17: Third-stage berserk mode, narrowly escaped from a desperate situation.

Chapter Seventeen: Tier 3 Berserk, A Narrow Victory in Despair

The night was like thick ink splashed over the city ruins. The searchlights of the Red Alert Base pierced the darkness, illuminating a ten-kilometer radius as if it were day. Atop the command tower, the Sonic Countermeasure Tower rotated slowly, emitting invisible ripples that caused the surrounding zombie hordes to fall into an endless cycle of mutual slaughter.

Lin Zhou stood by the command room window, his fingertip tracing across the Radar screen. The communication signal from the Northern Military Region flickered steadily; the first batch of weapons and equipment promised by Zhao Weiguo was already in transit and expected to arrive in three days. The base's expansion project was in full swing. Old Zhou led the construction workers, melting down metal components salvaged from the Twin Towers into steel plates to reinforce the new perimeter walls layer by layer.

“The countermeasure tower's coverage is stable at ten kilometers, and the zombie confusion rate is holding at 80%.” Su Mei entered the command room with a detection report in hand. “The Mechanic says that if we install two more amplifiers, the coverage could reach fifteen kilometers. However...”

She paused, her brow furrowed. “The Radar detected abnormal energy fluctuations fifteen kilometers to the northwest. The signal source is very strong and moving extremely fast, approaching the edge of the countermeasure field.”

Lin Zhou's gaze instantly sharpened as he leaned closer to the Radar screen. A deep red dot, several times more intense than any previous Elite Type signal, was visible. It was followed by a dense cluster of red dots, their movement trajectory terrifyingly orderly, showing no signs of interference from the countermeasure sound waves.

“Unaffected?” Lin Zhou's pupils constricted. “Could it be a Mutant that has evolved resistance?”

Before his voice could fade, the Radar screen flickered violently, and a piercing alarm instantly echoed throughout the entire base.

【Warning! Warning! Tier 3 Berserk Elite Type Zombie detected! Accompanied by a Mutated Zombie legion, numbering 3,000+, immune to sonic countermeasures! Estimated arrival at the countermeasure field edge in ten minutes!】

Tier 3 Berserk! Lin Zhou's heart sank. The strongest zombie he had encountered before was only a Tier 2 Elite Type; a Tier 3 existence was beyond the scope of current intelligence. He immediately roared into the walkie-talkie: “All combat units, emergency assembly! Scarface, lead the Machine Gunners and Rocket Troopers to garrison the new walls! Wild Wolf, take your men and drive the armored personnel carriers to form a mobile defense line! Su Mei, follow me in the newest apocalypse tank to face the enemy head-on!”

【apocalypse tank training complete! Consumed 500 metal, 100 power. Remaining metal points: 2185.5, power: 50】

A faint blue light lit up in the War Factory as a steel behemoth, twice the size of a rhino tank, slowly rolled out. Its black armor was covered in thick alloy patterns, and two 150mm smoothbore guns looked imposing. The anti-air machine gun on the roof gleamed coldly, and its treads let out a heavy rumble as they crushed the ground.

Lin Zhou and Su Mei climbed into the cockpit, familiarizing themselves with the apocalypse tank's control system. Compared to the grizzly tank, the Apocalypse's firepower and defense were on a whole different level; its only drawback was its slightly slower speed.

“Three minutes! Only three minutes left!” Su Mei stared at the Radar screen, her voice urgent.

Lin Zhou took a deep breath and steered the apocalypse tank toward the edge of the countermeasure field. Ten grizzly tanks and twenty armored personnel carriers followed closely behind. The Rocket Troopers, shoulder-mounted missiles at the ready, crouched behind the cover of the new walls, their eyes filled with tension.

Three minutes later, a dark mass appeared on the horizon. The leading Tier 3 Berserk Elite Type stood a full four meters tall, covered in dark purple scales. Its head resembled a twisted ram's horn, its cloudy eyeballs were bloodshot, its limbs were as thick as pillars, and its claws glinted coldly. The zombie legion behind it was composed of creatures taller than ordinary zombies, their bone armor shimmering with a metallic luster—clearly Mutants that had undergone berserk transformation.

“Fire!” Lin Zhou roared, and both main guns of the apocalypse tank fired simultaneously.

“Boom! Boom!”

Two shells screamed out with scorching trails, accurately hitting the Tier 3 Berserk's scales. The violent explosion kicked up clouds of dust, but it only left two faint white marks on the scales. The Tier 3 Berserk let out an ear-splitting roar and lunged toward the apocalypse tank with incredible speed.

“Such tough skin!” Su Mei exclaimed, firing the secondary gun. Dense bullets struck the Berserk but were deflected by the scales, making a series of metallic clangs.

The zombie legion followed close behind, surging toward the walls like a tide. The Rocket Troopers' missiles fell like rain, but they could only kill ordinary berserk zombies; they had little effect on the thick-boned Mutants. Scarface's Machine Gunners fired frantically until their barrels turned red, yet they still couldn't stop the zombie legion's charge.

“The wall is about to break!” Scarface's roar came through the walkie-talkie. “Boss, their claws can tear through steel plates!”

