9: Chapter 9 The Defense of the Underground Garage

The temperature on the B2 level of the underground garage was at least five degrees lower than on the surface, yet the combat uniform on Commander Lin Dong's back was already soaked through with sweat.

He crouched behind a dust-covered Passat, his eyes fixed on the military digital watch on his wrist.

【base vehicle deployment progress: 32%】

【Estimated time remaining: 1 hour 47 minutes】

【Warning: Power supply unstable, suggest clearing surrounding threats】

The pulsing numbers on the watch face felt like a thorn in his eye. One hour and forty-seven minutes—this was the time needed for the base vehicle to fully deploy, and also the time they had to hold this defensive line.

Twenty meters behind him, that silver-gray heavy truck was emitting a low hum. It was a full two sizes larger than an ordinary heavy truck, and half of its twenty-two-meter-long body was hidden in the dim light of the garage. Dark red energy veins flowed across its body, flashing once every three seconds, like the heartbeat of some giant creature.

Li Na lay prone on the hood of the SUV beside him, gripping the Type 95 she had brought from the armory. Her face was still pale, and a small patch of blood seeped through the bandage on her shoulder, but her hand holding the gun was steady.

"Company Commander Lin," she lowered her voice, "how many of them are there?"

Commander Lin Dong did not answer immediately. On his retina, the small icon for the 【Recon Radar】 was flashing. This was a basic function unlocked after the base vehicle began deployment—it could scan for vital signs within a two-hundred-meter radius.

【Scan results】 【Human units: 47】 【Armed personnel: 12 (holding firearms)】 【Threat level: Medium】 【Distance: 130 meters, approaching】

"Forty-seven," Commander Lin Dong closed the panel. "Twelve guns, the rest are holding machetes and iron pipes."

Communications Soldier Xiao Zhang huddled behind a van, his face turning even paler upon hearing this: "There are only six of us, and two are wounded..."

"Five," Commander Lin Dong corrected him. "You and Li Na are responsible for observation and covering fire; the real fighting is not for you."

He turned his head and looked into the shadows deeper in the garage. There stood five people. Or rather, five 【Conscripts】.

【Unit: Conscript (5)】 【Level: Lv.3】 【HP: 300/300】 【Equipment: Type 56-2 assault rifle × 3, Type 81 assault rifle × 2, ammo base 300 rounds/person, Type 67 grenade × 4/person】 【Status: Standby】

This was the first batch of combat units Commander Lin Dong could summon after the Barracks was built. The system's description was concise: "Basic infantry unit, possesses basic modern infantry tactical literacy, absolutely loyal."

At the time, when Li Na saw these five people walk out from the depths of the garage, the gun in her hand almost went off.

They wore washed-out digital camouflage uniforms, with no military rank, no insignia, and no expression on their faces. The look in the eyes of the Conscript walking at the very front as he looked at Commander Lin Dong reminded Li Na of the German Shepherd her family raised back home—absolute obedience, and the instinct to pounce on the enemy at any moment.

At this moment, the five Conscripts were lurking on both sides of the garage entrance in a standard skirmish line. The squad leader at the front, codenamed "Conscript 01," was reporting to Commander Lin Dong using tactical hand signals: 【Enemy vanguard detected, distance 50 meters】 【Requesting fire permission】 【Suggested ambush position: B area, 3rd row pillar】

Commander Lin Dong raised his right hand and made a fist—【Hold】. He needed to confirm one thing.

"Xiao Zhang," he asked in a low voice, "you said earlier that those people escaped from prison?"

Xiao Zhang nodded vigorously: "For sure! Look at the gray-blue clothes they are wearing; those are prison winter uniforms! I've seen them on the news!"

Commander Lin Dong narrowed his eyes. If they were ordinary survivors, he might have tried to communicate. But prison fugitives—especially fugitives who organized into armed gangs the very moment the apocalypse broke out and order collapsed—were more dangerous than zombies. At the very least, zombies wouldn't covet your base vehicle.

