23: Chapter 23 Game Theory

The air on level B2 of the underground garage was thick with three scents: engine oil, blood, and the distinct burnt smell of a running generator.

Commander Lin Dong lay prone in the gap between two abandoned military vehicles, his right eye pressed against the mechanical sights of his Type 95. The crosshairs of the scope were steady on the ramp of the garage entrance—the only passage down from level B1.

"Boss, they've stopped."

Wang Lei's voice came through the headset. This man, originally a private second class from Commander Lin Dong's Reconnaissance Company, was currently lying atop the ventilation duct on the west side of the garage, three meters higher than Commander Lin Dong, with a better field of vision.

Commander Lin Dong didn't respond immediately. He counted three seconds in his head before asking in a low voice, "How many?"

"Twenty-seven... no, twenty-eight. Another one just came down. Damn, that Big Guy is in the lead, the one we saw on the surveillance."

Surveillance.

Two hours ago, Commander Lin Dong had first seen this group on the surveillance screen in the garage duty room. Twelve armed personnel and over thirty followers had entered level B1 through the north fire escape. They were clearly organized—the few leading the way held fire axes and crowbars, marking the walls with spray paint every five meters.

Most importantly, Commander Lin Dong had seen that Big Guy.

In the footage, this man had flipped an abandoned van blocking the road with one hand. That vehicle weighed at least eight hundred kilograms, yet when he flipped it, the expression on his face was like he was pushing open an unlocked door.

"Strength-type Esper," Commander Lin Dong had judged at the time.

Now, this person stood on the ramp at the garage entrance, less than eighty meters in a straight line from Commander Lin Dong's muzzle.

Commander Lin Dong's index finger moved from the trigger guard onto the trigger, but he didn't apply pressure. He was waiting for the target to enter the sixty-meter range—at this distance, the kinetic energy of a 5.8mm bullet could guarantee a skull-piercing shot, even if the opponent was an Esper.

"What about the others?" Commander Lin Dong asked.

"They've spread out in a fan shape," Wang Lei's voice carried a hint of tension. "They... Boss, they seem to be looking for something. It's not a random scramble; it's an organized search."

An organized search.

Those words made Commander Lin Dong's heart tighten. If they were just a ragtag mob, he could use the terrain and his tactical expertise to slowly wear them down. But if the other side also had someone who understood military tactics...

"Li Na," Commander Lin Dong switched to another channel.

"Copy that," the Communications Soldier's voice was soft but steady. She was currently hiding under the chassis of an armored personnel carrier in the deepest part of the garage—the position Commander Lin Dong had assigned her, and the safest place in the entire garage. Provided the enemy didn't reach it.

"Report the base vehicle's deployment progress to me."

"Thirty-two percent. The progress bar is still moving, but..." Li Na paused. "But it's slowed down. The system prompt says an external threat has been detected, and it's automatically entered low-power stealth mode."

Commander Lin Dong cursed inwardly.

The base vehicle needed six hours to fully deploy, and only a bit over two hours had passed. If it was interrupted now, or worse—if these people discovered that eighty-ton silver-gray heavy truck—the consequences would be unthinkable.

"Boss!" Wang Lei's voice suddenly spiked. "They've found the humvee!"

Through the scope, Commander Lin Dong saw the "discovery" Wang Lei mentioned.

The humvee was parked to the right of the level B2 garage entrance. Commander Lin Dong had left it there on purpose—a military humvee was a lethal temptation for any survivor. It had enough firepower, enough fuel, enough armor, and enough capability to escape this hellish city.

Sure enough, three men with crowbars surrounded it.

One of them smashed a crowbar against the window, but the glass didn't break. Military bulletproof glass couldn't be broken by an ordinary crowbar.

"They're trying to find a way to open the door," Wang Lei reported.

Commander Lin Dong didn't move. He was waiting for more people to gather around, waiting for their attention to be completely captured by the humvee.

"Shit, they've started smashing the hood."

The hood. Commander Lin Dong's mouth twitched.

Under the humvee's hood, he had rigged three grenades. The safety pins were connected with fishing line, the other end of which was fixed to the hood's latch. Once they pried open the hood—

"Boom!"

The explosion came half a second earlier than Commander Lin Dong had anticipated.

The shockwave surged through the garage corridors, knocking all seven or eight people standing around the humvee to the ground. Two stopped moving instantly, their twisted postures indicating broken spines. Three others rolled on the ground screaming in agony; one had a metal shard embedded in his leg, blood spraying out like a turned-on faucet.

"Beautiful!" Wang Lei shouted into the headset.

"Shut up. Body count."

"Eight... eight are down, no, nine. Two are standing back up... Damn, one of them is the Big Guy."

Commander Lin Dong saw it.

