[January 22]
During that brief "halftime break," Xiangzi and the others finally finished repairing the defensive perimeter that blocked off the outside world.
To strengthen the outer defenses, Takashiro Xiangzi even wound bare electrical wire through the barbed fencing.
The wire itself was such a common item that she had absolutely no reason to buy any from the system shop. There was plenty of it inside the large house already.
She slit open the insulation with a knife, exposing the gleaming copper strands inside, then wrapped them around the outer fortifications.
Yes. Mission accomplished. Now all it needed was power.
The electricity produced by the solar panels they had set up earlier was nowhere near enough to support something this power-hungry, so she had even resorted to feeding precious fuel into the gasoline generator.
With a heavy rumbling noise, a strong current was routed into the fence. All Xiangzi had to do was flip the switch, and the power would surge through the defensive line at once.
If those wolves came charging in and stupidly touched the electrified fence, the current would turn them straight into roasted wolf jerky.
They would solve the immediate problem without breaking a sweat.
A complete victory.
"Could Xiangzi actually be a genius?"
Walking behind her, Miranda could not help thinking exactly that.
Back in Nihonmatsu, Xiangzi had already built a safehouse system with an impressively solid defensive layout.
At this point, in everyone else's eyes, Xiangzi was basically a master of fortifications.
But to Xiangzi herself, it was nothing worth mentioning. Child's play.
The real reason was that she had run out of land mines.
She had burned through her entire stock before leaving Nihonmatsu.
And now, suddenly pulling a few more military mines out of thin air would be far too suspicious. If a handful of military-grade mines mysteriously appeared out of nowhere, even the slowest person in the group would realize something was off.
Looks like next time, I'll have to "borrow" a few things from the Self-Defense Force boys.
After all, continuing to use Russian weapons in Japan was getting a bit too strange. Right now, with so few people in the group, she could still bluff her way through with excuses.
But what if more people joined later? Sooner or later, she was bound to slip up.
So Xiangzi was already considering switching over to Japanese or American gear in the future.
But what exactly was she supposed to say about this single-soldier combat armor, a prototype even the Russian military itself had never fielded?
What a pain.
Forget it. I'll deal with that later. As long as I stay away from the authorities, I can do whatever I want.
There was another downside to mines, too.
The blast.
The sound of a mine exploding carried much farther than gunfire. Under normal circumstances, a rifle shot without a suppressor might travel roughly a kilometer. A mine blast was much louder.
Taking that into account, Xiangzi had chosen the electric fence as a way to reinforce their defenses instead.
And that was not all.
She had also prepared one of her specialties:
Molotov cocktails.
Alcohol was anything but scarce at this ski resort. There was an entire wine storage room in the safehouse, stacked full of bottles: Japanese sake, red wine, white liquor, cocktails, all kinds of alcohol.
So she was not lacking materials for firebombs.
Though in weather like this, with wind and snow, the flames would probably not spread as effectively.
As for accidentally setting the forest on fire—
Absolutely not. Safety first.
Out on the open ground in front of the house, Xiangzi and the others had quickly piled up a bank of snow. This wall of ice and snow would prevent flames from spreading back toward their home.
As for the forest farther out, there was no need to worry. Even if some burning creature staggered under the trees, the odds of it actually setting the woods ablaze in this weather were practically zero.
By the time the storm truly descended, Xiangzi had done everything she could to prepare.
To guard against the worst-case scenario, she had even stripped the rain tarp off the armored vehicle. The engine could be started at any time.
But she had no desire to see things come to that.
No one wanted to watch their home be breached.
Until the last possible moment, Xiangzi had no intention of abandoning this base.
Moving three times in a single week would be a devastating blow to morale. And every relocation meant unavoidable losses in supplies.
Besides, would heading downhill really be any safer?
This place was far from any major city, and there were very few infected humans nearby—but that did not mean monsters like the obese special infected they had encountered earlier could not exist out here too. If they ran into several special infected on the road, how would they fight them?
