Chapter 143: Blood Sacrifice to the Tower of Heroes

When the battle began, the entire New City was shrouded in a sense of oppression. Nearly ten thousand soldiers, designated as the reserve force, stayed quietly in the experimental base, waiting to be deployed to the front lines at any moment. Regarding this human resistance against the zombies, everyone harbored doubts about whether they could truly triumph over this massive horde of the undead. Very few soldiers in the reserve force possessed weapons; although they were stationed inside the experimental base, everyone knew that if their batch was ever called upon to fight, the fall of New City would not be far away.

Amu was the commander in charge of the entire reserve force. The machine guns mounted around the experimental base did not afford him much sense of security. Having survived and navigated the apocalypse for so long, he knew full well that no survivor in this end-times era was an ordinary person. Even though they were currently behaving obediently inside the experimental base, Amu could guarantee that the moment news of a frontline troop rout arrived, these people would instantly rise in revolt, burst out of the base, loot the gold reserves stored within, and flee for their lives.

Xie Han was left with fewer than fifty soldiers. With the firepower of only ten machine guns, Amu did not believe they could suppress the crowd. Ever since daybreak when the troops set out, Amu had not dared to leave the sentinel tower on the high wall of the experimental base for even a single second, keeping a watchful eye on the nearly ten thousand reserve soldiers. It sounded rather ironic: the machine guns in the experimental base were not positioned outward to defend against zombies, but inward to guard against humans—a distinctly bitter and sarcastic flavor of the apocalypse.

The nearly ten thousand people gathered below were well aware that the barrels of those ten machine guns had been pointed at them all along. Firearms and other weapons had been completely confiscated upon their entry into New City. The administration regarding firearms in New City was extremely strict, and acquiring a gun was no easy task. Many people doubted whether ten machine guns could suppress their crowd of nearly ten thousand, but no one dared to act rashly, as no one could guarantee that the ruthless bullets would not find their own heads. More importantly, everyone was waiting—waiting for news from the frontline battle.

Compared to the experimental base, the civilian residential area was much calmer. The remaining two or three thousand people were almost entirely the elderly and the young, who stayed quietly inside their respective homes. Finding a secure place in the apocalypse was no easy feat, especially for the elderly and the young, the most vulnerable groups in these end times. Precisely because of this, these demographic groups most sincerely hoped that New City would make it through this ordeal, as they no longer had the strength to embark on a long and arduous trek to find another surviving settlement.

Even so, Qi Feiwu could not afford to let down her guard. She led twenty soldiers in continuous patrols along the defensive city walls. At that moment, the entire New City was dead silent. Looking out at the lush green farmland—fields that just yesterday had been bustling with busy figures—Qi Feiwu could only pray to the heavens, hoping the heavens would bless humanity and protect New City.

This period of waiting dragged on past noon with no news arriving, suddenly tightening the atmosphere within the experimental base. Among the nearly ten thousand reserve troops, restless individuals began whispering among themselves, occasionally casting sideways glances at the sentinel tower on the high wall. Undercurrents began to surge and spread. The initial silence of the troops gradually gave way to sporadic murmurs in twos and threes. The noise grew louder from a low hum, faintly showing signs of spinning out of control.

Witnessing this scene, Amu broke out in a cold sweat. Under his orders, the safeties on all ten machine guns were completely disengaged, ready to unleash a barrage at the slightest sign of trouble. New City must never be destroyed in their hands; Amu would not care even if he had to bear the infamous title of a human butcher, especially since this was his bounden duty.

Communication systems in the apocalypse had never been ideal. Within a radius of thirty-odd kilometers, radios could still be used for communication. However, this battle was taking place over a hundred kilometers away. For New City, lacking satellites, transmission towers, or even a single communications vehicle, obtaining firsthand intelligence was undoubtedly a difficult task.

Just as the situation began to spiral out of control, the roar of a helicopter echoed through the air, rapidly flying toward the experimental base as a small black dot in the distance. At that instant, everyone halted all their movements, fixing their gazes on the helicopter and quietly awaiting the impending outcome: was it a resounding victory, or were they about to be driven onto the battlefield?

Amu did not dare to relax; until the information was confirmed, he had to maintain strict vigilance.

Under the gaze of nearly ten thousand people, the helicopter landed slowly and steadily on the open plaza in front of the experimental base. Xie Han's face appeared from within. As he leaped down, his presence gave everyone's heart a sudden jolt. Xie Han's fierce reputation had long since spread throughout the base; he was a terrifying figure who had fought two Hunters single-handedly. Coupled with the fact that he was the highest commander of New City, this dual weight naturally commanded a different kind of awe.

