N-A-A Chapter 110 Catalysis
Chapter 110 Catalysis
Chapter 110 Catalysis
Although this expedition failed to find the 12.7×99mm ammunition needed for the Barrett, leaving Xu Mo speechless, he was no longer as disappointed and frustrated as before.
After opening the door so many times, Xu Mo also realized that the anchoring effect of the sign was not 100%.
Ultimately, the "gate" of this cheat code is inherently uncertain; being able to accurately locate the firearm itself is already a stroke of luck. As for the ammunition issue, it's simply a matter of waiting a few more 48-hour periods and trying a few more times.
In this apocalyptic world, the one thing Xu Mo had in abundance was time, especially in this isolated fortress. He believed that as long as he kept trying, he would eventually find his way; it was just a matter of time.
Banishing these thoughts, Xu Mo calmed his mind once more, focusing on his cultivation. His blood and qi surged within him, the sounds of his fists and feet cutting through the air echoing within the fortress. With each strike, with each breath, he felt his strength gradually solidify and grow. The external disturbances and the scarcity of resources could not hinder his steadfast progress on this path of evolution.
After expanding outwards last night, the number of zombies outside the fortress has begun to rise again after a slow "refresh" during the day. These tireless, fearless walking corpses seem impossible to completely eliminate.
However, the very next morning, the area radios unusually became lively ahead of schedule. Breaking the silence was the observer at Fortress 12, located on the outermost edge of Sector K. His voice carried a hint of uncertainty and surprise: "Hey guys, this is K-12. I think I heard an explosion? It's coming from far to the east, muffled, but it sounds like it's quite large."
These words acted as a fuse, immediately igniting the channel.
"K-12, this is J-11! I heard it too! I thought it was my imagination at first, but now that you mention it, I think it was an explosion too!"
"L-09 confirmed, faint explosion sounds can be heard."
"Me too, it's intermittent, like the sound of gunfire, mixed with even bigger explosions—"
The previously drowsy guards immediately perked up and joined the discussion, chattering away. Soon, a consensus was reached—this was likely a combat force dispatched by Jiangcheng, clearing out the hordes of zombies that had spread outwards the previous night.
Xu Mo also walked to an observation hole facing southeast and listened intently. Due to the great distance, the sound was extremely faint by the time it reached the fortress, like muffled thunder heard through thick cotton wool, barely perceptible, requiring extreme concentration to detect even the slightest unnatural vibration, but this was enough to confirm the guess made on the walkie-talkie.
"That was quick," Xu Mo thought to himself. He wasn't surprised by Jiang Cheng's swift and decisive reaction.
Allowing such a large number of zombies to roam around the shelter is tantamount to raising a tiger to cause future trouble. Not only will it continuously deplete the outer defenses, but more terrifyingly, who knows what kind of monsters will be spawned as these zombies devour each other? Niping the threat in the bud is the most rational and necessary choice.
Around noon, Xu Mo had just finished a round of training when a regular and powerful "buzzing" sound, different from the sound of an explosion, came from afar and clearly reached his ears.
"A helicopter?" Xu Mo immediately identified the source of the sound.
Moreover, the sound did not just flash by; instead, it grew louder and clearer, as if it were rushing straight toward the core area of the Red Star Industrial Zone.
Xu Mo immediately moved to the observation port with the best view from the upper level and looked in the direction from which the sound came. Under the leaden sky, several black dots were rapidly growing larger; they were clearly several medium-sized transport helicopters. They were not flying too high, and the strong winds whipped up by their propellers even stirred up the dust on the ruins below.
Even more striking is that beneath each helicopter hangs a huge, long, cylindrical container.
"What are they trying to do?" Xu Mo had just begun to wonder when the answer was revealed.
The helicopters flew recklessly over the core ruins surrounded by the fortress complex, hovering over the relatively densely packed area of zombies. Then, the bottom hatches of the cylindrical containers opened, like giant showerheads, and began to pour out large amounts of viscous, dark yellow liquid.
"Fuel!" Xu Mo instantly understood the official's intention.
They were not only going to clear out the zombies spreading from the periphery, but also to carry out a brutal and efficient fire cleansing of the source area that was constantly "producing" zombies.
The pouring fuel, like rain of death, fell evenly over the rubble of the ruins and onto the zombies who stared blankly at the sky. The pungent smell of fuel even wafted through the fortress.
The horde of zombies below, drawn by the helicopter's deafening noise and airflow, grew even more agitated. They roared at the sky, stretching out their rotting arms as if trying to pull the giant steel birds down. Several agile zombies even managed to leap upwards with astonishing jumping power, but the height difference between them and the helicopter was insurmountable. They flailing their claws in vain before crashing heavily to the ground, splashing up a cloud of mud mixed with fuel.
The zombies were oblivious to the fuel poured on them, continuing their relentless pursuit of the "living creatures" in the sky.
.
Just then, a combatant leaned out from one of the helicopters and raised his rifle.
"Bang!"
A crisp gunshot rang out, like a starting pistol.
"boom-!!!"