At least here, they still had the advantage of terrain.
On the road, that advantage would belong to the enemy.
In short, she intended to defend this place with everything she had.
A tense, busy stretch of time passed.
Ye Ling, towering over everyone else, proved incredibly useful. She alone shovelled snow into piles around the house.
Because they were short on manpower, even Huaxiu and Doris had been called out to help.
As for Kuriyo, who had only just woken up—
After deciding she was not an immediate threat, Xiangzi had simply locked her in a room.
Kuriyo had resisted at first, but after Xiangzi explained the situation, she chose to comply.
After all, the howls of the wolves outside and the grim readiness of Xiangzi's group were clearly not fake.
She might be weak, but she was not stupid. Anyone with a functioning brain would choose to stay somewhere safer.
She only had to remain in a secure room. The others, meanwhile, had to face the wolves outside head-on.
As for whether these people meant her harm—
That was something she could worry about after they survived tonight.
In any case, she was already in their hands. They had guns. As a frail girl, what exactly could she do to resist?
"Please, let them be safe."
Alone in the room, Kuriyo clasped her hands together and prayed.
Not only for herself, but for the people outside. And for the two people she cared about most.
"...I just hope Ai and Grandfather don't come out looking for me at a time like this."
Her lips moved softly as she prayed for the safety of her family.
Then a sound interrupted her.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Someone was knocking at the door—but not for her to open it.
The door had been locked from the outside. It could not be opened from within.
The knocking was only there as a warning: someone outside was about to come in.
Kuriyo turned toward the door just as it opened.
Huaxiu stepped in, carrying a simple dinner of heated bread, sausages, and a thermos of hot water.
"Miss Chihaya, this is your dinner. Whatever happens outside later, please don't panic. Tonight won't be easy, but please believe in us."
"I understand. Thank you for the food."
"That's good. Once we deal with what's outside, we'll come talk to you."
"Okay!"
Kuriyo sat on the bed and exchanged a few brief words with Huaxiu.
In truth, the only thing either of them knew about the other was her name. There had been no time for a real conversation.
Huaxiu set the meal on the low cabinet by the door, then hurried out again.
Click.
The door was locked once more, leaving Kuriyo alone yet again.
Breathing in the smell of food, she finally dropped the elegant, ladylike act she had been maintaining in front of others.
Driven by hunger, she devoured the meal in a hurry.
Outside, while Kuriyo ate, the others moved like springs wound to the breaking point, racing to finish every last task.
Although the wolves never launched a full-scale assault before the light faded, that did not mean they had been idle.
A few wolves had repeatedly tested the defenses, probing Xiangzi's perimeter, likely trying to scout their strength.
Those beasts were astonishingly fast, but fortunately the barbed-wire fence bought them time. Before any wolf could leap it, Brent, posted on the roof, would shoot it down.
Still, even though they had killed each intruder without incident, the pressure on everyone only mounted as the evening wore on.
The earlier idea of taking the initiative and going out to attack was no longer within Xiangzi's options.
Outside was simply too dangerous now.
Taking advantage of a brief lull for eating in shifts, Miranda went upstairs to replace Brent and take over rooftop watch.
Xiangzi barely stuffed a few bites into her mouth before heading upstairs herself to put on her full gear.
Tonight was almost certainly going to be a hard fight.
As soon as she entered the room, the first thing she did was shut the door.
She bought another injectable NSAID from the system.
Menstrual cramps were truly the worst.
"Damn it... First my period, and now this."
Inside the room, Xiangzi roughly yanked her pants down, exposing her pale legs. Then she tossed the disposable underwear, stained with red, into the trash.
"Hiss—damn, that hurts..."
She did not even bother wiping away the blood on her skin. She hurried into a fresh pair and shoved her sweat-damp feet back into her long black boots.
Then came the heavy combat armor.
Then the Type 20 rifle.
