Chapter Sixty-Six: A Little Underhanded

Indeed, under the relentless barrage of the eighteen-barreled heavy machine gun, the force unleashed was nothing short of a terrifying storm of metal. In the cramped space at the warehouse entrance, the mindless zombies, guided only by the sensory cues granted by the XR virus—smell, sight, and hearing—could determine the enemy’s position and hurl themselves forward, only to be utterly shredded by the metallic tempest. Exploiting this weakness, the convoy stopped right at the entrance, effortlessly luring all the zombies within the warehouse and eliminating them completely.

The furious roar of machine guns was enough to attract hordes of zombies; anyone who had survived a zombie onslaught knew this well, no need for Chen Liu to explain. Thus, after clearing the warehouse of zombies, the convoy, led by five armored vehicles, stormed into the warehouse square. The men Chen Liu brought leaped out of the six heavy trucks as soon as they stopped, rushing at breakneck speed toward the various parked vehicles scattered about.

Chen Liu shouted, “Find a truck with cargo, and if anyone gets an empty one, he’ll have to come back and load it himself!” His half-joking remark drew laughter from the tense crowd, but it did nothing to slow their actions. It was easy to distinguish between empty and loaded trucks: first, by their parking spots, then by knocking on the side of the truck—if the echo was deep and heavy, it meant there was cargo inside.

Considering whether the cargo inside would be usable, Xie Han added, “Everyone, try to pick trucks parked under the shelters.” Chen Liu understood his meaning, pointing at the rows of distant warehouses with a grin. “If we had enough time, moving goods from the warehouses would be best. With advanced storage technology, even after three years the contents wouldn’t spoil. As for the trucks parked outside, I reckon half of them are still usable—that’s already quite good.”

Xie Han laughed. “Not necessarily. Look at these trucks; their compartments are made with seamless technology, completely weatherproof. As long as the cargo inside is packed, I’d say there’s a ninety percent chance it’s still usable.” He sighed, somewhat regretfully. “Our strength is still too weak. If Gao Tianhao’s convoy were here, we could probably empty the entire warehouse.”

Chen Liu, while directing vehicles to defend the warehouse, responded with a chuckle, “Don’t be greedy. There are over a hundred trucks here—if you really took them all, what a haul that would be!” Xie Han had to agree; the post-apocalyptic transport network was highly developed, and heavy vehicles were far more advanced than their modern counterparts. For instance, a four-segment carrier parked at the edge of the yard, with each segment carrying more than two Dongfeng Menglong heavy trucks.

Xie Han had also heard of an even more terrifying type of tractor—a colossus five meters tall like a heavy road opener, which, beside such a tractor, was like a child. He couldn’t imagine whether these tractors, once fully loaded, could rival trains. This was the vehicle he most dreamed of—if only it could be transformed into a mobile gun platform with supreme firepower, it might slowly reclaim Wangtian City, bit by bit.

But this fantasy was just that; such tractors could only run on special roads, and acquiring one was a monumental task. They seemed to exist only in a handful of rare places.

While Xie Han’s mind wandered, most of Chen Liu’s men had already found their targets and were busy figuring out how to get the vehicles running. For most vehicles, starting them quietly was nearly impossible for non-professionals. But with brute force, survivors of the apocalypse could easily get any truck moving. With two or three working together, it took little time; many trucks were already lined up in the warehouse square.

During this time, nearby zombies kept attacking the warehouse, but lacking overwhelming numbers, the defenders easily dispatched them. Yet Xie Han knew this was only temporary. As time passed, zombies from elsewhere would converge on the warehouse, and their sheer numbers would soon exhaust even the most formidable storm of bullets. After all, such firepower depended entirely on a massive supply of ammunition.

It must be said, Chen Liu’s men were exceptionally tough; from smashing glass doors to driving trucks onto the square, it took only four or five minutes. In just over ten minutes, all the usable vehicles were in their hands. Chen Liu seemed very satisfied with this outcome. At his signal, three armored vehicles took the lead, two more covered the rear, and seven King Hummers formed the mobile flanks along both sides.

From the charge into the warehouse to their departure took barely twenty minutes. Given zombie movement speed, only about ten thousand had gathered—not enough to pose a real threat. Killing zombies wasn’t the convoy’s goal, so the lead armored vehicles handled the shooting, carving a path through the horde as the convoy sped away.

As the last truck exited the warehouse, Chen Liu gazed at the dozen rows of warehouses, fell into thought, then jumped out. He rummaged through the rear of a King Hummer, pulling out a massive box. Xie Han couldn’t guess what Chen Liu was planning, but his intuition warned him the heavy box in Chen Liu’s hands was extremely dangerous.

True to Xie Han’s suspicion, Chen Liu opened the box and pulled out an aerial cluster bomb, clearly modified, with a tangle of electronic wires attached. Chen Liu grinned and said, “I’m guessing Gao Tianhao’s target today or tomorrow will be this warehouse. With his hunting convoy, he could empty it all.” He sneered, “Gao Tianhao is ambitious—I’m starting to see how my men died.”

Xie Han’s heart clenched. He too had suspected Gao Tianhao; only someone like him would dare act against Chen Liu, whose influence in the base was formidable. If Gao Tianhao truly had ambitions, he would eliminate potential obstacles. Yet Xie Han was puzzled—if Gao Tianhao was ambitious, his target should be the base’s leadership, not Chen Liu. “Chen Liu, are you planning to destroy this place?”

Chen Liu sneered. “Destroy it? Hell no—I still want to empty these warehouses myself. I just want to give Gao Tianhao some trouble.” He explained, “You know, zombies have keener hearing than us. Any loud commotion will draw them here in droves. If Gao Tianhao wants the goods, he’ll have to pay a price.”

“So you’re using this cluster bomb to lure them?” Xie Han shook his head, surprised that Chen Liu could devise such a nasty trick. In this way, Gao Tianhao would indeed pay dearly to get the goods—at minimum, a huge expenditure of ammunition, and the time pressure would prevent him from clearing the warehouse in one sweep.

Chen Liu nodded. He quickly pressed the activation button on the cluster bomb and hurled it into the center of the warehouse square. Jumping into the King Hummer, he floored the accelerator, speeding off after the convoy like an arrow. “Damn it, this bomb’s been modified—its power isn’t huge, but the noise…” Chen Liu sneered and stopped speaking, stuffing his ears and accelerating even more.