Chapter 291

The Sergeant Major drew a deep breath, and the Awakened Ones behind him, well-trained, swiftly gathered into squads.

Each held a tube of green agent, their faces showing resolve to die.

"Everyone follow my step; when near the monster, blast open its surface with all force, then inject the agent!"

"Just as in training, when using the agent you must infuse spiritual energy, otherwise it won't work!"

"Two seconds! After continuously infusing for two seconds we will immediately retreat!"

The Sergeant Major gripped the green agent in his hand tightly; the test tube made of special material was unusually sturdy.

At the seal flashing with red dots, a line of black small characters was engraved:

"Virus Dissolution Agent (Experimental)"

The agent loaded in the test tube had been issued long ago by the Ministry of Defense; rumor said it was developed by the most secretive Military Affairs Bureau.

As long as spiritual energy is infused into the agent and then injected into a mutant's body, it can dissolve the mutant into a puddle of corpse fluid in a short time.

Under the massive pressure of mutants, the various defensive lines could barely hold; this agent accounted for half of that achievement.

If it weren't necessary for Awakened Ones to hold and infuse spiritual energy, it couldn't be directly injected into mutants via technological means, and the Capital War Zone wouldn't be so difficult.

The agent is rare, and its usage is difficult.

Fourteen Awakened Ones heard the voice and nodded heavily; many regrettably looked back with sorrow toward where their families were.

Though the dissolution agent is strong, the two-second continuous infusion time is enough for the enraged mutant to kill every person nearby.

As the Sergeant Major said, inject then flee...

Maybe, maybe one or two could survive the monster's close attack and return alive?

No choice.

As Awakened Ones of the army, obeying orders is their duty; moreover, they also have people they must protect.

The Sergeant Major's gaze was sorrowful; he finally glanced back at the Awakened Ones behind him.

His throat moved as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't speak.

Originally, according to the Ministry of Defense's intent, each Awakened One was key to future resistance against monsters; they could not be easily sacrificed.

Using precious Awakened Ones as "human bombs" is nothing short of a huge waste.

But, there really is no other way.

His subordinates' Awakened Ones are not strong; many are not combat-oriented.

No more hesitation.

The monster, within just a few seconds, was already nearing the defensive line; its massive, despair-inducing body evoked fear.

"Follow me, charge!"

With a roar, the Sergeant Major's eyes locked onto the monster as he charged forward desperately.

Fifteen figures moved extremely swiftly, darting flexibly among shell craters and broken walls.

The earth trembled; the huge monster before them nearly filled their entire field of view.

"For Huaxia! For..."

The squad's expressions were frenzied; each raised the agent and leapt toward the spherical mutant, giving up their lives.

The line of fire above came from the machine guns behind; the soldiers fired continuously with mournful determination, trying to draw some of the monster's attention.

As they neared, the Sergeant Major's gaze was resolute; he roared and slashed with a claw, various spiritual energies instantly erupting.

Spiritual energy exploded, large chunks of flesh and blood flew off.

Compared to the weakened rocket launcher's power, the spiritual energy granted by the system tore open the monster's surface flesh.

A foul stench; the nauseating tentacles exposed from within the monster's body made scalps tingle.

"Now! Everyone, inject..."

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Thin tentacles shot out like lightning.

The sound of flesh being smashed rang out continuously.

The fifteen Awakened Ones who had leapt high had no time to react; instantly they turned into a mist of blood in midair, and among the severed arms, the test tubes fell limp.

"Clank-"

The green agent rolled beside the wide-open, glaring head, eyes unclosed in death.

The dense gunfire ceased instantly; the battlefield fell into dead silence.

"Click"

The spherical mutant, without pause, slowly retracted its internal tentacles, then easily crushed the agent on the ground.

There was heroic sacrifice, but no movie-like ending.

The fifteen Awakened Ones who held a death-defying resolve died like ants blocking the road.

"No!!!"

When the black shadow enveloped the soldiers' heads, bones and flesh were squeezed together, mixed into a puddle of iron-plated wall.

