7: The mine roared

Chapter 7: Roar of the Ore Refinery, the First Glimpse of Military Might

The gap in the warehouse's corrugated iron door was widening as the zombies' rotten fingers clawed frantically at the edges of the panels. Dark green pus dripped through the cracks, mixing with dust to form sticky stains on the floor. Their roars made the warehouse's steel structure hum, as if the entire building would be overturned by the horde at any moment.

Lin Zhou stared at the rapidly jumping metal readings on the Ore Refinery's conveyor belt, his fingers tightly gripping the handle of his Fire Axe, his knuckles white from the strain. Su Mei leaned against a pile of rebar by the vent, helping the Short Man treat a scratch on his arm. The moment the povidone-iodine was poured on, the Short Man's whole body convulsed in pain, but he gritted his teeth and didn't dare make a sound, fearing he would attract more zombies.

"metal points are at 200 per hour, and we've already saved up 150." Lin Zhou's voice was very low as his gaze swept across the system panel. "power is at 30, which is enough to build a Radar. The Radar can scan for zombies and resources within a one-kilometer radius; it will be our eyes."

Scarface leaned over, watching as the Ore Refinery's conveyor belt swallowed a length of rebar, which instantly vanished into a stream of data. His eyes were full of shock. "This thing... it's a hundred times more efficient than us prying at iron sheets! Boss, with this, we'll never have to worry about metal again!"

"Don't get happy too soon." Lin Zhou glanced at him. "The Ore Refinery needs a stable power supply to operate, and the horde outside hasn't been dealt with yet. Once the Radar is built, we'll scan nearby resource points first. Our priority is to build the War Factory. Once we have tanks, these zombies will be nothing but trash."

Just as he finished speaking, a deafening bang suddenly came from the warehouse entrance. The corrugated iron door was forced open by the horde, and several Common Type zombies squeezed in, roaring as their rotten claws reached for the nearest girl.

"Protect her!" Su Mei barked. Her Fire Axe flew from her hand, precisely splitting the skull of one zombie. Scarface reacted quickly, swinging his modified machete to cut down another, while the rest of the group grabbed steel pipes and wrenches, lunging at the zombies.

The Conscript fired his AK47 in short bursts, delivering headshots every time, quickly clearing out the few zombies that had broken in. But the horde outside surged like a tide, seemingly endless. Seeing that the defensive line was about to be breached, Lin Zhou snapped a command in his mind: "Build Radar!"

[Consumed 100 metal, 20 power. Remaining metal: 535.5, power: 10]

[Radar under construction... Construction complete!]

A faint blue light lit up in the corner of the warehouse as a Radar station with a rotating antenna slowly took shape. The antenna began to spin at high speed, emitting a soft humming sound. The next second, a clear map appeared in Lin Zhou's mind, showing the distribution of zombies, resource points, and building outlines within a one-kilometer radius.

[Radar Scan Results: 217 zombies outside the warehouse, 13 Speed Types, 1 Elite Type (located at the rear of the horde); 500 meters to the northeast, an abandoned Hardware Store, rich in metal resources; 800 meters to the northwest, a small Hospital, possible survivors and medicine present]

An Elite Type! Lin Zhou's pupils constricted. On the Radar map, the red dot representing the Elite Type was significantly larger than the common zombies. It didn't move fast, but it radiated a strong energy fluctuation.

"There's a big guy outside. It's slow, but it's got thick skin," Lin Zhou said grimly, pointing in the direction of the Radar scan. "Scarface, take two people and hold the inner side of the gate. Pile up rebar and iron sheets to make a temporary defensive line. Su Mei, take the Conscript and come with me to deal with that Elite Type. It's the commander of the horde. Kill it, and the horde will fall into chaos."

Su Mei nodded, picked up her Fire Axe from the ground, and flexed her wrist. "The Elite Type's weakness is most likely its head. I'll take the lead, you cover me."

Lin Zhou took two spare magazines from the Conscript and threw a bulletproof vest he'd found in the warehouse to Su Mei. "Put this on. Be careful."

The two of them crouched low, following the back wall of the warehouse to the side, where there was a broken window just large enough for one person to pass through. On the Radar map, the Elite Type was stationary at the rear of the horde, seemingly directing the common zombies to attack the warehouse.

Through the gap in the window, Lin Zhou finally saw what the Elite Type looked like. It was a monster twice as tall as a normal zombie, its body covered in a layer of hard bone armor. Its head looked like a flattened watermelon, with bulging, cloudy eyeballs and a mouth full of serrated fangs. Its claws were as sharp as scythes; with a gentle swing, it could leave a deep gash in the ground.

"The bone armor is too thick; normal bullets won't penetrate it," Su Mei said with a hint of gravity. "We need to use heavy weapons or attack its eyes."

