C14 Soldiers Sacrificed

On the first floor, aside from several vacant interrogation rooms, there were just two zombies clad in police uniforms in the duty room.

"Bang, bang, bang!" A few shots from the air nailer promptly turned the zombies into gold coins.

"Twenty gold coins, just like that—let's head upstairs," Han Feng directed the pair.

The second floor housed the police officers' offices and dormitories.

"Bang, bang!" With a few more shots, Han Feng collected ten gold coins and crouched down.

He had spotted the service pistol in one of the zombies' hands.

After a quick inspection, Han Feng stashed the gun in his bag.

It was empty—no bullets. It seemed the officer had fired his last round before succumbing.

"Bang!" Han Feng ordered the Winter Soldier and Number Two to kick open each office door systematically, clearing out the zombies room by room.

Within ten minutes, they had eradicated all the zombies on the second floor.

In the offices, Han Feng found several more empty handguns, which he also packed away.

He knew that finding the armory meant finding bullets, and with bullets, these guns would be ready for action once more.

"Upstairs!" Han Feng called out to the two mobilized soldiers before charging towards the third floor.

Seconds later...

"Winter Soldier, help!" Han Feng's plea echoed...

Having just ascended to the third floor, Han Feng was now tearing back down in a frenzied dash.

'Ran' wasn't quite the right word—it was more of a desperate flight...

It turned out Han Feng's eager charge to the third floor had nearly landed him smack in the middle of a zombie horde... The first floor corridor was teeming with them.

Wynne, on the first floor, was jolted into action by Han Feng's shouts and quickly made his way to the police station to back him up.

The Winter Soldier and Number One, armed with their axes, held off the swarm of zombies flooding down the stairs.

Regaining his composure, Han Feng took position behind the mobilized soldiers, firing at the onslaught of zombies descending upon them.

But the zombies were overwhelming, crowding the stairwell by the hundreds.

There was no fourth floor in the police station; the third floor was as high as it went.

Why? Why? Han Feng desperately questioned himself.

Why hadn't the gunfire from the first and second floors drawn the attention of the zombies on the top floor?

It couldn't be that they didn't hear it! To the keen-eared zombies, gunshots were irresistibly alluring.

The relentless chatter of the M60 machine gun erupted behind Han Feng.

Two conscripted soldiers stood on a carpet of zombie corpses, with an endless horde still spilling down the stairs.

As the situation grew dire, panic surged within Han Feng.

"Winter Soldier, ready the grenades! Blow them to hell!" Han Feng was well aware that their ammunition wasn't infinite. In these moments, area-effect weapons were far more efficient than firearms.

"Throw! And watch your back!" Han Feng commanded before ducking into the nearest office.

A thunderous "Boom!" echoed through the corridor.

The Winter Soldier lobbed a grenade into the stairwell between the second and third floors, the explosion's shockwave scattering the zombies.

A dozen zombies were blasted onto the second floor, swiftly dispatched by three red police soldiers. Seconds later, the zombie horde surged down once more.

But in those precious seconds, Han Feng had prepared to fall back.

"Second grenade, get ready!" he instructed another soldier.

"Throw! Let's head downstairs!" With that, Han Feng and the red police soldiers made a break for it.

Another "Boom!" resonated as the explosion tore through the air.

Han Feng and his team of four reached the ground floor.

"Damn it!" Han Feng swore as he caught sight of the entrance.

An unexpected mass of zombies had gathered at the doorway.

With hordes of zombies both upstairs and outside, Han Feng found himself encircled.

"Wynne! Ready the HE Grenade! We're taking down the first-floor stairs!" he ordered, charging back up with the two conscripts.

Though the building was teeming with zombies, it was a fraction of the swarm outside.

Risking everything, Han Feng fought his way to the second floor. The zombies were numerous, but not as densely packed as before. Regardless, there were fewer here than on the first floor.

Side by side, the two conscripts wielded their axes, holding back the advancing zombies.

"Bang! Bang!" Wynne's machine gun was empty, and he had switched to his pistol.

The quartet neared the stairwell, and Han Feng made the call to head upstairs.

Out of ammo and supplies, their only shot at breaking free was to locate the armory.

"Summon one mobilized soldier, confirmed! Move it!" Han Feng barked at the system.

As Han Feng reached the stairwell, a door was violently kicked open behind him.

