parentshiftbook Chapter 40 Testing Physical Fitness
Chapter 40 Testing Physical Fitness
Since we'll be directly competing with zombies in terms of physical strength, safety measures are definitely necessary.
Otherwise, if you accidentally get scratched by a zombie's claws or teeth, you'd be even more wronged than Dou E.
He found some thick clothes and wrapped the zombie's hands layer by layer, making them into a thick cloth ball. Then he had the zombie put on a helmet to ensure that no sharp parts would touch it.
Once everything was ready, the two sides began to wrestle.
First, let's start by comparing the ordinary zombies. The ordinary zombies under his command were all carefully selected and were much stronger than the ordinary zombies roaming the streets.
Lu Chen and it clasped hands and exerted force simultaneously.
The grip strength of an ordinary zombie is much greater than that of an adult male after zombification, but Lu Chen felt that the force surging in his arm, although not small, was completely within his control.
He firmly pressed the other person's wrist down.
Won!
Next came a contest of strength with Dazhuang. Dazhuang was one of his main combatants, with a robust physique and strength far exceeding that of ordinary zombies.
Lu Chen and Da Zhuang clasped hands and exerted force simultaneously.
This time, the feeling was completely different; he had to give it his all to hold on. The two sides were locked in a stalemate for a few seconds, neither gaining a clear advantage.
Lu Chen put in more effort, pressing Da Zhuang's wrist down a few centimeters, but Da Zhuang quickly pushed it back an inch.
The two sides went back and forth for several rounds, but in the end, no clear winner was determined.
They were evenly matched.
To be honest, this result surprised Lu Chen. His physical abilities had doubled, but zombies like Da Zhuang were far stronger than ordinary people.
The two sides fought to a draw, indicating that their strength had improved more than expected.
But upon closer reflection, it makes perfect sense. His ability level has broken through the bottleneck; in terms of life level, he should now be comparable to an elite zombie.
Although Dazhuang and Tiezhu were the core of his fighting force, in terms of the evolution level of zombies, they were actually a level lower than him.
He wasn't particularly dissatisfied. For a superhuman, combat primarily relies on controlling zombies; their physical abilities are secondary.
After the test was completed, Lu Chen happily returned to his room and lay down to sleep again.
The tasks ahead are expected to be even more demanding, so he needs to conserve his energy.
He slept until 8 a.m., which was probably the latest he had gotten up since the apocalypse.
He got up and quickly washed up. He changed into a clean short-sleeved shirt, put on a jacket, and went out of the room.
The corridor was already bustling with activity; everyone else was awake, and breakfast was ready.
On the stove were several stacks of steamed buns and a large pot of thin porridge. The buns were made from flour that had been scavenged and were freshly kneaded and steamed. Although they were not as white as they were before the apocalypse, they were round and steaming. The thin porridge had some chopped ham and salt added to it. It was simple but warm.
Everyone was waiting for Lu Chen. Several field staff sat by the corridor wall, holding empty bowls and looking longingly in the direction of 503, but no one touched their chopsticks.
Gao Yuan was standing in the middle of the corridor, talking to Shen Qingci, when he saw Lu Chen push the door open and come out. The two of them stopped talking at the same time and looked at him.
Lu Chen glanced at the people in the corridor, then at the neatly arranged breakfast on table 503. He opened his mouth, intending to say, "Don't wait for me for breakfast."
But when the words reached his lips, he remembered the meteorite mark on his wrist and swallowed them back.
"Is everyone here? Let's begin!" he said, walking to the center of the group.
Gao Yuan immediately stood up straight, picked up his enamel cup filled with boiled water, raised it to his chest, and spoke in a calm and unhurried manner, enunciating each word clearly and solemnly, ensuring that every word reached the ears of everyone present.
"Everyone. Today is the fourth day of the apocalypse. We all know very well what it's like outside."
"We can sit here, have hot porridge to drink, steamed buns to eat, and a whole floor where we can rest in peace. This is something our captain and deputy captain Shen risked their lives for."
His gaze slowly swept across everyone's faces.
"Thank you, Captain! Thank you for breakfast! Thank you for surviving another day!"
After he finished speaking, he held up his enamel mug and bowed slightly in Lu Chen's direction.
Everyone in the corridor stood up at the same time, holding their own bowls or cups, and bowed slightly in Lu Chen's direction.
Last night they witnessed Lu Chen leading the zombies down the stairs to hold off the elite zombies; otherwise, they wouldn't have survived until this morning. So their gratitude is genuine.
Lu Chen felt the warmth emanating from the meteorite imprint and was in a very pleasant mood.
The combined total of the 20 warm currents steadily pushed the fluorescence at the bottom of the mark upwards.
Of course, there was less phosphorescence harvested today compared to last night.
The fluorescence at the bottom of the mark has completed about 20% of its charge, which is much less than the explosive growth last night.
However, this is normal, as people's emotional response to repeated rituals naturally decreases with each repetition.
But none of that matters. New survivors will join today, and they will be the best source of energy.
Even if there are no new survivors in the future, the quality can be made up for by the number of people.
After finishing breakfast, Lu Chen went to Shen Qingci's room.
My phone, which had two bars of signal yesterday, has completely lost signal strength in the upper left corner of the screen today, and I can't send any messages.
Although I had expected it, I was still a little disappointed when I actually saw the internet completely cut off.
"Luckily, I can still use the radio." Lu Chen put his phone back in his pocket. "Looks like I'll have to wait for the 9 o'clock news broadcast."
"Hmm." Shen Qingci sat at her desk, flipping through the survivor data spreadsheet she had compiled yesterday. She looked up and said, "I wonder how the authorities will continue to push Project Dawn forward."
Lu Chen was also a little curious, as he and Shen Qingci had already completed the preliminary tasks of Project Dawn.
However, there's still no follow-up on how the military will confirm the submission, how they will award military merits, and how the next steps will be coordinated.
Now that the signal is completely cut off, their only online communication channel with the authorities has been shut down, and they can only rely on radios to receive one-way broadcasts from now on.
Because he needed to wait for news, Lu Chen didn't rush to lead his team out on an operation.
His powers have now been fully restored, but the entire team needs to be synchronized.
Everyone stayed up until the early hours of the morning last night, so it's reasonable to get some rest today.
He asked Gao Yuan to take the radio to the hallway and set it up next to the desk. He turned the volume up to a moderate level, and by 9 o'clock, the survivors in the hallway had spontaneously gathered around.
At 9 o'clock sharp, the radio started playing.
After a short opening piece of music, a steady male voice came from the radio, with a standard broadcasting tone.
Good morning, listeners! This is Wanshun City Radio Station, bringing you today's morning news roundup.
Lu Chen leaned against the door frame of 501, arms crossed, listening quietly.
"First, I'd like to inform you of the current overall situation in our city. As of today, the number of survivors in our city continues to decrease compared to the previous day. According to feedback from the frontline operations team, the number of survivors in the city currently accounts for approximately 8% of the total population."
Someone in the corridor took a soft breath. Yesterday it was 10%, today it's 8%. It sounds like only a 2 percentage point drop, but given the population of several million in Wanshun City, that 2% means the loss of tens of thousands of lives.
"However, based on the experience gained over the past two days, the allocation of supplies and the evacuation of personnel at the shelter have been basically streamlined, and the rescue team has gained a deeper understanding of the zombies' activity patterns."
"The overall decline in the number of survivors has narrowed significantly compared to the previous two days. We urge all citizens to remain confident, follow instructions, and continue to stay at home while awaiting rescue."