8: Base prototype

Chapter 8: The Rhino's Roar, The Prototype of the Base

The horde outside the warehouse had fallen into complete chaos. Without the command of an Elite Type, they wandered aimlessly like headless flies. Occasionally, a few would crash into the steel bars of the temporary defensive line, only to be clubbed down by Scarface and his men. The sun rose gradually, dispersing the early morning mist and stretching the shadows of the warehouse's steel structure. The roar of the War Factory intertwined with the sound of the Ore Refinery's conveyor belts, becoming a rare sound of life in the apocalypse.

Lin Zhou stood before the War Factory's console, his gaze fixed on the training progress bar. Building a rhino tank took five minutes, but in this brief interval, he felt as if three days and nights had passed. Su Mei leaned against a nearby pile of steel bars, wiping foul blood from her Fire Axe. Her face was still somewhat pale, but her eyes remained sharp, occasionally glancing at the red dots on the Radar screen.

“Boss, the zombies outside are scattering more and more. Should I take some men out to clear a wave?” Scarface approached, clutching his modified machete, its blade stained with dark brown zombie blood.

“Wait until the tank is out,” Lin Zhou said without looking up. “Ordinary zombies are easy to deal with, but I'm afraid there might be hidden Elite Types. The Radar range is only one kilometer; there might be even bigger trouble further away.”

The Short Man, clutching his bandaged arm, asked cautiously, “Then... once that tank is built, can it just flatten a whole street of zombies?”

The corner of Lin Zhou's mouth curled into an arc. “More than just a street. The rhino tank's 120mm smoothbore gun can shatter the load-bearing wall of a building with one shot. It’s more than enough to deal with zombies.”

Hearing this, a flash of excitement appeared in everyone's eyes. Having struggled in the apocalypse for so long, they were fed up with days of hiding and running. If they truly had a killing machine like a tank, their hopes of survival would undoubtedly skyrocket tenfold.

Just then, the progress bar for the War Factory finally reached its end.

[Ding! rhino tank training complete! Please proceed to the War Factory to retrieve the vehicle.]

A flash of pale blue light flickered, and the heavy steel doors slowly opened as a grey-black tank rolled out. Its tracks ground over the steel bars and rubble on the ground with a dull thud, and the smoothbore gun on the turret pointed toward the sky, exuding a heart-palpitating sense of oppression. Lin Zhou stepped forward quickly, reaching out to touch the cold armor as a familiar military aura welled up in his heart.

“Let's go, time for a test drive.”

Lin Zhou opened the hatch and skillfully slid into the cockpit. As a veteran, he had learned tank driving in the army. Although the rhino tank in red alert was slightly different from a real one, the operational logic was largely the same. He started the engine, and the tank emitted a low roar as the tracks slowly turned, heading toward the warehouse gates.

Su Mei, Scarface, and the others immediately followed. The Conscripts held their AK47s, vigilantly guarding both sides of the tank.

Outside the warehouse gates, several ordinary zombies were wandering aimlessly. Hearing the roar of the tank, their cloudy eyes immediately turned toward it, and they lunged forward with snarls. Lin Zhou's gaze sharpened as he controlled the turret to rotate slowly, aiming at one of the zombies.

“Fire!”

“Boom!”

With a deafening blast, a 120mm shell whistled out with a searing trail of fire, scoring a direct hit on the zombie. The violent explosion instantly blew the zombie into fragments, splashing black-red blood and mangled flesh everywhere. Several surrounding zombies were also sent flying by the shockwave, crashing heavily to the ground.

“Badass! This is too badass!” Scarface jumped up in excitement, waving his machete and shouting.

Lin Zhou didn't stop. He maneuvered the tank forward, its tracks grinding over the zombie corpses with an ear-grating 'crunch.' The turret rotated continuously, firing shells one after another, each clearing an entire area. The leaderless horde simply couldn't withstand the crushing force of this steel beast. Their roars were quickly drowned out by the sound of gunfire as they fell in swathes, turning into charred remains.

Su Mei and the Conscripts followed behind the tank, responsible for cleaning up any stragglers. Her Fire Axe swung with the force of a gale, each strike precisely splitting a zombie's skull with movements as efficient as chopping vegetables. Scarface and his men were not to be outdone, grabbing steel pipes and machetes as they charged into the zombie crowd, their faces full of excitement.

