Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 72 Troubles from All Directions
In the foggy city, Tian Yong and several soldiers had just found a place where they could catch their breath.

Beside them lay the resource boxes that had been painstakingly moved back from the street to this shopping mall, now lying on the ground.

Even Tian Yong, who had already become a platoon leader, was no exception; the strenuous activity left him panting heavily.

Having regained some strength, one of the young men gave a wry smile: "Damn it, who gave us these helmets? Sigh!"

Having faced life and death together, Tian Yong didn't hold back and kicked the young man, saying, "You're not useless. You didn't want to take it off."

The young man was cursing because when he shot the zombie, the bullet ricocheted off its helmet. In the fight against zombies, opportunities are fleeting, and often if you fail to kill with one shot, the zombie will pounce on you the next moment.

However, the helmet with the mask did eventually protect him from the zombies' attacks, and since the young man was not acting alone, several comrades rescued him.

Having rested enough, Tian Yong stood up and casually brushed the dust off his clothes.

The day's luck wasn't particularly good or bad, but surviving was an immense stroke of good fortune.

He was initially awakened by a huge explosion. He was currently located near the suburbs, and to Tian Yong's surprise, the park that sheltered stray cats and dogs suddenly experienced a violent explosion.

The massive flames engulfed the area, attracting the attention of many zombies. This should have been a good thing, but many windows far from the explosion point were shattered, and many zombies that hadn't locked themselves out climbed out of the windows.

Chaos erupted around them, and Tian Yong hid and fled as he went. Along the way, he gathered a few soldiers, and because he was the highest-ranking, he temporarily became their leader.

"What are you going to do?"

Tian Yong asked the question, which was something that everyone had been avoiding.

In their frantic pursuit of survival, they are only concerned with their immediate life and death, and have no time to think about the future.

This might be considered a blessing for them, but now that they have stopped and slowed down, a deep sense of powerlessness has welled up in their hearts.

The young man who had complained about the zombies wearing helmets took off his own helmet, revealing a slightly immature face. He murmured for a while before saying, "We should go to the shelter, rejoin the team, and follow orders... We can't do anything on our own."

Another man, who had been silent all along, spoke slowly: "I also support going to the shelter. My sister is there, and I have to go see her."

There was an indescribable heaviness in the air, making it hard to breathe.

After a moment, someone else spoke up: "My home is nearby, and I want to go home and visit."

Tian Yong raised his eyes: "Is it far?"

"Not far, just... one kilometer..."

The person lowered their voice when they said the distance.

The group was unlucky and couldn't find a suitable car.

Before the cataclysm, a kilometer was indeed not far, but now, this short distance is no longer a short distance for a few soldiers marching on foot.

"Actually, it's not that dangerous. Let's go and check on his house. The shelter is further away. We'll have to figure out a way to get to the shelter too."

After thinking for a long time, Tian Yong finally made a decision.

He stepped forward and patted the silent man on the shoulder: "Don't worry so much. The shelter is much safer than outside. Your sister will be fine there. She's definitely under protection now."

"It's alright, I'll obey orders."

Not one raised any objections. They just wanted to keep themselves occupied. Even though some of their family members were in the shelter, they weren't keen on going there and even felt a slight resistance.

After all, as long as we can't see the results, we can still deceive ourselves.

Tian Yong said no more, stepped forward and opened the resource box. The others had already looked at the contents, and now they were just quickly distributing them.

Several survival manuals, largely consistent with the previously distributed intelligence, were given to each person. There were also a considerable number of self-heating rations, water bottles labeled only "pure water" without any brand markings, an axe, and some bullets.

The most important items inside are two Type 81 rifles.

"Tsk tsk, I'm really wondering, what kind of inventory is this?"

The young soldier picked it up and looked it over: "I'd believe you if you told me you'd find a wooden-handled grenade in a box next time."

These soldiers themselves don't need these weapons, but they could consider giving them to disaster victims. Many ordinary people who participated in the training exercises have already learned how to use firearms, and at this point in time, they urgently need to expand their ranks and enhance their combat effectiveness.

Tian Yong picked up the axe, weighed it in his hand, and said, "Actually, I think this thing is better than a gun. We can look around some more later; we might find something like a fire axe near this shopping mall."

"It would be best to find something that can be used as a shield. Although zombies don't dodge, they pounce on you recklessly and aren't afraid of pain. Something that can block them would be helpful."

"It would be best to find a car; having a car would make things much easier."

The group chatted amongst themselves, and once they had confirmed their goal, they could temporarily put aside the heavy realities of life.

"Pack up anything useful, take everything you need, let's go!"

The mall was pitch black due to the power outage. The group used tactical flashlights for illumination and found another exit. They intended to smash the glass door with an axe, but found that they couldn't break it at all. They had no choice but to fire two shots at it. After waiting a while to make sure that no zombies were coming this way, they finally walked onto the street.

"To be honest, I thought there would be hordes of zombies everywhere around here, like in the movies."

"It's not that easy. Most people still locked themselves up. We were the ones who kept firing guns, which attracted too many zombies. I estimate that zombies from several streets nearby were drawn there."

"Now that we've come through and circled around here, there are actually far fewer zombies."

After expressing his opinion, Tian Yong looked at the person who wanted to go home and asked him to lead the way.

The group slowly advanced along the street, making sure they could respond to any emergencies. Suddenly, a sharp-eyed soldier pointed out, "It looks like someone over there is calling for help!"

Following the direction he pointed, everyone was shocked to find several figures on the roof of an old residential building, waving a flag made of clotheslines and shirts, their movements seemingly quite anxious.

"Platoon leader, what should we do?"

"It seems a bit far."

Some people hesitated, but were quickly interrupted by others: "Imagine if it were your family member calling for help up there, wouldn't you want someone to go and rescue them?"

We absolutely must try to save them; this is a matter of principle and a duty we were assigned when we put on these uniforms.

Whether it was risky for them to enter the residential area on foot was a separate issue; the question remains how to rescue them.

While they were still discussing countermeasures, they heard another burst of gunfire. They saw a dilapidated van speeding in that direction, and someone leaning out of the window, holding a Type 81 rifle, spraying bullets at the zombies chasing behind.

"Holy crap, is this still in China?"

Watching the man's actions, some people were quite surprised, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu: "Did this guy study in West Asia?"

"Mind your own business."

Seeing that the zombies were already drawn to the car, Tian Yong strode forward: "Let's hurry over there and see if we can help!"

Throughout the day, Tian Yong only encountered these new recruits who were hiding and fleeing everywhere. He almost thought that this was how the world was going to be, with danger and enemies everywhere, and only a few people like them left to barely survive in the dark corners.

But the appearance of the car in the distance gave him a boost of confidence. Not only them, but many others were organizing and taking action.

Even when trouble comes from all directions, help will come from all directions.

(End of this chapter)