49: Soldiers marched to Tengqiao

Before the departure of the 1st and 4th Companies, Jiang Xin used the 6,000 credits collected over the past few days to build seven Kamikaze Trucks. These were six-wheeled heavy military trucks with light armor protection capable of withstanding rifle bullets. Though they lacked built-in weapons, they featured firing ports on both sides and could carry 30 soldiers or 40 tons of supplies at once. They filled the gap left by the limited transport capacity of the armored personnel carriers. All were assigned to the 1st and 4th Companies. With four trucks and twelve armored personnel carriers (at 400 gold each), a bit of squeezing meant four trucks were enough for the troops, while the others were used for hauling supplies.

Barracks

"Attention everyone! Target—Tengqiao Town! Board the vehicles!" Chen Hao's voice was loud and powerful, cutting through the low growl of the engines. He stood beside a Kamikaze Truck, his sharp gaze scanning the assembled soldiers.

The soldiers moved upon hearing the order, their actions as swift as cheetahs. Heavy combat boots kicked up dust as they split into two orderly lines, filing into the spacious compartments of the armored personnel carriers and Kamikaze Trucks. The roar of the engines suddenly surged, merging into a deafening metallic howl.

The convoy, a flood of steel, slowly set off. The wheels kicked up clouds of yellow dust, resembling an awakening earthen dragon winding its way toward Tengqiao Town.

The convoy rolled over broken city roads and onto the relatively flat ring road. The sun baked the asphalt surface, creating shimmering waves of heat. In this seemingly peaceful moment, an urgent warning from a hind pilot ahead came through the communicator: "Report! Large-scale mutant beast pack detected approximately one kilometer ahead! Visual confirmation of over ten Mutant Bison leading the pack! They are exceptionally large! Accompanied by several small mutant beasts and poultry! They... they've blocked the main road! Danger level: High!"

Chen Hao's eyes instantly turned to ice. Without a moment's hesitation, he issued a decisive order: "armored personnel carriers, move to the sides! Bring the tanks to the front! Prepare for fire coverage! Helicopters, coordinate the strike!" The command was transmitted instantly via radio. Before the convoy could even see the outline of the beast pack, the dull thud of cannon fire tore through the air! "Boom! Boom! Boom!" The main guns of three tanks let out earth-shattering roars, shells slamming accurately into the center of the pack.

Almost simultaneously, three hinds hovered like harbingers of death, their rocket pods spitting tongues of fire while their autocannons wove a lethal net of bullets. Fireballs from the explosions soared into the sky, and scorching shockwaves carrying dirt and charred fragments of flesh swept toward them. As the thick smoke drifted, the pack of Mutant Bison—which just moments ago had exuded a terrifying aura with hooves like thunder—was instantly turned into charred, smoking chunks of meat. The air was filled with the nauseating stench of roasted flesh.

The remaining small mutant beasts—twisted chickens and dogs, frenzied rats and rabbits—were driven even more insane by the blood and explosions. They shrieked as they lunged at the convoy from the dust. "Free fire! Use the vehicles for cover!" Chen Hao's command was clear and forceful. In an instant, dense tongues of fire erupted from the firing ports on both sides of the Kamikaze Trucks and armored personnel carriers! "Da da da... da da da..." The gunfire sounded like a torrential rain hammering on a tin roof, deafening to the ears. Relying on their steel cover, the soldiers calmly aimed and fired in bursts. Bullets tore through the air with sharp whistles, accurately drilling into the twisted, pouncing bodies. Under absolute fire superiority, these fearless mutant creatures were mowed down like grass by an invisible scythe, falling in heaps. Their limbs were shattered, and foul blood stained the dry road red.

Sitting by the cabin door of the chinook hovering in the rear, Jiang Xin's fingers gripped the handrail so hard they turned white. It wasn't until the gunfire completely ceased that he slowly let go and exhaled a long breath of turbid air. Watching the convoy below restart and continue its steady advance, he closed his eyes and waited for the group to reach the Tengqiao Silver Mine.

The distance of over forty kilometers was not far. Two hours later, the team reached their destination—the Tengqiao Town Silver Mine. The scattered, staggering zombies encountered along the way were easily crushed like ants under the wheels and precision fire of the armed convoy.

When Jiang Xin jumped down from the chinook and his feet touched the ground of the mine, a strong wind carrying thick metallic dust and the scent of decay slammed into his face, making him cough a few times. He squinted, finally taking in the full view of this post-apocalyptic mine: a massive pit over five hundred meters in diameter, looking like a festering, oozing wound gouged out of the earth. The layers of mining terraces looked like broken stairs left behind after being frantically gnawed by some greedy behemoth.

At the bottom of the pit, rust-covered conveyor belts wound like dying giant pythons. Their steel frames still held scattered fragments of ore shimmering with a cold, silver-gray luster, looking like scales shed by a Great Beast.

In the distance, the mountain faces exposed by blasting were hideous and terrifying. Between the grayish-white rock layers, a web-like network of silver ore veins reflected an eerie light in the sun, resembling the bulging, twisted blue veins on a dying person's arm.

At the edge of the pit, a few dusty but relatively new mine carts were scattered about. Dozens of zombies in tattered miner uniforms wandered aimlessly, their hollow eye sockets staring vacantly at the uninvited guests. Mining tools lay strewn across the ground; on the wooden handles of the pickaxes, dark red stains had long since dried and turned black, making it impossible to distinguish between rust and clotted blood, exuding an aura of death.

"Clear them out!" Chen Hao's voice was cold and without hesitation. The order was like a stone thrown into a stagnant pond.

The well-trained soldiers quickly fanned out, and gunfire once again echoed over the vast mine pit. The clearing operation went exceptionally smoothly; aside from piles of white bones and walking corpses trapped in miner uniforms, there was no trace of any survivors—this barren mine lacked the food and water necessary to sustain life.