Inside the command center of F University Fortress.
A massive holographic tactical map occupied the center of the room, where red markers for the Infected and blue markers for the troops were clashing violently.
Lin Xuan sat upright in the Commander's seat, his gaze piercing. Surrounding him, dozens of Black Watch Commanders in black uniforms and several solemn Marine Corps officers sat together, each with a tablet displaying real-time combat status.
On the screens, the battle inside the airport had reached a fever pitch. A hail of bullets wove a web of death, and the flashes of artillery fire were like frantic strobe lights, illuminating the dim battlefield as bright as day.
"Sir, I propose using rocket barrages to cover the areas with the densest concentration of zombies in the airport." A Marine Corps major stood up, pointing at the dark tide of corpses in front of Terminal T3 on the screen. "This will quickly reduce enemy numbers and prevent our troops from getting bogged down in a war of attrition."
"Idiot!"
Before Lin Xuan could speak, a Black Watch Commander sitting opposite him retorted bluntly. His hawk-like eyes stared intently at the major. "Use your pig brain for a moment. Why are we attacking the airport? Is it to turn it into ruins? We need the runways and the control tower intact! If we blow it all to hell, what's the strategic point? Going back to plant potatoes?"
The Marine Corps officer turned red from the rebuff and was about to argue back when Lin Xuan raised a hand to stop him.
"All of you, shut up." Lin Xuan's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable authority.
He stood up, his finger tracing an arc across the tactical map. "The commotion inside the airport has already caused a chain reaction. According to drone thermal imaging, the Infected that were originally on standby at the airport's perimeter are closing in, attempting to encircle our paratroopers. Since they want to play at surrounding us, we'll give them a bit of 'filling'."
Lin Xuan turned to the artillery Commander: "Order the rocket artillery battalion to adjust their firing parameters. Target: the ring road and surrounding building complexes two kilometers outside the airport. Fire all rounds. I want to create a wall of fire there to cut off their reinforcement routes."
"Yes! Sir!"
The moment the order was given, a drone above the battlefield immediately adjusted its posture. The laser designator beneath its belly emitted an invisible guiding beam, locking onto the writhing sea of corpses at the airport's perimeter.
"Beep beep beep! Warning! Warning! Firepower coverage strike alert!"
The loudspeaker on the drone emitted a harsh, synthesized electronic voice, sounding like a sentence from the God of Death.
A moment later, a thunderous whistling sound came from the horizon.
"Swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh—!!!"
Hundreds of rockets trailed long plumes of flame, descending from the sky like divine punishment.
"Boom boom boom boom boom—!!!"
The earth trembled. The continuous explosions instantly drowned out all roars. Flames soared into the sky, turning the entire ring road into a purgatory. Countless zombies were reduced to ash in the high temperatures and shockwaves, and the originally surging tide of corpses was instantly severed by this wall of death.
Watching the spectacular explosion on the screen, Lin Xuan nodded with satisfaction, then turned around to look at his adjutant, Ling Jianqing, who had been standing behind him.
"How is the blood toxin factory?"
Ling Jianqing quickly checked the tactical tablet in her hand and reported: "Sir, the blood toxin has been fully deployed at the Qingyun Town base. According to feedback from the 'Viper' Commander, the results are very significant. That red toxic mist has a powerful repelling and corrosive effect on the Infected; it has already become a forbidden zone for zombies. Any zombie attempting to cross the mist dies within seconds."
She paused and continued: "Commander 'Viper' has arranged for troops to escort the first batch of finished blood toxin to us; the convoy is expected to arrive in half an hour. As for Hope Base, the construction of the blood toxin factory is not yet complete, but new technicians and equipment are on their way."
"Very good."
He turned his gaze back to the large screen, looking at the "Blue Zone" around F University Fortress that had already been cleaned up.
Starting tomorrow, arrange to move the survivors from F University out. Currently, the military deployment and scale of F University are expanding; this is a combat outpost and is no longer suitable for ordinary civilians to stay long-term. Moreover, the area within a few dozen kilometers of the perimeter has been thoroughly cleared by the troops. That area has been designated as a safe Blue Zone, with enough security to guarantee basic survival. Have the Marine Corps distribute supplies to them and let them make their own living in the Blue Zone.
...
Back to F City International Airport.
The battlefield at this moment had completely turned into a slaughterhouse for Black Watch.
The Black Watch Soldiers' marksmanship was so precise it was hair-raising, forcing the horde to pay a heavy price.
"Hahaha! Run! Let them run!"
A Black Watch machine gunner standing at the very front of the defensive line laughed chillingly while pulling the trigger.
In the distance, an agile "Hunter" was attempting to leap. Its form traced an afterimage in the air, its speed incredibly fast.
However, the machine gunner only slightly adjusted his muzzle.
"Rat-tat-tat!"
Three bullets were fired in a precise burst.
The three bullets directly blew off the top of its skull.
The Hunter in mid-air was like a kite with its string cut, twitching helplessly before crashing heavily onto the concrete floor, turning into a pile of mush.
"Next!"
This was Black Watch. They were killing machines for the Infected. Their ultra-high headshot rate and extreme clearing efficiency caused a vacuum zone to appear in front of the defensive line where the tide of corpses had once surged.
Corpses piled up, and black blood gathered into a small pool.
Just then, an unexpected scene occurred.
The horde, which had been attacking frantically and fearlessly, suddenly stopped in unison as if receiving some unified command. Then, they began to retreat, gradually pulling out of Black Watch's line of sight at the airport.
In less than two minutes, the once-boisterous battlefield became deathly silent. Only the corpses covering the ground and the still-burning wreckage remained.
Witnessing all this from the command center, Lin Xuan's eyes instantly darkened.
"Retreating? No, this is a tactical adjustment." Lin Xuan whispered to himself. "The brain of that Infected is even smarter than I imagined. It knows that continuing to charge like this is just suicide, so it chose to preserve its strength and use the terrain to play guerrilla warfare with us."
After a moment of silence, Lin Xuan pressed his communicator: "All units attention, rest in place, establish a picket line, and do not pursue blindly. This might be a trap. Dispatch Super Soldiers to support the airport."
...
Meanwhile, on the highway leading to the airport.
A tide of steel was advancing rapidly with an unstoppable momentum.
That was the armored cluster under Lin Xuan's command—the "Stealth Unit".
The thermobaric tank, "re barium can," acting like a mobile fortress, crushed the abandoned cars on the road with its tracks, making the ear-piercing sound of twisting metal as easily as crushing soda cans.
It was surrounded by 16 Main Battle Tanks and 42 Infantry Fighting Vehicles, forming a grim array.
Any obstacle on the road—be it scrapped buses, overturned containers, or the occasional stray zombie trying to block the way—was as insignificant as a speed bump before this tide of steel.
A machine gunner on lookout atop a Main Battle Tank's turret suddenly felt a strong gust of air overhead.
He looked up to see a black helicopter skimming low over their heads.
By the open door of the helicopter, two "Super Soldiers," whose physiques were a size larger than ordinary soldiers, were gripping the edge of the door with one hand, half their bodies leaning out of the cabin as they looked down, ready to jump and land at any moment.
...