20: Chapter 20 The Dimness of the Underground Garage

The air in the underground garage was thick with a pungent mix of concrete dust, engine oil, and the smell of blood.

Commander Lin Dong lay behind a load-bearing pillar on the east side of Level B2, his eye pressed tightly against the scope of his type 95 rifle. Through the four-times magnification, he could clearly see the man roaring fifty meters away—if he could even still be called a man.

[Target Data—]

[Type: Strength-type Mutant (Human Conversion)]

[Level: Lv.5]

[HP: 450/450]

[Strength: 18 (Average for a normal adult male is 8)]

[Agility: 7]

[Spirit: 3 (Severe Berserk State)]

[Threat Rating: D+]

[Weakness: Old right knee injury (Joint flexibility decreased by 23%), requires 2.3 seconds of power recharge after a burst attack]

Commander Lin Dong's pupils contracted slightly. This was the first time he had seen the data panel of a Mutant converted from a human. Unlike those F-Class Zombies converted from ordinary people, this prisoner leader before him—the one who had brought over forty people to seize the base vehicle six hours ago—still retained some human characteristics on his panel.

"Interesting," Commander Lin Dong thought to himself. "Is this the price of a failed Supernatural Ability awakening?"

Six hours ago, while he was activating the base vehicle's deployment sequence in the underground garage, this group of convicts who had escaped from Beiling City Prison swarmed in like hyenas scenting blood. They had over a dozen guns, riot gear stripped from prison guards, and a leader who claimed to have "awakened a Supernatural Ability"—the man known as Brother Biao, who had punched through the hood of an SUV at the garage entrance at the time.

Now, that Brother Biao was standing between two abandoned cars, his shirtless upper body bulging with muscles and veins crawling across his neck like earthworms. His eyes had turned completely cloudy grey-white, thick saliva dripped from the corners of his mouth, and beast-like low growls issued from his throat.

He had completely turned into a zombie.

"Platoon Leader, there are twenty-three others around him," a lowered voice came from behind the cover to the right. It was the soldier Zhang Lei, a man from Commander Lin Dong's Reconnaissance Company and the third survivor gathered after the apocalypse broke out. "At least nine of them have guns. Old Sun just said we're almost out of ammo."

Commander Lin Dong didn't answer, continuing to observe through the scope.

[Enemy Data—]

[Total Count: 24 (Including 1 Mutant leader)]

[Armed Personnel: 11 (6 pistols, 3 hunting rifles, 2 shotguns)]

[Ammunition Estimate: Approx. 150-200 rounds]

[Formation: Loose, no tactical coordination, occupying the ramp entrance from Level B1 to B2]

And his own side?

[Ally Data—]

[Combat Personnel: 6 (Commander Lin Dong + 3 gathered soldiers + 2 Conscripts)]

[Non-combatants: 3 (Li Na + 2 students)]

[Ammunition: 103 rounds of 5.56mm, 47 rounds of 7.62mm, 2 grenades]

[Special Unit: base vehicle (Deployment progress 68%, unable to move)]

[Cover Advantage: Level B2 pillar cluster, good visibility, 3 retreat routes]

Three minutes ago, Commander Lin Dong had sent a Conscript to escort Li Na and the two students further into the depths of the garage. The Communications Soldier Li Na's shoulder was still bleeding—a wound from a stray bullet while she was covering the base vehicle earlier. Type AB blood, at least 800ml lost; if she didn't get a transfusion soon, she wouldn't last three hours.

But he didn't even have time to glance at her now.

"Zhang Lei," Commander Lin Dong finally spoke, his voice as calm as if he were performing a tactical simulation, "see that white Buick? Right by the east side of the ramp entrance, seven meters behind Brother Biao."

"I see it."

"When the shots go off, fire a three-round burst at that car's front wheel, with one-second intervals." Commander Lin Dong's right finger lightly traced the concrete floor. "Remember, aim for the upper part of the tire, towards the fuel tank."

Zhang Lei paused, then realized something. "Platoon Leader, that car..."

