in his hand.

"Comrade Li Lei, you've worked hard today. Your team sealed off the tunnel entrance almost twice as fast as expected, buying the main force a lot of time."

She spoke in a very formal tone, but her gaze lingered on her fourth uncle's face for a moment longer—not in a businesslike glance, but with obvious appreciation.

"It's my duty." Fourth Uncle stood up, put the throwing knife back into its sheath, and said, "After all, you have to take on as much responsibility as you have the ability to do."

"You served in the military before?"

"Um"

Upon receiving an accurate reply from his fourth uncle, Colonel Han's eyes showed even greater appreciation. He smiled slightly and then turned to continue walking towards the command tent.

Li Xuan nudged his fourth uncle with his shoulder.

"What are you looking at?" Fourth Uncle coughed twice and re-tied the throwing knife sheath back to his waist. The firelight reflected on his face, making his face, which had been stained with iron ash for months without being washed clean, seem a little redder than usual. "Don't think nonsense."

"I didn't say anything." Li Xuan looked away, wrapped up the remaining half of the compressed biscuit in his hand, and stuffed it into his pocket.

Night fell over the mountain ridge, and the searchlights of the high-speed rail station came on. In the distance, towards the tunnel entrance, the steel mesh sealing off the tunnel gleamed coldly under the lights, its sharp spikes protruding diagonally from the rock face like a row of silent fangs. The bonfire in the square was still burning, and someone was humming a soft song, the tune faltering in the night breeze. Everything seemed perfect. But he knew that some things were yet to begin.