Chapter 319: Idiot
When the zombie horde gathers in large numbers within an area, a leader capable of commanding other zombies will be born. He could be any type or tier of zombie, but once he possesses this ability, he will be bestowed with the title of “Lord.”
The moment the Matriarch appeared, the zombie tide below also stopped its attack. Even those swept into meat foam by the heavy machine gun only produced the sound of bones and flesh shattering, without a single roar, like knights with the most resilient will awaiting the Lord’s inspection.
The body of a Tier 2 Butcher is already sufficiently massive, with the elite ones reaching six meters, able to directly see the second floor from downstairs.
Yet the Matriarch’s stature is even taller by a few points. Sitting on the Butcher’s shoulder, her gem-like clear eyes perfectly reflected the man sitting on top of the vehicle, the most dangerous of all invading bugs.
Su Huan raised his hand, and the ceaselessly booming cannons and anti-aircraft machine guns stopped firing together.
The bright world instantly dimmed.
Only a dim blue tone remained, gradually, gradually becoming darker.
Humans and zombies silently confronted each other in this darkening blue tone.
“This… is a zombie?”
He Jie’s voice was somewhat hoarse, as if a ball of fire was pressing in his throat.
“Mm, Tier 3.”
“Can you beat it?”
“It’ll take a little time.”
“How long?”
“Ten minutes.”
Su Huan supported himself with both hands on the vehicle roof, tilting his head back. He didn’t know if it was because his vision had improved or because there were fewer humans, but the sky was much cleaner, and he could even clearly see the appearance of the stars.
He glanced at Li Xinlong beside him, who kept looking toward Jiang Rong, and said indifferently, “Do whatever you want to do.”
Li Xinlong’s eyes flickered slightly, he nodded, and ran toward Jiang Rong’s direction.
He Jie on the other side was silent for a moment, “Shouldn’t have gotten on your broken vehicle back then.”
Su Huan retorted sarcastically, “Did you have a choice?”
Perhaps sensing a threat, or maybe provocation, the Matriarch let out a sharp screech. The zombie horde surged like boiling tidal water toward the train. This time it was no longer a probing attack; hundreds and thousands of Tier 1 Night Demons climbed over the heads of ordinary zombies like an army, charging toward the train.
The soul-stirring roars were instantly met with an invisible defense line upon encountering the train, suppressed silently by Yu Yue’s ability.
And behind Su Huan came He Jie’s thunderous roar, “It’s your turn to give orders, Train Conductor!”
As soon as Su Huan stood up, a highly dynamic piece of music transmitted from inside the train, growing louder with the volume increase.
“This is the music of victory.” Su Huan stood at the edge of the train, looking at the ferocious zombies below that wanted to devour his flesh and blood. A joy from deep within made his mouth grin wide, “Which subordinate of mine has such taste?”
“Oh, it’s mine.”
The instant the lyrics started, accompanied by mad laughter, the Train Conductor leaped down from the edge.
Zombies jumped up from the tide like crazy fans, greedily wanting to touch the hem of his clothes.
“I ain’t your average sicko”
“I’m not just any ordinary madman”
“I’m dead， just like disco”
“Like disco music, I’m already dying”
Dim blue light passed through the position where the Train Conductor stood, instantly crossing hundreds of meters to head straight for the Matriarch’s “crown.”
The sniper behind the scope had already switched positions, eyes lowered at the corners, pulling the gun bolt with the switch of the music rhythm.
“My bank account is 000， oh no”
“Open the wallet, it’s empty, oh no”
“I think I need a hero (Oh)”
“I need a hero to save me”
“…”
The next moment, bright white lightning surged from the zombie tide under the train, like a waterfall bursting from the abyss of a ground fissure, defying the heavens.
The entire battlefield was illuminated in detail by this lightning. Over a hundred Tier 1 Night Demons that had just boarded the train exploded and died instantly. The current spread wildly centered on the engagement point. The energy that had been brewing for a long time released at maximum capacity, covering a full 800-meter range.
