novelhk Chapter 101 Warning
Chapter 101 Warning
Chapter 101 Warning
The towering flames flickered in the night, casting long and short shadows of the ruins, and the air was filled with the stench of burning flesh and the acrid smell of fuel.
Xu Mo stared at the burning pile of corpses, pondering the secrets hidden behind the endless stream of zombies, when suddenly— "Alert! Enemy attack at three o'clock!" The hoarse shout of an observation post soldier on the position broke the brief silence.
Almost the instant the sound faded, indistinct figures reappeared in the dark ruins that were not yet fully illuminated by the flames, like demons crawling out of the cracks of hell, swaying and surging toward the position.
This time, the horde of zombies seemed to have an instinctive fear of the still-burning flames. Instead of crossing the fire directly, they dispersed and circled around the charred areas on either side of the flames that were not yet completely extinguished.
The orange-red firelight shone on their gray or dark green skin, reflecting their hideous and twisted faces, and they emitted meaningless hoarse sounds from their throats, which converged into a chilling whisper of death.
Xu Mo's sharp eyes swept quickly across the surging horde of zombies. Most were still slow-moving ordinary zombies, but on the flank of the horde, three short, swift figures caught his attention. They moved on all fours, their movements like mutated hunting dogs, darting rapidly through the rubble and debris, far exceeding the speed of their companions—they were agile zombies!
"Heavy machine gun! Block the right passage, don't let those fast things get close!" The commander in charge of C-07, a dark-skinned man, immediately noticed the threat and shouted the order.
"Boom boom boom boom—" A heavy machine gun on the right immediately spat out flames, and the heavy bullets lashed out like whips in the path of the agile zombie, kicking up large amounts of gravel and dust.
However, these agile zombies are incredibly fast and quick to react. They seem to possess a kind of dangerous instinct, always able to change direction at the last second before a bullet hits them, or use broken walls and ruins as cover.
Although the barrage from the heavy machine gun was fierce, it was difficult to effectively hit these fast-moving small targets.
The consequence of the firepower being drawn to the agile zombies was that the pressure on the ordinary zombie horde pressing forward was greatly reduced. Taking advantage of this opportunity, they staggered but determinedly advanced, gradually closing the distance to the position.
"Damn it!" The commander immediately realized his mistake. Heavy machine guns were excellent against dense formations, but against these scattered, high-speed point targets, they were somewhat ineffective and wasted precious sustained firepower. He made a quick decision and changed the order: "Heavy machine guns, turn around and cover the horde of zombies in front. Marksmen, prioritize taking out those agile zombies on the right; don't let them get close to the position."
The order was given, and the roar of the heavy machine gun shifted slightly, unleashing a hail of bullets that tore the front ranks of the surging ordinary zombies to shreds. Meanwhile, the marksman on the position, wielding a standard-issue rifle equipped with a high-powered scope, took a deep breath and pointed his gun at the elusive figures to his right.
boom! boom! boom!
The heavy, single-shot rifle fire rang out one after another.
Of the three bullets, only one grazed the shoulder of an agile zombie, shattering a concrete slab behind it.
The remaining two shots missed their mark, failing to even touch the zombie.
Sweat beaded on the marksman's forehead as he clenched his teeth behind the scope. The targets' speed and ability to change direction far exceeded his expectations; their movements in the complex terrain were completely unpredictable and extremely difficult to foresee.
In just a few seconds of delay, the three agile zombies, using the ruins as cover, moved like three gray lightning bolts skimming the ground, rapidly advancing dozens of meters.
They were less than 30 meters away from the outermost sandbag fortifications of the position, a distance that they could probably cross in just a few seconds.
The atmosphere on the position instantly became tense. Some riflemen had already turned their guns to try to intercept, but the hit rate of ordinary rifles against fast-moving targets at night was even more worrying.
Xu Mo, who had been closely observing the battlefield, did not hesitate at all when he saw this situation. He suddenly raised the AK47 he had been holding and, with almost no hesitation in aiming, pulled the trigger with a kind of instinctive muscle memory and dynamic vision far beyond that of ordinary people.
"Bang!"
A crisp gunshot rang out, unlike the dull thud of a marksman rifle or the roar of a heavy machine gun.
The bullet accurately struck the chest of the agile zombie charging at the front, wounding it. The powerful kinetic energy caused its forward momentum to suddenly halt, emitting a sharp screech as it staggered.
