C16 Trap

The equipment warehouse was anything but typical—it was a behemoth, easily three times larger than what you'd find at a standard police station. The patchwork of old and new paint on the walls was a clear sign that the room had been expanded at some point.

With each step, Han Feng's astonishment grew. Every gun cabinet he passed was filled with neatly arranged military assault rifles, and several others housed an array of handguns. Tucked away in the back corner were crates upon crates of ammunition, from large rifle rounds to smaller pistol cartridges.

"Load up on ammo, quick!" Han Feng urged Winter Soldier and Wynne.

Wynne dove into a pile of 9mm pistol rounds, while Winter Soldier remained still.

"Why aren't you helping?" Han Feng asked, puzzled.

"There's no ammo here that fits my weapon. I can't just force it," Winter Soldier replied.

Upon hearing this, Han Feng turned to Wynne and noticed he was only handling pistol ammunition, his hands deftly filling magazine after magazine. Only after questioning Wynne did Han Feng realize the warehouse lacked M60 and AK47 ammo. Luckily, Wynne's M9 pistol was compatible with the Chinese handgun bullets—a stroke of luck amidst the misfortune.

After a moment's thought, Han Feng set about gathering pistols and loading magazines. Even without the right ammo for his preferred weapons, having a pistol was essential. Plus, the assault rifles were still an option.

He opened a gun cabinet, selecting assault rifles and pistols. The rifles were bulky, and though they could fit in his backpack, it made more sense to prioritize the more compact handguns.

Ten minutes later, the last magazine clicked full. Han Feng surveyed the filled magazines scattered on the floor and couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.

"Captain Han, there's also this," Wynne said, bringing over another box of magazines—this time for the assault rifles.

"I..." Han Feng inhaled deeply, pushing down the frustration welling inside him, and bent back to the task of loading.

"Damn it, this isn't right," Han Feng blurted out as he worked on the magazines. Considering the restrained female officer and the non-combatant engineer, their side was down to just a handful of fighters—Winter Soldier, Wynne, No. 2, No. 3, and himself. Five people in total.

An entire floor littered with ammunition and cabinets brimming with firearms... Even if we each had three hands, we couldn't possibly use all of this!

My backpack was already stuffed with pistols and bullets, and there were even more weapons left over...

"Stop loading. We need to find a way to break out," Han Feng commanded, halting the Winter Soldier and Wynne in their tracks as they loaded their magazines.

We have to figure out an escape...

Han Feng rose to his feet and paced the room. The armory had been designed without windows to maximize security.

The sound of pounding and howling from outside the door sent a wave of pain through Han Feng's head...

A frontal breakout was out of the question. Even if the police station was clear of zombies, the horde outside was enough to chill Han Feng to the bone.

What to do now?

As he roamed, Han Feng's eyes landed on the engineer monitoring the female officer.

"Come here," Han Feng called out. "Can you put a window in this wall?"

It seemed like a pipe dream, but who knew? Maybe the system's advanced technology would provide a pleasant surprise.

"Affirmative, Commander," the engineer replied, igniting a spark of hope in Han Feng.

"Excellent! Make windows here, here, and here. Standard size will do," Han Feng instructed, marking several spots on the wall for the engineer to work on.

No one could watch the engineer while he worked, not even Han Feng.

Minutes later, three openings materialized in the wall.

Han Feng's curiosity was aroused, yet no matter how he inquired, the engineer remained tight-lipped.

Frustrated by the lack of answers, Han Feng walked over to the window and was taken aback by the sea of undead outside.

"My God..."

From the third floor, Han Feng's gaze swept over a landscape overrun with zombies.

Several buildings obstructed his view, leaving him to guess at the sheer number of zombies amassed around them.

Amidst the swarm, a black Hummer stood out starkly.

Indeed, it was the vehicle Han Feng had driven there.

Parked just ten meters from the police station entrance, what was once a short walk now seemed impossibly far.

"Get ready for combat!" Han Feng ordered.

The Winter Soldier, Wynne, and Han Feng each took their positions by the windows, magazines loaded and ready for the fight ahead.

