Doomsday Cognition Guide

The second day's cleanup proceeded clockwise, targeting adjacent areas of the petal-shaped city. This area was slightly smaller than yesterday's, with only three tunnel entrances needing to be sealed. Uncle Si led the supply team to seal all three tunnel entrances before the troops completed the street blockade, returning to the assembly point half an hour earlier than yesterday.

The clearing of each building went exceptionally smoothly. The zombie density was noticeably lower than yesterday; after clearing several buildings, the number of times a gun had to be fired could be counted on one hand. Old Ma carried his shield from the first floor to the sixth floor and back down, without even a new scratch on the shield. He slammed the shield on the ground: "Where have all these zombies gone today? At least yesterday I ran into a few decent ones, but today there isn't a single one I can even lift my shield against."

Xiao Zhou slung the gun back over his shoulder, unscrewed the water bottle, and took a swig. "Can't you relax a bit? That tyrant scared me half to death yesterday."

"If your heart can't take it, who was the guy who squatted on the roof of the car and fired a whole magazine yesterday?" Xiao Liu said with a laugh while adjusting his bandages.

"That's called an instinctive reaction."

"Alright, that's fear after the fight, not fear during the fight," Old Ma added, and everyone laughed.

Besides clearing out zombies, each squad was also responsible for searching for usable supplies. They found some useful items in the residential buildings in the area—several unopened bags of rice, half a can of food, a bundle of thick hemp rope, and two barrels of diesel fuel. Xiao Liu found a whole box of unopened medical alcohol and several rolls of gauze in a storage room in one of the buildings. He carried the box back to the armored vehicle, neatly stacked it in his medical kit, and beamed with joy.

By evening, all tasks were completed ahead of schedule. As the team wrapped up, the sun was still hanging on the ridgeline, its orange-red light spreading across the square and casting long shadows of the armored vehicles. Old Ma leaned his shield against the tire of an armored vehicle, blowing on his lunchbox to keep it warm: "This is what a human life is like. What a mess those past two days were, we couldn't even eat in peace."

"All you ever think about is eating," Xiao Zhou said, wiping his gun without even looking up.

"What's wrong with eating? You need to be full to have the strength to carry the shield. Try carrying the shield all day on an empty stomach, you won't even be able to straighten your back."

Xiao Liu used his first-aid kit as a pillow, lay down by the fire, and hummed a tune completely off-key. Xiao Zhou, after listening for a while, couldn't help but ask, "What the hell are you humming?" Xiao Liu opened one eye and retorted, "Mind your own business. You try it yourself!" Xiao Zhou actually cleared his throat and sang a couple of lines, even more outrageous than Xiao Liu's. Old Ma almost spat out his food laughing. The other squads of soldiers and police were also caught up in the fun, and low laughter could be heard from around the campfire from time to time. The atmosphere in the entire camp was much more relaxed than yesterday.

Li Xuan sat by the campfire, breaking a compressed biscuit in half, chewing one half slowly in his mouth, and resting the other half on his knees. He looked at the sealed tunnel entrances in the distance, the steel mesh gleaming with a dark golden light in the setting sun, quiet and still.

Fourth Uncle walked over and sat down next to him, placing the throwing knife sheath at his feet and examining each steel nail one by one. After wiping a few, he suddenly said, "This cleaning is getting easier every day. If this keeps up, we can finish work and go home the day after tomorrow."

Li Xuan didn't reply. He flipped the half-eaten compressed biscuit on his knee and continued chewing.

On the third day, the clearing operation continued clockwise. Only two tunnel entrances remained to be sealed, and the zombie density was lower than yesterday—not that there were no zombies, but they were significantly sparser. Yesterday, you might encounter a few zombies while clearing one building; today, you only encountered one after clearing two or three buildings, and the pace was much slower. However, a considerable amount of supplies were unearthed—cases of bottled water and instant noodles were piled up in the basements of several residential buildings, and several barrels of lubricating oil and half a box of batteries were found in the warehouse of a hardware store. The clerk in charge of supplies was so busy that his pen never stopped moving.