In less than ten minutes, the more than two hundred zombies outside the warehouse were completely wiped out. Lin Zhou brought the tank to a stop and opened the hatch. Looking at the remains covering the ground, a strong sense of achievement welled up in his heart.

[Ding! Cleared Tier 1 Zombies × 204, Speed Type × 13. Gained 1200 Experience Points. Current Level: 3 (1740/2000)]

[Devoured zombie bones and metal fragments. metal points +300. Current metal points: 1835.5]

[Notice: Area cleared of zombies. Gained area control. A Main Base can be established here.]

Establish a Main Base! Lin Zhou's heart stirred, and he immediately checked the system panel.

[red alert system Resources: metal 1835.5, power 130]

[Available Buildings: Main Base (metal 500, power 50), Flak Cannon (metal 100, power 20), Wall (metal 10/meter, power 0)]

“This is the spot.” Lin Zhou pointed to the open space around the warehouse. “Build the Main Base, then a ring of walls and ten Flak Cannons to prevent sneak attacks from zombies or other survivors.”

[Consuming metal 500 + 100 × 10 + 10 × 50 = 2000. Current metal is insufficient. Consume remaining metal points to build core structures?]

“Build the Main Base and five Flak Cannons first, and build two hundred meters of wall for now.” Lin Zhou adjusted his orders.

[Consuming metal 500 + 500 + 2000 = 3000? No, recalculating: Main Base 500, Flak Cannon 5 × 100 = 500, Wall 200 × 10 = 2000. Total: 3000. metal insufficient. Devour remaining metal resources in the warehouse?]

“Devour!”

Lin Zhou didn't hesitate. The remaining steel bars, excavator parts, and copper cables in the warehouse were quickly devoured by the Ore Refinery, and his metal points surged upward.

[Devoured remaining metal resources in the warehouse. metal points +1500. Current metal points: 3335.5]

[Consumed metal 3000. Remaining metal 335.5. power consumption 50 + 100 = 150. Current power is 130. Converting 20 metal points into power.]

[Main Base, five Flak Cannons, and two hundred meters of Wall under construction... Construction complete!]

A pale blue light lit up around the warehouse as a fifty-square-meter Main Base rose from the ground. A striking red alert insignia was printed on its grey walls, and the Radar antenna at the top rotated slowly. Five Flak Cannons were distributed around the Main Base, their barrels pointing straight at the sky. A two-hundred-meter-long steel wall enclosed the warehouse and the Main Base in the center, forming a solid defensive line.

[Main Base construction complete! Unlocked Tech Tree: Barracks Upgrade, War Factory Upgrade, Ore Refinery Upgrade.]

[Notice: Main Base can automatically absorb solar energy. power +50/hour.]

Lin Zhou stood atop the Main Base, overlooking the steel defensive line beneath him, his heart filled with confidence. On the Radar screen, zombies within a one-kilometer radius had been cleared out. The Hardware Store to the northeast and the Hospital to the northwest were clearly visible.

“Su Mei, take Scarface and the others to the Hardware Store to collect the remaining metal resources,” Lin Zhou said in a heavy voice. “The Conscripts will come with me to the Hospital to see if we can find more medicine and survivors.”

Su Mei nodded and took the walkie-talkie Lin Zhou handed her. “Be careful. There are usually more zombies in Hospitals, and there might be Mutated Types.”

“Don't worry.” Lin Zhou patted the rhino tank beside him. “With this thing around, no Mutated Type is a match.”

Scarface and the others had already jumped into the off-road vehicle impatiently. The Short Man even shouted excitedly, “Boss, we'll definitely strip that Hardware Store bare!”

Lin Zhou smiled and climbed into the tank's cockpit. The engine roared again, and the rhino tank headed toward the Hospital in the northwest, its tracks leaving two deep ruts in the ruins on the ground.

Sunlight hit the steel walls, reflecting a dazzling light. The Radar antenna atop the Main Base continued to rotate, and the roars of the Ore Refinery and War Factory rose and fell in succession.

In this zombie-infested apocalypse, the prototype of a steel base was quietly rising. And Lin Zhou knew that this was only the beginning; greater challenges were still waiting for them.