Four small groups took turns covering each other as they climbed over the north wall of the South Korean Embassy, crossed the narrow road, and gathered under the south wall of the US Embassy. This road is usually closed, with no vehicles or pedestrians passing through, clean and empty, except for two anti-vehicle barriers.
Once inside the embassy, there was no need to climb over the wall anymore, because the main gate was in the middle of this road. At this time, the fragility of the door lock was fully demonstrated by Hong Tao's rough poking with a German drill. This is not to say that German technology is necessarily better than American technology, but rather that a key element is missing: order!
"This black guy must weigh 300 pounds!" As the lock of the duty room was opened, a black iron tower rushed out first, almost knocking Hong Tao, who was holding a shield, on his butt. Fortunately, Sun Jianshe was quick with his spear and knocked it on top of its head. Fortunately, the human skull does not thicken with weight.
"Randy, this is your territory, lead the way!" After experiencing what it means to face a strong man, Hong Tao didn't dare to be arrogant anymore and firmly pushed Randy to the forefront.
As expected of a fellow countryman, the security personnel in the US Embassy showed great tolerance even when they became zombies. Since Randy became the vanguard, encountering zombies was a common occurrence, but none of them weighed over 200 pounds.
Soon, the area near the gate was cleared, including three wandering zombies that came from nearby. They were all wearing military uniforms, khaki short-sleeved tops, belts of the same color, blue pants with red stripes, and black leather shoes. One of them wore a white wide-brimmed hat, while the other two did not have hats.
"Is this the US Marine Corps?" Zhang Tao always considered himself a military enthusiast and often argued with Jiao San, a pseudo-military enthusiast, about the strengths and weaknesses of various countries' weapons. Now that he saw a real foreign military, he was a bit confused. The main reason was that the military uniform he saw was quite different from the image of soldiers in camouflage clothing and special combat equipment in movies and TV shows.
"This is the Marine Security Guard of the US Marine Corps. Look, the abbreviation 'msg' on their hat emblem. They don't participate in combat and are specifically stationed to protect US embassies around the world, similar to our armed police. According to the agreement between China and the US, the Marine Security Guard cannot wear combat uniforms or military uniforms and carry weapons outside the embassy. This outfit should be a military service uniform or dress uniform, for summer!"
Hong Tao couldn't answer Zhang Tao's doubts. He did know American naval officers and even served on a US destroyer, but he never had a systematic understanding of the US military uniforms, mainly because there were too many types and many subdivisions within each branch.
But Pan Wenxiang suddenly stood up, walked to the side of the zombie, picked up the wide-brimmed hat with his weapon, looked at the hat emblem, and began his first long speech since joining the team, speaking with reason and evidence.
"Oh my god, an expert! Randy, is this true?" Even Hong Tao was dumbfounded and quickly sought confirmation from Randy, the only one who might understand.
"It is indeed the Marine Security Guard, wearing dress uniforms. They have a flag-raising ceremony every day, so they should be flag bearers... The ending shouldn't be like this. They should have a more honorable funeral!"
Randy's expression was a bit desolate. She walked over, took the hat from Pan Wenxiang's hand, personally put it on the zombie's head, stood up and saluted, and changed the English pronoun from "it" to "they". Everyone then realized that she was also a former servicewoman, whether in the army, navy, or Marine Corps, there was always a bit of sadness for those of the same kind.
"This is China, they are invaders, we haven't sent troops to the US!" However, everyone forgot one thing. Sun Jianshe was also a veteran and definitely couldn't stand foreign soldiers being sentimental on his own country's land, especially Americans.
"They are soldiers, carrying out their missions. What's wrong with that?" Randy, who is usually very gentle when interacting with others, rarely got angry. Even when she was pranked, she still had a sense of humor.
"That's imperialism. If our soldiers also go to Washington to carry out missions, would you not care?" Sun Jianshe, as always, had a fiery temper. He would say whatever he thought, regardless of who the other person was, just like when he first met Hong Tao, he didn't hesitate to argue. He didn't fear anyone.
