Chapter 127 Mission Failure
Everyone stared solemnly at the zombie lying on the ground.
All three zombies had several bullet holes on their foreheads, but none of them were fatal wounds.
Yang Yicheng's team member asked, "Should we drag a zombie over to study it?"
Yang Yicheng nodded.
Lin Xi interrupted, "Don't waste your energy. I just tried to cut its neck, hands, and feet, but I couldn't cut them off."
Everyone was rushing to attack the zombie's fatal weakness—its head—when Lin Xi, in his haste, slashed wildly and accidentally discovered this.
Since they can't be cut, there's no way to take them off the chains.
She brandished the axe in her hand: "My entire skeleton and skull have hardened together. I can't cut the bones, I can only cut the meat."
She used an axe to grind the grass, scraping off the rotten flesh of the zombies.
A zombie's mobility is not affected by having a few pieces of flesh cut off, unless all the nerves and muscles connected to the skeleton are severed.
This is tricky.
To defeat this kind of zombie, you can only attack its weak point—the eyes—which are not protected by bones. However, hitting the eyes does not guarantee a hit on the back of the head; you need to find the right position and angle.
This is a challenge for most people, including Lin Xi, who has excellent marksmanship.
Even though Yang Yicheng and Lu Wei are good marksmen among this group, they can't hit vital organs with every shot for the time being.
Such aiming is very mentally taxing. It's okay against a few zombies, but if a group of zombies swarms in, there's no time to kill them one by one, and all you can do is run for your life.
Or just bombard them directly.
However, at such close range, artillery fire could injure friendly forces, posing a significant challenge.
The bones of those three zombies couldn't be cut, and they were still chained to their feet, so it was impossible to drag them over for research.
Lu Wei analyzed, "Someone has tied them here to guard the gate."
Everyone stared warily at the orchard gate. The people inside probably had ill intentions, otherwise they wouldn't have let out three steel zombies.
But the enemy is in the shadows while they are in the open.
Enemies may also be armed. After all, so many battles and shootings have taken place in the apocalypse, and some fallen soldiers left their weapons behind on the battlefield. Since their teammates didn't have time to retrieve them, they ended up in the hands of those with ulterior motives.
Yang Yicheng glanced coldly at Lin Xi: "Now go save others with your saintly heart. Leave this to me."
Lin Xi: "..."
It's true that the people inside had bad intentions, and it's also true that Yang Yicheng tried to steal other people's belongings.
However, the "navel oranges" in the orchard were not the soft persimmons like Lin Xi in his previous life; Yang Yicheng's hard fist hit a steel plate.
But these disputes are now meaningless.
Lin Xi's team had more teammates, and everyone expressed their desire to go to the next location to carry out a rescue mission.
Lin Xi's expression was solemn.
How the hardened zombies came to be is no longer important.
The important question is, will there only be three hardened zombies here?
They parted ways with Yang Yicheng and went to Changsheng Enterprise's factory.
On the way, the communications soldier contacted the survivors in the Changsheng factory.
The route follows country roads that are wide on both sides, making it easy to spot any unusual situations.
Upon entering this section of road, Xiang Xin quickly took out her small notebook and sketched down her observations.
Lin Xi glanced at it:
[Abnormal Species 3: Iron-Boned Zombie. Its entire skeleton is incredibly hard, making it difficult for weapons to penetrate its skull; its weak point is its eyes.]
There are two more pages ahead, one of which describes a talking zombie.
One page contains Lu Wei's dictation of a poisonous zombie carrying radioactive material.
Xiang Xin used to draw comics, and she quickly completed the sketch.
Xiang Xin: "San San, I have a feeling that there will be a fourth or fifth one..."
Lin Xi sighed helplessly, "Please don't get so worked up... things are getting harder and harder for us."
If it continues to mutate, who knows what kind of crisis will occur.
For example, you really shouldn't see a large wave of these iron-headed zombies all at once...
After the convoy entered the town, everyone became alert and observed their surroundings.
Zombies would occasionally leap out from the abandoned buildings on either side, and Lin Xi felt extremely uneasy as he raised his gun.
Aiming at the eyes of a moving zombie is no easy task.
"Bang!"
Someone fired a bullet before her, hitting the zombie in the left brain. The zombie shuddered and fell to the ground.
It's not a hardened zombie.
The people in the vehicle also noticed this, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief, quickly defeating the zombies along the way.
The closer you get to the Changsheng factory, the more cars there are on the road.
These cars were in a terrible state; each one was deformed and covered in blood.
The deformed parts don't look like they were hit by a heavy object, but rather like they were ravaged and beaten by many weapons.
With the car deformed like this, there are naturally no living people inside.
