'Boom—clang—!'
The heavy hydraulic rod groaned under the strain, rusted iron sheets scraping against the cement floor, producing a piercing screech. The massive alloy door, half a metre thick, finally creaked open a narrow gap just wide enough for one person to squeeze through after Chen Yan strained every muscle to turn the rusted winch. A cold breeze, mingled with the heavy odour of mould, engine oil, and dust, rushed out.
Beyond the door lay the dead silence of darkness.
'Flashlight!' Chen Yan growled hoarsely. He was nearly hanging from the massive cast-iron winch, the excruciating pain in his right leg causing his vision to darken, cold sweat soaking his back. Lin Lu immediately handed him a powerful flashlight.
The harsh beam of light pierced the darkness, like a sword slicing through the silent curtain.
As the beam swept across the scene, the three people outside the door held their breath, their hearts pounding like drums!
This was not the cluttered warehouse they had imagined. A vast, unimaginably tall space unfolded before them. The flashlight beam moved upward, unable to immediately reach the ceiling. Row after row of towering shelves, resembling a steel forest, stood before them, each layer several metres high, extending into the darkness beyond their sight.
On the shelves were not grains.
They were weapons.
Densely packed, layer upon layer, cold, silent, emanating the purest killing intent of the industrial age.
The beam of light swept across, revealing neatly arranged automatic rifle barrels covered in dust-proof oilcloth, emitting a faint blue glow; boxes of yellow rifle bullets stacked neatly, reflecting a tempting golden sheen under the light; thick, military-green painted anti-materiel sniper rifles resembling sleeping behemoths; rows of rocket launcher tubes pointing diagonally into the dark void; even on a row of specially designed heavy-duty shelves, one could see machine guns and recoilless rifles, half-covered by canvas, their rugged, menacing forms and metallic gleam shimmering in the light!
The air seemed to freeze. Only the flickering beam of a flashlight illuminated the unmistakable shock and ecstasy on the faces of the three men.
'Good heavens...' Lei Zhen, a veteran who had seen his share of firearms, muttered absentmindedly, his rough fingers unconsciously stroking the cold shelves beside him, his eyes blazing with an indescribable light. 'This is... a munitions depot?!'
Lin Lu covered her mouth, her eyes wide with disbelief as she stared at the forest of steel and gunpowder before her. In the apocalypse, food was life, medicine was hope, but these things before them... were power! They were the brutal authority to tear through all obstacles and truly control their own destiny!
Chen Yan gasped, suppressing the tidal wave surging in his chest. He had heard the rumours about the 'old grain warehouse' and knew it housed military supplies, but he never imagined it would be on such a terrifying scale! This wasn't a grain warehouse at all—it was a terrifying armoury buried deep beneath the city, capable of arming an entire reinforced battalion! He leaned on his homemade crude crutch—a pipe sharpened at the end—dragging his leg, which was roughly fixed in place, limping into this steel forest. The cold metallic scent and faint anti-rust oil smell mixed with dust, filling his lungs, yet bringing an unprecedented, almost shuddering sense of security.
'Search! Find usable items! Find ammunition!' Chen Yan's voice trembled with excitement as he scanned the labels on the shelves with his flashlight. 'Prioritise light weapons! Automatic rifles! Submachine guns! Bullets! Hand grenades!'
Lei Zhen charged like a tiger released from its cage, immediately pouncing on the nearest shelf and roughly tearing open the oilcloth. Lin Lu suppressed her shock and began quickly checking the labels and packaging on the equipment boxes.
Soon, they found their target. Brand-new Type 95 automatic rifles, coated with protective grease, were pulled out one by one. The heavy magazines were filled with golden 5.8mm bullets. Boxes of Type 82-2 oval hand grenades were carried out. Lei Zhen even dragged out two PF-89 single-soldier rocket launchers and several rocket rounds from a corner! He caressed the cold launch tubes as if they were lovers, and the scar on his face twitched slightly with excitement.
'With these... with these...' Lei Zhen's voice trembled with uncontrollable excitement. He raised a Type 95 rifle, performing a standard shoulder-mounted aiming motion with fluid, powerful movements, as if instantly recapturing his former glory. 'I can blow those bastards outside to hell!'
As they were immersed in the shock of discovering the weapons, Lin Lu's voice rang out with a hint of surprise: 'Look... these boxes?'