Lin Zhou's gaze fell on the Elite Type's eyes. There was no bone armor covering them; they were an obvious weakness. He took a deep breath and gave Su Mei a look. "I'll draw its attention. You find an opening to attack its eyes."

Before his voice had even faded, Lin Zhou leaped out of the window and fired a shot toward the Elite Type. The bullet hit the bone armor with a crisp 'clang,' sending sparks flying, but it failed to cause any damage.

Enraged by the gunshot, the Elite Type let out a roar and turned to look at Lin Zhou, its cloudy eyes filled with violence. It took heavy steps and lunged toward Lin Zhou, each footfall making the ground tremble slightly.

Lin Zhou turned and ran, deliberately slowing his pace to lure the Elite Type away from the horde. Su Mei took the opportunity to circle around the Elite Type from the other side, her Fire Axe held steadily, her eyes sharp as a hawk's.

Just as the Elite Type's claws were about to grab Lin Zhou, Su Mei moved. She shot forward like an arrow from a bow, her Fire Axe whistling through the air as it slammed into the Elite Type's right eye.

*Squish!*

The blade of the axe pierced precisely into the eyeball, and dark green pus erupted out. The Elite Type let out a deafening scream and swung its claws frantically. Su Mei dodged by a hair's breadth, but was struck by its tail and slammed hard onto the ground.

"Su Mei!" Lin Zhou roared, turning back to fire at the Elite Type's other eye. The bullets hit one after another. Although they didn't penetrate, they successfully drew the Elite Type's attention back to him.

The Elite Type roared and turned toward Lin Zhou, its claws reaching for his chest. Lin Zhou didn't retreat; instead, he stepped forward. While sidestepping the claws, he drove his Fire Axe deep into its eye socket.

"Just die!"

Lin Zhou used all his strength to shove the Fire Axe deeper until the handle hit the Elite Type's skull. He gave it a violent twist. With a 'crack,' the Elite Type's brain was mangled. Its massive body swayed and then crashed to the ground.

[Ding! Killed Tier 1 Elite Type zombie x 1, gained 500 experience points. Current Level 1 (540/100) -> Level 3]

[Free Attribute Points +10, Constitution +5, Strength +5, Spirit +0]

[Devoured Elite Type bone armor metal, metal points +500. Current metal points: 1035.5]

[Notification: Elite Type killed. Horde command interrupted; zombies have fallen into chaos]

A surge of warmth instantly flooded through Lin Zhou's limbs. His originally tense muscles became firmer, and his hand gripping the axe felt full of power. He ran quickly to Su Mei's side and helped her up. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." Su Mei wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and looked at the fallen Elite Type, a trace of lingering fear in her eyes. "That thing was harder to deal with than I imagined."

The two of them turned to look back at the warehouse. Deprived of their commander, the horde had indeed fallen into chaos. They were no longer attacking frantically but were instead wandering aimlessly outside the warehouse. Scarface and the others took the chance to reinforce the defenses, their faces showing the smiles of survivors.

Lin Zhou walked over to the Elite Type's corpse and reached out to touch the bone armor on its body. The system prompt sounded again: [Devouring Elite Type bone armor can grant a large amount of metal points. Devour now?]

"Devour!"

[metal points +500. Current metal points: 1535.5]

[Converted to red alert system resources: metal: 1535.5, power: 10]

[Available Buildings: War Factory (metal 200, power 30), Service Depot (metal 150, power 20)]

power still isn't enough. Lin Zhou frowned, his gaze falling on the solar panels in the warehouse. He immediately returned to the warehouse with Su Mei and had Scarface and the others help dismantle the panels.

[Devoured solar panels x 10, metal points +120, converted power +120]

[Current power: 130]

That's enough! Joy rose in Lin Zhou's heart, and he immediately issued the command: "Build War Factory!"

A faint blue light lit up once more as a building even larger than the Barracks and the Ore Refinery slowly took shape. The heavy steel doors were stamped with the red alert logo, and the roar of operating machinery came from within the workshop.

[War Factory construction complete! Basic vehicle available for training: rhino tank (metal 100, power 50, training time 5 minutes/unit)]

Lin Zhou stood at the entrance of the War Factory, looking at the dense resource points on the Radar map and then out at the gradually calming streets. A sharp light flickered in his eyes.

He turned to Su Mei, Scarface, and the others, saying in a deep voice, "Train one rhino tank. Then, we will purge the zombies from this area and establish a real base!"

Sunlight streamed through the warehouse skylight, falling on the cold metal shell of the War Factory and reflecting a dazzling light.

The roar of the Ore Refinery still echoed in his ears as the lights of the War Factory slowly flickered to life. A wildfire war belonging to steel was about to begin its new chapter.