Chapter 23: Mecha Porter

Seeing Roger and Xu Hao seemingly preparing to team up against the high-level zombie, Lin Xinghai felt a surge of excitement and began to observe them closely.

Such high-level zombies put immense pressure on him, and seeing how others handled them would provide a valuable reference for when he eventually faced one himself.

After loading a special round, Roger pulled a high-magnification scope from his combat suit's pocket and attached it to his Ripper rifle. Only after finishing these preparations did he raise his rifle to aim; compared to his previous relaxed demeanor, Roger was now completely focused.

"Are they about to show their true strength?" Lin Xinghai waited in anticipation.

On the other side, Xu Hao, though not loading special ammunition, also retrieved a high-magnification scope and attached it to his Ripper rifle.

Then, he took aim.

Compared to his usual shots, this aiming process was quite long, lasting a full five seconds. Of course, this was to wait for the high-level zombie to get closer. Only when the target was within 30 meters of the convoy did Xu Hao pull the trigger.

Bang!

A crisp gunshot rang out. Lin Xinghai could clearly see the high-level zombie, which had been charging at high speed, instinctively dodge at that exact moment. He knew very well that if he had taken that shot himself, the target would certainly have evaded it. However, Xu Hao’s marksmanship proficiency had clearly reached 60%; his prediction was perfect, and the bullet struck the zombie square in the chest.

Even with standard ammunition, the Ripper rifle possessed terrifying destructive power. A normal zombie hit by such a bullet would be pierced through completely. Even a mid-level zombie would stumble back a few steps if hit in the chest.

Yet, this high-level zombie merely paused for an imperceptible moment. There wasn't even much blood; the bullet had likely been lodged in the breastbone, failing to damage any vital organs. To a zombie, such an injury was no different from a mere scratch. After that slight hesitation, the high-level zombie adjusted its posture and prepared to charge again.

However, that momentary pause was, in the end, a fatal flaw. In Roger’s eyes, such a flaw was deadly.

Bang!

The gunshot rang out. The special round flew from the barrel, giving the high-level zombie no time to dodge, striking it in the forehead and exiting through the back of its skull.

Thud!

The menacing high-level zombie fell dead, not even causing a ripple. Everything seemed so easy and simple; both Roger and Xu Hao had only fired a single shot each. But Lin Xinghai knew clearly that this was built entirely upon their superb marksmanship. Roger, in particular, had demonstrated an ability to seize that fleeting opportunity, suggesting his marksmanship proficiency had reached at least 70%.

Of course, this also served as proof of how terrifying high-level zombies were. Based on Lin Xinghai’s estimation, if one wanted to rely on individual ability to kill such a creature, their marksmanship proficiency would need to be at least 90%.

"Venturing deeper into the city is getting more and more dangerous! Should I really boost my marksmanship proficiency?" Lin Xinghai fell into deep thought. Even after he promoted to a genetic optimizer, he would certainly be unable to defeat such a high-level zombie in close quarters; he could only win by relying on firearms.

But under the current circumstances, he had no opportunity to collect blood energy. If he spent his points to boost his marksmanship, and then didn't encounter enough zombies on the way back to the shelter, his plan to become a genetic optimizer would be ruined. Although increasing his marksmanship would boost his strength, he couldn't carry firearms inside the shelter. The lack of personal physical improvement left him with a lingering sense of unease, especially considering the potential retaliation from the Axe Gang, which he had to guard against.

"Sigh, I’ll just have to take it one step at a time. I’m relatively safe for now; I’ll deal with danger when it actually arrives." Lin Xinghai shook his head, pushing the thought aside to focus on killing zombies.

The arrival of the high-level zombie seemed like nothing more than a minor interlude to the rest of the group. The veteran mercenaries didn't even glance at the fallen creature, clearly having experienced such encounters many times before and possessing total confidence in the duo of Roger and Xu Hao.

And indeed, as the convoy pushed deeper, mid-level zombies became more frequent, and high-level zombies appeared from time to time. They didn't always attack from the rear; sometimes they came from the front or the sides. But regardless of the direction, the tactic was always the same: someone would strike first to force a pause and expose a weakness, followed by a more skilled marksman using a special round to deliver a fatal headshot.

Time flew by. Twenty minutes passed, and the convoy had advanced seven kilometers. During this process, Lin Xinghai realized that the route was carefully planned in advance. In fact, without such planning, progress would be impossible. The city was filled with collapsed buildings, and the original roads were either buried or broken. To penetrate deep into the city, one had to clear a path. The Split-Heaven Mercenary Group had clearly done this work on a previous visit to Tianshan City, which was why their advance was so smooth.

However, accidents were inevitable. They were currently traveling along a dilapidated road filled with potholes and obstructed by abandoned cars and rocks. While these didn't hinder the convoy, a ten-story building that had collapsed and now blocked the road completely brought them to a halt. This collapse was clearly recent, leaving no time for it to be cleared beforehand.

Lin Xinghai was curious about how they would handle such an emergency. He soon got his answer as the two mechs, "Split-Heaven" and "Frost-Heaven," which had been on standby, finally moved.

Propelled by pneumatic devices, the two mechs leapt from their armored transport and headed straight for the collapsed building. Naturally, they were swarmed by zombies along the way, but these zombies were like nothing against the special-alloy-clad mechs. The five-meter-tall machines treated the zombies like soccer balls, sending them flying with a single kick.

Reaching the wreckage, Fang Tian, piloting "Split-Heaven," drew the massive oscillating blade from the mech's back.

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!

The mech displayed agility that defied its size. As the mechanical arms swung rapidly, over a dozen massive blade beams appeared, slicing the obstructing building into sections in the blink of an eye. Then, the two mechs transformed into... manual laborers, lifting the sliced sections of the building and tossing them aside.