Chapter 183: Horde
After more than three hours of ensuring base safety, Ember and Aiden could finally head back to their room. Their bodies weren’t tired, but mentally, all they wanted to do was lie down and never get up.
But they know there was a lot of work to do. Marcus had told them less than an hour ago that the zombies were definitely coming to the base. In addition, there were more than 10,000 according to the current numbers.
When Ember heard, she was happy. As long as the numbers are this small, they can defend themselves. If it gets any bigger, she wasn’t sure what she would do. The guns only have so many bullets.
She thought to herself that after they dealt with the issue, she would have the zombies incinerated. She could have the CE tell her what parts of the zombie are valuable. Once she sttios them if those parts and takes the bullet inside, she can send them to be reforged.
When she thought about reaching the point of having to steal from corpses, she laughed. She never thought there would be a day she would take things from dead people. It didn’t matter now. People died wearing their jewellery. As long as she got it, it would become useful for the base.
She and Aiden took a quick shower and changed into combat gear again. Her eyes fell into Aiden’s chest. The shirt was form-fitting, showing the muscular figure underneath. But it was still flexible and breathable. She shamelessly ran her hand over his abs.
"You’ve been working out more," Ember stated.
"Can’t afford to lose my advantage. Next thing you know, my lady would throw me away." Aiden snickered.
"How far should I throw you? Tell me." Ember rolled her eyes. "Like I could get rid of you." She clicked her tongue and walked out of the room.
Aiden followed. Just as he reached her, his hand found her ass. He rubbed it in circles before a loud slap rang out in the corridor. Aiden didn’t wait when Ember stopped, only swaggering off to Marcus’s workshop.
"How long before they get here?"
Aiden walked in confidently with Ember in tow.
"Knocking is always a good thing, you know," Marcus replied.
Ember looked down to see a woman on her knees, Marcus’s hand on her head. Marcus coaxed her to continue before answering.
"We still have half an hour. We need to start assembling people now."
Ember knew exactly what to do. She sent out a message to the merit systems. The message mentioned the current situation. The fact that they needed people to fight, and they needed at least 10,000 people. They let them know the amount of merit points they would receive for their participation. They even offered a dining experience in the masquerade room.
The people of the base had come to enjoy the room more than she had expected. A sizeable portion of the CL she gets comes from that place.
The soldiers were the first to volunteer. They understood the meaning of a quick response. This was not their first time dealing with zombies.
The base had posts in all four directions. They had the ten thousand split into groups of four. With this number, they should be able to handle the ten thousand zombies.
With fifteen minutes left, Marcus sent them a message.
"Ummm...we need more people." His voice was uncertain. It wasn’t a tone Marcus used often.
"What happened?" Aiden’s heart constricted.
"It’s not just ten thousand. There are more, so many more. I’m counting at least fifty thousand."
Fifty thousand!!
Ember wasn’t sure what to say now. She expected the number to grow, but to grow so quickly...
They hadn’t started fighting yet, but they already have issues with the numbers. They could only send for more, and this time they took more people than necessary.
Fifteen minutes weren’t too many or too few. The zombies came fiercely. Thanks to the uneven terrain, they weren’t able to get far before someone from inside the towers shot them down.
There was no sound of birds or insects. Billowing trees and plants held no beauty. The only focus on everyone’s mind was getting rid of the zombies. Bullets rained down on them. Not every shit hit the brain, but the ones that did stuck.
Of the fifty thousand, almost ten thousand had died under the gunfire. Modified grenades were used where the zombies clustered most. When thrown, they would shoot spikes upon impact. Some of those spikes ended up in the zombie’s brain.
Hours past and there seemed to be no end in sight. Day turned to naught and then back to day. The sound of a gunshot continued.
The base developed a rotation system to ensure no one was too tired. But no matter how much they rotated, the horde never seemed to deteriorate.
It wasn’t until two days later that the zombies began backing away. But this did not bring comfort. It was obvious someone was controlling them.
When Ember saw this, her heart sank. If it was as she thought, Valentina and her people would be appearing soon. They hadn’t gotten rid of one enemy, but another was walking up to their door.
No sooner had she thought it than she saw a procession of vehicles coming towards the base. She clenched her hand into a fist. She kept her breathing steady despite the turmoil in her heart.
She needed a way to fight back. There was no reason to give up. Valentina had a system, but so did she. She didn’t believe that with all the CL and A she had been collecting, it would be useless.
Those at the northern gate watched the vehicles approaching. They watched the zombies give way. Conversation crippled outward. Ember didn’t stop it. They would know sooner or later.
Soon, the procession stepped out of the vehicles. Valentina was most notable. She wore a red dress that left little to the imagination.
She didn’t look like she came for a fight. It was more like she came for a fashion show.
Valentina stood watching, eyes fixed. Then a holo-screen appeared.
"Aiden, Ember, I think it’s time we have a good talk..."
