7: Mutant zombies, escalating firepower

The sudden upheaval caught everyone off guard.

Once the mengshi armored vehicle finally came to a steady halt, the dizzy crowd regained their senses and instinctively turned their gaze toward Deputy Squad Leader Chen Song in the driver's seat.

"Deputy Squad Leader, what happened?"

"Why the sudden braking?"

Everyone knew that as a military vehicle driver, Deputy Squad Leader Chen Song's skills were top-notch; he wouldn't do something like this without a reason.

There was only one possibility.

Something had appeared on the path the mengshi armored vehicle had to take.

That was why Deputy Squad Leader Chen Song had to slam on the brakes to avoid a greater danger.

Hearing their questions, Deputy Squad Leader Chen Song stared straight ahead, his voice ringing out with caution.

"Look ahead!"

As Deputy Squad Leader Chen Song's voice fell, everyone's eyes instinctively looked through the front windshield toward the front of the River-crossing bridge.

With that look, everyone instantly gasped.

Because at the exit of the River-crossing bridge, there was an incredibly massive figure!

It was at least three meters tall, and every inch of its skin looked as if it had been soaked in strong acid, appearing a nauseating grayish-purple. The surface skin had long since festered and peeled away, revealing the dark red muscle fibers beneath, which looked like clumps of tangled, rotten cotton, twitching slightly with its movements.

Its head looked as if it had been twisted by brute force, its neck set at a bizarre angle. Half of its cheek was missing its flesh, leaving the ghastly white cheekbone protruding sharply. A cloudy eyeball dangled from a damaged socket, hanging by bloodshot optic nerves, swinging back and forth with its movements.

This appearance and build, clearly different from other zombies, immediately made everyone understand.

"This is likely a Mutated Zombie!"

Although less than a month had passed since the outbreak of the zombie crisis,

thanks to the rapid spread of the internet,

Lin Zhi had seen a post about Mutated Zombies before the internet went down.

However, that post was only from an observer's perspective; no one knew the characteristics of Mutated Zombies.

After all, national governments and militaries had collapsed in a short time.

Let alone ordinary people like them.

Just seeing this thing made them wish they had more than two legs to run with.

But fortunately,

this Mutated Zombie didn't seem to have noticed them yet.

Lin Zhi and the others were currently only in the middle of the River-crossing bridge.

There was still at least four hundred meters to the bridge exit where the Mutated Zombie was.

However, the ear-piercing sound of the brakes just now had likely attracted its attention.

It was already moving its massive body, slowly walking toward them.

Once it truly discovered Lin Zhi and the others, it would definitely enter a berserk state, unleashing power they had never seen before.

"Holy crap, is this a Mutated Zombie?"

"It looks huge, like a tank, but it's also really ugly."

Erniu and the others couldn't help but complain as they observed the Mutated Zombie's appearance.

Compared to them, Squad Leader Yang Guo and Deputy Squad Leader Chen Song were already looking at Lin Zhi.

"Chief, what should we do now?"

Hearing this, Lin Zhi frowned slightly.

"What do you think?"

Hearing Lin Zhi's question,

Squad Leader Yang Guo thought for a moment and then answered.

"We only have two choices now."

"Either we fight our way through, or we turn back and take a detour to the town where Shenghai University is located."

Hearing Squad Leader Yang Guo's suggestion, Deputy Squad Leader Chen Song also spoke up.

"If we take a detour, we won't be able to complete our established plan."

"Although there's more than one road to the town where Shenghai University is located,"

"the route we're on is the optimal one."

"I calculated earlier that taking the second route would take at least three to nearly four hours, not to mention turning back midway will take even longer."

"Therefore, I believe the first choice is the optimal solution."

"With our current firepower, as long as the target is flesh and blood, it definitely won't stop an armor-piercing shell."

Hearing the analysis from the two squad leaders, Lin Zhi stroked his chin.

Indeed, choosing to detour now would not be a wise move; not only would it take more time, but the conditions on the second route might not be any better than they were here.

Moreover, the Infantry Squad's current firepower was not weak.

Not to mention armor-piercing shells capable of penetrating 800mm reactive armor of third-rate main battle tanks, and bunker-buster shells that can penetrate 0.8m concrete walls.

Even the Type 89 12.7mm heavy machine gun might be able to damage this Mutated Zombie.

The only concern might be the supply issue; after all, high-power ammunition was scarce and could not be easily replaced once used.

But... once Lin Zhi thought about how finding his sister's trail would reward him with an Infantry Platoon,

he decided to take the risk.

Thus, a few seconds later, Lin Zhi spoke.

"In that case, let's choose a more steady plan."

"We'll launch an interception when it's within two hundred and fifty meters."

"Let's see if our squad's current firepower can cause effective damage or even kill this Mutated Zombie."

"Of course, if we can't, we'll quickly turn back. Don't get bogged down with this zombie and waste military supplies."

Regarding Lin Zhi's decision,

none of the soldiers in the Infantry Squad raised an objection.

One after another, they replied, "Understood!"

Immediately, everyone on the armored vehicle quickly got out.

Relying on the surrounding abandoned vehicles, they formed a fire net.

The three members of the Assault Group plus Squad Leader Yang Guo positioned themselves behind four different abandoned vehicles and set up their type 95-1 automatic rifles, aiming at the slowly approaching Mutated Zombie.

"Assault Group in position!"

Marksman He Chen found a point with a clear view and lay prone on the roof of an abandoned small bus. Using his qbu-191 designated marksman rifle equipped with a QMK-191 variable-power optical sight, he aimed at the Mutated Zombie. The red dot in the sight stayed fixed on the zombie's forehead, ready to fire at any moment.

"He Chen in position!"

Xu Zhiguo from the Rocket Group set up a PF Rocket Launcher on an open stretch of the road, while his assistant loader, Jianhua, held an armor-piercing rocket in both hands, ready to load it at any moment.

"Rocket Group ready!"

Machine gunner Wang Yan manned the Type 89 12.7mm heavy machine gun on top of the mengshi armored vehicle, with her assistant Erniu responsible for helping change ammunition belts and overheated barrels.

"Machine Gun Group in position!"

As for Lin Zhi and Deputy Squad Leader Chen Song,

Lin Zhi was in charge of command, while Deputy Squad Leader Chen Song was responsible for being ready to drive the Mengshi at any time to evacuate quickly if things went wrong.

Although Lin Zhi had the physique of a special forces soldier and sharpshooter-like marksmanship,

as the highest-ranking officer, there was no need for him to go to the front lines himself.

As the boss behind the scenes, he should just stay back and command.

"Chief, the Mutated Zombie is three hundred meters away from the pre-set defensive perimeter,"

Deputy Squad Leader Chen Song reported after observing and measuring through binoculars.

Lin Zhi nodded.

Then he picked up the walkie-talkie, and his voice sounded from the devices on the soldiers' chests.

"Since this is our first encounter with a Mutated Zombie, we might need to test its data."

"The rifle group will fire first, followed by the marksman, then the Machine Gun Group."

"If none can cause effective damage and the Mutated Zombie breaks through the two-hundred-meter line, the Rocket Group will step in."

"Of course, be ready to evacuate at any time."

"Assault Group received!"

"Marksman received!"

"Rocket Group received!"

As Lin Zhi's voice faded,

the heads of each group replied in low voices...