"Their people fired toward that spot earlier." The corner of Commander Lin Dong's mouth curled slightly. "I saw sparks near the fuel cap."

Time wound back to thirty-five minutes ago.

The base vehicle's deployment sequence had started three hours prior. At that time, Commander Lin Dong had taken the few soldiers he'd gathered to clear an area on the east side of Level B2—originally the parking zone for officers' private cars, providing about 200 square meters of relatively flat, open ground.

The moment Commander Lin Dong pressed [Confirm Deployment] on the system interface, the air in the entire garage seemed to freeze.

He still remembered the scene: first, dark red energy patterns emerged from the void, spreading like blood vessels. Then came a low hum—not the sound of a motor or an engine, but a kind of infrasound that seemed to come from deep underground, making his chest cavity resonate. Immediately after, the outline of a heavy truck, 22 meters long and weighing 80 tons, began to 'project' from the center of the patterns, gradually turning from translucent to solid, finally slamming onto the ground with a 'boom' that shook dust from the ceiling.

[base vehicle Deploying...]

[Current Progress: 0%]

[Estimated Completion Time: 6 hours]

[Requirements: Flat ground (√), 50m threat-free radius (×), Power connection (Waiting)]

[Note: The base vehicle is invincible during the deployment process, but the presence of hostile units within 50 meters will cause the progress to pause.]

It was that last note that was the killer.

Less than half an hour after the deployment sequence started, before Commander Lin Dong could even organize his men to clear the scattered zombies nearby, the roar of car engines came from the garage entrance. Four modified vans charged down the ramp, with prisoners standing on the roofs waving iron pipes and machetes.

"Oho! There are soldiers here!" A bald brute in the lead leaned halfway out of a car window, a double-barreled shotgun with a sawed-off barrel propped on his shoulder. "Boys, look at this—a military humvee! We hit the jackpot!"

Commander Lin Dong was setting up simple covers around the base vehicle with three soldiers at the time. He didn't panic, nor did he raise his gun immediately; instead, he first pulled up the other party's personnel panel.

[Enemy Faction: Beiling Prison Fugitives]

[Count: 47]

[Armament: 35 melee weapons, 12 firearms (Source: Prison Guard Armory)]

[Leader: Liu Biao (Strength-Type Awakened One)]

[Threat Level: High]

Forty-seven against four. The enemy had twelve guns.

And his base vehicle had only deployed 11%.

"Officer across the way!" Liu Biao jumped off the car, his open prison uniform revealing a tiger tattoo on his chest. "Let's talk. We've taken a liking to this place. You take your men and get lost, and this car—" he patted the van behind him "—is yours."

Commander Lin Dong didn't answer. He was calculating.

[Distance: 47 meters]

[Enemy Effective Range: Best at 30m for shotguns, 25m for pistols]

[Ally Effective Range: 400m for Type 95]

[Cover: 3 abandoned cars for allies, no cover for enemies but superior numbers]

[Optimal Plan: Strike first, but...]

He glanced at the massive truck behind him, still coalescing from the void. The base vehicle's outline was more than half complete, with complex mechanical structures faintly visible as they assembled on the chassis. If they opened fire now, even if they could wipe out the enemy, the secret of this vehicle would be exposed—Liu Biao couldn't possibly fail to see that this thing was no ordinary truck.

"What, not giving me face?" Liu Biao's smile vanished, and his right hand clenched into a fist. Commander Lin Dong clearly saw the skin on the back of that hand begin to flush an abnormal dark red, veins bulging.

[Warning: Target is charging up]

[Estimated Attack Method: Strength-enhanced charge/throw]

[Suggestion: Maintain distance]

"I'll give you three seconds to think about it." Liu Biao took a step forward, a small crack appearing in the concrete floor beneath his foot.

Commander Lin Dong slowly raised his left hand, signaling the soldiers behind him not to fire.

"Three!"

His brain was working with the speed of data processing.

[Option A: Open fire. 87% win rate, but base vehicle is exposed, and remaining ammo is insufficient for subsequent threats.]

