Chapter 28: Fierce Battle!

After issuing his orders, Fang Tianhe left the group immediately with Shen Han, heading directly toward the direction where the mutated zombie had appeared.

The three squad leaders—Roger, Wu Yan, and Xu Haishui—quickly organized the remaining members to establish a defensive formation. Since everyone present was a veteran mercenary, the "arrangements" were completed in a single sentence. The mercenaries promptly selected favorable terrain and formed a defensive perimeter anchored by two multi-purpose off-road vehicles. The entire process took less than a minute.

"Captain Roger, didn't the Commander and Vice-Commander go to deal with the mutated zombie? Why do we still need to set up a defensive formation?" Lin Xinghai asked, finally finding an opportunity to speak once everyone had settled into position.

"Because mutated zombies never appear alone. They are like kings among the undead; whenever they appear, a massive horde of zombies follows," Roger explained. "What we are about to deal with is the swarm trailing behind it."

At that moment, the zombie detector began to wail again. Lin Xinghai glanced at the screen and felt his scalp tingle. The display was covered in a dense cluster of red dots, numbering over 300. Among them were more than a dozen purple dots representing high-level zombies, all following behind a single black dot as they charged toward their position.

As he watched the dots on the screen drawing closer, sweat began to bead on Lin Xinghai’s palms. This was undoubtedly a major crisis, and he even began to consider whether he should raise his proficiency in "Basic Marksmanship" to 100%.

Just as Lin Xinghai hesitated, Roger’s voice sounded again: "There is a hidden compartment under the armrest to your right. It contains special ammunition. If you need it, load it yourself."

Lin Xinghai felt a surge of joy. He quickly opened the compartment and saw two rows of specialized bullets. He was no stranger to the first row, which consisted of solid black rounds; this was what Roger had used to kill high-level zombies previously. A label above them read: "Armor-Piercing Rounds." The other row consisted of bright red rounds labeled: "Incendiary Rounds." Lin Xinghai counted them; there were 30 of each. While not a large quantity, it was sufficient, as they would only be needed for specific targets.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

As Lin Xinghai debated whether to load armor-piercing rounds into his magazine, a chorus of intense roars erupted from the distance. Soon, the horde appeared in their field of vision. Leading them was a four-meter-tall giant zombie covered in a black cuticle that reflected the sunlight like burnished metal. It looked like a giant clad in armor.

"Thank goodness, it’s an Iron-Clad Zombie," Roger sighed in relief.

"Is this type of mutated zombie easy to deal with?" Lin Xinghai asked humbly.

"An Iron-Clad Zombie is just as its name suggests. The cuticle on its body acts like plate armor, granting it extremely high defense," Roger explained. "If an average mercenary group encountered one, it would be a massive headache. However, our Commander's ability happens to counter this type of defensive zombie, so encountering an Iron-Clad Zombie is, in a way, the best-case scenario. Instead of worrying about the Commander and the others, we should focus on how to hold out until they return to rescue us."

Lin Xinghai nodded. After a brief calculation, he turned to Qin Yang, who was driving. "Brother Yang, do you have any extra magazines? Could you spare one?"

Extra gear was stored in the off-road vehicles and managed by the drivers. "Sure," Qin Yang said, pulling an empty magazine from a storage compartment and handing it to Lin Xinghai. "Anything else you need? Don't be shy, just ask."

Although Qin Yang had been selected for this elite team, his combat strength was nearly the lowest, which was why he was assigned to drive. While Lin Xinghai’s own strength wasn't exceptional, the marksmanship he had displayed had won over everyone, including Qin Yang. It was no surprise that he would adopt such an accommodating attitude toward a "capable" comrade.

"That's all for now," Lin Xinghai said, busily loading the armor-piercing rounds into the spare magazine. Having a pre-loaded magazine was much faster than fumbling with individual bullets during a fight.

He had only loaded ten rounds when the horde closed in to within a hundred meters.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The mercenaries equipped with hand cannons opened fire first, unleashing a barrage of long-range bombardment regardless of the cost. Additionally, two electromagnetic railguns began to fire, sweeping through the distant zombies. However, in the city center, there were too many collapsed buildings, which served as natural cover for the zombies, making it difficult for the railguns to display their full lethality.

When the horde reached the 50-meter mark, the mercenaries using Ripper rifles began to aim and fire. Lin Xinghai noticed something curious: Roger was not among them; he seemed to be observing the situation. It wasn't until the zombies closed to within 30 meters that he raised his rifle and fired five shots in quick succession.

The five shots were aimed at the densest parts of the horde. They didn't hit any zombies directly, instead striking the ground. But in the next heartbeat, a ball of fire erupted from the impact points, sweeping outward to form a fireball ten meters in diameter.

Clearly, Roger had fired five incendiary rounds. The zombies caught in the blast immediately scrambled to flee. The five fireballs merged, creating a terrifying wall of flames that caused the zombies in the rear to hesitate. While these five rounds didn't kill many zombies, they shattered the horde's collective charge, sparing their defensive formation from the most devastating first wave of impact. This contribution was far greater than simply killing a few individual enemies.

Of course, fire could only hold them back for so long, and the sheer number of zombies was overwhelming. Their fire net, formed by a dozen people, couldn't suppress the tide, and soon the zombies reached their front lines.

At this point, the sturdiest of them all, Second Squad Leader Wu Yan, stepped forward and shouted, "Physical-type Gene Optimizers, with me!" He grabbed a two-meter-tall heavy shield and met the charging horde head-on. The other physical-type mercenaries followed, grabbing their weapons and rushing to the front. They were the only line of defense for the entire group; if they were overrun, the consequences would be unimaginable.

But sometimes, events do not follow human will. The number of zombies was simply too high. Even with the advantage of the terrain and the shelter of a building, each physical-type mercenary was besieged by at least four or five zombies. The defensive line became precarious in an instant.

Seeing this, Third Squad Leader Xu Haishui gathered the strength-type Gene Optimizers who weren't proficient with firearms and led them to reinforce the front line with melee weapons. Even so, the situation remained grim.

"Focus on killing the high-level zombies! They are the biggest threat," Roger said, pinpointing the crux of the issue.