Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

The Northwest Base’s military food supplies were barely enough to last ten more days. Many civilians had already gone without food for several days, and hunger-driven unrest was growing increasingly common.

Due to the capital base’s satellite surveillance, Wang Shengxi, the base commander, had to restrain his tyrannical tendencies. He feared any blatant violations of the law might one day lead to harsh consequences when the capital base regained control.

Despite his efforts to maintain order, Wang Shengxi knew that without reinforcements, he would soon be unable to protect the civilian population.

If the situation persisted for another ten days without supplies or relief, the zombies wouldn’t need to breach the base walls—the residents would perish from starvation.

At that point, even if the military remained intact, what good would a handful of soldiers be? Although Wang Shengxi often looked down on the civilian population, he understood their importance. They were the foundation of the survivor base, an indispensable part of its existence. Without them, there would be no base to command.

Realizing this, Wang Shengxi reluctantly authorized the distribution of extremely thin porridge made from coarse grains, lightly salted, to be served once every morning to the civilian population.

Though far from sufficient to satisfy hunger, it at least kept people alive. But even this meager ration wouldn’t last much longer—not for the civilians, and soon not even for the soldiers.

Desperate to resolve the crisis, Wang Shengxi had spent the past several days gathering his team, brainstorming ways to break the siege and restore order.

That day, a communications officer monitoring the zombie horde outside the base suddenly burst into Wang Shengxi’s office, a mix of excitement and disbelief on his face.

“Commander, someone is clearing out the zombies outside our base!”

Wang Shengxi and the senior staff rushed to the surveillance room, excitement flickering in their eyes. But their hopes were dashed when they saw only two figures on the screen.

The initial joy turned into frustration as Wang Shengxi cursed under his breath, “What good are just two people? They’re here to get themselves killed!”

“Commander, look closely,” the communications officer urged. “These aren’t ordinary people. I just counted—each of them can take out two zombies simultaneously. In just one minute, they’ve already killed over a hundred zombies.”

The officer’s numb expression conveyed both disbelief and awe at what he had witnessed.

Hearing the communications officer’s statement, no one believed him. The top fighter at the Northwest Base took around 30 seconds to kill a single fourth-tier zombie. The idea of someone killing over 60 zombies per minute was pure nonsense to them.

“I’m not lying! Come see for yourselves!” the communications officer urged, visibly anxious.

Two colleagues, who were closer to him, moved to the screen skeptically. After watching closely, one of them gasped, “Are you sure these are humans? They don’t seem human at all!”

“What kind of speed and reflexes is that?” exclaimed the other incredulously.

Hearing their astonishment, Wang Shengxi felt compelled to see for himself. One outburst could be dismissed, but three people expressing shock signaled something unusual. He approached the screen, followed by other curious onlookers.

The communications officer had maximized the screen resolution. Despite the signal distortion and occasional lag, it was clear the figures on the screen were a young man and woman. Each wielded a pair of short swords, moving swiftly and gracefully through the sea of zombies.

Wherever they passed, zombie heads rolled to the ground, detached from their bodies. Their movements were so fast they resembled a whirlwind, leaving a trail of fallen zombies in their wake. Hundreds, possibly thousands of lifeless zombie bodies lay scattered around them.

Everyone who witnessed the scene drew a sharp breath. The first thought racing through their minds was: ‘Are these two really human?’

While the presence of such powerful fighters brought initial joy to the base, it quickly turned to concern.

“They’re incredibly strong, sure—but there are only two of them. How long will it take for just two people to kill off millions of zombies?” someone voiced aloud.

It was a valid point. Still, this glimmer of hope was better than nothing. Even if they doubted the duo’s ability to eliminate all the zombies, they clung tightly to hope.

Initially, many assumed the pair’s physical endurance would last no more than three hours, given even an enhanced fighter’s stamina had its limits.

But after six hours, the young man and woman were still battling relentlessly.

Gradually, it became clear to the observers—these two had a plan.

The two young fighters were building a barricade using zombie corpses, creating a protective wall to carve out a path leading from the perimeter of the zombie horde straight to the base gates.

This passage would serve as a shield, preventing zombies from overwhelming the gate from three sides as soon as it was opened.

With this pathway, the base survivors would only need to confront the zombies entering from the far end, rather than being flanked from both sides. If the defenders became too exhausted to continue fighting, they could retreat swiftly and safely back into the base, greatly improving their chances of survival.

Once the base members understood the duo’s strategy, their spirits lifted—this was indeed a clever solution.

Still, while it was a good idea in theory, executing it required unparalleled combat prowess. Only fighters as skilled as these two young individuals could successfully carve out such a lifeline for the Northwest Base.

After battling zombies for more than seven straight hours, even with their exceptional stamina, Ruo Manni and Hebrew Adam began to feel the toll of their relentless combat.

Noticing that nightfall was approaching, the two exchanged a glance, understanding each other without words. They decisively began pushing their way toward the outer perimeter of the zombie horde.

Ordinary people trapped in such dense waves of zombies would have no chance of escape, inevitably succumbing to exhaustion and death.

However, the duo effortlessly tore open a breach in the encirclement and made a swift, graceful exit. Their incredible running speed left the pursuing zombies far behind within moments.

The communications officer at the Northwest Base couldn’t help but track their every move, amazed by their agility. Through the surveillance feed, the group saw the pair board a black RV parked five kilometers away.

The RV looked quite ordinary in the images, but in these times, owning an undamaged vehicle was a feat only highly skilled individuals like them could manage.

The people at the Northwest Base assumed the pair would soon drive away. However, to their surprise, the vehicle remained stationary for quite a while without any signs of movement.

The zombies that had initially surrounded the area, attracted by their scent, began to disperse aimlessly once the two boarded the RV, as if they’d lost their target.

“They probably aren’t leaving yet,” someone speculated. “Since they’ve already started clearing the path, they’re likely planning to finish it. Besides, they haven’t shown any signs of injury.”

Believing these two might be their only hope for survival, Wang Shengxi and his team couldn’t focus on anything else. They remained fixated on the satellite surveillance, watching the young pair intently. Only when the pair finally drove off did they realize they had been standing in front of the screen for over six hours.

Returning to the base leader’s office, they all collapsed into chairs, completely drained.