But the shot didn't kill it. The zombie paused for a moment, its crimson eyes fixed on the position, and then it lunged forward again.
However, Xu Mo didn't give it any chance at all. In the instant before the first shot had fully stabilized and sunk, he subtly adjusted his wrist to a tiny angle, and the second shot was fired.
"Bang!"
The bullet traced a deadly straight line through the air, piercing the agile zombie's eye socket with unparalleled precision.
"Pfft!"
Dark green blood and grayish-white brain matter spurted from the back of its head. The agile zombie's forward lunge froze completely, and then it collapsed to the ground as if its bones had been removed. It twitched twice and then stopped moving.
The entire firing process was as fast as lightning; from raising the gun to firing two shots in quick succession and hitting the head, it took less than two breaths.
"Well done, Li! Keep it up!" The commander, who had clearly seen the most threatening agile zombie taken care of, shouted praise without turning his head, assuming that his marksman had finally found his rhythm.
"No, squad leader, it wasn't me!" Xiao Li's voice was filled with disbelief and shame. He turned around abruptly, his gaze instantly locking onto Xu Mo, who had just lowered his gun and was looking calm.
On the battlefield, several combatants who noticed this scene nearby also turned their gazes to Xu Mo, their eyes filled with shock.
"It's him!" Xiao Li pointed at Xu Mo.
The commander turned around in astonishment and saw Xu Mo holding an AK47, with a look of extreme surprise on his face as he saw the still-hot bullet casings that had just fallen at his feet.
But his surprise was quickly replaced by decisiveness. He gave Xu Mo a deep look, as if he were reassessing this survivor who had been assigned to do odd jobs.
"Good marksmanship, brother!" The commander's voice boomed, carrying the straightforwardness characteristic of a soldier. "I'm Zhao Ming, commander of position C-07. The situation is urgent, and I'm officially recruiting you into combat duty to assist in defense, with a focus on eliminating those high-speed mutants. Any questions?"
Xu Mo hesitated slightly before speaking, "Squad Leader Zhao, my mission is ammunition resupply, this—"
"You don't need to worry about supplies!" Zhao Ming interrupted him directly, his style decisive and efficient, without any hesitation. He immediately picked up the walkie-talkie, "Command, command, this is C-07. I need to replenish two ammunition handlers, immediately. Also, I need to temporarily recruit a survivor with accurate shooting skills to join the combat sequence. The number will be reported later."
The other end quickly replied: "Received. Personnel will be replenished immediately. Recruitment is approved. Record it according to procedure."
After the call ended, Zhao Ming looked at Xu Mo: "Brother, your post is here now." He pointed to a relatively safe shooting position with a good view next to the marksman.
Xu Mo knew that there was no point in refusing at this point, and the threat of zombies was imminent. He nodded, said no more, quickly moved to the designated position, used the sandbags for cover, and aimed his gun again.
Feng Dayong, who was standing nearby, had been staring in disbelief. It wasn't until Xu Mo moved that he snapped out of his daze, took a few steps closer, lowered his voice, and said with a mixture of amazement and flattery, "My goodness, Brother Xu, no, Brother Xu! Your marksmanship is divine! I've truly seen something amazing. Those two shots were absolutely incredible."
Xu Mo simply tilted his head slightly to signal him to be careful, then turned his gaze back to the battlefield.
With the unexpected arrival of Xu Mo as a strong ally, the agile zombies on the position were killed, and the pressure on everyone was greatly reduced.
Although the AK47 in Xu Mo's hands was not as long or accurate as a professional sniper rifle, within a range of two hundred meters, thanks to the superb body control and keen senses brought by his superhuman abilities, hitting any target was not difficult. He calmly searched for targets, and with each short burst or rapid single shot, a zombie would inevitably fall to the ground.
During a lull in the fighting, Xu Mo even felt a pang of regret. After receiving the mission, he assessed its difficulty and only brought an AK47 and a pistol, leaving the AWM sniper rifle at his residence in the inner city.
"Next time, I must bring the AWM no matter what," he thought to himself. "No, I must bring everything that can be used, including that shotgun that I've hardly ever used. Who knows what unexpected situations might arise?"
During this wave of zombie attacks, three mutated zombies appeared. In addition to the two agile types that Xu Mo took care of, there was another one whose body was eventually shattered by an armor-piercing round from an anti-materiel rifle fired by the sharpshooter who had recovered his senses.
