30: Chapter 30 The Pact of Blood and Iron

The emergency lights in the underground garage emitted a ghastly pale glow, casting everyone's faces in a ghostly light.

Commander Lin Dong leaned against the hood of the humvee, his right hand pressing against the wound on his left arm. A bullet had grazed his forearm, leaving a finger-long bloody gash where the flesh was peeled back, revealing the white fascia beneath. His breathing remained steady, and his gaze was as calm as if the wound belonged to someone else.

"Company Commander, your hand—" a surviving soldier started to speak.

"Just a flesh wound," Commander Lin Dong interrupted him, his gaze sweeping past the crowd to land on the silver-grey heavy truck.

The truck sat quietly in the center of the B2 level of the underground garage. Complex energy patterns flickered across its body, resembling the blood vessels of some living creature, pulsing slowly with a low hum. It was a physical entity projected from the void—the [Red Alert base vehicle], according to the system's name. Currently, the deployment progress was frozen at 32%. The progress bar glowed a dangerous red, and next to it was a striking warning: [Deployment interrupted. Must clear hostile targets within a 50-meter radius to continue.]

Twenty meters away, three corpses lay on the ground. Two were members of the convict gang, and the other was—

Commander Lin Dong's gaze lingered for a moment on the young man in grey overalls. He had the face of a seventeen or eighteen-year-old; his eyes weren't fully closed, and his pupils were dilated, reflecting the ghastly white light from above. He had been shot once in the chest, and the blood spreading on the ground had already congealed into a dark red gel.

That had been accidental collateral damage during the chaotic fight just now.

When the convict gang charged in, they had pushed this young man in front as a human shield. Commander Lin Dong's Type 95 had killed the gunman behind him with a burst, but the bullet's trajectory changed after penetrating the human body—

There was no time for guilt. Commander Lin Dong closed his eyes, suppressing the image into the depths of his memory, then reopened them, his gaze even colder than before.

"Sound off," he said.

"Zhang Lei, present." A dark-skinned senior private raised his hand. There was a knife wound on his right arm, but he could move freely.

"Wang Hao, present." The tall, thin Private poked his head out from behind a pillar. He had been responsible for guarding the flank, and his face was still dusted with concrete debris.

"Li Na—" the Communications Soldier's voice came from the other side of the humvee, sounding noticeably weak, "Pre... present."

Commander Lin Dong walked over.

Li Na leaned against the rear wheel of the humvee, her left hand pressing firmly against her right shoulder. Blood seeped through her fingers and flowed down the fabric of her military uniform, already forming a small pool on the ground. Her face was as pale as paper, her forehead drenched in cold sweat, and her lips were bitten white, yet she hadn't made a single sound.

Commander Lin Dong squatted down, placing one hand on her wrist while the other peeled back her eyelid. Her pupils still reacted to light, but the reflex was clearly slowing.

"Let me see the wound."

Li Na let go. Commander Lin Dong used a dagger to cut open her uniform at the shoulder, revealing the wound beneath—the bullet had entered from the back, exploding into a bloody mess just below the collarbone. Fortunately, there was no exit wound, meaning the bullet was still inside her body.

As Commander Lin Dong's fingers pressed around the wound, Li Na's body jerked violently, and she let out a suppressed groan.

"The bone is fine," Commander Lin Dong withdrew his hand. "But the bullet must be removed, and you've lost too much blood."

His gaze fell on Li Na's face, noting her pale complexion and the bloodstains on her bitten lips. A data panel automatically appeared in his field of vision—

[Name: Li Na]

[Status: Hemorrhagic Shock (Early stage), HP 187/450, continuous -3/min]

[Blood Type: AB]

[Emergency Treatment Required: Surgical bullet removal + Blood transfusion (at least 800ml)]

Commander Lin Dong's fingers tightened slightly.

Blood type AB.

He glanced at Zhang Lei and Wang Hao. Zhang Lei was Type O, Wang Hao was Type A. He himself was Type B. No one was Type AB.

Li Na seemed to read something from his silence and forced a slight curl of her lips. "Company Commander... it's okay, I can still... hold on..."