"Company Commander Lin!" Li Na suddenly whispered, "They've stopped!"

Commander Lin Dong immediately looked up. At the garage entrance, the group had indeed stopped. A bald, burly man walked to the front, carrying a fire axe in his hand. His build was extremely massive, standing 1.9 meters tall, with shoulders as broad as a door panel.

More importantly—【Scan target】 【Name: Unknown】 【Level: Lv.5】 【Talent: Strength Enhancement (Primary)】 【Strength: 18】 【Agility: 9】 【Constitution: 16】 【Spirit: 7】

Commander Lin Dong's pupils constricted slightly. An Awakened. This was the first Awakened he had ever seen—not a zombie, not a Red Alert unit, but a survivor like himself who possessed attributes that surpassed normal humans.

The bald man stood at the garage entrance, took a deep breath, and then shouted at the top of his lungs: "Listen up, people inside! I'm Xiong Gang, and the brothers on the street give me face and call me Brother Xiong! I saw it upstairs just now; you have a big vehicle! Hand the vehicle over, and I'll leave you a way to survive!"

His voice echoed in the basement. Commander Lin Dong made no sound.

Xiong Gang waited a few seconds and shouted again: "Don't play dead! I saw you go in! Six people, two guns, right? Let me tell you, I've got over forty brothers here; you don't stand a chance if we really start fighting!"

Li Na's hand holding the gun was trembling slightly. Commander Lin Dong remained silent. He was waiting.

Three seconds later, Xiong Gang finally couldn't help it: "Fine! If you won't drink the toast, you'll drink the forfeit! Brothers, give it to me—"

He didn't finish his sentence. Because at that instant, Commander Lin Dong raised his right hand, made a fist, and then suddenly opened it—【Fire】.

The sound of gunfire was amplified at least three times in the basement.

Conscript 01's Type 56 fired first, a short burst, three bullets flying out in a triangular pattern. Three blood blossoms burst from the chest of the prisoner rushing at the front, and he collapsed to the ground without a sound.

This was the first time Commander Lin Dong had ordered a killing since the apocalypse. He felt nothing. Or rather, he simply didn't have time to feel anything.

"Scatter! Scatter!" Xiong Gang's roar rang out amid the gunfire, "They have an ambush!"

But the Conscripts' shooting did not stop at all. Five automatic rifles locked down the garage entrance with precise bursts, one round every two seconds, with the impact points evenly distributed, completely covering that area.

【Hits: 3】 【Hits: 4】 【Hits: 2】 【Kills: 3】

On Commander Lin Dong's retina, data was jumping rapidly. Five prisoners had fallen in the initial chaos. But soon, they began to use the vehicles outside the garage as cover, and a few people poked their bodies out to return fire with the shotguns and homemade firearms in their hands.

"Bang—" A shotgun shell hit the Passat where Commander Lin Dong was hiding, and a row of honeycomb-like bullet holes immediately appeared on the car door.

"They have guns too!" Xiao Zhang screamed.

"No kidding." Commander Lin Dong didn't even turn his head. "Li Na, three o'clock direction, the one with the double-barreled shotgun, can you see him?"

Li Na bit her lip and rested the Type 95 on the hood. Through the scope, a tall, thin man was crouching behind a pickup truck, scrambling to load bullets into his shotgun. Her crosshairs wobbled twice, and then—"Bang!" The tall, thin man was hit in the shoulder and collapsed with a scream.

"Missed," Li Na said with frustration.

"That's enough," Commander Lin Dong said. "Disabling him is fine."

The battle continued. The Conscripts began to move, three to the left, two to the right, advancing while providing alternating cover. Their firing frequency remained stable, like a precision killing machine.

