42: Chapter 42 First Contact

Commander Lin Dong was awakened by a stream of data.

It was 4:17 AM, and the surveillance footage of the eastern suburb gas station flickered on his retina—this was the view he shared through the Red Alert base [Primary Radar Station].

On the screen, seven red heat source signals were crawling toward the northwest of the gas station, moving at a speed of 0.8 meters per second in a standard skirmish line formation.

"It's living people." Commander Lin Dong rolled out of bed, his Type 95 automatic rifle already in his hand. "Not zombies."

On his personal panel, the Supernatural Ability attribute flickered—after 72 hours of life-and-death tempering, he was already able to instinctively digitize his surrounding environment: outdoor temperature 11 degrees Celsius, southeast wind force 3, visibility 400 meters, the moon was behind the clouds, and ground illuminance was about 0.2 lux.

Lighting conditions suitable for a night raid.

In the Conscript dormitory, five figures had already silently completed combat preparations.

There was no password, no noise, only the crisp metallic sound of bolts chambering rounds—the soldiers summoned by the Red Alert system seemed to know how to kill in the darkness from birth.

"Squad Leader." The Conscript numbered XM-002 lowered its voice, its eyes glowing with a faint fluorescence in the dark—a [Night Vision Enhancement] feature bestowed by the system. "Should we wake up those two students?"

Commander Lin Dong glanced at the two young people huddled in the corner of the gas station convenience store.

The boy was eighteen or nineteen, the girl looked even younger; they had been rescued from a broken-down bus yesterday afternoon.

They were sleeping soundly, completely unaware that danger was approaching.

"Let them sleep." Commander Lin Dong pulled the charging handle; the click of the bullet chambering was exceptionally clear in the quiet pre-dawn. "If they survive tonight, there will be plenty of time to be afraid tomorrow."

He pushed open the side door of the gas station, and the five Conscripts followed like ghosts.

The air outside was cold as a knife, carrying the sweet, fishy smell of rotting corpses and the scorched stench of burnt cars.

In the distance, the outline of the city was silent in the darkness, with the occasional roar of zombies, hollow and desperate.

Commander Lin Dong squatted down and drew a simple diagram on the dust on the ground with his finger.

"Seven targets, northwest direction, advancing in a fan shape. According to their movement speed, they will reach the gas station wall in five minutes." His voice was as calm as if he were conducting a tactical simulation. "Our position is here—behind the fuel dispensers; this is the best cover, and also the biggest trap."

Conscript XM-001—the squad leader among the five, a middle-aged man with a scar on his face—glanced at the fuel dispensers twenty meters away, then looked at Commander Lin Dong.

"Gasoline?"

"8.7 tons." Commander Lin Dong curled his lips in a cold arc. "Enough to blow them into the sky seven times."

The visitors were more cautious than Commander Lin Dong had expected.

They stopped at a place eighty meters away from the gas station wall, all lying prone behind a row of abandoned cars.

Commander Lin Dong looked at the blurry heat source signals through his night vision goggles, calculating quickly in his mind: seven people, all adult males, four of whom were carrying thermal weapons—judging by the heat source silhouettes, they should be Type 56 assault rifles or similar Soviet-style weapons.

The remaining three held cold weapons, but their waists were bulging; they might have grenades or homemade explosives.

Not ordinary survivors.

Ordinary survivors would look for cover at night, not actively initiate an attack.

Ordinary survivors would not deploy in a skirmish line, nor would they stop advancing simultaneously at a distance of eighty meters from the target.

Ordinary survivors certainly wouldn't—

Commander Lin Dong's pupils contracted.

Two of the seven people suddenly disappeared from the ground.

Not lying down, not hiding, but directly disappearing.

The heat source signals were completely erased from the night vision goggles, as if they had never existed.

"Supernatural Ability users." Commander Lin Dong lowered his voice, his heartbeat quickening a beat. "Two of them."

This was his first encounter with human enemies possessing a Supernatural Ability.

On the data panel, the shadow of that fleeing Man with Glasses surfaced again—the person who escaped from the underground garage had indeed sold the information.

"Boss." XM-001's voice remained steady, as if the words "Supernatural Ability user" were just a synonym for "enemy." "How do we fight?"

Commander Lin Dong did not answer immediately.

His brain was overclocking, calling up all known data: Supernatural Ability users were rare.

According to intelligence previously obtained from the armed police force, the awakening ratio was about one in one thousand to two thousand.

There were many types of Supernatural Ability, the most common being strength enhancement and speed enhancement, followed by five-sense enhancement.

A very small number would have special abilities—like invisibility, mental interference, or elemental control.