Before she could finish, her eyelids began to droop.

"Li Na!" Commander Lin Dong slapped her cheek, not too hard but not too soft. "Keep your eyes open, look at me."

Li Na jolted awake, her eyes opening again, but her pupils were clearly slower to focus.

Commander Lin Dong stood up and scanned the entire underground garage. The convict gang had been repelled, but they could return at any time. The base vehicle's deployment was stuck at 32%, and new units couldn't be summoned until it was completed. There was still ammunition, but—

His gaze fell on the three corpses, lingered for a moment, and then moved away.

No.

That was the line he wouldn't cross.

"Company Commander," Zhang Lei walked over and lowered his voice. "That... those convicts might have first-aid kits. When they charged in, I saw someone carrying a medical box."

Commander Lin Dong turned his gaze toward the ramp leading to the B1 level.

It was very quiet outside. The convict gang had retreated, but it was uncertain if they had left entirely or were regrouping. In the battle just now, eleven of them had died, and it was unclear how many were wounded. Their strength-type leader had been shot in the knee; even if he didn't die, he was crippled—but because of that, the enemy was even more likely to seek frantic revenge.

"I'll go," Wang Hao suddenly spoke up. "I'm fast, I can crawl out through the ventilation duct—"

"Shut up," Commander Lin Dong interrupted him. "The ventilation duct leads to the surface parking lot exit. There are at least two hundred zombies wandering around out there right now. Do you want to feed the zombies?"

Wang Hao fell silent.

Commander Lin Dong was silent for three seconds, then took the last three grenades from the humvee, tucked them into his belt, and checked the magazine of his Type 95—seventeen rounds left.

"Company Commander, you—"

"Guard this place," Commander Lin Dong interrupted Zhang Lei. "If anyone comes, fire. Don't worry about me, don't go out. If I don't come back—"

He glanced at Li Na. "Find a way to stop her bleeding. Use your hands to apply pressure, and don't let go even if you have to press with all your might."

Zhang Lei opened his mouth, but in the end, only one word came out: "Yes."

Commander Lin Dong turned and walked toward the ramp. His military combat boots made a slight rustling sound on the concrete floor. His left arm was still bleeding, and with every step, drops of blood fell from his fingers, but he did not slow his pace.

At the end of the ramp was the B1 level. The emergency lights were out, and only a bit of faint light filtered through the skylight, casting the rows of cars into blurry silhouettes.

Commander Lin Dong moved along the base of the wall, his muzzle pointed into the darkness, his breathing extremely slow. His eyes had already adjusted to the dark, and he could see outlines within five meters. The numbers on the panel were ticking—

[Current Location: Underground Garage B1]

[Scanning for hostile units...]

[Scan complete: 3 heat signatures found, distance 43 meters, suspected humans.]

Commander Lin Dong stopped in his tracks.

Forty-three meters. In that direction—it was the exit ramp leading to the surface.

He crouched low, moved between two SUVs, and circled behind a load-bearing pillar. Through the gaps between the vehicles, he saw three figures squatting at the corner of the ramp. One was speaking quietly into a walkie-talkie, while the other two held guns, their muzzles pointed toward the underground garage.

They were sentries.

The convict gang hadn't retreated far; they had left people at the exit to prevent Commander Lin Dong and the others from breaking out.

Commander Lin Dong's gaze swept over the three. The panel provided data—

[Target 1: Ordinary human, HP 120, Weapon: Homemade machete]

[Target 2: Ordinary human, HP 135, Weapon: Double-barreled shotgun]

[Target 3: Ordinary human, HP 98, Weapon: Dagger, Walkie-talkie]

The third one was that thin Man with Glasses.

Commander Lin Dong's pupils constricted slightly.

The Man with Glasses who had escaped during the chaos. As expected, he hadn't run far but had stayed outside to keep watch. This indicated that there was someone in the convict gang who understood tactics—leaving someone in the shadows to scout while retreating with the wounded, ready to counterattack at any moment.

This wasn't just an ordinary rabble.

Commander Lin Dong aimed his muzzle at the one with the shotgun, then moved it away.

