Chapter 528: Group Army

Luo Xudong felt he would die today.

Although during these past fifty-plus days, he had made this judgment almost every day.

As a logistics squad leader responsible for ammunition supply to the “Lightning” convoy, Luo Xudong never hid his pessimism; even when his comrades grew tired of his constant muttering of “We’re done,” “This time we can’t escape,” “I’d rather shoot myself than get gnawed to pieces by the zombies’ fingers…” he would confidently recite his own philosophy.

“Maintaining a certain level of pessimism is better than holding hope only to be suddenly crushed—extreme disappointment easily triggers internal transformation.”

He had grown increasingly skilled at applying this logic, always citing examples of fates he claimed to have witnessed in others, though only he knew whether those “incidents” were even real.

So Luo Xudong refused to admit he was a coward; though he had lost his wife and children on the Day of Revelation when he was middle-aged, he always comforted himself: surviving this long meant he had at least some fate on his side.

But today, on the fifty-sixth day the Dawn Central United Train was trapped in the Colorado Canyon zone, Luo Xudong’s thought—“This time we’re done”—was more urgent than ever, even surpassing the terror he felt on the night of December 9th when the world-shattering disaster struck.

Boom boom boom!! Tap-tap-tap!!

Outside the train, artillery roared; inside one of the Lightning’s cars, smoke and the stench of burnt flesh filled the air. Comrades manning the guns were replaced again and again. The aisles teemed with people, and the blood on the floor was indistinguishable—whether from their own or from the strange creatures outside, shattered and seeping through cracks.

“Why haven’t they retreated… why haven’t they been pushed back?”

“It shouldn’t be this way—the firepower today is stronger than in the past few days…” Luo Xudong crouched on the ground, loading one high-caliber anti-aircraft shell after another into the magazine with his powered armor, his face grim. Every monstrous roar outside and every agonized scream from his comrades sent a jolt through him. Hours passed; he had slipped into a numb state, moving only mechanically.

“We have five Interstellar Iron Guard brigades, countless psychics, the Infinite, the Silver Star, the ‘Mobile City’ Eternal Day, and Europe’s Utopia—all top-tier forces. How could they possibly lose?”

“Luo, where are the shells? What the hell are you mumbling about?!”

The anti-aircraft turret on the roof rapidly descended. Deputy squad leader Li Yong’s powered armor was charred black and smoking, his front armor plates torn open like a shattered shield, still hanging with scraps of unknown alien flesh. The external firepower was critically low, and seeing Luo Xudong alone, head bowed, fiddling with a magazine, Li Yong exploded.

“What’s your rush?!” Luo Xudong, fueled by sudden anger, turned and glared at Li Yong: “We’ve got five Iron Guard brigade units on both sides, plus dozens of vehicle convoys for cover—don’t you know what tactical fire sequencing means?”

Clearly, the term “tactical fire sequencing” perfectly showcased his military knowledge as a former old-school coder—he spoke with full confidence.

“What damn sequencing? The monsters are coming like a flood from heaven—how can I not be frantic?!”

“You know nothing!”

Luo Xudong set down the shell he held, glanced around, then quickly pushed through the busy comrades to Li Yong’s side, gave him a glance, and lowered his voice: “Don’t you see? Today’s situation is different from before. Night’s coming. If the Iron Guard exhausts their ammo, these shells are our last chance to survive, you bastard!”

Li Yong frowned at him, then suddenly sneered, looking at him as if he were an idiot.

“Are you insane? If the Iron Guard is wiped out, how do you think we’ll survive?”

He pointed outside: “Do you know what they’re using and what we’ve got? Powered armor units! Electromagnetic cannons! Anode pulse cannons! Incendiary rounds! And overhead—orbital quake star cannons and plasma cannons! If they can’t hold, how much good do you think your two boxes of 100mm shells will do?!”

“Keep your voice down!” Luo Xudong’s face flushed with shame and rage. He shifted his eyes and spoke with indignation: “I’m just thinking of our comrades—didn’t you see how brutally Da Liu, Wang San, Qian Xiaoyang died?!!”

Li Yong sneered, then climbed down from the anti-aircraft turret, gesturing with his eyes: “Fine. Since Senior Luo is so concerned for his brothers, I’ll give you the chance to kill a few more Crimson Strange Ones in their honor.”

Luo Xudong’s true nature was clear to Li Yong—he was unquestionably the most cowardly man in the convoy, always slick-talking, always hiding behind his comrades at critical moments, the kind of weakling Li Yong despised most.

“I—”

Luo Xudong froze, his expression shifting. Just as he was about to explode, BOOM!

A violent shockwave surged from afar, shaking the entire train with heat and pressure. Seconds later, a blinding beam of light suddenly flared beyond the shattered window—like the sun descending.

“What happened?!” Li Yong shouted.

“Unknown—looks like it came from Red Stone Canyon, the Silver Star’s lead car!” a scout responded.

“Look! The monsters are retreating!!”

The furious gunfire suddenly thinned. Everyone in the car rushed to the windows. Luo Xudong, stunned, followed behind.

“It’s true… the Crimson Tide is retreating!!”

Boom boom boom!

Outside, across the vast Black Stone Plain, the Iron Guard’s artillery batteries roared continuously. The dark, endless tide of monsters now receded like a retreating wave, vanishing deep into the Crimson. Mountains of dead creatures littered the ground, crushed under the Iron Guard’s heavy units.

Seeing this, Luo Xudong’s eyes widened. The stone weighing on his heart dropped. He suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs:

“The Iron Guard is invincible! With our united hearts, we will break through the Crimson! They’ve surely eliminated an S-class! We’ve survived—we’ve won!!!”

“We’ve won!!!” Other comrades, still riding high on adrenaline and confused by the turn of events, were stirred by his cry. Everyone erupted in excitement and fervor.

Soon, news from the front reached the convoy, and internal discussions began about the bravery of the Infinite and other major squads.

“They say the Phoenix Association sent reinforcements—Nantianmen opened fire and blasted that giant octopus S-class in one shot!”

“Great! I knew the Phoenix Association wouldn’t abandon us!”

“Hah! Our ultimate human weapon has finally arrived!”

Watching the others’ heated chatter, Luo Xudong exhaled deeply, his heart swelling with triumph.

“Good. Everyone’s worked hard. I’ll take the first night watch.” He stepped forward, his face resolute.

The others were surprised. Someone tried to smooth things over: “Forget it, Old Luo. Li’s just like that—he was just venting.”

“Those cannons are hard to operate. Leave them to us.”

Luo Xudong snapped. To salvage his image in the group, he declared grandly: “What nonsense? I’ve crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood—what guns and cannons haven’t I used? It’s settled. Rest well, conserve your strength—we’ll make it out alive!”

After speaking, he adjusted his powered armor and climbed straight onto a machine gun tower. Luo Xudong knew clearly: since the United Convoy began its major relocation, the monster tides had never ceased—but strangely, they always attacked during daylight, striking for hours before retreating. Most crucially… there had never been a large-scale assault at night.

Even if there were, they were only isolated Crimson zombies, energy-draining insects, or phantom hunters—problems that mattered more to the Iron Guard and the external vehicle convoys. Relatively speaking, the train was far safer at night.

He knew he hadn’t contributed much to this battle, so he played a clever game—using this moment to regain some image and status. The others, just barely escaped from death’s edge, didn’t care. His voluntary night watch earned him immediate approval.

Luo Xudong had his plan set. Sitting atop the machine gun tower as it rose to the roof, he stared at the silent battlefield outside, still tense. A cold wind blew, making him shiver involuntarily.