27: Chapter 27 Bet 2

The air on level B2 of the underground garage was thick with the smell of blood, gunpowder, and the grey dust kicked up by tracks grinding over concrete. Commander Lin Dong knelt beside the silver-grey heavy truck, his left hand pressed against the cold side panel while the wound on his right wrist continued to seep blood—that last shot had grazed his wrist, snapping the strap of his tactical watch.

Numbers flickered on the interface:

【base vehicle Deployment Progress: 32%】

【Estimated Remaining Time: 4 hours 27 minutes】

【Warning: Energy supply interrupted; deployment will automatically terminate】

“Company Commander!” Communications Soldier Li Na's voice came from the garage entrance, sounding on the verge of tears. “They’re coming up again! At least thirty of them!”

Commander Lin Dong didn't look back. His gaze was fixed on another line of small text on the interface:

【Hostile units detected approaching: 47 people, including 12 armed personnel; leader is a Lv.5 Strength-Type Awakened One】

【Threat Assessment: High】

【Recommendation: Abandon base vehicle, evacuate immediately】

Evacuate.

The word spun in Commander Lin Dong's mind for 0.3 seconds before he snuffed it out.

He stood up and looked toward the garage entrance. There, three of his soldiers were using two abandoned cars as a makeshift barricade, their muzzles pointed at the curve of the garage ramp. Zhang Lei's left arm was dripping blood—a piece of shrapnel had sliced off a small chunk of flesh during the last exchange of fire, yet the kid hadn't made a sound.

Further away, at the ramp entrance to level B3, the voice of the prisoner leader echoed: “Blow it up! Blow up that big truck for me! I want to see what the hell that thing is!”

Commander Lin Dong's gaze swept across the entire B2 level.

The three-hundred-square-meter space held about twenty private cars, mostly belonging to families from the military camp. Three load-bearing pillars were distributed in a triangle, supporting the structure of the underground garage. To the east was a ventilation shaft, to the west a power distribution room, and to the south was the ramp they had driven down—the only route for the prisoner gang's assault.

To the north was a solid wall, behind which lay another section of level B1, but it was locked tight.

Commander Lin Dong's brain began to calculate automatically:

Terrain Data:

Ramp width: 4.2 meters, can only accommodate two people side-by-side

Ramp length: 26 meters, 15° incline

Pillar spacing: 18 meters, forming natural firing sectors

ventilation shaft dimensions: 1.5×2 meters, theoretically enough for one person to crawl through

Combatant Data:

Enemy: Approx. 30 people (on the ramp), 17 people (perimeter guard), 12 firearms (mainly shotguns, homemade pistols, and cold weapons)

Enemy Leader: Strength-Type Awakened One, interface shows Strength 18, three times that of a normal person

Allies: 6 people (including himself), 4 firearms (type 95 rifle ×2, pistols ×2), 347 rounds of ammunition, 3 grenades

base vehicle: 80 tons, 50mm armor; if utilized properly—

A crazy idea took shape in Commander Lin Dong's mind.

“Li Na.” He turned around, his voice terrifyingly calm. “Come here.”

Li Na scrambled over, her face pale from the wound on her shoulder. Commander Lin Dong looked at the data on her interface: 1200ml blood loss, blood pressure 85/50, heart rate 128—pre-stage moderate hemorrhagic shock.

“How long can you hold on?”

Li Na blanked for a moment, then gritted her teeth. “I’ll hold on for as long as the Company Commander tells me to.”

“Forty minutes.” Commander Lin Dong pointed at the base vehicle's cabin. “Crawl up there, get in the cabin, and lock the door. No matter what happens outside, do not come out. If I’m not back after forty minutes, initiate the base vehicle's emergency extraction procedure—press the red button on the bottom left of the steering wheel. It will automatically retract and take you to the safety coordinates designated by the system.”

Li Na's eyes reddened. “What about you, Company Commander?”

Commander Lin Dong didn't answer. He turned to Zhang Lei. “Zhang Lei, give me your type 95 rifle and all your magazines.”

Without a word, Zhang Lei handed over the rifle and four magazines. Commander Lin Dong took them and collected two more magazines from the other two soldiers. He did a quick inventory of all the ammunition:

Rifle rounds: 180

Pistol: 9mm rounds, 45

Grenades: 3

Including the 30 rounds in his own rifle, that was 255 rounds and 3 grenades in total.

The opposition consisted of 47 people and 12 firearms.