The two that disappeared just now were highly likely to have invisibility or stealth-type Supernatural Abilities.

If it was invisibility, then they should have already touched the wall of the gas station by now.

If it was stealth—

Commander Lin Dong's gaze swept toward the wasteland on both sides of the gas station.

It was overgrown with weeds, with the highest points reaching half a person's height.

If the opponent had a stealth ability that reduced their presence, they could indeed approach within thirty meters under the cover of night.

"Change of plan." Commander Lin Dong made a tactical gesture—scatter, fight individually, listen to my orders.

The five Conscripts disappeared silently into the shadows of the fuel dispensers.

Commander Lin Dong himself took two steps back, leaning against an abandoned pickup truck, shrinking his body into the triangular blind spot between the driver's cab and the ground.

The time was 4:23 AM.

The wind was blowing, the grass was moving, and the canopy of the gas station made a slight creaking sound.

In the distance, the roars of zombies came one after another, but they were all far away—at least one kilometer away.

The zombies in this area had been lured away in the last cleanup, and the remaining few would not pose a threat to the battle.

The opponent chose this time and this place; they had clearly scouted the location.

Commander Lin Dong began to re-evaluate the identity of the enemy.

They were not ordinary roving bandits, nor were they a mob of rioters.

These seven people had organization, a plan, sources of information, and even Supernatural Ability users—this was already a professional raider squad.

On the third day of the apocalypse, this level of armed force had actually already formed.

"Bang—"

The gunshot rang out from the northwest, and at the same time, a line of red text jumped out on Commander Lin Dong's retina: [Warning: Peripheral reconnaissance unit destroyed. Unit ID: Scout Dog-01.]

The military dog summoned by the doghouse had been acting as a sentry on the perimeter.

Commander Lin Dong did not move.

He didn't even look in the direction the gunshot came from.

He just lowered his breathing further, his finger resting lightly on the trigger.

The gunshot exposed the opponent's position—northwest by west, about 120 meters away, using a Type 56, single-shot.

The shooter was trained and could accurately hit a fast-moving military dog while on the move.

More importantly, the gunshot meant that the opponent was no longer hiding their intentions.

The explosion happened faster than Commander Lin Dong expected.

It wasn't the trap he had set, it was the opponent's means of attack—two grenades drew parabolas and landed accurately on the gas station wall.

With two loud bangs, the brick-and-mortar wall was blown open with two holes two meters in diameter.

Dust rose, obscuring half of the gas station.

Immediately after, five automatic rifles fired simultaneously, and bullets poured like rain onto the fuel dispensers and the front of the convenience store.

Glass shattered, metal ricocheted, and the shells of the fuel dispensers were riddled with dense bullet holes.

Commander Lin Dong huddled behind the pickup truck, feeling the vibration of the car body being hit by bullets, but he was calculating in his heart: rate of fire 600 rounds per minute, five shooters firing simultaneously, 50 rounds per second hitting this 200-square-meter area, the probability of hitting him—

[Ballistic simulation: Current cover hit probability 17.3%, stray bullet injury probability 6.8%, direct hit probability 0.4%.]

The system panel provided precise battlefield data.

The corners of Commander Lin Dong's mouth curled up slightly.

The opponent was strong, had tactics, had coordination, and even knew how to use fire suppression to cover the advance of Supernatural Ability users.

But they made a mistake—they didn't know how much gasoline was in this gas station.

8.7 tons.

Equivalent to the charge of 7,000 anti-tank mines.

Commander Lin Dong's hand reached into his bosom and touched the remote detonation device—this was the detonator and remote control module that the Conscripts had dismantled from a scrapped engineering vehicle yesterday afternoon, combined with the detonator found in the gas station office, for a total of four detonation points.

Now, he just needed to wait.

The opponent's firepower lasted for a full thirty seconds, then stopped abruptly.

The tinkling sound of shell casings hitting the ground was exceptionally crisp in the silence.

Immediately after, Commander Lin Dong heard footsteps—very light, very fast, advancing into the gas station from the two blown-open gaps.

It was those five shooters.

They didn't change magazines, but started charging in the last five seconds of fire suppression—this meant their tactical coordination was so proficient that they could accurately calculate magazine capacity.

Five people, five magazines, thirty seconds of shooting, exactly emptying the thirty rounds of a magazine.

Commander Lin Dong pressed the detonator.

The first detonation point was in the northwest corner of the gas station, the position closest to those two invisible Supernatural Ability users.

With a boom, a fireball soared into the sky, illuminating the entire gas station.

In the firelight, two blurry figures stumbled and appeared—they were less than five meters away from the explosion point, and the shockwave tore apart their stealth state, forcing them to stabilize their footing with all their might.

