Chapter Sixty-Eight: Roasting the Undead by Fire

"Captain, I have one here," said a young woman. Fang Xia glanced over and recognized her instantly.

"You’re Li Qianwan, right?" Fang Xia remembered her well. Apart from the thirty people he had brought from university, she was the first recruit to join his team, along with three other young women.

"Yes, Captain," Li Qianwan replied, her excitement barely contained. She hadn’t expected the captain to recall her name.

"Li Qianwan’s quite capable. She’s now a squad leader," Li Xiaochun chimed in from the side, sounding familiar with her. Perhaps it was because they shared the same surname.

Fang Xia’s team was wealthy these days. Outstanding squad leaders wore space rings with a capacity of five hundred kilograms.

"Keep it up. The real transformation for a fighter comes after Tier Three," Fang Xia encouraged.

Li Qianwan nodded happily, then retrieved an item from her space ring.

Fang Xia stared in disbelief at what she produced.

Li Qianwan looked a bit embarrassed.

"Why do you keep this in your space?" Fang Xia pointed at the enormous, ordinary bathtub before him.

"Well… I don’t really like bathing with others, so I got one for myself. I’d just pour some water in from the bathhouse and wash alone."

Women were certainly more particular about cleanliness than men. In tough conditions, there was no choice, but given options, who would want to squeeze into a bathhouse with a dozen others?

"All right, I’ll take this bathtub. When we return, let Liu Rui get you another one, exclusively for your use."

"Thank you, Captain." She was delighted. No more fetching water every day, no more worrying about the bath cooling so quickly—she could finally soak in comfort.

After settling the bathtub, Fang Xia began unpacking the alcohol. Bai Xing summoned a few more people to help.

"Fang, are we going to burn it?" Bai Xing asked.

"Yes. It’s too risky to fight our way through."

"But we can’t just pour the alcohol over there," Bai Xing pointed out, echoing the concern everyone else had.

To burn all the zombies on the bridge, they’d need to douse the whole span with alcohol first. But Bai Xing’s stealth wasn’t the same as being intangible, and the bridge was packed with zombies—she couldn’t get through.

"Don’t worry. I can get right above their heads," Fang Xia replied mysteriously, pointing upward.

"We have only one chance, so the bathtub must be completely filled," Fang Xia explained. The alcohol inside was just the primer. Despite the sheer number of zombies, the bridge wasn’t long; once it was drenched, one sweep would suffice.

Besides the alcohol in the bathtub, he planned to throw down unopened containers as well. Once ignited, the packaging wouldn’t matter.

"Li Xiaochun, go find some firewood—preferably the fuzzy, easily ignited kind. As much as possible."

Li Xiaochun didn’t ask why and took a dozen women off to gather wood.

Fortunately, they were already in Baicheng’s outskirts, where dead trees abounded.

The women up ahead were wrapping up their fight. It was daytime, so the Tier One zombies’ hearing was significantly dulled. As long as they stayed off the bridge, the zombies wouldn’t bother them.

"Coat the wood with alcohol as well," Fang Xia instructed. Thanks to the hotpot supplies, Liu Rui had brought back all the unwanted alcohol. His space ring was stuffed with full crates—more than enough to set the bridge ablaze.

The sounds of battle dwindled as more women joined the preparations.

Fang Xia took out ten crates of alcohol, distributing them for assistance.

"Be careful—use liquid alcohol only. Don’t throw in the solid kind," he cautioned.

With so many hands, the initial setup was quickly completed.

"Fang, be careful," Bai Xing said, nervously grabbing his hand as he stood.

She knew what Fang Xia planned.

After last time, Fang Xia decided not to hide his abilities from the team anymore. If he had, things wouldn’t have been so dangerous; if he hadn’t happened to have an antidote, Bai Xing would have died.

Fang Xia’s method seemed sound. There was a place to land on the bridge’s pillars, and it wasn’t far from the bridge deck. If he was careful, the fire attack could work.

But those three pillars had small landing spots, and no one knew what conditions awaited. If he slipped, there was no way out.

"Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing," Fang Xia reassured. He sorted all the supplies, reserving a ring specifically for the task.

"Everyone, move back two hundred meters," he ordered.

Though there was already some distance to the bridge, Fang Xia insisted they retreat further for safety.

He had three chances to teleport. After the third, he’d have to stay atop the pillar, waiting—or jump straight into the river.

On balance, Fang Xia preferred waiting. The water might be even more dangerous.

Once everyone had pulled back far enough, Fang Xia patted Bai Xing’s head.

Reluctantly, Bai Xing let go of his hands and walked away, step by step.

"Go, Fang!"

"Go, Captain!"

The women cheered from behind.

The captain was truly admirable.

He could have ordered everyone to charge, risking losses but keeping himself safe. Instead, he shouldered the danger himself—so noble.

With a carefree wave, Fang Xia activated his teleportation.

In the next instant, he vanished, reappearing atop the first pillar.

He steadied himself carefully; it was bitterly cold up there.

No wonder they say it’s cold at the top—this was freezing.

There was little time to marvel. Fang Xia summoned the giant bathtub.

The alcohol poured down, carried by the wind, coating the bridge below.

Once a third was emptied, he put the tub away, tossing down the alcohol-soaked branches.

Solid alcohol blocks followed, packaging intact—he simply threw them down.

When he felt it was enough, Fang Xia produced a zippo lighter.

A reliable brand—the flame held strong.

Even dropped from such a height, the fire burned tenaciously.

With a soft exhale, the lighter hit the ground, and a streak of blue fire blossomed, mesmerizing in its beauty.

Next came the second pillar, then the third.

Fang Xia repeated the process, and the whole bridge erupted in roaring flames.

He now sat atop the third pillar, beads of sweat forming on his brow from the tension. Thankfully, it was done—now, he just had to wait for the outcome.

The zombies on the bridge were thrown into chaos. Though they felt no pain, instinct drove them to fear the fire.

But with flames at both ends, they didn’t know which way to run.

Those trapped in the middle had nowhere to go—only to await their roasting.

A few zombies on either side fled off the bridge in panic, but Fang Xia didn’t care.

Bai Xing and the others were waiting. They wouldn’t get far.