Chapter 311: All In!
“A Shan, seal the road!”
Li Xinlong, reeking of gunpowder, shouted with killing intent.
A man with a cold, stern face responded and crawled out from the vehicle. It was Chen Shan, one of the Black Star Five Tigers.
He jumped onto the off-road vehicle beside him. His black-and-white eyes surged with a dark, murky chaos. Three earth walls rose sequentially in front of Li Xinlong. The first two were extremely short, only just over half a meter high, knocking the charging zombie horde into chaos. Under the sweeping bullets, they directly filled the pit.
By the time they finally climbed over the first two earth walls with great difficulty, they crashed into the final one-and-a-half-meter earth wall.
With the agility of unranked zombies, they could only futilely poke their heads out from behind the earth wall.
Then they were precisely harvested by Li Xinlong.
To avoid accidents, they had chosen streets flanked by low-rise buildings on both ends, preventing zombies from jumping down from both sides like dumplings and overwhelming them.
Without Tier 1 zombies breaking the formation, Li Xinlong easily held the earth wall with dozens of guns.
Once the corpses filled the trench, everyone retreated a bit further and raised two more walls.
Twenty minutes later, three eight-meter-wide, one-and-a-half-meter-deep corpse pits appeared in front of Li Xinlong. Gray soil and blood layered over them one after another. Brass bullet casings were scattered under Li Xinlong’s feet.
Only scattered zombies were still persistently climbing over this “chasm.” The gunshots gradually petered out.
Denser gunshots came from across the street.
“Bang!”
Several zombies running forward suddenly stopped. As they just turned around, they were sent flying by a car door.
A man wielding a fire axe charged out, an empty rocket launcher slung on his back, wearing a sleeveless denim jacket that exposed his muscular arms. One axe swing split open the skull of a zombie on the ground.
Facing the surrounding zombies, he kicked out.
The sound of bones breaking rang out instantly. The violent impact force directly flung limbs flying.
“Peng peng—”
Several muffled gunshots came from behind him, finishing off the last few zombies.
“You’re already a Tier 1 evolver, but you still can’t let go of that broken axe.”
The woman’s voice lacked the gentleness she used when speaking with Jiang Rong. It was sharp and straightforward.
A slender figure passed through the sandstorm, shotgun slung over her shoulder, standing beside the man. A gray-toned purple suede jacket accentuated her sharp shoulder lines. Her black-to-purple gradient hair was extremely distinctive.
“Master Rong, we’ve killed our way through an entire street. How are you going to reward us tonight?”
Yin Yinan provocatively looked toward the woman behind Li Xinlong.
The latter, hugging her backpack, licked her lips without showing any weakness.
Of course, Li Xinlong wasn’t foolish enough to get involved in the war between the two women. He turned his head and shouted to Chen Shan, “A Shan, seal off this street. Leave a few zombies for Old Yang. Infect them with the plague and then scatter them.”
Seeing Li Xinlong start directing the cleanup, Yin Yinan coldly snorted and temporarily backed off.
She wasn’t that foolish. In the apocalypse, strength and value mattered. So what if that bitch had a pretty face?
Li Xinlong would be hers sooner or later!
Pang Ke had also led a group down from upstairs, carrying a 12.7mm heavy sniper rifle exchanged from the armored train. His round, fat face was flushed, his small eyes full of excitement. “A Long, three butchers, four night demons, one jumper, four dwarves—one battle and we took out a full twelve Tier 1 zombies! This gun was worth the exchange!”
Including Li Xinlong, everyone looked at the one-point-four-meter-long [Dragon Spine-2] in his hands with eager gazes.
Most firearms produced by Dong Huang after the millennium were uniformly named, like the submachine gun Iron Falcon, assault rifle Iron Guard, handgun Iron Eagle, and so on… But after 2030, some cutting-edge weapons from military factories broke this naming convention.
Like the [Dragon Spine-2] in the fat man’s hands, capable of precise strikes within two thousand meters.
Ordinary sniper rifles had an effective range of around eight hundred meters. Large-caliber sniper rifles, meaning heavy snipers above 12.7mm, had a killing range of one thousand two hundred meters, with a few reaching one thousand five hundred. The [Dragon Spine-2] was a product of technological explosion.
If not for Mister Shu’s generosity, the armored train couldn’t have obtained ten at once.
Without this gun, even with their six Tier 1 evolvers and the convoy’s few hundred guns, clearing this street alone would have taken a week.
