After Fang Tianhe gave the order, he and Shen Han immediately left the team, heading in the direction where the Mutated Zombie had appeared.
The three Squad Leaders, Roger, Wu Yan, and Xu Haishui, also quickly organized the remaining members and began to form a Defense Array.
These were all veteran Mercenaries. In reality, the "organization" took nothing more than a few words.
The Mercenaries immediately chose suitable terrain and, using the two multi-function off-road vehicles as support, formed a Defense Array.
From start to finish, the process took less than a minute.
"Captain Luo, didn't the Commander and Vice-Commander go to deal with the Mutated Zombie? Why do we still need to form a Defense Array?" Lin Xinghai asked, finally seizing the opportunity now that everyone had settled down.
"Because Mutated Zombies never appear alone. They're like kings among the Zombies. Every time one shows up, a large horde of Zombies follows."
"What we'll have to deal with soon is the horde that follows it," Roger explained.
Just then, the Zombie Detector's alarm sounded again.
Lin Xinghai glanced at it and instantly felt his scalp tingle.
Because a dense cluster of red dots had appeared on the screen, numbering over 300.
Mixed in among them were even a dozen or so purple dots, representing High Level Zombies.
They were following behind the black dot, rushing toward them.
Watching the dots on the screen draw ever closer, sweat slowly began to bead in Lin Xinghai's palms.
'This is definitely a major crisis.' He even began to wonder if he should raise his Basic Level Shooting Skill proficiency to 100%.
Just as Lin Xinghai was hesitating, Roger's voice sounded again. "There's a hidden compartment under your right armrest. It has Special Bullets. If you need them, load them yourself."
Hearing this, Lin Xinghai's heart leaped with joy. He quickly opened the compartment and saw two rows of special bullets.
One of the two rows of bullets was pitch-black. He was familiar with this type of bullet; it was what Roger used to kill High Level Zombies.
Above this row of bullets was a label that read: Armor-Piercing Bullet!
The other row of bullets was fiery red, and the label on it read: Burning Bullet!
Lin Xinghai counted them carefully. There were 30 of each type of bullet. It wasn't a large number, but it would be enough, since there wouldn't be many situations that required them.
ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!
As Lin Xinghai was hesitating over whether to load some Armor-Piercing Bullets into a magazine, a cacophony of roars erupted in the distance.
Soon, the zombie horde appeared in their field of view.
At its head was a giant, 4-meter-tall Zombie. Its entire body was covered in a black, chitinous layer that reflected a metallic sheen under the sun.
Overall, it looked like a giant wearing a suit of Armor.
"Thank goodness, it's an Armored Corpse!" Roger let out a sigh of relief.
"Is this type of Mutated Zombie easy to deal with?" Lin Xinghai asked humbly.
"The Armored Corpse, just as its name implies, has a chitinous layer on its body like a suit of Iron Armor, giving this type of Zombie extremely high Defense Power."
"If an ordinary Mercenary Corps were to encounter an Armored Corpse, they'd have a massive headache."
"However, our commander's Superpower happens to be the perfect counter for this type of defensive Zombie. So, running into an Armored Corpse is a stroke of luck in this misfortune."
"So, instead of worrying about the commander and them, we should focus on how we're going to hold out until they return to rescue us," Roger said.
Lin Xinghai nodded. After a moment of calculation, he said to Qin Yang, who was in charge of driving, "Brother Yang, do you have a spare magazine? Give me one."
Some of the spare equipment was stored in the two off-road vehicles, temporarily kept by the drivers.
"I do." Qin Yang took an empty magazine from a storage compartment and handed it to Lin Xinghai. He then asked, "Need anything else? Don't be shy, just ask."
Although Qin Yang had been selected for this elite team, his strength was practically at the bottom of the group; otherwise, he wouldn't have been assigned specifically to driving duty.
And while Lin Xinghai's own strength was lacking, the Gun Technique he had displayed had already won over everyone, including Qin Yang.
It was no surprise that he had such an attitude toward a "capable" companion like this.
"Not for now," Lin Xinghai said as he loaded Armor-Piercing Bullets into the empty magazine.
When the time came, swapping magazines would be much faster than loading individual bullets.
Lin Xinghai had only loaded ten rounds when the horde closed to a hundred meters.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The Mercenaries using Hand Cannons were the first to open fire, laying down a preliminary long-range bombardment without a second thought.
In addition, the two Electromagnetic Railguns also began to unleash their power, strafing the Zombies in the distance.
But here in the city center, there were too many collapsed buildings, which served as natural cover for the Zombies.
Under these circumstances, it was difficult for the Electromagnetic Railguns to display their full destructive power.
And when the horde charged to within 50 meters, the Mercenaries armed with Tearing Rifles also began to take aim and fire.
However, Lin Xinghai found it a little strange that Roger was not among them; he seemed to still be observing the situation.
He didn't raise his rifle until the Zombies closed to within 30 meters, at which point he fired five rounds in quick succession.
The five rounds were aimed at the five densest parts of the horde.
But they didn't hit a single Zombie, landing instead on the ground.
The next moment, however, a plume of fire erupted from where each bullet landed, instantly sweeping outward in all directions to form a massive Fireball ten meters in diameter.
Obviously, Roger had fired five Burning Bullets.
The Zombies caught within scattered immediately, fleeing for their lives.
Moreover, the five large Fireballs linked together, faintly forming a terrifying wall of fire that made the Zombies behind them hesitate.
You could say that the five Burning Bullets didn't inflict much actual damage on the horde, but they broke its collective charge, sparing their Defense Array from facing the most terrifying initial wave.
The effect this had was far more valuable than simply killing a few Zombies.
Of course, the flames could only hold them back for a moment. There were simply too many Zombies in the horde.
The web of fire created by their dozen or so members couldn't suppress them at all, and the Zombies soon broke through to close range.
At this moment, the burliest of them, Second Squad Leader Wu Yan, stepped forward and bellowed, "Physique Type Optimized, with me!"
As he spoke, he hefted the two-meter-tall Giant Shield beside him with one hand and was the first to meet the onrushing horde.
The other Physique Type Mercenaries also quickly grabbed their weapons and charged forward.
They were the only defensive line in the entire system. If the horde broke through them, the consequences would be unimaginable.
But sometimes, things don't go according to plan.
There were too many Zombies. Even though they had chosen advantageous terrain and were using a large building as a defensive anchor, each Physique Type Mercenary was besieged by at least four or five Zombies at once.
The defensive line instantly became precarious.
Seeing this, Third Squad Leader Xu Haishui gathered the Strength Type Optimized who weren't skilled with the Gun Technique, and they too took up their weapons to reinforce the defensive line.
But even so, the situation remained grim.
"Take out the High Level Zombies first! They're the biggest threat." Roger spoke up then, getting straight to the heart of the problem.
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Everyone knows what's been happening recently. It's made everyone panic.
My advice to everyone is: avoid going out, stay away from public places, and exercise more.
Yes! Staying healthy is very important, especially during these special times. If you get sick and have to go to the hospital, it's like entering a danger zone.
So, exercise more (indoor exercise), eat a balanced diet, and get proper rest.
I hope a vaccine or an effective treatment is developed soon!