22: Chapter 22 Steel Behemoth

The air in the underground garage was thick with the smell of concrete dust and engine oil. Commander Lin Dong knelt on the hood of the hummer vehicle, his left fingertips lightly pressing against the area just above Li Na's collarbone—the carotid artery. 98 beats per minute, 22 beats faster than normal; this was an early sign of hemorrhagic shock.

"Captain Lin, I'm fine." Li Na's voice was a bit airy. She tried to force a smile, but her pale lips only managed a slight twitch. "I'm just a little cold."

Commander Lin Dong didn't respond. His gaze moved from Li Na's cheek to the wound on her left shoulder—a 5.8mm pistol bullet had pierced through the deltoid from behind. The exit wound was approximately 2.3 cm by 1.8 cm, appearing as an irregular tear. Blood was seeping from the wound every 15 seconds. Its bright red color indicated that no major artery had been hit, but the capillary network was completely destroyed.

"Zhang Lei." Commander Lin Dong's voice was soft, yet it made the corporal standing five meters away instantly straighten up. "Bring me the first-aid kit from my bag, and that bottle of saline."

By the time Zhang Lei ran over, Commander Lin Dong had already torn open Li Na's tactical uniform. His movements were swift, yet every detail showed a near-mechanical precision—the iodine swab traced a circle around the wound for disinfection, 15 centimeters in diameter, no overlapping; the hemostat probed into the wound path, 4.5 centimeters deep, avoiding the biceps tendon; sterile dressing was applied, followed by a pressure bandage, with the pressure controlled to stop capillary bleeding without blocking arterial blood flow.

"Were you an army medic before?" Zhang Lei asked.

"In the Reconnaissance Company, individual first aid is a mandatory course," Commander Lin Dong said as he gently laid Li Na flat, using two folded tactical uniforms to prop up her feet. "Elevate the lower limbs by 30 degrees to promote venous return."

Li Na's consciousness was somewhat blurred, but she could still hear Commander Lin Dong's voice—that emotionless, declarative tone, like he was delivering a weather forecast. She suddenly remembered an exercise three months ago. Commander Lin Dong had used this same tone in the headquarters, in front of all the staff officers, to point out a three-millisecond delay in the communication data she had transmitted.

Back then, she thought this man was so cold-blooded it was annoying.

Now, she found this cold-bloodedness reassuring.

Commander Lin Dong stood up, his gaze sweeping across the B2 level of the underground garage. This was the underground parking lot for the Barracks dormitory area, with a construction area of about 8,000 square meters, a ceiling height of 3.5 meters, and load-bearing columns spaced 7.2 meters apart. They were currently in the southeast corner, back against the wall, with a row of abandoned military trucks in front of them, a ramp leading to the B1 level on the right, and a solid concrete wall on the left.

On the other side of that wall was the thing they had spent six hours activating.

Commander Lin Dong's vision pierced through that wall, and his brain began to calculate automatically—

Wall thickness: 25 cm; concrete grade: C30; rebar mesh density: 6 bars per square meter. The space behind the wall was about 120 square meters, originally the garage's power distribution room. Six hours ago, that silver-gray heavy truck had "projected" out from there. The energy patterns that emerged on the ground at the time reminded him of the laser holographic mapping instruments used by combat engineer units.

[base vehicle unfolding...]

[Current progress: 32%]

[Estimated remaining time: 8 hours 47 minutes]

[Warning: Unstable power supply. Suggest connecting to a stable power source.]

This was the information panel in Commander Lin Dong's mind, visible only to him. Since activating that so-called "S-grade talent" on the night the meteorite fell, this translucent data interface had been hovering at the edge of his vision. He could see anyone's health points, strength attributes, and threat levels; he could see the movement speed, hearing radius, and weakness coefficients of zombies.

He could even see the ballistic drop curve of bullets—the 5.8mm pistol bullet that hit Li Na just now. If the shooting distance was 25 meters, the ballistic drop would be 0.3 cm, which was fundamentally insufficient to cause an impact. Therefore, that bullet had been fired from at least 40 meters away. The shooter's marksmanship was terrible; the target was originally his head.