One slip-up and there would be casualties.
In a certain sense, this heavy sniper rifle was as important to the convoy as three or four Tier 1 evolvers.
Seeing Pang Ke casually holding the gun, Li Xinlong frowned. “If you’re not using it, put the gun in the vehicle. The sandstorm here is heavy, and the next cleanup tasks all depend on it!”
Pang Ke quickly tossed the gun into the vehicle and clamored, “A Long, let’s go straight to take out that Tier 2 skull crusher at Dawn Plaza on Zhijin South Road.”
Li Xinlong glanced at the sky. The sun had reached noon, temperatures rising, but the sandstorm showed no sign of letting up.
He said gravely, “Clearing this street clean today counts as completing the task. According to the meeting’s assigned goals, we just need to clear Zhijin South Road’s main thoroughfare within a week. We’ll see how the others are progressing.”
Yin Yinan asked, “Then we’re pulling back today?”
Li Xinlong issued a solemn order.
“You and Wei Tian take the close-combat team to scavenge supplies in the buildings on both sides. Don’t go beyond this street’s range. Don’t get bogged down in fights. Call me if there’s trouble.”
Once the two led two hundred people wielding steel bars, fire axes, and other close-combat weapons into the buildings on both sides of the street, Li Xinlong looked toward Pang Ke beside him.
“A Ke, get the bulldozer in here. Pile the abandoned vehicles to one side, then gather the corpses together for Old Yang to handle.”
“Got it!”
The Black Star Convoy began cleaning the battlefield.
Though not as aggressive as the armored train, they had their own methods. Li Xinlong personally led four hundred gunners to guard both ends of the street, clearing wandering zombies.
Old Yang, one of the Five Tigers, led a group of collectors to gather general energy crystals and zombie materials.
A dozen half-dead zombies were operated on by him, then tossed outside the street.
The gunners ignored them. After howling for a while, the zombies without targets began wandering the street and soon merged into the horde.
Completely unaware that a sticky, red-green spotted substance had appeared on their backs.
By the time the sky darkened, the battlefield had been cleaned up. Over a thousand corpses had vanished without a trace, though the ground was slightly higher.
The Black Star-marked bulldozer led the way, and the thousand-strong convoy, fully loaded, began withdrawing from Zhijin City.
If one pulled back their view and removed the obscuring sandstorm, they could see all of Zhijin City engulfed in the frenzy of war.
Tens of thousands of scavengers, led by large convoys, launched attacks on the five million zombies in Zhijin City.
From time to time, convoys would withdraw due to heavy losses or having scavenged enough spoils of war.
But more fully prepared convoys would immediately join the feast.
In just three days, the various forces gathered around Zhijin exceeded one hundred thousand people.
……
Hearing the roars and gunfire in the sandstorm gradually fade, the Black Star Convoy members finally relaxed.
The convoy didn’t fully leave Zhijin City but retreated to the edge, next to the city-level stadium.
After so many years of development, prosperous big cities like Zhijin no longer had real “suburbs.” Apart from man-made preserved parks, all open spaces were occupied by urban facilities. The stadium was the most open area. A bit further south entered Xinma County territory, where buildings would densify again.
Soon, a flashlight flashed a few times. Two motorcycles rushed out from the stadium, guiding the convoy inside.
Li Xinlong had long turned the stadium interior into a temporary base. A group of children and stay-behind personnel gathered toward the convoy, their eyes filled with fanatical worship, following along both sides like welcoming heroes.
Pang Ke first shouted loudly, instantly filling the arena with excited howls.
Li Xinlong frowned and instinctively looked up, discovering the arena was fully enclosed.
Old Yang quietly walked over and asked in a low voice, “Should we calm them down a bit? I’m afraid loud noises will attract things from around…”
Li Xinlong looked at the children and women crowding around the supply vehicles, their small faces straining as they carried supplies on shoulders and in hands, and sighed. “Everyone’s been suppressed too long. Let them release a little.”
Thinking of today’s haul, Old Yang’s face also showed a smile. “Then I’ll take people to check the surroundings. Don’t want anything slipping in.”
“Call a couple more people. If there’s trouble, have Director Nan find me.”
“Okay.”
With that, Li Xinlong headed toward the linear stove in the middle of the arena, his steps lighter.
Jiang Rong was leading a group of women cooking. Thanks to the Black Star Convoy’s gains these past few days, the food had improved. Though just simple fried rice with pickles, it let everyone feel the hope of life.
