Chapter 129 - 100: Vigilance

Chapter 129: Chapter 100: Vigilance

"Nice shot, Li! Keep it up!" The commander had clearly seen the most threatening Agility Type zombie get taken down. Without even turning his head, he shouted his praise, assuming his own Precision Shooter had finally found his rhythm.

"No, Squad Leader, it wasn’t me!" Li’s voice was laced with a hint of disbelief and shame. He whipped his head around, his gaze instantly locking onto Xu Mo, who had just lowered his rifle with a calm expression.

On the line, the few combatants nearby who had witnessed the scene all turned to stare at Xu Mo in unison, their eyes filled with shock.

"It was him!" Li pointed at Xu Mo.

Only then did the commander turn around in astonishment. An expression of extreme surprise flashed across his face as he saw Xu Mo holding an AK-47, and the still-hot shell casing that had just landed by his feet.

But the surprise was quickly replaced by decisiveness. He gave Xu Mo a deep look, as if re-evaluating this survivor who had been assigned to menial labor.

"Great shooting, brother!" The commander’s voice was loud and clear, carrying the characteristic frankness of a soldier. "I’m the C-07 position commander, Zhao Ming. The situation is critical. I am officially conscripting you to a combat post to assist in the defense. Your priority is to eliminate those high-speed variants. Any problem with that?"

Xu Mo hesitated slightly before speaking. "Squad Leader Zhao, my assignment is ammo supply, so..."

"Don’t you worry about supply!" Zhao Ming cut him off directly, his actions crisp and efficient, without a trace of hesitation. He immediately picked up his radio. "Command, Command, this is C-07. I need two ammo carriers for reinforcement, immediately. Also, my position is temporarily conscripting a survivor with precision shooting capabilities into the combat roster. ID number to be reported later."

The reply came back quickly. "Roger that. Personnel will be dispatched immediately. Conscription approved. Log it per procedure."

After the call ended, Zhao Ming looked at Xu Mo. "Brother, your post is here now." He pointed to a relatively safe firing position next to the Precision Shooter, one with a good field of view.

Xu Mo knew that any further refusal was pointless, and besides, the zombie threat was imminent. He nodded without another word, quickly moved to the designated position, and took cover behind the sandbags, raising his rifle to aim once more.

Feng Dayong, who was standing nearby, had been watching dumbfounded. He didn’t snap out of it until Xu Mo moved to a new position. He then shuffled a few steps closer, lowered his voice, and spoke in a tone filled with awe and a touch of sycophancy, "Good heavens... Xu... no, I mean, *Xu*! Your marksmanship is godlike! You’ve really opened this old man’s eyes. Those last two shots were absolutely incredible."

Xu Mo just tilted his head slightly, signaling for him to be careful, before turning his focus back to the battlefield.

With the addition of Xu Mo as an unexpectedly strong reinforcement, the Agility Type zombies on the line were killed, and the pressure on everyone was drastically reduced.

Although the AK-47 in Xu Mo’s hands lacked the range and precision of a professional sniper rifle, at distances within two hundred meters, it wasn’t difficult for him to hit whatever he aimed at, thanks to the superior physical control and keen perception granted by his Cowhide Realm. He calmly searched for targets, and with every short burst or rapid single shot, a zombie would invariably fall.

During a lull in the fighting, Xu Mo even felt a pang of regret. After accepting the mission and assessing its difficulty, he had only brought an AK-47 and a pistol, leaving his AWM sniper rifle back at his residence in the Inner City.

’Next time, I’m bringing the AWM no matter what,’ he thought to himself. ’No, I need to bring every piece of gear I can use, including that shotgun I’ve barely touched. Who knows what kind of sudden situation I’ll run into.’

In this wave of the zombie assault, three mutated zombies had appeared. Besides the two Agility Types that Xu Mo had dealt with, the third was ultimately taken down by the Precision Shooter, who, having recovered his composure, blew away half its body with a single Armor-Piercing Bullet from his anti-materiel rifle.

The battle subsided again after another twenty-odd minutes, leaving dozens more twisted corpses strewn across the ruins in front of the position.

Zhao Ming picked up his radio to report to Command. "Command, C-07 position has repelled the enemy attack. Approximately one hundred and sixty zombies eliminated, including three variants."