The atmosphere at the camp became even more lively. As the evening approached and the troops packed up, people were already playing cards around the campfire—the cards, worn smooth at the corners, were of unknown origin. Several young soldiers and policemen formed a circle, the onlookers even more excited than the players, occasionally bursting into shouts. Old Ma, carrying his lunchbox, watched from the sidelines, commenting as he ate: "Your card playing is as terrible as your shooting." The one being criticized turned around and glared at him: "If you're so good, you try it." Old Ma actually put down his lunchbox and joined in, losing all three rounds. When he was finally kicked off, the laughter and curses nearly lifted the tent off its roof. In the square, people were constantly calling out lists of supplies—the sounds of bargaining rose and fell, as bustling as a pre-apocalyptic market. Some said that at this pace, they could finish work the day after tomorrow, and then head back to their county for a few more days of rest.

Li Xuan squatted at the edge of the square, drawing circles on the ground with a twig. Circle after circle nested together, he listened to the laughter and commotion behind him, the twig digging deeper and deeper into the soil. His fourth uncle walked over at some point, stood beside him, stared at the circles on the ground, and remained silent for a long while.

"What are you thinking about?"

Li Xuan didn't answer. He threw the branch into the campfire, stood up, and dusted his hands off. "It's nothing."

Before the fourth day of cleanup, Lieutenant Colonel Han readjusted the deployment. The number of personnel controlling the tunnel entrance and the perimeter of the streets were increased, and a reserve team was formed by drawing personnel from various squads to remain on standby in the square. The machine gunners were suspended from their rotation and rest periods and remained on alert throughout the operation.

There were fewer zombies today than yesterday; after clearing the entire area, they encountered only a handful. After each team finished clearing their assigned areas, they had an extra half afternoon for a second round of searching—Colonel Han ordered every building that had already been cleared to be searched thoroughly, with a focus on underground parking garages and shop storage rooms. The result was nothing. No hidden hordes of zombies, no signs of mutant activity, not even any residual body temperature from zombies could be detected.

It was still light when they packed up. Someone muttered, "This is the fourth day already. Apart from encountering a Tyrant on the first day, we haven't seen a single zombie in the last three days." The person next to him chimed in, "Have all the zombies been cleared out?" His tone was tinged with obvious anticipation.

Li Xuan walked past them without a word. He returned to his spot by the square, squatted down again, and drew circles on the ground with a twig. This time, he drew larger and denser circles than yesterday, layer upon layer, like some kind of vortex. He stared at the circles for a long time, his mind replaying every detail of the past few days—the first day saw the highest zombie density, encountering the Tyrant; the second day saw a significant decrease, with zombies beginning to retreat; the third day saw a sharp drop in density; the fourth day saw the entire area almost emptied. Zombies have no intelligence, only instinct; they won't voluntarily leave before an area is cleared. They won't disappear collectively. Unless something is thinking for them.

A name surfaced from the depths of my memory.

Zombie King. In another timeline, three years after the apocalypse, this was the name given to psychic mutant zombies. They don't rely on supernatural abilities or physical strength, but on mind control. A Zombie King's domain can cover an entire city; it can sense the distribution of zombie hordes, determine where the threat lies and where it's safe, and evacuate the zombies before humans can launch a large-scale cleanup. It can learn human behavior patterns. It possesses a certain degree of intelligence.

Li Xuan stared at the circles on the ground for a long time, then threw the branch into the campfire and walked over to his fourth uncle. His fourth uncle was squatting next to the armored vehicle, using his supernatural ability to hold up a steel nail and slowly rotate it in his palm. When he saw Li Xuan coming over, he flicked his finger, and the steel nail fell back into his palm.

"Please help me find Lieutenant Colonel Han."

Han Zhongxiao was discussing a map with several staff officers in the command tent. When Fourth Uncle lifted the curtain and went in, she had just drawn a circle on a street with a red pen. When she saw Li Xuan following Fourth Uncle in, the pen tip paused for a moment.

"Lieutenant Colonel Han, there's something I need to report to you."

He didn't mention the other timeline, the Zombie King, or any information whose origin he couldn't explain. He only said that during the previous zombie clearing operations with the county's search and rescue team, they had discovered a phenomenon—one zombie could command other zombies, and the zombies around it would retreat in an organized manner, flank, or concentrate their attacks in a certain direction. He judged that there might be something similar here, and it was quite intelligent.

