Chapter 62: The Zombie Horde Strikes

Under the shroud of a heavy night, the horde of corpses surged toward the base like an overwhelming black torrent. Those roaring, clawing zombies seemed driven by some unseen force as they crashed against the first line of defense.

The perimeter iron wall of the base suffered a violent impact. The entire structure shook furiously, and the frequency of the tremor spread to the ground, transmitting a sharp, metallic screeching sound into everyone's ears. The sound was like a razor blade scraping across glass, making one's scalp tingle. The waves of impacts came one after another, and the groaning of the twisting iron wall sounded like weeping, laden with a silent anguish. It seemed as though with just a fraction more force, it would no longer be able to hold up and would collapse with a thunderous roar.

Amidst the violent shaking of the iron wall, the arms of several zombies were severed squarely by sharp blades. The unbalanced, detached limbs plummeted to the ground with a wet smack, splashing dark red blood like thin mud. A foul stench instantly filled the air, rushing into nasal passages like a rotting wind and causing one to feel nauseous and sick to the stomach.

"Good thing this iron wall is thick enough!" Zhang Qiang stood on the rooftop, his knees trembling slightly from tension, cold sweat tracing down his temples and sliding into his collar like fine threads. His gaze remained locked on the darkness beyond the iron wall, and the sniper rifle in his trembling hands gradually steadied. He took a deep breath, regulating his respiration so as not to lose his aim under such immense pressure, and finally precisely locked his crosshairs onto the center of the head of a frantically climbing Tier 1 enhanced zombie.

"Bang!" With a gunshot and a sudden flash of fire, he felt his shoulder jerk slightly. That high-speed rotating bullet tore through the air, piercing the zombie's pale skull with lightning speed.

The zombie's movements instantly froze, as if some eerie pause button had been pressed. It stopped for merely a second, yet it seemed to leave an undeniable trace of stillness in the air before it went limp, losing all support and tumbling powerlessly down from the iron wall. It crashed heavily into the pile of corpses below with a sticky thud, splashing dark red fluids in all directions.

"Hey, nice aim! Too bad these beasts are as numerous as rats; firing a shot doesn't reduce their numbers by even a few hundred."

Shi Chao stood to the side, pressing his palm against the cold, rough edge of the wall to steady himself slightly, his eyes revealing a trace of banter. He braced himself against the wall with one hand, his gaze sweeping over the surging, twisting tide of corpses, looking down at the dense, writhing masses below as if staring at a boiling pot of black sludge.

Although he joked lightly, the smile on his face was somewhat stiff. His narrowed eyes scanned the surroundings, ready to respond to any sudden emergencies at a moment's notice.

On the other side in the residential area, Zhou Yun curled up in a corner, staring intently at the thick iron door as if only this could shut out those damned roars from outside.

Several women huddled together indoors. Liu Mei hugged her knees tightly, whispering under her breath, "We'll be fine, we'll be fine..." as if this could psych herself up.

Compared to them, Jiang Qiyue on the rooftop appeared much more leisurely.

She sat at a temporary table in the corner, her gaze sweeping calmly over the chaotic scene around her. In one hand, she held a steaming bowl of instant vermicelli, while the other gripped disposable chopsticks, skillfully rolling a translucent strand of noodles into her mouth, completely ignoring the impacts echoing from the iron wall.

Seemingly indifferent, she swept the corner of her eye across the battlefield. In reality, however, she captured every tiny dynamic—the climbing and biting black shadows, as well as the flashing muzzle-flash moments after the sniper pulled the trigger—all clearly reflected in her vision, making it hard to tell whether she was merely a casual bystander or in precise control.

The scalding sour-and-spicy aroma rose with white smoke in the cold night. The steaming bowl of instant noodles in front of her formed a stark visual contrast with the tense survival atmosphere shared by everyone else on the rooftop.

