Location: F University Fortress - Helipad -> Over F City
Operation Codename: "No Retreat"
At this moment, dozens of transport helicopters were lined up neatly, their massive rotors spinning slowly at idle, slicing through the air with a low hum.
Three hundred fully armed Black Watch Soldiers stood as still as black sculptures. They didn't talk or make any unnecessary movements; they knew what they had to do and how to do it. They were humanity's last line of defense.
A Black Watch Commander dressed in white special operations gear strode past the ranks. His combat boots clicked crisply against the concrete. He didn't stop in front of the main assault force, but walked straight toward a special unit at the end of the line—a thirty-man Marine Corps medical support detachment.
Though these medics were also fully armed, their slightly younger faces and the prominent red cross symbols on their gear made them look out of place among these black reapers.
The Commander walked up to the medical team leader, a bearded veteran. The Commander reached out and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder; even through the thick ballistic armor, the strength of the gesture was clearly felt.
"Listen, Lieutenant," the Commander's voice came through his gas mask, "bring every single one of us back... even if they're corpses. We won't die at a dinner table, and we certainly won't die of infection."
The Lieutenant's eyes were firm as he said, "Understood, Sir. We will bring you all back."
The Commander nodded, then turned to face all the soldiers, his voice suddenly rising, echoing over the helipad like a clap of thunder:
"You bastards! Pack your gear and quit acting like girls! Now, board the aircraft immediately! Target: F City International Airport!"
Following the order, the three hundred Black Watch Soldiers immediately dispersed like precision gears, boarding the transport helicopters in an orderly fashion.
"Vrrr— Vrrr— Vrrr—!!"
With the engines at full power, the rotors of the dozens of helicopters began to spin frantically, the massive airflow kicking up dust from the ground and blotting out the sun. Accompanied by six attack helicopters taking off first to provide escort, the massive aerial formation slowly left the ground and flew toward the distant horizon.
Inside the office of the F University Fortress command tower.
Lin Xuan stood before a massive floor-to-ceiling window, hands behind his back, his gaze following the departing fleet of helicopters.
The glass reflected his young but slightly weary face. His brow furrowed slightly, and his fingers unconsciously rubbed a metal button on his cuff. For the sake of the airport, a key strategic point, he had just spent nearly ten thousand Biomass to mobilize a large number of Black Watch combat units.
"Commander, heart rate monitoring shows your emotional fluctuations are slightly high."
His adjutant, Ling Jianqing, walked up behind him, holding a tactical tablet, her combat boots making rhythmic taps on the floor. She glanced at Lin Xuan's back, a hint of undetectable concern in her tone.
Lin Xuan didn't turn around, his gaze still locked onto the silhouettes of the helicopter fleet on the horizon. His fingers paused their rubbing of the button, and his voice was deep and steady, devoid of much emotion: "The Infected are mutating. Who knows if a place like the airport is hiding some even bigger surprises."
He paused.
"Regardless, this battle must be fought. Once we take F City Airport, we'll have an air force. I believe that before long, the entirety of F City will be back in human hands."
Lin Xuan walked to the communication console and pressed the red button.
"Ground units, this is Lin Xuan. The stealth troops may depart."
"Copy that, Commander. The re barium can is in position, and the armored group's engines are starting."
As the order was given, the fortress's heavy gates slowly opened.
A steel behemoth, far larger than a conventional main battle tank, was the first to roll out—this was the Black Watch's land-based killing machine, the thermobaric tank, codenamed "re barium can." It didn't have the single long cannon barrel of a normal tank; instead, it featured three menacing launch systems.
Around it, 16 Black Watch main battle tanks and 50 infantry fighting vehicles loaded with Marine Corps soldiers automatically formed a tight defensive circle, guarding the "re barium can" at the core.
...
Inside a cabin, a fully armed soldier suddenly broke the silence: "Let's have some BGM; it's too dull in here."
The co-pilot replied without looking back, "Sure, what do you want to hear?"
"Whatever."
"Then I'll just play something random."
