I Have a Mansion in the Post-apocalyptic World
Page 199“What do you think is the boss planning?” A soldier wielding a rifle and clad in carbon nanotube armor walked at the forefront of the troops.
“I don’t know.” The commander next to him was silent. The tactical helmet hid the expression on his face, but the way he was looking around betrayed the anxiousness in his heart.
They were Zhao Corporations’s private soldiers.
Two Spider tanks, five armored vehicles, four modified trucks, 20 power armors and 120 soldiers.
80% of their fighting force had been placed on the gambling table.
There were only five kilometers left before they reached the metropolis. The area was filled with nuclear craters, a place not even the Death Claws would dare to enter.
The order that Zhao Chenwu had issued was very vague—follow the troops of Crimson Chamber of Commerce wait for further orders.
Just simply follow?
The two sentries in the front row weren’t the only ones who were anxious, but also the squad leader, Chen Wei, sitting in the armored vehicle looked grave.
Staring at the screen of the Wanderer tanks, Chen Wei swallowed.
10-meter long, 3.8-meter wide, and 2.6-meter tall, weighed 112 tons, and could accommodate 3-4 passengers. Its main weapon was the 52-type particle cannon and a 2kg-class electromagnetic pulse cannon as coaxial guns. Its whole body was covered with 140mm thick A-grade steel armor with a built-in high-density supramolecular compartment that could withstand high-energy neutron radiation caused by a neutron bomb explosion, while the particle shield could effectively resist energy weapons attacks.
It was practically a moving fortress.
A wave of zombies advanced, but under the giant’s oppression, the only thing the zombies could do was to provide lubrication for its track with its flesh and fat.
The thick primary cannon was covered in snow and had never fired a single shot the moment it left the base. The 2kg-class electromagnetic pulse cannon also appeared very dormant and would only occasionally fire whenever it encountered a Roshan.
Under the power and influence of this metallic monster, even in the danger-filled metropolis, these two forces couldn’t provide much resistance.
“They stopped,” the sentry from the front row casually said.
“It’s probably their time to rest.”
Because the zombies in the forefront had already been cleared out by the Crimson Chamber of Commerce, they didn’t even need to fire, so they could casually chat among themselves.
The expression under the sentry’s tactical helmet gradually turned to that of horror.
“No, this is odd—there’s something wrong with their cannon.”
VROOM!
The sound of a cannon firing drowned his astonished voice.
The 2kg bomb easily separated his flesh and ripped through the roof of the armored vehicle.
“We’re under attack by our allied force! Dammit, what do they think they’re doing!”
“Take cover! Go take cover in the bunker, quick!”
“Attention everyone! That is not a friendly force, I repeat, that is not a friendly force,” Chen Wei’s voice began to echo in everyone’s communication channel. The forces in the forefront, who were taking cover, immediately began to fire back.
The aerodynamic Spider tank slid around on the main road. Six sets of weight-bearing wheels were separated in the middle to form into four square-shaped mechanical legs as they quickly began to climb on top of the half-destroyed buildings. The remaining four armored vehicles along with modified trucks also promptly turned around the corner, using the terrain to avoid the barrel of the Wanderer’s tank. Whereas the infantries in the area searched for shelter while taking out their rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers and begun firing back.
Because Chen Wei sensed something was amiss from the start, he ordered the team to form a long formation. Although it was much easier to defend against zombies in a square formation, if an enemy attack at the front, the long formation would allow the force in the back to quickly disperse and minimize the loss.
The reckless movement of the tank completely ignored the rocket launchers flying towards it.
Even if he had two Spider tanks as backups, he still didn’t have the confidence to win.
<Permission to fire back.>
Four big yellow characters appeared in the center of the screen and a rueful smile appeared on Chen Wei’s face.
They already started to retaliate.
Although he was counting on the boss to stop the war through diplomacy, it now seemed like they have to fight through it.
BOOM!
Two rounds of shell were fired at a 50 degrees angle from the roof of a half-destroyed building, with an orange flame trail, it smashed onto the Wanderer tank’s turret before it got deflected into the window of an abandoned shop.
“The shell was deflected!”
The eerie blue electric arc had enveloped the shell of the tank but didn’t even leave a dent.
“Dammit! That’s an electromagnetic reactive armor!”
Specially designed against piercing shells, through a unique interaction field, the metal shell could reach superconducting state after breaking through a certain speed threshold. Under the powerful magnetic field outside the armor, according to the Meissner effect, shells that had become superconductors would produce an enormous magnetic field in the opposite direction, thereby attenuating its kinetic energy and shifting the projectile angle.
This armor had a miraculous use against the conductive material of the electromagnetic cannon shells. It also had certain effects on the artillery steel core armor-piercing shells.
“Change into insulation shells.”
“Roger.”
The Wanderer tank quickly retreated, and because of the angle limitation of the cannon, it could only aim at the Spider tank on the roof with an increasing distance.
However, the Spider tanks occupying a favorable terrain wouldn’t allow its plan to succeed. So while on the move, they fired at the metal monster on the road.
Zombies, Crimson Chamber of Commerce, and Zhao Corporation.
These three giants engaged with each other.
