Chapter 521: Explosion!

Chapter 521: Explosion!

Zhang Yi turned to Bian Junwu. "We can’t hold out forever. You need to get out—now!"

"I understand!"

Bian Junwu knew their advantage was only temporary.

They were already prepared for the breakout.

Inside the shelter, over a thousand people remained—mostly former refinery workers and their families.

But this escape wasn’t for them. They had to be left behind.

If Bian Junwu and his team won, these people would survive.

If they lost, those left behind would be trapped underground for the rest of their lives.

Still, that was better than stepping outside and being devoured by the zombie horde.

"Get ready to break out! Throw everything we’ve got at them!" Bian Junwu ordered.

Xiao Honglian gritted her teeth and stepped forward. "We’ve only got one shot at this. If we’re going for the thrill—let’s go all the way!"

She strode over to the control console, opened a hidden compartment, and slammed her fist onto a deeply concealed button.

The next moment, a massive explosion erupted from the Yangsheng Shelter’s refinery!

"BOOOOM!!!!"

A blinding flash illuminated the sky, the fiery glow so intense it burned their retinas.

The deafening blast rang in Zhang Yi’s ears, nearly making him go deaf.

A mushroom cloud billowed upward from the earth!

The entire ground trembled violently—even from several kilometers away, Zhang Yi and the others struggled to stay on their feet, as if experiencing a magnitude-nine earthquake.

"Good god!"

Wei Dinghai’s eyes widened in shock.

"Xiao Honglian—she blew up the entire refinery!!"

It was said that beneath the refinery, a million barrels of crude oil had been stored—Xiao Honglian’s foundation for power in Tianhai City.

Yet now, she had set it all ablaze!

The scorching blast swept through the area, instantly reducing seventy to eighty thousand zombies to ashes or charred corpses under thousands of degrees of heat.

Thankfully, Zhang Yi and his team were wearing heat-resistant combat gear—otherwise, they would’ve suffered severe burns.

"She’s absolutely ruthless," Zhang Yi muttered in awe.

Xiao Honglian wasn’t just merciless to others—she was even crueler to herself.

While this was the most strategic move, very few people had the guts to make such a sacrifice.

The explosion didn’t stop there.

After the initial blast, a series of secondary explosions followed.

A massive wave of fire swept across the surroundings, instantly melting the ice rivers into boiling lakes.

The snow-covered plains evaporated in an instant.

The water bubbled and steamed, carrying along the struggling zombies as they howled in agony.

The virus inside them was highly heat-sensitive, and they rapidly perished in the scalding water.

Zhang Yi and the others quickly retreated—the shockwaves were too powerful to stay close.

It took over ten minutes before the explosions subsided, yet flames still raged on.

The landscape had transformed into a vast, boiling marsh.

In one single blast, more than half of the zombie horde had been wiped out—either directly or indirectly.

Bian Junwu and the Investigation Team stood there, stunned.

None of them had expected Xiao Honglian to have such a trump card.

Their respect for the leader of Yangsheng Base grew stronger.

But so did their fear.

If someone could be this ruthless to themselves, what could they do to others?

A wild light burned in Xiao Honglian’s eyes.

She had just sacrificed the refinery’s crude oil reserves—destroying them all in one decisive move.

But what no one else knew was that Yangsheng Base’s oil reserves weren’t limited to that one site.

No smart person put all their eggs in one basket.

She had another fifty thousand barrels stashed elsewhere.

That’s why she could afford to destroy her foundation so decisively.

This was a calculated sacrifice—a desperate move to carve out a chance for survival.

"Let’s go! We have to move now—while the horde is still in chaos!"

Xiao Honglian put on her helmet and headed straight for the shelter’s gate.

"But… the outside is flooded!"

Meng Siyu hesitated behind her.

"If we try to swim across, we’ll be sitting ducks for the Bronze Armored Flying Zombies!"

Xiao Honglian clenched her teeth. "Even if it’s dangerous, we have to try! This is our best chance!"

No one had expected the battlefield to turn into a boiling swamp.

But even if they had anticipated it, they would’ve had to go through with it anyway.

Suddenly, a voice broke through the tension.

"We can build a high-speed boat and rush across!"

Everyone turned toward Ye Jikang, the team’s demolition expert and mechanic.

Zhuge Qingtian’s eyes lit up. "Can we really pull that off? We don’t have much time!"

Ye Jikang spoke quickly and calmly. "I need a vehicle—a truck, preferably."

"We’ve got one!" Zhuge Qingtian confirmed.

"Good. Get me a few people with mechanical skills!" Ye Jikang ordered.

Bian Junwu checked his watch, then glanced outside.

"You have fifteen minutes to finish this."

The explosion had eliminated half the horde, but the battlefield was still massive.

The zombies on the outer perimeter hadn’t been affected as much.

Meanwhile, zombies in the water were already crawling onto land.

If they took too long, the horde would surround the flooded area—making escape impossible.

"Ten minutes—tops!"

Ye Jikang rolled up his sleeves, made his promise, and immediately dashed off to get started.

At that moment, Zhang Yi’s voice reached Bian Junwu through the communicator.

"How’s it looking? Can you get out?"

From his vantage point, Zhang Yi could still see the zombies hadn’t given up on attacking the shelter.

Hundreds of Bronze Armored Flying Zombies flapped their massive wings, circling above the lake, letting out piercing screeches.

Meanwhile, the refinery fires continued to rage, with sporadic explosions still echoing in the distance.

Although not as powerful as the initial blast, the inferno would burn for at least another ten days before dying down.

Bian Junwu exhaled. "We’re moving out now. Zhang Yi, your shooting skills are top-notch. Take out those flying bastards for me!"

Zhang Yi sighed. "That’ll expose my position, you know."

"But, for our friendship—I’ll do it."

Bian Junwu was a critical piece of Zhang Yi’s strategy.

Of course, Zhang Yi had to help him.

As for attracting the zombies’ attention? That was easy enough to handle.

The fires and explosions were still the main distraction, drawing most of the zombies’ focus.

Even if some came after him, Zhang Yi was confident he could handle them all.

Bian Junwu nodded. "Good."

Zhang Yi reached into his Spatial Storage and pulled out a heavy anti-materiel sniper rifle.

The sheer weight of the metal beast gave it a reassuring presence in his hands.

With his Precision Shooting ability and specialized armor-piercing rounds, he had no doubts—

Every shot would count.

Author's Note