As dawn broke, Ren Jing, accompanied by two others, went out in search of water. Each of them carried a large bucket. They dared not fetch water from the Yangtze River, fearing discovery by sentries above the dam. If caught, they knew Shen Feng would subject them to the most brutal treatment.
They arrived at a nearby park and began filling their buckets. The number of zombies here was small, and all three were evolved individuals, so safety was not a concern. The most crucial matter was to avoid detection by the Self-Help Association and, if possible, find a way to infiltrate them.
While drawing water, Su Kaiwen remarked to Ren Jing, "Boss, look at this. There's half a shrimp in the water. It seems the water source here is quite nutritious."
"Stop with the nonsense and hurry back after filling the buckets," Ren Jing replied, unconcerned about the shrimp. His sole focus was finding an opportunity to return to the Self-Help Association. If that proved impossible, he would have to find a way to build his own base.
Su Kaiwen hadn't eaten meat in days. Seeing the shrimp in the pond, he couldn't resist scooping one up and popping it into his mouth, muttering, "Shrimp is meat, after all."
As the three were drawing water, Ren Jing suddenly heard a strange sound. "Quick, someone's coming!" he exclaimed.
Upon hearing Ren Jing's words, the other two immediately grabbed their buckets and fled. They quickly reached a corner of the wall and hid in the shadows. The sun had not yet fully risen, so as long as they remained in the dark, they were unlikely to be spotted.
After they had hidden, they were astonished to see over thirty people, carrying baskets on their backs, emerge from the distance. The leader was none other than Shen Feng. The group skillfully tossed two plastic bags into the pond and then departed swiftly, without any hesitation.
As Shen Feng walked, he instructed, "Faster, move quickly. Speed is of the essence. And keep an eye on the zombies' pants!"
Hidden in the shadows, Ren Jing pondered Shen Feng's words. Why was he telling them to pay attention to the zombies' pants? Did he have some peculiar fetish? Furthermore, what had Shen Feng and his group thrown into the pond? This needed to be investigated.
Once Shen Feng and his group had gone, Ren Jing and his companions emerged. The three quickly approached the pond to examine what had been thrown into the water. They discovered a plastic bag containing dark, yellowish matter that was emitting a foul odor.
Upon seeing this, the expressions of the three changed drastically. They were shocked that Shen Feng had brought people to poison the water! What about the survivors in the city? Wouldn't they be forced to drink this contaminated water?
Seeing the plastic bag, Su Kaiwen immediately understood what Shen Feng's group had thrown into the water: feces. And he had just eaten half a shrimp from the water. The thought made Su Kaiwen unable to contain himself. He vomited loudly, feeling extremely nauseous and utterly unwell.
Ren Jing patted Su Kaiwen's back. "Don't worry," he said. "We won't say anything about you eating that. We're brothers. Just try not to eat things you're unsure of in the future. Learn your lesson."
Su Kaiwen continued to vomit for ten minutes, until he was expelling nothing but stomach acid. He had nothing left in his stomach to throw up. He had certainly learned his lesson: never eat anything without knowing what it is, or the consequences could be agonizing.
While carrying out the "Grief Plan" in the city, Shen Feng meticulously observed the zombies' pants. If a zombie experienced diarrhea, it would indicate that the bacteria were effective. Indeed, many zombies' pants were stained yellow and murky, proving the plan's viability. It was good news that so many zombies had been affected within a single day. They would continue for a week to see if it caused dysentery throughout the city.
However, Yang Chang, covering his nose, asked, "President, we've contaminated the city's water sources. What about the survivors in the city?"
Shen Feng replied with a sigh, "That's not our concern. We can only pray they boil their water. Otherwise, we must quickly deal with the zombies in the city. We'll have missile support in a few days, which will make recapturing Luzhou much easier."
The so-called "Corpse Kings" were essentially command zombies. The army implemented a decapitation strategy, using missiles dropped from the sky to eliminate the zombie leaders. Without their leaders, the zombie hordes would be easy prey.
Shen Feng's greatest challenge had been the inability to assassinate command zombies. He was capable of dealing with ordinary zombies and other mutated variants. Now, by using disease to weaken the zombies, their combat effectiveness would be reduced, allowing the base's personnel to clear them out in the shortest possible time.
Someone nearby whispered, "This seems a bit unsportsmanlike, like cheating."
"Nonsense!" Yang Chang retorted angrily, pointing at the student who spoke. "Who cares about sportsmanship on the battlefield? Winning is all that matters! Besides, the zombies occupy Luzhou due to their sheer numbers. Why don't you say they're unsportsmanlike? What honor are you going to show a horde of zombies?"
"I still prefer a direct confrontation, where there's a sense of accomplishment in reclaiming a city." The student remained somewhat reluctant, finding the poisoning of water sources rather despicable. Nevertheless, he continued to follow orders.
Shen Feng glanced back at the student, recognizing him as one rescued from the sports school. He was tall and strong, but perhaps not very bright. In this day and age, to still insist on direct confrontation was barbaric. Humanity's progress was primarily due to its intellect. Without the evolution of the brain, humans would likely still be competing with wild animals for food in Africa.
Shen Feng worried that the city's water sources might possess some self-purifying capabilities, so he opted for repeated contamination. He planned to have his men deposit feces daily, which would surely plague the zombies with dysentery.
