Chapter 40: Air Raid Siren

……

In a basement, dim lights glowed; the table was piled high with empty premium canned goods and several nearly finished bottles of red wine.

Tang Hai sat on a tactical recliner, his expression grim.

“Yu Ming, I can’t shake the feeling that those two young people with abilities are suspicious.”

Feng Yuming, legs crossed, idly ate from a fruit can and said, “The girl’s a bit troublesome, but I’ve observed her—she’s weak, just putting on a front. She doesn’t pose much of a threat now that she’s locked herself in. She’s trapped.”

“Is Big Yellow ready?”

“Relax, Uncle,” Feng Yuming grinned. “With the gear from these convoys, we’ll be out of this hellhole soon.”

Tang Hai’s expression darkened. “That Black Dragon convoy isn’t simple. Tonight, we must be patient.”

Feng Yuming nodded. “Uncle, later I’ll see if I can keep a few women behind—something to pass the time. The guys have been cooped up too long…”

Tang Hai snorted. “The prettiest girl’s the most dangerous. You dare keep her?”

“Pfft!” Feng Yuming scoffed. “Ableists aren’t gods. Even if she’s strong, she’s still just two people. I’ve got plenty of ways to handle her.”

“By the way.”

Tang Hai’s tone turned sharp. “There might be other ableists we need to watch out for—like that big guy. He doesn’t look easy to deal with.”

“I know. Probably a strength-type. But even he won’t survive a full automatic burst,” Feng Yuming sneered, clearly unconcerned.

The uncle and nephew discussed calmly, already certain of everyone’s fate, waiting to harvest the spoils.

At this moment, inside the guard post courtyard, dozens of vehicles and hundreds of survivors remained on high alert, unaware that a man-made disaster was quietly brewing.

……

In the armory, Lin Xian told Kiki what he had discovered.

“Another backup power system? What does that mean?” Kiki rubbed her sleepy eyes.

Lin Xian said gravely, “That power system is independent—it supplies the base’s defense system and… the overhead wires for a short branch railway.”

Kiki frowned. “Branch railway? You mean Tang Hai’s group plans to escape by train?!”

“Possible. Based on the power supply method and load voltage, the distance must be limited—they won’t get far.”

“So they don’t need to go far,” Kiki suddenly realized, eyes wide. “Just enough to get out of the mist… or… Beiwan Station?!”

“Then why do they still need to…?”

Kiki’s expression froze. She gritted her teeth. “Oh god, that bastard. We have to go now!”

She immediately rose to leave, but Lin Xian grabbed her wrist, his face serious.

“Go where? If we leave now, the other convoys will panic—it’ll be worse.”

“But staying here is just waiting to die!” Kiki cried in panic.

Lin Xian stared at her intently. “Do you remember something you said at the start? You were right.”

“What did I say?” Kiki frowned.

“If we run now, even if we escape the mist, it’s still night.”

Kiki’s face paled. “Oh… you mean they’ll strike before dawn.”

“Even earlier than that. So we still have time.”

“What kind of time?”

Lin Xian dragged over a filthy sleeping bag. “Sleep.”

“You’re insane?!”

Kiki stared at Lin Xian in confusion, reached out to feel his forehead, and frowned. “Did the stink here knock you out? We’re in this situation, and you want to sleep?”

“You must sleep.”

Lin Xian looked at her seriously.

“You need rest first. Only with energy can you help me later, and follow my plan.”

Shuowan ， Tayibalaguo kiki， Gaosuletayigedadandexiangfa 。

Lin Xian was certain Tang Hai wouldn’t act too soon—first, as Kiki said, he’d wait until midnight passed; second, he’d let the others grow tired and complacent after deep night. Either way, he had to prepare for both scenarios.

Only when Kiki regained her strength could they have a better chance of breaking out.

Kiki’s face changed slightly. “What about Sha Sha and the others? Should we…?”

Lin Xian shook his head. “We can’t help them now. Telling them won’t help—they’d just alert the enemy.”

“No more talk. Sleep!”

Kiki frowned but obeyed. She gritted her teeth against the stench, leaned back on the mattress, and tried to rest.

Lin Xian fell silent, placed his hand on the generator set, and activated [Mechanical Devour].

[Devour Progress: 1%]

Lin Xian watched the slow progress on the screen; beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

He had guessed Tang Hai’s true intent—and his heart pounded with cold dread. Compared to this, his initial caution had been naive.

This was the first time he devoured such a massive generator set, including the energy storage units. This 1900kW diesel generator system could power a small residential area—its devouring difficulty was immense.

