Chapter 147 - 139: The Apocalypse Descends: Please Take the Leap of Faith

Chapter 147: Chapter 139: The Apocalypse Descends: Please Take the Leap of Faith

When they heard there was going to be an explosion inside, Sun Shan’s coworkers quickly fashioned a ladder out of some materials and jumped off the shipping containers to get away.

Sun Shan wanted to leave too, but Zhou Jian Country, who was passing by with a pack of explosives, shot him a look, and he froze.

"Officer Wang, please come in. I’ll explain everything to you, from the ledger to this whole explosives situation."

"But before that... I don’t want anyone else making any sudden moves. My men get nervous, and their hands start to shake."

When Wang Dingbei heard Yu Dong’s invitation, he hesitated for only a moment before deciding to go in.

"Don’t! Officer Wang!"

The fire chief, who happened to know Wang Dingbei, grabbed his arm and motioned for him to wait. Wang Dingbei said nonchalantly,

"He’s just a kid. If I can’t handle him, I might as well quit working in Yanhai City. You all wait out here... I think it’s probably a bluff. Something must be forcing him to do this..."

Wang Dingbei was already starting to make excuses for Yu Dong before he even went inside.

Otherwise, if Yu Dong were actually labeled a terrorist, his life would be over.

Wang Dingbei easily cleared the two-meter gap, landing on the container on the other side. Even at thirty-six, he was still agile, a clear sign of regular training. He hadn’t let his hard-earned skills get rusty.

"Officer Wang! We’re here! The station chief sent us to provide full support."

Wang Dingbei glanced back. It was his old colleagues from the Huangyang Port Police Station. His capable deputy, Jing Yanwei, was trying to catch his eye.

"It’s fine. Wait for me out here. I’ll have the kid out in a minute. No need to be so tense."

Wang Dingbei walked into the checkpoint office.

Once inside, he saw that Yu Dong had three people tied up. He didn’t rush to ask questions. Instead, he lit a Cloud brand cigarette and offered one to Yu Dong.

"Want one?"

"I don’t smoke."

"Good. You have until I finish this cigarette to explain everything. Then, I’ll get you and your classmate out of here. From that point on, you do exactly as I say. Otherwise... no one will be able to save you."

Yu Dong glanced at the time. Eight minutes until 7:00 PM.

"Officer Wang, there’s no time for a private explanation. I can only say that I’m doing all this to save people... to save as many as I possibly can."

"I have a message for the people outside. Please let me finish."

"Give me 10 minutes."

Wang Dingbei covered the microphone with his hand. "Yu Dong, you’d better think carefully about what you’re going to say... Once you say certain things, you can’t take them back."

"I understand."

Yu Dong moved Wang Dingbei’s hand away from the microphone.

He leaned into the microphone, his voice broadcasting to the entire area outside A Port.

Over the past few days, he’d had the electrician install several large speakers outside. Now that they were on, his voice boomed across the area.

"To everyone outside A Port, hello. My name is Yu Dong. I need to tell you something urgently. Since the beginning of this year, my mentor and I have been in the lab researching an extremely unusual phenomenon..."

"In recent months, the composition of the air around us has subtly changed. It now contains an extremely minute radioactive substance with a very strange wavelength. This substance is so minuscule it’s completely harmless to humans, and we can’t perceive it."

"Just a few days ago, our team discovered that the concentration of this substance had suddenly increased dramatically and is continuing to rise. It triggers an unexpected change within our bodies... Once it reaches a certain concentration, everyone will undergo an irreversible mutation. After mutating, they will become flesh-eating zombies. We’ve already reported this to the National Center for Disease Control, but unfortunately... our warning was not taken seriously."

"We predict that today at 7:00 PM—that’s in six minutes—the concentration will reach a critical point, triggering mass mutations. Only a very small number of people will be spared. That’s why our team took the drastic measure of occupying this port to create a temporary quarantine zone and protect ourselves from those who turn."

