On Sajin Avenue, the Mengshi 3 Assault Vehicle, a formidable beast of steel, moved at a steady pace.
The 12.7mm caliber machine gun on the roof, with its dark barrel, reflected an eerie glow under the sunlight.
Hu Junpeng, the rifleman and squad driver, was fully focused on the road ahead, alert to any sudden occurrences.
Gu Chengyuan sat comfortably in the co-driver's seat, which should have belonged to the squad leader. In front of him, the vehicle's computer was supported by a foldable stand.
Displayed on the computer was the Qixing electronic map, along with their current location.
As for Jia Sanniu, he had sensibly squeezed into the back seat with the other soldiers in the squad.
His perpetually half-open eyes vigilantly scanned the outside, searching for potential dangers.
Thirteen fully armed soldiers, each carrying a tactical backpack, were crammed into an armored assault vehicle designed for ten.
Yet, thanks to the powerful onboard air conditioning, the interior remained cool despite the cramped conditions.
As time passed, the vehicle turned from the desolate intercity highway onto Xishui North Road, heading towards Xishui District.
Barely two minutes after entering Xishui North Road, Gu Chengyuan ordered a halt.
Ahead, the road was littered with various vehicles, haphazardly crashed and stopped by the roadside.
Some were still smoking, others had severely deformed fronts, half-burned away.
From a distance, the charred remains of people inside were still visible, their agony in death etched into their contorted forms.
Some vehicles, in better condition, still contained zombies clawing at the doors, trying to escape.
Seeing the road conditions, Gu Chengyuan silently gave a nod of approval to the leaders who chose the location for Yezhou University.
If the traffic on the sparsely traveled Xishui North Road was like this, one could only imagine the scene in the center of Xishui District, let alone the city center.
Massive hordes of zombies, blocked roads, and survivors in bustling areas with no hope of rescue.
Their only option was to wait for death.
Could they outrun a horde of zombies with limitless stamina on foot?
Even the most stubborn would find escape impossible!
Observing the density of zombies on Xishui North Road, Gu Chengyuan decided to have the soldiers disembark and use the armored assault vehicle to clear the zombies.
The cramped interior was not conducive to deploying firepower; there wasn't even room to stretch a leg, let alone ensure shooting accuracy.
Although zombies could still be vaguely seen wandering the road, most were trapped inside vehicles.
There weren't even enough for a mini horde of twenty. Gu Chengyuan wouldn't miss such an opportunity for easy pickings!
"Everyone, listen up!"
"Here!"
"I'm issuing combat orders now!"
"First, form three combat teams of three people each: Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3. Disembark and use the armored vehicle to clear the zombies on the road ahead!"
"Specific task allocation: Groups 1 and 2 will be the main force for clearing, while Group 3 will follow at the rear to guard against any attacks from the flanks."
"Junpeng, control the vehicle speed. If visibility ahead is unclear or there might be an ambush, use the horn to alert! The machine gunner on the roof is to hold fire unless I give the order!"
"Lastly, a shotgunner will follow me!"
"And, all combat teams, if you encounter a well-preserved vehicle with a sturdy body and a lone zombie inside that can't escape, mark it and leave it to me!"
"I'm going on a killing spree today!"
"All units, move out!"
"Yes!"
As the words fell, the side and rear doors of the armored assault vehicle simultaneously opened.
Groups 1 and 2 quickly disembarked to the left and right, covering each other as they advanced forward.
The combat team from the rear door quickly split up, with one person each following the rear and sides, maintaining armed vigilance over the surroundings.
The 12.7mm machine gun on the roof slowly moved under the gunner's control.
"Bang~"
"Bang~"
...
A series of short gunshots rang out.
Two zombies, charging like mad dogs, were instantly knocked to the ground by the powerful kinetic energy of the bullets.
Jia Sanniu, the squad leader and main attacker of Group 1, felt his hand gripping the 191 Assault Rifle's handle start to sweat slightly.
Zombies were indeed startling with their sudden movements; just moments ago, they had been staggering as if they couldn't stand straight.
The moment they saw a person, they exploded with energy, lunging like rabid dogs.
Their sudden acceleration and erratic, frenzied movements made aiming difficult, even with a scope.
The three of them fired several shots before hitting the heads and killing the two zombies.
"Everyone, stay alert, be safe, and don't conserve bullets!"
Gu Chengyuan, just disembarked, was equally startled by the scene.
These zombies were different from the ones he encountered at the bus stop earlier, he thought with a frown.
If the wandering zombies that surrounded him when he was scanning codes were all short-distance sprint champions, he would have been done for.
"Could it be evolution? Or maybe the ones that could run today were newly transformed zombies, not yet fully in control of their bodies?"
With this doubt, Gu Chengyuan calmly opened the assault vehicle's door and climbed back in with the shotgunner guard.
"Let's observe a bit more..."
Life is precious!
Specialization is key, and one must know their limits.
Although his shooting scores were always excellent during service, due to his unit type, the shooting subjects were all 100-meter prone chest targets.
Shooting was like a humanities student learning physics and chemistry—just for understanding.
Initially, he thought zombies were like staggering old ladies, planning to bully them hard and practice standing shooting aim.
Who knew the imagined experience points would turn out to be sprint champions!
And it seemed like all of Xishui North Road were athletes!
Zombies wouldn't wait for him to lie down and aim.
"I'd better just wait for Jia Sanniu and the others to bring them to me."
Bang bang~
Another series of short gunshots.
Gu Chengyuan opened a shooting window on the roof, leaned out halfway, and looked ahead with binoculars.
Jia Sanniu and his team had taken down three more zombies, charging like unleashed wild dogs.
Feeling the slight sluggishness of the armored assault vehicle beneath him, it was Junpeng maneuvering the vehicle to push a small car blocking the road aside.
Ordinary civilian cars were like small fries in front of this steel beast, easily pushed aside.
They could have chosen to crash through faster, but Junpeng was careful with the assault vehicle, afraid of scratching the paint, so he opted for a gentler push.
In this short time, the two combat teams in front had already killed over a dozen zombies.
From observation, they were indeed all athletes!
The situation he least wanted to see had happened, and Gu Chengyuan couldn't help but worry for the survivors in bustling areas.
"System."
No longer dwelling on irrelevant thoughts, Gu Chengyuan called up the system, intending to check how many resources he had accumulated.
His eyes held the anticipation of a farmer awaiting harvest!
"What?"
"Where are my resource points?"
Gu Chengyuan focused on the system interface, staring at the bold words "Credits."
Followed by an even bolder "2~"
After killing over a dozen zombies, how could there be nothing?
Where's the loot? Where's my loot?
Does it have to be me who kills them to earn it?
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
The system couldn't be so inhumane!
With this mechanism, if he really raised an infantry company, wouldn't he need to start with a ten-thousand-kill streak?
No way, no way, I need to use my smart brain to figure out where the problem lies!
That's it!
"Guangqiang!"
"Here!"
Pu Guangqiang, holding a shotgun as a guard inside the vehicle, immediately responded.
"Get out and dig into the brains of the killed zombies, carefully check for any foreign objects!"
"Yes!" Although Pu Guangqiang's expression was complex upon hearing the order, he didn't hesitate.
After disembarking, Pu Guangqiang took a hammer and pickaxe from the vehicle's rear side, picked up a plastic sheet from the ground, and walked, slightly trembling, towards a fallen zombie corpse...