205: Battle of Lingnan (4)

Inside the Brigade Command Post, Brigade Commander Wang Rui stared intently at the electronic sand table, his brow deeply furrowed. Through the communicator came the slightly heavy voice of the 1st Battalion Commander:

"Reporting to Brigade Command! The railway station area has been cleared! After a thorough search... no survivors were found. Confirmed kill of one Third-Tier Corpse King, crystal core recovered. Over."

Although he had been mentally prepared, when the words "no survivors found" clearly reached his ears, Brigade Commander Wang couldn't help but slam his fist onto the edge of the hard command console with a dull thud! The staff officers in the command post subconsciously held their breath. He took a deep breath, suppressing the surge of distress and helplessness in his chest, and replied in a low voice:

"1st Battalion. Immediately proceed to Block X as planned! Note: in subsequent operations, try to avoid using high-yield artillery and heavy rockets. Use firearms, autocannons, and individual rocket launchers to clear the area as much as possible. Give any potential survivors... a glimmer of hope!" He knew this order might increase the risk of casualties for the troops, but as a soldier, protecting the lives of the people was their highest duty, even if the hope was slim.

"1st Battalion understands! Mission will be accomplished!" The 1st Battalion Commander's voice was equally firm; he understood the Brigade Commander's intentions and immediately directed the troops to turn, heading toward the block with an aura of grim determination.

The drone swarms had already taken the lead, circling above the block. Cold, synthesized electronic voices repeatedly broadcasted rescue announcements, like ripples of hope cast into the deathly silent ruins.

Although the apocalypse had lasted for five months, in the relatively scattered residential areas, tenacious lives still clung to existence. The cautious advance of the 1st Battalion indeed rescued some survivors hiding in basements, attics, or reinforced houses; most were skin and bones, their eyes a mix of fear and the wild joy of being saved.

Everyone knew that the places where large groups of survivors were most likely to exist were not the densely populated, resource-scarce city centers, but the suburbs and townships.

There, the population density was relatively low, with many self-built houses, farmland, and independent water sources, providing perfect conditions for self-rescue. However, even if there might only be a few thousand or even a few hundred survivors in the urban area, the troops would never give up.

County Town No. 5 Industrial Park. Nearly ninety percent of the factories in County Town No. 5 were gathered here. The vast factory areas, sturdy workshops, and warehouses allowed many workers to survive the early stages of the disaster, but it also attracted a massive number of zombies to entrench themselves.

A 9a main battle tank from the 2nd Battalion used a brutal ramming maneuver to break through the rusted iron gates of a large machinery manufacturing plant. Its thick turret, like the head of a vigilant giant beast, slowly rotated left and right, searching for targets.

"High-intensity energy reaction detected! Inside the factory area, a large number of Second-Tier Zombies discovered! Repeat, a large number of Second-Tier! Mixed with a massive low-tier Zombie Tide!" Through the vehicle-mounted energy fluctuation sensing device—a piece of high-end technology from the National Government's Academy of Sciences after the apocalypse—the lead tank commander issued an urgent warning.

Before the words had even faded, dozens of Second-Tier Zombies of various forms suddenly lunged out from the shadows of the factory buildings and behind shattered windows! There were Agiles with incredible speed, thick-skinned Behemoths, and Acid Throats spitting acid, among other types of Second-Tier Zombies! Behind them, ordinary zombies surged out like a tide!

"All units, attention! Fire suppression! Crossfire! Hold them back!" The command channel was instantly filled with the shouts of vehicle crews and infantry squad leaders.

The machine guns and autocannons on the tanks, armored personnel carriers, and infantry fighting vehicles that followed into the factory fired fiercely, weaving a dense web of fire in an attempt to keep the Zombie Tide at a safe distance. Bullets poured out like water, making thumping sounds as they hit the Behemoths, yet it was difficult to kill them instantly.

"Quick! Infantry squads, move forward and assemble the recoilless rifles! Rocket launchers in position! Knock out those hard targets for me! Snipers, start picking off the venom zombies immediately; don't let the Acid Throats get close." Beside a command vehicle in the rear, a Captain shouted orders at the top of his lungs while yelling into his communicator: "Battalion Command! Battalion Command! This is Factory Area X. Large-scale Second-Tier Zombie group discovered. Requesting immediate deployment of Evolvers for support! Repeat, urgent need for Evolvers to handle high-tier targets!"

Tank shells landed in the zombie crowd, tearing apart large numbers of ordinary zombies, while the Snipers in the unit also quickly aimed and took out the Acid Throats within the horde.

But just as the infantrymen were nervously setting up their heavy weapons, a sudden change occurred! Several figures, as fast as specters, used the complex terrain of the factory area and the cover of the zombie swarm to break through the fire net, charging into the unfolding infantry formation like black lightning!

"Watch out!" A middle-aged Second Class Sergeant Major reacted extremely quickly, violently pushing away a young soldier who was half-squatting to assemble a recoilless rifle mount! However, he himself was exposed to the claws!

"Rippp—!"

A tooth-gritting tearing sound rang out! The thick bulletproof vest on the Sergeant Major's back was easily torn open like a sheet of paper by the claws of a Second-Tier Agile! Several wounds, deep enough to see bone, appeared instantly, blood gushing out. More terrifyingly, the flesh around the wounds turned black and began to rot at a visible rate! The zombie virus was frantically eroding the Sergeant Major's body!

"Squad Leader—!"

The soldier who had been pushed away, eyes nearly bursting with rage, rushed forward with a cry, his submachine gun firing wildly in the direction where the Agile had disappeared! The surrounding infantrymen also quickly contracted their formation, forming a circular defense back-to-back, protecting the injured Sergeant Major in the center, their muzzles pointing warily outward.

"Squad Leader! Hang in there! Serum! Serum!" Xiao Lin frantically pulled out a precious vial of anti-virus serum, carefully sealed in a hard plastic tube, from the side pocket of his tactical backpack. With trembling hands, he tore open the packaging and stabbed it into the blackened wound on the Sergeant Major's back. But after one injection of serum, it only slowed the spread of the zombie virus without making it recede.

"It's... it's no use, Xiao Lin..." The Sergeant Major's face turned gray and ashen rapidly, his breathing becoming heavy. He grabbed Xiao Lin's wrist, but his strength was failing. "This is... the corpse poison of a Second-Tier monster... one... won't suppress it... don't... don't waste it on an old man like me... save it for... the boys who need it more..." His eyes began to lose focus, yet they held a resolution to face death.

"Move! Everyone move!"

A thunderous shout, tinged with a sob, came through. The crowd parted as a Captain rushed in.

Seeing the Sergeant Major's injuries, his eyes instantly turned red. Without hesitation, he pulled out two vials of serum from his load-bearing equipment and almost roared, "Old Squad Leader! Don't talk nonsense! Live on!!"

With that, he swiftly injected the two vials of serum into the Sergeant Major's vein and around the wound on his back. The serum took effect quickly; the spreading blackness was finally halted and began to recede slowly. The ashen color on the Sergeant Major's face also regained a hint of life.