Her flashlight illuminated a pile of smaller green metal boxes stacked in the corner. The boxes bore no weapon markings, only a faint radiation warning symbol and a line of small text: 'Geological Exploration Institute - Deep Subsurface Sample Containers.'
Chen Yan furrowed his brow and hobbled over with his cane. Lei Zhen also curiously approached.
They pried open the lock on one of the boxes and lifted the heavy lid. Inside was thick cushioning foam, with several black metal plates, each about the size of a palm and about a finger's thickness, neatly embedded in the foam's grooves. The surface of the metal plates was smooth, with no ports or buttons, only a tiny gap along the edges emitting a faint blue glow.
'What is this thing? A hard drive?' Lei Zhen picked one up; it felt cold and heavy in his hand.
Chen Yan took one and examined it carefully. This was definitely not a hard drive. The material was exceptionally sturdy and heavy, and the blue light at the edges was faint yet steady. A thought crossed his mind, reminding him of a legend circulating among a few high-ranking exiles—about certain 'black boxes' buried deep underground before the apocalypse, containing secrets unknown to the world.
'Take them.' Chen Yan decisively stuffed several metal plates into his backpack. 'Take them all! And any ammunition we can carry! Hurry!'
As they left, the heavy alloy door was closed and locked once more. Lei Zhen drove a military truck found in the engineering vehicle yard, barely capable of starting, its cargo hold packed with weapons, ammunition, and those mysterious metal plates. Lin Lu helped Chen Yan into the passenger seat. The truck's engine roared dully as it crushed through the rubble, heading toward the city's outskirts. Chen Yan turned back, casting one last glance at the 'old grain silo,' which lay dormant like a steel colossus, his gaze deep and sombre.
Having guns and ammunition was only the first step. He needed people, he needed a place to call his own.
'Bang! Bang bang bang!'
The crisp, urgent gunfire shattered the silence of the deserted evening. The short bursts from the Type 95 assault rifle were precise and deadly. Several ordinary zombies attempting to approach the truck wreckage had their heads explode like rotten watermelons, their filthy fluids splattering onto the rusted doors. The deep green mucus glowed eerily in the fading sunlight.
'Three o'clock direction! Behind the dead tree! Vine arm!' Lei Zhen's rough shout echoed from behind the makeshift shelter, hastily constructed from abandoned shipping containers and thick steel plates. He quickly repositioned the muzzle of his Type 95 rifle.
Almost simultaneously, a deep green vine darted out like a venomous snake from behind an ancient, twisted locust tree, emitting a piercing screech as it lunged toward a young woman behind the shelter who was reloading her magazine!
"Duck!" Lin Lu's shriek echoed.
'Boom!'
A deafening explosion, as though a heavy hammer had struck a drum! The firing port of the shelter next to Lei Zhen suddenly erupted with a torrent of scorching flames and thick smoke! It was the PF-89! The rocket propelled grenade, trailing a fiery trail, struck the base of the dead tree with precision at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow!
A violent explosion! Flames shot into the sky! The scorching shockwave, carrying soil, wood chips, and shattered limbs, spread out violently! The 'vine-armed zombie' hiding behind the tree, along with the withered tree it was parasitising, was instantly torn into flying fragments by the brutal shockwave! Deep green liquid poured down like rain onto the charred ground.
'Well done, Zhuzi!' Lei Zhen shouted at the sturdy young man beside him, whose face was covered in gunpowder and who had just put down the launcher.
The young man named Zhuzi grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, and excitedly patted the scorching launcher.
The echoes of the explosion reverberated across the barren wasteland. Behind the bunker, dozens of pairs of eyes peered nervously through the firing slits. There were workers in ragged overalls, emaciated women clutching their children tightly, and young people holding crude homemade weapons. Their eyes were filled with fear, but also a hint of relief at having survived and a sense of reliance on the figure behind the bunker.
Chen Yan leaned on his crutch, standing on a slightly elevated observation platform made of sandbags behind the bunker. His leg was still twisted, but he stood steadily. His worn-out old jacket was open, revealing a similarly faded tactical vest underneath, with several Type 95 magazines inserted into it. He wasn't holding a gun, but instead raised a high-powered telescope, calmly scanning the smoke-filled battlefield.
This was 'Iron Dome.'
