Apocalypse: I can control zombies

Lu Chen stepped forward and began to control the zombies.

He reached out and placed his hand on the waist of the nearest zombie, activated his superpower, and completed control after 10 seconds.

And then the next one!

After he had subdued all seven zombies, he had a total of 28 zombies under his command.

At this point, all 30 available slots have been used up.

Of course, since he left two zombies guarding the fire escape on the 5th floor when he left, the actual number of zombies following him at this moment is 26.

Twenty-six zombies stood in two rows in the lobby on the first floor, awaiting further instructions.

"Alright, let's split into two teams here!" Lu Chen began to make arrangements.

The logic behind the division is simple: the combat strength on both sides should be balanced as much as possible.

He had the elite zombie lead 10 ordinary zombies, forming a squad of 11 zombies.

The remaining 15, including key players like Tiezhu and Dazhuang, formed another small team.

Elite zombies have the strongest individual combat power, but they are accompanied by ordinary zombies and rely on the "sharp blade effect".

He doesn't have any elite-level enemies, but his team has two Iron Pillar-level enemies, Iron Pillar and Second Pillar, plus several Big Strong-level enemies, making them more formidable overall, relying on overwhelming force.

Lu Chen assigned the squad led by the elite zombie to Shen Qingci.

He will then possess the elite zombie directly, and the two can continue to work together seamlessly. Shen Qingci will use his superpower to investigate, while he will control the elite zombie to attack, just like when they cleared out zombies before, without any reduction in efficiency.

On his side, without Shen Qingci, who is a human radar, he needs more zombies to scout ahead. He brings 15 zombies with him so that they can scout ahead, protect, and provide support.

"How many field staff do you need to help?" Lu Chen asked, pointing to the five field staff behind him.

Five people stood in a row, each carrying a radio on their back and a crowbar and a water bottle hanging from their waist.

Last night's battle thoroughly tested these field personnel who were initially somewhat apprehensive; at least now, the tense atmosphere on their faces is gone.

"Just give me two," Shen Qingci said. "I can also help persuade the survivors; you're more short-handed on your end."

The reason Lu Chen brought these five field personnel out was simple: to have them communicate with the survivors.

The cleanup work can be carried out entirely by zombies.

However, when dealing with other survivors, the specific work of persuading them, answering their questions, and dispelling their concerns must be done by people, which is where these field personnel come in.

"Alright!" Lu Chen casually pointed to two people, "You two, go with Deputy Captain Shen."

The two people who were called nodded and walked behind Shen Qingci.

Lu Chen glanced at the remaining three people: Ning Tieshan, Zhao Yongqiang, and a young man named Wei Dong.

"I've got it." Lu Chen raised his voice slightly so that all five people could hear him clearly.

"Play them the recording of Project Dawn first, then try to persuade them. Don't start by talking to them yourself; the official announcements on the radio are more effective than a hundred of your own words."

"All you have to do is play the recording and tell them who we are, how many of us there are, how strong our fighting force is, and that it's safe for us to come with you."

This time, almost everyone had a radio with them.

Yesterday, when we were cleaning the floors, even though we didn't loot any supplies, we still collected any radios we found.

Radios are not common in ordinary households; most young people don't have them anymore, but some elderly residents still keep them.

In the end, we got 8 units, and each one had a pre-recorded broadcast segment of Project Dawn.

Everyone responded, and then the two sides went their separate ways.

Shen Qingci led her elite zombie squad and two field agents toward Building 2 on the left. The elite zombies walked alongside her, while ten ordinary zombies followed in two rows, their footsteps synchronized.

Lu Chen watched her enter the unit door of Building 2, then turned around and led Ning Tieshan, Zhao Yongqiang, Wei Dong and 15 zombies toward Building 4.

For Shen Qingci, taking action is very convenient.

The pattern wasn't much different from before. With his supernatural abilities activated, the situation in every room on this floor flooded into his mind. The number of zombies, their locations, whether there were any strong zombies, and whether there were any survivors—everything was crystal clear.

"There are two ordinary zombies in 403, 404 is empty, 405 has one, and 406 has survivors, at least three people," Shen Qingci said immediately.

Lu Chen controlled the elite zombie to pry open the door and break in. The lock on door 403 was like paper in the hands of the elite zombie. With one swipe of its claw, the lock flew off, and it rushed in and took down two zombies with two claws.

Then comes 405, the same process.

Upon arriving at room 406, the field staff went up and played the recording, then began to persuade the survivors inside. The survivors, who were clearly aware of Project Dawn, quickly opened the door.

……

On the contrary, Lu Chen's side will be in more trouble.

Stepping into the unit door of Building 4, the corridor was dimly lit, and the motion-activated lights overhead had long since run out of power. Only a few beams of gray-white light shone through the window at the end of the corridor.

Without Shen Qingci's help to scout ahead, he had no choice but to send out zombies to explore the area himself.

That's why he brought all the key players like Tiezhu, Erzhu, and Dazhuang with him, so they could play a role at this time.

Tiezhu and Erzhu led the charge, followed closely by the rest of the zombies. They rushed into the corridor and quickly dealt with the wandering zombies.

This step is the simplest. Tie Zhu slashes at the front, and Er Zhu follows up with a slash from the side. In no more than 30 seconds, the entire corridor is cleaned up.

Next, we dealt with the zombies in the room.

Since it's unclear whether there's a person or a zombie behind the door, we need to confirm first.

The method is simple: just knock on the door.

Humans and zombies react to knocking on the door in completely different ways. This judgment doesn't require Shen Qingci's special ability; all she needs is her ears.

At this point, Ning Tieshan, Zhao Yongqiang, and Wei Dong began to play their part.

Following Lu Chen's instructions, they knocked on each door one by one.

Zhao Yongqiang walked in front, and when he arrived at the door of 101, he raised his hand and slapped the door three times, then immediately turned his head and pressed his ear against it.

A series of rapid hoarse sounds and the scratching of fingernails against the door came from inside. He straightened up and said to Lu Chen, "There are zombies."

Lu Chen immediately gave the order, and Tie Zhu went up, wedged the crowbar into the door crack, broke the lock twice, and pushed the door open to enter.

A short, sharp roar came from inside, followed by the dull thud of a blade piercing flesh, and then silence.

On the 102 side, Ning Tieshan quickly confirmed that there were zombies inside, and Lu Chen immediately signaled Erzhu to deal with them.

On the contrary, when Wei Dong knocked on the door of apartment 103, there was silence for several seconds before a woman's trembling voice came from inside: "Who? Who's outside?"

Wei Dong immediately followed Lu Chen's instructions and, instead of answering directly, turned on the radio and played the recording of Project Dawn.

The deep, steady male announcer's voice came through the radio, clear and distinct in the quiet corridor.

After the recording finished playing, Wei Dong spoke: "We are a team of superhumans, and we've cleared this building of zombies. We're currently searching for survivors. Would you like to come with us? I'll provide accommodation and meals."

There was a moment of silence inside the door, then the lock clicked open.

A woman in her thirties peeked out, her face pale and her eyes sunken. When she saw Tiezhu and Erzhu standing at the door, she instinctively shrank back, but her gaze steadied when it fell on Weidong.

She asked in a hoarse voice, "Do you... really have food?"

"Of course, we will provide three meals a day!"

The woman glanced at the fully armed zombie again, swallowed, and nodded.

Lu Chen kept Wei Dong behind to help the woman pack her things, and also left her two zombies as guards.

He directed the horde of zombies to quickly clear the first floor, and then led Ning Tieshan and Zhao Yongqiang upstairs.