Chapter 295: Tank Hiding a Person

A group of people walked to what was called the command center—a name that sounded impressive, but was merely a dilapidated two-story building, the ground around it littered with no fewer than fifty zombie corpses, mixed with human remains; the walls were riddled with bullet holes, splattered with blood that stained the white plaster, and the most striking feature was a partially collapsed section.

There were no signs of artillery bombardment, yet one section of the building had collapsed into the ruins!

"That's it—there must be a laboratory beneath this building, and it's extremely important!"

Zhang Su stood before the ruined building, his expression grim, pointing at the collapsed section: "If I'm not mistaken, only Zero Zero Four could have torn down a building like this!"

"Zero Zero Four? Holy shit, that giant grasshopper from that night?"

Zhao Dezhu's face showed shock; the figure that had cut through the horde of zombies was etched in his memory.

Many in Tianma Yu had seen Zero Zero Four through binoculars and had some understanding of its capabilities; they stared at the collapsed building, murmuring in awe.

"I never expected the Edge Team actually modified Zero Zero Four—so incredible."

Xin Qi stepped forward, tapping the collapsed wall, as if sensing Zero Zero Four's power.

Zhang Su scanned the surroundings and sighed in relief: "Thank goodness Zero Zero Four burned to death in that battle—if it hadn't, it would've been a disaster."

Zero Zero Three was incredibly powerful, but against Zero Zero Four, it could barely last three or five rounds; yet its greatest advantage was controllability—unlike Zero Zero Four, it was controllable!

No matter how powerful a weapon is, if you can't control it and it can't distinguish friend from foe, it's merely a deterrent—it's hard to deploy in actual combat.

Zhang Su rubbed his temples; there was definitely a laboratory below, and even if no one was hidden there, he still wanted to retrieve whatever remained—but the danger before them couldn't be ignored; they were all flesh and blood, and a single blow from rebar and concrete could kill anyone.

Zhang Su tried to enter, forcing open the twisted iron door, when suddenly a creaking sound came from the walls—like the whole structure might collapse at any moment.

"Just open it up and we'll know for sure!"

"That night we saw the tank fire fewer than five shells—could the camp's ammunition reserves have been low?"

Two Type 99 tanks lay motionless among the corpses, a hundred meters apart, like predatory beasts lying in wait after a bloody battle.

"Damn, this building… probably isn't safe!"

No one knew how to operate a tank, but everyone strongly approved of Zhang Su's idea; before this steel behemoth, the ruined building was nothing to fear.

Seeing the tank, though dirty and bloody, showed no obvious damage, Zhao Dezhu leapt up in excitement.

"Uh… if Zero Zero Four came out from here, there's probably no one left inside—maybe we shouldn't go down? Too dangerous!"

"Type 99 Heavy Tank, weight fifty tons, crew of three, maximum road speed eighty kilometers per hour, maximum off-road speed sixty kilometers per hour, operational range six hundred kilometers, main gun is a 125mm smoothbore, maximum ammunition load forty rounds, equipped with coaxial machine gun…"

Zheng Xinyu frowned slightly and suggested.

Zhao Dezhu picked up a corpse from the ground and tossed it aside, then walked to the tank and ran his hand over its cold tracks, looking puzzled.

Soon, the group reached the western wall of the barracks—the main battlefield where the zombie horde had attacked; the gruesome scene darkened many faces.

Burned zombies left no remains, but many unburned zombie corpses lay slumped against the wall, along with some human bodies partially charred; due to insufficient heat and other factors, the human bodies hadn't fully burned, making the sight even worse—their grotesque forms surpassed even hell itself…

"Haha, great find!"

Zhang Su listed off a string of data like a seasoned expert, giving a detailed description of the massive machine before them.

After pondering for a moment, a sudden idea struck him: "Let's go find the tank first—fuck it, we'll just drive the tank and flatten this building completely—problem solved!"

"Let's go."

Zhang Su called out to the stunned group and headed toward the nearby tank.

Saying this, Zhang Su prepared to leap onto the tank; among everyone present, he was the only one with any theoretical knowledge.

But just as he climbed onto the driver's compartment and reached for the hatch, a sharp tapping sound suddenly rang in his ears—very close, right beneath his feet!

"Move back! There's someone alive inside the tank!"

Zhang Su's heart jolted; he shouted loudly.

Everyone present panicked, scrambling to either side—this thing could fire a shell at any moment, or even just roll over someone and crush them to pulp!

As Zhang Su shouted for his companions to clear the tank's path, he yanked open the hatch above the driver's compartment and peered inside with his gun raised—empty…

TAP. TAP.

The sound came again from inside the hatch.

This time Zhang Su clearly identified it—the noise came from the gunner's compartment. He leapt up and landed directly atop the tank.

THUD. THUD.

This time, Zhang Su didn't rush to open the hatch; instead, he pounded firmly on the hatch cover.

Soon, a response came—two sharp taps, followed by a muffled voice: "Help! Save me! Unlock it—just pull it open…"

Zhang Su frowned, carefully pulling open the hatch while keeping his body shielded behind it, ready for an attack.

WHOOSH—the hatch swung open. No physical attack came, but a foul stench of urine mixed with blood burst forth—a chemical assault just as dangerous; in the cold air, normally insensitive to smells, the sudden sharp odor made Zhang Su's nose sting painfully.

"Who is it? Which team are you from? I'm Pan Guoliang—can you save me?" The man inside the tank didn't realize the stench had nearly knocked everyone over; he kept calling for help.

"Throw your weapon out first!"

Zhang Su didn't rush to rescue him—he didn't know the man's condition at all.

"Huh? Who are you? I don't recognize your voice—damn it, look at me now, what's there to fear? Here, take it, take it!"

Pan Guoliang panted heavily as he extended a rifle shakily from the hatch; its surface was caked with dried blood.

Zhang Su took the rifle and tossed it to a companion below, then leaned over to peer into the cramped gunner's compartment—a middle-aged man, half his body soaked in blood, lay there, looking up at him with an optimistic smile.

"Hero, you look so calm—did all the zombies run off outside?"

Pan Guoliang, seeing living people again—even though the face was unfamiliar—felt a surge of relief, as if he'd survived death itself.

Zhang Su ignored Pan Guoliang, scanning the narrow gunner's compartment for any other anomalies; finding none, he turned to Xin Qi and the others: "Come here!"

Xin Qi and the two others rushed over to the tank.

"The man inside is Pan Guoliang—do you know him?"

"Yes, yes! Pan Guoliang is the deputy squad leader of Elite Team Two!"

Xin Qi answered immediately.

"Hey, the guy talking outside—you're Xin Qi from Team Three, right?"

Pan Guoliang, clutching his abdominal wound, seemed to have improved slightly—perhaps because he'd seen living people and felt hope, or perhaps because fresh air had entered the hatch; his breathing was no longer ragged.

"Yes, Commander Pan, I'm Xin Qi. The guy talking to you is Brother Zhang—he's a good man!"

Xin Qi quickly replied, adding an introduction to Zhang Su.

Zhang Su heard Xin Qi's comment and rolled his eyes—what an odd assessment.

(End of Chapter)