Lu Wei: "There are brown bloodstains on the car, it should be no more than seven days old."
Fresh blood will turn brownish-rusty or even black over time, but it rained a few days ago in Xinchuan. If the bloodstains were left more than seven days ago, they would have been washed away by the rain and would not be as clear and intact as they are now.
Lin Xi glanced at the road blocked by a long line of cars: "These cars are all heading in the opposite direction from Changsheng Enterprise."
Unlike the highway intersections where they were previously blocked, these cars were not stuck in one place, but were attacked while scattering and driving away.
The wreckage blocked part of the road, making it difficult for the following bus to get through, but Lin Xi's modified small truck could barely pass.
While they were communicating with the survivors inside, they also had Xiang Xin launch a drone to check the situation inside the factory.
Changsheng's factory covers a very large area; drones have to fly very high to scan the entire factory, and then the images of the factory are projected onto the screen.
The administration building, dormitory buildings, and various workshop buildings were all in perfect condition, and there were no zombies or people on the roads inside.
It appears to be safe.
The survivors sent a distress signal to the base perhaps because hardened zombies had appeared in Xinchuan, preventing them from reaching the base on their own and requiring support.
Lu did not allow Xiang Xin to fly the drone to the workshop, because this parts factory has its own steel plant. Steelmaking boilers often require more robust building materials due to high temperatures and the risk of accidents, so those buildings are usually the strongest and safest.
Zombies won't break through the windows or break in.
Lin Xi was thinking: It's safe enough to hide there, but what will they eat?
The drone lowered its altitude, preparing to inspect several workshops one by one.
The communications officer finally spoke up: "Someone replied. There are indeed quite a few survivors inside, so we can't come out rashly. We'll discuss the specifics when we go in."
Since venturing into the apocalypse, Lin Xi has seen many terrifying zombies and also witnessed the treacherous nature of people's hearts in the post-apocalyptic world.
Going in to discuss it is impossible.
What if someone inside has ill intentions?
There were many buildings inside the fence, but they were all well-preserved. The outside, however, was in a terrible state. Lin Xi felt that this well-preserved factory was not so simple.
If there are only ordinary zombies, their team is enough to handle them.
But what if they also raise hardened zombies...?
She decided: "Refuse to go in. Make a video call with him."
Since the other party was able to survive and contact the base, the factory must have electricity.
The video call was connected after 5 minutes.
Two burly middle-aged men appeared on the screen, staring at it and saying, "Why aren't you showing the screen? This is so unprofessional!"
Lin Xi: "..."
Xiang Xin’s voice was full of righteousness: “Unsung heroes need not show their faces.”
The two people on the screen were stunned, seemingly speechless.
Liang Hui rubbed his forehead: "Sister, saying that makes us sound very unprofessional."
The two people on the screen seemed to think the same way, with one saying, "Old Zhu, I think they're here to cause trouble."
Old Zhu on the screen nodded, and the two were about to hang up.
Lu Wei quickly called a halt: "Wait, how many survivors do you have? Let us check the situation inside and formulate a rescue plan."
Perhaps it was because his voice was cold and righteous that it was hard to ignore.
Old Zhu's camera quickly panned around him, and there did appear to be quite a few survivors, but the image was too blurry and the camera was moving too fast to make out the exact number.
Old Zhu firmly stated to the screen, "We don't want to go to the base. We're doing just fine here."
Xiang Xin quickly replied, "But others wanted to go to the base, otherwise we wouldn't have received the distress message!"
Old Zhu narrowed his eyes: "...A call for help?"
Xiang Xin: "The base has a safer environment and better living facilities, I recommend you go there."
Although Lin Xi agreed with this statement, she also understood the people inside who did not want to leave. She echoed, "At least let those who want to leave come with us."
After all, she already had her own little world, so she didn't need to worry about the base.
But what's so good about this Changsheng factory?
There is electricity.
But since the fields are not visible to the naked eye, there is no food.
What will we eat if we stay here long-term?
There was silence and darkness on the other end of the video call; someone had deliberately pressed the mute button.
About three minutes later, the video feed came back on.
Old Zhu replied somewhat perfunctorily, "You're ensuring it's safe outside, right?"
"Currently safe."
Old Zhu: "We'll let those who want to go to the base come out, and you can send someone to meet them."
Lin Xi: "You just walked out like that?"
Old Zhu: "Or you can come in?"
Lin Xi: "The bus is stuck at the intersection behind and can't get in."
Old Zhu: "Then you can bring your trucks in to pick up people, I'll open the door for you."
Lin Xi had a premonition that she couldn't go through this door.
Old Zhu is strange; from the beginning, he wanted them to go in and negotiate.
