Published: February 6, 2025
Gunshots rang out violently above the granary in Yingchun County.
The food was secured, and it was time to retreat.
Although there were multiple granaries here, and several cylindrical storage units filled with loose grains, those quantities exceeded the team's capability. If they lingered too long, the entire group would likely perish here.
The team from Cloud Summit Villa was armed with a mix of weapons, mostly handguns, along with some assault rifles and even a few old hunting rifles. The majority of these had been acquired recently by Ye Zhongming from the roulette, with some being old stock, and others exchanged from Yuan Shang over the past weeks.
Despite the variety of firearms, the ammunition was still relatively sufficient. For this battle, Ye Zhongming had invested a significant amount, purchasing a considerable quantity of bullets, leading Yuan Shang to believe that this mysterious leader of Cloud Summit Villa was planning to strike against some faction.
In the distance, gunfire could also be heard, suggesting that another convoy had encountered disturbed zombies, leading to a firefight between the two sides.
The hot weapons, representative of human warfare civilization, opened fire, causing the surrounding horde of corpses to thin out, significantly reducing the pressure on the team.
"Don't panic! Don't panic!" Lu Yi shouted as he moved through the loading team, directing them forward. Protected by evolvers and soldiers, the team quickly opened a pathway towards the convoy.
Each loader’s handcart carried four to five bags of grain. While some struggled to keep their carts steady, most moved with determination. After all, in recent days, aside from digging foundations and building walls for Cloud Summit Villa, they had been practicing pushing carts. Ye Zhongming also mixed some scraps of mutated creatures into their food, giving these individuals, though not yet evolvers, a much better physique compared to the peaceful era. This boosted their confidence and capability to perform the task of transporting grain amid the horde.
Under the gunfire, the team successfully reached the granary entrance. Along the way, there were a few incidents such as handcarts tipping over or some individuals succumbing to the temptation of magic crystals and stopping to mine them. However, overall, they had faced little danger. Evolvers quickly helped right any fallen carts, while those who were greedy for magic crystals were simply ignored by the others.
The team moved swiftly; falling behind meant being surrounded by the undead within seconds, with only death as the outcome. And if someone in the front ranks attempted to do so...
They would face the consequence of a swift execution!
Beheaded, their bodies would be tossed into the horde as bait.
It was cruel but the most rational choice, as allowing one person to act selfishly would lead to a chain reaction of similar behavior, resulting in chaos where most would perish, jeopardizing the grain retrieval mission.
However, as the team reached the outside of the granary, they faced the most severe attack yet.
The gunfire had gradually drawn more zombies to their location. Despite nearly an hour of fighting, the numbers hadn't decreased; if anything, they were increasing, with higher-level mutated creatures starting to appear. The casualties among the team began to rise.
The effective range of handguns was too short, and with slightly weaker firepower, the zombies could rush in close, leading to inevitable casualties.
As ammunition ran low, the battle entered its most arduous phase. The pace of the team slowed significantly; every step taken came at a cost, and some loaders, when the team came to a standstill, grabbed the weapons of fallen soldiers to join the fight.
At this point, being overrun by the horde meant death. They were acutely aware that sometimes courage had to be forced out of them.
Ye Zhongming was at the front of the team. After unleashing two consecutive flame blades, he managed to clear some space in front of the horde, allowing the team to advance.