C24 Tragic Victory

"It worked! Fantastic! What a lifesaver of a police dog! Now I can..." Han Feng's words were cut short as the shelf suddenly lurched forward half a meter, nearly sending him tumbling to the ground.

Regaining his balance, Han Feng quickly braced himself, adjusted his stance, and once more exerted his strength to hold up the shelf.

"Damn! Got too cocky!" Han Feng chided himself. The glimmer of hope he'd seen amidst the despair had made him overconfident, and he nearly met his end before breaking free from the horde.

Surveying the area, Han Feng noted the dwindling number of zombies. Although dozens still lingered with grim determination, their ranks had significantly thinned.

Peering through the gap in the shelf, he saw that over half the zombies on the first floor had dispersed. It was a promising sign—the siege was weakening.

"Vision link," Han Feng murmured, closing his eyes. Upon reopening them, he saw the police dog had led the zombies a considerable distance from the supermarket, with a large group in tow.

With the vision link's five-kilometer range, Han Feng wasn't concerned about losing track of the dog.

"Lead them further out," he mentally commanded the police dog.

Minutes passed...

The dog had drawn the zombies about two kilometers away.

"Quiet down now, circle back," Han Feng instructed. The dog ceased its barking and suddenly sprinted away.

Without a target, the zombies descended into chaos, their orderly advance shattered.

Seconds later, the police dog was back at the supermarket, ready to replay the scene from moments before. Its resonant barks once again drew the attention of the remaining zombies.

The horde's numbers continued to wane. After several rounds, only a handful of zombies remained on the second floor, while the first floor was eerily deserted, save for a dozen zombies attempting to breach the second level.

The shelves, no longer able to bear the burden, had collapsed. The initial barricade was now just a pile of parts, replaced by newly commandeered shelving.

"Good job! Find a quiet spot to hide. We'll handle the rest," Han Feng communicated to the police dog, still holding the shelves steady with one hand as he slowly reached for the machine gun with the other.

"Get ready for battle!" Han Feng declared, squeezing the trigger.

Ratatat! Ratatat! The machine gun roared to life, shredding the teetering shelves into a heap of splinters.

In the heat of the moment, Han Feng was too focused to check on Wynne. Now, he was the only one left with any ammo.

Ratatat! Ratatatatat! Han Feng fired away with glee, the thrill of narrowly escaping death fueling his fervor.

Ratatat! Click! Click-click! But in the midst of his rampage, the machine gun jammed—out of bullets.

Clutching the now useless weapon, Han Feng stood petrified. Behind him, Wynne caught the eerie quiet, and the zombies were closing in on Han Feng, mere inches away. The stench of their breath was nauseating. Wynne wanted to intervene, but it was too late.

The zombie lunged, mouth agape, ready to bite...

Crack!

The sharp edge of a fire axe cleaved through the zombie's skull, sending it airborne before it crashed back down.

In the nick of time, the Winter Soldier, a one-star mobilized soldier, had come to the rescue.

With the immediate threat neutralized, the Winter Soldier didn't let up, continuing his assault on the undead.

"Ah... that was close!" Han Feng gasped, finally snapping back to reality.

Machine gun in hand, he edged backward. The scarcity of fire axes meant he had to seek refuge in a relatively safe corner and wait for the red police soldiers to wrap up the fight.

Seconds later, the last zombie on the second floor was taken down, bringing a temporary lull to the battle.

Passing the M60 to a fellow mobilized soldier, Han Feng approached the stairwell's edge.

The earlier barrage of gunfire had lured dozens of zombies to the first floor, now gathered and snarling at the base of the broken stairs.

"Roar! Roar!"

Looking down at the zombies just a short drop from his feet, Han Feng pondered briefly before turning to the Winter Soldier, "Hand me the fire axe."

Fire axe in hand, Han Feng crouched down.

A taller zombie reached up, its fingers grazing Han Feng's shoes—the distance between them negligible.

A daring strategy took shape in Han Feng's mind.

In one swift motion, the fire axe sliced through the air, splitting the zombie's head with deadly precision.