Xie Han understood the psychological state of the nearly ten thousand people here all too well; otherwise, he would not have rushed back in such a hurry. His purpose was to bring back the news of victory and pacify everyone's hearts. The moment Xie Han stepped out of the helicopter, he raised his right hand high. The entire plaza fell silent, save for the roar of the helicopter's engine. "Heaven bless New City. We have won! The heroic army is on its way back. Let us cheer..."

The announcement of this news by Xie Han instantly triggered a tidal wave of emotion. Everyone cheered wildly and uninhibitedly, many shedding tears—not only because New City was saved, but also because they no longer needed to worry about the machine guns on the high walls, nor fear that their painstaking efforts in New City had been in vain. Combining all these reasons, these men of the apocalypse shed tears of relief.

The news reached the civilian residential base last. Compared to the experimental base, the elderly and the young in the civilian sector were far more fervent. They brought out anything that could make a sound, poured collectively into the streets of the civilian area, beat upon their instruments, and raised joyful cheers. From time to time, the sound of firecrackers rang out, further adding to the joyous atmosphere of New City.

Qi Feiwu, who had been enduring immense pressure, wept with joy and laughed aloud once the news arrived.

All these changes filled Xie Han with a myriad of emotions. He turned to Xu Qiang and said, "Qiangzi, did you see that? This is human nature. Although New City can bring them a new life, our city has been established for too far too short a time, and the people's cohesion toward New City has not yet truly taken root. That's why they worried, why they wanted to escape. If we hadn't secured a victory, New City might have collapsed instantly. To people in the apocalypse, survival supersedes everything else. They will not be like us, fighting to the death to defend New City and coexisting with it until the end."

Xu Qiang felt a similar sentiment and replied, "People in the apocalypse are always so realistic, and human nature inevitably becomes subtle. But we won a great victory, didn't we? I believe that from now on, no matter what massive difficulties New City encounters, they won't react like they did today. Instead, they will tightly guard New City, even if it costs them their lives."

From Xie Han's perspective, this victory was not merely a superficial triumph; it allowed many of New City's hidden perils to naturally dissipate in its wake. Winning over the hearts of the people was probably the greatest harvest for New City. Xie Han believed that in the future New City, a single cry from him would surely receive an echoing response from the entire city.

When truckloads of soldiers returned to New City, this joy reached its absolute climax. Soldiers and civilians mingled together, venting their emotions without reservation.

Xie Han did not overly interfere with this cathartic wave of joy. Instead, he directed a small squad of troops to drive seven trucks loaded with the bodies of fallen soldiers directly to the experimental base. Looking at the corpses being carried down one by one, Xie Han stood in silence, joined by all the military officers present. Who could have known that behind the cheering and joy, so many soldiers had sacrificed themselves for New City?

Some of these fallen soldiers had been bitten by zombies or had their skin breached and become infected. Before turning into zombies, they had received a mercy shot to the head from their comrades. Others had ended their own lives because they knew all too well what would happen once they were bitten by a wolfish horde of the undead. Regardless of the circumstances, not a single one of them had an intact head; every skull bore a gaping hole from a bullet.

The fallen soldiers were laid out in neat rows across the plaza, numbering exactly 1,371. Perhaps compared to millions of zombies, such casualties were negligible. But for New City, this represented one-twentieth of its population—1,371 of its finest soldiers who had given their lives fighting for the city.

"Put military caps on all of them, to make them look more like soldiers," Xie Han said, turning back to Xu Qiang. He then removed the military cap from his own head and silently placed it on the head of a fallen soldier before him. Most of the fallen soldiers had been shot from the side by their comrades, leaving many of their faces intact—a final act of dignity they could perform for them.

Prompted by Xie Han, all the officers removed their military caps and placed them upon the fallen soldiers, while nearby soldiers promptly stepped forward with more caps. Standing on the podium of the emergency meeting, Xie Han swept his gaze across the nearly thirty seated officers and said in a heavy, grief-stricken voice, "This should have been a moment of universal joy. The soldiers can rejoice, the civilians can rejoice, but we cannot. Do you know why? Because of these 1,371 fallen soldiers. Some of you might think that war inherently entails sacrifice. But I want to say that we are not afraid of sacrifice; what we fear is meaningless sacrifice."

Chen Liu lowered his head, though Xie Han did not directly call out anyone by name, continuing instead: "In the apocalypse, death is as normal as eating a meal. Each of us has probably experienced friends, colleagues, or comrades falling victim to zombie attacks right before our eyes. You have become numb to such situations, grown accustomed to them. But today, I want to say that those who died at the hands of zombies, those who once fought bravely against them, are all heroes of humanity—countless nameless heroes."