In an instant, a huge tongue of fire erupted from the ground, spreading at an astonishing speed and instantly transforming into a raging sea of flames. The orange-red flames danced wildly, devouring everything flammable, including the zombies soaked in fuel.
"Holy crap!!!"
A piercing, inhuman scream erupted from the sea of fire, more shrill and desperate than any roar before.
Countless zombies were transformed into walking torches in the flames. They twisted, rolled, and struggled, trying to extinguish the flames on their bodies, but all in vain.
The fuel adhered extremely well, and the flames, like a persistent leech, quickly carbonized it. An indescribable, extremely foul stench, a mixture of burnt meat and burning plastic, filled the air; even through the fortress, one could almost smell the nauseating odor.
Charred corpses fell in droves amidst the flames, the once dense horde of dead dwindling visibly under the baptism of fire. The entire core ruins area seemed to transform into the legendary infernal lake of fire at that moment.
Xu Mo watched this scene quietly, his heart not stirred much, only a profound realization of the cruelty of survival in the apocalypse made him sigh, "Jiangcheng really went all out."
The fire burned for nearly an hour before gradually extinguishing as the combustibles ran out. The ruins, which were originally filled with wreckage and zombies, were now a vast, scorched wasteland with wisps of smoke and scattered flames, a scene of devastation, with a strong smell of burning and heat in the air.
However, the cleanup operation in Jiangcheng does not seem to be over yet.
The fire had barely been extinguished when Xu Mo heard the familiar buzzing sound again. This time, the sound was coming from a lower, more concentrated source.
Through observation, Kong Xumo saw that a formation of dozens of large drones, like a migrating swarm of bees, flew from the direction of the base and began to fly at low altitude along the perimeter of the ruins, key passages leading to various places, and some corners where zombies might be hiding.
Below the swarm of drones, fist-sized, dark-colored cylindrical objects were continuously being dropped, landing evenly on the scorched ground.
"These are landmines..." Xu Mo immediately recognized them. He recalled seeing drones deploying these defensive weapons when he was defending the position before.
Seeing this, Xu Mo frowned slightly. Jiang Cheng's methods were certainly efficient, but for observers like them who needed to be stationed there long-term, the days ahead were unlikely to be peaceful.
These landmines are clearly marked for any rational human being, who would naturally avoid them. But for zombies driven only by the instinct to devour, they would step on them without hesitation. It's foreseeable that in the days to come, he would hear the sounds of zombies triggering landmines exploding from time to time, day and night.
"Looks like I'll have to get used to sleeping and cultivating with the background noise of explosions," Xu Mo thought with a hint of helplessness.
As if to confirm his idea, "Boom, boom boom boom—!!!"
A series of muffled, massive explosions, far more violent than a single landmine, echoed from afar. This time, the source seemed closer, and the power of the explosions was clearly much greater; even the fortress's sturdy concrete walls vibrated distinctly, and the water glass on the table rippled slightly.
The walkie-talkie channel instantly erupted in chaos.
"My God! That noise! Is it heavy artillery?"
"No! It looks more like a large-scale explosion! Jiang Cheng must be using high explosives to clear out the piles of zombies!"
"How much explosives would that take? The ground is shaking!"
"Jiangcheng is serious this time! Looks like they're shocked by the sheer number of zombies!"
The channel was filled with amazement and speculation; everyone was awestruck by the thunderous cleanup.
Xu Mo silently turned down the volume on the walkie-talkie, shutting out the outside noise. Jiang Cheng's strength and decisiveness were certainly reassuring, but they were ultimately external forces. In this perilous apocalypse, what one can ultimately rely on is always the strength in one's own hands and a strong heart.
The loud explosions in the distance, symbolizing Jiangcheng's swift and decisive actions, finally subsided like a weary beast after lasting for most of the day.
After a while, the heated discussions about the large-scale clearing operation on the area radios gradually subsided, and everyone's emotions gradually returned to the dullness and vigilance of the fortress's daily routine, from the initial excitement and shock.
Xu Mo already had some guesses about Jiang Cheng's modus operandi. Such a large-scale barrage of fire and explosives would inevitably be very costly and could not be used as a conventional cleanup method.
This operation is more like a strategic "peak shaving," aiming to suppress the total number of zombies to a relatively "safe" threshold before they accumulate to an uncontrollable horde, thus alleviating the long-term defensive pressure on the outskirts of Jiangcheng. As for the sporadic zombies that infiltrate wider areas and the ongoing "respawning" problem within the industrial zone, these will most likely be left to the scavenger teams who make a living by hunting and gathering supplies, and will be dealt with gradually through missions. This aligns with the principle of optimal resource allocation.
However, although the outer artillery fire had stopped, the area around Xu Mo's fortress had not returned to peace.
"boom!"
A sudden explosion came from the edge of the ruins not far away, and this was just the beginning.
Immediately afterwards, "boom," "bang," "thud"—explosions began to ring out sporadically from all directions, without any discernible pattern.