The reply came back quickly, the voice calm and steady. "Command copies. All positions are reporting variant sightings with increased frequency. Command has formulated countermeasures, to be executed shortly."

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the hum of drones was heard in the night sky again. But this time, the drones weren’t carrying fuel tanks. Instead, some kind of special dispenser was slung underneath. They flew along specific routes in front of the defensive line, and with a faint mechanical whirring, countless fist-sized, dark-colored cylinders were evenly scattered onto key pathways and likely zombie gathering points among the ruins.

’Are those landmines?’ Xu Mo wondered as he watched the small objects quickly disappear into the rubble and shadows. This was a plan to use automated weapons to compensate for the blind spots in nighttime observation and to slow the speed of the zombie assault.

Command’s response was nothing short of swift, and their methods were ever-changing. However, as Xu Mo stared at the ruins that had fallen silent in the darkness, which now seemed to be breeding an even greater danger, his brow remained tightly furrowed. He remembered the tank he had seen during the day, its cannon twisted like a pretzel by some unknown, immense force. ’Whatever could cause that kind of damage is by no means ordinary. These Agility Type zombies and Strength Type zombies are probably just the appetizers. There must be something far more terrifying and incomprehensible hidden beneath these ruins.’

Fortunately, however, only one more zombie attack occurred before the eastern sky began to show the first pale light of dawn. This time, it was only slow-moving, ordinary zombies, which were easily cut down like grass by the well-prepared firepower of the defensive line.

When the first rays of morning sun barely managed to pierce the gloomy clouds and shine down on the devastated landscape, the relief shift finally arrived. Xu Mo, Feng Dayong, and the other combatants who had held the line for a full day and night could finally drag their exhausted bodies back to rest. Even soldiers made of iron needed to rotate out and rest to maintain their combat effectiveness.

On the way back to the rear assembly point, the C-07 position commander, Zhao Ming, made a point of walking over to Xu Mo. He clapped him on the shoulder, and though his face was weary, his eyes shone with admiration. "Brother, we owe you for last night. Your marksmanship is impeccable, and your composure under pressure is even better. I’ve memorized your ID number—802561, right? Don’t worry, I’ll submit a full report on your combat performance and your temporary conscription. Your mission reward and Contribution Points will be increased to combat personnel standards—you’ll get more, not less. And from now on, you’ll be part of the C-07 combat roster. No more hauling ammo for you."

"Thank you, Squad Leader Zhao." Xu Mo nodded, not saying much else.

After parting ways with Zhao Ming and the others, Feng Dayong immediately sidled up again, his face overflowing with excitement and admiration. "Xu, this time I’m truly impressed. Your skills, your marksmanship... they’re absolutely," he gave a thumbs-up, "top-notch. Heh heh, from now on, when Old Feng goes out bragging, I’ll say I fought shoulder-to-shoulder with you, Xu, and even got some pointers from you. That’ll give me some serious bragging rights!"

Xu Mo was a bit amused and exasperated by him. He shook his head. "Feng, don’t flatter me to death. In the apocalypse, everyone just has their own way of getting by."

"You can’t say that!" Feng Dayong said with a serious expression. "Skill is skill! I, Old Feng, am a good judge of character. You’re destined for great things."

The two of them talked as they went to the logistics point to pick up a still-warm breakfast—a few multigrain steamed buns and a bowl of vegetable soup with a few specks of oil floating on top. After quickly finishing their meal, they returned to the noisy factory building that served as a rest area.

Finding an empty bed, Xu Mo lay down on the hard-as-a-board cot. Although his body wasn’t particularly exhausted thanks to his cultivation and sufficient rest, his mind needed to relax after a night of high tension and combat.

Outside the factory, the faint sound of sporadic gunfire could still be heard from the distant defensive lines, but it was much less frequent than during the night. Sunlight streamed in through the broken windows, casting mottled patches of light on the dust-covered floor.

Xu Mo closed his eyes but didn’t fall asleep immediately. Scenes from last night’s battle replayed in his mind, especially those eerie ruins that seemed capable of devouring everything. The high alert from Command, the increasing number of variants, the unknown and terrifying presence—it all foretold that the troubles in the Red Star Industrial Zone were likely just beginning.

Amidst his scattered thoughts, Xu Mo slowly began to circulate the qi and blood within his body, letting it cycle endlessly. It was both a form of rest and a form of cultivation.