Chapter 25: The Full-Scale Offensive

It has finally arrived—the long-awaited rescue team! Seeing the last zombie’s head explode, Zhang Jun’s high-strung nerves finally snapped. Fatigue washed over him like a relentless tide of the undead. After confirming that the figure beyond the barricade was indeed a heavily armed rescuer, his head slumped to the side, and he lost consciousness.

"You guys, what on earth are you doing with all these broken tables and chairs?" After slaughtering the remaining zombies in the hallway, Zhao Qiang had to begin clearing the barricades the students had erected to block the undead.

Halfway through the arduous task, Zhao Qiang caught sight of a gut-wrenching scene through a gap in the debris: a group of zombies dressed like students were huddled on the ground, tearing relentlessly at a victim.

"Too late!" Zhao Qiang’s heart sank. The rescue mission had failed. It was likely that some students had been bitten earlier, turned, and then attacked the last survivor. Consumed by rage, Zhao Qiang shoved the remaining chairs aside with brute force.

With a loud clatter, Zhao Qiang burst through the barricade like a bolt of lightning. His machete, the "Dog Leg," was already drawn, and the cold blade swept toward the nearest "zombie" with lethal precision.

"Ah!" A piercing scream echoed. The blade stopped dead in mid-air, less than half an inch from the target. There were no zombies here—only a few tearful schoolgirls. And the victim was not a victim at all; judging by the faint rise and fall of his chest, the boy had merely fainted.

Zhao Qiang felt incredibly awkward. The terrified girls were staring at him with wide, watery eyes as he sheepishly retracted his weapon. "Are you all okay? I... I’m Zhao Qiang. We’re here to..."

Before he could finish, the girls, acting much like the zombies they feared, threw themselves at him, cutting off his words.

"Alright, alright, it’s okay now." With no other choice, Zhao Qiang comforted the students who had just returned from the edge of hell. Outside, the sound of gunfire remained intense, and Zhao Qiang, burning with anxiety, found himself unable to shake off the clinging students.

"What’s wrong with him?" Once the girls had calmed down, Zhao Qiang pointed to the unconscious Zhang Jun. The students couldn't provide a clear explanation.

Zhao Qiang shook his head and reached out to check Zhang Jun’s pulse. He felt a slow, steady beat from the carotid artery. He carefully examined the boy's limbs, and finding no visible wounds, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Tiger Team, this is Base. We are under attack!"

"What’s going on?" Zhao Qiang ignored communication protocols. It wasn't the first time the base had been attacked, but every previous assault had been thwarted by the combined efforts of Wei Tao, Jun Dao, and the base security forces. There was no precedent for recalling the Tiger Team.

Since relocating to Jianglu, the base’s defensive capabilities had increased exponentially. With a light weapons production line, ammunition was virtually inexhaustible, and the presence of armored vehicles and tanks had greatly enhanced their mobility. If such a force needed reinforcements, the few members of the Tiger Team wouldn't make much of a difference.

"Zhao Qiang, get back here! Hell, those things have gone insane!" Meng Longwei’s frantic voice crackled through the earpiece.

"Where is Team B? Aren't they at the base?" Zhao Qiang asked. This mission only involved Tiger Team A; Team B had stayed behind as a mobile reserve.

"Don't even ask. The zombies outside are acting like they've been injected with adrenaline. Just as you left, Team B was pulled away by a distress signal from another survivor camp. No time to explain—I’ve got to get to the front. Get back here, now!"

"Copy that!" Zhao Qiang looked back at the stunned students. Without a word, he hoisted the unconscious Zhang Jun onto his shoulder and headed downstairs.

The schoolgirls looked at each other, hesitated for a moment, and then scrambled to follow close behind him.

"You heard him—we’re pulling out!" Reaching the building entrance, Zhao Qiang patted Cai Jiashu on the shoulder, signaling that they had a few survivors in tow. The team members held their positions firmly; the endless swarm of zombies seemed to hit an invisible barrier, unable to advance within ten meters of the *Thorn*.

...

"Old Meng, what’s the situation?" The *Thorn*, having refueled, sped toward the base. Team B had arrived too late; the poor survivor camp was already in ruins, and upon learning of the base's crisis, they had abandoned their search to return.

"It’s not good!" Wei Tao’s voice was cold over the radio. "The situation is grim. The zombies have surrounded us. It looks like they’re prepared for a fight to the death."

The base had long overlooked one factor: the total number of zombies across the Chang-Zhu-Tan region exceeded ten million. Past battles had been small in scale; the zombies were scattered, and encountering a horde of over a thousand was rare. Usually, once the "Intellectual" hidden in the shadows was eliminated, the battle would become much easier.

This time, however, the sea of zombies surrounding the base was endless. With the entire Tiger Team deployed elsewhere, the remaining personnel could barely hold the line at key points under Wei Tao’s command. Everyone capable of firing a gun had been pushed to the front—even Wang Baoquan, a man in his sixties, was fighting on the front lines with a rifle.

To resolve the offensive at its source, Jun Dao had been forced to leave the base alone, sneaking into the zombie-occupied zone to track down the Intellectuals.

Jun Dao quickly located a target. After some maneuvering, he successfully sniped the hidden Intellectual from a distance, but reports from the base indicated the mission was not complete.

With no other choice, he searched for more. The discovery that followed was chilling: the density of Intellectuals near the base far exceeded their expectations. In less than half an hour, Jun Dao sniped four more, yet the zombies’ offensive showed no sign of weakening.

His actions alerted the Intellectuals. Under the crushing pressure of the zombie legion, Jun Dao’s room to maneuver shrank. Accustomed to sniping, he was at a severe disadvantage in close-quarters combat against the horde. He was forced to hide in a ventilation duct, barely escaping the relentless pursuit of the undead.