Chapter 55: The oriole
The heavy thumping of helicopter rotors echoed loudly across the skies above the eastern region.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Several military helicopters circled high overhead, keeping a close watch over the chaotic battlefield below.
Inside the choppers, heavily armed soldiers leaned out of the open doors, their sniper rifles trained on the endless sea of moving zombies.
One of the soldiers lowered his binoculars and pressed the button on the walkie-talkie clipped to his tactical vest.
"Air-Con One reporting. Negative visual on the alien. Over."
Similar reports quickly arrived from the other helicopters.
"Air-Con Two. Negative."
"Air-Con Three. No visual confirmation."
Down on the ground, rows of frontline soldiers stood firmly behind reinforced riot shields. They thrust military spears through the small gaps in the shield wall, working together to keep the snapping horde at bay.
Behind the front line stood John, calmly listening to the incoming radio reports. After a brief moment of quiet calculation, he gave his order.
"Tell the First Infantry Company to open fire and relieve the pressure on the front line." John paused, his voice steady. "Once the first barrage is over, the elite squads will advance."
A young soldier with a fresh buzz cut frowned nervously. "But, Captain... we still haven’t located the alien."
John kept his eyes fixed tightly on the battlefield. "Tony. The longer we wait, the more exhausted our soldiers become." He pointed toward the seemingly endless wall of flesh and teeth.
"I’m willing to bet that’s exactly what the aliens want. Judging by the size of this horde, there are at least four aliens controlling it. If we continue delaying, the situation will only become more difficult. We move now."
Tony opened his mouth to argue again, but before he could speak, a large hand landed heavily on his shoulder.
A burly man standing nearly six-foot-three laughed loudly. "Haha! Tony, you’re worrying too much. Leave those ugly bastards to me. I’ll smash every last one of them."
Seeing the burly man’s usual booming confidence, Tony could only let out a defeated sigh.
"I’m not scared."
He scratched the back of his head.
"I was just thinking... if we’re moving in, I’ll tell the guys to prepare the water cannons."
John gave a slight nod. "Do a final equipment check. This is going to be a long battle."
"Yes, Captain."
Moments later, another line of soldiers stepped out from behind the shield bearers. They raised their assault rifles in unison.
"Fire!"
Ratatatatata!
A fierce hail of bullets tore into the approaching zombies. Dozens collapsed immediately, their bodies riddled with holes. Yet the zombies behind them didn’t even hesitate; they simply climbed right over the fresh corpses and continued charging forward.
"They’re still advancing!"
"Rocket away!"
A soldier balanced a heavy rocket launcher on his shoulder and pulled the trigger.
Similarly three more soldiers did the same
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The missiles streaked across the battlefield before crashing right into the center of the dense horde.
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion shook the surrounding buildings. Concrete shattered into dust, and broken glass rained down from nearby windows. The blast hurled dozens of zombies through the air like ragdolls. Several hidden Stalkers were torn apart by the shrapnel before they even had a chance to react.
Yet, before the smoke could even clear, more zombies surged forward to fill the empty space. Their numbers truly seemed endless.
........
Several hundred meters away, from the dusty window of an abandoned building, Leo quietly observed the battlefield through Tom’s Peeping Binoculars. After a while, he lowered them and chuckled.
"As strange as its description is... this thing is actually pretty useful."
Using the binoculars, he had already spotted two hidden aliens within the massive horde. Unlike the one he had killed before, these aliens were noticeably smaller.
Each disgusting eyeball creature was attached directly to the back of a separate Runner Zombie, hiding perfectly among the countless undead.
One of the military’s earlier missiles had landed only a few meters away from one of them. The violent explosion had clearly startled the creature, but even so, neither of the aliens tried to flee.
Leo narrowed his eyes.
"They’re waiting for something..."
He could smell a trap. The military wanted to lure the aliens out, but at the same time, the aliens seemed to be setting a trap of their own.
A faint smile appeared beneath Leo’s hood.
"Well... that’s none of my business."
A proverb from his previous life suddenly surfaced in his mind: The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
His smile widened. "I suppose... I’ll be the oriole. Time to get to work."
Leo reached into his card belt and pulled out a single card. With a quick thought, he released it. A wooden crate instantly materialized on the floor inside the room. Without another word, Leo hoisted the crate onto his arms and quietly disappeared into the dark hallway.
.......
Meanwhile, on a nearby road...
"Miss Rose, you can’t do this. We were ordered to escort you back to camp."
Rose shot the soldier an irritated glare and crossed her arms. "And who are you to tell me what I can and can’t do? I’m a trained soldier too. But everyone insists on treating me like some fragile flower."
"Miss..." The squad leader tried to speak, but Rose cut him off immediately.
"No. I’m going to hunt down an alien and prove that I deserve to be here." She looked around at every single soldier in the escort team, lowering her voice seductively. "Think about it. If we kill an alien... The recognition. The rewards. The promotions. Every one of you could earn enough merit to receive the Rizen Group’s Superhuman Serum."
The soldiers exchanged uncertain, hesitant glances. Even the squad leader’s strict expression changed slightly.
Rose noticed the shift and pressed on. "And don’t tell me it’s too dangerous. I know there’s a prototype weapon developed by the Rizen Group inside your vehicle."
She looked directly into the squad leader’s eyes.
"And you’re already a superhuman yourself. So why deny your teammates the chance to earn glory and become stronger?"
The other soldiers instinctively turned toward their captain, waiting.
The squad leader’s face stiffened. He suddenly realized he had been cornered by her words. Deep down, he knew that escorting Rose away was the safest choice. But the thoughts of recognition, promotion, and more resources slowly began to outweigh his caution.
After a long, heavy silence, he finally sighed. "...Fine. But once we’re on the battlefield, you’ll follow every order I give."
Rose immediately smiled and flashed him an "OK" sign. "Deal."
Without wasting another second, everyone climbed back into the military jeep. The engine roared to life with a loud rumble, and the vehicle sped off toward the sounds of gunfire.
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