Invasion of America

Chapter 128 Rekindling Hope
A funeral is being held at the 'Playground' shelter.

A dozen or so people sparsely arrived at the simple cemetery. The deceased was Baker Hughes, the shelter's 'chief legal counsel,' who was over seventy years old.

Jeff Connery took on the role of a priest, holding a Bible he'd somehow found, and reminiscing about his old friend's past over the decades.

He was once a legendary figure in the legal world, whose eloquence impressed countless people, and whose laughter once echoed throughout the office.

Now, all of these will be buried along with this handful of yellow earth.

Zhou Qingfeng personally carried Old Baker's coffin to his final resting place, grabbing a shovel and shoveling dirt onto the coffin—it's ironic that while the shelter had no shortage of supplies, they couldn't find a decent coffin or a proper tombstone.

A few pieces of wood, pieced together, were made into a rough wooden box, which became the coffin for Old Baker. The tombstone was a crooked wooden cross.

No matter how glorious one's life was, one's death is always so shabby.

Next to old Baker's grave, there was a whole row of graves. The closest one was that of old man Hammer, who suffered from dementia and was also in his seventies. He had many underlying health conditions and had passed away six months ago.

Further away is the grave of 'Grey Shark's' mother, Mrs. Natasha, who died of a lung infection in her sixties.

The oldest person in the shelter right now is Jeff Connery, who is a priest. He is in his sixties, has been infected once, and his health is not as good as before. It is unknown how much longer he can live.

Old Baker had no children, and his funeral was hastily concluded, with most of the people who came to pay their respects leaving quietly.

"Grey Shark," leaning on a pair of crutches, staggered to his mother's grave, placed a bunch of wildflowers he had picked from who-knows-where on the bare mound of earth, and cried out "Mom" a few times.

Zhou Qingfeng stood behind him, unable to find any words of comfort, and could only let him cry his heart out.
-
A year ago, Zhou Qingfeng infiltrated the U.S. military's secret virus laboratory in Macon, obtained a batch of X virus enhancers, and casually killed the laboratory's director and a large number of researchers.

The enhancer must be stored at low temperatures, as it will become ineffective at room temperature. Zhou Qingfeng used air transport to inject it into the people around him in time, but the enhancement effect only appeared in 'Grey Shark'.

'Grey Shark', who was originally confined to a wheelchair, has seen his atrophied leg muscles and nerves begin to grow again, allowing him to stand up again with the help of crutches.

Others weren't so lucky; at best, their immune systems were strengthened.

Not long after, the X virus evolved into the 'Delta' strain, which had an extremely high mortality rate and transmission efficiency, and wiped out the entire world.

As a result, the human population plummeted by three-quarters. In particular, in underdeveloped countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, some once bustling cities became no-man's-lands, and billions of people perished.

Society and the economy collapsed directly, industry and agriculture came to a standstill, and the service industry was completely destroyed.

Before the outbreak of the virus, Zhou Qingfeng prepared dozens of shelters of various sizes, which were distributed throughout the United States and sheltered several thousand people in times of crisis.

For example, the 'Playground' shelter is mostly made up of former 'Electric Flight' employees from 'Dongda' in the United States, numbering around a hundred.

At first, they had plenty of food and drink, and life in the shelter was like living in paradise. But after only a year, this secluded life began to cause all sorts of problems.

For example, a few days ago, the inverter of the photovoltaic power generation system burned out, and the shelter, which lacked backup power, immediately experienced a complete power outage. In the middle of summer, everyone was unbearably hot.

Fortunately, the staff of 'Electric Flight' had no shortage of electricians, so they just replaced the inverter with a spare one, which did not prevent the residents of the shelter from continuing to find joy amidst their suffering.

For example, Zhou Qingfeng once spent a high price to buy a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) device, and even specifically chose the helium-free model.

Two days ago, Old Baker fell ill and wanted to use this device for a checkup, but found that no one in the shelter knew how to use it—there were only about a hundred people, and everyone was required to master multiple skills, but there were still too few professional doctors.

The above problems are relatively easy to solve; if there are spare parts, use them; if not, you just have to put up with it. But there is one problem that cannot be tolerated—the male-to-female ratio in the shelter is 'ten to one,' and Zhou Qingfeng alone occupies the majority of 'sexual resources.'

This matter cannot be shared, and for the sake of internal unity, it must be resolved.
-
After the funeral, Xiao Jinlang came to find Zhou Qingfeng. The two discussed in a simple room how to make the shelter more "harmonious".

He held a crumpled cigarette in his hand, not lighting it, but just smelling it under his nose, and said in a tone of someone who had been through it all:
“When I was working in the system, there were dedicated staff members who cared about the family lives of employees. If anyone had a difficulty, a family dispute, or even difficulty finding a spouse, it would be resolved.”