Then the helmet.
Ready for battle.
She did not even bother shutting the door behind her before heading upstairs.
By the time she reached the upper floor, everyone was already there.
She had arrived last.
But no one complained—because she was carrying tonight's lifeline with her.
"Everyone, stay sharp tonight. I brought up all the ammo, so we won't be running dry."
As she spoke, Xiangzi set down three crates of 5.56×45mm rifle rounds.
At present, Xiangzi herself was using the Type 20 rifle, while everyone else had switched to Type 89 rifles. Even Brent, the sniper, was no exception. Miranda had also put away her Genesis Arms Gen-12 shotgun.
For this battle, the plan was clear: use up the abundant stockpile of 5.56 first.
Unless they encountered armored targets, wasting their limited heavy-caliber ammunition would be a poor trade.
Huaxiu and Doris, who could not properly use firearms, were in support roles.
They would stay on the upper floor and throw Molotov cocktails when needed.
Ye Ling had been given the heavy hunting crossbow.
As a cold-weapons enthusiast, she was actually quite skilled with bows and crossbows too, which was why Xiangzi had entrusted the Interceptor XLT to her.
Ye Ling, however, still could not help protesting.
"Boss, I've got shooting range experience. I want a gun too…"
The pink-haired fox girl had even stopped calling her "Miss Takashiro" and switched to the more intimate "Boss." Her previously halting Japanese suddenly became startlingly fluent, and she piled polite honorifics onto every sentence as her fluffy ears and tail twitched hopefully.
Unfortunately for her, Xiangzi still refused.
"That thing's too dangerous. A little range experience isn't enough."
"I understand..."
The fox girl could only string her bow in silence, visibly disappointed but making no further fuss.
In truth, Ye Ling understood.
If Xiangzi had spare assault rifles but still would not hand one over to her, then there was probably another reason.
She was still the newcomer.
Still an outsider.
Still a foreigner.
If Xiangzi knew that foolish fox was thinking that way, she would probably laugh and cry at the same time.
The real reason was much simpler: handing a fully automatic rifle to an untrained shooter during a night battle was a disaster waiting to happen.
The hit rate would be miserable.
That brief little detour passed, and now the glowing green eyes in the forest were drawing closer.
It was time to open fire.
Everyone held their breath.
The world around them seemed frozen in silence, broken only by the hiss of wind at their ears. Tiny strands of hair fluttered in the breeze, brushing against skin and making them itch.
Facing the night ahead, Xiangzi began issuing orders.
Her live map clearly showed the dense clusters moving through the woods.
There was no more time to wait.
Even though the enemy had not yet rushed them, Xiangzi decided they would strike first.
"Those wolves are hiding in the trees, so conserve ammunition. Use controlled shots. Don't go full-auto and burn through our rounds too quickly."
"Understood! But we still can't see them clearly!"
"Just fire anyway. Use your optics and aim where your instincts tell you. We don't need to wipe them out—we just need suppressive fire. Drive the wolf pack out of the area."
"Got it..."
The three shooters all had either thermal optics or night vision, so they could at least make out fragments of movement.
With the snowfall and the cover of the forest, it was not much.
But it was better than nothing.
Soon, gunfire erupted.
The three of them lay prone on the open rooftop terrace, firing in controlled bursts into the tree line, aiming at the infected beasts prowling near their home.
The hiss of Ye Ling's bolts cut through the gunfire.
Hit. Another hit.
Through Xiangzi's sight, wolves were dropping one after another.
Whenever warm blood burst from a body, the thermal image made it look like a crimson blossom blooming out of flesh for an instant.
One blood-flower after another bloomed across the snowy ground, scarlet splashing in all directions.
Once again, the power of firearms was on full display.
Then a discordant cry tore through the night.
A long, ugly howl.
The wolf king, which had been planning to send out another probing group, instantly changed its mind the moment it saw this.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
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I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter192)
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