Chapter 517: The Urgent 24 Hours
Yangsheng Base was completely swallowed by the zombie horde.
Outside the underground shelter, the creatures howled and gathered, relentlessly attacking the entrance with whatever means they had.
Fortunately, this was a military base built for war. Even a missile strike would require multiple bombardments to break through.
These zombies, with their primitive attacks, posed no real threat.
Inside, the people in the shelter finally had a moment to breathe.
But getting out? That was a different story.
The investigation team was full of elite warriors, but even at their best, they could only take on tens of thousands of zombies at a time.
The problem was that there were hundreds of thousands outside.
Among them were not only regular zombies but also Bronze Armored Zombies with superhuman strength and flight-capable Bronze Winged Zombies.
There was no way they could win against such a force.
Bian Junwuâs brows furrowed tightly. Suddenly, he coughed violently, covering his mouth.
His face, already pale as usual, now looked even more bloodlessâso much so that his lips turned a bluish-purple, as if he could collapse at any moment.
"Boss!"
"Captain, are you okay?"
His subordinates looked at him with concern.
Bian Junwu waved them off. "Iâm fine.
Cough!
But itâs clear nowâwe need external support."
A faint smile appeared on his lips, despite the blood he had yet to wipe away.
"Since theyâre all gathering in one place, we can request an airstrike from headquarters!"
Xiao Honglianâs eyes lit up. "You mean we can ask Jiangnan District to launch missiles?"
There was no better solution.
With hundreds of thousands of zombies gathered outside, a single missile strike could wipe out a huge portion of them!
Bian Junwu nodded.
"At this point, itâs our only option."
They were backed into a corner. There was no way they could clear out this many zombies on their own.
As proud as Bian Junwu was, he wasnât foolish enough to gamble the lives of his team.
He pulled out his satellite phone and contacted the highest military authority in Jiangnan District.
With his clearance, he was able to directly reach Jiangnan Districtâs Supreme CommanderâZhu Zheng.
It didnât take long for the call to connect.
Bian Junwu quickly explained the situation.
"We need support! There are hundreds of thousands of zombies surrounding our shelter."
"Oh? So the situation in Tianhai City has gotten this bad?"
Jiangnan District HeadquartersâBlizzard City.
A massive fortress surrounded by towering gray walls, snowflakes drifted through the air.
Inside the command center, thick bulletproof glass covered the exterior walls, providing those inside a clear view of Blizzard Cityâs landscape.
Standing before the glass was a tall, rigid military officer in his fifties.
He wore a green uniform, the stars on his shoulders gleaming under the lights.
His hair, streaked with white, was meticulously combed, and his face was as sharp and chiseled as a blade.
His eyes, sharp like a hawkâs, belonged to none other than Jiangnan Districtâs Supreme CommanderâZhu Zheng.
After hearing Bian Junwuâs report, Zhu Zhengâs expression turned grim.
Tianhai City was only about 300 kilometers from Blizzard City.
If the zombie crisis there exploded, it wouldnât take long for it to spread here.
At first, Zhu Zheng hadnât taken the zombie threat too seriously.
That was why he had only sent one of his best investigation teams to handle it.
But now, those elite warriors were trapped and calling for reinforcements.
And every single member of that team was among Blizzard Cityâs top-ranking Superhumans!
"Hold on," Zhu Zheng said, turning to the massive display screen behind him.
"Show me the area around Yangsheng Shelter," he commanded.
The AI system quickly pulled up satellite footage.
On-screen, the zombies looked like an endless swarm of ants, stretching across the snowy plains in a chaotic, surging mass that covered a ten-kilometer radius.
The AI ran a quick analysis and provided exact figures.
"Total number of zombies: 395,861.
Human-type zombies: 395,521.
Large-scale mutant zombies: 340."
Zhu Zheng was stunned.
This wasnât just a zombie attackâthis was a full-scale war!
Even with missiles, clearing out such a vast number of zombies would be difficult.
His face darkened as the severity of the situation sank in.
Picking up his satellite phone, he spoke to Bian Junwu again.
"There are too many zombies. It would take hundreds of missiles to wipe them out!"
Bian Junwu immediately understood what Zhu Zheng meant.
Missiles were strategic weapons for the military.
Manufacturing them had become nearly impossible in the apocalypse. Every missile used was one less in their already dwindling stockpile.
Zhu Zheng wasnât going to waste that many just to exterminate some zombies.
"The most effective method," Zhu Zheng said, his voice deep and cold like iron, "is to deploy Death from Above."
Bian Junwuâs pupils shrank.
Death from Aboveâthe ultimate doomsday weapon.
"Yangsheng Shelter is located 172 meters underground with exceptionally strong defenses. I intend to drop Death from Above directly on that area. That way, we can completely eliminate the horde."
Zhu Zheng had already made up his mind.
This wasnât a discussionâit was an execution order.
Bian Junwu clenched his fists. "But if you do that, Tianhai City will become a wasteland!"
Zhu Zhengâs tone was icy.
"There arenât many survivors left in Tianhai City, are there? Sacrificing a few now to prevent the zombie outbreak from spreading to other cities is the most effective solution."
Bian Junwu knew Zhu Zheng wasnât wrong.
Right now, Tianhai Cityâs remaining human population was only a few thousand, maybe at most a few tens of thousands.
Dropping Death from Above was undoubtedly the most efficient choice.
But it also meant they would be abandoned.
Once the weapon was deployed, the entire city would be rendered uninhabitable for years.
Even if they survived underground, their supplies wouldnât last until the radiation cleared.
They would all die in the darkness.
Bian Junwu understood nowâJiangnan District would not be their savior.
"Commander Zhu, please give us more time! Let us try one last time!"
Zhu Zheng was silent for a moment before replying in a low voice,
"Fine. You have 24 hours. If you canât eliminate the zombie horde by then, I will authorize the launch of Death from Above."
Zhu Zheng knew that if Bian Junwu and the forces in Tianhai City couldnât solve this problem within 24 hours, then no amount of extra time would make a difference.
As Jiangnan Districtâs Supreme Commander, he wasnât sentimental enough to risk an outbreak that could threaten not just the districtâbut the entire nation.
Author's Note