Chapter 1427: Chapter 834: Assessment of Losses and Reconstruction

Big Camphor Tree Base.

Inner City.

Mountain Pond.

With a head emerging, a pair of hands followed.

Slowly, everyone could see what it was.

It was a zombie.

Roar!

The zombie roared at the surroundings in the muddy mire.

As it opened its mouth, the mud trickled from its head into its mouth.

Thus, the roar carried a greasy bubbling sound.

Dapao was just about to raise his gun to shoot the zombie when Third Uncle hurriedly stopped him.

"It’s too late. If you fire, the whole base will wake up," Third Uncle said calmly.

Then he took out a crossbow and shot at the zombie.

Whoosh!

A sharp whistling sound pierced through the air.

It went straight for the zombie’s head.

Thud!

The arrow pierced through the zombie’s forehead and flew out the back of its head.

Plop!

The zombie instantly lost its strength, its head twitching while its upper body stood there.

Perhaps supported by the mud below, the zombie didn’t fall, its lower body likely still in the mire.

The Mountain Pond is very deep; they had been pumping water for half an hour to reach the lowest water level.

Now, for the first time, the Mountain Pond is completely without water.

But the deeper they went, the looser the soil became, and the mud’s viscosity increased.

Everyone could only lay down fallen trees on the shore in the mud to prevent sinking.

"Dad, there’s a lot of sludge underneath, but who knows if there are more zombies inside. What do we do now?" Li Tie asked hesitantly.

Third Uncle frowned and then said, "The sludge is hard to clean up anyway. Now that there’s no groundwater, we might as well light a fire below, dry the moist soil, and bring in a digger tomorrow to dig in the mud."

"Alright, I’ll go get some wood."

After a typhoon, many trees in the mountains and forests were destroyed.

These trees had been soaked for days, and some were already moldy, so burning them now wouldn’t waste them.

So Dapao, along with Li Tie and Song Min’s people, began collecting scattered wood and branches around the mountains and forests.

Very soon.

Half an hour later, the bottom of the Mountain Pond was covered with rotten branches and wood.

The wood was still damp, making it hard to ignite.

So Third Uncle sprinkled some gasoline in the middle, then took out a pack of cigarettes and a box of matches from his pocket.

He lit a cigarette and then tossed the lit match precisely onto the damp wood soaked in gasoline below.

Boom!

The gasoline ignited instantly, quickly setting the damp wood ablaze.

Due to the dense moisture, the ditch filled with thick white mist.

The mist was suffocating.

So Third Uncle and the others moved to the shore as the fire burned.

Minute by minute passed.

The sludge at the bottom of the ditch evaporated and cracked from the heat of the fire.

Third Uncle and the others didn’t leave, silently watching the flames burn.

Turning his head, he saw Li Tie dozing off, so Third Uncle said, "You guys go rest first, I’ll watch over here."

Upon hearing his father’s voice, Li Tie’s sleepiness vanished, and he shook his head, saying, "I’m not tired..."

"Go now!" Third Uncle said a bit loudly.

"Oh." Li Tie looked at Li Gang and Dapao beside him.

"All of you go, in two hours, someone come to relieve me," Third Uncle glanced around at the group staying here and said.

Everyone looked at each other, even though this felt somewhat inappropriate.

But since no other zombies were found at the bottom of the ditch, everyone staying up all night seemed unnecessary.

So they had to leave.

After they left, Third Uncle found a cleaner stone by the shore and sat down.

Slowly smoking a cigarette in his hand, the firelight illuminated his face.

His temples had some white hair, and there were wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.

After all, he was in his forties, no longer looking as young as he once did.

Third Uncle’s demeanor was very ordinary, and his appearance was also ordinary.

Maybe because he’s often in the sun, his skin was a healthy black.

In a crowd, he looked like an unremarkable old farmer.

However, in this Doomsday, he played a very important role at the Big Camphor Tree Base.

The damp wood crackled.

White mist rose and drifted away in the wind.

Two hours later.

Li Gang came over to take over the shift.

Another two hours later, Dapao arrived.

By then, the sky was getting slightly bright.

Dapao sat idly, staring at the burning bottom of the ditch, lost in thought.

The forest ravaged by the typhoon was in shambles.

The originally docked black-roofed boat by the shore was also shredded, leaving only wreckage.

The sky wasn’t very bright, and here in the forest, the originally shore-growing willow and fruit trees were destroyed.

Dapao sat there, holding a stick, idly sweeping it up and down.

"Dapao." A voice suddenly called from behind Dapao.

Dapao, startled from his daze, turned his head to look back.

It was Li Yu.

"Brother Yu, so early," Dapao said happily upon seeing Li Yu.

Sitting alone in this place in the middle of the night was too boring.

Li Yu nodded, looked at the burning fire at the ditch bottom, and asked, "How is it? Any sign of zombies?"

As he stood, Dapao replied, "Saw a zombie in the middle of the night, right there."

After Third Uncle killed the zombie, Dapao, wearing gloves, stepped on the wood and dragged the zombie to the shore.

Li Yu glanced at the spot Dapao pointed to and then said, "Hmm, so this fire is to dry out the sludge?"