104: Arrival at Hongshan University

East Gate of Hongshan University

7:00 PM

Twilight gathered as the daylight faded. The atmosphere at the East Gate of Hongshan University was like a taut bowstring, tense yet filled with irrepressible excitement.

Principal Li paced back and forth anxiously in front of the closed school gate with his hands behind his back, his silhouette stretching and shrinking under the dim streetlights.

Behind him, over five hundred male students armed with spears, fire axes, and makeshift shields stood in a relatively neat formation, their young faces filled with anticipation and a hint of imperceptible fatigue.

The more than twenty Evolvers of Hongshan University were scattered at the front of the formation, gazing intently at the street outside the school that had been swallowed by darkness. Each of them subconsciously adjusted their state, as if they were about to welcome not reinforcements, but an inspection.

Zhang Lei and his Red Alert Base Evolver squad stood solemnly to the side like silent reefs.

They had just finished communicating with Zhang Long: the vanguard had cleared the obstacles and was less than half an hour away from the East Gate of Hongshan University!

The air was filled with a peculiar scent mixed with soil, rust, and the sweat of youth.

The students whispered, their voices filled with longing:

"I heard the main force is coming this time! There are main battle tanks! The kind with tracks!"

"And armored personnel carriers, with thick steel plates, machine guns, and turrets!"

"There's a hind attack helicopter escorting from the sky! This is the ultimate romance for men!"

"I really want to see it soon..."

On the observation deck at the top of the school gate, two students holding binoculars leaned out almost halfway, their eyes fixed on the end of the road.

Suddenly!

A blinding white light pierced the darkness in the distance like a sword! Immediately after, a second, a third... countless thick beams of light tore through the night sky, accompanied by the low, earth-shaking roar of engines, approaching from afar like the growl of a sleeping beast, shaking the ground beneath their feet!

"It's here! It's here! It's tanks! So many tanks! And armored personnel carriers! My god, it's endless!" The student on the observation tower shouted, his voice distorted with excitement, practically screaming the news down.

Principal Li stopped abruptly, took a deep breath, and his dull eyes lit up instantly.

He turned around quickly, his voice trembling slightly from excitement, yet still loud and powerful: "Everyone! Quick! Split into two lines! Make way for the troops! Quick!"

The order was absolute. Over five hundred male students scrambled into action. Though eager, they were not panicked, quickly forming two long human walls on either side of the main road inside the school gate, leaving a wide passage in the middle.

Spears were like a forest, and shields were gripped tightly. At this moment, they were both greeters and maintainers of order.

Inside Hongshan University · Male Dormitory

News spread like wildfire among the dormitories.

"Did you hear?! The main force! Tanks and armored personnel carriers! They've already reached the East Gate!"

"Really? My roommate was just called away by the guard team to go greet them!"

"My god! It must be a force of thousands, right? How many steel beasts must that be?"

"I want to see the tanks! I've dreamed about it!"

"Me too! Let's go, let's go! What are we waiting for!"

"Call Old Wang next door!"

The quiet evening was broken. Dormitory doors were knocked open in quick succession, and young faces poked out, instantly ignited upon hearing the news. Slippers clattered; some didn't even have time to put on their coats. They called their friends, merging into streams of excited people, rushing toward the East Gate. Footsteps, shouts, and excited discussions wove into a boiling ocean.

Female Dormitory

Li Xueli pushed open Yang Yiyu's dormitory door, rushed to the bedside in a flurry, and pushed Yang Yiyu, who was resting with her eyes closed: "Yiyu! Wake up! Stop daydreaming! The main force is here! They're at the East Gate! There are tanks! Hurry and go see!"

Yang Yiyu's long eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes. A trace of dreamlike confusion seemed to linger in her pupils; the brilliant fireworks that Zhang Lei had created for her last night seemed to still be flickering before her eyes. "Xue... what did you say?" Her voice carried a lazy rasp.

"Oh! That expression of yours... could you be reminiscing about Officer Zhang's fireworks from last night? It's not even bedtime yet! Stop having wet dreams!" Li Xueli winked mischievously, deliberately drawing out her tone.

Two red clouds instantly flew onto Yang Yiyu's fair cheeks, and she sat up reprovingly: "Go away! What are you acting crazy for! What do you want? Speak quickly!"

"The main force! The main force! Tanks! armored personnel carriers! Right at the school's East Gate! Are you going or not?" Li Xueli spoke quickly, her eyes shining like stars.

"Since when are you so interested in these lumps of iron?" Yang Yiyu asked with some surprise.

"After living this hellish life for so long, who doesn't yearn for power! Don't you like that powerful strength of Officer Zhang?" Li Xueli continued to tease her, a sly glint flashing in her eyes.

Yang Yiyu's face turned even redder, and she made a move to hit her: "If you keep talking nonsense! ...Where are we watching?"

"The East Gate! If we go now, we can still grab a front-row spot!"

"Then... let's go." Yang Yiyu was eventually infected by her friend's enthusiasm and felt a hint of curiosity as well. She got up and tidied her slightly messy hair.

Outside the East Gate

The huge roar was like rolling thunder, getting closer and louder, finally converging into a heart-shaking symphony of steel! Twenty camouflaged tanks, like steel beasts just driven out of a hellish furnace, crushed the broken streets. Their tracks clanged, thick gun barrels pointed diagonally at the sky, and their cold steel bodies were stained with large patches of dark brown zombie blood. They exuded a thick scent mixed with gunpowder and blood, carrying an unstoppable pressure as they slowly drove into the circle of light from Hongshan University's searchlights!

