40: Demonstrating prowess in the first battle, seeking refuge in dire straits

Chapter Forty-One: Displaying Might in the First Battle, Seeking Refuge in Desperation

As they exited the steel door on the mountainside, Lin Zhou's command was issued, and the six Conscripts immediately switched to a triangular assault formation, a 1-2-3 skirmish formation. The Military Reconnaissance Dog took the lead, exploring the path ahead.

Lin Zhou calculated rapidly in his mind: "Fifty meters ahead, a cluster of zombies is distributed in a skirmish pattern, no obvious leader, no signs of mutation. Preliminary count is 37. Killing each ordinary zombie will yield 100 energy points."

He raised his hand to signal the team to stay low and wait. He hunched over and moved behind a thick ancient tree, peeking his head out toward the foot of the mountain. In the glow of the dawn, over thirty zombies wandered aimlessly. Some dragged broken limbs with heads hanging low, while others had large holes torn in their chests, rotting flesh crawling with maggots. Gurgling noises constantly spilled from their throats. Aim for the head and fire at will. For a time, dense gunfire rang out as zombies fell one after another, turning into system energy points +100, +100... The scout dog stayed low, letting out a low, threatening growl from its throat, staying close to Lin Zhou's side, waiting only for his command to pounce.

Meanwhile, at the Xingwang Auto Repair Shop in the southern suburbs of the county town, Old Zhou was gripping his son Zhou Lei's drone remote tightly, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at the screen.

On the screen, in the woods at the foot of North Mountain, a team in dark gray uniforms was advancing in a tactical formation. The gunfire from their Type 95 Automatic Rifles was dense and continuous; with every shot, a zombie fell to the ground. That wasn't sporadic self-defense fire, but systematic fire suppression—a well-trained clearing operation.

The terrifying scenes from three days ago still flickered before his eyes: screams, cries, the roars of zombies, and the constant banging on the rolling shutter door had nearly shattered the nerves of the family of three. Having survived for three days on a few packs of instant noodles and a bag of fruit, Zhou Lei's drone had become their only hope. On the evening of the first day, a gunshot from the direction of North Mountain had kindled a spark of hope in Old Zhou, only for it to be extinguished by the despair of the apocalypse.

But this morning, the gunfire rang out again, and it was continuous, dense, and orderly.

"Dad! Listen! This gunfire... it's not from a homemade hunting gun, those are military rifles!" Zhou Lei's voice trembled, his fingers digging into the remote's joysticks. "They're clearing the zombies! It's a regular squad!"

Old Zhou's throat bobbed. He shifted his gaze from the screen to his pale-faced wife, Liu Fang. Liu Fang was a doctor at the community health clinic.

"Old Zhou..." Liu Fang's voice carried a sob. "There really are people... a team that can fight the zombies..."

Old Zhou abruptly crushed the cigarette butt in his hand, grinding it into the grease-stained floor. He was a military enthusiast and could tell the difference in the gunfire—it wasn't panicked spraying, but tactical shooting alternating between single shots and bursts. Only a strictly trained team could produce such gunfire. Only such a team would have the capability to hold a camp in the apocalypse and protect their family of three.

"Let's go!" Old Zhou's voice was raspy but resolute as he grabbed a wrench leaning in the corner. "We leave now! Lei-zi, use the drone to scout the whole way and avoid large hordes! Mom, bring the medical kit! I'll get the pickup ready; it'll be started in three minutes!"

Zhou Lei practically jumped up, his hands moving rapidly over the remote to fly the drone low toward North Mountain. "Dad! I'm planning the route now! There's a gap in the County West Alley with fewer zombies!"

Zhou Lei sat in the back seat, eyes glued to the real-time feed from the drone, constantly reporting road conditions: "Thirty meters to the left front, two zombies, go around to the right! There's a scrapped bus at the intersection ahead..." Finally, the silhouette of the foot of North Mountain appeared in view. The dense gunfire became clearer and closer.

At this time at the foot of the mountain, Lin Zhou had already given the order to fire.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Dense gunfire erupted suddenly as the six Conscripts split into two groups, firing in turns. One would suppress while two changed magazines, forming a continuous web of fire. Bullets whistled through the air, sending dark green foul blood and bone fragments flying. The zombies showed no signs of scattering; instead, they followed the sound of gunfire and the scent of blood, gathering continuously from every corner of the woods in increasing numbers.

Lin Zhou's gaze was as sharp as a hawk's as he calmly tallied the results during the battle: "Left flank, 11 kills, +1100 energy points! Right flank, 13 kills, +1300 energy points! Zombies are still emerging from the surrounding woods; at least 12 new ones have moved toward the core area!"

A few zombies that slipped through the net charged forward, claws bared. The lead Conscript calmly stepped back half a pace, drew his Type 95 Military Bayonet with his left hand, stabilized his rifle with his right, and lunged forward. The bayonet pierced the zombie's eye socket precisely, driving straight into the brain. With a twist of his wrist, he kicked the zombie away, then raised his rifle again and pulled the trigger on another zombie's head.

