Chapter Forty: Air-Raid Warning

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...

The basement was dimly lit. The table was piled high with various premium cans that had already been emptied, along with several red-wine bottles drained to the last drop.

Tang Hai sat in a tactical reclining chair, his expression grave.

“Yuming, I can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong with those two young people who possess supernatural abilities.”

Feng Yuming crossed his legs and casually ate fruit from a can.

“The woman is a little troublesome, but I’ve observed her carefully. She’s actually very weak and is only forcing herself to hold on. She shouldn’t pose much of a threat. Now that she’s gone into the shelter, she can’t escape.”

“Is Big Yellow’s side ready?”

“Don’t worry, Uncle.” Feng Yuming grinned. “With the equipment from these convoys, we’ll be able to leave this godforsaken place soon.”

Tang Hai’s expression darkened slightly.

“That Black Flood convoy isn’t so simple either. We’ll have to be patient tonight.”

Feng Yuming nodded.

“Uncle, I’ll see if we can keep a few of the women behind. We’ll have something to enjoy on the road. The brothers have been holding it in for far too long...”

Tang Hai gave a cold laugh.

“The prettiest one is also the most dangerous. Do you dare keep her?”

“Tsk!” Feng Yuming said disdainfully. “People with supernatural abilities aren’t immortals. No matter how powerful she is, there are only two of them. I’ll have plenty of ways to deal with her when the time comes.”

“Right.” Tang Hai’s tone hardened. “There may be other ability users among them, so we need to be more careful. Take that big fellow, for instance. He doesn’t look easy to deal with either.”

“I know. He’s probably a strength-type ability user, but even he won’t remain whole after a sweep from a machine gun.” Feng Yuming sneered, apparently not taking the matter seriously.

The uncle and nephew discussed their plans at length, clearly convinced that everyone’s fate had already been decided and merely waiting to harvest the spoils.

At that moment, although dozens of vehicles and hundreds of survivors in the outpost courtyard were on high alert, none of them knew that a man-made disaster was quietly taking shape.

...

Inside the armory, Lin Xian told KIKI about what he had discovered.

“What do you mean, another backup energy system?” KIKI rubbed her sleepy eyes.

Lin Xian said solemnly, “That power system is independent. It supplies the base’s defensive systems and... the overhead lines of a short-distance branch railway.”

KIKI frowned.

“A branch railway? You mean Tang Hai’s group intends to escape by train?”

“That’s possible. Judging from the power-supply method and the load voltage, the distance should be limited. They can’t go very far.”

“So they don’t need to go very far.” KIKI understood at once, her eyes widening. “They only need to get beyond the fog, or... North Bay Station?!”

“Then if they have this, why are they still...”

As she spoke, KIKI suddenly froze. Gritting her teeth, she said, “Oh God, what a bastard. We have to leave now!”

She immediately prepared to get up, but Lin Xian grabbed her arm. His expression was grave.

“Leave? Where would we go? If we leave now, the other convoys will certainly panic as well, and things will become even more troublesome.”

“But if we stay here, aren’t we waiting to die?” KIKI asked in alarm.

Lin Xian stared intently at her.

“Do you remember something you said earlier? You were actually right.”

“What?”

“If we escape now, even if we make it outside the fog, it will still be night.”

KIKI looked at him in sudden unease.

“Oh... You mean they may act before dawn?”

“They’ll act even earlier than that, so we still have time.”

“Time for what?”

Lin Xian dragged over a filthy sleeping bag.

“To sleep.”

“Have you gone mad?!”

KIKI stared at him in utter bewilderment. She reached out and touched his forehead, then frowned.

“Did the stench in here knock you senseless? At a time like this, how can you possibly think about sleeping?”

“We have to sleep.”

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Lin Xian looked at her seriously.

“You need to rest first. Once you’ve recovered your strength, you’ll be able to help later and cooperate with my plan.”

With that, he pulled KIKI over and told her his audacious idea.

Lin Xian was certain Tang Hai would not act too early. First, as KIKI had said, he would wait until the night was well advanced. Second, he wanted everyone else to become exhausted and let down their guard. Regardless, Lin Xian had to prepare for both possibilities.

Only after KIKI had recovered some of her strength would they have a better chance of breaking out.

When KIKI heard Lin Xian’s plan, her expression changed slightly.

“What about Shasha and the others? Should we...?”

Lin Xian shook his head.

“We can’t worry about them right now. Even if we tell them, they won’t be able to help, and we might alert the enemy.”

“Don’t say anything else. Go to sleep!”

KIKI frowned, then followed Lin Xian’s instructions. Enduring the stench in the room, she leaned back against the sleeping mat and began to rest.

Lin Xian said nothing more. He placed a hand on the generator and began activating Mechanical Devouring.

[Devouring progress: 1%]

Lin Xian watched the slow progress displayed on the holographic screen as fine beads of sweat began to form on his forehead.

He had roughly guessed Tang Hai’s true intentions, and his heart filled with shock and dread. Compared to this, the small amount of vigilance he had shown at the beginning had been hopelessly naïve.

This was the first time Lin Xian had attempted to devour such a massive generator assembly. Including the energy-storage equipment, the 1,900-kilowatt diesel generator could almost serve as a backup power source for an entire residential district. The difficulty of devouring it was unimaginable.

Moreover, his stamina had already been greatly depleted. He did not know whether he could endure until the moment he finished devouring the enormous machine.