Afterward, Shen Feng returned to the base. The Self-Help Association was no longer engaging in large-scale operations, only sending out small teams to rescue survivors. As for retaking Luzhou, Shen Feng intended to wait until a widespread outbreak of dysentery occurred among the zombies before taking action.
Shen Feng was required to report the base's situation daily via radio. However, he was cautious and did not disclose the presence of numerous evolved individuals. He only reported simple information, offering perfunctory responses to inquiries from superiors. Since the western region was not a priority, there was no need to be completely transparent.
This routine continued for five days. Every morning, Shen Feng led his team in the "Grief Plan," and they began to notice changes among the zombies. The zombies' pants became increasingly soiled, and on the streets, strange-colored fluids often flowed from their trouser legs. Finally, many zombies lay pale on the streets of Luzhou, with foul-smelling sewage flowing everywhere.
Shen Feng had to cover his nose. While evolved individuals had heightened senses, this also meant a greater burden. The acute sense of smell subjected Shen Feng to the torment of the stench, a true assault on his nerves. However, seeing the zombies fall one after another made it all worthwhile.
Shen Feng witnessed zombies drinking from the polluted lake while simultaneously suffering from diarrhea, creating a vicious cycle. The dysentery caused dehydration, which led them to seek water, and drinking the contaminated water only worsened the dysentery. The zombies, unaware of what dysentery was, only knew they needed water when dehydrated, thus falling into a death spiral, defeated by Shen Feng's insidious methods.
One aspect of the city that Shen Feng found disturbing was the zombies' cannibalism. When a zombie died from dehydration, the starving zombies nearby would consume it for energy. This behavior was more savage than that of beasts, as even intelligent animals, like dogs or monkeys, did not consume their own kind. However, the zombies were indifferent, consuming anything that provided energy, whether it was their own kind or not.
By now, most zombies in Luzhou had contracted dysentery. Fortunately, due to the prolonged lack of rain, the zombies had no access to fresh water and were forced to continuously drink dirty water. Once dysentery took hold, the zombies were helpless.
Shen Feng took some time to survey the hotels. He found that zombies within a five-kilometer radius had also largely contracted dysentery. However, the command zombies within the hotels remained immobile. Shen Feng hoped they would stay put, as missiles were scheduled for decapitation strikes the next day. Once the command zombies were eliminated, taking Luzhou would be a simple matter. Most zombies, weakened by dysentery, could barely stand, making them easy prey.
However, that evening, news arrived via radio. Related to the weather, the military informed Shen Feng that heavy rain was expected in Luzhou the following day and advised him to prepare. Shen Feng had nothing to say about this. What preparation was needed for rain? It would not affect the missile launch, as missiles already possessed excellent target accuracy, and a bit of cloud cover would not hinder their deployment.
Furthermore, even if the rain managed to purify Luzhou's water sources, most of the zombies were already suffering from dysentery. A little rain would not enable these afflicted zombies to stand up again. Shen Feng knew that he had already won the upcoming battle.
At this moment, Chang Jianyi approached Shen Feng anxiously and whispered, "Guo Pinming has woken up and has also become an evolved individual. What's more, he has gained a superpower!"
Shen Feng was instantly startled. Guo Pinming had drunk the green evolutionary agent and had been in a coma for seven days before waking up. Shen Feng had never imagined that after drinking the evolutionary agent, Guo Pinming would gain a superpower. Did this mean the green agent could grant superpowers, and it wasn't due to spoilage?
"Where is he now? I want to see him," Shen Feng asked in a low voice.
Shen Feng was somewhat nervous. The base originally had only two individuals with superpowers: himself and Yu Renshu, whose superpower was acquired through a later transplant. Simply put, they were controllable. But now that Guo Pinming had also gained a superpower, the situation had drastically changed. If Guo Pinming became uncontrollable, it could lead to internal chaos.
"I've brought him to the office. He doesn't seem to have undergone any psychological changes, only curiosity about how he gained his superpower! His superpower is controlling metal objects, but only within a few meters." Chang Jianyi whispered.
"He's like Magneto! This is problematic!" Upon hearing his senior's description, Shen Feng immediately thought of the movie character. Controlling metal objects was formidable. If this fellow could disarm everyone, how would they fight?
Shen Feng's greatest concern was that Guo Pinming might develop ulterior motives after gaining power. After all, suddenly becoming an evolved individual could easily sway ordinary people with power.
Chang Jianyi quickly explained, "He's not as powerful as you imagine. He can only manipulate nearby metal objects and deform them. It's limited to a range of about two meters. Other metal objects or alloys are unaffected; only iron!"
"Even if he can only manipulate iron, that's not simple!" Shen Feng muttered. "When I have the chance, I'll get myself a titanium alloy longsword. Then it won't be a problem."
Afterward, Shen Feng hurried to the office and found Guo Pinming holding a spoon, repeatedly bending it. Sometimes he could even tie the spoon into a knot, or transform it into a small knife, and then instantly into a sharp point. The speed of transformation was indeed rapid.
At that moment, Guo Pinming held a spoon as if it were a living object, due to its myriad transformations. In just a few minutes, it could change like clay, endlessly. This superpower, the ability to control iron objects at will, was very useful.
Shen Feng opened the door and walked in. "Having fun?" he asked.
Upon seeing Shen Feng, Guo Pinming quickly put down the spoon. "President, hello. I wanted to ask, have I become an evolved individual?"