Lin Zhou wasn't idle either. His Type 92 Pistol fired in succession, the shots short and precise. Five zombies fell, +500 energy points.

The Military Reconnaissance Dog pounced like a bolt of black lightning, locking its jaws onto the throat of the last zombie and tearing the neck with a violent shake, completing the final kill, +100 energy points.

Lin Zhou summarized quickly in his mind: "Current cluster cleared! 32 kills in the first round, cumulative 3200 energy points! But the gunfire continues to attract them; surrounding zombies are converging from all directions. A third wave of over 20 has been observed! Ammunition consumption: 148 rifle rounds, 15 pistol rounds!"

Just then, the raspy roar of an engine approached from the distance.

Lin Zhou frowned and raised his hand to signal a cease-fire. The moment the gunfire stopped, a battered pickup truck swerved toward them, with three zombies following the sound behind it.

"Dad! Mom! It's them!" Zhou Lei's voice came from inside the pickup. He controlled the drone, hovering it over the squad as if to show goodwill.

Almost simultaneously, three Conscripts turned their muzzles, aiming with precision. After three shots, the three zombies behind the truck were all taken down with headshots.

Lin Zhou immediately updated the data: "3 kills, +300 energy points, total cumulative 3500 energy points."

Old Zhou slammed on the brakes to stop the pickup. The moment he jumped out, he saw the three words "Qicheng Army" embroidered on the left side of Lin Zhou's chest, the gleaming rifles in the hands of the six Conscripts, and the zombie corpses strewn across the ground.

This wasn't a victory by chance; it was iron-blooded combat power supported by a rigorous energy system! The last of Old Zhou's doubts vanished. He bowed deeply to Lin Zhou, his voice tearful yet incredibly firm: "Comrade! Please, take us in! I am a Senior Auto Mechanic; I can fix cars, farm machinery, and generators! My wife is a doctor; she can treat illnesses and wounds! My son is from the agricultural university; he can operate drones and knows about farming! We are useful! We can help!"

Liu Fang also got out of the car clutching her medical kit, nodding repeatedly to Lin Zhou with eyes full of pleading. Zhou Lei, meanwhile, operated the drone; the screen now showed images from the direction of the county town. He pointed at the screen and said urgently: "commander! There's a massive horde in the direction of the county town! They're coming this way! At least a thousand of them! By the kill rules, clearing them would get you a hundred thousand energy points! And they won't retreat at all; they'll only keep gathering!"

Lin Zhou's heart tightened, and he immediately looked at the Conscript responsible for the rear. That Conscript had already slid down from the high point and reported on one knee: "commander! A large-scale horde is moving from the northwest! Over a thousand in number, estimated to arrive at the foot of the mountain in thirty minutes! Scattered zombies around the base are continuously merging with the main horde, and the scale is still expanding!"

The attraction of gunfire was far more lethal than imagined.

Hearing this, Old Zhou's face turned pale instantly. He gritted his teeth, dragged a heavy toolbox from the back of the pickup, and pulled out several bottles of gasoline: "Comrade! I have repair tools here and half a tank of gasoline! My son's drone can scout the horde's movements! Please take us with you!"

Lin Zhou's gaze swept over Old Zhou's family, the toolbox, the hovering drone, and finally landed on the horizon in the direction of the county town.

"All personnel, listen to my orders! Board the pickup and retreat to the steel door on the mountainside!" Lin Zhou ordered sharply, his gaze falling on Old Zhou. "Drive!"

As Lin Zhou retreated, he activated his core ability. His mind swept over all man-made objects within a five-meter radius: the scrap steel in the pickup's bed, the metal wrenches in the toolbox, the frames and parts of abandoned cars by the roadside, scattered rebar and construction materials, and even the fibers of the ragged clothes remaining on the zombies. All were precisely screened and decomposed under an invisible force. metal and non-metal materials were converted into silver-gray resource data streams, and the resource points on the system panel rapidly jumped to 1800.

After entering the steel door, Lin Zhou immediately used 3000 energy points to summon 30 soldiers and consumed 1200 resource points to exchange for a Simple Machine Gun Bunker! "Deploy it at the top right of the steel door to form crossfire with the original one!"

"Consume 600 resource points to exchange for two sections of anti-climb net! Deploy them at the base of the wall!"

Simultaneously, two sections of anti-climb net were generated at the base of the wall. Made of high-strength alloy with a 5cm mesh and a barbed design, they were like black chains firmly attached to the wall, eliminating any possibility of zombies climbing up.

The system panel updated to: 500 energy points, 0 resource points.

"All personnel, to battle stations! Machine gun bunkers, fire at will!" Lin Zhou's voice rang through the entire fortress via the loudspeaker.

A defensive battle concerning the survival of the fortress thus began.