Gunshots would attract zombies. Moreover, if he killed these three, the enemy would know he was out and would immediately move the medical box—if they had one.

He needed a quieter way.

Commander Lin Dong withdrew his gun and pulled a dagger from his waist. The sound of the cold steel unsheathing was extremely faint, masked by the distant sound of a car alarm. He circled to the flank and rear of the three, moving inch by inch against the wall.

Five meters.

Three meters.

The man with the shotgun yawned.

The moment he opened his mouth, Commander Lin Dong moved.

As he took the first step, his body was almost pressed to the ground. By the second step, he was already behind the man, his left hand covering the target's mouth while his right hand drove the dagger into the back of the neck, straight into the brainstem.

The man's body stiffened, and without even a struggle, he went limp.

Commander Lin Dong didn't stop. He released the corpse, letting it slide down, while simultaneously spinning his body, driving his knee into the second man's kidney area and plunging the dagger into the side of his throat. The man's eyes bulged, a gurgling sound coming from his throat as he reached for his neck, but Commander Lin Dong's blade was already out, and blood sprayed over a meter away.

Only then did the Man with Glasses react, opening his mouth to scream.

Commander Lin Dong's left hand had already seized his throat, pinning him against the wall. The tip of the dagger was held in front of his eyeball, less than a centimeter away.

"Don't make a sound," Commander Lin Dong's voice was very soft, like a whisper. "Make a sound and you die."

The Man with Glasses shook like a leaf, and his crotch quickly became wet. He nodded frantically, tears and snot smearing across his face.

Commander Lin Dong moved the dagger down slightly, pressing it against his carotid artery.

"Where is the medical box?"

The Man with Glasses stared wide-eyed, making muffled "wu-wu" sounds from his throat.

Commander Lin Dong loosened his left hand.

"In... in the van..." the Man with Glasses panted, his voice trembling so much he could barely form sentences. "That... that golden Jinbei... the boss is hurt, they... they drove the car to... to the Repair Shop next door..."

"How many people?"

"Twen... twenty-some... seven or eight have guns..." The Man with Glasses' eyes darted down, trying to see the knife against his neck. "Big brother... I... I was kidnapped by them... I've never killed anyone..."

Commander Lin Dong ignored him and continued asking, "What's the boss's situation?"

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

"My... my leg was shattered by you..." There was actually a hint of relief in the Man with Glasses' voice. "He... he kept cursing, saying he would come back... come back and hack you all to pieces..."

Commander Lin Dong fell silent for two seconds.

More than twenty people, seven or eight guns. The other side had wounded, so they definitely wouldn't have gone far. The Repair Shop next door—that was an auto Repair Shop on the east side of the B1 level, with a rolling door and an inspection pit; it was indeed a good place to hide.

The medical kit should be right there.

Commander Lin Dong looked at the Man with Glasses and asked, "Do you want to die or live?"

The Man with Glasses nodded desperately. "I want to live! I want to live!"

"Then lead the way."

Commander Lin Dong withdrew his dagger, but his left hand still gripped the back of the Man with Glasses' neck, with just enough pressure to make him feel it could be crushed at any moment. The two entered the fire escape from the side door on the B1 level and headed down the stairs.

The underground garage only had two levels, but the fire escape continued down to another level—a warehouse converted from a civil air defense project, usually used for storing miscellaneous items. The Man with Glasses said the Repair Shop had a back door leading there.

The moment he pushed open the civil air defense door, a musty, rotting smell rushed toward him. The emergency lights weren't on, so Commander Lin Dong turned on his flashlight. The beam cut through the darkness, illuminating mountains of old furniture, cardboard boxes, and discarded billboards.

"Go... go this way..." The Man with Glasses pointed in a direction, his teeth chattering.

Commander Lin Dong pushed him forward, his feet treading on thick dust. The ventilation pipes overhead emitted a wailing sound, as if something were groaning.

An ajar iron door appeared ahead, with dim yellow light seeping through the crack.

Commander Lin Dong turned off his flashlight, pressed the Man with Glasses into a corner, and held his dagger against his neck again. "Wait here. If you make a sound, you die."

Then, he crept toward the iron door alone.