The fighting subsided again after about twenty minutes, and dozens more twisted corpses were added to the ruins in front of the position.
Zhao Ming picked up the walkie-talkie and reported to the command post: "Command post, C-07 position has repelled the enemy attack and eliminated approximately 160 zombies, including three mutants."
The other end quickly replied, the voice steady: "Command received. All positions have reported the appearance of mutants, and the frequency has increased. Command has formulated a targeted plan, which will be implemented shortly."
Sure enough, not long after, the buzzing of drones echoed through the night sky again. But this time, instead of fuel tanks, the drones carried some kind of special dispenser. They flew along specific areas in front of the position, accompanied by a slight mechanical hum, and countless fist-sized, dark-colored cylinders were evenly scattered across key passages between the ruins and potential zombie gathering points.
"Landmines?" Xu Mo wondered, watching the small objects quickly disappear into the rubble and shadows. This was an attempt to use automated weapons to compensate for blind spots in nighttime firepower and slow the zombies' advance.
The command center's response was swift and resourceful. However, Xu Mo's brow remained furrowed as he gazed at the ruins, now silent in the darkness yet seemingly harboring an even greater danger. He recalled the tank he had seen during the day, its cannon barrel twisted into a pretzel shape by some inexplicable force. Anything capable of such destruction was no ordinary being. These agile and powerful zombies were perhaps just appetizers; something far more terrifying and incomprehensible must be lurking beneath these ruins.
Fortunately, as dawn broke in the east, only one more zombie attack occurred in the ruins. These were all slow-moving ordinary zombies, which were easily dealt with like mowing grass in the face of the well-prepared firepower of the fortified positions.
As the first rays of dawn barely pierced through the gloomy clouds and shone upon the ravaged land, the shift changers finally arrived. Xu Mo, Feng Dayong, and the combatants who had held out for a day and a night could finally drag their exhausted bodies away to rest. Even the toughest combatants need to rotate shifts to maintain their fighting capacity.
On the way back to the rear assembly point, Zhao Ming, the commander of C-07, made a point of walking over to Xu Mo, patting him on the shoulder. Although tired, his eyes were full of admiration: "Brother, thanks to you last night. Your marksmanship was superb, and your mental fortitude was outstanding. I've remembered your number, 802561, right? Don't worry, I will report your combat performance last night and your temporary conscription for the defense truthfully. Your mission rewards and contribution points will be increased according to the standards for combat personnel, no less. Moreover, you will be added to the C-07 combat sequence from now on, and you won't need to transport ammunition anymore."
"Thank you, Squad Leader Zhao." Xu Mo nodded without saying anything more.
After parting ways with Zhao Ming and the others, Feng Dayong immediately approached again, his excitement and admiration evident on his face: "Brother Xu, I'm truly impressed this time. Your skills and marksmanship are absolutely top-notch," he said, giving a thumbs up. "Hehe, from now on, when I, Old Feng, go out and brag to people, I'll just say that I fought alongside you, Brother Xu, and even received your guidance. That'll make me look incredibly impressive."
Xu Mo was amused by him and shook his head helplessly: "Brother Feng, please don't flatter me to death. In this post-apocalyptic world, everyone has their own way of surviving."
"You can't say that!" Feng Dayong said with a serious face. "If you're capable, you're capable! I, Old Feng, am very good at judging people. You're definitely going to be someone extraordinary in the future."
The two chatted as they went to the logistics point to collect a fairly warm breakfast—a few multigrain steamed buns and a bowl of vegetable soup with a few specks of oil floating on top. After quickly finishing their meal, they returned to the noisy rest area of the factory.
Finding an empty bed, Xu Mo lay down on the hard cot. Although his body wasn't particularly tired due to cultivation and ample rest, his mind, having experienced a night of intense tension and battle, needed to relax.
Outside the factory, sporadic gunfire could still be faintly heard from distant positions, but it was much less frequent than at night. Sunlight streamed through the broken windows, casting dappled patterns of light on the dusty ground.
Xu Mo closed his eyes, but didn't fall asleep immediately. Fragments of last night's battle replayed in his mind, especially that eerie ruin that seemed capable of swallowing everything. The command center's increased attention, the rise of mutants, and the unknown terrifying presence—all of this indicated that the troubles in the Red Star Industrial Zone had likely only just begun.
Amidst his chaotic thoughts, Xu Mo slowly circulated his internal energy, allowing it to flow freely within his body—a form of rest and cultivation.