Chapter Ninety-Six: Forcible Abduction

The purpose of the R3 units seemed to be nothing more than driving the human survivors back into the base, and so they did not storm directly inside. Instead, they continued their slaughter on the open wasteland, killing anyone who strayed within range of their senses. Yang Xingjun had already withdrawn the convoy into the base, and the soldiers who had been gathered together were once again dispersed to the defensive fortifications within the perimeter. Perhaps having learned the R3’s habits, the heavy machine guns and other weapons began changing their ammunition, bringing out every explosive round in stock.

The greatest advantage of the beam sniper rifle was that, while it could fire beam attacks, it could also shoot conventional sniper rounds and even use explosive shells. In theory, the beam itself was more powerful than an explosive round, but in certain situations it was still inferior. The R3 units were about a thousand meters from the base’s high walls, and at that distance the beam sniper rifle could display its full might, which was why flashes of light kept leaping intermittently across the ramparts.

The four R3 units had spread out around the base, each one taking a different side. They had infiltrated the panicked crowd and were slaughtering at will. Now and then, one or two beams would strike them, but the result was only to blast away a layer of skin. The beam sniper rifle was highly accurate, but against the nimble R3s weaving through the people, it still only hit them occasionally. The R3’s recovery ability was astonishingly strong; often a wound needed only a few minutes to heal completely.

By the time Xie Han led Chen Yaoyuan and the other fifteen back to the base, two hours had already passed. His keen hearing could faintly catch the low, throbbing moan of the vast zombie horde, and the faint vibration rising from the ground made him anxious beyond measure.

As soon as Chen Yaoyuan and the others returned to the base, they saluted Xie Han and then hurried to the defensive line. Yang Xingjun’s temporary command post was located there.

The chaos inside the base was beyond anything Xie Han had imagined. Looting, smashing, rape, and murder were everywhere; corruption had filled every corner. He even saw with his own eyes several burly men brutally dismember a young woman into more than a dozen pieces, then douse the remains with gasoline and set them alight.

The burning flesh gave off a thick, greasy aroma, but Xie Han only felt nausea rising in him. As a modern man, how could he ever have seen such a blood-soaked, savage scene? Much less one unfolding before his very eyes. Watching the four men laugh heartily as they prepared to stroll away, Xie Han drew Tiger Fang without the slightest hesitation and darted forward like a ghost.

Tiger Fang swept across one man’s neck. The blade was so sharp that the head was severed cleanly from the body and rolled to the ground. Four men. In just five seconds, Xie Han had taken all four heads.

I never thought Tiger Fang would drink human blood before it ever tasted the blood of zombies, Xie Han thought as he looked at the thin sheen of blood on the blade, feeling a moment of bewilderment. Zombies sought to destroy humanity; that should have inspired human unity and resistance. Yet all too often, people did not die by zombie claws, but by the hands of their own kind. That, perhaps, was the true tragedy of the end times.

What he saw afterward made Xie Han grow numb. There was slaughter and violence everywhere. To such people, the only thing he could do was put a beam rifle round through their skulls. As he went along, the number of people he killed was not a hundred, but at least seventy or eighty. Some resisted, but against the absurd defensive power of his micro armor, they were usually sliced cleanly in half by the beam rifle in the very next instant.

Soon he reached the residential district where he used to live. Things were somewhat better here; at the very least, no killing game was being staged in this area.

At the entrance to the neighborhood, two machine guns were mounted in the security booths on either side, guarding the community from being swallowed by the chaos. Xie Han recognized at once that the four men on guard were Chen Liu’s subordinates. He opened his helmet, revealing his face. After walking close enough, he called out, “Is Brother Chen Liu inside?”

Seeing Xie Han, the boss above the bosses, one of them immediately ran out of the booth, saying excitedly, “Boss Xie, Boss Chen has been waiting inside for a long time.”

When Xie Han saw Chen Liu, the man was lounging idly atop his Hummer King, staring up at the blazing midday sun, smoking one cigarette after another and exhaling rings of smoke. Beside him, more than a hundred subordinates were already fully armed and waiting to move out.