With the heavy armors leaving the battle, the zombies that weren’t blocked lunged at the two parties exchanging fire while howling and screaming.
If they were just fighting with the zombies alone, these well-trained soldiers would definitely not let these dumb things get closer. Today, however, everyone was not just facing the threat of zombies, but the enemy’s bullets as well.
Everything devolved into an utter chaos.
“Dammit, their firepower is too suppressive! We need backup!” Leaning against the side of the bunker, while shooting at the incoming zombies, the soldiers in carbon nanotube combat suits roared at the communication device they’re clutching.
“Someone’s down, medics!”
“Dammit, it’s the Death Claw! Ahhh—”
“Zombies had broken through the line of defense! Requesting armored vehicle support!”
“Negative. The enemies’ anti-armor units have yet to be cleared. Unable to enter the battle—”
<Available support: Disaster-32 Cruise Missile>
Just now, he finally understood the meaning of the phrase: “caution” that Zhao Chenwu left before leaving.
From the start, the boss had already suspected that Crimson Chamber of Commerce had gone rogue.
This type of limited superweapons was definitely not used in dealing with the zombies.
If Crimson Chamber of Commerce’s trump card was the Wanderer tank, then the trump card of Zhao Corporation was this. The bombs sold to Fishbone Base were only old technology, while the more powerful weapons have always been kept under Zhao Chenwu’s control.
Without any hesitation, Chen Wei pressed the <launch> button.
Without a warning.
On a barren field 100 kilometers away, the flat ground was suddenly split open. After the item used to camouflage was removed, the metal plate hidden under the layer of the soil was gradually separated.
This was the missile well left by PAC. To escape air raids, this improvised one-time use missile silo was common on this piece of land.
The light blue signal light extended from the top to the bottom of the silo.
“Missile silo 72 is about to fire. Workers, please take shelter immediately.”
The electronic voice announcing its launch had scared the mutant mice that were biting the roots of plants away.
In a flash, the smoke burst and instantly covered the whole area.
The 10-meter long missile pierced through the sky filled with radiation dust.
“Ten seconds before arriving at the target location. Commander, please set the target.”
Taking a deep breath, Chen Wei’s eyes tightly locked on the rampaging Wanderer tanks. Using his finger, he dragged the crosshair onto the red box.
<Target lock successful.>
“Attention! Attack A, Attack B, immediately move away from the target area.”
“Roger.”
After receiving the command, the Spider tanks quickly jumped off the building, the six pairs of weight-bearing wheels formed together reverting back to driving mode.
Seeing that the enemy units suddenly retreated, the Wanderer tank realizing that it might have been targeted by long-range weapons immediately fired heat-induced bait bombs and electromagnetic decoy targets. It then shifted into overdrive and crashed into the side of the building.
The solid concrete wall disintegrated like a piece of paper under the impact, as it attempted to use the 10-meter tall building as cover.
But it was too late.
A trail of grey smoke instantly fell from the sky.
Suddenly, everything dimmed down.
The arc-shaped flames instantly ignited. The shockwave didn’t just blow away the concrete blocks and scattered the particles shield away, but also the armor shell as well.
The buildings that survived the aftershock of the nuclear blast had collapsed due to the direct impact of the cruise missile. The Disaster-32 cruise missile was designed based on a fictitious aircraft carrier, so taking care a tank was definitely no big deal.
The flames on the horizon made the thick snow lose its color and deafened the continuous gun firing shots.
The tide of war was instantly reversed.
The Crimson Chamber of Commerce that just lost its strongest armored unit was immediately under heavy fire suppression by the two Spider tanks. Aside from the Wanderer tanks, they didn’t bring more armored units, only thirty infantries and dozens of powered armors.
Seeing that his own soldiers had the upper hand, Chen Wei slowly let out a sigh of relief.
Zhao Corporation had already won the battle.
Although the price was expensive.
The Sixth Street Council was probably making a ruckus at this moment, but it was something not for him to worry about.
Gunshots were getting sparse, the soldiers of the Crimson Chamber of Commerce fought valiantly, preparing to fight to the bitter end.
But this still could not change the outcome of their defeat.
“Enemy units have been cleared.” Hearing the communication by his ear, Chen Wei was relieved.
“Regroup. Set up a blockade to block the zombies, recuperate, and prepare to head back.”
“What is that!”
“God!”
Two soldiers opened the trunk of the captured armored vehicle.
Staring at the screen, Chen Wei’s pupil contracted.
Nuclear bomb!
Staring at the distant mushroom cloud, Cao Jinsong’s face flashed a touch of mockery.
At the moment, he was standing on a barren land a few kilometers away from the wilderness, and there was a pickup truck parked next to him.
“Sheesh, you’ve finally used Disaster-32?”
He shoved the binoculars in his pocket, shook his head, and returned to the truck.
Whether or not the sword of Damocles exists, the sword hanging above his head had disappeared.
The price of a Wanderer tank in exchange for the trump card that scared the living daylight out of him. A nuclear missile and 72 lives in exchange for 80% of Zhao Chenwu’s force.
And Wanderer tanks, he still had four of these left.
If it had been a poker game, then the outcome of the battle had already been decided?