Chapter 84
Yu Qingxian stared at the APP, but eventually tapped it open.
Although she was somewhat worried about being tracked.
But being tracked was inevitable.
Yu Qingxian opened her phone.
Now that she had entered the West Base area, her phone could function.
Although the APP took a while to load, once opened, the page left Yu Qingxian shaken.
It showed fifteen bases.
And at the top, it read: China Population: 160,052,051 (people)
In the moment of her surprise, that number instantly dropped by three.
In other words, three people had died just a second ago.
However, the number increased by one again shortly after.
Meaning, a newborn had been added to the population.
The fifteen bases were ranked in descending order of population.
The most populated was listed first.
It was the East Base, with a population of over twenty-three million.
The least populated was the Northwest Base, with a population of around three million two hundred thousand.
Apart from the top five most populated bases, the remaining six had roughly similar populations.
And the bottom four bases also showed a decreasing population trend.
Yu Qingxian noticed that each base could be clicked on for more details.
Unable to resist, she tapped into one.
The array of text and numbers exposed her to the depth of a great nation's resources.
In just over half a year, her country had not only tallied the number of survivors, but even the number of zombies.
It detailed the number of zombies in each city and their corresponding danger levels.
As well as the number of stationed troops, medical personnel, and research staff at each base.
The number of Supernaturals and Supernatural combat teams.
Being able to compile such data truly astounded Yu Qingxian.
She had never imagined her country could advance to this level.
After exiting the base information, she noticed the top population number flickering again.
It kept decreasing, overall.
Yu Qingxian scrolled down and discovered it even recorded the number of survivors from other countries.
Of course, those were just rough estimates.
Not as precise as the numbers for her own country.
However, Yu Qingxian felt that even the population figures for her country were not entirely accurate.
They could only account for those who had entered the bases and been registered into the new system.
But many people refused to be governed.
In their eyes, with the apocalypse upon them, who still held authority?
Yet Yu Qingxian felt fortunate.
As an ordinary person, she would never become the protagonist, nor could she slay endlessly.
If she were a normal, ordinary person, Yu Qingxian would likely be a resident of one of these fifteen bases.
Or perhaps even one of the roaming zombies on the streets.
Although Yu Qingxian knew that self-reliance was often necessary, sometimes one still needed to seek help.
Looking at those numbers, she felt an inexplicable sense of reassurance.
Her country was powerful, and she did not need to be a hero.
After all, the nation had food reserves.
If there were still nearly two billion survivors, they probably could not last long.
But now, the population had been reduced to less than one-tenth.
These food supplies should sustain them for a while.
Yu Qingxian knew she did not need to worry.
She attended an ordinary elementary school, an ordinary middle school, a decent high school, and a passable university.
But Yu Qingxian was also well aware that she was merely someone living off others.
What kept her going was probably just not wanting to see her parents disappointed.
Yu Qingxian did not delete the APP, but kept it to observe the situation discreetly.
She remained in the city for several days.
But Yu Qingxian had scoured the entire urban area, recharging all her devices' batteries.
Thanks to the diesel generators and the like.
Although inconvenient, Yu Qingxian managed to recharge everything after tinkering with them.
The generators were indeed useful, but too heavy for Yu Qingxian to consider carrying.
She was not planning to live like a savage and would occasionally return to the city.
She could find a way to recharge then.
However, Yu Qingxian did stock up on more dog food for Bawanglong, as well as various freeze-dried and canned goods.
All of which she loaded onto the sled.
As she looked at the fully loaded sled, Yu Qingxian felt a bit embarrassed.
"Is this too heavy for you?" Yu Qingxian asked Bawanglong, pointing at the sled.
But Bawanglong cooperatively positioned itself in front of the sled, even grabbing the harness with its mouth and tossing it onto its own body.
This made Yu Qingxian break out in a cold sweat.
Are you really seeing yourself as a draft animal now?
Nevermind, the sled was full of Bawanglong's food anyway, while Yu Qingxian only had a luggage bag that now weighed over ten kilograms with her added belongings.
Yu Qingxian harnessed the sled to Bawanglong, but did not ride it herself.
She could walk at her own pace.
Seeing Yu Qingxian not climbing aboard, Bawanglong kept gesturing for her to get on.
Thus began a standoff between the human and dog.
Finally, Yu Qingxian relented and sat on the sled.
Upon seeing Yu Qingxian seated, Bawanglong joyfully took off running.
As if it were not pulling any weight behind it at all.
Yu Qingxian estimated the sled weighed over two hundred pounds.
Something she definitely could not lift.
But for Bawanglong, it seemed like a piece of cake.
And it did not appear strained at all, putting Yu Qingxian at ease.
As long as it was not forced.
Yu Qingxian launched one of her recharged drones.
After all, they were less than two hundred kilometers from the West Base.
Yu Qingxian also wanted to practice controlling the drones.
So she had taken two drones with her.
If one broke, she would still have a backup.
Luckily, Yu Qingxian was not completely clueless, and managed to get the drone airborne after studying the manual.
She just had a little trouble with the landing, causing the drone to take a tumble.
But there was no major damage.
Yu Qingxian practiced a few more times and could now control it well.
Through the controller's screen, she could see the footage captured by the drone's camera.
She had only watched others operate drones before, never trying it herself.
This opened a new world for Yu Qingxian.
She even flew the drone into the city, prompting the zombies to chase after it.
But as she prepared to retrieve the drone, it suddenly came under attack and crashed to the ground.
Although the video feed was still visible, Yu Qingxian could no longer control the drone.
She initially thought a zombie had knocked it down, but there were none around.
The drone had been flying at an altitude too high for the zombies to reach, even with their enhanced speeds and jumping abilities.
But it had still crashed.
Meaning its flight function had failed.
Yu Qingxian looked at the controller in her hand. This drone was expensive, with a signal range of around ten kilometers.
So she did not stop, directing Bawanglong to keep moving forward.
They were now about two kilometers from the city.
But Yu Qingxian still wanted to see what exactly had taken down her drone.
When they were about five kilometers out, a face appeared on the controller's screen.
A face Yu Qingxian was familiar with.
The one who could see her and Shi Xingyu.
She did not know his name!
But she knew he must be an expert sniper.
So her drone must have been shot down by him.
Was he crazy?
It was just a drone, not a bird...
But then Yu Qingxian remembered something.
He was always with Gu Wanqing and that Sheng guy, and Gu Wanqing was an official.
So him shooting down her drone must have been for the good of the nation.
They were near the border, and if another country was invading to gather intelligence on us, it made sense.
Yu Qingxian gave that little peanut a mental pat on the back.
Well done! But she was still a little angry.