Chapter 27: The Manipulated Tide of the Undead

Soon, Lu Li heard the zombies letting out roars that seemed to pierce the sky, as if they were trying to tear a hole through the heavens themselves.

The sounds of artillery fire rang out in rapid succession. The southeast side of the base’s perimeter wall looked like a display of fireworks; for a moment, it was brightly lit, and the tremors shook Lu Li’s recreational vehicle.

The residential area remained quiet. Seemingly accustomed to such zombie tides, the residents followed the guard troops toward the underground shelters in an orderly fashion. No one caused trouble; everyone simply wanted to survive.

The sky was stained red by the constant bombardment.

Lu Li looked at the software on her optical computer. The red dots near the blue circle of the base were decreasing significantly, yet a seemingly endless stream of zombies continued to pour in from behind.

Weren't they supposed to spray "Zombie-Be-Gone" repellent outside the base regularly? How could there still be a zombie tide?

Lu Li couldn't understand it. With all this commotion, it was already nine in the evening. She had only eaten a small snack earlier and hadn't touched any food since, so her stomach was already protesting.

Hoping to resolve this quickly, Lu Li ordered a boxed meal—two meat dishes and one vegetable. She wolfed it down in a few bites to appease her hunger.

Over at the front lines, the battlefield had stretched out, no longer confined to the southeast. The zombies seemed to have gained intelligence, displaying some rather crude tactical maneuvers. Though the tactics were far from brilliant, they made up for it with sheer numbers. They used the corpses of their fallen comrades as ladders, climbing up the walls bit by bit to engage the heavy artillery squads at point-blank range.

The perimeter wall wasn't just a simple barrier; at the top, there was a deep groove designed for floodlights. Now, to combat the tide, the soldiers stood within these grooves, where their heavy cannons and other thermal weapons were positioned.

Liu Hongtao stood on the wall, flanked by five supernatural bodyguards. Watching these organized and disciplined zombies, he couldn't help but frown.

A zombie’s brain stem is replaced by a crystal core, capable only of the simplest thought—their intelligence is roughly that of a five-year-old child. But now, they seemed to be controlled by something, behaving with tactics, wisdom, and an instinct for self-preservation.

Could a high-level zombie be behind this tide?

A jolt of alarm ran through Liu Hongtao. He had to find the high-level zombie as soon as possible. The base’s guard forces were limited and could not hold out against this sea of corpses forever. At the same time, he sent out distress signals to nearby bases and the Central Base via his optical computer.

Lu Li had expected a quick resolution, but to her surprise, the artillery fire was still roaring past midnight.

The shells were being fired as if they were worthless, hurled into the zombie piles and blowing dozens of them to pieces at a time. Yet, new zombies immediately filled the gaps—infinite and relentless; they were simply impossible to kill off.

Everyone began to succumb to exhaustion and numbness, acting like robots as they loaded and fired shells. Their arms were numb from the vibration, but there was no time to rest. A moment of distraction, and the zombies would scale the high wall and breach the base.

This was an outcome that absolutely could not be allowed to happen; if it did, it would be a living hell.

Supplies began to run thin, and even the medical team’s stock of hemostatic agents was nearly depleted. For a time, a sense of despair crept into everyone's hearts. Every time they managed to live in peace for less than half a year, another wave of zombies would hit.

Were they really going to be trampled into the dirt by these mindless creatures? The guards were hot-blooded young people, and of course, they were unwilling to accept that.

"Damn it all! I refuse to believe these zombies are endless!" someone roared.

"Son of a gun! You pathetic zombies! I’m going to crush you!" another cursed.

The atmosphere on the wall flared with a brief surge of adrenaline, but it was quickly ground back into numbness by the endless, black, tide-like mass of zombies.

Liu Hongtao’s face showed his exhaustion. Things couldn't go on like this; shells and resources were finite, and so were the people. They couldn't endure this kind of attrition.

He wondered how the vanguard team sent to hunt the high-level zombie was faring. Liu Hongtao was torn between his concern for the vanguard team, the constant need to monitor the depletion of supplies, and the requirement to rotate the heavy artillery squads.

He was mentally and physically spent, and with the management staff already committed to the fighting, he had no one to share the burden.

He caught sight of a Tier 3 zombie dodging a shell, stepping over the bodies of its kin to vault onto the wall and attack the heavy artillery crew. The soldiers nearby were too late to help, and their comrade was gone in an instant. They were filled with hatred, yet felt utterly helpless.

Scenes like this occurred frequently along the wall. A sudden sense of despair washed over him—was the great Hope Base really about to be destroyed by zombies?

The optical computer on his wrist lit up. Liu Hongtao lowered his eyes to look at it, the screen's soft glow illuminating his face.

The irregular wrinkles etched into his skin were highlighted in that moment, but suddenly, he felt a spark of energy and motivation.

Liu Hongtao gathered his strength and shouted, "Everyone, hold on! The vanguard team has found the high-level zombie and is currently engaging it! It will be eliminated soon!"

The words proved effective; many people let out a battle cry and sped up their movements.

Artillery shells fired, and in an instant, hundreds of zombies were killed. But the zombies were mindless and felt no pain; they simply followed their orders and continued their mindless assault.

Back in the residential area, Lu Li was gone from her RV, leaving only her pet, Xiao Lu, behind. The little creature huddled pitifully in its cat bed, eyes wide, afraid to sleep.

Meanwhile, Lu Li was two kilometers southeast of the base, lying flat on the ground, as still as the dead.

Covered by a pile of dry grass, she was almost one with the night. Lying beside her was the captain of the Hope Base's vanguard team.

The two remained silent, quietly observing the situation. This was an urban area, crowded with high-rise buildings and plenty of cover.

He lowered his voice and whispered, "Are you sure the high-level zombie behind this is here?"

Lu Li nodded firmly. "Don't be ridiculous. Why else would I be here?"

Rewinding an hour, Liu Hongtao had dispatched the vanguard team to find Lu Li, hoping for her assistance. Lu Li had been staring out the window at the time; they were her own kind, after all, and she felt a twinge of concern.

When she heard their plea, Lu Li wondered what she could possibly provide. Surely she couldn't just pull out a stack of scratch-off lottery tickets and start scratching them right there? She didn't even know what was on these tickets herself.

The vanguard captain, who was part of the team, said, "You knew the zombie tide was coming beforehand. That ability is the greatest help you can provide us."

Lu Li thought to herself: *Sorry, it’s just something the system gave me.*

She suddenly remembered that the optical computer provided by the system had software capable of detecting the presence of zombies. She agreed to help them; she couldn't just stand by and watch her own kind die one by one before her eyes.

She followed the vanguard team out of the base through a small gate, killing some low-level zombies heading toward the base along the way.

On the road, she opened the optical computer and tinkered with it for a while before discovering she could set zombies of Tier 5 and above to appear as green dots.

The captain leaned over, surprised. "Your software is different from ours."

Lu Li felt a bit guilty. *Your Central Base’s junk software only detected the tide when it was almost upon you—how could it compare to the one provided by the system?*

She improvised, "It’s the latest version. The very latest."

The captain studied it for a moment, muttering, "Why didn't mine prompt me to update?"

Lu Li cut him off, saying directly, "Found it! Right here!" As soon as she spoke, all ten members of the vanguard team crowded around.