Before the smoke at the center of the explosion had even cleared, that figure stood up. His clothes were shredded, revealing granite-like muscles underneath. He had at least three bleeding wounds, but he stood up and was looking around, his eyes flashing with a beast-like light.

"Strength-type, Lv.5, HP 320/450." The system panel data appeared on Commander Lin Dong's retina.

Three hundred and twenty health points. That grenade had just taken away one hundred and thirty. If he were an ordinary person, it would have taken at least two hundred. The defense bonus of a Supernatural Ability really did exist.

"Everyone, get ready," Commander Lin Dong whispered. "Wait until they enter the sixty-meter mark, then fire on my command."

But he knew in his heart that it was no longer a matter of "waiting."

Although the enemy was dazed by the blast, the Big Guy's gaze was scanning the entire garage. He would search, he would see the places where people could hide, and he would close in step by step. And—

"Boss, more people are coming down from the entrance." Wang Lei's voice changed. "Twenty... thirty... Shit, there are more behind them. They've called everyone down."

Data flashed through Commander Lin Dong's mind: total enemy count forty-seven, twelve armed personnel. Three were now dead from the blast, leaving nine armed personnel plus about thirty-five ordinary followers. Forty-four enemies against six on his side, plus five Conscripts that hadn't been fully summoned yet—but those five Conscripts were still in the Barracks in a "producing" state, needing at least twenty minutes to activate.

No.

Commander Lin Dong suddenly thought of something.

"Wang Lei, see what that Big Guy is doing."

A few seconds later, Wang Lei's voice came through: "He's... he's looking at the ground. Damn, he's looking at the tire tracks."

Tire tracks.

Commander Lin Dong's heart sank.

That eighty-ton base vehicle had left two five-centimeter-deep tire tracks from the entrance to its current deployment position. Those weren't tracks a humvee could make; they were the marks of a heavy truck.

The Big Guy started walking along the tire tracks.

He walked slowly, confirming the direction with every step. The dozens of people behind him followed like a pack of sharks that had scented blood.

Commander Lin Dong's crosshairs rested on the Big Guy's head once again.

Distance: Sixty-seven meters.

Not close enough.

He needed a one-shot kill. If the first shot didn't kill this Strength-type Esper, the opponent would charge over in seconds. And once they were in a melee brawl, his side of six facing forty-four enemies would have a win rate approaching zero.

"Boss..." Wang Lei's voice was trembling.

"Steady," Commander Lin Dong's voice was frighteningly calm. "Wait for my command."

The Big Guy walked another five meters. Sixty-two meters.

He stopped.

Not because he had spotted Commander Lin Dong, but because he saw the vehicle—that silver-gray, twenty-two-meter-long, eighty-ton behemoth of a heavy truck. The base vehicle.

He froze.

In that moment, Commander Lin Dong read many things from his expression: shock, greed, and—ecstasy.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something.

Commander Lin Dong pulled the trigger.

The gunshot exploded in the underground garage, like a heavy hammer striking an iron plate.

The Big Guy's head snapped back, and his whole body fell backward as if hit by a train.

But Commander Lin Dong didn't see the spray of blood he had expected.

The bullet hit the Big Guy between the eyes, but only went halfway in—the slug was embedded in his frontal bone, leaving half of its metal tail exposed. The Big Guy wasn't dead; he hadn't even completely fallen. He wobbled twice, let out a beastly roar, and snapped his gaze toward Commander Lin Dong's direction.

"Lv.5 Strength-type Esper, HP 245/450, shot in the head, minor injury."

The system data flashed before Commander Lin Dong's eyes.

"Everyone, fire!"

Commander Lin Dong's roar and the gunshots exploded simultaneously.

Wang Lei's Type 95 spat tongues of fire from atop the ventilation duct, and the two other soldiers rescued from the Infantry Company also opened fire from behind cover. Five muzzles spewed bullets at once, whipping up a metal storm among the forty-some enemies.

Three armed personnel were riddled with bullets before they could even raise their guns. The followers fell in swathes like harvested wheat, as screams, curses, and cries merged into one.

But the Big Guy was still advancing.

His head was bleeding, and several more bullet holes had appeared on his body, but he was still advancing. Every step struck the ground like a drumbeat, shortening the distance to Commander Lin Dong with each stride.

Sixty meters. Fifty-five meters. Fifty meters.

Commander Lin Dong emptied his magazine, drew the type 92 pistol from his waist, and continued firing. Bullets hit the Big Guy, splashing blossoms of blood, but they only slowed him down slightly.

Forty-five meters.

"Grenades!" Commander Lin Dong roared.

Four grenades were thrown out simultaneously. Three landed around the Big Guy, and one hit him directly in the chest.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

The shockwave sent everyone nearby flying. The Big Guy finally stopped in his tracks.

