Kingdom of Corrosion
Chapter 985 - 425 Veteran’s Club (Part 2)_2

Chapter 985: Chapter 425 Veteran’s Club (Part 2)_2

Maya, who was nearby, resolutely tore through the clothing and sliced into the flesh. Her motions were harsher than Lin Wu’s, but they were effective as she confirmed that the infected part had been excised. The bald men were half-convinced, but Maya and Lin Wu vouched for it, with Lin Wu even citing the cases of Xiao Rou and Xiao Wu.

Little Knife and Snow Egg felt very guilty, thinking it was their negligence that resulted in the lapse. In fact, it wasn’t much related to them. The zombie was a deaf-mute one, unresponsive to sound, hence it had been nesting under a corner table until it spotted Xiao Zhuan.

Because Maya’s actions were so forceful, it seemed that stopping Xiao Zhuan’s bleeding was difficult, so they rushed him onto the road with the goods. They notified Xiao Yi via satellite phone to prepare for the arrival of the casualty. This presented a problem: the time for broadcasting over the speakers might be insufficient, potentially leading to zombies being lured to the first floor when the helicopter lands.

It was estimated that the helicopter could safely make two more trips. The personnel could evacuate en masse using harnesses, but it would be impossible to take all the goods in one go. The options were to streamline the cargo or face the tide of zombies.

The bald chief decided: "Set up a defensive position at the stairwell landing on the first floor to confront the tide of zombies."

Lin Wu said, "How about starting a fire? Have the base hastily prepare a few hundred Incendiary Grenades, and we light up all the cars on the street." Still coveting the use of fire.

After some thought, the bald man felt it was not a bad idea and contacted Maya. After she arrived at the base and got in touch with the bald man, she brought him some bad news: the garbage at the railway bridge base had not been cleared, leaving only a dozen jars and bottles.

Shana suggested clearing the zombies from the rooftop and moving all the goods there, then use tables and chairs to blockade the stairs, strictly guarding the sole entry and exit to the rooftop.

The idea was good, something Maya should have thought of. Perhaps she was focused on flight, or maybe recently her mind was all about the helicopter. However, Maya quickly adjusted her mindset and perfected part of the plan, which included adding Su Shi and Stone to the transportation team. Xiao Wu would stay at the base in case he returned with bullets only to find his home gone. Xiao Wen was in charge of cooking, as the transportation work might continue for the whole night.

Shana’s idea had been proposed before but was vetoed. One reason was that a round trip for the helicopter took forty minutes, not including refueling time. Once the roof defense battle started, it would be difficult to stop because gunfire would continuously attract zombies. Moreover, nobody knew how the zombies would attack if the stairs got filled with their corpses.

Work became tense, with Xiao Nu, Xiao Ju, and the bald man tirelessly moving box after box of supplies to the rooftop. On the rooftop, Shana, Little Knife, and Snow Egg thoroughly searched for zombies while also looking for items that could be used to block the stairs and serve as barriers. On the first floor, Lin Wu and Lin Meng were also busy, as the increasing pace of the transport team’s work resulted in louder noise, continuously attracting zombies to the safety passage.

Stone and Su Shi joined the transport team, speeding up the moving process. The helicopter on the east side of the rooftop, loaded with goods, did not immediately take off, waiting for the transport team to completely empty the vault. According to the initial plan, goods would be categorized during transport, with less important items being discarded. Now, they couldn’t afford to be selective, taking everything they could.

Maya and Xiaoji took a box of empty magazines and four boxes of 5.56mm ammunition from the supplies, transforming the area behind the safety door into a temporary combat ready station.

This time, Maya also brought supper. Previously, Shana led a team to the southern district to scavenge medical supplies, and they found a 5kg bag of rice. For supper, there was the rare treat of rice with pickled mustard greens prepared by Xiao Cao, fried in wild boar fat along with some chili, looking very appetizing.

Around one in the morning, all supplies had been moved upstairs, then everyone took a break and had supper. Afterward, Shana sent the helicopter off with the last wave of music.

