Chapter Seventy-Eight: Laser Weapons

Rebuilding Civilization Without Barriers

Upon hearing Xie Han’s words, Yang Xingjun’s brows knitted tightly, his stern face visibly shaken. He said, “After receiving the news yesterday, I immediately dispatched people to observe. At present, the wandering vanguard of the zombies is still seventeen kilometers from the base. If your guess is correct, at their usual pace, it will take them another half month to reach us. That means we still have a chance…”

“Evacuate the entire base?” Xie Han didn’t understand what Yang Xingjun meant by ‘chance.’ As far as he could see, abandoning the base before the zombies arrived was the only option. Defending it seemed hopeless; if the zombies were driven by some unknown force, then holding out would only play into their hands.

Yang Xingjun shook his head and spoke slowly, “Evacuate? Even if I was willing, would the hundreds of thousands of people agree? Would they believe your claims? And where would we go? Within two hundred kilometers, this is the only base. Evacuating so many isn’t as simple as just deciding to leave.” There was another consideration Yang Xingjun kept to himself—Sun Yinren’s attitude. Based on past experience, he would likely dismiss this as nonsense. If Sun Yinren opposed the evacuation, it simply wouldn’t happen.

Yang Xingjun had retained command in this apocalypse not by luck but by skill. Yet, he feared Sun Yinren—not for his several hundred armed guards, but for a weapon Sun Yinren possessed. As long as Sun Yinren held that weapon, Yang Xingjun could not wrest power away. Their long acquaintance, from peaceful times through three and a half years of chaos, had proven Sun Yinren a smiling schemer. Who knew if, in a power struggle, Sun Yinren wouldn’t resort to desperate measures, risking mutual destruction? If that happened, Yang Xingjun and the entire base would be buried with him.

Of course, Yang Xingjun would never share such thoughts with this young man. Instead, he said, “Just as you analyzed, if some unknown force is driving them, then that’s our opportunity. If we can identify and disrupt—or eliminate—the cause, the zombies will revert to their previous mindless state, merely wandering near the base. The crisis would then be resolved.”

Xie Han agreed with Yang Xingjun’s approach; it seemed the only path forward. Still, after witnessing the power of R3, Xie Han doubted that whatever controlled the zombies would be weaker than R3. He asked, “So your plan is to send troops into the endless sea of corpses to find the culprit driving the zombies?”

“Yes,” Yang Xingjun replied. “That’s why I called you here today. I’ve heard the rumors—the story of your fight with R3 is so well-known that every child in the base can recite it. This is our responsibility, but the consequences are too grave for carelessness. Only someone with your capabilities can be entrusted with such a task.”

Xie Han forced a bitter smile. He had fought R3, true, but had been utterly defeated, barely escaping with his life. This mission, facing tens of thousands of zombies and unknown evolved forms, could easily end in annihilation before they even found the culprit.

Seeing Xie Han’s hesitant, bitter smile, Yang Xingjun said, “I know it’s an impossible task, but please think of the hundreds of thousands of survivors in the base. If the zombies besiege us, you know the consequences as well as I do.”

“Do I even have a choice?” Xie Han thought. If he refused, Yang Xingjun wouldn’t do anything to him, but could his conscience rest easy? These were the last remnants of humanity, perhaps future fighters against the zombies. Whether the mission succeeded or not, at least he would have tried.

Yang Xingjun said, “Of course you have no choice. Given the dangers, I can grant you access to real weapons and equipment. And regardless of the outcome, you may ask for any favor within my power.”

“Real weapons and equipment?” Xie Han was intrigued, especially by the promise of a favor. The base was full of coveted items—heavy-duty road machines, satellite receivers, and more.

Yang Xingjun explained, “What you’re using now—machine guns and such—are just conventional arms. Back in 2050, the nation began modernizing its forces. Many advanced weapons entered a period of intensive research. Five years produced plenty of cutting-edge equipment, but only a handful made it into service, mostly due to unready conditions and timing.” Yang Xingjun’s voice was tinged with regret. “If not for the XR virus outbreak, perhaps within a few more years, the entire military would have upgraded, stepping fully into the future.”

The base’s weapons were stored in the underground garage of the town government building, which had been modified to seal most entrances, leaving only one guarded by four soldiers.

Yang Xingjun led Xie Han into the garage. It was vast, packed with all kinds of vehicles. “Some of these came with us when we arrived,” Yang Xingjun explained, “others were collected from the town.”

Small arms were stored in a row of rooms along the edge of the garage. Yang Xingjun brought Xie Han into one, formerly a cleaned-out trash room, about twenty square meters, with three shelves piled high with various weapons and equipment.

Yang Xingjun went to one shelf and picked up a gun similar in size to a submachine gun. He said, “Z-type laser gun, based on a chemical laser. Decades of research have matured the technology. Laser weapons are now deployed on ground and air platforms for tactical air defense, theater missile defense, and anti-satellite operations. But lasers are too sensitive to weather and environment, so the military only equips special units with them. I only have a few.”

Xie Han knew something about laser weapons. In modern times, the US, Russia, France, Israel, and others had already conducted successful laser firing experiments. Low-energy lasers were already in use for blinding and interfering with nearby optical sensors, as well as attacking eyes and enhanced observation devices. High-energy lasers, according to current technology, would need another ten to fifteen years to become practical.

Thus, Xie Han wasn’t surprised that this small laser gun had high energy. Decades of development had brought them to this point.

Despite the array of weapons, Xie Han wasn’t particularly excited. Anyone facing a vast zombie horde knew these guns would be of limited use, far less effective than the battle blade Chen Six had given him. Still, Xie Han’s gaze soon landed on a corner behind the shelves, where several sets of strange equipment were stacked.