Invincible through Touching Corpses

Chapter 309: Finally Encountering a Mutated Zombie

The changes in the team since Lin Xinghai took command were plain for all to see.

As a result, the Mercenary Corps Leaders who had been unconvinced before now had no choice but to admit that Lin Xinghai’s formidable reputation wasn’t just hype—he truly had the ability to turn the rotten into the miraculous.

As their efficiency in killing Zombies increased, their kill rate finally matched the rate at which Zombies were gathering.

And that was while they had to divert some of their personnel to collect Elemental Crystals. Otherwise, they could have completely annihilated all the surrounding Zombies.

Of course, the farther they got from the sub-base, the denser the Zombies became. The number of Zombies gathering around the team continued to rise.

However, the rate of increase was still within what Lin Xinghai considered an acceptable range.

Soon, the team was more than two kilometers from the sub-base. By then, the Zombies surrounding them had exceeded 10,000, forming a genuine small-scale horde.

With an increasing number of Zombies, the creatures would become more and more frenzied. Their roars would also attract even more of their kind.

Therefore, once a horde formed, the Zombies would become even more savage and bloodthirsty. Their roars would grow louder, capable of attracting other Zombies from several kilometers away.

"Alright, head to the extermination point. We’ll kill them all there!" Lin Xinghai ordered upon seeing the horde form.

These so-called "extermination points" were actually just sturdy buildings along their route.

Places like office buildings, large shopping malls, and hospital towers.

By using these locations, they could establish a temporary defensive outpost, making it much easier to kill the Zombies.

As the team advanced, they quickly entered an office building.

Normally, when being chased by a horde, there would be no time to set up a defensive system. But that didn’t matter—they had Combat Robots.

Once the Mercenary Corps were inside, the Combat Robots bringing up the rear instantly sealed off every entrance. In that moment, they became a steel wall—a wall that could fight back.

As for the Mercenary Corps, they didn’t even need orders from Lin Xinghai. They swiftly occupied every floor of the office building, knocking out all the windowpanes to create firing positions.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

In an instant, cannons roared and bullets flew. Lin Xinghai didn’t need to worry. Every Mercenary Corps was highly experienced in this kind of positional warfare. With 5,000 people defending a single office building, they had more than enough manpower—enough to even implement a shift system and allow some of them to rest.

Meanwhile, Lin Xinghai and Zhang Yue led the special operations unit to the rooftop to set up a large optical observation device.

"Anything? We’re making a huge commotion. Have you spotted any signs of Mutated Zombies?" Lin Xinghai asked the operator.

He hadn’t forgotten the ultimate purpose of this Zombie-clearing operation: to kill a few Mutated Zombies and make an example of them.

’If there are any Mutated Zombies nearby, they’ve got to have sensed this. We’ve stirred up a horde, even if it’s a small one. There’s no way they wouldn’t notice.’

’Once we spot a Mutated Zombie and it gets within a three-kilometer range, I can sortie in the Mecha.’

’With the artillery squad clearing a path, at my Speed, it’ll have basically no chance to escape.’

"I’ve scanned the area three times, sir. Nothing yet. It’s possible it’s hiding behind a building, which would block the optical scanner’s line of sight," the operator replied quickly.

"Understood. Report it the moment you see anything," Lin Xinghai said with a disappointed sigh.

Standing beside him, Zhang Yue’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch. ’Anyone who didn’t know the plan would think Lin Xinghai was insane.’

’Actively searching for a Mutated Zombie and then being disappointed when you can’t find one... What is that, if not crazy?’

Of course, he knew this was a crazy plan from the start.

Twenty minutes later, the horde outside had been annihilated.

The horde, plus the Zombies that arrived later, had totaled 20,000.

This time, they hadn’t used Grenade Cannons for bombardment and had even used relatively few Hand Cannon Bullets. The Zombies were almost all taken down with precise shots, so not much ammunition was consumed. It was safe to say that every Mercenary Corps had made a small profit.

After spending another ten minutes or so cleaning up the battlefield, they set off along their planned route toward the next extermination point.

They repeated the process: killing Zombies along the way to attract a horde, reaching an extermination point, killing all the pursuing Zombies, and then moving on to the next one.

In this manner, the team soon advanced five kilometers into the city.

This time, their chosen extermination point was a large shopping mall. Just as before, a squad of soldiers set up the optical detection equipment. A short while later, the operator reported, "We’ve found signs of a Mutated Zombie."

"Where? What kind is it? How many are there?" Lin Xinghai fired off three questions in a row, his voice filled with delighted surprise.

"We’ve spotted a single Hunter so far. It’s six kilometers out," the operator said, pulling up the image feed.

Watching the approaching Hunter, Lin Xinghai ordered, "Keep a close eye on it. Use the split-screen to scan for any other Mutated Zombies."

The operator quickly complied, but to Lin Xinghai’s disappointment, they found no others.

What was even more frustrating was that the Hunter itself stopped five kilometers from their extermination point. It simply climbed a tall building and started watching them from a distance, refusing to come any closer.

"This is... It’s like they’re genuinely afraid now," Zhang Yue remarked with a sigh. He had never seen a Hunter so afraid of death.

Normally, given a Hunter’s temperament, even if it didn’t use its incredible Speed for a sneak attack, it would never be this cautious. It would most likely have approached to within one kilometer.

Lin Xinghai’s expression soured. The creature had stopped a full five kilometers away. And this was a Hunter, known for its extreme speed. Even in his Mecha, he might not be able to catch it.

’Even if I force the issue and give chase, by the time I catch up, we’ll be at least ten kilometers farther out. Over that distance, it could probably run all the way to the city center.’

And Lin Xinghai felt that the center of Guanghan City deserved a healthy amount of respect. He had no intention of charging in there to risk his life, at least not alone.

"Keep it under surveillance," Lin Xinghai said, still hopeful. "Oh, and tell the men below to slow their kill rate. Drag this out a bit. Give the Hunter some time to react. Maybe it’ll call for its friends!"

’As long as they’re not Hunters, I’m confident I can catch any other Mutated Zombie within a short time, even from five kilometers away.’

--------