He dropped to one knee, bleeding all over, but still lifted his head, staring fixedly at Commander Lin Dong with bloodshot eyes.

"Lv.5 Strength-type Esper, HP 76/450, severely injured, combat effectiveness reduced by 40%."

System data is updating.

Commander Lin Dong threw away the empty type 92 pistol and drew his military knife from his waist.

Forty-three meters; if the opponent charged, he could cross this distance in at most three seconds.

Within three seconds, could he stab his knife into the opponent's neck and pierce through that skull jammed with bullets?

He didn't know.

But he had no retreat.

Fifteen meters behind him was the base vehicle, and twenty meters behind that was where Li Na was hiding.

He had no retreat.

The Big Guy stood up.

He opened his mouth, revealing teeth stained red with blood, and let out a deafening roar.

Then, his head exploded.

It wasn't Commander Lin Dong who fired.

Gunshots came from behind Commander Lin Dong, crisp and precise; three consecutive shots drilled into the Big Guy's head in a triangular pattern.

The first shot hit the left eye, the second hit the right eye, and the third hit the bullet hole Commander Lin Dong had made earlier.

Three bullets completely blew off the Big Guy's skull.

When he fell, it was like a mountain collapsing.

Commander Lin Dong whipped his head around.

Li Na stood in the shadow of the base vehicle, holding a Type 95 assault rifle with both hands.

The barrel was still smoking, and her face was covered in tears and blood—he didn't know if it was hers or if it had splattered on her just now.

"I... I..."

She couldn't say a complete sentence, her legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground.

But the battle wasn't over yet.

The Big Guy had fallen, but there were still over a dozen henchmen alive.

They had hidden behind the vehicles during the initial strafing and were now regrouping.

"Reload! Suppress!" Commander Lin Dong's roar pulled everyone back from their shock.

Gunshots rang out again.

But this time, the situation had changed.

Without the monster that was the Big Guy, the rest were just a rabble.

Although there were still over a dozen of them, they had lost their will to fight and began to retreat, heading towards the entrance of the B1 level.

"Pursue!"

Commander Lin Dong led Wang Lei and two other soldiers to push forward.

They wove between the vehicles, firing a shot at every living enemy they encountered.

Three armed men who still wanted to resist were killed on the spot, and the remaining henchmen completely collapsed, dropping their weapons and running back.

Five minutes later, the gunfire stopped.

Commander Lin Dong stood in a pool of blood, gasping for air.

His lungs burned like fire, and the old wound on his left arm began to ache—the intense movement just now had made that shrapnel restless again.

"Report numbers." His voice was hoarse.

"Wang Lei, I'm fine."

"Zhang Lei, grazes."

"Veteran Liu Chuang, I'm fine."

"Zhao Hu... Zhao Hu has been shot."

Commander Lin Dong's heart gave a sharp tug.

He turned and ran toward Zhao Hu.

Zhao Hu lay beside an off-road vehicle, his right hand clutching his left chest, blood oozing out from between his fingers.

His face was as pale as paper, and his eyes were beginning to lose focus.

"Damn, damn!" Wang Lei rushed over, scrambling to press the wound.

Commander Lin Dong pushed him away and leaned down to check the wound.

The bullet entered from the side, passed through the chest cavity, and exited from the back.

It was a penetrating wound, but it had damaged the lungs and possibly a major blood vessel.

The estimated blood loss was already over a thousand milliliters; without a blood transfusion, he had at most fifteen minutes.

"Li Na!" Commander Lin Dong roared, "Li Na!"

Li Na stumbled over, her face still streaked with tears from earlier.

"System, is there a medical unit? Tell me quickly if there is a medical unit!"

Li Na froze for a moment, then closed her eyes.

A few seconds later, she opened her eyes abruptly: "Yes, there is! There is an option in the Barracks, Medic, it costs 200 energy points, it takes time... it takes ten minutes!"

Ten minutes.

Commander Lin Dong looked down at Zhao Hu.

His breathing was getting weaker and weaker, and the blood was still flowing; he wouldn't last ten minutes.

"Get him into the Barracks." Commander Lin Dong said suddenly.

"What?"

"Get him into the Barracks! Did the system say that summoned units must be system-generated? Can you send a living person in for modification?"

Li Na closed her eyes again.

This time, when she opened them, her face wore an indescribable expression.

"Yes. The system says... says it can activate the emergency medical protocol. But the cost is... the cost is double the energy points, and he will be assimilated by the system, becoming a member of the Red Alert sequence. He will no longer be... no longer be the original Zhao Hu."

Commander Lin Dong froze.

He looked at Zhao Hu's face.

This brother who had fought alongside him from the Infantry Company had not flinched for a single shot or hesitated for a single second in the battle just now.

