39: Chapter 39 Anti-air Defense Enhancement

The surprise attack by the flying Mutant Beasts had brought tragic losses to the base, and it made Wang Jie thoroughly realize the lethality of aerial threats. That night, the lights in the base's command room remained on until dawn. Wang Jie held an emergency defense meeting overnight, using the lessons learned from the recent air battle to formulate a comprehensive and systematic air defense strengthening plan, vowing to build an airtight aerial defense barrier in the shortest possible time.

The first step of the plan was to build a heavy anti-aircraft firepower network. Wang Jie utilized a large amount of the base's stored materials and funds, immediately ordering the construction of five Military-Exclusive Anti-Aircraft Guns. These anti-aircraft guns were heavy weapons specifically developed for moving aerial targets, with a range of over a thousand meters. They could fire High-Explosive Fragmentation Shells and Armor-Piercing Anti-Aircraft Shells, boasting immense power and an extremely fast rate of fire, sufficient to deal a devastating blow to flying Mutant Beasts. After calculations, each anti-aircraft gun required 1,000 funds and 100 units of power. The five guns totaled 5,000 funds and 500 power, nearly emptying half of the base's reserve resources, but Wang Jie did not hesitate for a moment and signed the construction order without reservation.

While the anti-aircraft guns were being set up, Wang Jie ordered the construction of two new high-power Radar Stations, expanding the original radar detection range by a full twofold. This achieved 360-degree dead-zone-free detection across the entire domain, ensuring any aerial target could be accurately locked on once it approached within fifty kilometers of the base, buying sufficient air defense early warning time for the base.

After solving the ground-based air defense and early warning issues, Wang Jie turned his attention to upgrading aerial forces. He summoned the base's mechanical Engineers and weapons experts to conduct a comprehensive overhaul and upgrade of the existing Armed Helicopters. They added Air-to-Air Guided Missiles to each helicopter and upgraded the Fire Control Systems and aiming equipment, allowing the helicopters to achieve precise locks and one-shot kills when facing agile flying Mutant Beasts, significantly boosting aerial combat capabilities.

Finally, Wang Jie selected thirty elite soldiers with top-tier physical fitness and lightning-fast reaction speeds from the base's ranks to form a professional Air Defense Squad for closed-off intensive training. They specialized in operating Portable Air Defense Missiles. These missiles were small, lightweight, and highly mobile, capable of being rapidly deployed and fired at any time from any location on the base, covering the blind spots of the heavy anti-aircraft guns and becoming the core force of mobile air defense.

For an entire week, the whole base operated at high speed for the air defense strengthening project. Combat Engineers worked without sleep to build fortifications, Weapon Smiths worked day and night to modify equipment, and air defense soldiers trained hard on their operational skills. No one complained, and no one slacked off; everyone knew that these air defense facilities were the final line of defense protecting the base and their own lives.

When the barrel of the last anti-aircraft gun was steadily pointed toward the sky, the last Radar Station finished its debugging, and the last Portable Air Defense Missile was loaded into place, Wang Jie stood in the central square of the base. Looking up at those anti-aircraft weapons pointing straight at the heavens, his heart, which had been hanging in suspense for a long time, finally felt a bit more at ease.

He knew that with this air defense system, those Mutant Beasts rampaging in the sky would no longer be able to easily threaten the base.

As if to validate his thoughts, late that night, the sound of flapping wings once again echoed from the dark sky. Those flying Mutant Beasts had indeed arrived as expected.

This time, their numbers had doubled to a full thirty or so. Under the cover of night, they split into several echelons and approached simultaneously from the north, south, east, and west, attempting to launch a sneak attack on the base by relying on their numerical advantage.

But their scheme was declared bankrupt the moment they took flight.

The base's two newly added Radar Stations had already captured their tracks in advance. The red alarm instantly resounded throughout the base, and all air defense units were in position within a minute. The soldiers took their places, staring firmly at the sky, merely waiting for the command.

“Turn on all searchlights! Lock onto aerial targets!”

Following the commander's order, dozens of searchlights on the base lit up simultaneously. The piercing white light instantly illuminated the entire night sky, leaving the thirty-odd flying Mutant Beasts with nowhere to hide, all exposed under the lights. The sudden intense light threw the monsters into a panic, and they flapped their wings wildly in the air, flying chaotically as their formation instantly fell into disarray.

“Anti-aircraft guns, fire!”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The five anti-aircraft guns roared in unison. Anti-aircraft shells whistled into the sky and exploded violently among the flock of flying Mutant Beasts, sending countless sharp fragments flying in all directions to form a lethal kill zone. One by one, the flying Mutant Beasts were struck in their wings or bodies by the shrapnel, falling from the sky with miserable shrieks and crashing heavily onto the ground.

At the same time, the upgraded Armed Helicopters quickly took to the air. Their onboard Fire Control Systems instantly locked onto targets, and air-to-air missiles roared out trailing bright plumes of flame. One missile accurately hit a flying Mutant Beast, blowing it to pieces. The air defense soldiers on the ground also moved quickly, launching Portable Air Defense Missiles one after another. The tail flames streaked across the night sky with unerring accuracy; with every launch, a flying Mutant Beast was hit and plummeted.

This air defense battle, from beginning to end, took only ten minutes.

All thirty-odd flying Mutant Beasts were shot down; not a single one escaped, and none were able to even approach the base walls. On the base's side, not a single helicopter was lost, and not a single soldier was injured—a perfect victory with zero casualties!

Wang Jie stood atop the high wall, looking down at the mountain of flying Mutant Beast corpses piled on the ground. He let out a long breath of turbid air, and his tensed nerves finally managed to relax.

In this battle, the base had won—won cleanly and decisively, won with heads held high.

But on Wang Jie's face, there was not a hint of smugness; instead, it grew increasingly solemn. He looked up at the boundless darkness, knowing clearly in his heart that this victory was merely a small link in the battle for survival in the apocalypse.

Those Evolvers hidden in the shadows, the ferocious ground Mutant Beasts, the flying monsters in the sky, and even more unknown and powerful enemies were still eyeing the base like tigers watching their prey. They would never give up just because of one failure.

The law of survival in the apocalypse had always been the law of the jungle. To protect the base and the people around him, he had to make himself and the entire base stronger and stronger—strong enough to crush all threats, and strong enough to gain a firm foothold on this wasteland.

The road ahead was long and filled with danger, but Wang Jie's gaze grew ever more determined.