Through the crack in the door, he could see the situation inside—it was the Repair Shop's inspection pit, with a gold Jinbei van parked over it. A fire was burning beside the van, the light casting the shadows of a dozen or so people, some sitting, some lying down. The air was thick with the smell of blood and cheap liquor.

That strength-type leader was lying on a stretcher beside the inspection pit, his left leg below the knee haphazardly bandaged with torn white cloth strips, the blood already soaking through several layers. His face was deathly pale, but his eyes were as fierce as a wolf's as he stared at someone bending over to talk to him.

Commander Lin Dong couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could see the leader suddenly prop himself up, slap the person talking, and then lie back down, gasping for air.

The medical kit—it was beside the van, a grey plastic box with a red cross symbol on it.

Commander Lin Dong counted. Thirteen people around the fire, vaguely two more in the van, and he didn't know if anyone was hiding in the inspection pit. Four had guns, holding them in their arms, but the muzzles weren't pointed at the door—they hadn't expected anyone to sneak over from the civil air defense project.

Commander Lin Dong withdrew his gaze, pressed his back against the wall, and closed his eyes.

Thirteen people. Four with guns. There might be an ambush in the inspection pit. The medical kit was only three meters from the fire. To get the medical kit, he had to get past at least five people.

A direct assault wouldn't work. Once a gun went off, zombies would be attracted. Besides, the other side had many people, and he only had seventeen bullets.

He needed to create chaos.

Commander Lin Dong opened his eyes, his gaze landing on the miscellaneous items piled up in the civil air defense project. Cardboard boxes. Old furniture. Discarded billboards—plastic, flammable.

He smiled silently.

Three minutes later, a plume of smoke rose from the depths of the civil air defense project. Commander Lin Dong used a lighter to ignite the pile of debris, then retreated behind the door leading to the Repair Shop, waiting quietly.

The smoke grew thicker, surging upward along the ventilation pipes. Soon, someone began to cough.

"Fuck, what is that smell?"

"Smoke! Smoke! It's on fire!"

The Repair Shop was in chaos. Through the crack in the door, Commander Lin Dong saw those people stand up in a panic; some ran toward the door, some went to find fire extinguishers, and some stood there stunned.

"Don't panic!" The leader's voice roared. "Stop right there! Someone is messing with us—"

But it was too late. Thick smoke poured in through the crack of the civil air defense door, and everyone was choked, unable to open their eyes. Someone knocked over the fire, sparks splashed onto spilled gasoline, and with a boom, flames shot up over a person's height.

Commander Lin Dong moved.

He pulled open the door, bent down, and rushed in, heading straight for the medical kit beside the van.

A person holding a fire extinguisher ran toward him. Before he could react, Commander Lin Dong's dagger had already pierced under his ribs, stabbing straight into his heart. The man didn't even have time to scream before he collapsed.

Commander Lin Dong stepped over the corpse and grabbed the medical kit—it was heavier than he imagined; there should be medicine inside. He turned and ran.

"Someone's here!"

"Fuck, the medical kit!"

Gunshots rang out. Bullets whistled past Commander Lin Dong's ears, hitting the load-bearing pillar in front of him, sending a spray of concrete debris flying. Commander Lin Dong didn't look back; he charged directly into the civil air defense door, the gunshots and cursing behind him merging into a cacophony.

He ran through the smoke-filled corridor, grabbed the Man with Glasses who was still crouching in the corner, and pushed him toward the stairwell.

Denser footsteps and curses came from behind—someone was chasing them.

Commander Lin Dong stopped at the corner of the stairs, unclipped a grenade from his waist, pulled the pin, tossed it up the stairs, and then kept running.

Three seconds later, with a deafening boom, the entire stairwell shook. Screams and dust poured down together.

Commander Lin Dong didn't stop; he dragged the Man with Glasses and ran wildly all the way, passing through the fire door on the B2 level and returning to the underground garage.

Zhang Lei and Wang Hao raised their guns, only lowering them when they saw it was him.

Commander Lin Dong threw the medical kit onto the ground. "First aid supplies. Tourniquets, bandages, and—" He opened the box and fished out a glass bottle. "Plasma substitute."