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. Fortunately, Mechanical Devouring had already reached Level Two, and its efficiency had improved considerably.

Time passed second by second. Before long, it was five in the morning.

After several consecutive days of extreme tension, many of the elderly, women, and children among the survivors had fallen asleep. Even the men standing watch were beginning to lose focus. Some had started washing their faces with cold water, while those who had access to it drank coffee to fight off the overwhelming drowsiness.

Beneath the night sky, fog shrouded the high walls of the outpost. The surroundings were utterly still, save for the faint rustling of insects.

Whenever a child began to cry, the mother quickly covered the little one’s mouth, terrified that the sound might attract trouble in the darkness.

Everyone acted with remarkable understanding. They waited in silence for dawn.

Woooooooo—

But at that moment, a piercing air-raid siren suddenly erupted. Its howl grew louder and more frantic, instantly drawing a cold sweat from everyone.

“What’s that sound?!”

“An air-raid siren? Damn it!”

“What’s going on?!”

“Who did this...?”

At the Black Flood convoy, Qian Yu, who had been resting, suddenly jolted awake. His eyes widened, and he cursed furiously.

“Damn those filthy bastards!”

He immediately grabbed the radio.

“Everyone, stay alert!”

“Where’s that old beast?”

“None of us has seen him since last night.”

On another vehicle, Old Eagle climbed onto the roof with a gun in hand and constantly scanned the area for Tang Hai’s men. Yet not a single one of them could be seen.

The air-raid siren soon drew countless zombies toward them. Their howls rose from every direction, chilling the blood.

“We’ve been tricked!” Qian Yu roared. “No wonder that bastard deliberately invited everyone into the air-raid shelter. He was luring us in so he could strike!”

“Should we hide in the shelter?”

“Hide my ass! It’s definitely locked already!”

He had been on guard against whatever scheme Tang Hai might attempt, but he had never imagined that the man would go so far as to unleash disaster inside his own refuge.

Was this even something a human being could do?

Many of the convoys soon realized what was happening. An uproar swept through the entire courtyard, accompanied by a storm of curses directed at Tang Hai. Engines roared to life everywhere.

Some of the smaller convoys abandoned their vehicles and ran toward the air-raid shelter.

But when the people from the Black Flood convoy opened the outpost gates, they discovered that the area outside had somehow been filled with chevaux-de-frise and marble barricades.

Qian Yu took one look and cursed furiously.

“Clearance team, move! Get those obstacles out of the way!”

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Vroom!

The modified heavy truck slowly lowered the steel blade mounted at its front. Then, with a thunderous burst of acceleration, it charged toward the gate.

Crash! Crash! Crash!

A series of explosive impacts rang out as the truck instantly smashed open a passage.

“Brother, are we leaving too?”

On another pickup truck, Lou Shasha, awakened by the commotion, stared anxiously at the chaos among the convoys.

“They...” Lou Ye looked toward the air-raid shelter, his expression hesitant.

“Should I go call them?” Lou Shasha shouted.

“Not yet!” Lou Ye held her back and looked out through the window. “They... possess supernatural abilities.”

Lou Shasha nodded, panic in her voice.

“Then we’ll wait for them.”

At that moment, more than a dozen survivors who had been preparing to rush into the air-raid shelter reached the iron gate. Suddenly, a flash of fire erupted, followed by a deafening explosion!

Boom!

The fireball illuminated the entire outpost courtyard and instantly swallowed the survivors.

“Oh no!”

“What about Sister KIKI and the others?!”

A terrible tide of corpses soon came surging in, their shrieks filling the air. Gunfire erupted from every direction. Lou Shasha’s small face turned deathly pale with anxiety. She waited for a long while, but Lin Xian and KIKI still did not appear.

At that moment, Lou Ye made his decision. He slammed his foot down on the accelerator.

“Brother!”

“We’re leaving first!”

If they hesitated any longer, neither of them would be able to escape. With that, the pickup roared forward and burst out of the outpost.

Countless zombies, grotesque corpse-monsters, corpse hounds, and black centipedes poured through the fog and flooded into the outpost like a tidal wave.

A van whose engine had failed to start was instantly swallowed by the horde. Another off-road vehicle crashed into a concrete barrier amid the chaos. With no other choice, the people inside grabbed their guns, abandoned the vehicle, and ran toward the air-raid shelter while firing back.

But before they had taken more than a few steps, corpse hounds sprang from the darkness and knocked them to the ground.

“Ah!”

“Help me...!”

“Wife, run! I’ll fight these beasts to the death!”

The air-raid shelter had been completely breached. Countless zombies surged inside, and a chorus of agonized screams immediately rose from within.

The terrible cries echoed through the valley. Under the night sky, a string of headlights moved through the fog as every convoy fled wildly behind the Black Flood convoy.

Monsters and zombies pounced from every direction. Whenever a vehicle lost control, it triggered a chain of collisions before being swallowed by the tide of corpses.

Qian Yu’s armored vehicle followed behind the lead truck, his eyes bloodshot.

“Vehicle Four! Vehicle Four! Respond!”

“Damn it!”

“Wu Songlin, have you found a route out?!”

“We can only leave through the city! We’ll have to turn back and take the small road!” one of his men shouted through the radio.

“Damn!”

“Boss, something doesn’t feel right.” At that moment, the man suddenly spoke again.