Chapter 441: It had just began
Translator: _Min_ Editor: Caron_
A battle in the night was extremely disadvantageous to the survivors – not only would the soldiers’ view be obstructed, but their weariness would also increase. They had some night vision goggles, but nowhere near enough to supply all 2000 soldiers, so the strategy Wang Zhao decided upon was using a physical light source.
After a period of time, the mortars would launch a few lightning bombs that would linger in the air and illuminate the battlefield with a bright red luminance. Although they couldn’t make the battlefield as bright as day, there would be ample light for shooting.
On the zombie’s side, the night brought them several advantages.
When the zombies were free from the sunlight, they were suddenly more fierce as if they were all on drugs. The typical zombies weren’t only faster, but the arm strength of the throwers was also stronger as they tossed their “sons” into the base. The exploding infant zombies indeed created a lot of problems for the soldiers on the wall as they were taken down, one by one. This scene alone depressed everyone’s mood.
Pouring down gasoline every six hours was the only opportunity for the soldiers defending the wall to rest. Only massive fire would make the zombies feel fear and stop their march toward the survivor base.
But when the flames vanished, the flood of zombies would continue their attack.
As the leader of the Second Corps, Wang Zhaowu didn’t get much shuteye during the night. He only took naps on the sofa when the zombies were being burned.
Jiang Chen took Sun Jiao back to the mansion at 12. Although Sun Jiao wanted to do everything she could to protect the base, Jiang Chen wouldn’t allow her to fight in a fatigued state.
But speaking of Sun Jiao, Jiang Chen originally thought that a single person couldn’t have a large impact on the battlefield until he discovered that she made a huge difference. Her precise shooting meant that a lot of throwers were unable to attack before their heads were popped off by the sniper rifles.
After six hours, over 200 throwers died by her gun! While the kills boosted the soldiers’ morale, the pressure the east wall faced was also significantly alleviated because the east side was facing the city center.
For now, the greatest threat posed to the soldiers on the wall was the throwers.
The next morning, the zombie attack slowed down.
Even during the mutant flood, the concentration of zombies wasn’t uniform. After the conclusion of one wave, there would be a short or long dormant period. Until the next wave arrived, the base was safe.
Standing on top of the wall, the scene on the outside was glorious.
The wall was burnt to a crisp black. The coal and bone dust mixed together to form patches of black and white while a repulsive burned smell drifted through the air. The burning of gasoline created a 7-meter vacuum outside the wall, but further outside the wall was still a pile of corpses.
The remains of zombies began to let out a disgusting smell. The previously unrotten skin tissue maintained by the x1 bacteria began to deteriorate. Mosquitos and flies began to circle the air; the plate-sized flies and human leg-long mosquitos sent a chill down everyone’s spines just by their appearance.
The occasional zombie that blankly wandered around the wall was quickly shot.
“Is this it?” On top of the wall, Jiang Chen asked Sun Jiao beside him.
“It’s only the beginning.” Sun Jiao, with an SK10 in front of her chest, sighed.
[Just the beginning?] Jiang Chen gazed at the mosquitos and flies that were beginning to accumulate.
Typically speaking, the more mutants in the area, the fewer the zombies; the distribution of the two was inversely proportional. Now that the concentration of zombies decreased…
It wasn’t a good sign.
“How long will this mutant flood last?” Jiang Chen asked wryly.
“Until Wanghai City can return to a state of balance.” Sun Jiao shrugged.
Any creatures, including the zombies, would have an instinct to create their own space for survival. Once the population exceeded the threshold, the city center could no longer contain all of them, so they had to expand outward and increase the radius of the city center.
Waiting alone would not end the mutant flood – only killing all the zombies and mutants migrating outward would end this war.
If not, they would have to give up their own territory and migrate further.
On the wasteland, where anyone could become mutated, natural selection remained the law.
A zombie in the distance moved in their direction, so Sun Jiao grabbed the laser rifle hanging in front of her chest, extended the barrel, narrowed her eyes, and pressed the trigger.
A needle-thin blue ray flashed as a fist-sized hole was instantly burned onto the zombie’s forehead. Black content began to flow out. It took a few more steps before collapsing to the ground.
A few rays flashed, and a few zombies dropped dead.
It didn’t have the sound effect typically found in science fiction movies; real laser rifles were silent killers. Although they had troublesome maintenance, expensive parts, limited range, and weak defense against EMP, making them far less popular than durable explosive rifles, Sun Jiao seemed to be particularly fond of them.
Straight trajectory, no recoil, high power in close range.
“It’s a pretty high-tech weapon,” Jiang Chen said enviously while looking at the weapon in Sun Jiao’s hands.
He wanted to purchase a few of the laser weapons as part of his collection, but the Sixth Street weapon shop only sold the C-type battery used for laser rifles, not the laser rifles themselves. Because he never saw one while he was at the Sixth Street, he shoved the memory of it to the back of his head.
The laser rifle was mostly used in space since no one dared to fire a standard rifle in gravity-free environments – firing just one shot might not hit anyone before the person who fired it would drift away.
“This is considered high-tech?” Sun Jiao rolled her eyes and retracted the rifle. “Let’s go down, it won’t be safe on the wall in a bit.”
“The mutant mosquitos and the mutant flies?”
Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes at the black cloud that began to form in the distance before turning around.
Because of the appearance of flying mutants, Lu Huasheng immediately evacuated the survivors at the base and transferred them to the temporary emergency facility in the underground tunnel.
Jiang Chen didn’t want to brag about his foresight, but the temporary emergency facility he ordered to be built was useful. The flying mutants could easily fly over the wall of the base which would be a disaster to the normal survivors at the base.
Hiding in the underground tunnel would protect them.
After half a year of continual reinforcement, the primary transportation route between the Sixth Street and Fishbone base was fortified like an iron barrel. As long as both exits were secured, no mutants could attack them here.
When Jiang Chen and Sun Jiao headed to the community center, they didn’t encounter a lot of people along the way.
After arriving at the command center, they saw the only remaining person in the community center – Han Junhua.
She had her arms crossed and was looking emotionlessly at the hologram map on the table.
The red and blue dots intermingled together, marking the enemy and friendly forces. Just by the force distribution, the First Corps had gained the upper hand, but the expression on her face didn’t indicate that at all.
“What’s the situation on the west line?” Jiang Chen immediately asked.
“A bit problematic.”
Despite her an unchanging face, Han Junhua’s voice betrayed a tone full of cautiousness.