Apocalypse: Zombie Elimination Expert

The more Chen Tuo looked at Zhang Shanhai, the more pleasing he found him to the eye.

He's over 1.8 meters tall and has a strong physique. The key is that his muscles aren't just dead muscles, but active, athletic muscles, so there's no need to worry about his stamina or endurance.

Having been rock climbing for many years, he is also strong enough, and his overall physical fitness far exceeds that of ordinary people.

Around the age of thirty is the peak of a man's physical function.

In terms of personality, he is somewhat naive and straightforward, and has a strong sense of justice.

Such people are simple-minded; they may not be good people, but they are also unlikely to have any bad intentions.

The steel bar in his hand was stained with blood, indicating that he had already killed zombies on his own and had mentally adapted to the current situation...

Such a person would be an ideal companion in a post-apocalyptic world. If you could recruit them, it would greatly enhance the team's combat effectiveness and their confidence in dealing with zombies.

Of course, the main reason is his ability to act as a "living map," making him a rare talent in this day and age.

Chen Tuo was intrigued by the talent, but he didn't rush to invite him.

He knew that honest and straightforward people were often a bit stubborn, and trying to win them over without sufficient groundwork or a deep relationship would likely result in setbacks.

If the first attempt to win someone over fails, it's easy for them to develop a resistant attitude later on.

Unless you are familiar enough with him, and you have laid the groundwork before he speaks, it is a natural thing to do.

These things can't be rushed; we have to proceed step by step. He planned to start by talking about the terrain around Jiaxing...

"Old Zhang, is it okay if I call you that?"

Zhang Shanhai laughed, "Of course, no problem. You can call me whatever you like: Lao Zhang, Shanhai, Xiao Hai, or Brother Chen Tuo."

"Okay." Chen Tuo got straight to the point. "Old Zhang, you said you're familiar with the area around Jiaxing. If you had to choose a place you could stay for a long time—it could be in the mountains, a village, a hotel, or even a mountain resort or a farmhouse—it just needs to be somewhere not too far from Jiaxing city, sparsely populated, away from zombies, and with a water source. Based on your experience, where would you choose?"

Upon hearing this, the three people on the sofa all turned to look at him.

Shu Yao was a little nervous.

Li Wenwu seemed to be deep in thought, as if he had realized something.

Zhang Shanhai was taken aback, then began to ponder it seriously.

After a while...

"If I had to choose a place where I could stay for a long time, Xiaolu Mountain, which is located north of the highway, would be a good choice. The mountain is not very high, about three or four hundred meters. There is only one steep slope on the way up the mountain, and it would be difficult for the zombies to climb it given their mobility. There is also a stream at the foot of the mountain. The only downside is that it is a barren mountain, and you can probably only pitch a tent there."

"There's another Tiger Mountain to the west, which is much higher, almost a thousand meters high. The road up the mountain is better; it has man-made stone steps and a winding mountain road. There's a mountain spring on the mountain. It's about a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Jiaxing. There aren't many people around. There are also pavilions and corridors at the top of the mountain for escaping the summer heat. It's like a half-finished house; you can make do with it."

"If it's a village, then there are so many options, all kinds of rural and mountain villages, which meet your requirements, Brother Chen Tuo."

"As for resorts or farmhouses, most of them are relatively close to the surrounding areas of Jiaxing. I only know of two that are a bit further away and less populated, and they are both in villages..."

After listening, Chen Tuo fell into deep thought.

I hadn't heard of the mountain names Xiaolu Mountain and Tiger Mountain before, but they clearly didn't meet my expectations.

Three or four hundred meters is barely considered hilly; it's too low.

While the narrow mountain paths can greatly limit the number of zombies, they also increase the difficulty for our own people to go up and down the mountain.

The stream is still at the foot of the mountain, and obtaining water is quite difficult.

As for setting up a tent... it's okay for a short stay, but who can stand it for a long time?

Tiger Mountain is a relatively low mountain, its height is passable, the road to the top is also acceptable, and water can be obtained at the summit.

