Invincible through Touching Corpses

Chapter 278 - 277: Burning the Boats

Hearing Lin Zhengyang’s assessment of their combat strength, Lin Xinghai finally let out a true sigh of relief.

"If our forces can hold off 2.5 million Zombies, then we should be fine. There’s no way the horde this time will be that big," Lin Xinghai said, relieved.

"That’s my estimate as well. Right now, the most important thing for us is to prepare for the battle and do everything we can to minimize our losses. Otherwise, even if we win, it won’t be worth the cost." Lin Zhengyang’s expression, however, was not nearly as relaxed.

"Elder Lin, there’s no need to be so worried! When the battle starts, we’ll have the Combat Robots on the front lines. Even if our own people suffer casualties, the number should be extremely small," Lin Xinghai said, a little dismissively.

’If all 200,000 Combat Robots get wiped out, then there’s no point in fighting. We might as well just retreat.’

"So that’s what you’re thinking, kid. No wonder you’re so optimistic."

Lin Zhengyang was at a loss for words. "And you don’t consider destroyed Combat Robots a loss?"

"Do you have any idea what price Old Wei paid to borrow those 100,000 Combat Robots? We have to pay them back double within the next year."

"If we lose them all, we’ll have to compensate them with 200,000 Combat Robots, and our own 100,000 will be gone as well. If it really comes to that, the Military Department can forget about expanding our territory for the next year."

"The stakes are that high?" Lin Xinghai was surprised; he truly hadn’t known about this. "Is it worth it?"

"Of course it’s worth it. This Industrial Park is far more valuable than you imagine. Aside from the Rare Metals, it also contains dozens of pieces of extremely important equipment."

"If we can really loot the place clean, we can manufacture 200,000 Combat Robots in two months, tops."

"But again, we have to keep our losses to an absolute minimum. Anything less will just slow down our Shelter’s development."

"Even in the worst-case scenario—say, the horde exceeds 2.5 million—we still have to fight. At the very least, we need to beat those Mutated Zombies back and scare them off, to pave the way for our next attempt."

"Otherwise, waging a war like this is too costly for the Star Shield Shelter; we can’t afford to do it many times. The subsidies we’re paying the Mercenary Guild this time are already bleeding us dry," Lin Zhengyang said, his expression grave.

After hearing this, Lin Xinghai’s expression also grew solemn. It was only then that he truly understood: the Shelter’s leadership was betting everything on this, with no option for retreat.

...

Half an hour later, Lin Xinghai was back on the front line, but his mood was completely different.

His earlier anxiety and uncertainty had vanished, replaced by a burgeoning excitement.

This time, the Star Shield Shelter was making a huge gamble. The risks were at least four or five times greater than their initial estimates.

But if they won, the rewards would be even greater.

After all, according to the original plan, the most they could do was take what was inside the Industrial Park.

And while an Industrial Park contained a lot, trying to build a proper base with just those resources was little more than a pipe dream.

After all, a base and a shelter were two completely different concepts.

For the Star Shield Shelter to become the Star Shield Base, it would require a massive amount of resources.

Where would all those resources come from?

The best target, of course, was Guanghan City.

Before the apocalypse, Guanghan City had been a top-tier metropolis. It was no exaggeration to say it held tens, or even hundreds, of times more resources than other cities.

More importantly, while Guanghan City was known as the Mercenary Restricted Area, it was precisely because of the sheer number of Zombies that its resources had remained completely untouched for years.

In other words, it was an untapped "gold mine."

If they fought this battle well, scared off the Mutated Zombies, and annihilated several million regular Zombies, then the Zombie population in the eastern part of Guanghan City would plummet.

At that point, Guanghan City—or at least its eastern district—would no longer be a Mercenary Restricted Area.

They could even use the entire Industrial Park as an outpost for the Military Department to garrison. Then, the Star Shield Shelter would have free rein to mine this "gold mine."

It was, in short, a high-stakes gamble.

It was because he now understood all this that Lin Xinghai’s mindset was completely different from when he had left to get answers.

Zhuo Yongyuan immediately noticed the change in his demeanor.

"Comrade Lin Xinghai! You must have found something out when you went back. Can you share it with us?" Zhuo Yongyuan asked, his voice full of anticipation.

"Yes, I did. ’Reinforcements’ are on the way. Barring any accidents, they should make it in time."

"The Military Department was probably worried something might go wrong, so they didn’t announce it. They were likely afraid we’d misjudge the situation."

"But the Military Department is also preparing for both outcomes. On one hand, they’re building up the defenses for a major battle. On the other, they’re ready to retreat at a moment’s notice," Lin Xinghai said with a smile.

"Really?" Zhuo Yongyuan was instantly thrilled, but his excitement quickly gave way to doubt. "But this horde is massive. Can the Star Shield Shelter really send that many reinforcements?"

"Heh! Once the ’reinforcements’ arrive, the military is sure to make an announcement. You’ll find out then. For now, let’s just pray the horde doesn’t attack too soon! Otherwise, it’ll all be for nothing, and our only option will be to run." After saying this, Lin Xinghai turned to stare grimly into the distance.

In the time it had taken him to go to the command post and back, the number of Zombies here had already surged to 1.1 million.

Zhuo Yongyuan and the other members of the monitoring team shared a tacit understanding and didn’t press him for more details.

Everyone waited, their patience warring with their anxiety.

Half an hour later, their optical scopes once again picked up a disturbance in the distance. Another massive wave from the horde was surging toward them.

"It’s 1.2 million now," Zhuo Yongyuan said grimly, looking at the rough estimate displayed on the optical equipment.

Even Lin Xinghai couldn’t relax. The horde was growing far too quickly.

Furthermore, the Mutated Zombies still showed no signs of attacking. He had no idea what horrifying size the horde would reach by the time the real assault began.

’I just hope it doesn’t grow beyond what we can handle,’ Lin Xinghai thought with a sigh.

Shortly after they sent the latest information back to the command post, Zhuo Yongyuan finally received the news: the reinforcements had arrived.

’Two hundred thousand Combat Robots.’ Zhuo Yongyuan was stunned. But after the shock came a wave of excitement.

He quickly realized that they could actually win this.

At least, against a horde of this size, they could.

When Lin Xinghai heard that the Combat Robots had arrived, he also let out a quiet sigh of relief.

’At least the first step is complete.’

’Now we’ll have to see if the defensive systems can be completed before the horde launches its attack.’

’And just how terrifyingly large this horde will become when it finally does.’