Chapter 424: Unworthy of a Glance

Continue watching the battle.

In the footage, the second tank assaulting the wall is violently bombarding it; seeing Long'an Base, I can only again order the three firearms-wielding Awakened Ones to buy time.

Watching the soldiers urgently gathering on the screen, Wang Meng took a deep breath, preparing to sit down,

This formation—are they planning to fall back and abandon part of the defense, playing a war of attrition?

I just don't know how long that Awakened One who acted needs before they can shoot again.

If they can act after resting half a day today, perhaps Long'an Base can drag the battle into the city?

Fighting while retreating, if the zombie numbers were a bit lower, Long'an Base might actually have held out.

For a moment, the meeting room buzzed with discussion.

Wang Meng had just pulled back a chair to sit down when he heard the crowd erupt like an exploding pot.

"He's acted!"

"He's acted again!"

"It's that same arrow!"

"No! Two arrows!"

"Clang!"

The chair behind him tipped over and fell to the ground; Commander Wang Meng jerked his head up to look at the broadcast screen.

You're kidding me!?

I saw the man in the footage suddenly leap up like a flash, then nock and shoot an arrow with a backhand motion.

Double shot!

Kill lock!

Unlike the previous silent Annihilation Arrow, this arrow shot out like a howling gale, whipping up a storm.

Gale Wind Breath Sever!

The footage replayed.

In the next breath, the tank that had been hammering the wall turned to ash outright, and the nearby zombies vanished as well.

Only a pile of powder remained to prove they had existed.

Huang Yan stared blankly as another tank died within just over ten seconds, feeling a chill run down his back.

What a slap to the face...

Before he could recover, Commander Wang Meng blurted out in disbelief:

"Damn!"

"Even the rotting giant corpse was killed instantly!?"

In the broadcast, the shot of the rotting giant corpse in the distance showed the huge mutant that had been plodding forward while lugging artillery already gone.

Along with it, the zombies stuffed in its belly all disappeared.

"That Awakened One..."

"Seems..."

"Just now upgraded to Second Level!?"

The Awakened One with dynamic vision pointed dazedly at Gao Tian landing gracefully; the familiar upgrade white light made Huang Yan's face ache.

"Gulp"

Everyone swallowed their saliva.

Some higher‑rank Military Region Awakened Ones seemed to realize something, almost simultaneously exchanging glances.

In the footage, a man who instantly killed three Second Level men in one breath looked familiar.

After a moment, Wang Meng's voice sounded hoarse and uncertain as he asked the staff officer:

"Is this the group that was racing cars that day?"

The staff officer gave a dull nod.

In the first day's broadcast, although Lin An never faced the camera to say anything, they had observed him closely for a long time.

At first they hadn't thought much of it, but only after Gao Tian landed and turned around did it suddenly occur to them.

These people—I've seen them before!

Damn!

Thinking of how this crew had once sped past in front of him, Wang Meng felt an indescribable discomfort in his heart.

That bizarrely flying off‑road vehicle was practically like seeing a ghost.

The soldiers who pursued them later returned with blank‑faced reports.

The people were gone, leaving only the vehicle.

For this, he even specially dispatched a small squad to search for a week.

As for what he realized...

It's simple.

When they arrived at the battlefield of the first rescue squad fighting monsters, the surviving soldiers told them.

There was a powerful bow‑wielding Awakened One, but another bald, muscular man.

Was stronger.

Thinking that Long'an Base still has one person who hasn't acted, Wang Meng's thoughts grew heavy.

Is this your trump card?

Lin An...

He has two Awakened Ones under him who can oppose Second Level Mutants, no wonder he's so arrogant.

He held his breath in his chest.

Seeing the biggest threat being taken care of by the archer, Long'an Base probably could hold off this wave of attack.

It was still a rotting giant corpse.

Even by grinding, this monster could be slowly worn to death.

In just a few minutes, Wang Meng himself didn't even realize that his estimation of Long'an Base's strength had risen several levels in a row.

He secretly exhaled, intentionally or unintentionally glancing at Huang Yan.

As the strongest Awakened One of the Military Region, he is also his most capable subordinate.

I originally thought this guy was pretty strong, but now...