Lin Zhou gritted his teeth and steered the apocalypse tank in a sharp turn, ramming aside several lunging Mutants. The treads gripped the ground firmly as he aimed both main guns at the Tier 3 Berserk's head. “Aim for the eyes! There are no scales there!”

Su Mei immediately adjusted the aim, and a shell flew precisely toward the Berserk's right eye. This time, the shell successfully penetrated the defense and exploded inside the eye socket. Dark green pus erupted, and the Tier 3 Berserk let out a roar of agony, wildly swinging its claws and smashing a nearby small building to pieces.

“Now! Rocket Troopers, focus fire!” Lin Zhou shouted.

Twenty Rocket Troopers locked onto the Berserk simultaneously. Missiles trailed fire as they swarmed toward its eye socket. The violent explosion instantly blew away half of the Berserk's head. Its movements finally slowed, its cloudy eye filled with mindless rage.

But the zombie legion's charge did not stop. A corner of the new wall was finally torn open by several bone-armored zombies. They roared as they rushed in, lunging toward the nearest construction workers.

“Hold the breach!” Wild Wolf drove an armored personnel carrier over. The machine gun on its roof fired wildly, but the vehicle was swatted away by a bone-armored zombie. The carrier rolled and slammed into the wall with a piercing screech of metal on metal.

Lin Zhou's heart leaped into his throat. The apocalypse tank's main guns were reloading, so he could only use the anti-air machine gun on the roof to fire frantically at the zombies in the breach. Su Mei pulled out a dagger, opened the hatch, and flipped out of the tank. She charged into the zombie crowd like a ghost, her dagger accurately piercing zombie eye sockets, each strike bringing a spray of blood.

However, she was soon surrounded by three bone-armored zombies. Her shoulder was slashed, leaving a deep wound that exposed the bone, and blood instantly soaked her clothes. “Su Mei!” Lin Zhou's eyes nearly split from rage. Just as he was about to rush over, the apocalypse tank's main guns finally finished reloading.

“Die!”

Lin Zhou aimed the main guns at the bone-armored zombies in the breach and pressed the fire button without hesitation. The shells screamed out, instantly blowing the three bone-armored zombies into fragments. Su Mei took the opportunity to roll aside, clutching her wound, her face as pale as paper.

At that moment, the Tier 3 Berserk actually wasn't dead yet. Dragging its mangled body, it lunged at the apocalypse tank. Its claws slammed into the armor with a massive bang, causing the tank's control system to fail instantly as indicator lights on the screen flickered madly.

“Hold on!” Lin Zhou gritted his teeth, grabbed the Fire Axe at his waist, opened the hatch, and jumped down. The Fire Axe, fused with bone blade fragments, gleamed coldly in the night.

The Berserk's claw swiped at him, but Lin Zhou dodged to the side. With its armor-piercing effect, the Fire Axe slammed into its remaining left eye. “Die!” He poured all his strength into thrusting the Fire Axe deeper, then gave his wrist a sharp twist.

The Tier 3 Berserk let out a shrill, agonizing roar. Its massive body swayed and then crashed to the ground.

【Ding! Killed Tier 3 Berserk Elite Type Zombie x1. Gained 50,000 experience points. Current Level: 13 (96040/13000) -> Level 17】

【Free Attribute Points +40, Physique +20, Strength +20, Spirit +0】

【Devoured Tier 3 Berserk scales. metal points +5,000. Current metal points: 7185.5】

【Note: Zombies have evolved into Tier 3 Berserk types, immune to sonic countermeasures. More high-resistance Mutants will appear in the future】

Having lost their leader, the zombie legion finally fell into chaos. The base's combat units took the opportunity to counterattack. Rocket Troopers' missiles, tank fire, and Machine Gunners' volleys swept through the zombie horde like a violent storm. The battle lasted for a full hour before finally subsiding completely.

Lin Zhou leaned on his Fire Axe, panting heavily. Looking at the zombie remains scattered across the ground, his muscles were trembling. Su Mei leaned against his shoulder, her wound still seeping blood, but a trace of a smile appeared on her face: “We... won?”

“We won.” Lin Zhou's voice was hoarse, his eyes filled with lingering fear. This battle was the most dangerous since the base's establishment. Two apocalypse tanks were scrapped, five grizzly tanks were destroyed, over half of the Rocket Troopers and Machine Gunners were casualties, and three large breaches had been torn in the walls.

“A narrow victory.” Su Mei whispered.

Lin Zhou nodded and looked up at the pale light on the horizon. The morning light slowly pierced the darkness, illuminating the devastated battlefield. Atop the command tower, the countermeasure tower was still rotating, but only half of the base's searchlights remained, their light weak yet tenaciously illuminating the ruins.

He clenched his fists, a flash of determination in his eyes. The appearance of the Tier 3 Berserk meant that zombie evolution was far outstripping imagination. Future battles would only become more dangerous. But he would not back down, for behind him was his home, his comrades, and everything he had to protect.

“Repair the base, tally the casualties, and prepare for the next battle.” Lin Zhou's voice was steady, spreading throughout the base.

In the dawn light, survivors emerged from their shelters and began to clear the battlefield. The roar of the War Factory sounded once more, and the Ore Refinery's conveyor belts continued to run. New hope was quietly sprouting within this desperate situation.