However, a two-and-a-half-hour drive is too far. If we want to go from Tiger Mountain to Jiaxing to search for supplies, it would take at least five hours to drive there and back, not counting the time that might be wasted along the way...

As for rural areas, mountain resorts, and farmhouses, apart from having ready-made houses to stay in, they are far inferior to those in the mountains in other aspects.

Chen Tuo was just asking casually; he would consider it if there were good options, but it didn't matter if there weren't.

But at least from Zhang Shanhai's words so far, I haven't seen any ideal options...

"What about Guangming Mountain? What do you think about using it as a long-term base?" Chen Tuo asked again.

Shu Yao's gaze also turned in that direction.

"Mount Da Guangming?"

Zhang Shanhai was taken aback. "I've thought about this place too, but to be honest, I don't think it's suitable, so I didn't mention it."

"Oh?" Chen Tuo said seriously, "Tell me more."

Zhang Shanhai sorted out his thoughts, "Guangming Mountain itself is quite nice. Because it is a tourist attraction, there are many existing man-made buildings on it, and they are also large in scale. However, the altitude is too high, exceeding three thousand meters."

"To call it a mountain would be an understatement; it's too high, too long, too wide, and too big!"

Chen Tuo knew this: Guangming Mountain was not just a single mountain, but included several side peaks, as well as countless low hills and mountains around it. Behind it was a forest reserve that stretched as far as the eye could see, which tourists could not enter at all.

Compared to most tourist mountain scenic spots, Guangming Mountain is indeed very large in scale...

Zhang Shanhai was still talking to himself.

"There are three routes to Guangming Mountain. One is an ancient mountain road. Although it has been reinforced and widened, it still takes at least ten hours for a normal person to climb up from the bottom of the mountain to reach the main peak. Apart from those who like mountain climbing and those who follow the trend online, almost no one is willing to take this route."

"The second route is a winding mountain road, which takes about an hour to drive from the foot of the mountain to the entrance of the scenic area at the top."

"The third option is the cable car, which is the fastest and most convenient. It only takes four or five minutes to get up from the foot of the mountain. The arrival point is the same as the mountain road, at the entrance of the scenic area at the top of the mountain. However, the problem is that with the power system failure, the cable car is now unusable. So if you want to go up the mountain, you either have to drive for more than an hour or walk for ten hours."

"That's not all. Huanghua Town at the foot of Guangming Mountain is a popular tourist destination. Although it's called a small town, it actually has several thousand residents year-round. How can there be few zombies there?"

"Let's go back to the mountain. Not to mention the Taoist temples and monasteries on the side peaks, there are at least a hundred scenic area staff and employees of various hotels and restaurants living on the main peak, not counting the tourists staying overnight. Just imagine how many zombies are lurking there?"

"If we want to get up there, just clearing out the zombies along the way will be enough to make things difficult..."

Zhang Shanhai's words were all reasonable, and before Chen Tuo could think about them, Shu Yao immediately spoke up to refute them.

"I don't think the time spent going up and down the mountain is a problem. As far as I know, although the cable car is electrically powered, Guangming Mountain is at a very high altitude, and the line often malfunctions. Repairing it takes too much time. So, in order to prevent such situations, the scenic area has specially equipped it with a dedicated generator. Even if there is a power outage, the cable car can still operate normally."

Zhang Shanhai was taken aback. "Oh? I didn't know that, but if what this lady said is true, then going up and down the mountain will indeed be much more convenient."

Shu Yao turned to look at Chen Tuo, her expression sincere, and said, "Although the time it takes to go up and down the mountain can be solved, what he said is also true. As a popular tourist attraction, Guangming Mountain will be crowded with people both on the mountain and in the town at its foot. Although Huanghua Town is two or three miles away from the entrance at the foot of the mountain, which can be easily bypassed, the zombies on the mountain are indeed a problem. If you ultimately decide not to go, I can understand..."

……