Li Na had taken that bullet for him.

"Captain Lin." Zhang Lei's voice interrupted his calculations. "Those guys outside... they don't seem to have left yet."

Commander Lin Dong walked to the side of a military truck and observed the direction of the ramp exit through the window glass. The B1 level of the underground garage had natural lighting, with the afterglow of the setting sun shining in through the ventilation shafts. He could see some shifting shadows.

[Target count: 43]

[Threat level assessment: Medium]

[Armed personnel: 14 people, equipped with type 54 pistols, double-barreled shotguns, machetes, etc.]

[Awakened One: 1 person, Lv.5, Strength-type Supernatural Ability, attribute 18 points (average for a normal adult male is 10)]

This was the data for that Prisoner Leader. Six hours ago, when the base vehicle had just begun to unfold, this group of people suddenly appeared at the entrance of the underground garage. They claimed to be survivors from a nearby prison. The burly man leading them said this place was under their control and demanded that Commander Lin Dong hand over weapons and food.

Commander Lin Dong didn't waste words; he shattered a concrete pillar next to the man with a single shot.

Then, that burly man demonstrated his "Supernatural Ability"—he lifted a 1.5-ton off-road vehicle with one hand and threw it five meters away like a toy.

That battle lasted less than three minutes. Commander Lin Dong led three soldiers and the wounded Li Na back to the B2 level, using the terrain and pre-placed roadblocks to stop the enemy's pursuit. The price was Li Na taking a bullet to the shoulder, and the unfolding of the base vehicle being forcibly interrupted.

Now they were trapped here, with the other side guarding the B1 level, waiting for them to run out of ammunition and food.

"Captain Lin, how much ammunition do we have left?" Zhang Lei asked.

Commander Lin Dong didn't look at the ammo crates; the data was already automatically generated in his brain—

[type 95 rifle: 213 rounds remaining, 3 full magazines]

[type 92 pistol: 47 rounds remaining, 2 full magazines]

[Grenades: 4]

[directional mines: 2 (un-deployed)]

"Enough for a small-scale skirmish," Commander Lin Dong said. "But not enough for a breakout."

"Then what do we do?"

"Wait."

"Wait for what?"

Commander Lin Dong didn't answer. He looked at that concrete wall again, at the thing slowly growing behind it—

[base vehicle unfolding...]

[Current progress: 33%]

[Increased by 1% from five minutes ago]

An unfolding speed of 12% per hour. If this rate was maintained, it would take another 5 hours and 40 minutes to complete. But the problem was that the base vehicle's unfolding required power, and their only current power source was the batteries from two hummer vehicles. The total capacity was only 200 Ampere-hours, which could support 3 hours at most.

"Zhang Lei, go and remove the batteries from those two vehicles and connect them in parallel," Commander Lin Dong said, pulling a roll of electrical tape and a pair of wire strippers from his bag. "Positive to positive, negative to negative. Don't mess it up."

Zhang Lei took the tools, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"What do you want to ask?"

"Captain Lin... what exactly is that truck?" Zhang Lei lowered his voice. "I saw it appear out of thin air with my own eyes. Those lights on the ground, and that humming sound... it's not scientific."

Commander Lin Dong was silent for two seconds. How should he explain? Should he say he had activated a system called "red alert"? That he could build a Barracks and a War Factory? That the Conscripts and Rhino Tanks he had only seen in games would become reality?

"I don't know either," Commander Lin Dong finally said. "But it's our only hope for survival."

Zhang Lei opened his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing and turned to remove the batteries.

Commander Lin Dong returned to Li Na's side and knelt down to check her injuries. The bleeding was mostly under control, but her body temperature was still dropping, and her lips were turning purple—this was a peripheral circulatory disorder caused by excessive blood loss. She needed a blood transfusion, surgery to remove the bullet, and rest in a clean environment.

And now they were trapped in an underground garage, with 43 prisoners overhead who wanted their lives, and only a few battlefield first-aid kits by their side.

