Chapter 274: Chapter 274: Exceeding the Estimate

An hour later, the members of the monitoring squad gathered again at the top of the skyscraper.

However, when they stepped out of their Mecha, all the members except for Lin Xinghai and Zhuo Yongyuan looked a little pale.

It was due to the excessive consumption of their Perception Power.

The area they had scouted this time was quite large, so for the entire hour, their Mecha had been running at almost full Speed.

And it wasn’t just about running. Even while scouting the perimeter, they would occasionally run into zombie hordes and engage in brief battles.

If these people hadn’t all broken through Three Genetic Locks, they probably wouldn’t have been able to endure it.

However, neither Lin Xinghai nor Zhuo Yongyuan said anything. With grim expressions, they exchanged intelligence and quickly tallied the number of nearby Zombies.

It had reached a staggering 430,000.

"That’s way too many." Zhuo Yongyuan felt a headache coming on. "And what’s even more terrifying is that the number of Zombies is still continuously increasing."

Lin Xinghai also frowned deeply. It was already 430,000. Based on their observations of the Zombie gathering patterns, the number would probably approach the 500,000 mark by noon.

But on the Military Department’s side, even under the most optimistic projections, they would need until at least 2 p.m. to reach the Industrial Park. And clearing out Zombies and gathering supplies—all of that takes time.

"Do you think if the main force arrives at the Industrial Park at 2 p.m., they can gather enough supplies before 6 p.m.?" Lin Xinghai asked.

"That’s probably impossible. After all, according to the staff office’s calculations, it would take at least a whole night," Zhuo Yongyuan said, sounding utterly helpless.

"By 6 p.m., the number of Zombies gathered in this area might reach the horrifying level of 600,000."

"And that number will continue to rise during the night. Before we can gather enough supplies, the Zombie count could reach a terrifying 700,000 or even 800,000."

"If, by then, those Mutated Zombies decide to launch a zombie tide, we’ll be in big trouble."

At this point, Lin Xinghai paused, then suddenly asked, "You mentioned before that according to the staff office’s calculations, the combined forces of the Mercenary Guild and the Military Department can hold off 500,000 Zombies. Were they talking about daytime or nighttime?"

Being able to hold off 500,000 Zombies during the day and being able to hold them off at night were two completely different concepts.

At night, Zombies grow stronger, while human combat effectiveness weakens.

If they could hold off 500,000 Zombies during the day, then at night, they might only be able to handle 400,000, or even just 300,000.

"That... was probably for daytime." Zhuo Yongyuan’s voice lacked confidence now.

This was definitely a huge problem for them. After days of hard work, they were on the verge of completing their objective, but now they faced a massive danger.

Are we really going to give up now that we’ve reached the final step?

"Sigh, forget it. I’ll send the intel to the staff office first and see what the higher-ups decide to do!" Zhuo Yongyuan rubbed his head, deciding not to dwell on it anymore.

Lin Xinghai also sighed softly. No matter how strong he was, he was helpless in the face of a zombie army numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

’All I can do now is focus on completing the mission assigned to me.’

As time went on, just as they had predicted, the number of Zombies grew.

By noon, they conducted another large-scale reconnaissance, and the number of nearby Zombies had indeed reached the horrifying figure of 500,000.

"So? Has the Military Department issued any new orders yet?" Lin Xinghai couldn’t help but ask after seeing Zhuo Yongyuan send out the report.

’Things have already reached this point. Whether we retreat or fight the Zombies to the death, the Military Department should be making a move.’

’But right now, everyone’s just focused on clearing the roads, as if they’re completely unaware of the situation here.’

"Not yet. The staff office just told us to work a little harder, scout a few more times when we have a moment, and keep a constant watch on the zombie hordes’ movements," Zhuo Yongyuan said, shaking his head.

Lin Xinghai frowned. He was about to say something more, but a faint sense of crisis suddenly rose in his heart.

He immediately turned his head toward the source of the feeling, his eyes narrowing slightly. He had a bad premonition.

"What’s wrong?" Zhuo Yongyuan immediately noticed something was off with Lin Xinghai.

"I think something is approaching from that direction," Lin Xinghai said, pointing toward the source of the danger.

His Perception Power already exceeded 560 meters, making it countless times stronger than that of other Optimized.

This Perception Power, far surpassing that of an ordinary person, also made his ability to sense danger far superior.

Hearing this, Zhuo Yongyuan’s face showed surprise. He hadn’t felt anything. It was worth noting that he was an expert at the Peak of Blood Qi Realm; logically, his Perception Power should have been much stronger than Lin Xinghai’s.

But since the words came from Lin Xinghai, he didn’t dare to take it lightly.

"Should we go take a look?" Zhuo Yongyuan asked.

"Yeah. I hope I’m wrong, but I won’t be able to rest easy until we go and find out for sure," Lin Xinghai nodded.

Soon, the monitoring squad set out again. Under Lin Xinghai’s lead, the team quickly advanced nearly two kilometers to the southeast.

At that moment, they all froze. The Zombie Detector was showing a dense cluster of red dots moving in their direction.

It was... a zombie tide!

Lin Xinghai reacted the fastest. Without a word, he piloted his Mecha to leap onto the tallest nearby building and used its optical telescope to survey the distance.

At the same time, a computer program was rapidly estimating the number of Zombies. Soon, Lin Xinghai’s expression changed.

100,000!

The number of Zombies surging toward them from the distance was as high as 100,000.

Although calculations based on observations with an optical telescope could have a large margin of error, even with an error of ten or twenty thousand, it was still an incredible number.

Zhuo Yongyuan and the others followed close behind. They too saw the scene, and their faces instantly turned pale.

"We’re really screwed this time. After this zombie tide passes through, the Zombie count over there will be 600,000!"

"I thought we could at least hold out until tonight. Even if we couldn’t win and had to retreat, we could have at least salvaged some resources. But with the way things are now, we’ll probably have to retreat immediately, and we’ll get nothing," Zhuo Yongyuan said, his voice full of unwillingness.

Just then, Lin Xinghai’s expression changed once again. He had sensed that faint feeling of crisis again, but this time, from another direction.

"Perhaps this isn’t the only trouble we’re in." This time, even Lin Xinghai couldn’t remain calm.

"What do you mean?"

"I’m not sure, but we’ll find out soon enough."

As he spoke, Lin Xinghai piloted his Mecha to leap off the building and head in the other direction.

Zhuo Yongyuan’s expression shifted several times before he hurried to follow.

Three minutes later, everyone stopped in their tracks. They had spotted another zombie tide, rapidly approaching.

"Another zombie tide of over 100,000, and both were launched at the same time. This can’t be a coincidence. It must be the work of those Mutated Zombies."

"So, that means there are many more Mutated Zombies we haven’t detected who are also part of this operation." Lin Xinghai felt a sense of powerlessness as well.