Commander Lin Dong saw them clearly: a burly man with a shaved head, his muscles knotted all over his body; a gaunt young man holding a military dagger in his hand. Both men were wearing dark combat uniforms, their waists hung with magazines and grenades.

The burly man with the shaved head roared, his speed suddenly increasing—a strength-type Supernatural Ability, with an explosive speed that could reach eight meters per second. He charged toward the pickup truck where Commander Lin Dong was hiding, covering the forty-meter distance in just two seconds.

Commander Lin Dong pressed the second detonator.

The explosion point was five meters directly in front of the pickup truck. The wreckage of a gas pump was blown into fragments, and metal shrapnel swept across like a rainstorm. The burly man with the shaved head screamed and fell to the ground; a palm-sized piece of iron had sliced a large chunk of flesh from his right leg, and blood was spraying wildly.

But he did not die.

He struggled to lift his head, glaring at Commander Lin Dong with blood-red eyes, and let out a beast-like roar.

Commander Lin Dong stood up, aiming his muzzle at the center of his forehead.

"Your Supernatural Ability has added fifteen points to your constitution." Commander Lin Dong's tone was as calm as if he were reciting data. "If you were an ordinary person, you would have already died from that just now. But you are only severely injured—the blood loss is about 1,200 milliliters; you can still move within three minutes, you will go into shock after five minutes, and you will die after ten minutes."

The burly man with the shaved head froze for a second.

He didn't know what Commander Lin Dong was talking about, nor did he understand what "fifteen points of constitution" meant. But he understood one thing—this person knew he was going to die, and knew exactly how he would die.

"You—"

The gun fired.

Commander Lin Dong did not give him a chance to speak. The bullet entered from the center of his forehead and exited from the back of his head, bringing out a spray of blood mist and brain matter. The corpse of the burly man with the shaved head fell to the ground, twitched twice, and then moved no more.

The remaining battle lasted less than a minute.

The five charging gunmen were stunned by the explosion and the fire, and their formation fell into brief chaos. At that very moment, the five Conscripts opened fire simultaneously from behind cover. The sound of the ak-47 assault rifle exploded in the night, and three gunmen fell on the spot. The remaining two tried to retreat but were caught up by the Conscripts and shot dead from behind.

The gaunt young man turned and ran. His speed was extremely fast—evidently a speed-type Supernatural Ability. He charged toward the wasteland in the northwest, his figure flashing under the moonlight, looking as if he were about to disappear into the weeds.

Commander Lin Dong did not pursue.

He simply raised his gun, aimed, and pulled the trigger.

Three points in a line, lead calculation, wind speed correction—all data flowed across his retina, finally converging into a definite ballistic solution. The bullet traced an invisible trajectory through the air, flew for 0.3 seconds, and accurately struck the back of the young man's right knee.

The young man screamed and fell, rolled three or four times in the weeds, and finally hit a rock, lying motionless.

Commander Lin Dong lowered his gun and said to the Conscripts beside him, "Bring him back."

Three minutes later, the young man was dragged to the ground of the gas station. His right leg below the knee was completely ruined; the bullet had shattered the meniscus and patella. Even if there were the best surgeon available now, he would never be able to walk normally again.

"Don't... don't kill me..." the young man screamed, his face covered in mud and tears. "I'll say anything... anything..."

"Whose people are you?" Commander Lin Dong squatted in front of him, his tone still calm, as if he were asking about today's weather.

"It's... it's Brother Zhang's people..." the young man gasped in pain. "Zhang Mazi... he was originally from Beiling Prison... on the night of the apocalypse, he blew up the prison gate and let out over three hundred people..."

Beiling Prison. Commander Lin Dong recalled that night three days ago, remembered the heavily guarded building to the north of the military camp, and remembered how he and his comrades were still discussing whether a riot would break out in the prison.

As it turned out, more than three hundred desperadoes had now become the predators of this city.

"What about the Man with Glasses?" Commander Lin Dong asked. "Thin, with a mole on his face, he ran away from the underground garage yesterday."

The young man's eyes widened suddenly, a trace of fear flashing in his gaze.

"You... how do you know..."

"Where is he?"

"He... he ran away..." the young man's voice began to tremble. "Yesterday he came back to report, saying there was a big truck that could transform things... Brother Zhang didn't believe him, so he said... he said to bring people to rob it... but he didn't come himself; he made us come... He ran away, he must have run away..."

Commander Lin Dong was silent for two seconds.

That Man with Glasses was smarter than he had imagined. He sold the information, letting others clear the path, while he hid in the back. If this wave of people succeeded, he would naturally come out to share in the spoils; if they failed, all he lost was a group of cannon fodder.

