3: Blood Rain Defense

Chapter 3: Conscript's Sharp Blade, Defenses Built in Blood Rain

The crimson rain soaked the concrete floor of the rooftop. The Conscript's camouflage uniform was quickly drenched, yet he remained standing straight beside Lin Zhou, his AK47 pointed diagonally at the ground, its metal casing glinting with a cold, hard luster under the searchlight.

The roars from the rooftop entrance grew closer. The rotting fingers of the first zombie had already gripped the edge of the steps, with dark green pus dripping from between its knuckles, forming a foul-smelling puddle on the ground. Su Mei leaned against the wall of the Barracks, her face still pale, but the wound suppressed by antibiotics had stopped spreading its blackish-blue hue. She gritted her teeth and propped herself up, holding a Fire Axe across her chest, her gaze locked firmly on the entrance.

“Aim for the head, save ammunition.” Lin Zhou's voice was steady; his tactical instincts as a veteran soldier instantly put him into command mode. “Three points, one line, pull the trigger steadily. Don't waste a single bullet.”

The Conscript responded in a deep voice, “Understood, Commander!”

Before he could finish, the first zombie had clumsily climbed onto the rooftop. Its cloudy eyeballs glared at the group in the center, and it lunged forward with a roar. Without a moment's hesitation, the Conscript raised his muzzle slightly, aimed precisely at the zombie's head, and gently pulled the trigger.

“Bang!”

A crisp gunshot pierced through the rain curtain. The zombie's head shattered like a smashed watermelon, splashing dark red blood everywhere as the corpse fell straight onto the steps.

[Ding! Conscript killed Tier 1 Zombie × 1, Host gains 5 Experience Points, metal points +0.5]

[Hint: When troops under your command kill zombies, the Host receives 50% of the gains]

Lin Zhou's heart stirred slightly; this unexpected harvest gave him more confidence. He turned to Su Mei: “Can you hold on? If you can, help me watch the sides to prevent zombies from climbing over the railing.”

Su Mei nodded, enduring the dizziness brought by the virus. She moved to the edge of the rooftop, her gaze scanning the dense crowd of zombies below. Rain soaked her hair, plastering it against her pale cheeks, but it did not diminish the sharpness in her eyes.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

The Conscript's gunshots rang out one after another, each accompanied by a falling zombie. His shooting was terrifyingly accurate, almost every shot a headshot, with movements as smooth as flowing water—the level of an elite soldier who had undergone rigorous training. However, more and more zombies swarmed onto the rooftop. Faster Speed Types followed behind the common ones, agilely avoiding the Conscript's firing blind spots as they lunged toward them.

“Speed Type!” Su Mei barked. She swung her Fire Axe with force, striking a Speed Type in the shoulder.

The zombie roared in pain, but its claws still reached for Su Mei's throat. Lin Zhou was quick, picking up a piece of broken rebar from the ground and stabbing it fiercely into the zombie's eye socket.

“Puchi!”

The rebar pierced through the zombie's skull, splashing dark green brain matter all over his hand. He pulled the rebar back out, kicked the zombie off the rooftop, and turned to shout at the Conscript: “Switch to semi-auto, prioritize the Speed Types!”

The Conscript immediately adjusted his tactics, firing short bursts. Three bullets accurately hit the head of a Speed Type. The zombie's body stiffened and fell straight down.

But there were simply too many zombies. A thick pile of corpses soon accumulated at the rooftop entrance. The zombies behind climbed over their fallen comrades, their roars deafening. The Conscript's magazine was soon empty; he skillfully swapped it without a hint of panic. However, in the gap between gunshots, zombies had already broken through the line of fire and lunged close.

“Leave it to me!” Su Mei gritted her teeth, her Fire Axe dancing with a cold light as she hacked back the approaching zombies one by one.

Her movements grew slower and slower. Sharp pain radiated from the wound on her arm, and the weakness brought by the virus surged like a tide. Lin Zhou saw this and grew anxious, immediately checking the status of the Barracks in his mind.

[Barracks Current Status: Operating normally, Remaining power: 8. Can train Conscript × 4 (Requires 20 metal, 8 power)]

[10 faith points available. Can upgrade Barracks (Consumes 10 faith points). After upgrade, unlock: New Unit (Machine Gunner), Training Speed increased by 50%]

Lin Zhou did not hesitate: “Upgrade Barracks!”