Immediately after, the unique, sharp, and shrill sound of the hind attack helicopter's rotors tearing through the air broke the sky above, like a predatory raptor circling at low altitude. The weapons mounted under the wings gleamed with a deadly luster in the light.

Behind the tank formation was an even longer torrent of steel! Dozens of armored personnel carriers lined up in a majestic column, their heavy wheels crushing the gravel on the road, making a heart-stopping creaking sound. The firing ports on the vehicle bodies were closed, but the murderous aura rushed toward them. The beams of the searchlights swept across the vehicles, reflecting cold, hard lines.

"It's here! It's here! My god, so many armored personnel carriers! And a hind attack helicopter in the sky!" The students jumped up in excitement, pointing at the shocking scene, their voices drowned out by the huge mechanical roar.

"That... what is that?!" A sharp-eyed student suddenly let out a distorted scream, pointing a trembling finger toward the back of the formation.

Everyone's gaze was instantly drawn over.

At the end of the formation, a figure so huge it was suffocating was moving steadily—it was the War Bear! Its six-meter-tall, terrifying giant body was like a moving hill! Its entire body was covered with thick, angular alloy armor, and its joints flashed with a cold, hard metallic luster. The gaps in the armor were also stained with dark red blood. On its giant bear head, fangs gleamed with a ghastly white cold light in the illumination, and its iron-hook-like claws left deep marks with every step. It was steadily bringing up the rear of the formation. Its massive body was out of place with the steel convoy, yet strangely blended together, forming a shocking combination of primitive power and technological armament.

"Is it a mutant beast? So... so big!"

"Doesn't look like it! It seems to be protecting the troops! Look at its position!"

"Armor! It's wearing armor! It must be the army's secret weapon!"

"My mom! This is too cool! Such a big War Bear! And it's wearing armor! Any zombie in front of it is just trash!"

"Look at the sides of the formation! That is... mecha?! It really is mecha!"

Following the exclamation, everyone's gaze quickly shifted to the two wings of the formation. Blaze Ash and Yang Yi were controlling their five-meter-tall "blaze" and "thunderbolt" mecha, like loyal steel guards, protecting the two sides of the infantry formation. The bright yellow and blue-purple paint flowed with a cold metallic glow under the searchlights of the armored personnel carriers. The nuclear energy belts at their waists emitted a faint, power-filled energy glow. On the mecha helmets, crimson optical lenses, like the eyes of a beast, traced two intimidating red light trajectories as they moved, coldly scanning the surroundings.

"My god! It really is mecha! Our Huaguo's technology is hidden too deeply!"

"Nonsense! How can our motherland's good stuff be shown off casually? Now that it's the apocalypse, don't we have to show some real goods?"

"So much sense of security! Super War Bear! Humanoid mecha! This base... is too awesome!"

Exclamations and discussions rose and fell like tides among the student formation, and everyone's face was filled with shock, excitement, and an unprecedented sense of security. Principal Li stood at the very front, looking at this powerful force that far exceeded his imagination, his lips slightly parted, his eyes filled with unbelievable surprise, which was then replaced by great relief—with such power, why worry about not being able to recover the lost territory and protect the teachers and students?

When the first tank's heavy tracks crushed over the threshold of the East Gate and drove into the campus, the students in the front row erupted into a huge cheer. The cold steel beast was close at hand, and the shocking sense of oppression and power made them flush with excitement, stretching their necks desperately, wanting to see more clearly.

"Let me see!"

"Brothers in front, crouch down a bit!"

"Oh, don't push! I can't see!"

The students in the back were anxious, scratching their ears and cheeks, standing on tiptoes and jumping up, but could only see the moving heads in front and the top of the tank turrets, stamping their feet in anxiety.

The hind helicopter landed steadily in the designated open space inside the school, the airflow from the rotors blowing people's clothes until they fluttered. The cabin door opened, and Zhang Long leaped down vigorously. He was in a crisp major's uniform, travel-worn but unable to hide his iron-blooded, fierce aura, and he walked with large strides to Zhang Lei.

"Commander! The vanguard has arrived at Hongshan University as planned! Mission accomplished!" Zhang Long's voice was loud and clear. He raised his hand to salute Zhang Lei with a standard military salute, his movements clean and neat, his eyes filled with absolute recognition of Zhang Lei's strength.

Zhang Lei smiled, stepped forward, and after returning the salute, gripped Zhang Long's hand tightly: "Brother Long, you've worked hard along the way!" His smile was sincere. Privately, he had asked Zhang Long many times to call him by his name, but Zhang Long always insisted on the respectful title "Commander." This was not only respect for Zhang Lei's personal strength but also a manifestation of awe for the Red Alert Commander Jiang Xin, the supreme leader, and their brotherly relationship.

Principal Li, who witnessed this scene from the side, felt a flash of surprise in his eyes again. This dignified and steady middle-aged officer, who clearly looked like a veteran of many battles, was actually so respectful to the young Zhang Lei. But then thinking of Zhang Lei's shocking ice-fire wings and unfathomable strength, he felt relieved—in this apocalypse where power is respected, strength is status.