Now he lay here, looking at Commander Lin Dong with his last bit of strength, his lips moving, but he could no longer make a sound.

But Commander Lin Dong understood his lip movements.

"Save... save me..."

Commander Lin Dong closed his eyes, then opened them again.

"Save him." His voice was as hard as stone, "Activate the emergency medical protocol. Activate it now."

Li Na nodded and placed her hands on the ground.

Silver light bloomed from beneath her palms, spreading like it had a life of its own, enveloping Zhao Hu's body.

The light grew brighter and brighter, and finally, it flashed abruptly—

Zhao Hu disappeared.

On the ground where he had been, only a pool of blood remained.

It took two hours to clean up the battlefield.

Forty-four enemies, thirty-nine killed, five captured.

Among the prisoners, three were injured; Commander Lin Dong had people bandage them up simply and left them in a corner, ignoring them.

All armed personnel were killed, leaving no survivors.

This was Commander Lin Dong's order—these people had blood on their hands, one could tell from their eyes, and keeping them alive would only be a disaster.

The captured weapons were tallied: seven Type 95s, two Type 81s, one shotgun, four pistols, and some ammunition.

There was also a fire axe, a few crowbars, and a pile of miscellaneous knives.

"Boss." Wang Lei walked over, his face looking very ugly, "That... that Big Guy, he had this on him."

He handed over a piece of paper.

The paper was torn from a notebook, crumpled and stained with blood.

A line of text was written on it in ballpoint pen:

"A heavy truck has appeared in the direction of the eastern suburbs military camp, estimated to be secret military equipment. If discovered, seize it at any cost. After success, Boss Tiger will give a heavy reward. —Glasses"

Commander Lin Dong's pupils constricted.

Glasses.

That thin, bespectacled man who had escaped from the underground garage.

He was indeed still alive, and he had indeed gone to report the news.

"Who is Boss Tiger?" Commander Lin Dong asked.

Among the prisoners was a young man with a broken leg; hearing this question, he shuddered.

Commander Lin Dong walked over, squatted in front of him, and held the paper in his hand up to his eyes.

"Tell me who Boss Tiger is, and I will give you a quick death."

The young man looked into his eyes and suddenly laughed.

It was a strange, almost fanatical laugh.

"Boss Tiger... Boss Tiger will come... you will all die... that vehicle... is his... it's all his..."

Commander Lin Dong didn't speak.

He stood up and turned to walk towards the base vehicle.

A gunshot rang out from behind him.

When he reached the base vehicle, Li Na walked out from the shadows.

Her face still looked very bad, but at least she was no longer shaking.

"Where is Zhao Hu?" Commander Lin Dong asked.

"Inside." Li Na pointed towards the Barracks, "The system shows that the medical protocol is complete. But his status is... 'Transforming'. It will take another two hours to complete the assimilation."

Two hours.

Commander Lin Dong nodded without speaking.

He stood in front of this eighty-ton behemoth, watching its silver-gray armor reflect a cold, hard light under the emergency lights.

This was his hope, his trump card, his capital for surviving in this hell.

But now, this trump card had been exposed.

That person called "Boss Tiger," whoever he was, would soon know that there was a heavy truck that was "secret military equipment" here.

He would come, bringing more people and more powerful weapons.

And Commander Lin Dong only had two hours.

Two hours before Zhao Hu could complete his transformation.

Two hours before the base vehicle could unfold to fifty-two percent—it was still a long way from being fully unfolded.

Two hours, what could he do?

Commander Lin Dong turned around, looking at the messy battlefield, looking at the five shivering prisoners, and looking at the five brothers remaining by his side.

"Bring the prisoners over." He said, "I want to find out clearly who Boss Tiger is, where they are, and how many people they have."

Wang Lei acknowledged and turned to escort the prisoners.

Commander Lin Dong looked up at the gray ceiling of the underground garage.

Above was the B1 level, above that was the ground, and above that was the city that had already turned into hell.

In the eastern sky, something seemed to be glowing.

A signal flare?

Commander Lin Dong narrowed his eyes.

It wasn't a signal flare.

The light was too bright, too constant, not fleeting like a signal flare.

The light rose from the eastern skyline like a rising sun.

But it was the middle of the night.

"Boss!" Li Na's voice suddenly rang out, filled with undisguised terror, "System... the system has a notification!"

"What notification?"

Li Na looked in a certain direction in the void, her lips trembling:

"Detected... detected special energy fluctuations. The level... the level cannot be evaluated. Source direction... 15° east by south, distance... distance is nine kilometers."

15° east by south.

Nine kilometers.

Commander Lin Dong's heart tightened sharply.

That was the location of the small iron ore mine displayed by the ore detector.

It was also the direction from which the military signal flare had risen.

[End of Chapter]