Sixth Defensive Line, District D fell.

Inside the Capital Meeting Room, all was silent.

After a brief silence.

Before the conference table, a gaunt-faced middle-aged man in uniform took off his cap, his voice hoarse, and slowly spoke:

"Three hours ago, the entire Sixth Defensive Line fell."

"Total dead troops: 799,000; Awakened Ones: 8,020."

"Civilian casualties have not yet been tallied."

"Currently, the Fifth Defensive Line has been held, and we are gathering the routed troops."

Even though everyone had already been informed in advance, hearing the confirmation again made their hearts feel oppressed and uneasy.

The senior officer sitting opposite him clenched his fists tightly:

"Where is our artillery unit?!"

"Six armored group armies! Three aviation brigades?!"

"Our fifth defense line has just been adjusted! To rush it into action now is no different from sending people to their deaths!"

The senior officer who had taken off his cap rubbed his temples wearily, then fixed a stern gaze on the senior officer and said:

"Liu Tianming! Watch your words!"

"We cannot use the artillery and aviation units unless it's a critical moment!"

"As a defense line garrison officer, don't you know that those damned mutants are waiting for us to deploy our armored forces?!"

"Every time we rely on heavy firepower to resist the zombie tide, they send large numbers of mutants to attack!"

"They're just waiting for us to lose control! When the armored and artillery units are wiped out, tell me what the remaining defense line will use to resist?!"

"The front few defense lines are too large; the dispersed heavy firepower can only become sitting ducks!"

"Air forces?!"

The senior officer snorted coldly and slammed his hand on the table, standing up:

"Since the outbreak of the apocalypse until now, a total of 2,900 aircraft have been lost, exceeding 30%! At this loss rate, damn it, in half a year we won't have a single aircraft left!"

"By then, if we lack air strikes, tell me what we'll use to launch strategic weapons at the zombie tide in the rear?!"

"Without aircraft, how can we break through the zombie tide and contact other military regions?!"

"We must wait for the right opportunity..."

The atmosphere was tense, and the meeting room instantly filled with the smell of gunpowder.

The senior officer named Liu Tianming twitched his face, not willing to back down, retorted:

"Wait! Wait! Wait!"

"The people on the front line are all dead!"

"If we don't deploy heavy firepower, then what the hell about the Awakened Ones corps?!"

"One regional defense line, what can thirty Awakened Ones do against mutants?!"

"Every time a mutant appears, if the monster is somewhat strong, we force the Awakened Ones to go up with the dissolving agent and die!"

"Where are those powerful Awakened Ones? Where is the Awakened Ones corps we organized?!"

"What about General Lihao and his men?! Why aren't they taking action?!"

"Damn it, even if the allocated Awakened Ones are a bit stronger, do you know that many of the Awakened Ones on the defense lines are mostly support types?!"

"You're letting a bunch of Awakened Ones who can only turn into flowers or rabbits charge to their deaths?!"

Liu Tianming's face filled with indignation, he slammed his fist hard onto the table.

He personally saw several Awakened Ones whose abilities were hardly different from cultivating flowers and grass, yet because they could infuse spiritual energy, they were forcibly ordered to rush beside a Second Level mutant and inject the drug.

"What was the result?"

Having just rushed halfway, they were dissolved into a pool of blood by the corrosive gas sprayed by the monster.

As a senior officer recently promoted from among the Awakened Ones, he deeply knew how much resentment the Awakened Ones in the capital's military region had secretly accumulated.

The strong ones were transferred into the Awakened Ones corps and disappeared, while the weak ones were used as "human bombs".

If it weren't for the fact that most of these Awakened Ones still have families in the rear and are young people, driven by patriotism they would still be willing to die.

If this continues to consume the Awakened Ones by sending them to die, he has no doubt that serious problems will arise.

On the right side of the conference table, an older elder let out a long sigh:

"Please sit down."

"I know you all have many questions..."

"I will tell you part of the information next..."