"I've seen people defending against a corpse tide, but never someone slurping noodles while defending against one..." Shi Chao couldn't help turning his head to look at Jiang Qiyue. "Sis, are you thick-skinned or just putting on an act? Why don't you hand a bowl of soup to those zombie brothers down there?" His tone carried a mix of helplessness and amused teasing.

"Shi Chao," Jiang Qiyue tapped him with her chopsticks, lifting her eyelids halfway. "If you want to survive and go back, don't mess around when it's time to snipe."

Shi Chao curled his lip, just about to retort, when suddenly, Zhang Qiang's low roar came through his earpiece: "Everyone be careful! A Tier 2 zombie has appeared in the horde!"

The surrounding air instantly froze. Jiang Qiyue's noodle-slurping movement paused, her gaze instantly turning sharp, and even Lu Yao beside the surveillance monitors slowly stood up.

Down in the corpse swarm below, a Tier 2 zombie—lean and tall, its muscle lines taut as if ready to burst at any moment—suddenly leaped up. The force of its legs generated a harsh, low hum in the surrounding air, and its entire figure shot forward like a tightened crossbow, primed and ready. Violently breaking through the conventional height limit, it easily cleared the first wall, moving as fast as lightning and plunging straight into the area behind the wall, leaving behind an almost uncapturable trajectory that tore through the air.

"Damn it!" Zhang Qiang held his breath as he watched the scene before him, the curse escaping from between his teeth in a split second. He shook his gripped sniper rifle, as if unable to believe his eyes. "This bastard can fly?!" His voice was somewhat hoarse, yet exceptionally piercing, snapping the other team members who were watching in breathless observation back to reality. He furrowed his brow, his gaze locked tightly onto the black shadow that had already leaped inside the wall, his mouth twitching slightly, clearly not yet recovered from the shock.

"Everyone don't panic." Jiang Qiyue slowly set down the scalding bowl of instant noodles, white steam curling around her fingertips. She stood up, leaning casually against the edge of the wooden table as she adjusted her earpiece. Her gaze swept across the battlefield below like a blade. "Second defense line, activate—" Her tone was utterly calm, yet carried the weight of a hammer. "Remember, don't rush blindly, and don't waste bullets. Zombies stepping on the spiked traps is more cost-effective than bullets."

She lowered her head to straighten the protective gear on her cuffs, as if preparing for the next phase of action, then paused slightly, raised her eyes, and added coldly, "Whoever misses their target needn't bother coming back for supplies." As her voice trailed off, the air seemed filled with an invisible pressure, and the previously chaotic murmurs beside her instantly vanished into a pin-drop silence.

Amidst the intertwining shadows, that Tier 2 zombie completely disregarded the blood streaming profusely from the spike-traps piercing the soles of its feet, charging forward like a maddened beast! Zhou Yun finally bit the bullet, cautiously pushing open the room door and peeking outside—just in time to see that zombie thrashing about while being pierced all the way through, yet still struggling tenaciously.

"Electrify!" Jiang Qiyue's voice was as crisp and sharp as a knife, piercing straight into people's hearts.

Current surged into the ground, instantly spreading through every single spike trap. The pierced zombie immediately convulsed like a suspended puppet, emitting a scalp-tingling, crackling buzz. The air was faintly tainted with the nauseating stench of burning flesh.

Zhou Yun's eyes widened as she stood rigidly in the doorway, witnessing the zombie's grayish skin smoking from the electricity, her heart pounding to the point of suffocation.

"So... the boss had this trick ready all along..." she murmured, her fingertips trembling slightly as they brushed against the doorframe, as if needing that tiny contact to steady her churning emotions. However, before she could truly calm down, she distinctly felt a cool yet faintly oppressive gaze fall upon her from behind, seeping into her spine like a desert night breeze and causing her to freeze abruptly.

"Keep watching like that, and your blood pressure will skyrocket," Lu Yao appeared silently at her side, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Yet that smile carried a trace of shadow that he hadn't quite managed to tuck away.

He lowered his head slightly, looking at her still-trembling hands. "But it doesn't matter. Once you get used to it, you won't be scared anymore."