"Captain Lin..." Li Na opened her eyes, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz. "I heard... they're discussing... waiting until dark..."

"They'll come down once it's dark?" Commander Lin Dong asked.

Li Na nodded slightly. Her talent wasn't strength or speed, but a sensory ability she couldn't quite explain herself. She could "hear" sounds from far away, "see" movements on the other side of walls, and even vaguely sense others' emotions—like the Prisoner Leader's anger and his henchmen's fear.

Commander Lin Dong didn't know if this was also a change brought by the meteorite, but he knew Li Na never lied.

"How much longer until dark?"

"About... two hours."

Commander Lin Dong stood up, his gaze sweeping across the entire B2 level. The layout of the underground garage was already imprinted in his mind—120 meters long, 70 meters wide, 8 rows of load-bearing pillars with 12 in each row. Their current position was the southeast corner; directly ahead was the ramp to the B1 level, to the left was the power distribution room where the base vehicle was located, to the right was a row of abandoned military trucks, and behind them was a dead end.

If the opponent came down the ramp, they could use the trucks as cover for defense. But the opponent had 43 people, plus that Strength-type Esper; the chances of winning a head-on clash were almost zero.

Unless—

Commander Lin Dong's gaze fell on the wall of the power distribution room.

[base vehicle deploying...]

[Current progress: 34%]

5 hours and 20 minutes left.

They needed to hold out until then.

"Zhang Lei," Commander Lin Dong called out, "have the storage batteries been removed?"

"They're removed and connected in parallel. Voltage is 24 volts, current is 80 amps."

"How long will they last?"

"Theoretically, they're enough for 4 hours, but the wires are heating up a bit. They might not hold out that long."

Commander Lin Dong walked over and glanced at the two wires connecting the storage batteries—2.5 square millimeter copper core wires with a maximum safe current capacity of 28 amps. With 80 amps flowing through them now, the insulation was already starting to soften. In half an hour at most, the insulation would melt, leading to a short circuit, and their last power source would be ruined.

"Replace the wires with this." Commander Lin Dong pulled out a thick cable from under a truck. "6 square millimeters, current capacity of 50 amps. Two in parallel makes 100 amps."

Zhang Lei was stunned for a moment: "Captain Lin, when did you hide this wire?"

"I didn't hide it." Commander Lin Dong pointed to the truck's chassis. "This is the spare starter cable for a military truck. Every vehicle has one."

Zhang Lei took the cable, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes. He remembered what the instructor said back in the New recruit company: A true veteran isn't the one who shoots the straightest, but the one most familiar with the equipment. Commander Lin Dong had found this cable in less than ten seconds, which meant he had completed a reconnaissance and inventory of the entire environment the moment he entered the garage.

This is a professional quality that was almost instinctive.

And he is only 28 years old now.

After the cable was replaced, the energy patterns on the wall of the power distribution room brightened a bit more. Commander Lin Dong could feel the base vehicle "growing" at a faster rate—metallic components condensing out of the void, the circuit system connecting automatically, and the reactor beginning to slowly heat up.

[Current progress: 35%]

4 hours and 50 minutes left.

"Captain Lin!" A soldier lying at the mouth of the ramp observing suddenly called out in a low voice, "They're moving!"

Commander Lin Dong quickly moved to the observation position and looked through the window glass toward the B1 level. The sunset had already dropped below the horizon, and the light in the underground garage had grown dim, but he could still see figures gathering. They were discussing something; someone was arguing, and someone was waving a machete toward the B2 level.

Then that brawny man—the Strength-type Esper—walked to the front of the crowd, lifted a motorcycle with one hand, and smashed it hard onto the concrete floor.

The motorcycle's fuel tank burst, and gasoline spilled all over the ground.

"They're going to start a fire," Commander Lin Dong said. "To smoke us out."

"Then what do we do?" Zhang Lei's face changed. "B2 level only has this one entrance and exit. The smoke will sink; we'll be choked to death!"