Commander Lin Dong slotted the magazines into his tactical vest with mechanical precision, just as he had done countless times on the exercise grounds. His brain was working at high speed, every piece of data flashing:

Prisoner Gang Firepower Configuration:

shotguns ×7: Effective range 30m, buckshot, area damage, slow reload

Homemade Pistols ×4: Effective range 15m, single shot, poor accuracy, prone to jamming

Imitation Rifle ×1: Likely looted from somewhere, specific model unknown

Their Tactics:

Utilize numerical advantage for a frontal assault from the ramp

Use shotgun buckshot to suppress while melee personnel close the distance

Once in close quarters, the Strength-Type leader can easily tear apart normal humans

Commander Lin Dong looked up at the three load-bearing pillars.

An operational plan formed in his mind, each step supported by data:

Step One: Time Calculation

From the ramp entrance to the bottom of B2, a normal person takes 8 seconds to run. If sprinting downhill, 5 seconds. If charging while firing, 7 to 10 seconds.

Step Two: Firepower Calculation

A single shotgun blast has a spread diameter of about 1.5 meters at a distance of 20 meters. If the shooters are densely packed, one shot could cover 2 to 3 people.

Step Three: Psychological Calculation

These prisoners have been in jail too long; they bully the weak but fear the strong. They can fight when things are going well, but they’ll crumble when the tide turns.

Commander Lin Dong glanced at the base vehicle. It sat there silently, its silver-grey body gleaming with a metallic luster in the dim garage. The system said it had 50mm armor—that was light armored vehicle grade; ordinary bullets would be like a tickle to it.

“Everyone.” Commander Lin Dong spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the cavernous garage. “Retreat behind the base vehicle and establish a circular defense using the vehicle body. Do not fire without my command.”

Zhang Lei was stunned. “Company Commander, what about the ramp—”

“I’ll hold it.”

The three soldiers looked at each other. One man holding a twenty-six-meter ramp? Against thirty people?

“Execute.”

Military instinct made them shut their mouths. The three of them dragged Li Na and quickly retreated toward the base vehicle. Commander Lin Dong walked toward the ramp entrance and stopped fifteen meters from the bottom, where an abandoned military humvee sat facing the ramp.

He opened the humvee's door, climbed in, and started the engine.

The roar of the engine echoed through the underground garage and traveled up the ramp. A commotion immediately broke out above: “There’s a car down there! They’re going to charge up!”

“Don't panic!” the prisoner leader's voice exploded. “Get the gasoline bottles over here! Burn him!”

Commander Lin Dong shifted gears and floored the accelerator.

The humvee surged up the ramp, its speed skyrocketing from 0 to 40 kilometers per hour in an instant. The tires shrieked against the concrete. The prisoners at the top of the ramp scattered in terror to avoid the sudden onslaught of the steel beast.

Commander Lin Dong yanked the steering wheel hard halfway up the ramp.

The humvee's body swung sideways, wedging itself tightly across the ramp—the ramp was 4.2 meters wide, and the humvee was 4.7 meters long. It blocked the path perfectly, nose against the left wall and tail against the right, unable to move forward or back.

Commander Lin Dong rolled out of the passenger door, throwing his first grenade up the ramp as he landed.

BOOM!

The grenade exploded at the curve of the ramp, shrapnel creating a lethal metal storm in the narrow space. Commander Lin Dong didn't stick around to see the results; he slid down against the wall, returned to level B2, and flipped under the chassis of a parked car.

Screams and curses drifted down from the ramp.

“Damn it! Two of us are dead!”

“That lunatic blocked the ramp with the car!”

“Crawl over the car! Hurry!”

Lying under the car, Commander Lin Dong watched the data on the interface:

【Enemy Casualties: 2 dead, 3 injured】

【Remaining Threat: 42 people, 11 armed personnel】

Not enough.

What he wanted wasn't attrition; it was terror.

He crawled out from under the car and ran toward the second pillar. This pillar was near the ventilation shaft, with several discarded wooden crates piled behind it. Commander Lin Dong wedged his second grenade into a gap between the crates, pulled the pin, and used a thin wire to secure the safety lever—as soon as someone tripped that wire, the grenade would blow.

A simple booby trap.

He had learned this in the Reconnaissance Company.

With that done, he ran to the third pillar. This one was closest to the base vehicle, only twelve meters away. He placed two steel plates he had stripped from the humvee against the pillar, creating a firing position.

Then, crouching behind the cover, he raised the type 95 rifle.

Deep breath.

