Yang Jiansheng’s mind was in turmoil. He was overcome by a sense of powerlessness. The Military Department had never encountered anything like this before.

Of course, their previous Zombie-clearing operations had only been in ordinary cities.

Although he had been mentally prepared when he received this mission, knowing that a place like Guanghan City—a designated forbidden zone—was in a league of its own, the danger here still far exceeded his expectations.

"Have we sent out all the reports from here? Have the reinforcement teams responded?" Yang Jiansheng asked, rubbing his forehead.

His only hope now rested on those three reinforcement teams.

"The two Military Department reinforcement teams are about to reach the outskirts of the horde. However, given the current situation, they won’t make it to our position in time. They’ve decided to rendezvous on the periphery instead. Once they’ve joined forces, they’ll attempt to attack the four Mutated Zombies, hoping to draw their attention and relieve the pressure on us," the messenger who had just entered replied.

Yang Jiansheng nodded. It was a decent plan. Since they couldn’t make it in time, this was their only option.

Besides, they didn’t actually need to kill the four Mutated Zombies. Just posturing to attack and putting pressure on them would be enough.

Once the pressure mounted, even if the Mutated Zombies didn’t retreat, they’ll at least have to consider their own safety. If they diverted even a portion of the Zombies and Blood-colored Beetles to attack the two reinforcement teams, the pressure on us would be greatly reduced.

"By the way, what about the First Battalion of that Mercenary Corps? Have we heard anything from them?" Yang Jiansheng asked, puzzled when the messenger fell silent.

"Uh... no," the messenger replied.

"..." Yang Jiansheng was completely bewildered. ’This makes no logical sense at all!’

’They had already entered the horde and were heading our way. Why has it gone quiet all of a sudden?’

"Sir, the Mercenary Corps’ First Battalion is almost here! They’re just over 200 meters away," an observer in the temporary command post suddenly announced.

"Hm? That fast!" Yang Jiansheng was surprised. He had been directing the battle here ever since he came down from the observation post on the top floor, with no time to pay attention to other updates.

He spoke as he hurried over to the observer’s station, where he could watch the situation outside on the camera feed.

Sure enough, the First Battalion was just one street away. They just had to make one more turn to reach them.

"Excellent!" Yang Jiansheng pumped his fist in excitement. "Get the artillery squad ready. Use the Grenade Cannons to clear out all the Zombies on the last stretch of road and ease the pressure on our reinforcements."

The messenger immediately left to carry out the order. Yang Jiansheng, with no mind for anything else, sat down in front of the screen, his eyes fixed on the approaching First Battalion.

It was only then that he realized just how powerful this reinforcement team was. Even in a horde of this magnitude, they advanced with ease. Many of the Zombies were gunned down before they could even get close to the convoy.

He could see they had a number of Attack Drones and Combat Robots, but frankly, in a horde like this, the real danger came from the High Level Zombies. And neither drones nor robots were a match for High Level Zombies.

Therefore, their ability to advance so easily through the horde was a testament to their genuine combat strength.

Yang Jiansheng felt a surge of emotion. Lin Xinghai was completely changing his perception of Mercenary Corps.

Just then, the First Battalion reached the final turn.

Simultaneously, a barrage of Grenade Cannon shells launched from the outpost.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The Zombies on the last stretch of street were instantly annihilated.

Seeing this, Lin Xinghai broke into a smile. It was clearly a waste of ammunition, but for that very reason, it was a clear sign of respect.

"Full speed ahead," Lin Xinghai ordered over the comms channel.

At the same time, his gaze shifted to the other side of the outpost. The horde there was interspersed with numerous crimson High Level Zombies and Blood-colored Beetles.

Lin Xinghai wasn’t too concerned about the High Level Zombies, but the Blood-colored Beetles scattered throughout the horde were a different story. They were insidiously difficult to defend against.

Without using area-of-effect weapons like Blazing Bombs or Hand Cannons for suppression, allowing these Blood-colored Beetles—creatures that could chew through Mecha armor—to get close would mean the swift annihilation of an entire squad.

But these Blood-colored Beetles seemed to have gotten smarter. They weren’t clustered together but were scattered throughout the horde, making them incredibly difficult to eliminate completely.

’What a pain. To deal with these things, it looks like I’ll have to go after the source,’ Lin Xinghai mused, rubbing his forehead. He was partly annoyed, but also, for the first time, his Perception Power felt significantly drained.

It couldn’t be helped. He had been forced to act several times after entering the heart of the horde.

Especially during this final stretch, their movements had attracted the attention of the Mutated Zombies, earning them some "special treatment." The number of High Level Zombies attacking the convoy surged, forcing Lin Xinghai to personally intervene on several occasions.

Combined with the need to use his Perception Power to scan the entire battlefield, he had already used up nearly half of it, despite its considerable strength.

While he was mulling this over, the convoy rapidly approached the perimeter of Outpost 32.

The barricades here had already been removed, and the convoy quickly entered the outpost’s defensive perimeter.

At that moment, an officer flanked by two guards strode out from the outpost to meet them. "Brothers of the Mercenary Corps, I’m Yang Jiansheng, the officer in charge here. Thank you for coming to our aid. We’re incredibly grateful."

"Lieutenant Colonel Yang, no need to be so formal. We’re just doing our duty," Lin Xinghai said with a smile, hopping down from his vehicle and glancing at the insignia on the man’s shoulder.

"You must be the renowned ’Gun God,’ Lin Xinghai! I’ll get straight to the point. We need you to hold off the horde temporarily. Buy us time to set up a basic defensive system," Yang Jiansheng said, cutting to the chase. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"No problem. How long do you need?" Lin Xinghai asked.

"At least 10 minutes. Our main priority is to establish an automated fire network. Once that’s up, the threat from the Blood-colored Beetles will be reduced by at least 70 percent. Of course, the more time you can give us, the better. If we can get the entire defense system operational, we’ll be able to withstand this horde’s assault," Yang Jiansheng explained.

"Alright, no problem. Our First Battalion has plenty of manpower. You can pull some of our people to help if you need," Lin Xinghai agreed without hesitation.

Seeing Lin Xinghai’s relaxed expression, Yang Jiansheng couldn’t help but look surprised.

After all, he’d never seen Lin Xinghai in action, and the creatures currently attacking their outpost included numerous High Level Zombies in a frenzied state.

These frenzied High Level Zombies had physical Attributes approaching the Blood Qi Realm; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them Half-Step Blood Qi Realm entities.

Although they couldn’t use Blood Qi Power, their enhanced Attributes made them difficult to handle even with Grenade Cannons. The Hand Cannons the Mercenary Corps carried would be even less effective.

However, Yang Jiansheng recalled the man’s reputation and ultimately said nothing to contradict him. Instead, he simply nodded and said courteously, "Then we’re counting on you."