[Option B: Retreat. Personnel saved, but base vehicle falls into enemy hands, deployment sequence interrupted, all previous efforts wasted.]

[Option C: Stall for time. But the enemy won't give much.]

"Two!"

"Officer," Commander Lin Dong finally spoke, his voice neither humble nor arrogant, "you can have this place. But that humvee inside, we're driving it out."

Liu Biao paused, clearly not expecting the other party to be so straightforward. He looked Commander Lin Dong over suspiciously. "Just that simple?"

"Just that simple." Commander Lin Dong stepped aside, revealing the humvee behind him. "Military vehicle, specially modified, bulletproof. That should be enough to trade for our lives, right?"

Liu Biao's eyes lit up. He walked forward quickly, circled the humvee twice, and pounded the door with his fist, producing a dull thud.

"Good car, good car!" He turned and shouted to his men, "Two of you, go check if there are weapons inside!"

Commander Lin Dong's right hand quietly moved toward the pistol holster at his waist.

Just then, something unexpected happened.

As the two convicts walking toward the humvee pulled the door open, a pale arm suddenly reached out from inside, death-gripping one of their necks. The next second, a blood-covered figure lunged out from the back seat—it was a "corpse" Commander Lin Dong had stuffed into the back of the humvee while escaping the Barracks, a comrade who had been bitten in the dormitory but still had a faint breath at the time.

He hadn't been able to hold on in the end.

"Shit! A zombie!" The crowd instantly exploded into chaos. Liu Biao instinctively raised his right hand and punched the zombie lunging at him—

The fist struck the zombie's chest squarely, the massive force sending it flying seven or eight meters away. It slammed into a load-bearing pillar, its chest caving in, killed instantly.

But gunshots also rang out.

Unsure who fired first, Commander Lin Dong only heard a chaotic burst of shooting, mixed with screams and roars. When he looked up, one of Liu Biao's men was falling into a pool of blood next to the humvee—hit by a stray bullet.

And Liu Biao was standing there, looking down at his own right hand.

Commander Lin Dong's pupils constricted suddenly.

He watched as Liu Biao's right hand began to change: the skin turned a deeper shade of red, the nails grew long and black, and the entire palm transformed into a non-human shape at a speed visible to the naked eye. Meanwhile, Liu Biao's facial expression shifted from anger to terror, finally freezing into a bizarre, vacant stare.

"Boss? Boss!" His subordinates crowded around him.

Liu Biao looked up, the black pupils in his eyes already beginning to turn white.

"I'm... fine..." His voice grew raspy, as if something were stuck in his throat. "Kill... them..."

Then he turned and staggered toward the depths of the garage, his steps becoming increasingly unsteady until he finally collapsed onto the hood of a white Buick.

After a brief moment of shock, his subordinates raised their guns.

By the time the gunfire erupted, Commander Lin Dong had already led his men behind the cluster of pillars on level B2.

"Platoon Leader, what happened to that guy?" Zhang Lei asked while changing his magazine.

"Supernatural Ability awakening failed; he's turned into a zombie," Commander Lin Dong said, peeking out for a quick look before drawing back. "That punch he threw just now was too forceful. He must have shattered something inside his body that hadn't stabilized yet."

[System Notification: Special event detected—Mutant transformation after failed Supernatural Ability awakening.]

[This type of Mutant will retain some memories and combat instincts from its previous life. Danger level is higher than that of ordinary Mutants.]

[Killing it will grant double crystal core energy.]

"What do we do now?" another soldier, a machine gunner named Old Sun, asked in a muffled voice. Commander Lin Dong had picked him up on the road; he was originally a Sergeant from an Armed Police Detachment, and his right arm was still wrapped in bandages.

Commander Lin Dong didn't speak, but simply held up three fingers and pointed in three directions.

It was a standard tactical gesture: three people, spread out, take up firing positions.