"What is most important for a soldier? First is loyalty, second is honor, and only third comes their life. I do not know how others in the apocalypse treat fallen soldiers, but I know that I must do something for them, that our New City must do something for them. I believe that every single soldier possesses an immortal spirit. Using the head of the Controller alone as a blood sacrifice to honor them is far from enough. We must build an eternal Hero Tower for their bravery, so that everyone who joins New City in the future will know everything they once sacrificed for it."

The site chosen for the Hero Tower was a small hill located ten kilometers directly in front of New City. Upon learning that New City intended to build a Hero Tower for the fallen soldiers, civilians throughout the city voluntarily brought their tools and headed toward this hill, which was officially renamed Mount Lingying, contributing their own strength to the construction of the Hero Tower.

Undoubtedly, those who felt the deepest gratitude were the ones eligible to become soldiers. Life and death were treated so casually in the apocalypse; who would care about ordinary people killed by zombies? No matter how many zombies one killed, one might only remain a nameless hero unknown to the world. Perhaps in a year, two years, or several years, one's name would be forgotten forever. By that time, even if humanity reclaimed its right to survive, who would remember those who had once struggled and fought?

The Hero Tower consisted of seven levels, with each level representing a different rank of merit, arranged in ascending order from bottom to top. The lowest level, for instance, housed all the soldiers who had perished in battle. Entering levels two and above required achieving distinct feats of valor. The highest level, the seventh, was reserved exclusively for those who had rendered monumental, tide-turning contributions to New City.

To ensure that the fallen soldiers received the eternal reverence of ten thousand people, New City specially amended its laws, codifying the supreme status of the Hero Tower. Furthermore, the date of this battle was designated as Hero Day; on each Hero Day, New City would hold a heroic memorial ceremony at the Hero Tower to comfort the souls of the departed soldiers.

The construction of the Hero Tower could be described as a miraculous feat; the seven-story tower was completed in a mere two days. Under Xie Han's resolute decision, the entire population of New City, on the third day after the tower's completion, gathered holding the ashes of the 1,371 soldiers and slowly marched toward Mount Lingying.

The small Mount Lingying could not possibly accommodate nearly twenty thousand people, so the civilians who could not squeeze onto the mountain stood quietly at its base.

As arranged, the soldiers carrying the ashes of the 1,371 fallen soldiers wore neat military uniforms, arranged in precise formations in the plaza before the Hero Tower, gazing solemnly at the structure. The surrounding civilians likewise stared with stern expressions at the Hero Tower, which represented the highest honor, paying their utmost respect to the heroes who had given their lives.

Xie Han led Chen Liu and his entourage slowly up the steps of the Hero Tower, finally stopping right before the entrance to gaze silently down at the sea of soldiers below.

"I am proud of the fallen soldiers; they laid the foundation for our victory over the zombies in New City. Although they have left us, I can feel that they have not truly gone. Instead, they are watching over us in another form, silently protecting the entire New City. I would love to use all the most magnificent words I know to describe these brave soldiers, but I know even better that what they need is not words, but honor—the honor that rightfully belongs to them."

Xie Han spoke slowly, his unique vocal resonance carrying his words into the ears of every single person present. "By decision of the New City Supreme Council, a First-Class New City Medal is hereby awarded to the fallen soldiers."

The First-Class New City Medal was an initiative proposed by Xie Han. Limited to exactly 1,371 pieces, it was created specifically for the soldiers who perished in this battle. Due to time constraints, its design depicted a city supported by a single green leaf, symbolizing absolute loyalty to New City. While manufacturing them was not overly difficult, producing as many as 1,371 pieces while maintaining high precision posed quite a challenge. Virtually these medals were crafted through a combination of semi-mechanization and manual labor, making them a uniquely exclusive honor in New City.

After pinning each of these medals onto the cinerary boxes of the fallen soldiers, everyone broke into applause, many casting looks of envy. A First-Class New City Medal was limited to 1,371 pieces and awarded exclusively to soldiers who died in action; no more First-Class New City Medals would ever be minted in the future. One could only imagine how immense and precious the honor associated with such a medal truly was.

"Next..." Xie Han shouted aloud, "Before we escort the souls of our heroes into the Hero Tower, we shall use the mastermind behind this disaster to pay homage to our fallen soldiers. Bring out the Controller..."

Six soldiers carried a large alloy cage covered with a black cloth onto the stage, placing it slowly before the Hero Tower.

