While Lin Xinghai and the others were deliberating, the teams from outposts 107 and 109 also returned.

The casualty report for the battle was quickly tallied. No one was injured, but 4,756 Combat Robots were lost.

The remaining Combat Robots, combined with the original contingent at Outpost 108, now numbered just barely over 6,000.

"Next, in addition to redeploying our defensive line, we need to form at least three observation teams to constantly monitor the movements of those Mutated Zombies."

"If their prolonged assault fails, they might not stay here indefinitely. If they relocate, we must be able to intercept them immediately."

"Of course, if they disperse again, there’s nothing we can do." With these opening remarks, Lin Xinghai set the tone for the meeting.

The others naturally had no objections and quickly began offering their own suggestions to refine the plan.

Of course, the biggest change in the current plan compared to previous versions was perhaps the inclusion of Liu Miaomiao as a factor.

As long as Liu Miaomiao was present, they could keep the extremely dangerous Blood-colored Beetles completely suppressed.

Beyond that, the three artillery squads were the core of their defensive system. If those 52 Mutated Zombies were to launch a suicidal attack, everything would depend on the artillery squads’ capabilities.

As their discussion drew to a close, Zhang Yue looked at Lin Xinghai and asked, "Captain Lin, do you see any other problems with this response plan?"

"I have no problem with the plan, but..." Lin Xinghai paused, gathering his thoughts before continuing, "I mean no offense to the members of the artillery squads, but I just want to confirm: if those 52 Mutated Zombies attack, can you really hold them off?"

Lin Xinghai directed this question to the three artillery squad captains.

Although Zhang Yue had already talked up how powerful the artillery squads were and how they could fend off the Mutated Zombies’ attacks, that was all secondhand information.

This was a war council. Asking the artillery captains directly was a different matter entirely.

If they swore they could do it now, but the final result was drastically different from what they promised, Lin Xinghai could even have them sent to a military tribunal.

The three artillery captains glanced at each other before the eldest, Xu Jinwu, replied, "If those Mutated Zombies are rational, we can absolutely stop them."

"But if they attack Outpost 108 with complete abandon, based on our current defensive fortifications, we estimate we can annihilate at least 30 of the Mutated Zombies before the outpost is breached."

Hearing this answer, Lin Xinghai raised an eyebrow. "Is your firepower really that strong?"

"Captain Lin, rest assured. What we’ve used so far are just our conventional attack methods. In fact, before setting out, to deal with the harsh conditions here in Guanghan City, we brought a batch of small missiles loaded with fission warheads. Those are more than enough to kill those Mutated Zombies," Xu Jinwu said confidently.

"Fission?" Lin Xinghai instantly caught the sensitive word. ’He was inwardly shocked.’

"Ahem! It’s not a nuclear bomb. It’s an explosion created by a different kind of heavy-molecule fission. Its power can’t be compared to a nuke, but the one benefit is that it has no radiation," Xu Jinwu quickly explained.

"Then what’s the specific yield of these small missiles with fission warheads?" Now, Lin Xinghai was interested.

"If one detonated here, it could completely flatten Outpost 108."

"The core blast radius is about 100 meters in diameter. Any Mutated Zombie caught in that core—even an Armored Corpse with the highest Defense Power—would be killed instantly," Xu Jinwu described in the most direct terms.

"What’s the launch range of these small missiles? It must be at least 3 kilometers, right?" Lin Xinghai asked hurriedly.

Xu Jinwu now understood what Lin Xinghai was thinking.

He gave a wry smile and said, "We certainly have that range, but if you’re thinking of using these small missiles to attack the Mutated Zombies, it’s actually very difficult to pull off." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"The Mutated Zombies’ ability to sense danger is just too strong. Basically, the moment we launch, they can sense the mortal threat and immediately flee."

"Given the Speed of a Mutated Zombie—even a relatively slow Armored Corpse has a Speed of over 500—they can easily leave the 100-meter core blast radius before the missile arrives."

Lin Xinghai was a little disappointed by this answer, but he quickly came to terms with it.

’If the Military Department really had a weapon that could threaten these Mutated Zombies from a long distance, they probably would have used it already without waiting for my reminder.’

Seeing that Lin Xinghai was interested in the fission warheads, Xu Jinwu went on to explain in detail their application in actual combat.

If a Mutated Zombie got within a 1-kilometer range, they could launch a missile to strike it.

If they waited until the target was within 500 meters, the probability of a direct hit would increase to over ninety percent. Unless it was something as fast as a Hunter, most Mutated Zombies wouldn’t be able to escape once locked on.

Of course, if the target got any closer, they wouldn’t dare to fire, as their own side would be caught in the explosion’s shockwave.

After all, a human’s physical resilience couldn’t compare to a Mutated Zombie’s. A Mutated Zombie could ignore the shockwave, but if a human were hit by it, it could be fatal.

The war council soon concluded. Afterward, everyone got busy with their respective arrangements.

As for Lin Xinghai, he, conversely, found himself with free time. After all, matters concerning the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps could be handed over to Fang Tianhe, and Zhang Yue was handling things on the Military Department’s side.

Of course, as the absolute mainstay of their forces, it was only right for him to have this downtime. His most important task here wasn’t to command, but to respond to any unexpected situations at critical moments.

However, what Lin Xinghai didn’t expect was that this "downtime" would last a full half-hour.

After their failed wave of attacks, the distant Mutated Zombies remained surprisingly calm. They simply stayed where they were, neither advancing nor retreating.

Of course, although they didn’t know what these Mutated Zombies were planning, it was a good thing for their side.

After learning that Lin Xinghai’s group had tied down 52 Mutated Zombies, the Military Department, with nothing holding it back, fought with even greater abandon.

And in that half-hour, the number of Zombies killed reached a new high, hitting a terrifying 400,000.

In other words, in the hour since the battle began, the entire defensive system had already killed a staggering 700,000 Zombies.