The next thirty-five minutes were a small-scale war of attrition. Although the opposition had more men and guns, they lacked organization and training, relying solely on their numbers to charge toward B2. Commander Lin Dong led his three soldiers in a guerrilla-style defense using the pillars and abandoned vehicles, successfully pinning the enemy down near the ramp entrance and preventing them from approaching the base vehicle.

However, the consumption of ammunition was staggering.

[Real-time update on remaining ammunition—]

[15 minutes: 5.56mm 187 rounds]

[30 minutes: 5.56mm 103 rounds]

Worse still, Liu Biao, who had transformed into a Mutant, stood up again after over twenty minutes of silence.

And now, he was leading his final twenty or so subordinates, preparing for a final charge.

"Zhang Lei, do you remember everything I just said?" Commander Lin Dong confirmed one last time.

"I remember, Platoon Leader."

"Old Sun, take Er Niu and get behind that box truck to the east." Commander Lin Dong turned to the other side. "Once the Buick explodes, fire a long burst into the crowd, then immediately change positions."

Old Sun grinned, revealing teeth stained yellow by smoke. "Understood. Hit and run."

Commander Lin Dong took one last look behind him—thirty meters away, the massive base vehicle sat quietly. The energy patterns on its hull were still pulsing slowly, and the deployment progress bar showed 68%.

Just two more hours.

He took a deep breath and placed his finger on the trigger.

"Fire."

Bang!

Zhang Lei's first shot hit the upper part of the Buick's front wheel. The bullet pierced the fender and entered a spot near the fuel tank.

Bang! Bang!

The second and third shots followed immediately.

Commander Lin Dong's eyes were fixed on Liu Biao's movements through his scope. The Mutant's hearing was far more acute than a normal person's; as soon as the shots rang out, Liu Biao turned toward Zhang Lei's direction, his leg muscles tensing—

Just as he was about to exert force to sprint—

Boom!

The Buick's fuel tank exploded.

An orange-red fireball bloomed at the ramp entrance, the shockwave knocking four or five people to the ground. Although Liu Biao wasn't hit directly, the shrapnel and flames from the explosion forced him to dodge to the side.

[Target evasion maneuver complete.]

[Muscle strength recharging started.]

[Remaining recharge time: 2.1 seconds.]

Now!

Rat-tat-tat-tat—

Old Sun's light machine gun opened up from the east, a long burst sweeping toward the prisoners who were just scrambling up from the ground. Three men fell screaming, while the rest instinctively dove for the nearest cover—a few abandoned sedans.

But Commander Lin Dong wasn't looking at them.

His muzzle was trained on Liu Biao the entire time.

[Strength recharge: 1.3 seconds.]

[Target position: Between two pillars, no cover.]

[Firing parameters: Distance 53 meters, wind speed negligible, crosswind correction 0.]

[0.8 seconds.]

Commander Lin Dong pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The 5.56mm bullet left the barrel and, after 0.07 seconds of flight, accurately struck Liu Biao's right knee—the site of an old injury marked on the interface that had reduced his mobility by 23%.

Liu Biao let out a subhuman roar as his right leg buckled, sending him crashing forward.

[Hit Determination: Weak point attack.]

[Damage Calculation: Bullet base damage 35 × Weak point coefficient 2.5 = 87.5.]

[Target remaining HP: 450 → 362.5.]

[Additional Effect: Right leg joint function lost by 72% (temporary).]

"Fire! Focus fire!" Commander Lin Dong roared.

All muzzles were aimed at the Mutant pinned to the ground. Bullets poured down like rain, sending concrete splinters flying all around Liu Biao.

[HP: 362.5 → 301 → 254 → 211...]

But just then, Liu Biao moved.

Even though his right leg could no longer exert force, he used his left leg and both arms to push off violently, rolling to the side like a cannonball and diving behind the nearest pickup truck.

[Target strength recharge complete.]

[Entering Berserk state: For the next 30 seconds, strength increases by 20%, pain perception decreases by 50%.]

"Scatter!" No sooner had Commander Lin Dong spoken than the two-ton pickup truck was flipped up from behind by Liu Biao.