New data appeared on the interface:

【Heart Rate: 82】

【Adrenaline Level: Normal Range】

【Mental State: Calm】

He waited for three seconds.

The sound of metal scraping came from the ramp—the prisoners had begun to climb over the wedged humvee.

The first head peeked out, then a second, then a third.

Commander Lin Dong didn't fire. He was waiting.

Waiting for more people to come down.

Eleven people climbed over the humvee and stood at the bottom of the ramp, looking around with guns raised. Leading them was a bald man holding the imitation rifle; he was likely a confidant of the Strength-Type leader.

“There’s the big truck!” someone pointed at the base vehicle.

“Charge! The boss said whoever grabs that truck gets a woman as a reward!”

The eleven men began to rush forward.

Commander Lin Dong watched their path. The first passed the ventilation shaft, then the second, then the third—

As the fourth passed, his leg snagged the thin wire.

BOOM!

The second grenade exploded only three meters from the group. Shrapnel swept through them; three fell instantly, two clutched their legs screaming, and the remaining six were knocked flat by the shockwave.

“Get down! It’s an ambush!”

Commander Lin Dong leaned out from behind the steel plates, the type 95 rifle against his shoulder, centering the bald man with the imitation rifle in his sights.

Front sight, rear sight, target.

Pre-loading the trigger.

Rat-tat-tat—a three-round burst.

Three blood blossoms erupted on the bald man's chest as he fell backward.

The survivors finally realized where the bullets were coming from and began firing wildly toward Commander Lin Dong. shotgun buckshot peppered the pillar, chipping off concrete fragments, while several steel pellets clanged against the steel plates.

Commander Lin Dong ducked back into cover, silently counting the rhythm of their fire.

shotgun fires once, pump, fire again—1.2-second interval.

Homemade pistol empties a magazine, reload—at least 5 seconds.

He waited through three rounds of fire, then suddenly leaned out from the right side of the cover. This time he didn't aim, simply pouring fire into the densest part of the crowd.

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—

He emptied a full thirty-round magazine in seven seconds.

Two more men went down.

The psychological defense of the remaining four finally collapsed. They turned and fled, scrambling back up the ramp, shouting as they ran: “Ghost! There’s a ghost! There’s a ghost down there!”

Commander Lin Dong swapped in a fresh magazine and stood up, aiming his rifle at the retreating backs.

He didn't fire.

He wanted them to run back.

Fear was contagious.

The ramp went silent.

Commander Lin Dong stood his ground, listening to the curses, screams, and arguments coming from a kilometer away. The acoustic structure of the underground garage was unique; the ramp acted like a conduit, clearly carrying sounds from the surface down to him.

“What the hell are you running for?!”

“There’s an ambush down there! Gouzi is dead! Baldy is dead too!”

“How many of them?”

"I... I don't know, I just saw one person..."

"One person beat you guys like this?!"

Slap—a crisp sound of a slap rang out.

Then came the prisoner leader's roar: "Listen up! I'm taking that big truck! If anyone dares to run again, I'll snap his neck with my own hands! Er Gou, take ten men down through the ventilation shaft! The rest of you, follow me for a frontal assault from the ramp!"

Commander Lin Dong's pupils contracted slightly.

The ventilation shaft.

He turned to look at the 1.5x2 meter square shaft opening. An iron ladder was welded to the shaft wall, leading directly to the ground. If the enemy came down from there, they would appear behind his flank.

He was alone.

Commander Lin Dong looked at the panel:

【Remaining Ammunition: 132 Type 95 rounds, 45 pistol rounds, 1 grenade】

【base vehicle deployment progress: 41%】

【Time remaining: 3 hours 52 minutes】

He needed three hours and fifty-two minutes.

And the bullets in his hand, even if every single one hit a person, were only enough to kill one hundred and seventy-seven people. But the reality was that in such a dim environment, a thirty percent hit rate would be considered good.

Moreover, that Strength-Type Awakened One hadn't come down yet.

Commander Lin Dong closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

When he opened his eyes again, the hesitation was gone.

He began to move.

Step one: The ventilation shaft.

He ran beneath the ventilation shaft and tore a Flashbang from his tactical vest—this was the only non-lethal weapon he had found in the military armory. He wedged the Flashbang onto the third rung of the ladder, secured the safety pin with a thin wire, then tied a transparent fishing line to the pin and fastened the other end to the fifth rung.

If someone came down from above and stepped on the fifth rung, they would pull the fishing line, yanking the safety pin—and it would explode right in their face.

