23: The remaining troops fought to the death, production capacity was constrained.

Chapter 23: Desperate Defense of the Remaining Camp, Production Bottleneck

Scarface stood on the hatch of the grizzly tank, rubbing the needle mark from the injection on his arm. The surging strength within him made his palms itch. Ten Reinforced Soldiers were lined up on either side, five tanks aimed their muzzles south, and the gap in the wall was piled with gasoline barrels and grenades. Further out in the ruins, several booby traps were buried—these were the delaying traps they had set up long ago.

"They're here!"

Just as the soldier's roar subsided, a dense tide of zombies rolled over the horizon. Twenty Fourth-Tier Zombies led the charge, their dark golden scales gleaming coldly in the light, reaching the camp perimeter in an instant.

"Open fire! Hit the vanguard first, don't let them cluster!"

Before Scarface's roar ended, five shells whistled out. The ordinary zombies were blown to pieces, but the Fourth-Tier Zombies merely paused before charging forward through the gunfire. One Fourth-Tier Zombie slammed its claw onto the tank armor, producing a grating metallic clang.

"Switch to high-explosive rounds! Aim for the eye sockets! Tanks retreat in sequence, maintain fire!"

Scarface maneuvered the tank backward, and the main cannon roared again. The shell accurately drilled into the Fourth-Tier Zombie's eye socket. Dark green pus gushed out, and the colossal creature crashed to the ground. The remaining tanks used this interval to retreat in turns to reload, always keeping their muzzles trained on the charging zombie horde.

He didn't have time to catch his breath; more Fourth-Tier Zombies broke through the blockade. A soldier's combat uniform was ripped open, three deep, bone-revealing gashes oozed blood, yet he endured the intense pain and plunged his machete into the zombie's joint. The resistance provided by the enhancement serum prevented him from being infected for now, but his face quickly paled.

The battle was deadlocked, and ammunition was being consumed rapidly. In less than half an hour, the tanks' main cannons had only five shells left, and the soldiers' rifle bullets were also running low. Zombies surged through the gap in the wall like a tide, threatening to breach the defenses.

"Detonate the gasoline barrels! Retreat to the second booby trap zone!"

A grenade left his hand with a deafening boom, and flames instantly engulfed the gap. Seizing the moment the zombie horde was forced back by the fire, Scarface waved his signal, and the squad quickly contracted their defense line, retreating into the ruins behind the camp.

Just as they found their footing, the pursuing zombie horde stepped on the booby traps. Explosions rang out one after another, sending rubble and flesh flying everywhere, instantly shattering dozens of the zombies at the front. But this delay lasted only a moment. The remaining Fourth-Tier Zombies, eyes red, ignored the casualties and continued to charge, collapsing the broken wall with a single claw swipe.

"Split into two teams! I'll take three men to guard the left flank, Lao Hei takes three men to guard the right flank, and the tanks provide central support!"

Scarface jumped out of the vehicle, his machete whistling as it struck a zombie. The soldiers immediately split into two teams, using the broken walls of the ruins for guerrilla warfare, specifically targeting isolated ordinary zombies, and trying to avoid direct confrontation with the Fourth-Tier Zombies. Their enhanced strength made their movements more agile; they would often strike once and immediately retreat, never staying to fight.

Casualties continued to mount. A soldier was pierced through the chest by a zombie's claw. He held the zombie tightly, dragging it toward a nearby reinforced steel column, and simultaneously pulled the pin on the grenade strapped to his body. Amidst the explosion, flesh and blood flew everywhere, and Scarface, eyes red, chopped down two ordinary zombies beside him.

"Scarface! The main force has reached the base! Retreat immediately! Reinforcements are on the way!"

Lin Zhou's voice came through the walkie-talkie, and Scarface's spirits lifted: "Retreat! Run towards the eastern ruins! The tanks will cover the rear; abandon the vehicles after firing the last shell!"

The remaining soldiers immediately broke out toward the east. Scarface took two men to cover the retreat, constantly harassing the pursuers using the ruins for cover. The five tanks turned around, their main cannons consecutively firing their last five shells, blasting open five walls of fire within the zombie horde. The crew members then leaped out and sprinted away with the main group.

However, five Fourth-Tier Zombies pursued relentlessly, moving at astonishing speed, and quickly caught up to their rear.

"You guys go first! I'll cover the rear!"

A soldier roared as he turned, pulling out his last remaining grenade, pulling the pin, and lunging toward the zombie horde. Scarface gritted his teeth and ran with his men; the explosion behind him made the corners of his eyes burn, but he dared not look back.

Meanwhile, in the Red Alert Base Command Room.

Lin Zhou stared at the red dots on the Radar screen, his brow furrowed. Zhao Weiguo looked at the sparse military strength in the base and finally couldn't help but ask: "Why is the base expanding its forces so slowly? Didn't the red alert system used to be able to rapidly churn out troops?"

Lin Zhou pointed to the small text on the system panel and said gravely: "Look—only 30% power remains, metal purification efficiency has dropped by 70%, and the production capacity of the Barracks and War Factory is only 10%. The key is the lack of Mutated Minerals. This stuff is a special ore modified by viruses and radiation; ordinary metal simply cannot replace it."

"Without it, we can't build the armor for the apocalypse tank, nor can we forge the alloy for the Armor-piercing combat suits. Naturally, the system can't rapidly churn out troops on a large scale," Lin Zhou added. "Before, we relied on the reserves from the Twin Towers and the Military Factory, but those stockpiles are long gone now."

Zhao Weiguo suddenly understood and pressed further: "What should we do next?"

"The Energy Extraction Plan." A sharp glint flashed in Lin Zhou's eyes. "There's a Nuclear Power Plant to the east that can replenish power, and the northern mine holds Mutated Minerals. Only by securing these two locations can we restart mass troop production. I have already sent Lao Zhou and his men to repair the Nuclear Power Plant."

Just then, Scarface's urgent shout came through the walkie-talkie: "Boss! Five Fourth-Tier Zombies are right on our heels! We can't hold out much longer!"

Lin Zhou's heart sank abruptly. He grabbed the walkie-talkie and growled: Three apocalypse tanks have already departed! Hurry and converge toward the base.