Yes, flipped up.

The monster, which had completely lost its human appearance, used its left arm to lift the pickup's chassis and its right arm to give a violent shove—sending the entire vehicle hurtling toward the cover where Commander Lin Dong was positioned!

Commander Lin Dong threw himself to the side with every ounce of strength he had. The massive pickup brushed past his back and crashed five meters behind him with a thunderous boom, crushing two small sedans.

[Warning: Target is less than 30 meters away from you.]

Commander Lin Dong rolled over and raised his gun, but Liu Biao was already upon him.

Those grayish-white eyes stared fixedly at him, and the mouth, filled with fangs, opened in a foul-smelling roar. His right arm was raised high, five fingers pressed together like a blade—

[Target attack method: Strength-enhanced cleave.]

[Estimated damage: Lethal.]

There was no time to dodge.

The palm reflected in Commander Lin Dong's pupils as it drew closer. Strangely, his mind was exceptionally calm at this moment, even having the spare capacity to think—

My Reconnaissance Company really is better suited for the battlefield than this damn underground garage.

Just then.

Bang!

A dull gunshot rang out. Liu Biao's head snapped back, causing his attack to instantly deform. His palm grazed Commander Lin Dong's left shoulder, tearing away a large patch of clothing and skin, but ultimately failing to hit a vital spot.

Commander Lin Dong looked up.

Thirty meters away, Li Na was leaning against a pillar, her hands trembling as she gripped a type 92 pistol. There wasn't a trace of color in her face, and the bandage on her shoulder was soaked through with blood, but her eyes—those eyes were fixed on this spot with an intensity that made one's heart skip a beat.

"Quick... fire..." Her voice was so faint it was almost inaudible, but Commander Lin Dong could read her lips.

He didn't need a second reminder.

Taking advantage of the moment Liu Biao was dazed by the shot, Commander Lin Dong drew the combat knife from his waist and thrust it into his throat with all his might—another weak point marked on the interface. While not as lethal as the brain, it was enough to cause massive damage.

The knife sank in, and blood gushed out.

Liu Biao let out one final roar, his body convulsing violently before he crashed to the ground.

[Kill Notification: Lv.5 Strength-type Mutant.]

[Experience Gained: 500 points.]

[crystal core Energy Gained: ×2 (Special event reward).]

[Item Dropped: Damaged Supernatural Core (Can be used for research/upgrades).]

Commander Lin Dong panted heavily as he scrambled up from the ground. His left shoulder burned with pain, and the gash was bleeding, but the bone seemed intact.

He turned toward Li Na, about to say something—

Only to see the female soldier's body sway, her gun falling to the floor as she collapsed.

"Li Na!"

Commander Lin Dong rushed over and caught her. Her body felt terrifyingly light in his arms; the bandage on her shoulder was completely saturated with blood, and her face was as white as paper.

"Platoon Leader..." her lips moved, her voice as thin as silk, "Am I... being... a burden..."

"Don't talk." Commander Lin Dong tore open her collar to see the wound—a through-and-through bullet wound, but it had hit an artery. She had... forced herself up through sheer willpower.

"Transfusion... I need a transfusion..." Commander Lin Dong's mind raced. Type AB, Type AB... who has that blood type? Zhang Lei? Old Sun? Those two students?

[System Notification: Barracks construction complete.]

[Initial units available for summoning: Conscript.]

[Note: Conscript physical data can be customized, including blood type.]

Commander Lin Dong's pupils suddenly constricted.

He whipped his head around toward that direction—

Fifty meters away, a grayish-white building brimming with a sci-fi aesthetic was fully materializing from the void. It was the Red Alert Base's Barracks.

And at the entrance of the Barracks, five figures were slowly taking shape.

"Blood..." Commander Lin Dong practically roared, "Type AB! Who needs Type AB?!"

Of the five figures, the one on the far left opened his eyes and looked toward Commander Lin Dong.

"Reporting, Commander," his voice was flat, as if stating a simple fact, "I am Type AB."

[End of Chapter]