The four finished their hearty breakfast and rested for half an hour, not rushing to go ashore. As Gu Zhaobei was a doctor, he naturally wanted to avoid everyone being too full, which would hinder their mobility and combat effectiveness once they reached land.
When the time was right, the four of them put on their protective gear.
Gu Qingcheng also found four baseball helmets, one for each person. These were very useful, made of steel with a protrusion in front of the mouth, perfectly protecting them from direct contact with zombies.
After the four disembarked, Gu Qingcheng stowed the yacht. Since there was no one else on board, carrying it with them was convenient.
Entering Jiren Village for the second time, they felt somewhat familiar with the surroundings.
Jiren Village was as eerily quiet as it had been yesterday. The chickens, ducks, and dogs were all gone. Recalling the zombie preying on a wild rabbit the day before, Gu Qingcheng finally understood why there were no farm animals in the village – they had all been eaten by the zombies.
Their objective today was to observe the zombies' behavior and formulate countermeasures. Upon entering the village, they climbed onto the courtyard wall of a mansion.
This mansion likely belonged to a wealthy landlord, with high walls and a deep courtyard. The surrounding wall was over two meters high.
Standing on the wall, they had a commanding view and could clearly see everything happening below.
Based on yesterday's observations, zombies could not jump and could only walk and run on level ground. Therefore, they were relatively safe on the high wall.
To lure the zombies out, Gu Qingcheng took out a string of electronic firecrackers from the Mountain Cat Supermarket. After installing batteries and pressing the switch, the crackling sound of firecrackers erupted.
Following the sudden, piercing loud noise, indeed, rustling, terrifying sounds echoed from all directions. Then, a group of zombies suddenly appeared from nowhere, all rushing towards the source of the sound.
Gu Qingcheng stood calmly on the courtyard wall, holding the electronic firecrackers. The zombies began to gather below, but being unable to jump, they could only pace restlessly and anxiously beneath the wall.
Hu Lanfang and Mi Guo were seeing so many zombies up close for the first time.
Hu Lanfang instinctively reached for her waist, her hand gripping the hilt of her saber, which provided a modicum of psychological comfort.
Indeed, hearing about something and witnessing it firsthand were completely different experiences.
Mi Guo shivered uncontrollably. He could remain calm when facing one or two zombies, but so many?
The thought of being caught and devoured by them, or even becoming as hideous as them, sent a chill down Mi Guo's spine.
Gu Qingcheng did not turn off the electronic firecrackers and continued to set them off.
At this point, her focus shifted to observing where the zombies were coming from.
Then, she discovered that the places from which the zombies emerged were truly bizarre.
Some directly crawled out from under the eaves near them, extremely close by.
Gu Qingcheng initially thought these zombies had evolved to be able to jump. After a closer look, she realized they were likely following their instinct to avoid light, climbing along the pillars to hide under the eaves.
This vantage point was incredibly stealthy, no wonder they hadn't noticed it before.
Other zombies emerged directly from underground drainage ditches, and some appeared from deep within piles of firewood.
Witnessing these scenes, Gu Qingcheng remarked, "It seems they truly prefer dark places, indicating they fear light. Rabies patients fear light because the virus invades their nervous system. Perhaps we'll have an opportunity to ask Ge Hong if Prince Xia was bitten by any animals capable of spreading rabies before."
"Not bad, that's a good angle for research," Gu Zhaobei said appreciatively.
The group suppressed their discomfort towards the zombies and diligently observed the creatures' habits.
This was valuable experience that, if passed on to ordinary people, could significantly increase their chances of survival.
Who else would dare to observe zombies at such close range?
Gu Qingcheng, seeing that she had attracted over a hundred zombies and the numbers were sufficient, turned off the electronic firecrackers.
If too many zombies appeared, their arms would ache from killing them later. Enough samples for research were all that was needed.
When the zombies no longer heard the noise, they suddenly fell silent, as if they had lost their leader and objective. They stopped milling around the base of the wall and dispersed, some walking in circles, others moving about randomly.
Seeing this, the Gu family members no longer felt an urgent need to leave the village. As long as they remained silent, the zombies were quite docile.
At this moment, Gu Qingcheng suddenly remembered the zombie movies she had watched, where zombies were said to fear fire. She said:
"Why don't we try a fire attack? I heard zombies are afraid of flames."
"Sure, try any ideas you have," Gu Zhaobei said, having committed to spending the day dealing with the zombies.
Gu Qingcheng found high-purity medical alcohol from the pharmacy in the Mountain Cat Supermarket. She then tied cotton cloth to the tip of an arrow, soaked the cloth in alcohol, set it ablaze, and shot the flaming arrow towards a fat-headed, big-eared zombie below.
Gu Qingcheng's archery skills were, needless to say, excellent. Her arrow hit the target precisely.
A miraculous scene unfolded. The fat zombie was struck in the chest. After being hit, the flames ignited its clothes. Perhaps due to the alcohol, its entire outfit quickly caught fire, and then, its skin began to burn as well.
It sizzled as it burned and thrashed wildly among the horde of zombies. Those it touched were also ignited.
The zombies that had been densely gathered below the wall began to spread the flames. The fire started to burn on many of them as the fat zombie inadvertently spread the contagion.
Seeing the effectiveness of the fire attack, everyone's spirits lifted. They all asked Gu Qingcheng for alcohol and arrows to create flaming projectiles, unleashing a volley of fiery arrows at the zombies below.
On the scene, one zombie after another could be seen catching fire.
"Dad, the zombies seem to be flammable. Do you feel it? Once ignited, the fire quickly burns from their skin to their internal organs, and then burns back out. It's as if they are excellent charcoal," said Gu Qingcheng.
Gu Zhaobei had already felt something strange but couldn't quite articulate it. Hearing his daughter's words, he immediately nodded:
"Yes, that's the feeling you described. It seems we've found a great way to counter the zombies – fire! Qingcheng, you've made a great contribution."
Gu Zhaobei smiled heartily.
Hu Lanfang added, "A proud father with a capable child."
Gu Zhaobei beamed even more.
This compliment benefited him as well, didn't it?
About ten minutes later, none of the zombies that had been attracted by the electronic firecrackers remained. Only pools of black ash were left on the ground.
"Dad, should we clear out the zombies in this village? So they don't escape and harm the common folk?"
"Alright. We'll use fire. "
Thus, after discussing their strategy, the four of them split up.
Knowing that zombies feared light and wouldn't riot without noise, they walked through the village with relative ease, though they moved stealthily, trying not to make any sound.