Huang Yan, who once single-handedly fought three First-Level Mutants, now feels it's just so-so.

Forget it... I don't want to think about these.

Wang Meng looked around, couldn't help but cough twice:

"Very normal, these are all within my expectations."

"Long'an Base, after all, is the first Safe Zone, so some special means are also normal."

"Have you forgotten? Safe Zones can aid cultivation, each Safe Zone has its own distinctive buildings."

"Maybe it's some kind of building that brings a strengthening method."

Seeing everyone listening attentively, Wang Meng, feeling a bit embarrassed to lose face, added:

"We are the Military Region, we have a large number of Awakened Ones and troops!"

"Without heavy weapons and firepower support, even a strong individual will be exhausted dealing with large numbers of mutants!"

"Long'an Base's performance is not bad, but in the face of modern weapons, it's actually just so-so."

"A round of missile bombardment—no matter what Awakened One, they'll still have to die!!"

The more everyone listened, the less pleasant it felt.

They understood the meaning behind Wang Meng's words.

Long'an Base wants to intimidate us, so as Commander Wang Meng, he certainly won't show weakness.

Just...

Commander... we're all Awakened Ones.

Including you too, right.

In an attempt to show that Gao Tian isn't scary, I ended up scolding myself too.

You used to often hold meetings, saying Awakened Ones are the only hope against zombies, right?

No one dared to speak out to refute.

After all, a higher rank can crush people, especially in the military which values discipline.

However, what the Commander said isn't really a problem.

Judging by the strength shown by Long'an Base, the Awakened Ones aspect is indeed still okay.

But in the face of modern warfare, individual strength is still too insignificant.

One arrow instantly took out a Second-Level—so what?

Can you instantly kill a group of Awakened Ones?

Can you single-handedly fight against hundreds of thousands of troops?

Even if the damage is high, it's still just one person.

Under fire coverage, just dodging artillery fire—even standing still letting you kill—can exhaust you to death.

For a moment, everyone had different thoughts, but they showed expressions that agreed completely with what the Commander said.

He lightly coughed twice.

Wang Meng also realized he had been somewhat indisposed, and then, with a calm demeanor, he lifted the chair that had fallen to the ground beside his foot.

"Look well, observe their way of fighting!"

"That said, Long'an Base, or rather Lin An himself, although unruly, even somewhat overestimating himself."

"But some methods and tactics are indeed not bad."

"See how they cooperate in combat, then look at you!"

Grief-stricken.

When Wang Meng thought about his Military Region having over three thousand Awakened Ones, but their coordination with the troops was basically a pile of shit.

He still kept emphasizing coordinated combat.

Upon hearing, everyone nodded, eyes fixed on the broadcast screen.

In the screen, several squads of Awakened Ones were preparing to jump down the city wall, apparently wanting to deal with the last rotting giant corpse.

The threat of such a monster approaching the city wall is too great, so Long'an Base doesn't intend to give it a chance to approach.

Inside the meeting room, all was quiet.

If nothing unexpected happens, Long'an Base can be considered to have defended against this wave of attack.

Everything is just waiting for the zombie tide's total assault.

Many keen-minded people noticed the details of Gao Tian's upgrade.

For a moment, a reasonable but never-before-conceived guess popped up.

Could it be that Lin An is also stuck at First Level? He's waiting to use the system upgrade to restore his condition, so he can act in the final battle?

If that's really the case, then this person's scheming is extremely heavy, indeed not to be underestimated.

Just...

If Lin An really does such a plan, would it really be useful?

While they kept calculating the number of the corpse tide, they easily figured out that there were at least over 20 mutants in the tide.

Among them, there were still over 13 second-level mutants.

At the main seat, Wang Meng, after a moment's thought, still chose to contact the dispatched armored unit.

Secret orders were issued one after another, awaiting the final wave of the corpse tide's attack.

Just as he was about to give a few reminders, the communications officer beside him suddenly spoke softly:

「Commander, Gao Yan and her group are fast approaching the Military Region.. 」

「Miss Gao Yan even sent a message. 」

「The message mentioned that over at Old Chief Gao Wang's side, the situation is not good... 」