A military-grade Flashbang could cause instant blindness for five seconds within one meter of the blast center.

Step two: The passageway between the load-bearing pillars.

Commander Lin Dong began to utilize every vehicle and piece of cover to set up five firing positions on the B2 level. Each firing position was connected by cover, allowing him to move quickly under the enemy's nose.

He removed the last three bullets from his pistol magazine and stuffed them into an empty shell casing to create a crude "noise bomb"—it would make a sound when thrown, serving as a distraction.

Step three: Psychological warfare.

He needed to make the enemy believe he wasn't alone down here.

Commander Lin Dong pulled out a walkie-talkie—he had taken it from the military communications room. Its effective range was only five hundred meters, but that was enough. He pressed the talk button and spoke in completely different voices:

"Position three in place."

"Position two in place."

"Position four is on the move."

Then he placed the walkie-talkie on the hood of a car and left the speaker on.

After finishing this, he returned to the main cover behind the third load-bearing pillar, set up his Type 95, and aimed the barrel toward the ventilation shaft.

Then he began to wait.

When the first enemy appeared at the ventilation shaft opening, Commander Lin Dong's barrel was pointed right at him.

It was a pair of hands in prison uniform gripping the edge of the ladder, followed by half a head, with a pair of eyes looking around in the darkness.

Commander Lin Dong didn't fire.

He was waiting.

Waiting for the second person.

Waiting for the third person.

Waiting for all of them to enter the B2 level.

Three prisoners climbed down from the ventilation shaft, landing with their weapons raised alertly—two shotguns and a machete. Back-to-back, they moved forward cautiously.

Commander Lin Dong's scope locked onto the first shotgunner's head.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the ramp—over a dozen dark figures were vaulting down beside the humvee, led by that Strength-Type Awakened One.

A pincer attack.

The data on the panel flickered:

【Enemies: 15 from the ramp, 3 from the ventilation shaft, total 18】

【Distance: 40 meters from the ramp, 25 meters from the ventilation shaft】

【Optimal firing window: When both enemy groups enter range and cannot support each other】

Commander Lin Dong's right index finger rested on the trigger.

Waiting.

The enemies from the ramp began to spread out, advancing in a fan formation. The Strength-Type Awakened One walked at the rear, carrying a drive shaft he had stripped from a car. It was a makeshift weapon, but with his 18 points of Strength, it was more lethal than a bullet.

The trio from the ventilation shaft advanced to within twenty meters of Commander Lin Dong's cover.

Commander Lin Dong counted their steps.

Eighteen meters.

Fifteen meters.

Then he pulled the trigger.

Da-da-da—a three-round burst, the first man was hit in the head.

Da-da-da—a three-round burst, a spray of blood erupted from the second man's chest.

The third man had just raised his shotgun when Commander Lin Dong's barrel already swung toward him—

Da-da.

Two bullets pierced his neck.

Three seconds, three people.

Commander Lin Dong didn't linger. He grabbed his gun, crouched, and sprinted toward the first firing position on the left. Behind him, the enemies from the ramp finally reacted, bullets raining down on the load-bearing pillar where he had just been hiding.

"He's over there!"

"Charge!"

Commander Lin Dong dove into the first firing position—underneath an SUV. He crawled out from the other side, tumbled into the back seat of a nearby sedan, then rolled out the other door to reach the second firing position—behind a van.

The whole process took six seconds.

The enemies from the ramp had already rushed to his previous position, only to find no one there.

"Where is he?"

"Search! Keep searching!"

Commander Lin Dong poked his barrel out from behind the van and aimed at a prisoner with his back turned.

Da-da—two rounds.

The man fell.

The other prisoners fired frantically toward him, but Commander Lin Dong had already pulled back. He moved low, following his pre-set route to the third firing position—inside the bed of a truck.

He aimed at a second target through a gap in the truck bed.

Da-da.

Another one.

This was hunting.

Not a battle.

The Strength-Type Awakened One finally realized something was wrong. He shoved aside the subordinates blocking him, his bloodshot eyes scanning the darkness. His panel was hidden from others, but in Commander Lin Dong's eyes, all the data was transparent:

【Strength-Type Awakened One Lv. 5】

【HP: 450/450】

【Strength: 18, Agility: 9, Constitution: 15】

【Skill: Berserk (Strength +50% for 5 seconds, 60-second cooldown)】

With 450 HP, he had four times the health of an ordinary person. With 18 Strength, a single punch could punch through a car door.

