Hearing the sudden blare of the alarm, Lin Xinghaiâs brow furrowed. He immediately got out of bed, and after the other members of the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps were up, they headed to the assembly point together.
The assembly point was a large, hastily prepared plaza. Nearly fifty Mercenary Corps had already gathered there, and a steady stream of people was still rushing over.
These were all the Mercenary Corps that had been on break tonight.
After all, even though the sub-base needed Defense, it was impossible to have everyone on alert at all times.
Once everyone had assembled, soldiers stationed there would lead them to their designated positions to mount a Defense.
However, Lin Xinghai didnât follow the main group to his assignment. He released his Perception Power, swept it across the area, and quickly located Zhang Yue on the city wall, who was in charge of directing the battle. Lin Xinghai headed straight for him.
As he drew closer to the city wall, Lin Xinghai took a moment to observe it carefully.
After two days of rushed construction and repairs, the wall now stood at a height of a full eight meters.
This was equivalent to the height of a four-story building and would be extremely effective in the Defense against the Zombie tide.
Of course, this wall wasnât just a simple barrier to block Zombies; it was a complete defensive fortification.
The inner face of the wall wasnât smooth. Instead, switchback staircases were built along it, allowing direct access to the top.
The wall was a full meter wide. A space this broad wasnât just for people to stand on; even heavy machine guns could be easily mounted on top.
It would be no exaggeration to say this could no longer be described as a simple enclosure wall; it was a proper city wall.
Lin Xinghai soon arrived on top of the city wall. Although it was still unfinishedâthe surface pitted and uneven, with rebar even sticking out in many placesâit could still serve as a combat platform.
Gazing into the distance, he could see the Zombie tide stampeding toward them, but it was still about three kilometers away from the sub-base.
Various pieces of heavy machinery that had been working outside were now driving quickly through a gap in the wall. At the gap, a construction crew was urgently welding steel plates, preparing to seal the opening.
Meanwhile, on top of the wall, other construction crews were busy installing iron railings with barbs along the outer edge.
These railings not only prevented Zombies from climbing up but also kept the people on top from falling off.
Seeing the measures the Military Department was taking, Lin Xinghai felt a sense of relief. The sub-baseâs Defense rating was far superior to that of the outposts they had established earlier.
According to the plans, this sub-base, once completed, was only designed to withstand a Zombie tide of three million.
However, that calculation was based solely on the sub-baseâs permanent garrison and didnât factor in the Mercenary Corps.
The number of Mercenaries currently remaining at the sub-base was as high as 30,000. Combined with the garrisoned forces of the Military Department, they could hold off a three-million-strong Zombie tide even now.
"Whatâs the scale of this Zombie tide? How many Mutated Zombies have shown up?" Lin Xinghai asked directly as he came to Zhang Yueâs side after looking around.
Zhang Yue wasnât surprised to see Lin Xinghai arrive.
He waved to his adjutant, signaling him to continue organizing their work, before turning to Lin Xinghai to explain the current situation.
"According to our reconnaissance, the scale of this Zombie tide is 500,000 Zombies. As for Mutated Zombies, weâve currently detected five âHunters.â Theyâre directing the tide from five kilometers out."
"That few?" Lin Xinghai blurted out almost instinctively.
âA Zombie tide of 500,000 might be terrifying elsewhere, but itâs really not much of a threat to the current sub-base,â he thought.
âEspecially since itâs only five Hunters. If there were some Spitters or Blood Worms mixed in, that might actually cause some trouble.â
âBut as it stands, at least on the level of Mutated Zombies, the enemy poses no threat whatsoever.â
"Er... I wouldnât exactly call that a small number!" Zhang Yue said, a bead of sweat on his brow.
Even though this was a sub-base, a Zombie tide of over 100,000 required mobilizing everyone in the base for a collective Defense. To say nothing of the fact that this one had already reached 500,000.
Of course, he could understand why Lin Xinghai would think that way.
After all, in just the past two or three days, not only had they fend off a Zombie tide of over two million, but a team of more than 5,000 people, casually organized by Lin Xinghai, had managed to wipe out a 300,000-strong Zombie tide in the wilderness.
With that kind of experience, it was only natural for his ego to be a little inflated.
Lin Xinghai just smiled and didnât argue. "Alright! If you say itâs not a small number, then itâs not. But with five Hunters leading the charge, it seems these Mutated Zombies really donât know when to quit. Theyâre here to probe our defenses again."
As he said this, Lin Xinghaiâs eyes narrowed. He had truly overestimated the patience of these Mutated Zombies.
âHow long has it been? A single day has passed, and theyâve already forgotten their lesson.â
"What else can we do? Right now, we can only mount a passive Defense. Our only hope is that the Zombies in this area are eventually depleted. Then, it will be difficult for those Mutated Zombies to organize another tide like this," Zhang Yue said with a hint of resignation.
"Thatâs not a guarantee. If they really want to attack, they could just trigger a Zombie tide in the city center and lead it all the way here."
"Besides, Iâve never been a fan of passive defense. If we only focus on Defense, theyâll just keep probing us again and again, and the scale of their tests will grow larger each time. Eventually, they might exceed this sub-baseâs breaking point," Lin Xinghai said.
"That..." Zhang Yueâs expression shifted.
âThat couldnât happen, could it?â he wanted to say, but the facts were laid out right in front of him.
"Then do you have a better solution?" Zhang Yue asked directly.
"Of course. We take the initiative and kill those âHunters.â"
Lin Xinghai paused for a moment before adding, "Besides, as long as the sub-base is established here, this sort of thing will keep happening."
"Thatâs why the military needs to regularly organize operations to clear out the Zombies. Youâll have to kill all the Zombies within at least a ten-kilometer radius before you can say youâve established a firm foothold in Guanghan City."
Zhang Yue didnât pay much attention to Lin Xinghaiâs last statement. Since the sub-base was being built here, they were already well aware of the dangers involved.
He was more focused on the fact that Lin Xinghai had just proposed taking the fight to the "Hunters" and killing them.
"Brother Lin, you have a way to kill those âHuntersâ? Just tell us what you need. The military will provide our full support," Zhang Yue said hurriedly.
If they could eliminate those five "Hunters," these kinds of harassing attacks would likely become much less frequent.
"Those âHuntersâ are hiding five kilometers out, so a frontal assault is out of the question. However, once the Zombie tide begins its attack, their attention will be focused here."
"At that time, Iâll pilot my Mecha out the other side and take a wide detour to approach them. While Iâm doing that, you all need to make as big a commotion as possible. As long as you can hold their attention and let me get within a three-kilometer range, Iâm confident I can take out at least one âHunter.â"
"Of course, the closer I get, the more âHuntersâ Iâll be able to eliminate," Lin Xinghai stated plainly.
The plan wasnât complicated, just incredibly difficult to execute. To put it simply, besides him, there was no one else who could possibly pull it off.