Chapter 227 - 134: Report

Chapter 227: Chapter 134: Report

The bumpy pickup truck struggled along the gravel-strewn road, kicking up a dragon-like plume of yellow dust. In the truck bed, Xu Mo steadied himself by gripping the railing, his gaze piercing through the rising dust cloud behind them to look back at the G-2 area—a landscape of intersecting hills and ruins they had just left.

Leaning against the tailgate on the opposite side, Zhang Yun also stared blankly toward the G-2 area.

Amidst the engine’s roar and the rattling of the truck’s metal panels, Xu Mo suddenly felt a different kind of vibration under his feet—one that was heavier, more oppressive.

The vibration came from the road ahead. At first, it was a low rumble like distant thunder, but it quickly grew distinct.

The pickup swerved sharply to the right, coming to a halt just shy of the roadside drainage ditch. The moment the truck stopped, the steel torrent appeared around the bend.

The first thing that came into Xu Mo’s view was a thick, long cannon barrel. Next came a low, solid turret covered in digital camouflage-painted sloped armor. Then he saw the wide treads, which crushed the road surface with a resounding metallic clang and the dull thud of pulverized dirt and gravel.

A tank.

Not just one, but a combat squad of four tanks.

A main battle tank led the column. Next to the anti-aircraft machine gun on top of the turret, a commander wearing a tanker’s helmet was halfway out of the hatch, vigilantly scanning both sides of the road.

Following close behind were three more tanks of the same model, the last of which had a communications antenna mounted on top. The entire convoy maintained a tight formation, advancing with unstoppable momentum like a giant steel python slithering across the ground.

In its presence, the pickup truck looked as insignificant as a beetle.

Xu Mo could make out the serial numbers on the side of the tank turrets and the abbreviated insignia of their unit—it was the main armored force belonging to the Jiang City Garrison. Their direction of travel pointed straight toward the G-2 area, which Xu Mo and Zhang Yun had just fled.

As the lead tank passed the pickup, the commander in the turret noticed the parked vehicle. He raised a heavily gloved hand and made a simple gesture in their direction. It wasn’t a wave, but the tactical hand signal for "Acknowledged, proceed." His gaze immediately locked back onto the road ahead.

The guard who was driving gave the tank convoy a thumbs-up. Though no words were exchanged, they had completed a silent, tacit mission handover in that instant.

The steel treads ground over the road, the heavy chassis causing a continuous vibration. The roar of the diesel engines nearly drowned out every other sound.

The armored column’s pace wasn’t fast, but every movement carried crushing weight. The dust they kicked up grew even thicker, completely enveloping the pickup truck.

Xu Mo squinted, watching through the swirling dust as the iron torrent advanced resolutely toward the place they had just escaped. The cannon muzzles were slightly depressed, aimed toward potential threats. The infantry on the armored vehicles had already lowered their visors, their gun barrels poking vigilantly through the firing ports.

This was Jiang City’s most direct and brutal response.

They had discovered a threat that couldn’t be handled by a routine patrol, so the answer was steel, fire, and the power to crush anything in its path.

No probing, no hesitation. They had directly dispatched a regular armored force capable of annihilating a small to medium-sized zombie horde.

The pickup truck started up again, pulling onto the main road and heading in the opposite direction of the steel torrent.

No one in the truck bed spoke for a while. There was only the sound of the engine, the wind, and Wang Jing’s occasional pained groans.

"They move fast," Zhang Yun finally said, her voice a bit hoarse. She watched the plume of dust from the receding tanks, her expression complex.

Xu Mo nodded. From the moment they called for support to the medical team’s arrival and their evacuation, and now the deployment of this armored unit, less than an hour had passed.

It was a clear testament to Jiang City’s military reaction speed and resolve. This was undoubtedly reassuring, but on the other hand, it also served as indirect proof of the monster’s danger. An individual target requiring tanks to handle was likely an extremely rare sight since the apocalypse began.

"It’s out of our hands now," the guard driving the truck shouted back, his tone a little more relaxed. "Let the professionals handle their business. Our job was just to bring you guys back and report the situation."

The logic was sound. Xu Mo leaned back against the truck’s tailgate, feeling the vehicle’s jolts. He and Zhang Yun, as the first to discover and witness the creature, had completed their mission. Eradicating the monster was the army’s job. He was just a D-class survivor, a temporary patrol member; he had no reason, and no need, to get involved any deeper.

’But that monster... its strange red eyes, that unsettling "smile," and the ability it displayed to observe and assess, something beyond a mere beast... it all felt like a tiny thorn pricking at the depths of his consciousness.’

The pickup truck screeched to a halt in the dust of the temporary assembly point at Jiang City’s east gate. The gravel kicked up by the tires rustled as it settled. The two guards jumped out first, scanned their surroundings warily, and only after confirming it was safe did they signal for those in the back to get out.

Xu Mo and Zhang Yun jumped out of the truck bed one after another. The air was a mixture of construction dust, vehicle exhaust, and the faint smell of food wafting from a distance.

The assembly point’s plaza was still bustling with people. A new group of patrol members preparing for their shift change was gathered for a briefing, while a few people in community work uniforms were distributing walkie-talkies and route maps.

"This is as far as we take you," one of the guards said with a nod to Xu Mo and Zhang Yun. "You two head straight to the command post’s temporary debriefing station. Someone’s waiting there to record the details. We’ll take the injured man directly to the medical center. If necessary, they might contact you again later for verification."