The bullets in Commander Lin Dong's hand dealt 80-100 points of lethal damage to unarmored targets. In other words, he needed five shots to vital areas, or ten shots to the torso, to kill this man.

And the opponent's speed allowed him to cover forty meters in five seconds.

He only had one chance.

Commander Lin Dong climbed down from the truck and moved silently to the fourth firing position—the main cover behind the third load-bearing pillar. He set up his Type 95, aimed at the ramp, and then pulled his last grenade from his waist.

The grenade's kill radius was 15 meters, but at this distance, he could precisely control the detonation time.

He pulled the safety pin and counted in his head:

One second.

Two seconds.

After holding the grenade for two seconds, he threw it violently toward the crowd by the ramp.

The grenade traced an arc through the air and landed right in the middle of the prisoner gang—then exploded mid-air.

Boom!

Shrapnel spread in a spherical pattern. Five men fell screaming, while the rest instinctively hit the ground.

Now.

Commander Lin Dong rushed out from behind cover, Type 95 shouldered, his scope framing the only standing figure—the Strength-Type Awakened One.

He was still standing.

Because he had tanked the grenade's shockwave.

The data on the panel: HP 450 → 380, a drop of 70 points. The grenade fragments were lodged in his steel-like muscles; they hadn't caused a fatal wound.

He turned his head and looked at Commander Lin Dong.

Forty meters away.

Their gazes collided in the darkness.

The prisoner leader's mouth curled into a grin, revealing a row of yellow teeth, and then he began to charge.

Commander Lin Dong pulled the trigger.

Da-da-da—a three-round burst to the chest.

Da-da-da—a three-round burst to the abdomen.

Da-da-da—a three-round burst to the thigh.

With every three bullets fired, the opponent's HP dropped a chunk: 380 → 320 → 280.

But he was still charging.

Thirty meters.

Twenty meters.

By the time Commander Lin Dong finished his third burst, the opponent had closed to within fifteen meters. He discarded the Type 95 with its empty magazine and pulled his last magazine from his waist—a pistol magazine with 45 rounds of 9mm ammunition.

He gripped the gun with both hands and aimed for the head.

Nine meters.

Eight meters.

Seven meters.

Commander Lin Dong fired.

Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa—

The pistol's rate of fire was slower than the rifle's, but at this distance, his hit rate was one hundred percent. Bullets slammed one after another into the opponent's head, neck, and chest.

Six meters.

Five meters.

Four meters.

The numbers on the panel flickered wildly: 280 → 210 → 140 → 80 → 30.

The opponent's steps finally began to falter.

Three meters.

He raised the drive shaft in his hand, aimed at Commander Lin Dong's head, and swung it down with the last of his strength—

Commander Lin Dong sidestepped. The drive shaft grazed his shoulder and smashed into the load-bearing pillar behind him, concrete fragments peppering his face. He raised his hand and pressed the barrel against the man's temple.

Bang.

The last bullet.

【Killed Lv. 5 Strength-Type Awakened One, Gained EXP +500, crystal core ×1】

The massive body crashed to the ground, less than a meter away from Commander Lin Dong.

The remaining people were stunned.

Their leader, that monster who could kill a man with a single punch, was dead.

Dead at the hands of one man.

Commander Lin Dong stood where he was, his left hand trembling as he reached for the last magazine at his waist—it was empty. His pistol had fired its very last round.

He looked up at the remaining people.

Seven prisoners who could still stand held their weapons, but none dared to fire.

Commander Lin Dong didn't move.

He just held the empty gun with one hand while the other slowly reached for his waist, pulled out an empty magazine, and slammed it into the gun in front of everyone—click.

In fact, it was empty.

But they didn't know that.

"Next." Commander Lin Dong's voice was raspy, but as calm as if he were talking about the weather.

The seven people looked at each other.

The first person dropped his shotgun, turned, and ran.

Then the second, and the third.

A dozen seconds later, only a few corpses and the wounded who couldn't run remained on the ramp.

Commander Lin Dong stood there, listening to the receding footsteps until they disappeared completely.

Then he slowly crouched down, hands propped on the ground, gasping for air.

A new prompt popped up on the panel:

【base vehicle deployment progress: 47%】

【Time remaining: 3 hours 14 minutes】

He had done it.

At least, he had held off this wave.

In the distance, from the direction of the ventilation shaft, a slight metallic scraping sound suddenly came.

Commander Lin Dong's body tensed instantly, and he turned to look in that direction—

The ladder was shaking.

Someone was coming down from above.

And it was more than one person.

【End of Chapter】