"Stop, stop, stop. It's already this time and you're still arguing about international politics. Haven't you two been in the same team before? When zombies attack, do you bite the Americans first or the Chinese first? Don't you need to help each other to get through this difficult time together? Let me emphasize again, not just for them, but for everyone present, can you put aside those useless things in your mind for now? This is an extraordinary period. Our only enemy is the zombies, and our only friends are humans, regardless of race, nationality, or belief. If you can't even do this, how can you defeat the enemy and survive? What are you looking at? Shake hands and make peace. Are you waiting for me to persuade each of you individually?"
Seeing that the argument was about to turn into a confrontation, a shiny ice axe suddenly struck between the two. Hong Tao frowned and spoke with slanted triangular eyes, without anyone being right or wrong, both sides sarcastically and ridiculed each other.
"..." Their hands were clasped together, but there was no apology or forgiveness, just silently separating.
"Randy, from the disaster until today, I have killed hundreds of my compatriots who turned into zombies, including my relatives and neighbors. Their bodies were burned to ashes. They are your compatriots. I give you the authority. How do you plan to handle the bodies?"
It's easy to say, but hard to convince others. Hong Tao didn't intend to make everyone convinced and couldn't achieve absolute fairness. But he had a trick up his sleeve, which was to lead by example. If I can do it, can you do it? Do you want to do it? Decide for yourself. Of course, you have to bear the consequences yourself!
"...Can I cremate the bodies?" By now, Randy's emotions had calmed down and her rationality had returned. Looking around, the only answer was clear."No problem, let Team Leader Sun help you... Sun Ge, what do you think?" It takes two to tango, it's not enough to just make Randy lower her head, that would only intensify the conflict. The other party must also compromise.
"Foreign friends, don't mind it. Soldiers are known for their straightforwardness. I'll help you find some good wood next time, it will burn thoroughly when set up. They were all good soldiers, who died on the battlefield!"
If anyone dislikes a person with Sun Ge's character, then their mind is too narrow. This old man really has no malice, he is very straightforward in his dealings. Right is right, wrong is wrong, he never beats around the bush, and rarely holds grudges over arguments. This virtue is not only enjoyed by his compatriots, but also extended to foreigners without discrimination.
The conflict was perfectly resolved, and the quarreling parties laughed off their grievances. However, the side effect continued to spread. What side effect? An involuntary respect for the zombies in military uniforms, trying as much as possible not to disturb their bodies and belongings, and not to hack at them indiscriminately.
Even when gathering the bodies in the courtyard, the steel hooks only hooked their clothes, no longer randomly hooking their mouths or chins. Moreover, Sun Ge suggested that the bodies of the four armed police soldiers outside the door should also be brought in for cremation together, instead of burning them separately, as this place was their battlefield when they were alive.
What, pull them with hands instead of hooks? That's not respect, that's extreme worship. Hong Tao, apart from holding his uncle's body, never touched a zombie, and he doesn't want to in the future. If anyone dares to do so, he would be the first to turn against them, kicking them out of the team, regardless of their fate.
Although the U.S. Embassy is large, at least three times the size of the Korean Embassy, and has many buildings, the cleanup work in the courtyard went smoothly and was completed in less than forty minutes. The reason for this was simple: sturdy doors and windows!
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Since the disaster occurred at midnight, most people were inside their houses, and zombies can't open doors, so they were naturally trapped. All the doors and windows of the embassy's internal buildings were triple-glazed, with both electric and mechanical double-door locks.
The initial design intention was probably for soundproofing and confidentiality, then for insulation and sturdiness. Unexpectedly, it now became a cage for zombies, no matter how they rammed, so far not a single one has broken a door or window to get out.
This provided great convenience for the subsequent cleanup work. With the mechanical door locks in place, the teams could even confidently enter the target buildings without first sealing off nearby doors and windows.
Of course, Hong Tao would not allow this. It wouldn't take much effort to tie a few more binding straps. He is very conservative when it comes to safety, truly adhering to the principle of 'better safe than sorry', no matter how tedious it may seem.