Moreover, his physical strength was already heavily depleted. He didn’t know if he could endure until the moment he finished devouring this behemoth.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. Fortunately, [Mechanical Devour] had reached Level 2—its efficiency had improved significantly.

Time passed second by second. It was already 5 a.m. After days of intense stress, many elderly, weak, and women among the survivors had fallen asleep—even the night watchmen were drowsy. Some washed their faces with clean water; those with resources drank coffee to fight off overwhelming fatigue.

Under the night sky, mist shrouded the guard post’s high walls. The surroundings were utterly silent, broken only by the rustling of insects.

A child’s cry was quickly muffled by its mother, afraid of drawing trouble in the darkness.

Everyone moved in perfect unison, all silently waiting for dawn.

Woooo~

Suddenly, a piercing air raid siren erupted, growing louder and louder—instantly drenching everyone in cold sweat!

“What’s that noise?!”

“Air raid siren? Shit?!”

“What’s going on?!”

“Who did this…?”

On the Black Dragon convoy side, Qian Yu, dozing off, jolted awake. His eyes widened, and he roared in fury: “Damn it! Bastards!” He immediately grabbed his radio. “Everyone, alert!”

“Where’s that old bastard?”

“He hasn’t been seen since last night,” Eagle replied from another vehicle, standing on the roof with a rifle, scanning for Tang Hai’s group—but not a single figure was visible.

!

The air raid siren quickly drew hordes of zombies surging in; eerie howls filled the air, chilling to the bone.

“We’ve been tricked!” Qian Yu roared. “No wonder he invited everyone into the bunker—he was luring us in!”

“Should we take shelter in the bunker now?”

“Shit no—it’s locked already!”

He had expected Tang Hai to pull some trick—but never imagined he’d detonate explosives right inside his own shelter? Was this even human?

Many convoys now realized the truth. Chaos erupted across the courtyard; curses against Tang Hai rang out, and every vehicle started its engine.

Some small convoys abandoned their vehicles and sprinted toward the bunker.

But when Black Dragon’s men opened the guard post gate, they saw rows of barricades and marble blocks already placed outside. Qian Yu erupted in rage: “Obstruction team! Clear the road now!”

Vrrrr!

The modified heavy truck slowly lowered its front steel blade, then roared forward with full throttle.

Boom! Boom! Boom! A series of explosions tore open a path.

“Bro, should we go too?”

On the other side, in the pickup truck, Lou Shasha, jolted awake by the chaos, cried anxiously.

“They…” Lou Ye stared toward the bunker, his expression uncertain.

“Should I go call them?!” Lou Shasha shouted.

“Wait!” Lou Ye grabbed her arm, staring out the window. “They… have abilities.”

Lou Shasha nodded frantically. “Okay, we’ll wait for them.”

At that moment, the dozen survivors rushing toward the bunker reached the iron gate—suddenly, a flash of fire erupted, followed by a massive explosion!

BOOM!

A fireball illuminated the entire courtyard, instantly swallowing those survivors.

“Damn!”

“Kiki and the others?!”

Aaaah!!

The zombies’ shrieks surged in like a tide; gunshots erupted all around. Lou Shasha’s face turned pale with panic. She waited and waited—but still no sign of Lin Xian or Kiki.

At that moment, Lou Ye made a swift decision—he stomped on the accelerator.

“Bro!!”

“We leave now!”

If they hesitated any longer, they’d be trapped. Without another thought, the pickup roared to life and burst out of the guard post.

At that moment, countless zombies, grotesque corpses, zombie dogs, and black centipedes flooded into the guard post like a tide. An unburned van was instantly swallowed by the horde; another SUV crashed into a concrete block in the chaos, forcing its occupants to jump out, guns in hand, sprinting toward the bunker while firing back.

But before they’d taken more than a few steps, zombie dogs lunged from the darkness and knocked them down.

“Aaaah!!”

“Help…!”

"Wife, run! I’ll fight these beasts to the death!!"

The air raid shelter had completely shattered; countless zombies surged in, triggering a chorus of horrific screams inside.

Piercing screams echoed through the valley; in the night, a string of headlights raced through the fog, every convoy fleeing frantically behind the Black Python convoy, while monsters and zombies swarmed from all directions. When one vehicle lost control, it sparked a chain of crashes, then was swallowed by the tide of corpses.

Qian Yu’s armored vehicle followed behind the lead truck, his eyes bloodshot.

"Vehicle 4! Vehicle 4! Respond to me!"

"Fuck!"

"Wu Songlin, have you found the route?!!"

"We can only get out through the city— we have to turn back and take that narrow path!" shouted the subordinate over the radio.

"Shit!"

"Boss, something feels off," the subordinate suddenly said.

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(End of Chapter)