There was no Type AB blood, but plasma substitute could replenish blood volume and hold her over for a while.

He knelt beside Li Na, used his dagger to cut open the clothes around her wound, and began debridement. Li Na had already fallen into a semi-comatose state, her complexion pale to the point of being almost transparent, her lips completely devoid of color. Her pulse was as weak as a thread.

Commander Lin Dong's hands were steady. He probed the wound with tweezers, gripped the deformed bullet, applied force, and removed it. Li Na's body twitched violently, but she didn't wake up.

Then came debridement, hemostasis, and suturing. Finally, he hung the plasma substitute, and the liquid dripped through the rubber tube into her blood vessels.

Only after Commander Lin Dong finished all this did he feel the excruciating pain from the wound on his left arm. He looked down and saw his entire sleeve was soaked with blood; the strenuous activity just now had caused the wound to tear even further.

He bandaged himself briefly, then stood up and looked at the Man with Glasses.

The Man with Glasses shrank behind a pillar, trembling all over, his eyes darting away.

Commander Lin Dong walked over and squatted in front of him.

"What's your name?"

"Jiang... Jiang Wenming..."

"Which unit are you from?"

The Man with Glasses froze for a moment, then gave a bitter smile. "Beiling University... Department of Computer Science... Junior student."

Commander Lin Dong watched him, his gaze calm.

Three seconds later, he stood up and said to Zhang Lei, "Watch him. If he moves, shoot him."

Then he walked toward the base vehicle.

The deployment progress had recovered to 32%, but there were still hostile units within a 50-meter radius—that Man with Glasses Jiang Wenming, and those criminals outside.

Commander Lin Dong stood in front of the base vehicle, watching the energy patterns flowing over its body, and remained silent for a long time.

Then he turned around and walked back to the Man with Glasses.

"If you want to live, there's a condition."

Jiang Wenming nodded desperately.

Commander Lin Dong's dagger lightly grazed his neck, leaving a bloody streak. "From now on, you are one of my people. Listen to my orders and do what I arrange. If you betray me—"

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was already clear.

Jiang Wenming trembled even more violently, but still gritted his teeth and said, "I... I understand... I'm with you..."

Commander Lin Dong withdrew his dagger and said to Zhang Lei, "Take him over to the hummer vehicle, give him a knife, and let him help watch Li Na."

Then he looked at the base vehicle again.

The hostile unit within a 50-meter radius—that red dot—had disappeared.

System prompt: 【Condition met: Cleared hostile targets within a 50-meter radius. Continue deployment?】

Commander Lin Dong reached out and pressed his hand against the cold metal body of the base vehicle.

"Continue deployment."

The energy patterns began to flow again, and the progress bar slowly advanced: 33%... 38%... 45%...

Zhang Lei stood behind Commander Lin Dong, watching that massive truck begin to transform, his eyes wide. "Com... Commander... what exactly is this?"

Commander Lin Dong didn't look back, his voice low. "Our hope."

The progress bar jumped to 100%.

A low hum emanated from inside the base vehicle, and the entire underground garage trembled. Then, the silver-grey truck split down the middle and extended to both sides, as if some sleeping creature had finally awakened.

Building modules began to piece together. power plant, Barracks, radar station—their outlines appeared in the void and then rapidly materialized; a miniature base was taking shape.

System prompt: 【Red Alert Outpost Base has been built.】

【Currently available buildings: power plant (under construction), Barracks (under construction)】

【Current resource points: 320】

【Please select the next stage of development...】

Commander Lin Dong looked at the steel structures rising from the ground before him, the roar of the generators starting up in his ears.

And behind him, Jiang Wenming huddled beside the hummer vehicle, his gaze fixed through the gaps in the crowd on the base that was taking shape. In his eyes, fear was being replaced by something else—a kind of instinctive, complex human reaction when witnessing something that transcended one's cognition.

Just at the moment Commander Lin Dong turned around, Jiang Wenming's gaze quickly dropped, and he became a trembling prisoner once again.

But in the instant he lowered his head, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

It wasn't fear.

It was—calculation.

【End of Chapter】