Commander Lin Dong didn't panic. His brain was rapidly calculating—

B2 level volume: 120 × 70 × 3.5 = 29,400 cubic meters

Cross-sectional area of the ramp from B1 to B2: 6 × 3.5 = 21 square meters

Smoke diffusion speed: about 0.5 m/s (natural convection)

Time needed to fill the entire B2 level: 29,400 ÷ (21 × 0.5) ÷ 60 ≈ 46.7 minutes

In other words, they had 45 minutes at most before being surrounded by thick smoke.

But it would take time for the enemy to light the fire, time for the fire to spread, and time for the thick smoke to spread from the B1 level to their position—

"Zhang Lei, go drive that fuel tanker over here." Commander Lin Dong pointed to a small fuel tanker parked twenty meters away. "How much fuel is left in it?"

"I checked this morning; about a third, roughly two tons."

"Drive it over and park it right under the ramp."

Zhang Lei was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up: "Captain Lin, you mean to—"

"They want to start a fire," Commander Lin Dong interrupted him. "Then let's give them plenty to burn."

Five minutes later, the fuel tanker was driven directly under the ramp. Commander Lin Dong had everyone retreat to the farthest corner, then unloaded a fire hose from the vehicle, connected it to the fuel tanker's outlet, pulled the other end to the ramp's entrance, and fixed it to a truck's chassis.

"Open the valve and let the fuel out slowly," Commander Lin Dong said to Zhang Lei. "Let the gasoline flow up the ramp."

"Flow up?" Zhang Lei was a bit confused. "Gasoline flows down; how can it flow up?"

"The gradient." Commander Lin Dong pointed to the ramp. "B1 level is higher than B2, but the ramp's gradient itself is only 8 degrees. If gasoline is poured here, it will seep up the ramp due to surface tension. It'll be slow, but it can indeed go up."

Zhang Lei opened his mouth to say something but ultimately said nothing, turning to twist the valve.

Commander Lin Dong returned to Li Na's side and knelt down to check on her. Blood loss had made her even weaker, but she was still conscious.

"Are they coming down soon?" Li Na asked.

"Soon."

"Can we win?"

Commander Lin Dong didn't answer. He looked at the wall of the power distribution room, at the steel behemoth growing behind it—

[Current progress: 37%]

4 hours and 20 minutes left.

But the enemy wouldn't give them that much time.

"Captain Lin." Li Na suddenly grabbed his wrist. "I hear them... they're laughing... they're saying... after the smoke rises... they'll come down from another entrance..."

Another entrance?

Commander Lin Dong stood up abruptly. How many entrances did this underground garage have? When he entered, he only saw two—the vehicle entrance on the south side of B1 and a pedestrian stairwell on the north side of B1. But they were on B2 now; if B2 also had stairs—

He turned and ran into the depths of the garage. In the beam of his flashlight, he saw a closed fire door.

A sign was posted on the door: B2-3 Evacuation Passage.

There were fresh handprints on the door handle.

Commander Lin Dong's heart sank.

"Zhang Lei!" he shouted in a low voice. "Drive the fuel tanker back! Fast!"

Zhang Lei didn't understand why, but he quickly jumped into the cab and reversed the fuel tanker to its original spot. Almost simultaneously, a flurry of footsteps and the sound of metal clashing came from behind that fire door.

Someone was trying to open that door.

From the outside.

Commander Lin Dong glanced at the wall of the power distribution room.

[Current progress: 38%]

4 hours and 10 minutes left.

But these next 4 hours and 10 minutes would be the longest wait of his life.

His hand was on the trigger, his gaze fixed on the slightly trembling fire door, listening to the heavy breathing and excited whispers outside.

Then he heard Li Na say something behind him:

"Captain Lin... that brawny man... is right outside the door."

The iron sheet of the fire door was struck heavily by something, and the concrete on the door frame crumbled down.

Commander Lin Dong took a deep breath and placed his index finger on the trigger.

The banging on the door grew louder and louder.

And behind the wall, the steel behemoth was slowly stirring in the darkness.

[End of Chapter]