【Conscript 01: 2 kills】 【Conscript 03: 1 kill, 1 wounded】 【Remaining enemy armed personnel: 9】

Commander Lin Dong calculated quickly. The enemy still had nine guns and about forty people. If the enemy charged hard, they might not be able to hold—but the base vehicle's deployment would be affected. The system had explicitly warned that if the base vehicle was attacked during the deployment process, progress would regress, and it could even be damaged. He had to keep the battlefield controlled outside the garage entrance.

"01!" Commander Lin Dong barked, "Use grenades, force them to retreat!"

Conscript 01 did not hesitate at all; he plucked a Type 67 wooden-handled grenade from his waist, unscrewed the back cover, and pulled the cord—the grenade traced a parabola in the air and landed on the driveway outside the garage entrance. "Boom!" The shockwave from the explosion, mixed with gravel and shrapnel, caused several prisoners who hadn't managed to lie down to collapse with screams. In the thick smoke, Xiong Gang's roar rang out again: "Retreat! Retreat for now!"

The sound of footsteps receded chaotically. The garage entrance quieted down, leaving only smoke and the smell of blood lingering in the air.

【base vehicle deployment progress: 41%】 【Estimated time remaining: 1 hour 32 minutes】 【Warning: Enemy has not fully retreated, suggest remaining vigilant】

Commander Lin Dong glanced at the data and then turned to Conscript 01: "Casualties?"

"Zero casualties." Conscript 01's voice had no inflection, "127 rounds of ammunition expended, 1 grenade, 7 killed, 4 wounded. The enemy has exited the garage and is assembling outside the entrance."

"How long until they attack again?"

Conscript 01 was silent for two seconds—Commander Lin Dong later learned that this was him calculating data. "Remaining enemy personnel: 36, armed personnel: 9. Based on the previous battle performance, the enemy commander Xiong Gang has a volatile personality but possesses some tactical sense. It is expected that he will reorganize his attack force, and it will not take longer than 15 minutes. However, considering the blow to morale from the recent casualties, he may need to stabilize his team first."

Commander Lin Dong nodded. Same as his own assessment.

"01, you take two people and hold the entrance. Once they come in, open fire immediately; do not let them get close to the base vehicle." He stood up, "02, 03, come with me." "Yes."

Li Na was stunned for a moment: "Company Commander Lin, where are you going?"

Commander Lin Dong pointed to the other side of the garage: "There are stairs over there; we can flank them."

"Are you crazy?" Li Na's eyes widened, "There are over thirty people outside! And you're going with three?"

"Not to fight head-on." Commander Lin Dong drew the type 92 pistol from his waist and checked the magazine, "It's to tell them that this place is not something they can touch."

He turned to leave, and Li Na suddenly called out to him: "Company Commander Lin!" Commander Lin Dong turned back.

Li Na bit her lip, took something off from around her neck, and handed it to him: "This was given to me by my dad; it's been blessed and keeps you safe. You... you wear it." It was a small jade Buddha, worn on a red string.

Commander Lin Dong looked at the jade and was silent for a second. Then he took it, hung it around his neck, and turned to walk into the shadows of the garage.

Li Na stared blankly as his figure disappeared into the darkness, suddenly finding her face a bit hot. "Commander Lin Dong," she whispered, "don't you fucking die."

The side stairs of the underground garage led to a fire escape exit on the ground floor. Commander Lin Dong, with two Conscripts, carefully pushed open the rusted iron door. Outside was a small alley, piled with debris thrown down from upstairs—daily garbage from before the apocalypse, which had now become natural cover.

【Scan】 【Vital signs: 36 units, concentrated 50 meters in front of the main garage entrance】 【Distance from current position: approx. 70 meters】

Commander Lin Dong leaned out and took a look. The group of prisoners was indeed gathered at the entrance of a repair shop opposite the garage entrance. Xiong Gang stood in the middle, saying something to a few people holding guns. His expression was very agitated, and his arms were waving constantly.

"...Damn it, a few soldiers scared you like this? They have guns, and we do too! That was just a sneak attack earlier; who's afraid of a head-on fight?"

A sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked guy whispered: "Brother Xiong, those people's aim is too accurate; Brother Three got shot as soon as he poked his head out..."

"Bullshit!" Xiong Gang slapped him across the face. "I saw it clearly, there are only five guns total! We have nine! Rush in, fire one volley, and pin them down so they can't even lift their heads! Then you guys with knives rush in and hack them to death!"

The sharp-featured man covered his face, not daring to make a sound.

Xiong Gang breathed heavily, his eyes bloodshot. "I've spent eight years in the slammer; what kind of situation haven't I seen? These few soldiers think they can scare me? Keep dreaming! I've got my eye on that big vehicle! A vehicle that size must have good stuff inside! Seize it, and we'll have whatever we want from now on!"

Commander Lin Dong narrowed his eyes.

【Data Analysis】

【Target Emotion: Extreme anger, intellect declining】

【Target Decision: About to launch second wave of attack】

【Recommended Action: Strike while the enemy is assembling to create chaos】

He turned to the two Conscripts and gave the order via hand signals:

【Target: Enemy armed personnel】

【Tactic: Precision shooting, take them out one by one】

【Timing: After I fire, you are free to engage】

Both Conscripts nodded simultaneously and selected their shooting positions.

Commander Lin Dong took a deep breath and raised his type 92 pistol.

His target was Xiong Gang himself.

But just as he was about to pull the trigger, Xiong Gang suddenly turned and pointed in another direction:

"Old Wang, you take five men and circle in through the side door of the garage! Don't let them notice!"

Commander Lin Dong's muzzle paused slightly.

The side door?

That was the weak point Li Na and the others were defending—there was only one Conscript and the injured Li Na there.

【Recalculating】

【Threat Level: Urgent】

【Decision Change: Prioritize stopping the flank assault】

Commander Lin Dong gritted his teeth, shifted his aim, and pointed at "Old Wang," who was about to lead the men away.

"Bang!"

The sound of the type 92 pistol exploded in the alley. Old Wang screamed and fell, clutching his thigh.

"Someone's ambushing us!" The prisoners erupted in chaos.

Commander Lin Dong didn't stop; he continued to pull the trigger—

"Bang! Bang!"

Two more armed prisoners fell.

At the same time, the two Conscripts opened fire. Their type 56 rifles spat tongues of fire, precisely harvesting those panicked armed personnel.

【Killed: 2】

【Wounded: 3】

【Remaining Enemy Armed Personnel: 4】

But just then, Xiong Gang's roar rang out:

"They're over there! There are only a few of them! Brothers, charge! Hack them to death!"

More than thirty prisoners wielding machetes, iron pipes, and wooden clubs surged toward the alley like a tidal wave.

Commander Lin Dong quickly changed magazines.

"Retreat."

The two Conscripts didn't hesitate at all; they continued to fire while retreating, each bullet taking down a prisoner in the front. But with over thirty people, the distance was too close—

A bald prisoner rushed to within three meters of Commander Lin Dong, his machete raised high.

Commander Lin Dong raised his hand and shot him in the knee. The bald man screamed and fell, but the people behind him were already stepping over his body to continue the charge.

"Bang! Bang!"

Conscript 02's gunfire was very steady, but a prisoner had already rushed in front of him, swinging an iron pipe down fiercely. Conscript 02 dodged to the side and smashed his rifle butt back, hitting the opponent square in the face. The sound of a shattering nose bridge was clearly audible.

But more people swarmed up.

Commander Lin Dong knew this wouldn't work.

He jumped back, dodging a machete, and simultaneously unhooked a grenade from his waist—

It was a type 67 stick grenade the Conscripts had shared with him.

He pulled the string, counted two seconds, and threw it out.

The grenade landed in the middle of the crowd, and before those prisoners could react—

"Boom!"

The blast wave flipped over at least five people, shrapnel swept through the dense crowd, and screams rang out to the heavens. Blood splattered on the walls, on the ground, and on the faces of the survivors.