The rooftop personnel spread out a carpet near the safety door, arranged for shifts for the night watch, and then everyone took a break first.

The next day at six in the morning, they hydrated with water and ate biscuits as the team began their official work.

The first task was clearing the rooftop. With a large number of participants, they lined up side by side over a fifty-meter span, advancing horizontally with pistols. Thanks to the clear daylight, with one pass, they killed the five zombies hidden on the rooftop.

The second task was establishing a stair defense line. The width of the staircase was four and a half meters. The height of the third level was 10 meters, with each stair being 0.15 meters, consisting of two staircases and a landing, totaling up to thirty-three steps leading directly to the rooftop.

Is it not possible to stand on the last stair and shoot downwards? The answer is no, because due to the design, the last stair is flanked by walls on both sides, with the corner stairs below out of sight.

Everyone helped carry bricks and stones, placing them on the stairs. Baldy decided on five fighters based on the stair width, two in front and three behind, with the front pair seated on the lower steps to the left and right, and the three in the middle standing behind. Others helped reload magazines, repair firearms, and transport supplies.

The combatants were Lin Wu, Snow Egg, Little Knife, Shana, and Lin Meng. The reason Lin Wu’s group was chosen is that he believed killing zombies could earn points. Stone and Su Shi’s firearm skills were too poor to be considered. If there were any lapses, Baldy and the others could take over.

Of course, the reason Lin Wu gave to Baldy and the others was: we are brave, we are not afraid of death, we take the lead in face of danger.

Once preparations were complete, Baldy contacted Maya by phone: "Combat team in position."

"Arriving in 20 minutes."

While waiting, Lin Meng, who had been holding back a question, couldn’t help but whisper to Lin Wu: "The helicopter flying back and forth, doesn’t it need maintenance? If something goes wrong, our game ends right there."

Lin Wu responded: "Can’t you think of something positive? Like only you getting turned into a zombie."

Lin Meng bared her fangs and snarled fiercely: "Then I will bite you to death first. Ouch!" She slapped her forehead and noted it down in her little notebook.

Baldy, ignoring their playfulness, said: "Lin Wu and Lin Meng will form the front group, with Lin Wu as the core of the formation. Whenever you empty a magazine, say loudly: ’Changing magazine.’ As the core of the formation, Lin Wu, you need to synchronize your firing rhythm with Lin Meng to avoid the awkward situation where both of you change magazines at the same time. The core of the rear group is Snow Egg, similarly, Snow Egg, you must ensure the three in the back do not change magazines all at once."

Baldy continued: "Most importantly, don’t be a hero. If you feel unwell or the pressure is too high, notify immediately. You can only evacuate after the relief personnel have replaced you. Do not remove your earplugs, do not switch positions, do not shake or nod your head to avoid friendly fire."

The helicopter finally appeared from the west. With its arrival, zombies began flooding into the Veteran’s Club from the streets, finding the staircase leading up amidst the crowd and rolling upstairs like a hurricane. The battle then officially began.

The width of each stair step is 0.30 meters, with 33 steps totaling a width of 10 meters, meaning the combat distance is only 10 meters. Zombies couldn’t even reach Lin Wu and the others before tumbling back down the stairs.

Previously, some had speculated that zombie corpses would pile up into mountains. However, it didn’t seem to be the case, as the dead zombies actually became food for the horde behind them. Zombies with food stopped to feast, while those without pushed through their companions, climbed over them, and kept surging towards the rooftop.

One minute into the battle, Little Knife shouted: "Injured, requesting withdrawal."

Xiaoji immediately took over with a gun, while Xiao Wen helped Little Knife to the side, revealing a blood-gushing wound on her head. It turned out Little Knife was hit by a ricochet, assumedly due to a bullet deflecting off a wall. A crude bullet had grazed her forehead. The injury wasn’t serious, but blood had covered her eyes. After Xiao Wen cleaned and bandaged the wound, Little Knife returned to her combat post.

Lin Wu was also hit by a ricochet, but he was wearing a bulletproof vest, so the ricochet did virtually no harm.

Ricochets occurred not only due to bad luck but also because someone failed to hit the zombies.