The heavy rain had been falling for 48 hours straight.
Strong winds howled, and the night rain continued.
This rain was like a hole in the sky.
Both north and south were enveloped in the downpour.
Waves surged by the sea, and the sea level rose, submerging some low-lying small islands.
In the southern hills, small lakes dotted the landscape.
N City, suburbs, Salvation Army Headquarters.
It was a mess; this heavy rain had caused severe losses for the entire Salvation Army team. When the heavy rain first hit, there were still two teams outside, collecting protection fees from other small organizations. On their way back, they encountered a zombie horde and lost half their manpower.
It was fortunate that they were on their way back and not far from the headquarters, otherwise the losses would have been even greater. In the face of such a zombie horde, it was imperative to find a safe and stable place. If they had randomly stopped somewhere along the way, they wouldn't have lasted long.
Deep inside a factory building, in a huge conference room of about 70 square meters, a middle-aged man sat on a leather sofa. This man's hair was meticulously combed, and he had an extra finger on his right hand, making it six fingers.
The man was standing on the third floor, looking out the window, watching the drizzling rain.
The room was lit. He held a cigarette, taking a puff occasionally, his face grim.
"Boss, President Gao and Team leader Qian, they haven't returned yet. Now, I'm afraid they won't be able to make it back," a young man with glasses next to him said to the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man said nothing, ignoring the young man. Instead, he got up from the sofa and walked towards the window, opening the glass window a crack, letting some rainwater drift in.
This silent tension made the young man uneasy. He knew that the boss was prone to anger, his moods unpredictable, and could erupt at any moment. Now that Team leader Qian and his group hadn't returned, and although the other two teams had, they had suffered too many losses.
Originally, the Salvation Army Headquarters had over 900 people. Mao Ge and others went to Xin City to collect protection fees, taking over 50 people, and never returned. Later, President Gao and Team leader Qian also took over 180 people there and hadn't returned after two days. Then, the two teams that went out lost half their manpower, which was another 100 people.
Now, there were only about 500 people left at the headquarters. The manpower had almost been halved. And even if the manpower was halved, the crucial thing was that the people who went out this time hadn't transported this month's supplies back yet.
Given the current personnel, it was uncertain how long the supplies would last.
The young man's body was slightly bent, his head lowered, not daring to look at the boss, thoughts flashing through his mind.
Suddenly, the middle-aged man by the window spoke, "Is the situation by the main gate stable now?"
Although the young man's mind was constantly racing with thoughts, his peripheral vision was always monitoring the middle-aged man's movements. Upon hearing the boss's question, the young man immediately replied, "Stable. Team leader Zhang and his group are currently rotating shifts, blocking the zombies. So far, although one or two unfortunate people were bitten by zombies, everything else is stable. It's just..."
Seemingly remembering something, the young man stammered.
"Speak!"
"It's just that Team leader Zhang and his group are also asking about the supply distribution. According to before, we should be distributing some supplies to everyone today," the young man said nervously.
After all, Team leader Qian and his group went to Xin City and didn't return, and the two teams on their way back also lost half their supplies. Now, if they were to distribute, the amount given would definitely be greatly reduced. With such a significant reduction, he wondered if Team leader Zhang and his group would cause a stir.
"What's there to hesitate about? Distribute it, distribute one-third. Just tell them that due to the zombie horde, supplies need to be conserved. They're not unaware that the other two teams haven't returned," the middle-aged man said.
Then, as if thinking of something, he added, "If they have any opinions, tell them to come find me!"
The young man grumbled inwardly, 'Find you? They certainly wouldn't dare. Coming to find you, wouldn't that be asking for trouble? They'll only come to me for trouble, and I'll have to take all the blame. Oh, I'm having such a hard time.'
Though he thought this, he still dutifully and obediently said, "Okay, boss. I'll go arrange it then."
The middle-aged man didn't even turn his head, waving his hand to signal that he could leave.
The young man walked out of the room, gently closing the door. Only after he was out of the room did he slowly exhale the breath he had been holding. His back was drenched in sweat; although the boss hadn't flared up, the pressure he felt was immense.
His predecessor, who had accidentally angered the boss, was eventually thrown out to feed the zombies.
Every time he reported to the boss, it felt like walking on a tightrope, like accompanying a tiger, which truly made him uneasy.
He shook his head, no longer thinking too much, and hurried to get things done.
However, a hint of worry lingered in his brow, refusing to dissipate.
In Xin City, there were still some survivors, though not many, and they were all currently in a life-or-death struggle.
The heavy rain had lasted for 48 hours, and some low-lying areas were already submerged. Many people had begun to move to higher ground.
However, during the transfer, they had to be extremely careful of zombies.
In the heavy rain, the zombies' sense of smell and overall strength had greatly increased. Once discovered by a large number of zombies, one could directly await death.
Some people risked moving to higher ground, while others, fearing discovery by zombies, chose to stay put, not daring to move at all. But watching the water level rise higher and higher, their anxiety grew more and more severe.
These people faced several major problems:
1. The direct threat was zombies. In the heavy rain, in the dark night sky, zombies seemed to be everywhere, and they had to avoid being discovered by them.
2. The continuous heavy rain, which kept falling, made it impossible for many people to go out and collect supplies. It was also unknown when the heavy rain would stop, so they could only ration their food.
They carefully calculated their daily meals, not daring to eat more, in case they ran out of food before the heavy rain ended, which would lead to starvation. Even so, with their daily food intake constantly being reduced and their supplies visibly shrinking, they were very anxious.
3. The dual consumption of physical and mental strength. With their keen sense of smell, these zombies would easily find traces of people in the heavy rain, and survivors constantly had to resist.
Some clever people applied mud or similar substances to their bodies to mask their scent. But after applying it, they felt very uncomfortable all over.
It could be said that every heavy rain was a test for humanity.
And also a festival for the zombies.
