"Zero One! Zero One! This is Zero Two, this is Zero Two! Do you copy?"
Gu Chengyuan was observing through the shooting hatch on the car roof with binoculars when the walkie-talkie clipped to his chest suddenly crackled to life.
He immediately grabbed the walkie-talkie and pressed the talk button.
"Zero Two, Zero Two! This is Zero One! I copy, go ahead!"
"Ahead, there's a Dongfeng Sangchan crashed and stopped. The car door is slightly deformed but still very sturdy. Inside, there's a male zombie restrained by a seatbelt."
"Requesting tactical guidance!"
"Zero One copies, Zero Two, leave a marker and continue with your mission!"
"Understood!"
After putting away the walkie-talkie, Gu Chengyuan couldn't help but chuckle.
"Tactical guidance."
Jia Sanniu, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, was getting into the social game, asking for tactical guidance when it was just about dealing with a zombie.
But to be honest, the way he said it did sound quite satisfying!
"Junpeng, stop the vehicle when we reach the marked car!"
"Yes!" Hu Junpeng, with his sharp features and slightly sly demeanor, immediately responded.
The Mengshi 3 Armored Assault Vehicle drove forward for a little over a minute before stopping next to a Dongfeng Sangchan that had collided with the roadside barrier.
Inside the car, the zombie's skin was a bluish-gray, its hair slicked back with oil, and its formal attire wrinkled from struggling against the seatbelt.
Its eyes were a pus-like yellow, filled with chaos and ferocity, with pupils shrunk to needle-like points!
Its mouth was torn from excessive force, almost splitting to the ears, revealing a maw full of serrated teeth!
Seeing Gu Chengyuan and Pu Guangqiang approach, it frantically pounded on the car window, trying to attack.
Gu Chengyuan, having already released the safety, aimed his gun at the zombie inside the car. It was his first time observing a zombie so closely, for so long, and in such detail.
If, as movies or literature suggest, zombies are caused by a virus, what kind of virus could have such power to transform humans into almost another species in less than half a day?
Bang~
The gunshot rang out.
The zombie, frenzied just a second ago, jerked its head back as a small hole appeared on its nose.
Simultaneously, a mix of red and white matter sprayed out from a fist-sized hole at the back of its head, splattering the car interior with bloody spots.
Having witnessed Pu Guangqiang's pickaxe skills earlier, Gu Chengyuan, despite it being his first time blowing a zombie's head off, didn't feel as intensely uncomfortable as before.
While lowering the safety, Gu Chengyuan called out:
"Guangqiang!"
"Here!"
"Commander, I understand!"
With that, he shook the pickaxe in his hand, and the shotgun he had been holding was now slung over his back.
...
As time passed, Gu Chengyuan's forces had advanced nearly ten kilometers.
And in the sky, as the sun gradually set, a rare sight of fiery clouds spread across, with countless deep red clouds stretching out as if the entire sky was ablaze!
The scene was magnificent!
If it were any other day, such a beautiful and romantic sight would surely be shared and praised by countless people getting off work or school on social media!
Gu Chengyuan, moved, opened his phone to edit a post:
"Day one of the apocalypse..."
He attached a photo below.
Gu Chengyuan, dressed in combat gear, holding a gun, sat atop the Mengshi Assault Vehicle, leaning against the 12.7mm caliber vehicle-mounted heavy machine gun.
His face was masked, revealing no expression, with the burning sky and blood-red sunset as the backdrop.
Click to send.
Sending failed, please check your current network!
Seeing the red exclamation mark on his phone, Gu Chengyuan sighed, put away the phone, and picked up the walkie-talkie.
"Attention all units! Attention all units! This is Zero One! This is Zero One! Do you copy? Do you copy?"
"Zero Two copies!"
"Zero Three copies!"
"Zero Four copies!"
"Mission complete, all units cease combat immediately, extract zombie crystal cores, no need to count to save time, but ensure to return to the assault vehicle before dark!"
"Zero Four, continue with the guard duty, and withdraw after all units return!"
"Zero Two copies!"
"Zero Three copies!"
"Zero Four copies!"
As darkness approached, for safety's sake, Gu Chengyuan decided to withdraw the troops.
The apocalypse had just begun, the situation was still unclear, and unknown dangers might be lurking.
Moreover, the soldiers had been in high-intensity combat for nearly four hours, and although there were a few short breaks, they were mentally exhausted.
Once darkness fell, without large-scale lighting equipment, relying solely on the tactical flashlights mounted on guns would provide very low visibility.
They would also become easy targets in the dark, significantly increasing the risk of danger.
These soldiers, though summoned by the system, seemed no different from real people in Gu Chengyuan's interactions.
For instance, he had been chatting with Pu Guangqiang, who was accompanying him as a guard. Pu Guangqiang said his hometown was the peak district of the internet.
Having not pursued further education after high school, he worked in various bars as a promoter, surrounded by DJ music and attractive people every day.
He joined the service under his father's pressure, initially resisting and counting down the days, but eventually grew accustomed to and fond of it.
He also mentioned his preference for big and powerful weapons, hence choosing the shotgun.
"Like Brother Crow, one shot, and the target is blown away! I just love that feeling!"
Facing such a group of loyal and lively individuals, Gu Chengyuan couldn't bear to let them take unnecessary risks.
...
About half an hour later, each squad returned to the armored vehicle, stepping on the last rays of the blood-red sunset before the sun fully set.
The 1st and 2nd Combat Teams each handed over a small bag of zombie crystal cores to Gu Chengyuan.
These crystal cores had been washed clean by the soldiers in the roadside ditches before being bagged.
System!
As soon as he got the crystal cores, Gu Chengyuan eagerly called up the system.
He planned to check today's harvest.
From where the armored vehicle was currently parked, they had cleared about eighty vehicles today.
The number of zombies in these cars varied, with some having one, two, three, or even four.
There were also empty cars, either the survivors had escaped, or they were chased out and eaten by zombies.
Gu Chengyuan felt he had been somewhat unlucky today.
Despite Xishui North Road's naturally low traffic, nearly eighty cars yielded no survivors.
Were humans too strong and all escaped, or too weak and none survived?
Estimating two zombies per car, they had killed 160 zombies today, minus a 5% loss from accidentally damaging zombie crystal cores.
Gu Chengyuan conservatively estimated at least 152 crystal cores in these two bags.
Now it was time to see how many credits these crystal cores would bring!
"Convert to credits."
Ding
Conversion successful.
Gained 389 credits!
Watching the credit counter jump, Gu Chengyuan saw the total rise to
410!