The lightning shuttled rapidly through the dry air, forming two shimmering lightning pools on the ground and in the sky. Fine electric lights shuttled quickly between the lightning pools, and at the center of the lightning pools was Su Huan, wrapped in bright white lightning.
His hair tie had long disappeared, his full head of black hair floating on his shoulders along with the violent current, a smile on his lips, eyes a blazing white, like a god.
The Matriarch sensed the threat, and three equally wide cracks suddenly appeared on both sides of her porcelain-white face.
The lightning seemed to sense the summons, threads of it wandering at the cracks, then swallowed by them, slowly gathering into thick lightning, and the transparent tendrils behind her head also turned dim blue.
“Hey, it can swallow lightning.”
The smile on Su Huan’s face grew thicker, yet terrifying energy fluctuations brewed between his outstretched arms.
Scorching high temperature directly ignited the shirt on his upper body. Flames rose, coiling around his upper body like dragons and serpents, revealing inch after inch of lean musculature. The zombies just electrocuted couldn’t even climb up before the remaining fabric on their bodies started burning.
The lightning, losing energy support, gradually dispersed, and the lightning pools also thinned under the Tier 3 Matriarch’s absorption.
The zombies guarding the Matriarch frantically launched attacks at Su Huan.
But faster than them through the hundreds of meters of zombie tide was that three-meter-long fire spear.
“Boom——”
“Pretty gluttonous.”
A sharp explosion came from within the flames.
From the lightning pool spreading to the fire spear exploding, everything happened too fast— so fast that Yu Yue only had time to fire one shot, so fast that Xiao Zhao’s hand had just left the volume key inside the vehicle.
Compared to the battle outside the vehicle, the people inside were equally tense and busy without stop.
Although the weapons on the train were already under automated manipulation, before the artificial intelligence was perfected, staff were still needed to manually select targets.
Hearing the clanging footsteps behind her, Xiao Zhao turned around and saw Yu Jing leading the combat group striding over quickly.
Wearing a compact exoskeleton about 1.9 meters tall, only slightly taller than her original height, with armor coverage higher than the Black Kite Special Operations exoskeletons, reaching 100%, looking even thicker.
Perhaps due to lack of time, these exoskeletons had no unified paint job; mottled incompatible metal colors still lingered on them, carrying the roughness and rust smell unique to machinery.
“Old San was called down by He Jie, one set of power armor is short a wearer. Have them send someone up.”
Yu Jing said.
“Power armor?” Xiao Zhao looked thoughtfully at the power armor on the group, “Can I do it?”
Yu Jing frowned, “You’re crew.”
Xiao Zhao said calmly, “As the Research Group Purser, I also have the responsibility to test the latest product.”
Seeing Xiao Zhao’s calm and determined gaze, Yu Jing didn’t hesitate and decisively said, “Get it on him!”
Two people carrying the power armor moved behind him. The helmet popped open, revealing Tan Yunxi’s gray-black big ears and delicate face.
Tan Yunxi, without her usual tsundere demeanor, seriously introduced while helping Xiao Zhao don the power armor.
“Although it has height and body type adaptation devices, there might still be some differences. Crawl in and see if you can feel devices similar to handrails on the left and right hands?”
Xiao Zhao instinctively raised his palms. The palms weren’t delicate wearable machinery but twice the size of normal human palms, achieving finger manipulation through internal force feedback conduction and some technology he didn’t know, with several slight dents on top, perfectly fitting his fingers. Feeling carefully, they seemed like soft silicone material, probably with some press-to-activate function.
“Looks like you found them. Don’t press. Time is urgent, no safety has been added yet. That’s the mechanical device for manipulating two heavy machine guns, powerful enough to sweep the entire command platform…”
Tan Yunxi said quickly.
Xiao Zhao, about to try, froze his fingers in fright.
“Don’t be nervous, the other side isn’t heavy machine guns.”
Xiao Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and asked curiously, “What’s the other side?”
Tan Yunxi patted and hammered on him, locking various mechanical structures, sealing the armor, “The other side can blow the entire front of the vehicle to kingdom come!”
