Chapter 27: First Contact

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The explosion-proof glass of the Limei Company entrance shuddered under a violent assault.

Chen Yuan, compound bow in hand, was the first to rush to the front desk. As his gaze focused on the five zombies outside, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine, despite having prepared himself mentally.

The zombies' faces were like withered bark, their eyes vacant and lifeless. They opened their mouths wide, emitting guttural hisses. They brandished slender, sharp fingers like tree branches and began to slam against the glass doors, revealing rows of fine, sharp teeth.

Tieniu (Iron Bull) was moving back and forth, attempting to use its own body to block them.

Chen Yuan's face was as grim as still water. He slightly raised the compound bow in his hands.

"Tieqiong, pull the door open, create a slit! Tiedan, attack through the gap!"

「Roger.」 「Roger.」

At Chen Yuan's command, the two robot dogs sprang into action. At the same time, Qi Yan and Anna, now holding spelunking axes, rushed to the front desk.

The searchlights on the robot dogs' heads illuminated the entire space, giving the two women a clear view of the zombies' appearance. For a moment, a deep fear took root in their hearts, and their legs went soft. No matter how much of an adventurer a woman was, this was a scene that could make anyone's courage falter.

But Chen Yuan had no time for such thoughts. He knew that if he didn't kill these five zombies, he would become one of them.

He drew back his right hand. As the bowstring tightened, the power-saving pulley wheels began to turn. He raised his left hand slightly, using the infrared sight to aim at the narrow gap in the doorway. When the nock of the arrow touched his right jawline, he released his fingers.

With a whoosh, the arrow shot with precision through the gap and struck the shoulder of a zombie outside. The arrow passed straight through its body and embedded itself in the tiled wall behind, the fletching vibrating with a low hum.

Instantly, dark green blood flowed from the zombie's shoulder wound.

Tssssss...

As the blood dripped onto the carpet, it sizzled, releasing wisps of white, corrosive smoke. A pungent odor drifted in through the gap, and the two women subconsciously covered their noses.

But even with a piercing wound through its shoulder, the zombie showed no signs of stopping. It continued to wave its arms wildly, striking sparks against Tieniu's hardened chassis. The zombies didn't know how to dodge; their only instinct was to charge through the door and sink their teeth into the living things inside.

Qi Yan and Anna stood in a corner, their eyes glued to the glass doors, their faces etched with worry.

Chen Yuan's heart sank slightly. Without further thought, he nocked another arrow.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

His right hand continuously pulled arrows from his quiver and let them fly. At the same time, Tiedan's offensive mechanical arm stabbed out through the gap in the door, striking indiscriminately.

Schlick! Schlick! Schlick!

More dark green blood gushed out, seeping in through the gap under the door as the acrid white mist thickened.

"You two, get back! This mist might be toxic!" Chen Yuan shouted, his eyes never leaving the scene outside.

His words sent a jolt of fear through the two women. They quickly scrambled around the front desk partition and hid behind it.

"Tiedan, aim for the head!"

「Roger!」

Hearing the command, Tiedan raised its offensive arm. Although this would reduce the force of its attacks, the three-section arm, which could extend to over two meters, was long enough to reach the zombies' heads.

Just then, one of the zombies broke through Tieniu's blockade and thrust its head into the door gap.

Chen Yuan's eyes were sharp and his hands were fast. He loosed an arrow. At the same instant, the sharp, conical tip of Tiedan's offensive arm arrived.

THWACK! SQUELCH!

The arrow pierced the zombie's head, while Tiedan stabbed up from below, severing its neck.

THUD... A head fell inside the doorway, rolled twice on the ground, and came to a stop at Chen Yuan's feet.

He glanced down, unable to suppress a shiver of revulsion. He pulled the collar of his thermostatic suit up higher, covering his nose and mouth to block out the corrosive smell.

Five zombies. One down, four to go.

"Tieniu, let one through!"

「Roger.」

Hearing the command, Tieniu moved to widen the gap. Seeing the opening, the zombies swarmed towards it. Tieniu then slammed forward, knocking back the zombies crowding from behind, leaving only the one at the very front.

Chen Yuan saw his chance and roared, "Tiedan, again!"

「Roger.」

With their coordinated effort, another zombie was put down.

"Three left..." Chen Yuan gritted his teeth, his right hand reaching for his quiver. His fingers touched the fletching. Five arrows left.

But at that exact moment, the tempered glass door let out a sharp, cracking sound. Immediately, spiderweb-like fissures began to spread from the edges.

"Not good! The door is about to break!"

Even though the tempered glass was high quality, its strength had been weakened by the extreme cold. Combined with the violent impacts, it was now on the verge of shattering.

"You two, get to the conference room, now!"

"Okay, okay..." Qi Yan and Anna exchanged a look and immediately ran for the conference room.

Chen Yuan himself was also preparing to retreat. Against zombies, you had to use ranged attacks, not melee. At least, not until he was fully equipped. He could not let those things touch him.

"You three! One zombie per dog!"

His words had barely left his mouth when the tempered glass door shattered with a deafening crash. Shards the size of thumbnails rained down across the floor.

Chen Yuan took off at a run, diving into the conference room. As he slammed the door shut, he began to shove the remaining dismantled conference tables one by one to barricade it. The two women saw what he was doing and rushed to help.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Violent crashing sounds came from outside. They weren't hitting the conference room door, however, but the desks and chairs in the main office area.

The three robot dogs had each chosen an enemy and had begun a frenzied attack.

Tiedan was doing well; it had two offensive mechanical arms, and the sharp conical tips punched a new hole in its opponent with every strike.

Tieqiong had its industrial mechanical arm. Its pincer-like clamp opened and closed, directly crushing the neck of a zombie.

Tieniu had it the worst. It could only use its body to ram its opponent, which consumed a massive amount of its energy. If Chen Yuan hadn't upgraded its endurance, it would probably have shut down by now.

The fierce battle turned the entire office area into a warzone. Computer monitors flew through the air, and desks and chairs were overturned. But in a one-on-one situation, the robot dogs were incredibly effective.

In less than five minutes, the outside fell silent again.

「Master, enemies have been eliminated.」

Only when Tiedan's voice sounded from outside the door did Chen Yuan let out a huge sigh of relief. He had been terrified that in the middle of the fight, one of them would suddenly announce, "Please add fuel," which would have really screwed him.

He quickly moved the tables and walked back out. As far as the eye could see, there was only wreckage. The three zombies had each died in their own unique way.

Chen Yuan reached into his backpack and immediately began to refuel his three subordinates. He opened Tiedan's insertion port and saw that there was only a tiny ember left inside. It had been on the verge of shutting down!

Hiss... That was too close...

If there had been two more zombies, Tiedan would surely have fallen. Then the other two dogs would have been overwhelmed.

He quickly tossed in a handful of combustion pellets, and Tiedan's body began to grow warm again.

After he had refueled each of them, he finally turned his attention to the dismembered thing on the ground. He pulled the collar of his suit up over his nose and mouth, then crouched down. He picked up a pen from the scattered debris of a desk and began to poke at the corpse.

Instantly, his brow furrowed deeply.