37: Chapter 37 The Mutant Beasts Counterattack

After the Evolvers' probing attacks ended, the atmosphere inside the base instantly dropped to the freezing point. Everyone felt the lethal threat lurking in the shadows. Wang Jie dared not delay for a single moment and immediately launched a comprehensive base defense upgrade plan, allocating all available materials and manpower to the construction of fortifications, vowing to turn the base into an indestructible steel fortress.

He personally led the Engineering Corps to dig a giant trench, three meters wide and two meters deep, around the outer perimeter of the original walls. The bottom of the trench was densely packed with razor-sharp wooden stakes and steel spikes; any monster attempting to charge would first be severely hindered by this death chasm. Simultaneously, he added six Heavy Machine Gun Bunkers at key defensive positions like the four corners of the wall and the main gate, adjusting the firing angles to ensure a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree coverage without any blind spots, leaving the attacking enemies nowhere to hide. To eliminate visual blind spots brought by the night, he replaced all the base's old searchlights with High-Power Military Searchlights. At night, the lights illuminated the area within five hundred meters of the base's perimeter as bright as day, leaving not even a bird with a place to hide.

In addition, Wang Jie formed three Armed Reconnaissance Teams equipped with off-road vehicles and heavy weapons to patrol and scout within a ten-kilometer radius of the base twenty-four hours a day. Once any abnormal movement was discovered, it had to be reported back to the command room immediately.

However, the cunning of the Evolvers far exceeded Wang Jie's expectations.

After the probing attacks, they completely withdrew their edge and no longer approached the base. Instead, like ghosts, they hid in distant ruined buildings, desolate hillsides, and dense forests, silently peering at every move of the base. They never attacked, just quietly lurked and observed. The spine-chilling sensation of being stared at by countless pairs of blood-red eyes hung over everyone's heart in the base, keeping the soldiers and Survivorss on edge all day long, so tense they didn't even dare to sleep soundly.

Wang Jie knew that these Evolvers hadn't given up their attack; they were enduring and waiting.

They were waiting for the optimal moment to break through the base's defenses, a turning point that would make their attack twice as effective with half the effort.

For a whole week, the base lived through this eerie, oppressive atmosphere. It wasn't until the early morning of the seventh day that the Evolvers finally found their opportunity.

That day, a torrential rain poured down. Bean-sized raindrops pitter-pattered against the ground, splashing up countless sprays of water. The wild wind swept through the world with a curtain of rain, reducing visibility to less than ten meters. Sentries stood on the watchtowers, but even with night-vision equipment, they couldn't see any movement in the distance. Even the usually precise Radar Station suffered strong electromagnetic interference due to the severe rainstorm, and the light spots on the screen became blurred and chaotic, making it impossible to accurately lock onto targets.

At 3:00 AM, the moment when human sleep is deepest and alertness is at its lowest, the Evolvers' general offensive suddenly erupted!

Countless black shadows surged frantically from the darkness in all directions, their roars deafening. At a rough glance, there were at least five hundred of them! They charged toward the base, fearless of death. The front row of Evolvers jumped directly into the spike-filled trench, letting out shrill screams as the spikes pierced their bodies. The Evolvers behind them stepped over their companions' corpses to continue forward, literally using the bodies to fill a section of the trench. Then, they frantically slammed into the thick perimeter walls, their sharp claws carving deep scratches into the concrete surface with an ear-piercing grinding sound.

The base's alarm instantly rang out through the sky. The heavy machine guns in the bunkers opened fire immediately, pouring out dense rounds of bullets like a downpour toward the swarm of Evolvers. The dull thud of bullets hitting flesh, the roars of the Evolvers, and the sounds of gunfire mixed together, echoing throughout the rainy night. Evolvers fell in swaths, yet the ones behind them continued to surge forward one after another, as if they could never be fully killed.

In the chaos, over a dozen agile Evolvers, relying on their powerful physiques, managed to scale the walls and jump into the interior of the base. They lost all reason and fell into a complete frenzy, pouncing on anyone they saw and tearing at anything they found. Those elderly and weak Survivorss who hadn't had time to hide in the underground shelters instantly became their prey. Shrill screams rose one after another, making one's skin crawl, and the interior of the base fell into instant chaos.

"Gene Warrior Squad, follow me!"

Wang Jie roared, grabbing an assault rifle from his side and leading his strongest Gene Warrior Squad to charge forward, engaging in a brutal melee with the Evolvers that had jumped over the wall. An Evolver suddenly pounced toward Wang Jie, its fangs in its bloody maw inches away. Wang Jie dodged precariously to the side, took advantage of the momentum to swing his rifle butt, and smashed it with all his strength against its head, producing a dull thud. But the Evolver only shook its head, showing no sign of injury, and roared as it pounced again.

At this critical moment, Gene Warrior 01 leaped forward, his right fist gathering the full power of Gene-Enhanced Strength to strike the Evolver's chest. With a squelch, the tough flesh was punched straight through, leaving a bloody hole. The Evolver collapsed and died on the spot.

This brutal battle lasted for a full two hours.

When the horizon turned pale and the heavy rain gradually ceased, the last Evolver finally fell under the gun barrel.

Both inside and outside the base had long since turned into a living hell. The ground was strewn with corpses—the hideous bodies of Evolvers, soldiers who had died heroically, and innocent Survivorss who had met tragic ends. Blood mixed with rainwater to form small streams on the ground, and the pungent smell of blood filled the air, making one gag.

Wang Jie stood amidst the messy ruins, covered in blood and muddy water, gasping for breath, his physical strength almost exhausted to the limit.

Just then, Lin Waner ran over in great anxiety, carrying a medical kit. She looked Wang Jie up and down, her eyes full of worry. When she saw his arm, her expression changed instantly.

"Wang Jie! You're hurt?" Lin Waner's voice trembled.

Wang Jie looked down at his left arm and realized that a scratch deep enough to see the bone had appeared. The flesh was turned outward, and blood was continuously gushing out. Because he had been too immersed in the battle, he hadn't noticed the pain at all.

"It's nothing, just a minor wound. It's fine," Wang Jie said, feigning ease and trying to wave his hand to show he was okay.

But Lin Waner's face turned as pale as paper. She grabbed Wang Jie's arm tightly, her voice carrying an unprecedented panic: "This isn't a minor wound! This is a wound from an Evolver's claw!"

Wang Jie's body instantly froze, and his mind went blank with a buzzing sound.

Scratched by an Evolver...

He suddenly remembered that these Evolvers carried the most terrifying Zombie Virus of the apocalypse; their sharp claws and fangs were all carriers for the virus.

If the wound was infected by the virus...

Lin Waner didn't dare think further. Without a word, she grabbed Wang Jie's wrist and sprinted toward the Infirmary with all her might, her tone urgent and desperate: "Quick! We must perform a thorough debridement and disinfection immediately! Inject triple the dose of Antibiotics! If we handle it now, maybe there's still time!"

Wang Jie was dragged forward by her, his feet feeling like they were treading on cotton, his mind in a state of chaos.

Would he be infected by the virus? Would he turn into one of those mindless zombies that only knew how to kill? Would he become the kind of monster he had once personally slain?

He didn't know the answer.

But he knew in his heart that no matter what the final result was, he had to grit his teeth and face it. This was the price and risk he had to bear as the leader of the base.