Upon seeing Xie Han, Chen Liu flicked away his cigarette butt and said, “Kid Xie, if I hadn’t been waiting for you, I would’ve broken out of here already.” He glanced at his watch and added, “I was just thinking that if you didn’t show up in front of me within five minutes, I’d take my men and leave immediately.”

Xie Han merely patted Chen Liu on the shoulder and said, “Good thing I made it, isn’t it? All right, we don’t have much time left. The zombies are coming faster than we expected. We have to leave the base before they complete the encirclement. But before we go, there’s one thing we still need to do.”

Chen Liu glanced sideways at the passenger seat, started the Hummer King, and said, “If time is short, then we’d better move like lightning.”

He did not ask what Xie Han intended to do. He knew that Xie Han always had his reasons for everything. Since he had chosen to follow him, not every matter needed to be questioned in detail.

Among the hundred or so people, there were eight Hummer Kings and two modified heavy trucks. This convoy roared toward the command center, and for anyone who stood in its path, the machine gunner on Chen Liu’s Hummer King, A Mu, needed no orders at all. The spinning barrel and the spray of bullets were enough to turn the obstacle into a sieve.

The base was not large to begin with. In only three minutes, the convoy had already stopped in front of the XR virus research center.

The soldiers who had once guarded this place had long since vanished. The courtyard was strewn with signs of deliberate destruction, suggesting that someone had already come through to strip it clean in the chaos. Unfortunately for them, everything here was merely experimental equipment, and anyone hoping for a windfall would be bitterly disappointed.

Several corpses still lay in the yard, their blood long since dried. Judging from their clothing, they were likely researchers from the facility.

Xie Han shook his head and said to Chen Liu, “Anyone who approaches this place, kill them on sight.” He walked into the room at the entrance to the underground level and activated the call function on the intelligent platform there. Soon, a trembling researcher appeared on the display screen and asked in a quavering voice, “Who is it?”

After confirming that everything inside was in order, Xie Han finally let out a breath of relief. At least they were still in time. To make himself easier to recognize, he removed the hood of his micro armor and said, “I’m Xie Han. Is Doctor Wang inside?”

Very quickly, Wang Yezhi’s face appeared on the display screen, and after confirming Xie Han’s identity, the tightly shut underground door was opened.

Inside the basement, all the researchers had gathered in the command hall. Panicked and disoriented, they had no idea what was happening above ground. If Wang Yezhi, who was in charge here, had not been holding them in check, they would probably have fled the compound long ago during the chaos.

Looking at the flustered researchers, Xie Han glanced once more at the time on his wristwatch and wasted no more words. He went straight to the point with Wang Yezhi. “Doctor Wang, I’m sure you’ve heard at least a little about what’s happening outside. It’s nothing but chaos. Animals that have lost every shred of humanity are burning, killing, looting, and smashing everything in sight. They’ll do anything. The base is about to become a hell.”

Clearly, Wang Yezhi knew nothing of this. Like the others, he stared in disbelief and asked, “How could this happen? What about the soldiers in the base? What are they all doing?”

Xie Han said, “The soldiers? Heh. If it weren’t for the R3 units blocking their retreat outside, they’d probably already be dozens of kilometers away by now. The entire base is under siege by zombies. We have to leave immediately, or once the horde arrives, we won’t be able to get out at all.”

Wang Yezhi still did not believe him. “Why should we leave? I’m sure Colonel Yang will send troops to evacuate us very soon.”

Xie Han gave a cold laugh. “If he had any intention of doing that, men would already be here by now.” He waved his hand, and Chen Liu’s men immediately surged forward, seized Wang Yezhi, and dragged him outside, ignoring his shouting and struggling.

Casting a frosty glance over the panicked researchers, Xie Han had long since abandoned the mercy he had once possessed. He knew that in this apocalypse, mercy was worthless. One only had to look outside the base to understand that.

“Everyone,” he said, “the situation is plain enough. I won’t waste time explaining it further. Please, leave.”

After the last researcher had exited the basement, Xie Han finally entered the metal room that held more than a dozen zombies. He cut open the door with his beam rifle, then swept it sideways several times as the zombies lunged at him from inside, severing half their heads before he turned and left the basement.

Before departing, he did not forget to hack viciously at the basement door several times with Tiger Fang. After successfully triggering the emergency security system, the basement sealed itself shut completely a few minutes later.