"Ten gold coins in the bag!" Han Feng murmured to himself.

He was constantly changing positions, and with each strike, a zombie was sure to fall.

"Seventy, eighty, ninety!" Each fallen zombie represented another ten gold coins added to his tally.

At that moment, Han Feng could see the tops of the zombies' heads from the broken section of the staircase.

Having dispatched fifteen zombies, a thick layer had accumulated on the first floor, elevating the still-living zombies significantly.

No longer needing to bend down and exert himself swinging the fire axe, Han Feng's speed increased, and he was able to leverage his strength more effectively.

"Thirty!" he exclaimed, then stood up to stretch his limbs.

The first floor was nearly cleared of zombies, with only five or six fearless ones still attempting to charge at him.

"386 gold coins. Not a bad haul," Han Feng said with a grin, stretching lazily before launching another attack and finishing off every last enemy in the supermarket.

With 446 gold coins, Han Feng's savings were looking healthy.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

The urgent barking of a dog echoed from the supermarket's exit.

"What's happening?" Han Feng wondered why the usually quiet police dog had suddenly started barking. Was there an incident? After a moment's thought, he commanded, "Link to vision!"

"Ah!" Through the eyes of the police dog, Han Feng let out a shocked cry.

The horde of zombies that had been drawn away was now slowly making its way back!

The police dog, having been ordered to stay put, had settled down, but the scents carried on the air had put it on alert.

Approaching the door, the dog barked urgently to alert Han Feng upon spotting the approaching mass of zombies, leading to the scene that had just unfolded.

"Retreat!" Han Feng ordered, then leapt down the stairs.

Accelerating towards the exit, his companions quickly followed suit.

Upon reaching the exit, Han Feng was met with the sight of the densely packed zombies.

Thankfully, there was a substantial gap of several dozen meters between them.

"Get in the car!" Han Feng was relieved he had parked close to the exit.

As he burst out, he caught a glimpse of two mobilized soldiers lying on the ground not too far away.

The mobilized soldiers previously tasked with guarding the entrance now lay on the icy ground, their bodies marked with fatal bites.

Han Feng's eyes were nearly bursting, his teeth grinding together in rage.

"Winter Soldier, collect their firearms and grenades," Han Feng instructed without pausing, addressing the Winter Soldier who had caught up.

Han Feng was the first to get into the vehicle and ignite the engine.

The off-road vehicle started up immediately after, with Wynne sitting in the driver's seat, silently awaiting further orders.

Han Feng had arrived with ten red police soldiers; now, only six remained, including one fallen American soldier.

The Winter Soldier and the remaining four mobilized soldiers arrived, and the police dogs were loaded into the rear vehicle.

"Winter Soldier, get the grenades ready," Han Feng commanded his passenger.

"Throw!"

"Boom!"

Han Feng deliberately waited a few extra seconds before the zombies closed in, then the grenades detonated amidst the horde...

"Excellent! Prepare for another round!" Han Feng shouted in approval as he watched the zombies being torn apart by the blasts.

Safe for the moment, he thought of the loyal Red Police Soldiers who had died horrifically, his eyes reddening with emotion.

"Throw! Blow them to pieces!" Han Feng roared.

"Boom!"

With the last grenade spent, the group, now out of ammunition, began their retreat.

Engines roared as the vehicles charged forward, and soon, Han Feng and his team reached the safety zone.

Inside the car, Han Feng remained silent, simply lighting a cigarette and reflecting on the recent events.

"Third-level zombie... your end is near," Han Feng muttered to himself, taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, his jaw set in determination.

Twenty minutes later, Han Feng returned to the villa.

The others, having heard the noise, had already come out to greet him.

"Ah, Boss Han! What happened?!" Wai Yun's voice had barely faded when Liu Rui chimed in, "Holy smokes! What a disaster! Did you stir up a hornet's nest or something?!"

Wai Peng remained silent, his eyes filled with concern as he watched Han Feng and the soldiers behind him.

"My God! What's all this?!" Liu Rui cried out, turning to Han Feng for answers.