The employees who came to the United States from 'Electric Flight' were all men.

"If we gather everyone together and stick together, we can get through this for a day or two, but if it goes on for too long, people's hearts will drift apart."

He paused, then looked sharply at Zhou Qingfeng with a hint of sarcasm: "You're our leader, so you should be entitled to some privileges."

But the other brothers, seeing you surrounded by beautiful women while they could only keep 'Fifth Sister' company, already harbored many resentments.

Xiao Jinlang habitually flicked off non-existent cigarette ash and continued, "We need to plan ahead and keep the brothers' morale up."

The best solution would be to introduce some female residents so the brothers can get married and alleviate the imbalance of men and women in the shelter.

Zhou Qingfeng naturally understood the reasoning behind this. For the long-term development of the shelter, a balanced gender ratio was indeed crucial; otherwise, internal conflicts would erupt.

He nodded slightly in agreement, saying, "It's not difficult to do this. It's simply a matter of taking in some people from outside, mainly young women."

In fact, Zhou Qingfeng had already noticed the subtle restlessness in the shelter in recent months.

However, everyone was still wary of the threat posed by the X virus and wasn't keen on venturing out to explore and expand. But the fact that Lao Xiao brought it up indicated that the problem was urgent and needed to be addressed as soon as possible.

“Let’s hold a mobilization meeting,” Zhou Qingfeng said, determined. “Let’s organize a small exploration team to thoroughly search the towns surrounding the shelter.”

The meeting place was chosen to be the "haunted house cinema" in the "amusement park," as the space was large enough.

Some key positions in the shelter required staff to remain on duty, and eventually sixty or seventy members arrived. Those who were unable to attend could only hear about the situation afterward.

Before the meeting began, the cinema was noisy.

The creaking of moving old chairs, the greetings between acquaintances, and the hushed whispers blended into a chaotic background noise.

Xiao Jinlang cleared his throat, grabbed a microphone, coughed twice to quell the noise: "Brothers, quiet down, and mind the rules of the meeting!"

After the voices subsided, Lao Xiao continued, "The virus outbreak has affected the whole world. We've been holed up in the shelter for a year now, and we've finally escaped a major disaster."

But we can't just stay hidden like this forever; sooner or later we'll have to deal with the outside world. The main problems are as follows…”

Xiao Jinlang was old, but his tone was steady and powerful. He was fair and just, which made him trustworthy. As soon as he spoke, everyone below listened attentively.

"First, we lack professional personnel. Take doctors, for example. There are doctors in the shelters, but medicine is a very complex discipline."

We've stockpiled a lot of expensive medical equipment, but we lack skilled operators. These precious items are just sitting in the warehouse, completely useless—it's a real waste.

"Secondly, we're still short-handed. Our male-to-female ratio is too skewed. I originally wanted to call everyone 'brothers and sisters,' but looking around today, everyone here is a 'brother'..."

The atmosphere in the meeting room was still a bit serious when the topic of "lack of people" came up; but when the topic of "lack of women" came up, all the men couldn't help but burst into laughter, and instantly understood the real purpose of Lao Xiao's meeting.

"Enough with the small talk. Today's main purpose is to unify our thinking and mobilize everyone. We're going to organize a search team of a dozen or so people. Everyone, please feel free to speak your mind..." Before Old Xiao could finish speaking, someone in the meeting room immediately raised their hand and shouted, "No money, no food, just rob foreign horses! I want two!"

Upon hearing this, everyone burst into laughter.

Someone immediately chimed in with a joke: "Why don't you want three or four? In this day and age, a bowl of instant noodles can really be exchanged for a foreign girl!"

The man quickly waved his hand and said seriously, "No, no, two is enough. Three is a bit too many, and four... I can't handle it at all!"

The laughter in the theater grew louder, filled with a rare sense of ease amidst the apocalypse.

Some people began to seriously discuss practical issues. One person frowned and said, "It seems like everyone in the towns near our shelter has died out. I'm afraid we won't be able to take in many people."

“I don’t recommend containment nearby,” another person immediately shouted. “It would easily expose the location of the shelter. We have more than twenty Warthog attack aircraft; we can fly much farther to contain it.”

"Yes, yes, it's best to keep the location of the shelter a secret. Otherwise, with all the supplies we've stockpiled, it will inevitably cause unnecessary trouble if other forces discover it."

"The two thousand tons of gasoline and diesel we've stockpiled are scarce commodities that can't be replenished in the short term. We should still be careful."

"It is best to take in people peacefully and avoid violence as much as possible, otherwise our hundred or so people cannot withstand the losses."

Communicate with foreign countries through commercial trade as much as possible. Of course, you must project a strong image to avoid attracting the covetousness of others.

No one objected to the search operation, but there were some disagreements on specific details.