"The number of zombies has been decreasing these past few days, not because of low density, but because someone is removing them." Li Xuan pointed to the area cleared on the first day on the map. "The first day had the highest zombie density because we encountered the Tyrant—that was the vanguard at the forefront, used to probe the enemy. The density dropped on the second day, and the zombies began to retreat. On the third day, there were almost no zombies left, and on the fourth day, only a few were left. If they were just ordinary zombies, they would be scattered throughout the city, not disappearing in such a concentrated manner."

Lieutenant Colonel Han placed his pen on the map. "What do you mean?"

"Something is controlling them. It can sense our movements and can move the zombies to hide in places we haven't cleared yet."

A few seconds of silence fell over the tent. A young staff officer subconsciously twirled the pen in his hand, while an older staff officer took off his hat, revealing deeper wrinkles on his forehead under the lamplight.

Lieutenant Colonel Han was silent for a few seconds, then nodded. "I've noted down what you said. Go back and rest, and wait for my notification."

She didn't make any decision on the spot. Li Xuan didn't say anything more either, and turned to walk out of the tent.

After he left, the curtain of the command tent was drawn back shut. A few minutes later, all the staff members were present, and the lights inside the tent stayed on until late at night. A meeting was taking place inside—the hushed arguments could be faintly heard outside the tent, sometimes quieting down, sometimes several voices rising at once, occasionally someone raising their voice, only to quickly fall silent again. Li Xuan sat by the campfire in the distance, the same compressed biscuit in his hand, having taken a bite and then left it untouched. He didn't approach the tent, nor did he try to listen to what was being said inside. He knew what they were doing—they needed time to process this information, to verify his judgment using the terrain, troop strength, and zombie distribution data they possessed.

About two hours later, a communications soldier lifted the tent flap and ran out, walking straight up to Li Xuan.

"Comrade Li Xuan, Lieutenant Colonel Han requests your presence."

Inside the tent, the map had been laid out again. Several staff officers were gathered around the table; some were filling several pages of notebooks with notes, while others had remarked the locations of several tunnel entrances. Lieutenant Colonel Han stood beside the map, looking up at him.

"We discussed the special mutant you mentioned," she said bluntly. "Based on the data from these four days of clearing, the zombie density curve does indeed deviate from the norm. The density was highest on the first day, dropped significantly on the second, plummeted on the third, and was almost completely wiped out on the fourth—this is not normal. If the zombies were merely reacting passively, they should be scattered throughout the city, not disappearing in a concentrated manner. Someone is controlling them—we agree with your assessment."

She paused, tracing an arc with her finger on the map. "The question now is: where is it?"

Li Xuan glanced at the marked locations on the map and pointed eastward towards the county town. "Here. The access roads to the city—highways, railways, and high-speed rail stations—are several long tunnels crisscrossing inside the mountains, with enormous internal spaces that can easily accommodate a large number of zombies."

"The tunnel is indeed the best option." The old staff officer stood up and drew a circle below the town on the map with the tip of his pen. "But I have something to add. This county is surrounded by mountains, and the drainage pressure is extremely high. When it was built, the sewer system was designed to be exceptionally large and arranged in several layers. The deepest layer is a flood discharge culvert with wide, interconnected passages that run through the entire town. If it's below, it can allow the horde of corpses to emerge from any of the manhole covers, and it can also help us determine our location by the sound of the flowing water before the cleanup team gets close."

Lieutenant Colonel Han pointed to the riverside of the old town. "There's an abandoned pumping station by the river, which is the lowest point of the sewer system. If it's down there, that's the only entrance and exit."

"Both possibilities exist." Lieutenant Colonel Han straightened up and placed the red pen on the map. "The tunnel complex and the sewer system intersect at several points—if it's in the tunnels, zombies can also be moved through the sewers. We must consider both directions when formulating a plan."

She looked at Li Xuan. "Comrade Li Xuan, thank you for your judgment. We will handle the rest."

Li Xuan nodded and turned to walk out of the tent. He stopped abruptly at the door curtain and turned his head to the side.

"There's one more thing," he said, his voice low but clearly audible to everyone in the tent. "We must do everything in our power to keep that zombie king. If it escapes and gathers more zombies elsewhere, all the surrounding settlements will be threatened."

The faces of everyone present darkened. Lieutenant Colonel Han's fingers tightened slightly as she gripped the red pen, and after a moment, she nodded.

The sounds of discussion returned to the tent, more intense and lower than before, continuing until late into the night. It was no longer a debate about the plan, but about how to arrange the troops to ensure that not a single one escaped.