The momentum of the charge was finally halted.

"Retreat!" Commander Lin Dong ordered again.

The three of them quickly retreated toward the fire escape. Commander Lin Dong went in last, slammed the iron door shut, and then quickly dragged a rusty iron rack from the side to wedge it against the door handle.

"Bang! Bang!"

The sound of pounding on the door came from outside.

【Iron Door Durability: 80% ... 65% ... 50% ...】

"Go!" Commander Lin Dong turned and ran.

They sprinted down the stairs and returned to the B2 level. From a distance, he saw Li Na and Zhang Lei still lying in place, and Conscript 01 was guarding the garage entrance with two others.

"Company Commander Lin!" Li Na's eyes lit up when she saw him. "You're okay—"

Her words were cut short.

Because dense gunfire suddenly erupted from the direction of the garage entrance.

Xiong Gang, leading the remaining twenty-plus people, charged in through the main entrance.

His eyes were bloodshot, his face stained with someone's blood, and he was holding a captured type 81 automatic rifle—picked up earlier from a dead prisoner.

"Charge for me!" he roared. "They don't have much ammo left! Rush in and hack them to death!"

Conscript 01 calmly pulled the trigger.

【Ammo Remaining: 42 rounds】

【Remaining Enemy: 28 people (Armed personnel 3)】

【Recommended Tactic: Use single shots to prioritize killing armed personnel】

He slightly adjusted his muzzle, and with a short burst, the prisoner holding the shotgun had his head blown open.

But the remaining armed personnel also opened fire. Bullets struck the pillars, the ground, and the abandoned cars one after another. Sparks flew, glass shattered, and sirens wailed one after another.

Zhang Lei was so scared he buried his head, trembling all over. Li Na gritted her teeth and pulled the trigger repeatedly, but she was too nervous; she only hit the target once out of ten rounds.

"Li Na!" Commander Lin Dong's shout came from behind. "Don't panic! Three o'clock direction, the one with the pistol!"

Li Na took a deep breath, aimed—

"Bang!"

The prisoner with the pistol was hit in the shoulder, and the gun dropped to the ground.

But at the same time, a prisoner with a machete had already rushed to within ten meters of Conscript 01.

Conscript 01's muzzle had just turned—

"Click."

The bolt locked back, out of ammo.

The prisoner grinned hideously and raised his machete—

"Bang!"

A gunshot rang out.

The prisoner's head exploded, and his body fell straight down.

Commander Lin Dong stood twenty meters away, the muzzle of his type 92 pistol still smoking.

"01, reload!" he roared, while continuing to fire.

【Type 92 Magazine Remaining: 3 rounds】

【Remaining Enemy: 23 people (Armed personnel 2)】

Two armed personnel hid behind a pillar, firing continuously. Their marksmanship was poor, but the dense bullets made it impossible for Commander Lin Dong and the others to even lift their heads.

【base vehicle Deployment Progress: 78%】

【Estimated Time Remaining: 28 minutes】

Commander Lin Dong gritted his teeth.

Twenty-eight minutes.

Given the current situation, they couldn't hold out for twenty-eight minutes.

Just then, he heard a voice.

"Company Commander... Company Commander Lin..."

It was Zhang Lei.

The Communications Soldier Zhang Lei, who had been trembling and unable to speak clearly the whole way, was standing up shakily. He was holding a bundle of things in his arms—four anti-personnel directional mines brought out from the armory.

"I... I can..." Zhang Lei's face was as white as paper, but something was burning in his eyes. "I'll go... go blow up that door..."

Commander Lin Dong was stunned for a moment.

The garage side door.

If that place was blown up, the prisoners would have one less direction to attack from.

But to go there, one had to pass through a hail of bullets.

"Zhang Lei..."

"I..." Zhang Lei interrupted him. "My dad was a soldier; he said... soldiers can't be afraid of death..."