"There isn’t much time. You don’t need to debate whether we’re right or wrong. You just need to wait... When 7:00 PM arrives, the truth will be revealed. If I’m wrong, I will walk out with Officer Wang and surrender."

"But if I’m right... listen carefully to the instructions I’m about to give you. They will save your life."

The crowd outside was in an uproar at first, but as Yu Dong continued to speak with an air of professionalism, more and more people started to listen, and the noise slowly died down.

Yu Dong paused. Everyone was waiting for him to explain the method.

The more observant people in the crowd had probably guessed what Yu Dong was planning.

Just then, the skeptical Officer Wang’s phone rang. It was Captain Ma.

"What is it, Ma? What?! Yin Shuangyang was broken out by Zou Long? That bastard! Where did they go? The port... a speedboat... I’m at the port right now, I’ll go after him immediately!"

Wang Dingbei’s eyes burned with fury!

During Yin Shuangyang’s transfer just moments ago, his transport vehicle had been ambushed by Zou Long and his gang. They’d used a bomb to flip the vehicle, and the three officers in charge of the transport had been killed.

The gang of fugitives was now heading for the port.

’They definitely won’t be getting a boat at A Port... That means it must be D Port!’

’There are only coal freighters there, and it’s a hotspot for smugglers. A prime target for our operations.’

"Yu Dong, I don’t have time for this nonsense! You’re coming with me!"

Wang Dingbei pulled out his handcuffs and moved to cuff Yu Dong.

Yu Dong’s story was riddled with holes. It might fool the average person, but trying it on him... that was a joke.

’Some bullshit experiment,’ he thought. ’Yu Dong is a fourth-year food engineering major. What the hell would he have to do with any of it?’

He had to go after Yin Shuangyang and Zou Long now!

Yu Dong glanced at the time—6:58—and switched off the microphone.

"Officer Wang, I was lying to them. But if I hadn’t said it that way, they never would have believed me..."

"The truth is, I’m a Reincarnator. That ledger... I got it from a bank vault in my past life. I memorized every last character."

"Bullshit! Not even Superman could memorize an entire ledger!"

"I’ll prove it to you later. But there’s only one minute left. We’re out of time."

Yu Dong picked up the microphone and said,

"Everyone, listen to me! The people around you are about to change! They’ll start bleeding from their eyes and nose! Ignore them! See those three shipping containers up ahead? Run up them, and jump with all your might!"

"The zombies can’t jump. If you can make the leap, you’ll survive."

"For your lives... take a leap of faith!"

The massive crowd outside erupted, their faces a mixture of disdain, ridicule, confusion, and excitement. But in the next instant, a sea breeze swept through... and the noise suddenly died by half.

What’s it like when the person chattering endlessly beside you suddenly falls silent?

Eerie. Incredibly eerie.

DRIP... DRIP...

Thick streams of blood began to run from the noses of countless people...

By now, Wang Dingbei had had enough of Yu Dong. He snatched the microphone and threw it to the ground.

"What the hell are you playing at!"

"Don’t talk. Listen..."

Yu Dong pointed behind him at the three dispatchers in their offices. Blood was gushing from their mouths and noses as they made deep, guttural gasping sounds.

A flicker of shock appeared in Wang Dingbei’s eyes!

Then he looked outside. His colleagues, who had been watching him just moments before, now all had their heads bowed, blood dripping steadily from their noses.

Officer Jing Yanwei glanced around and froze, utterly stunned.

The fire chief’s eyes also went wide in disbelief.

Seeing them still frozen in shock, Yu Dong grabbed the microphone from the ground and screamed into it:

"RUN!"

BOOM!!!

The crowd outside numbered in the thousands. Those who hadn’t turned, those who could still summon the will to live, felt a surge of adrenaline and did as Yu Dong said, sprinting toward the shipping containers.

The fire chief and Jing Yanwei, being the closest, were the first to run up and make the jump.

Right behind them, a police officer and two firefighters scrambled up as well!

These five became the first wave to make it into A Port.