"How many of you came?" Commander Lin Dong continued to ask.

"Just... just the seven of us..." the young man's face turned pale from pain. "There were originally over twenty, but Brother Zhang wasn't sure, so he let us come to scout first..."

Commander Lin Dong stood up.

The young man thought he was going to let him go and squeezed out a smile that was uglier than crying: "Big Brother, if you let me go, I'll be your dog; whoever you tell me to bite, I'll bite..."

Commander Lin Dong did not look at him.

He turned his head to look at the XM-001 and said, "Find out the exact location of the prison, the number of people, weapons and equipment, and the number of people with Supernatural Abilities. Then—"

He paused and glanced at the city silhouette in the distance. The horizon was already turning white; dawn was coming.

"Then make his end quick."

When Commander Lin Dong returned to the gas station convenience store, the two students were already awake.

The boy was named Staff Officer Zhou Ming, eighteen years old, a high school senior, who was on a bus on the day of the apocalypse, preparing to go to school for remedial classes. The girl was named Zhou Xiaoyu, sixteen years old, his younger sister, who was at home on leave due to illness and was taken by him to see a doctor, resulting in both siblings being trapped in the apocalypse together.

They huddled in the corner, their eyes wide, watching Commander Lin Dong walk in, watching the gunpowder smoke and bloodstains on his body, watching him lean his Type 95 rifle against the wall, and then take a bottle of mineral water from the shelf, unscrew it, and take a sip.

"Out... outside..." Staff Officer Zhou Ming's voice was as dry as sandpaper.

"Seven are dead," Commander Lin Dong said. "Six were bad people, and the other one would have been too."

Zhou Xiaoyu buried her face in her brother's arm, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Commander Lin Dong looked at them, recalling three days ago, when he was still considering whether to become a police officer or start a security company after his discharge. At that time, his biggest worries were mortgage payments and blind dates, and the most intense conflict was arguing with his comrades at the dinner table about which model of rifle was better.

Now he was teaching two minors how to survive in the apocalypse.

"Tomorrow at dawn, I'm going to the east," Commander Lin Dong said. "There is an Iron Mine there, as well as military signal flares. You can stay here; the food in the convenience store is enough for you to eat for half a month, and I will also leave some ammunition. Or—"

"We'll go with you," Staff Officer Zhou Ming suddenly interrupted him.

Commander Lin Dong raised an eyebrow.

"You're a soldier, right?" There was a strange light in Staff Officer Zhou Ming's eyes—was it fear, worship, or something else? Commander Lin Dong couldn't tell. "Following you is better than us surviving on our own."

Commander Lin Dong did not answer. He glanced at his character panel:

【Name: Commander Lin Dong】

【Level: Lv.6】

【Strength: 12 Agility: 14 Spirit: 16 Constitution: 13】

【Talent: Military Expert (S-rank, Tactical Deduction +30%, Ranged Weapon Damage +15%)】

【Energy Points: 470】

【Red Alert Corps Units: Conscript × 5, Machine Gun Turret × 1, power plant × 1, Barracks × 1, Radar Station × 1】

Then came the system notification he had just received:

【First time defeating hostile human armed forces, achievement unlocked: Iron-Fisted Rule】

【Reward: Energy Points +500, Unit unlocked: Attack Dog (Construction cost reduced by 50%), Building unlocked: Wall (Tech Tree prerequisite)】

【Enemy Supernatural Ability user corpse detected, extract Supernatural Ability gene? After extraction, special unit can be unlocked: Supernatural Warrior (requires Battle Lab)】

Commander Lin Dong's finger hovered over the "Confirm" button.

Supernatural Warrior.

If he could turn the enemy's power to his own use, if he could make the Red Alert Corps possess Supernatural Abilities...

His gaze fell on the two students. Staff Officer Zhou Ming was still looking at him, his eyes filled with supplication, anticipation, and a trace of despair that shouldn't exist at this age.

Commander Lin Dong pressed the confirm button.

【Extracting Supernatural Ability gene... Progress 1%...】

Day had broken.

The eastern sky turned fish-belly white, and the city's silhouette gradually became clear in the morning light. In the distance, the roars of zombies rose and fell, as if announcing the arrival of a new day.

Commander Lin Dong stood up, walked to the window, and looked at that city of ruins waiting to be conquered.

He thought of the Man with Glasses who had escaped, of the three hundred desperadoes in Beiling Prison, of the place where the military signal flare had risen, and of the energy source deep underground that only displayed "???"

The fourth day of the apocalypse, and the sun rose as usual.

And his war had only just begun.

【End of Chapter】