Seeing Lin Xi hesitate, Old Zhu quickly waved his hand: "Never mind, never mind, have your people meet them at the door, I'll have them come out."
"wait……"
Before Lin Xi could finish saying "wait," the other end of the phone hung up.
A group of people suddenly emerged from a workshop and dormitory building in the factory, running so eagerly that at first glance they looked like zombies rushing towards them.
Lin Xi thought to herself: No rush... Don't make such a big commotion, or you'll attract the zombies.
The survivors had already escaped, so Lin Xi and his team of combat personnel had no choice but to get out of the vehicle to meet them.
People from the following convoy also arrived one after another to provide support and respond to any emergencies.
The gates were open, and the crowd surged toward them, running for their lives, some even screaming.
This is a taboo subject in the end times.
Gradually, Lin Xi noticed something was wrong—
The running crowd contained not only living people, but also zombies.
Zombies were chasing and thrashing about, and some people had already been bitten.
The moment they saw it clearly, everyone raised their guns.
Because zombies and humans are mixed together, shooting could easily cause accidental injuries, so everyone is very careful and will not easily fire unless they are very sure.
However, none of the zombies that he was "very confident" of killing fell down; after being shot, they simply shook their heads and continued the chase.
Someone was about to be caught. Lin Xi fired two shots at the zombie's arm, piercing through its flesh. One of the shots seemed to sever a nerve, and the zombie's arm slowly drooped down.
That person seized the opportunity to slip away.
As the crowd and horde of zombies drew closer to Lin Xi and his companions, some realized that these were unkillable, iron-headed zombies and trembled as they retreated and fled.
Lin Xi felt a chill run down his spine and quickly reloaded the empty pistol.
There are many hardened zombies. With Lin Xi's current marksmanship, it would take at least three bullets to aim at the eyes of a running zombie and penetrate its brain.
There are so many zombies, we can't possibly kill them all.
But with so many survivors, is she going to turn around and run away too?
Lin Xi glanced at her teammates. Lu Wei was aiming firmly at the zombie's eyes. Xiang Xin was carrying out the mission with a righteous and awe-inspiring expression. Liang Hui took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and stood next to Lu Wei.
Lin Xi's gaze darkened:
Fine. So what if I die?
Anyway, I can be reborn!
It feels so good to have someone standing with you.
Just as Lin Xi was filled with fighting spirit and ready to charge forward, more gunshots rang out.
Lin Xi glanced to the side and saw Yang Yicheng's convoy appear behind her.
She subconsciously assumed that Yang Yicheng had come to fight zombies.
Although this person had crippled himself in the past, all the scenes that appeared in this life were about fighting zombies.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
With the support of another team, the gunfire gradually increased.
However, the zombies did not fall. With each gunshot, a survivor running towards them fell.
The gun barrel hit them squarely in the forehead.
Lin Xi turned around in surprise and glanced at Yang Yicheng, who was standing on the roof of the car not far away. His gaze was cold, and every time he pulled the trigger, a living person fell down.
Lin Xi was mistaken... He wasn't there to help.
"What are you doing?!!"
Yang Yicheng remained focused, still aiming at the survivors.
He said in a low voice that Lin Xi could hear, "Instead of shooting at me, you'd better run."
"Can't you see they can't escape?"
"If you are infected by a hardened zombie, you will also become a hardened zombie."
Therefore, he was eliminating the enemy in advance.
Lin Xi was surprised: "..."
However, there was no time to dwell on it; almost all the survivors had perished, and the zombies were getting closer and closer to them.
Without survivors, there is no reason to fight against invincible zombies.
Lin Xi shouted, "Get in the car! Let's go!"
Lin Xi's truck was closest to the gate, and his teammates and Yang Yicheng's car had all quickly evacuated just now.
Fortunately, the engine hadn't stalled. After the other three got in the car, Lin Xi quickly pressed the reverse accelerator.
But the zombies had already pounced on the car and were clinging to the windshield.
"Hold on tight!" Lin Xi reminded him, then unleashed his ultimate technique—
Back off, then charge forward to shake the zombie off its back, then back off again and charge forward to run over it.
But even bullets can't penetrate the hardened skull of the zombie, and trucks can run over it without blowing its head off.
The surrounding area was full of deformed vehicles, and the only way to escape was to return via the route they had just barely taken.
However, such precise maneuvers are difficult to perform under the interference of zombies.
More and more zombies rushed over, blocking the truck's windshield and windows. The four people inside could not see what was happening outside, but could feel the truck being lifted up by the zombie horde. If they hadn't been wearing seatbelts, they would have fallen off their seats.
The zombie's hideous face was reflected in the glass.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
