Chapter 93: Wave Crest

Gao Yuan could already hear some sounds.

They were somewhat like a buzzing noise, but soon, he could make out that the sounds were akin to a deep, rumbling roar.

"Prepare for battle! Prepare for battle! Prepare for battle..."

Someone was shouting loudly as they ran past; orders had to be relayed by people now.

From afar, cries and wails could already be heard, those of the survivors.

For those survivors who did not yet realize that they had seen hope, perhaps they were the luckier ones. Those in despair feel no joy, and going from despair to even deeper despair is just despair after all.

Those who had seen hope felt joy, they had expectations, but now they should be worried about dying before dawn. Their sense of loss was as intense as falling from heaven to Hell.

Just like what Gao Yuan was feeling now.

As an ammo carrier, Gao Yuan picked up a belt of ammunition and silently walked over to the anti-aircraft machine gun.

The sounds grew louder and louder; they were the footsteps of many people running together.

Finally, gunfire rang out.

The gunfire started from the east, from the direction of the city.

But the sound of the machine guns stopped abruptly.

"It's definitely a false alarm, absolutely!"

Zhang Zhe said decisively, then added with hope, "It might be nothing; maybe it's just someone with a nervous twitch..."

Gunfire erupted.

Instantly, the sound of gunfire melded into a barrage.

Everyone let out a sigh of disappointment. Although they all knew Zhang Zhe's words were unreliable, it was still the last bit of hope shattering.

The gunfire became fiercer and closer; this meant that zombies were wrapping around the refuge's wire fence, completely surrounding the shelter.

"What a damn time to pick! They just had to come at night!"

Zhang Zhe cursed bitterly, and Li Changfeng said with a trembling voice, "That's because the Aliens only arrived at dusk..."

Gao Yuan turned his head and noticed that searchlights had been turned on behind them, but their direction was still dark.

Zhang Zhe took a deep breath and said, "The number of zombies coming can't be that high, or the gunfire would be much more concentrated."

No sooner had he finished speaking, a searchlight suddenly lit up brightly in front of Gao Yuan.

Looking out, they could already see zombies throwing themselves at the wire fence.

Four minutes later, zombies finally appeared at the westernmost side of the shelter.

"Fire! Zombies! Ah, zombies, fire!"

Li Changfeng started shouting, and Zhang Zhe angrily retorted, "What are you yelling about, it's just one zombie!"

"Ah, shoot, shoot quickly!"

Li Changfeng continued shouting until Li Xiaodong kicked him in the buttocks, angrily saying, "Shut up! What's there to panic about!"

Two more zombies, almost at the same time, lunged at the wire fence. One of the machine gun nests, having a clear firing range, fired a short burst; one zombie was ripped in half, the other had its head blown off.

"It's fine! It's fine! If the zombies can't get through, it means there aren't that many!"

Just as Zhang Zhe finished speaking, he saw at least dozens of zombies suddenly lunging at their left side—namely the wire fence on the south.

Like a black tide, the momentum surged along the wire fence quickly approaching. One after another, zombies appeared and directly assaulted the fence.

"Captain, just stop talking, everything you say turns out to be the opposite."

Li Changfeng stopped shouting but pointed out the unfortunate truth of Zhang Zhe's contrary predictions with a cry in his voice.

They couldn't open fire yet, because there was no need.

Zhang Zhe took a long breath and said, "Come on, give me a cigarette!"

Gao Yuan fished out a cigarette pack and put one in his mouth. Li Xiaodong whispered, "Give me one too."

"Get lost, you're just a waste."

Gao Yuan put the cigarette pack back into his pocket, pinched the cigarette between two fingers, and said to Zhang Zhe, "Got a light?"

Zhang Zhe took out a lighter and lit Gao Yuan's cigarette for him.

The machine gun position to their immediate left began firing, signaling that the zombie horde was about to extend to the direct front of Gao Yuan and his crew's position.

When they made it to the front, it would be their turn to open fire.

Li Changfeng yelled, "Shoot, start shooting!"

"What's the panic! Xiaodong, take him to the side, he's so annoying."

Zhang Zhe blew a smoke ring leisurely, his face calm, "Motherf*****," said Zhang Zhe, "Li Changfeng, you're just a coward. Go stand at the back. We don't need you here, and don't you dare make a sound! And don't even think about running; I'm telling you, if you run now, you're a deserter, and you will be executed. Close your eyes; if you don't see, you won't be scared."

Li Changfeng really started to cry.

Wave after wave of zombies appeared, were mowed down by machine guns, and piles of corpses had started to form at the barbed wire on their left front.

Based on the number of zombies appearing, it was only a matter of time before their bodies formed a stairway that let the others climb straight over the barbed wire.

The scene was too shocking, and Li Changfeng couldn't take it anymore.

Gao Yuan felt his heart sinking. He hoped the number of zombies wouldn't be too great so that it wouldn't be so hard to keep the shelter safe. Besides, he already knew that the shelter was protected by artillery.

But why hadn't the artillery opened fire yet?

Wang Hu said that they were not to retreat until the artillery fired its last round.

The zombies finally reached right in front of Zhang Zhe.

"Your grandmother!"

Zhang Zhe finally started firing.

Da-da-da, da-da-da, three rounds burst, Zhang Zhe always maintained a very regular, rhythmic firing pace.

The 12.7mm caliber bullets were certain to hit a zombie with three shots, and a hit was guaranteed to bring the zombie down immediately, rendering it motionless.

The three machine gun positions together were responsible for a small sector of fire, and now all three guns were firing, but there were still zombies that managed to push against the barbed wire until they were neutralized.

The tide of zombies kept spreading until the machine gun position on the right side of Gao Yuan and his crew opened fire as well.

By this time, Stonegate Second Shelter was completely surrounded by zombies.

"Change the ammo belt."

Zhang Zhe continued smoking; he had smoked half of his cigarette, and a sixty-round ammo belt had already been expended.

"Look up at the sky, look up..."

Li Changfeng shouted again. Zhang Zhe didn't turn his head, just murmured, "Why is it always him that sees these things..."

While Gao Yuan was changing the ammo belt, they didn't have time to turn their heads, but once it was replaced, Zhang Zhe couldn't wait to start firing again.

Gao Yuan looked back for a moment and saw a flying saucer hovering above their shelter.

Before finishing an entire ammo belt, Zhang Zhe stopped firing again, then he said in a relaxed tone, "It's okay, it's not too many, we can handle it."

"Can you just not jinx it, Captain?"

This time it was Gao Yuan who spoke because he too thought that Zhang Zhe had an alarmingly effective way of tempting fate.

But it was too late.

It was like waves crashing against a shoreline, but these waves were neither big nor strong, yet suddenly a huge mass of zombies surged forward, like a giant wave, a towering tsunami slamming against the shore's rocks.

Zhang Zhe spat out his cigarette butt fiercely and then started to fire intensely, breaking his rule of avoiding prolonged bursts, absolutely no full automatic fire; he swept out all the bullets on the ammo belt in one go.

If he didn't go full auto, they couldn't hold them back.

After emptying the entire ammo belt, Zhang Zhe cried out hoarsely, "Change the ammo belt! Don't just stand there like idiots, get ready to switch at any moment!"