It was over an hour later when Thien Anh finally finished his meal. By then, Thien Lang and Azure Sky had also completed their energy intake. A somber, professional atmosphere settled over the bunker.
Before the sortie, Lam Linh conducted biological vitals checks on the entire group, while Thien Anh personally re-verified her equipment. Confirming everyone was at peak performance, they administered a preemptive dose of broad-spectrum antibiotics—a necessary precaution against the rampant contagions of the 2026 wasteland.
The most critical phase was the gear check. Thien Anh calmly inspected every magazine, every joint in the armor, and every electronic interface. He didn't just check once; in fact, he repeated the process ten times. For an assassin, caution was never a luxury; a mistake in the field was a debt paid in blood.
Once perfection was achieved, they stepped out. Following his established protocol, Thien Anh skillfully reset the lethal traps surrounding the hatch, ensuring that any "uninvited guests"—be they mutated beasts or desperate humans—would find only regret if they attempted an intrusion.
Led by Thien Lang, the group advanced toward the City Military Armory Cache. This route had been previously cleared by the trio of Thien Lang, Azure Sky, and Lam Linh, allowing for a relatively smooth transit. However, the transformation of the Ghouls outside still managed to startle Thien Anh.
They were adapting with terrifying velocity. Only days ago, they had been flash-frozen statues; now, they moved with renewed fluidity, though the deep snow still hampered their sprint. More horrific was Thien Anh's discovery: Ghouls were now capable of rapid asexual reproduction—averaging a litter of two to three offspring every month.Shutterstock
Along the way, he witnessed sights of primal depravity: newborn Ghouls being torn apart and devoured by their own progenitors. This was clearly a ruthless survival mechanism of nature to solve the acute food shortage in this eternal winter.
…
One hour later.
Thien Anh's team reached the outer perimeter of the armory. The density of Ghouls here was immense, the creatures frantically clawing at the snow for anything edible. Thien Anh signaled the group to halt. He didn't clear them out immediately; in his plan, this horde was the perfect "sacrificial pawn."
Observing the terrain, he noted that the armory's surroundings were characteristically flat and devoid of cover. Thien Anh selected a high snow dune as an observation post and deployed a tactical reconnaissance drone. He lashed a piece of fresh, dripping meat to it and piloted the craft toward the starving mass.
Whirrr… Whirrr… Whirrr…
The sound of the rotors cutting the air combined with the metallic scent of fresh blood instantly triggered the Ghouls' primal instincts. Though their vision had atrophied, their acute hearing and olfactory senses guided the horde as they surged after the drone like a dark, tidal wave.
Thien Anh calmly piloted the craft, luring over a thousand Ghouls toward the base's main gate. He intended to use them to bait out every latent defensive system.
However, an anomaly occurred. When the first Ghouls struck the perimeter fence, brilliant arcs of electric-blue lightning illuminated the bruised sky.
"The power grid is still live?" Thien Anh narrowed his eyes, an ill-premonition rising in his chest.
In an era where every civilian utility had collapsed, a live military grid meant one of two things: humans were inside maintaining the generators, or an autonomous AI defense system was still drawing from a deep-core reserve.
Crackle… Snap… Pop…
The lead Ghouls were scorched until they smoked, but their thickened hides and high resistance meant they didn't perish instantly. The sheer weight of the thousands behind them pushed the front line directly into the electrified mesh. Constant detonations rang out as the smell of charred flesh grew putrid. With claws harder than tempered steel, the monsters frantically shredded the fence. In minutes, the fortified southern electrical barrier was torn asunder like wet paper.
The horde flooded in like a breached dam. But the moment they crossed the "Dead Zone" threshold, the earth suddenly groaned.
Grate… Clang… Whirrr…
Two massive sections of the ground retracted, revealing a pair of automated sentry towers over three meters tall. Red targeting lasers swept across the mass of flesh, followed immediately by a localized hell on earth.
Mounted on the towers were the new-gen LT-21 heavy machine guns—firepower monsters designed to punch through armored plating.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Muzzle flares over a meter long spat from the barrels. A rain of high-caliber lead descended upon the horde with terrifying velocity. The power of the LT-21 was absolute: a hit to the head caused an instantaneous explosion; a hit to the torso tore the body in half.
Flesh, viscera, and neural matter sprayed across the white snow, painting a horrific, visceral masterpiece. In less than thirty seconds of sustained fire, over two hundred Ghouls had been pulverized into unrecognizable heaps of meat.
From his vantage point, Thien Anh watched the carnage through his binoculars, his hand tightening around the grip of his rifle. This game… was becoming significantly more difficult than he had anticipated.