The next second, music mixed with the hum of the rotors: "Love is about to awaken, through thousands of years of change, only love is the eternal myth. Through the rising and falling tides, I never regret our promise of true love, through several bouts of painful entanglement, how many nights of struggling, hold my hands tight and let us never part again..."
The helicopter fleet maintained a low-altitude penetration height, roaring over the once-prosperous city.
Looking down from the air, the city was completely dead. The once-bustling streets were now jammed with abandoned cars and aimlessly wandering hordes of corpses. Most of the skyscrapers had broken windows, and some were emitting black smoke, looking like giant tombstones.
In a partially collapsed office building, several ragged, dirt-covered survivors were hiding in a dark corner, gnawing on moldy bread.
The sudden roar made them look up in terror.
Through the broken floor-to-ceiling windows, they saw the massive black fleet. Sunlight hit the black fuselages of the helicopters, reflecting a cold, sharp light.
"Is that... the army?" A woman, so thin she was skin and bones, tremblingly covered her mouth, tears instantly welling up.
For those struggling to survive in hell, this roar was no longer noise, but the trumpet of angels.
...
"Air Force 1 calling Command, we have arrived in the target airspace. Visual confirmation of a large number of hostile biological units on the runway. Preparing for clearing operations. Over."
Above F City International Airport, the air was torn to shreds by the rotors of the six attack helicopters. These aerial steel reapers lowered their noses, and the 20mm three-barrel Gatling cannons beneath their fuselages began to rotate, preheating complete.
"Fire."
Following the pilot's cold command, the dull yet dense sound of the cannons instantly shook the heavens.
"Zzz— Zzz— Zzz—!!"
It wasn't the sound of gunfire, but the roar of fabric being torn apart. A violent rate of fire of 1,200 rounds per minute poured 20mm high-explosive incendiary rounds like water onto the airport's wide runway.
On the ground, the thousands of zombies that were originally packed together and wandering aimlessly were instantly hit with a devastating blow. The moment the zombies made contact with the rain of cannon fire, their bodies exploded like tomatoes thrown into a blender.
Severed limbs flew through the air, and black-red blood mixed with bone fragments and viscera to lay an nauseating "red carpet" across the runway. A zombie wearing a tattered flight attendant uniform had just looked up when half its body was shattered by a stray round; the remaining lower half took two steps forward by inertia before collapsing limply.
"Air Force 2, Hellfire missiles ready. Target: The dense cluster of corpses beneath the control tower. Launch."
"Swoosh— Boom!!"
A Hellfire missile, trailing white smoke, accurately drilled into the center of the corpse cluster gathered beneath the control tower. The violent explosion instantly kicked up a small mushroom cloud. The high temperature and shockwave vaporized all biological matter within a fifty-meter radius, and the stench of charred flesh even drifted hundreds of meters into the air.
However, while the attack helicopters were wreaking havoc, Lin Xuan's brow furrowed deeper and deeper inside the F University Fortress command center.
"Commander, something's wrong."
The intelligence officer responsible for monitoring the battlefield situation tapped his fingers rapidly across the keyboard, pulling up a set of drone footage. "The rocket artillery's diversionary bombardment... has failed."
In the footage, a commercial district two kilometers away from the airport was currently being covered by dense rockets fired from multiple rocket launchers. Flames soared into the sky with a grand momentum, and the noise was loud enough to shatter glass. According to past experience, this level of commotion was enough to attract all zombies within a five-kilometer radius, forming a horde.
But the hundreds of thousands of zombies gathered around the outskirts of the airport didn't budge.
They were like a highly disciplined army; although their bodies were instinctively twitching toward the direction of the explosions and their throats were letting out thirsty growls, their feet remained firmly planted, as if an invisible command were suppressing their bloodthirsty instincts.
"They are... guarding something." Lin Xuan's eyes instantly became sharp, and his finger lightly tapped the table. "This abnormal discipline isn't something ordinary variants can achieve. There is a 'brain' there."
"Commander, the airborne troops have entered the final approach phase. Shall we abort the operation?" Ling Jianqing asked in a low voice from the side.