……
In the RV, Li Xinlong ate fried rice while telling Jiang Rong about today’s events, cleverly omitting all the dangers.
“Mom, you should’ve seen it. A Tier 1 butcher got its head blown off by A Ke’s one shot, brains splattering like a watermelon…”
“Over two thousand zombies, twelve Tier 1 zombies, all wiped out by my team in just over an hour.”
“Zombies fell like wheat…”
“Then we scavenged the whole street. Just canned meat alone was over a ton, and various rice, flour, oil, and grains enough to feed our Black Star two thousand people for months.”
In front of Jiang Rong, Li Xinlong completely shed his steady, calm demeanor from before his subordinate, like a chatty child babbling nonstop.
Jiang Rong silently listened to her son’s description of the battle, finding it similar to the routine cleanup tasks she led daily. Though back then the corps had few Tier 1 evolvers, and her son now had five by his side, so she felt relieved.
While placing the yolk from a peeled salted duck egg into her son’s bowl, she instructed, “Though not very dangerous, still be careful usually. Stay away from unrecognizable mutated plants. Mom has some life-saving items from a friend you can take. If you really can’t beat them, just throw it out…”
Li Xinlong: Uh?
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something but stopping.
A bit regretting hiding too much, he depressedly stuffed rice into his mouth.
After talking for a while and seeing her son go quiet, Jiang Rong suddenly remembered something and tentatively asked, “Which forces are in your base city plan this time? Is that train you often mention involved?”
“Ah, no, they’re an out-of-town force. They’ll leave after a while.”
That settled it.
Thinking the train conductor wasn’t participating, Jiang Rong felt a big weight lift from her heart.
“Mainly their Four Greats: Black Kite, Jin Feng Chamber of Commerce, Fu Yuan Convoy, Tiejian City, plus small forces like our Black Star. But after this, Black Star Convoy can join as the fifth largest, even ranking higher than Fu Yuan and Tiejian City!”
Li Xinlong’s voice carried absolute confidence and assurance.
“Black Kite?!”
Hearing Jiang Rong’s exclamation, Li Xinlong looked up and saw his mom’s usual amiable eyes change, immediately suspicious.
“You know Black Kite?”
Jiang Rong restrained her unusual expression and hesitated, “I heard of Black Kite force when coming over. Their sphere of influence is vast, not as simple as it seems on the surface…”
Li Xinlong’s complexion immediately turned serious. He set down his chopsticks.
“Mom, tell me everything you know.”
Jiang Rong omitted train-related parts and selectively told her son the information on Black Kite.
After hearing it, Li Xinlong’s face instead showed some relief. “So that’s how it is…”
Based on information from the two escapees from the train, he knew Black Kite had been heavily damaged by the armored train, but he was puzzled why Black Kite wasn’t hiding in a corner to recover quietly yet still pushed Zhijin base city construction. He even suspected some conspiracy.
But with Jiang Rong’s information filling in, Li Xinlong suddenly understood.
Black Kite had deep reserves. Though frustrated in the war with the armored train, they still had strength to fight it.
Building a base city could quickly restore their force, so despite the train eyeing them covetously from the neutral town, Black Kite decided to push the base city plan, even accelerating construction.
This explanation made all the logic fit.
Why the armored train stayed in the neutral town without leaving: to watch for openings in the base city plan.
That day intercepting the convoy to exchange for talent, the deeper purpose was to mess with Black Kite.
To assert their presence!
Making Black Kite feel like thorns in their back, fishbones in their throat, needles under their seats!
Li Xinlong’s eyes flickered. ‘If that’s the case, the standoff between Black Kite and the train forms a kind of balance. The real key is advancing the base city plan, and with the train keeping them in check, Black Star Convoy has a chance to rise under Black Kite’s nose!’
Seeing her son seemed to understand, Jiang Rong euphemistically advised, “How about for this plan, we just…”
“Go all in!”
Li Xinlong’s eyes shone brilliantly.
……
Another week passed in a flash.
The neutral town’s market boomed completely due to the base city plan.
But even new scavengers knew the biggest trader in the entire scavenger market wasn’t the Four Greats or the recently rising Black Star Convoy, but the mysterious armored train.
The 1.5-kilometer-long armored train encircled the neutral town like city walls, its front with the huge ramming horn inserted into the town’s main thoroughfare.
Every day, large numbers of scavengers came from afar to gaze at this steel giant beast.