[Consuming 10 faith points, Barracks upgrading... Upgrade complete!]

[Barracks level increased, Training Speed +50%, New Unit Unlocked: Machine Gunner (10 metal, 3 power, Training Time 1 minute/person)]

[Current Remaining power: 8, metal: 0. Unable to train Machine Gunner]

Not enough metal points! Lin Zhou's gaze swept over the railing at the edge of the rooftop. It was a solid rebar railing, thick enough. He immediately rushed over and grabbed a railing post.

[Devouring medium amount of solid rebar, metal points +22, Current metal points: 22.5]

[Convert to red alert system resources? Yes/No]

“Convert!”

[red alert system metal: 22.5, power: 8]

[Can train Conscript × 4, Machine Gunner × 2]

“Train two Machine Gunners!” Lin Zhou growled.

[Consuming 20 metal, 6 power, training Machine Gunner × 2. Remaining metal: 2.5, power: 2. Training Time: 1 minute (accelerated after upgrade)]

The gates of the Barracks slowly opened, and two flashes of pale blue light appeared. Two soldiers wearing heavy body armor and carrying general-purpose machine guns stepped out. They had night-vision goggles on their helmets, and their equipment was much heavier than the Conscript's. They gave Lin Zhou a standard military salute: “Commander!”

“Deploy! Block the entrance!” Lin Zhou pointed at the rooftop entrance, his voice tinged with urgency.

The two Machine Gunners immediately split up. One guarded the left side of the entrance and the other the right. Their heavy machine guns were set up on the ground, muzzles aimed at the surging zombie horde.

“Fire!”

“Da-da-da! Da-da-da!”

Intense gunfire erupted like popping beans. A scorching rain of bullets wove a deadly net of fire, completely sealing the rooftop entrance. The zombies in the front were instantly riddled with holes, dark red blood splashing everywhere. The zombies behind couldn't break through this fire barrier at all, only able to roar frantically below the steps. The pile of corpses grew higher and higher, soon forming a foul-smelling wall of flesh.

When the gunfire ceased, there were no more standing zombies at the rooftop entrance. Lin Zhou breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at Su Mei. She had slumped to the ground, her face white as paper and her lips colorless, but there was a sense of relief in her eyes.

“We made it through...” Su Mei's voice was weak, but it carried the relief of a survivor.

Lin Zhou walked over and knelt down to check her wound. The blackish-blue had faded significantly, and the edges were beginning to scab over. “The antibiotics are working. You're tough.”

Su Mei curled her lips, revealing a pale smile: “A Special Forces background isn't just for show.”

Lin Zhou stood up and looked down at the zombie horde below. The rain was still falling, the crimson water washing away the blood on the streets. The dark mass of zombies was still crawling toward the residential building, but suppressed by the rooftop's firepower, they didn't dare approach easily again.

He walked to the side of the Barracks and checked the system panel.

[Current Level: 1 (35/100), Constitution: 3, Strength: 2, Spirit: 0]

[red alert system Resources: metal: 2.5, power: 2]

[Troops under command: Conscript × 1, Machine Gunner × 2]

[faith points: 0]

“It's not enough,” Lin Zhou whispered to himself, his gaze shifting toward the distant city ruins.

There were more metal resources there, more survivors, and more zombies. To survive in this apocalypse, merely defending a rooftop was far from sufficient.

He turned to look at Su Mei, and then at the three soldiers standing guard at the edge of the roof. A new plan was already forming in his mind.

“When the rain stops, we go down to scavenge for supplies.” Lin Zhou's voice was steady, carrying an unquestionable determination. “The power station needs more diesel, the Barracks needs more metal, and we need more manpower.”

Su Mei looked up at Lin Zhou's firm gaze, and then at the two buildings glowing with pale blue light in the center of the rooftop. She slowly nodded.

The crimson rain gradually lessened, and a faint sliver of white appeared on the horizon.

Atop the rooftop, the defensive line forged of steel stood firm in the blood rain. That single spark of fire had quietly ignited into a raging flame.