Xiao Zhao: “…”
“Tan Yunxi.”
A faint urging voice from Yu Jing came from behind.
Tan Yunxi no longer dared to tease Xiao Zhao, tensed up, and quickly introduced, “The power armor has three attack modes total. Left side is high explosive grenades, max throw range 400 meters, straight-line distance 80 meters, kill radius 5-7 meters, total of six. Right side is two-caliber heavy machine guns: 7.62×51mm regular bullets with 8 magazines totaling 1920 rounds, 12.7×99mm with only 3 magazines totaling 720 rounds. If the bullets fired turn into tracer rounds, it means you only have the last 100 rounds left. Pay attention to distinguish…”
“The rest are power enhancement, backup power activation, communication, quick release, and other basic functions, all one-key activation. You can try them once you’re out.”
“Finally, there’s the newly developed general energy shield. It can help you withstand about thirty close-range 12.7mm bullets or three attacks from a Tier 2 Zombie. But this thing is very precious. You can completely rely on the armor to hard-block attacks from ordinary Tier 1 Zombies. Except for Butchers, that’s the full function summary of the power armor [Guardian].”
Soon Xiao Zhao saw the “precious” part Tan Yunxi mentioned. Tan Yunxi opened a small slot on the chest of his power armor, then inserted a board fixed with Tier 1 General Energy Crystals, a full fifteen of them.
“I get everything else. What’s different about Butchers?”
“The power armor’s shock absorption is currently too poor; it’ll shake your internals into meat foam unless you become a Tier 1 Evolver. But then you wouldn’t need this thing.” Yu Jing walked over, followed by a mechanical puppet even taller than the power armor.
“Ready? It’s our turn to take the field!”
…
The fixed firepower on the train roof ultimately had its limitations, especially against Jumpers using dive attacks from above.
With the firepower supplement of thirty sets of power armor, everyone on the train suppressing high-level zombies no longer had to worry about being ambushed from behind.
The originally massive number of Tier 2 Zombies, plus some evolver-turned Tier 2 Butchers, numbered over six hundred, even more than the Armed Corps soldiers. On a 1.5 km defense line, a few hundred soldiers simply couldn’t hold it.
Fortunately, the train had cannon fire advantage. Even though those Tier 2 Zombies had impenetrable corpse armor, could easily destroy steel bar cement buildings, and were arrogant against small-caliber bullets, in front of the absolute justice of 155mm caliber, they weren’t much tougher than eggshells.
One cannon shot down, blood waves surged to the sky.
Cannon fire everywhere, booming without cease.
But the most dazzling was still the battlefield of the Train Conductor and the Tier 3 Matriarch.
The two completely exceeded the limits of carbon-based lifeforms, like playing a magic duel. At first, the electromagnetic railgun still fired at the Matriarch to share the pressure, but don’t let her massive size fool you; her agility was insane. Nine out of ten shots missed, and the occasional hit would be inexplicably absorbed by an energy barrier.
It bounced back in an even more terrifying form, blasting a one-meter diameter hole in the armored train.
Everyone finally understood the gap between Tier 2 and Tier 3 that the Train Conductor kept nagging about.
They simply stopped obsessing and turned the gun barrels to directly clear Tier 2 Zombies.
Tier 3 could run and block, but Tier 2 Zombies facing the superweapon electromagnetic railgun went down in strings with one shot. Large ones like Butchers and Butchers had nowhere to hide.
Their budding intelligence wasn’t enough to predict the gun barrel.
Only short Earth Ghosts, speed-type Night Demons, and Hunters could barely escape.
Sergeant squads specifically targeted these agile Tier 2 Zombies, various grenades and heavy sniper rifles greeting them. The gunshots from fifty or sixty heavy sniper rifles almost rang together. Relying on overwhelming modern firepower, they forcibly pinned the zombie tide at the edge of Chenxi Plaza.
This scene was clearly seen by the Black Star Convoy at the edge.