Then he hugged the bundle of directional mines and rushed out.

Bullets flew past Zhang Lei, hitting the ground, the walls, and the cars behind him. He didn't know how long he had been running; he only knew his legs were weak and his heart felt like it was about to jump out of his throat—but he was running.

He remembered when he was a child, his dad teaching him to salute.

He remembered the day he enlisted, his dad patting his shoulder and saying: "Kid, don't embarrass me."

He remembered the night the apocalypse descended, when his dad turned into a zombie, and it was he who pulled the trigger.

He was afraid of death.

But some things were more terrifying than death.

The side door was right in front.

Zhang Lei lunged over, fumbling to unpack the directional mines. He couldn't see a single word on the manual, but he remembered what the instructor taught— "This side toward enemy."

He stacked the four directional mines together, pulled the safety pins, and then—

The door was kicked open.

Five or six prisoners rushed in, and seeing Zhang Lei crouching on the ground, they were stunned for a moment.

Zhang Lei was stunned too.

Then he grinned.

"I... am a soldier..."

He violently pulled the safety pin of the last mine, shielding the directional mines with his body—

"Boom!"

The blast's fire engulfed the side door and also swallowed those five or six prisoners.

Commander Lin Dong heard the explosion amidst the gunfire.

【Unit: Zhang Lei (Communications Soldier)】

【Status: Killed in Action】

He had no expression.

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

An armed personnel's head exploded.

Another armed personnel just wanted to run but was killed by a single burst from Conscript 03.

Xiong Gang watched the last two people with guns beside him fall, and finally, he was afraid.

"Retreat! Retreat!" He turned and ran.

The remaining dozen or so prisoners followed him in a swarm, fleeing outside the garage.

The gunfire stopped.

The underground garage quieted down, leaving only the smell of gunpowder smoke and blood lingering in the air.

【base vehicle Deployment Progress: 97%】

【Estimated Time Remaining: 4 minutes】

Commander Lin Dong slowly stood up and walked toward the side door.

There was nothing left there but charred black.

【base vehicle Deployment Complete】

【Red Alert Outpost Base established】

【Unlocked Buildings: power plant, Barracks, Ore Refinery (Not built)】

【Current Energy Points: 320】

【Warning: Base requires continuous power supply, recommend prioritizing construction of a power plant】

Commander Lin Dong watched the data jumping on his retina and didn't move for a long time.

Li Na walked over, the tear stains on her face still wet.

"Company Commander Lin... Zhang Lei, he..."

"He saved everyone," Commander Lin Dong said.

His voice was very calm, so calm it was like stating a fact.

Li Na looked at him and suddenly asked: "You... aren't you sad?"

Commander Lin Dong was silent for a second.

Then he raised his hand and touched the jade Buddha on his neck.

A drop of blood was splattered on the jade Buddha.

It wasn't his.

"Sad," he said, "but there's no time to be sad."

He turned and looked toward the direction of the base—the silver-gray heavy-duty truck had completely deployed, turning into a metal building covering five hundred square meters. Dark red energy patterns flowed on the surface of the building, like it was alive.

"In the apocalypse, dying is the easiest thing," Commander Lin Dong said. "Living, holding this place, and making sure Zhang Lei's death wasn't in vain—that is what's difficult."

Li Na stared blankly at his back.

At that moment, she suddenly felt there was something about this man that reminded her of the old veterans in those black-and-white photos—having experienced the most brutal wars, having seen the most deaths, yet still standing there, not retreating a single step.

Commander Lin Dong lowered his head and looked at the watch on his wrist.

A line of text appeared on the watch face:

【Special energy fluctuation detected—15° East-Southeast, distance 9 kilometers】

【Fluctuation Level: ★★★★☆】

【Recommendation: Investigate as soon as possible】

15° East-Southeast.

That was the direction of the signal flare.

Commander Lin Dong raised his head and looked at the pitch-black night sky outside the garage.

There