No. 2 and No. 3 were on rear guard duty, watching over the policewoman while tirelessly reloading their magazines. The engineer took on the task of ammo transport.

"Fire!" Han Feng commanded, and instantly, three assault rifles erupted, spewing fiery tongues.

The rat-tat-tat of the rifles filled the air, unceasing.

Aiming was unnecessary; they could blindly fire into the horde and still hit zombie skulls—there were just that many.

Within seconds, the rifles clicked empty.

They swapped in fresh magazines and resumed the barrage.

The thunderous gunfire was enough to numb Han Feng's hands with its relentless recoil.

"Ah!!!" Han Feng's roars pierced the chaos, willing feeling back into his numb limbs.

As he fired, Han Feng's eyes were on the prize—the gold coin tally soared.

Five hundred... one thousand... fifteen hundred... two thousand...

Hours ticked by...

For every zombie Han Feng took down, ten gold coins were his reward. He'd dispatched hundreds, unleashing over a thousand rounds. The Red Alert soldiers had felled even more.

The battle raged on. The Winter Soldier and Wynne had been spelled off by No. 2 and No. 3.

Han Feng was nearly deaf to the world, his hands operating on autopilot.

At his feet, not just spent magazines, but four assault rifles lay inoperable, casualties of the fight, their barrels warped from the heat.

Han Feng was at his limit...

But one driving thought kept him going—the gold coins!

Indeed, Han Feng was desperate to erect a radar. His kills netted him ten gold coins each, while the Red Alert soldiers' kills added a coin apiece. Han Feng's calculations were sharp.

Four thousand... four thousand three hundred sixty-nine... four thousand eight hundred sixty-three... five thousand and one...

"Construct the radar! Confirm!" As soon as the gold coin count breached five thousand, Han Feng didn't hesitate to command the system to start building.

"Radar construction in progress. Virtual build will take three hours. Please stand by," intoned the mechanical voice of the Red Alert system in Han Feng's mind.

The barracks had gone up in under ten minutes, so why was this radar taking an eternity? Was I really expected to wait here for three hours?

"Winter Soldier, take over for me..." Han Feng turned and staggered toward the Winter Soldier, casually passing his assault rifle to him.

??????

"Winter Soldier? What's... different about you?" Han Feng studied the familiar face of the Winter Soldier, sensing something had changed.

"Captain Han, reporting for duty! One-star mobilized soldier present!" the Winter Soldier announced, snapping a salute.

"What?" Han Feng's ears were still ringing, though his hearing had improved significantly, Winter Soldier's voice was muffled.

The Winter Soldier repeated himself, louder this time, and Han Feng managed to catch it.

"Fantastic! At last, a one-star soldier in the ranks!"

It dawned on Han Feng that the Winter Soldier had sought him out earlier, saying something he hadn't quite caught. Now it seemed likely that it was about his promotion.

"Who here is a three-star soldier? Step forward and report," Han Feng called out to the group.

No response.

Of course, even the Winter Soldier, his longest-serving companion, was just a one-star. A three-star would be too much to expect.

"Any other one-star soldiers among you? Report in," Han Feng tried again.

Silence still.

It appeared Winter Soldier was the sole upgrade.

"System, how do they level up? What are all the ranks?" Han Feng inquired of the system in his mind.

"Command & Conquer soldiers advance by eliminating valid targets. A soldier ascends to one-star upon neutralizing targets worth a hundred times their own value, and to three-star at three hundred times. The ranks are zero-star, one-star, and three-star soldiers," the system's voice informed Han Feng.

"...A hundredfold? That's... a thousand zombies?!"

To reach three-star required vanquishing three thousand zombies?

"...Is advancing to three-star really that arduous?"

This meant... in the span of a few hours, they must have slain thousands of zombies!

With that realization, Han Feng bolted to the window and peered down.

Oh no! Han Feng's mind had gone numb from the relentless firing of his assault rifle. Now, he realized with a jolt that layers upon layers of zombies had piled up beneath the wall, reaching all the way up to the second floor!

Had these zombies been capable of jumping, they would have likely stormed in by now!