Because of Jiang Rong, they weren’t driven to the back with the scavengers, but were also prohibited from boarding the train to join the battle.
The armored train was no longer a roadside small force; it had its own deployments and battle rhythm. Outsiders rashly joining would only increase uncontrollable risks.
So He Jie would rather bear the casualties than let his soldiers mix with a bunch of untrained women and children.
But staying in the hotel behind the train didn’t mean they could rest easy.
From time to time, Tier 2 Zombies broke through the blockade at the cost of casualties. Soldiers might not arrive in time to kill them all, so they had to defend themselves.
Fortunately, Chen Shan and others had recovered, plus Li Xinlong and Jiang Rong’s protection. Several Tier 1 Evolvers leading over a hundred evolvers wouldn’t be slaughtered by Tier 2, but there were always some losses each time.
Yuan Wei leaned behind an earth wall, panting heavily. The wall had just been smashed by a Tier 2 Jumper; it was raised by Chen Shan’s ability, only half intact. He knew very well the earth wall’s strength was much lower than steel bar cement, but massive blood loss made even lifting his hand strenuous, let alone moving his body.
Not to mention, where was there a safe place now?
The dozen or so on the rooftop were directly gnawed by diving Jumpers. The few who ran down also went silent, probably eaten by zombies surviving Old Yang’s corpse explosion. The rest could only huddle fearfully between the tenth and twelfth floors, waiting for this war they couldn’t control but controlled their destiny to end.
The wall in front of him flickered dimly under the gunfire and searchlights behind, like projections repeatedly playing bizarre scenes.
There were terrifying monsters like gluttons, ones wearing mecha chasing small-mountain-like beasts, and…
And a shadow growing larger and larger.
Running with claws and fangs bared.
Probably some Tier 2 Zombie, right?
Yuan Wei watched like an immersive movie. He felt colder and colder, eyelids heavier and heavier.
He didn’t think of his parents, nor the old dog he’d raised for over a decade, but instead of the neighbor’s dirty face.
That guy should be on the safe train now.
He could survive.
In this world, not knowing if surviving is good or bad.
Whatever, it had nothing to do with him anymore.
‘Idiot.’
‘Live well.’
Yuan Wei’s head drooped, but the noisy sounds by his ear brought him back to his senses.
The clawing figure on the wall grew closer; he seemed to hear clearly.
That was…
Calling his name?
Yuan Wei lifted his head with all his strength and saw Chen Ziliang running over, waving his arms, wearing a brand new set of clothes.
The other’s eyes carried a brightness not belonging to this era.
Shouting his name loudly while checking every passerby’s face himself.
He quickly spotted him sitting on the ground.
Chen Ziliang, like a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old youth, bounced over.
He picked up something and tried to feed it to his mouth. He couldn’t see clearly what it was, black and grimy; a wry smile in his eyes—this guy still hadn’t changed his habit of eating random things. But he had no strength to struggle and could only barely swallow a mouthful as per his wish.
The long-lost salty savor instantly filled his mouth, activating his taste buds and his chaotic brain.
“Why?”
“We’re friends.” Chen Ziliang said matter-of-factly.
“I’ve been looking for you for a long time. I have food every day. When I got hungry at night, I went out to find food, and they gave me lots. I won’t need to go out for food anymore. I’ll share half with you; you won’t need to hunt either. There are so many monsters outside, really really big ones that eat people, super scary!”
“I wanted to kill you, you know?”
“Many times.”
Yuan Wei’s expression was strange, like crying but not, not even daring to look at Chen Ziliang’s eyes.
Chen Ziliang paused his actions, hesitated a moment, then continued, “Eat quickly, there’s lots more. After eating, neither of us has to die. From now on, I won’t bother your work, you don’t hit me, that’s fine. I saw everyone on the train working; I’ll work too from now on. We can all live, we can all…”
Yuan Wei suddenly raised his eyes, seeing the bright gaze in Chen Ziliang’s eyes without a trace of dimness. He felt something stuck in his throat, struggled hard to force it out, but it slid down from his eyes.
“Idiot.”