These sounds were much weaker than the previous heavy artillery roar, but their frequency was frighteningly high, like endless firecrackers, creating continuous noise pollution on this desolate, scorched earth.
This is exactly when the landmines laid by the drones began to "harvest." The newly "refreshed" zombies are unaware that the seemingly peaceful land beneath their feet is already filled with death traps. They continue to wander aimlessly, following their instincts, and then, at some point, they trigger the hidden killing intent.
At first, the walkie-talkie's public channel was filled with gloating voices, discussing the aftermath of the zombies triggering landmines and the setting sun. However, this gloating was quickly replaced by a barrage of complaints.
"Damn it, is this ever going to stop? This damn landmine has gone off eight times in ten minutes! Can't a person get any sleep?!" a tired voice roared, belonging to an older guy from Block B.
"Me too, it keeps going off from the east to the west. I just started to feel sleepy when I was woken up. Who can stand that?"
"Did command forget that we need to rest? This thing works against zombies, but it's just too much of a torture for our own people!"
"Sigh, I guess I'll just have to bear with it. It's better than zombies climbing up here—"
Despite the complaints, everyone understood that this was a last resort; the presence of landmines did effectively reduce the number of zombies approaching the fortress and improve safety. However, the incessant explosions certainly prevented them from getting a proper rest.
Like everyone else, Xu Mo was initially annoyed by the frequent explosions, making it difficult to concentrate on his cultivation. He tried to ignore the sounds, but they always managed to sneak into his ears and interrupt his thoughts.
However, just after an explosion, when Xu Mo subconsciously looked through the observation hole in the direction of the explosion, his gaze suddenly froze. A serious hidden danger that he had overlooked flashed through his mind like lightning.
Xu Mo saw that near the explosion site, several zombies were drawn by the sound and the scent of "food," staggering towards the corpse of their kind, which had been mangled by a landmine but whose body was mostly intact. One of the faster ones had already bent down and begun to tear and devour the bits of flesh covered in dirt and the smell of gunpowder.
"Landmines can kill zombies, but they cannot completely destroy them, while zombies can evolve by devouring each other."
The thought was like ice water poured over his head, sending a chill down Xu Mo's spine to the top of his head. He had only considered the defensive function and noise interference of landmines, completely ignoring the potentially more terrifying chain reaction they could bring.
The large-scale cleanup in Jiangcheng killed a massive number of ordinary zombies, which is not inherently a problem. However, the landmines laid by drones caused continuous and sporadic damage. Each triggered landmine created one or more relatively "fresh" zombie corpses, which served as "evolutionary catalysts" for other roaming zombies.
It's easy to imagine that in the days to come, as landmines are repeatedly triggered, this area will become a breeding ground for such "catalysts."
The probability of ordinary zombies evolving into Level 1 mutants by consuming these corpses will increase dramatically. And will the mutual devouring of Level 1 mutants, or their consumption of even more ordinary zombie corpses, accelerate the emergence of even more terrifying Level 2 or even Level 3 zombies?
This isn't a defensive measure at all! It's practically an artificial, continuous feeding of high-grade fodder to the horde of zombies, accelerating their evolutionary process!
The thought that he might face not just scattered mutants in the future, but organized groups of level one zombies, or even higher-level beings, sent chills down Xu Mo's spine.
"This must be reported immediately; this is a huge threat." Xu Mo didn't hesitate for a moment. He rushed to the communications radio, and without even having time to formulate his thoughts, he directly connected to the command center's encrypted reporting channel. His tone was urgent and grave: "Command! This is C-07 observer Xu Mo, emergency report. The landmines dropped by the drones are killing zombies, but they are also creating a large number of partially destroyed zombie corpses. These corpses are being devoured by other zombies! Repeat, the zombies are eating the corpses of their own kind killed by the landmines, which will greatly accelerate the evolution of the zombie horde. Requesting command to assess the risk and adjust the defense strategy! Over!"
After reporting, he didn't even wait for a reply from command center. He immediately grabbed the area walkie-talkie, pressed the call button, and issued a warning to all the fortress defenders in an unprecedentedly serious tone: "This is C-07 Xu Mo, urgent alert. Pay close attention to the area near the landmine explosion point. Zombies are devouring the corpses of their own kind that have been killed in the explosion. This will accelerate the generation of mutants. Everyone be on high alert and closely monitor changes in the number of mutants! Repeat, landmine explosions may accelerate zombie evolution!"
Xu Mo's voice was clearly transmitted through the walkie-talkie in his hand to the other 143 fortresses.
In an instant, both the communication channels of the Jiangcheng command center and the public channels of the regional walkie-talkies fell into a deathly silence.
All the previous complaints and idle chatter came to an abrupt end at this moment.
In the channel, only the seemingly endless sporadic explosions from the outside world remained, one after another, like a death knell tolling in everyone's heart.
This time, the explosion brought not a sense of security, nor simply noise disturbance, but a deep, suffocating fear.
Everyone understood the meaning behind Xu Mo's warning.
This area, littered with countless landmines, is likely breeding even more terrifying monsters.
Silence spread silently through the radio waves.