"No," Lin Xuan spat out coldly. "The arrow is on the string; it must be fired. No matter what is hidden in there, even if it's Satan himself, I'm breaking his horns off today. Order the troops to force a landing! Establish a defensive line!"
...
Airport runway, LZ (Landing Zone).
"Everyone, hold on! We're going down! This might be a bit bumpy!"
The transport helicopter pilot shouted as the fuselage tilted sharply and began a steep dive.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
The landing gears of dozens of transport helicopters slammed heavily onto the concrete runway, the massive airflow blowing the surrounding severed limbs in all directions.
The moment the cabin doors opened, a suffocating stench rushed in.
"Exit the vehicles! Establish a circular perimeter! Move, move, move!"
After the Black Watch Commander finished issuing the order, he jumped out of the cabin, the assault rifle in his hands already spitting tongues of fire.
"Bang bang bang bang bang—!!"
Three hundred fully armed Black Watch Soldiers poured out like a black tide, their movements unified without a single wasted word. They quickly used the helicopters as cover and spread out, their weapons weaving an airtight web of fire.
The zombies trying to rush them were accurately headshotted a hundred meters from the defensive line. Black blood bloomed in the air, and rotten heads exploded like overripe watermelons.
"Damn it, Sir! Look over there!"
A soldier suddenly shouted, pointing toward the terminal entrance.
The Commander saw a shocking scene through his scope.
The horde originally clogging the terminal entrance suddenly parted like a tide to both sides, forcefully opening a path. Immediately following, hundreds of Hunters wearing filthy hoods rushed out—their clothes were tattered and blood-stained, their hands had evolved into sharp claws, and their mouths dripped with saliva and gore.
Behind these Hunters were dozens of "Spitters" with bloated bellies, their bodies dripping with green acid.
They didn't howl like beasts but crouched quietly on the ground, low growls coming from their throats as they stared intently at the human army on the runway.
"Roar—!!!"
As a sharp, ear-piercing shriek—one that felt like it could puncture eardrums—echoed from deep within the terminal, this vanguard of variants launched their charge!
Their speed was incredible. The Hunters were like grasshoppers, leaping and weaving between abandoned shuttle buses and luggage trailers to evade the helicopters' fire. Meanwhile, the Spitters in the far rear raised their heads, lobbing large globs of green acid like mortar shells in high arcs toward the Black Watch line.
"Sizzle—"
A glob of acid hit the tail rotor of a transport helicopter that had just taken off; the metal was instantly corroded, emitting clouds of white smoke.
"All units, attention! Variant assault! Free fire! Turn them into sieves!!"
The Commander roared, his grenade launcher firing a high-explosive round with a "thump," blowing a Hunter leaping through the air in the distance into a spray of shredded meat.
At this moment, the battle reached a fever pitch.
"Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—"
The roar of heavy machine guns, the crisp bursts of assault rifles, and the explosions of grenades instantly turned the airport into a noisy slaughterhouse.
The Black Watch Soldiers displayed extremely high tactical proficiency. Facing the lightning-fast Hunters, they didn't panic, instead forming groups of several men to create interlocking fields of fire.
"Left flank contact! Two variants!"
"Suppressive fire! Reloading!"
"Grenade! Fire in the hole!"
A Hunter used its incredible jumping power to leap over an abandoned luggage cart, its claws lunging straight for a soldier's throat. However, before it could land, the soldier calmly pulled the trigger, three bullets accurately shattering its kneecap. The variant lost its balance and fell to the ground, only to have its head stepped on immediately, a gun barrel pressed against its temple.
"Bang!"
Brain matter splattered everywhere.
But this was only the beginning. More and more zombies poured out of the various terminal exits. They were no longer a disorganized rabble; under the command of that mysterious shriek, they launched wave after wave of suicidal charges.
The zombies in front used their bodies to block bullets, while those behind stepped over their comrades' corpses to continue the rush. Within just a few minutes, the corpses in front of the defensive line had formed a wall of flesh and blood.