Xie Han pulled away the black cloth shroud, revealing the terrified face of the Controller, its near-human appearance completely exposed to everyone present. At such close range, Xie Han carefully observed the creature: its skin was pale white, its fingers slender, and its nails pitch-black and at least three centimeters long. Its two eyes were pitch-black voids, its mouth hung open, constantly emitting a whimpering sound. Saliva periodically dripped from its mouth, hitting the floorboards below.

The clothing on the Controller's body was torn and tattered beyond recognition, making it impossible to tell what kind of profession it had held three and a half years ago. However, this no longer mattered, because after becoming a Controller, it was no longer human; it stood entirely on the opposing side as a zombie, an entity destined to be eradicated by humanity.

"Drag it out!" At Xie Han's command, amidst the pulling of several soldiers, the panicked Controller was hauled out of the cage and forced to the floorboards.

The blood sacrifice was simple, and in Xie Han's view, there was no need to make it overly complicated. Under the gaze of everyone present, Xie Han accepted a saber handed over by a soldier and walked up to the creature. Without hesitation, with a single sweep of the blade, he severed the Controller's head, and then shouted aloud: "Let the heroes enter their mausoleum..."

Although this blood sacrifice appeared simple, the impact it brought was profound. The myth of the zombie's invincibility was thoroughly shattered; no one feared zombies anymore, and everyone brimmed with confidence. After the celebrations, the entire New City returned to its former bustling productivity, with everyone working even harder, dedicating their own strength to building an even better New City.

As for the soldiers who participated in this battle, New City awarded each of them a Third-Class New City Heroism Medal. Among the remaining 6,600 soldiers, those who had joined during the mobilization phase would not be discharged from the military but would instead become active-duty personnel. As for the nearly ten thousand men in the reserve force, they were demobilized and returned to their previous walks of life.

Everything in New City seemed unchanged on the surface, but only the administrative officials knew that New City was actually entering its most perilous period.

Holding a inventory list in his hand, Xie Han wore a bitter expression as he addressed Chen Liu and the other three officers in the room: "Well then, New City has been knocked right back to the pre-liberation era. Firearms have practically become decorative items; our bullet reserves are down to fewer than ten thousand, incendiary bombs have been completely exhausted, not a single artillery shell is left, and the rocket launcher trucks have been reduced to empty shells. If anyone wants a textbook definition of starting from scratch, I suppose New City is the prime example."

Xu Qiang said with a troubled expression, "Commander Xie, you know as well as I that there were simply too many zombies this time. The ammunition consumption was immense. Besides, nobody knew if we would survive, so incendiary bombs were naturally used up in one go. We didn't anticipate today's predicament back then; otherwise, we would have conserved them a bit and saved at least some."

Xie Han shook his head and replied, "I am not blaming you for using them excessively. During the thick of that battle, even I had no certainty of survival, let alone you all. I am merely lamenting that New City's foundation is still far too weak. A few months of accumulation was exhausted in a single day. What will we do if an even more intense battle occurs in the future? Furthermore, none of us can guarantee whether there are more zombies marching toward New City from Wangtian City. If they do..." Xie Han gave a bitter smile, "We really might have to turn tail and flee in panic this time."

Chen Liu looked at Xie Han and asked, "What should we do now?"

Xie Han stated, "We need to revive the hunting fleets and gathering brigades, and send people to keep watch on the highways flanking New City. If any survivors appear, intercept them and bring them to New City. I've thought about it—zombies are not terrifying as long as we possess enough soldiers; once they leave the cities, they are no match for humans at all. Furthermore, we must increase the manpower of the gathering brigades. You all know the potency of the GGB biological agent; it can completely substitute for bullets and artillery shells. We must change our approach, or else even if we work ourselves to death manufacturing bullets and other supplies, we still won't be able to keep up with the consumption."

Chu Tianhe, who was in charge of logistics and managed many of the raw materials, remarked, "Our consumption of raw materials is also massive. If we don't replenish them, the manufacturing plants will have to halt production. In my view, New City only needs a necessary garrison force for defense; all the rest can be dispatched outward to form multiple hunting fleets to increase the rate of raw material acquisition."

Xu Qiang pondered for a moment and suggested, "Commander Xie, how about this? With our current capabilities, we are fully capable of conquering some small towns. The raw material acquisition in those places will far surpass what we can get in rural areas. Previously, we only had a little over a thousand soldiers and naturally couldn't pull it off, but now we have 6,600. New City only needs 1,600 soldiers for garrison duty; the rest is more than enough. We can completely organize a hunting force of 5,000 soldiers to sweep through the surrounding towns."

Xu Qiang's proposal met with no opposition. Compared to the past, New City's military strength had undoubtedly increased several-fold, and it was indeed time to revise some of their former strategies.