Then the living began to run. The heads of those turning into zombies started to contort, their breathing growing ragged and heavy as they slowly lifted their faces...

WHIRRRRR~

A delivery drone flew over from the direction of the cruise ship.

It carried two blank artillery shells made by Zhou.

The release claw opened.

One of the blanks fell from the sky, hitting the surface of the sea next to A Port...

KABOOM!!!

The massive explosion sent a shockwave that made the ears of everyone nearby ring.

Hordes of newly-awakened zombies, drawn by the sound, forgot about the humans in front of them and swarmed howling toward the sea!

SPLASH, SPLASH, SPLASH~

Zombies poured into the sea like a cascade of falling dumplings, only to be swept away by the waves, leaving a bobbing mass of bodies in the water.

The drone dropped the second blank on the other side of the port.

KABOOM!!!

The deafening blast drew away another wave of zombies, giving the living a chance to escape.

Of course, many zombies simply started chewing on the living people right next to them. Nothing could be done for them... Some people just weren’t going to make it.

Yu Dong could only do his best to save as many as he could.

The survivors scrambled along the three containers. And leaped!

The fiery sunset clouds met the sea, forming a burning red horizon that illuminated each and every leap of faith.

The fire chief, Jing Yanwei, and the three others who had made it across first instinctively began helping catch the other survivors. It was an instinct etched into their very being.

Occasionally, a survivor wouldn’t make the jump... After falling to the ground, there was no second chance. They were swarmed by zombies and devoured...

Soon, zombies began chasing survivors up onto the containers. But the zombies couldn’t perform a running jump; they could only charge mindlessly forward. The survivor would leap across, and the pursuing zombie would step right into the empty air, plummeting to the ground below.

The two-meter gap between the containers became the dividing line between human and zombie.

On one side was survival, on the other, death.

Every survivor had only one chance to make that leap of faith...

One by one they succeeded, and one by one they fell.

The tops of the containers were splattered with the blood of survivors and zombies alike.

The scene was both tragic and cruel. Yu Dong could only watch. He had already done all that he could.

Survivor after survivor, driven by pure instinct, made it across and collapsed onto the ground in A Port, staring in disbelief at the roaring zombies outside.

Chefs, electricians, excavator operators, bricklayers, laborers... people from all walks of life had survived thanks to Yu Dong’s last-minute help.

The few of Sun Shan’s coworkers who had survived gathered around him.

"Sun... Thank god we came with you today. Who could’ve seen this coming? You saved our lives!"

Sun Shan stared blankly toward the checkpoint. "It was him... He saved us. He knew all of this was going to happen. He knew from the very beginning."

Looking at the small group of coworkers who now looked to him for leadership, a thousand thoughts raced through Sun Shan’s mind.

"From now on, you all follow my lead. Whatever you do, don’t cause any trouble for Yu Dong and his people. We’re skilled laborers. As long as we keep our heads down and work hard, they’ll have to provide for us."

The coworkers nodded, only half-understanding.

「Inside the checkpoint.」

Wang Dingbei stared blankly at the scene unfolding outside. All the clues were converging in his mind, leading to a single conclusion...

Yu Dong possessed information they didn’t, and he knew for a fact that he himself was immune.

Yu Dong wasn’t some crazed outlaw. He was saving people.

"Yu Dong... who in the world are you?"

Wang Dingbei stared at the young man before him. He, who was always so composed, found his own lips trembling uncontrollably.

"I told you. I’m a Reincarnator."

Yu Dong tried to force a smile, but looking at the carnage outside, he found he couldn’t.

"Come on, Officer Wang. We have a lot of work to do..."

"This time around, we’re going to save Yanhai City together."

The apocalypse had arrived right on schedule. This time, Yu Dong not only had his own team, but also a powerful ally in Officer Wang and a large number of survivors with a wide range of skills. They also had an entire cruise ship and all of A Port to serve as their new settlement.

The countless shipping containers and warehouses in A Port were treasure troves, just waiting to be opened.