The location was strategically chosen, backed by a massive, weathered rock wall, with a relatively open, easily observable and defensible wasteland in front. The main structure was constructed by cutting and modifying a large oil tank left behind from an abandoned railway transfer station, with an outer layer of half-metre-thick concrete and layers of interlocking welded steel plates. A lookout tower made of steel pipes and angle iron is erected on the roof, with a heavy machine gun personally calibrated by Lei Zhen mounted on top. The surrounding area is a maze-like defensive structure constructed from shipping containers, abandoned vehicles, steel rails, and steel plates, dotted with firing ports and traps.
The name 'Iron Dome' was coined by Chen Yan. Cold, sturdy, and impervious to all demons and monsters. It stands like a nail, forcefully driven into this wasteland teeming with death and mutated creatures.
"Yan Ge! The outer perimeter on the east side has been cleared! No signs of "root" activity detected! A agile figure leapt over the edge of the trench outside the bunker—it was Monkey, the reconnaissance team leader. He wiped the sweat from his face and reported quickly.
'West side secure! Two bait traps triggered, two "Crawlers" destroyed!' Another voice came over the radio.
"Medical point! Stretcher! Hurry! Old Li's arm was sprayed with acid!" Lin Lu's anxious shout came from another direction.
Chen Yan put down his binoculars and spoke into the makeshift radio beside him in a low voice: 'All teams report casualties, collect usable shell casings, and check trap resets. Logistics team, prepare meals.' His voice was not loud, but it carried clearly throughout the entire defensive perimeter, carrying a stabilising force.
The afterglow of the setting sun cast a dark red hue over the massive steel frame of the 'Iron Dome,' resembling a dormant colossus. The barrels of the heavy machine guns on the observation tower glinted with a cold metallic sheen in the twilight.
Back in the command centre located within the core fuel tank—a small space partitioned off by steel plates, containing only a rough welded iron table and a few chairs—core personnel like Lei Zhen, Lin Lu, and Zhu Zi were present. The atmosphere was tense.
'Ammo consumption is too high,' Lei Zhen said, pointing to the open notebook on the table, his brows furrowed. "Especially machine gun rounds and rocket launchers. Today's wave of 'Vine Arms' and 'Spitters' attacking together was even more intense than last week's! Those damn things… seem to be learning!"
Lin Lu's face was pale as she rubbed her temples wearily: "The number of injured is increasing. Antibiotics are almost depleted. The most troublesome thing is… that deep green wound infection. Ordinary sulfonamides can't control it! I suspect…" She glanced at Chen Yan, 'It's those plant-like things eroding human tissue.'
Chen Yan listened in silence, his fingers unconsciously tapping the cold tabletop. He picked up a black metal plate from the table—the mysterious 'hard drive' they had brought back from the 'old grain silo.' Over the past few months, they had tried every possible method, but ordinary computers couldn't read it, and violent disassembly risked damaging it. This thing was like a stubborn mute, guarding the immense secrets it might hold.
'Yan Ge, the checkpoint... has intercepted another small group of refugees.' Zhu Zi hesitated before speaking, 'About twenty of them, all looking starved. An old man is nearly dying. Should we let them in?'
The population of 'Iron Dome' was growing. Every time they went out to search, every time they repelled the zombie hordes, some refugees struggling to survive in the wilderness would come seeking help, or be rescued along the way. People were the foundation of the base's operations, a source of strength, but also a huge burden and a potential source of instability. The pressure on food, water, and medicine is growing daily. And every time someone is admitted, it means risk—the spread of disease, the unpredictability of human hearts, or even… spies?
Chen Yan's gaze swept over the weary and worried faces of the crowd. He saw Lei Zhen's anxiety over the shortage of weapons, Lin Lu's despair over the depletion of medicine, and Zhuzi's concern over the influx of refugees. The pressure of survival was like an invisible giant hand, slowly squeezing the space of the 'Iron Dome.'
'Follow the old rules,' Chen Yan's voice was flat. 'Three days of quarantine and observation. Conduct thorough searches. Anyone with external injuries, especially those contaminated with green toxins, must be isolated separately. Inform logistics that tonight's porridge... should have half a bag of cassava flour added.' He paused, his gaze falling on the cold black metal plate, 'As for it...'
Just then, the command room door was violently pushed open. Monkey rushed in, panting, his face twisted in horror: 'Yan Ge! It's bad! The west! The dead forest in the west... it's alive!'