The third mobilized soldier had arrived!

"Da Da Da!" The freshly summoned soldier wasted no time joining the fray.

The pressure on Han Feng's group eased significantly.

"You're Number 3. Grab the fire axe and charge upstairs! Hand me the grenade!" Han Feng quickly instructed Number 3 amidst the chaos.

"Roger!" The soldier fired one-handed, slung the fire axe on his back, and tossed the grenade to Han Feng.

Number 3 surged up the stairs, with Han Feng hot on his heels.

Wynne and Winter Soldier Number 2 held the line at the second-floor stairwell.

As Number 3's magazine clicked empty, Han Feng lobbed the HE Grenade towards the third floor with all his might.

"Boom!" The grenade detonated on the third floor.

Zombies, blasted by the shockwave, tumbled down the stairs to land at Han Feng and Number 3's feet, where the air nailer quickly claimed dozens of gold coins.

"No more holding back! Upstairs, now!" Han Feng yelled to those below, pressing the attack with Number 3.

The grenade blast had cleared a several-meter radius, and seizing the moment before the zombies could recover, Han Feng leapt into action.

The armory! Han Feng spotted it, thankfully close to the stairwell.

"Damn it!" It was just one of the many curses Han Feng had let slip.

The armory's door was no ordinary door—it was reinforced against burglars!

Despair washed over Han Feng.

With no ammo and swarmed by zombies... not even summoning several more Red Police Soldiers could break the siege.

But this was no time for shock; four Red Police Soldiers had formed a protective ring around Han Feng.

They stood in a semicircle, backs to Han Feng, each wielding a fire axe, ready to hack through the horde.

"Give it everything we've got!" Han Feng clenched his jaw and hoisted the air nailer once more.

"Bang! Crunch!" A pang of dread hit Han Feng.

The air nailer was busted! When it rains, it pours.

Wynne spun around, pulling Han Feng along as three mobilized soldiers cleared a path.

"Bang!" Wynne booted open the office door next to Han Feng and shoved him inside.

Seconds before stepping into the office, Han Feng caught sight of the third mobilized soldier flinging his arms wide and charging forward in an embrace.

He was sacrificing himself to buy Han Feng time.

The towering soldier spread his arms across the hallway, ensuring not a single zombie could breach their defense.

His powerful arms ensnared the zombies, his legs rooted firmly to the floor.

Dozens of zombies were gradually pushed back by the third soldier!

The final image seared into Han Feng's mind was of the soldier being torn apart by the horde, the zombies piling on him like a macabre tower...

"No!!!" Han Feng bellowed, agony ripping through his heart.

The remaining two soldiers turned back, rushing into the room and toppling the desk towards the door.

Just then, zombies from the second floor swarmed in.

The second soldier, while pushing the desk, grabbed a fire axe and dispatched the leading two zombies in mere seconds. But the sheer number of zombies behind them was overwhelming, all pouring into the room.

As more zombies threatened to flood in, making the door impossible to hold, the second soldier, like the third, stretched out his arms and repelled the advancing zombies. Wynne seized the moment to slam the door shut.

Outside, the sounds of tearing flesh and cleaving blows filled the air, lasting only a few seconds before being replaced by the relentless pounding of zombies against the door...

The second soldier had fallen too... it all happened so fast.

Numbers two and three had laid down their lives for precious time.

The Winter Soldier swiftly barricaded the door with the office desk.

Han Feng watched in stunned silence.

"Why... Why!? Why did they do this without my orders!?" Han Feng screamed in despair, demanding answers from the system.

"Protecting the commander is the sworn duty of every Red Alert Soldier. In a crisis, Red Alert Soldiers will do whatever it takes to ensure the commander's safety," the system responded in a detached, mechanical tone.

"Heh... Heh..." Han Feng let out a wry chuckle.

To Han Feng, the summoned Red Alert soldiers were as real as flesh and blood!

They safeguarded his safety, obeyed his commands, and were even prepared to lay down their lives for him!

Self-reproach began to gnaw at Han Feng.

If only he hadn't misjudged the situation, if only he hadn't been so stubborn, if only it hadn't been for him...

"Stop dwelling on it, Captain Han. You need to pull yourself together; we've got to figure out a way to break through," Wynne's voice snapped Han Feng out of his spiral of guilt.