Zhou Qingfeng stepped forward and offered his opinion: "Let's conduct a thorough search of the area around the shelter first. We'll take in those that can be taken in, and those that can't be taken in... must be eliminated."

The subtext of this statement is clear—avoid any potential threats near the shelter. If other survivor factions exist, either contain them or eliminate them.

This was destined to be a brutal task, but no one objected.

The roster for the exploration team was quickly finalized. With nothing major happening inside the shelter, everyone was itching to get out and explore, and there was an unusually enthusiastic response.

Zhou Qingfeng personally led the team, selecting Chen Rui and Kang Gesi as his deputies, along with "Grey Shark" who was in charge of communications, and an emergency room doctor named Roger.

Marco, who had previously gone missing, has also returned to the team. He is good at socializing and knows multiple languages, so he can serve as a translator and handle Spanish-speaking survivors.

Jennifer was already the school doctor, so she could serve as the team's nurse.

Moreover, as one of the few women in the group, she might find it easier to build relationships during explorations. After all, the shelter is located in the United States, where white people are still the predominant population.

The team consisted of twelve people, fully armed, equipped with five modified electric pickup trucks, plus corresponding drones.

All the pickup trucks had thick armor plates installed on vital parts, and even the windows were welded with sturdy bulletproof grilles to ensure the safety of the team members to the greatest extent possible.

That evening, after discussion, it was decided to make preparations and set off the following day.
-
Kangus also attended this mobilization meeting for the expedition concerning the future of the shelter.

As the meeting adjourned, night had quietly fallen, with only a few lonely streetlights casting a dim yellow glow inside the "playground" shelter, lengthening the shadows on the ground.

The location of this shelter is excellent; it is neither hidden deep underground nor concealed in the mountains, but rather it utilizes an abandoned amusement park directly.

At first glance, this place seems to be open to the elements and completely unsafe, with enemies potentially surging in from any direction.

After living there for a year, Kangus gradually got used to this "insecurity" and even found it more comfortable than he had imagined.

If everyone were truly confined to a closed and oppressive underground space or cave, the residents of the shelter would likely suffer mental breakdowns before long.

This semi-open environment, on the contrary, retains the convenience of connecting with the outside world and the rare freedom to breathe.

Kangus walked slowly toward his dormitory along the road illuminated by streetlights.

As I passed by the cultivated vegetable gardens and fields, the distinctive sounds of cicadas and frogs on a summer night reached my ears clearly, creating a slightly noisy yet vibrant pastoral nocturne.

There were no professional agricultural experts in the shelter, and after the outbreak of the virus, fertilizers and pesticides became scarce.

Zhou Qingfeng had only stockpiled some high-quality seeds, but it was impossible for him to completely back up the entire vast agricultural science, machinery and technology system.

Nevertheless, hundreds of acres of land have been reclaimed around the shelter, and the vegetables and fruits grown there are enough to be self-sufficient.

In addition, they also tried planting potatoes, soybeans, and wheat, and have harvested two seasons, but the yields are far less than before the apocalypse.

As for raising fish, chickens, and pigs, these activities were carried out on a small scale within the shelter, but the main source of meat, eggs, and milk for the hundred or so people was still the mountains of canned goods.

Plenty of canned food, endless canned food, a huge quantity and a wide variety of canned food, theoretically enough to feed them for a lifetime.

In fact, just one month later, almost everyone in the shelter loathed canned food. The mere smell was enough to make them nauseous.

"But to have survived until now is already quite a blessing." Kangus recalled his year of life in the shelter, filled with emotion.

The speed at which the world order is collapsing is visible to the naked eye.

At first, news from the "White House" could still be heard in the media, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere. But soon, all the media seemed to have been swallowed up by a virus, disappearing completely.

Subsequently, private shortwave radio stations began to emerge, and radio waves were filled with distress calls from all directions.

All the channels were filled with desperate cries, people hoarsely begging for food, water, and help.

Before long, the shortwave radio broadcast gradually subsided, leaving only an unsettling silence, like the sea after a storm.

"Grey Shark" once said that the current radio environment is almost a century behind, with an exceptionally clean spectrum. You can receive weak signals from thousands of kilometers away by simply setting up a Yagi antenna.

This precisely illustrates that in many places, the people have probably all... died out.

Inside the shelter, however, they dared not send radio messages casually, fearing that other malicious forces would discover their presence through radio triangulation technology.

The world seems to have entered the Dark Forest era, where any exposure of one's existence could invite devastating attacks.

However, staying cooped up in the shelter like a mole every day is not a long-term solution.

Humans are ultimately social animals; they need to communicate with the outside world and see if there are other survivors around, or if there is still a glimmer of hope clinging to life.

This exploration mission is precisely aimed at breaking this suffocating silence.

(End of this chapter)