Chapter 296: Chapter 296: The Shocked Command Post

By the time the Mutated Zombies regrouped, Lin Xinghai had already escaped and contacted the mortar squad.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The familiar booming resounded once more. A barrage of mortar shells brutally blasted a path through the zombie horde yet again.

On the way back this time, Lin Xinghai took his time, even keeping his Speed at just 1000 points.

He wanted to see if he could lure some of the Mutated Zombies into chasing him.

There weren’t many Mutated Zombies capable of reaching a Speed of 1000 points. If any did give chase, their formation would inevitably break, allowing him to seize the opportunity and counter-attack.

Unfortunately, perhaps because he had just killed seven Mutated Zombies in a row, not a single one dared to pursue him, even as he advanced at a leisurely pace.

In the end, he returned safely to Outpost 108, met by the adoring gazes of everyone there.

This assassination mission was truly the equivalent of taking an enemy general’s head from within an army of a million.

In fact, it was even more difficult. After all, besides over a million Zombies, he also had to face 53 Mutated Zombies.

But against all odds, Lin Xinghai had done it, and he had returned completely unscathed.

When he and Liu Miaomiao climbed out of the Mecha, everyone at Outpost 108 erupted in a deafening cheer.

...

Meanwhile, in the temporary command post dozens of kilometers away, the area designated for the General Staff was filled with grim faces and a bleak atmosphere.

The staff, who had been directing the battle in an orderly fashion, could no longer focus on anything else after learning of the Spray Zombie’s appearance.

As staff officers, they understood better than anyone just how terrifying it was for this type of Mutated Zombie to appear in such a massive zombie horde.

The larger the zombie horde, the more terrifying the Spray Zombie’s impact.

And now, one had appeared in a horde of over a million. According to their computer simulations, its destructive potential was nearly equivalent to that of 100 Mutated Zombies.

If they couldn’t find a way to eliminate it, they saw almost no possibility of winning this battle.

But the Spray Zombie wasn’t alone. It was protected by a whopping 52 other Mutated Zombies.

Trying to eliminate the Spray Zombie through those layers of protection was a complete pipe dream.

Forget 52 Mutated Zombies—even if only 5 were protecting it, they still might not be able to deal with it while it was hidden in the zombie horde.

It was a hopeless situation.

"Well? Has anyone come up with a solution?" Lin Zhengyang, seated at the head of the table, glanced at the time and asked in a heavy voice.

The staff officers remained silent. Finally, Fang Ruzhi, the Chief of Staff, gave a bitter laugh. "Nothing. It’s not a matter of time, either. Even if you gave us another three days, I doubt we could come up with a solution."

After a moment of silence, Lin Zhengyang sighed softly. "This was an unforeseen factor; the loss isn’t on us. Time is running out. Begin the withdrawal protocol. All we can do now is kill as many Zombies as possible to prepare for the next offensive."

Of course, what he didn’t say was that he had no idea if they would ever get another chance to attack.

For one, each offensive consumed a massive amount of resources, and Star Shield Shelter was already struggling to bear the cost.

For another, if they couldn’t eliminate the Spray Zombie, they had no hope of victory. Any future attempts would be futile.

Hearing Lin Zhengyang’s order, the staff officers, though reluctant, could only nod in silent agreement.

Just as an oppressive atmosphere settled over the command post, a communications officer from the intelligence department suddenly said in surprise, "Another message from Outpost 108 is coming in, and it’s marked green."

The battlefield was vast, with messages constantly being relayed back to the command post. These messages were color-coded to indicate whether the news was good or bad.

Green meant good news, while red meant bad news. The deeper the color, the more important the message.

The incoming message wasn’t just green—it was a brilliant, vivid green. That was why the communications officer was so surprised.

After his initial surprise, he hurriedly clicked open the message to read it.

A look of surprise crossed his face as he read the first few lines. As he continued down, he froze completely, stunned.

The officer’s expression naturally drew the attention of others.

The head of the communications department, in particular, urged him twice. When the officer remained dazed, the department head couldn’t sit still any longer and hurried over to look at the screen.

With just one glance, the department head’s eyes were glued to the screen, and he, too, froze on the spot.

The strange behavior of the two men drew the eyes of nearly everyone in the command post.

The communications department head was a seasoned veteran who had seen his share of action, and he was the first to snap out of it. He took a deep breath and announced, his voice trembling with excitement, "The Spray Zombie has been eliminated."

His words struck like a thunderclap, leaving everyone in the room stunned. They couldn’t believe their ears, wondering if they had misheard.

"The Spray Zombie was eliminated? How is that possible?" Fang Ruzhi, the Chief of Staff, was the first to speak.

Perhaps no one in the room understood better than him just how difficult eliminating the Spray Zombie was.

He would have found it hard to believe if someone had merely claimed to have a solution, let alone that they had already carried it out and successfully eliminated the Spray Zombie.

"It’s true. And it wasn’t just the Spray Zombie. Lin Xinghai also took down one Hunter, two Spitters, and three Blood Worms in the process."

"I have the video from Outpost 108 right here. The dense fog over there has indeed stopped spreading. As for the detailed combat log, we’ll have to wait a bit. It can only be transmitted after it’s been downloaded from the Mecha," the communications head explained patiently.

He then projected the battle video for everyone else to see clearly.

The video was filmed from a high vantage point at the outpost. It opened with the thunderous roar of a continuous mortar barrage, which shockingly, seemed to be aimed deep into the horde.

At first, many were confused by this scene. Then, a sharp-eyed staff officer exclaimed, "There’s a Mecha following the barrage!" Only then did they realize that this was how Lin Xinghai had managed to penetrate deep into the zombie horde.

Of course, the green, toxic fog soon obscured their line of sight, and they could no longer see the Mecha or even the explosions—only hear the continuous booming.

After two more deafening roars echoed out, some of the more astute staff officers in the room began to vaguely understand Lin Xinghai’s plan.

And just ten-odd seconds after those massive roars, the green, toxic fog that had spread for kilometers abruptly stopped expanding.

Seeing this, everyone had no choice but to believe it. Lin Xinghai had really gone in alone and killed the Spray Zombie that they had been unable to find a solution for, no matter how hard they thought.