Chapter 57: Braving the Cannon Fire

“Gentlemen, this is the latest reconnaissance report. We are about to face approximately three thousand ordinary ghouls, sixteen giant ghouls, and one unknown entity whose strength is confirmed to be at the level of a high-level elite leader.”
Wang Ji sat inside the tent, explaining to officers above the rank of platoon leader—such as Haozi, Li Chengming, and Yan Song—while projecting his tactical plan on the screen.
“But we’re not lacking in strength either. Two infantry platoons, fully equipped with armored vehicles, heavy machine guns, and rocket launchers; the artillery platoon has already deployed two tanks and three self-propelled guns; our armored reconnaissance vehicles will provide air support; and of course, let’s not forget our special operations team!”
“Do you all have confidence?”
After going through the tactical plan, Haozi thumped his chest with confidence. “It’s just a bunch of mindless monsters! We’ll blast them to pieces with our artillery!”
Wang Ji, full of ambition, stood up and waved his hand.
“Good! Everyone should have Haozi’s passion and confidence. The tactical assignments have been sent to your tablets. Now, assemble our soldiers and boost their morale! This is our first real training in battle!”
The officers rose to their feet. No matter how great the danger ahead, all they had to do was remember to obey orders unconditionally as per military discipline.
Standing before more than a hundred soldiers, Wang Ji leapt onto a tank and called out in a loud voice.
“All of you have gathered here because there’s an important mission. First, let me tell you, this time our enemies are not like the usual wild beasts. They feel no fear, no pain, and they are many!”
“I can tell you, for now we don’t have to fight them, but there is a terrifying presence among them. If we let it grow unchecked, even our base will be in danger. But are we afraid?”
The soldiers below craned their necks and shouted, “No!”
“That’s right! We are not afraid! But I will not send you to die in vain, so I have prepared ample ammunition and medical supplies. We have tanks! We have self-propelled guns! We even have drone bombs! Most importantly, we have unwavering confidence!”
“Unwavering! Unwavering!”
The soldiers began to chant their slogan with excitement.
Wang Ji raised his hand to signal for quiet. Seeing that morale was high, he continued, “All honor is forged in the flames of war. No one is born strong…”
While Wang Ji was giving his pre-battle speech, two soldiers camouflaged in military fatigues lay prone on a high patch of forest about two hundred meters away, secretly observing through binoculars.
After a while, one of them put away a black device pointed in Wang Ji’s direction, made a hand signal, and the two of them crawled back nearly a hundred meters before daring to rise and dash quickly toward their base.
No one noticed these two soldiers. After Wang Ji’s speech, each officer began preparing their soldiers for battle.
…
In recent days, Cen Xiaolong had been plagued by anxiety. He was becoming conscious less and less often. At this moment, he sensed the disappearance of one of his parasites, and a look of worry crossed his face. Suddenly, a stabbing pain, as if piercing his soul, shot up from the tumor beneath him. He screamed in agony and lost consciousness again.
This was the center of a cylindrical building—a structure nearly ten meters tall that, before the disaster, had been the liveliest commercial hub in the local town.
Cen Xiaolong had been an honest migrant worker from the town, with only a primary school education, making a living by following his elders to pick up construction work.
On the day of the disaster, chased by mutant beasts into this building, he discovered an even more terrifying presence inside. In a desperate struggle, he accidentally swallowed a crystal core of unknown grade and fell unconscious.
When he awoke, he found himself suspended in the center of the building, wracked with pain, with a tumor growing out of his back. Only by absorbing the bloody fluid provided by the mutant beasts could he ease his suffering.
Gradually, as he drifted in and out of consciousness, the tumor grew larger, swelling into a sphere that topped his body.

At this time, Cen Xiaolong sensed a strange consciousness within the tumor, constantly invading his mind and transmitting bizarre visions.
Every day, some mutant beasts would bring new corpses. Black limbs would extend from his tumor, touch the corpses, and parasitize them with new conscious entities, sending them out in a continuous cycle. Nearly all living things nearby had been consumed by the tumor’s terror.
Cen Xiaolong had survived, no longer human nor ghost, with his own consciousness fading, lucid only for a few minutes each day, utterly unaware of his actions while unconscious.
In those rare moments of clarity, he longed for death, but death would not come; he could neither die nor truly live, tormented in both body and spirit, as if in hell.
After a long time, Cen Xiaolong awoke, struggling to twist his head atop the tumor and look toward the light outside the window. To his horror, it was already morning again. He thrashed about in terror.
“What do you want from me? Let me go! Kill me if you must!”
His hoarse screams echoed through the hollow nest.
Suddenly, the tumor trembled violently. Cen Xiaolong felt something burrowing into his back and let out a cry of pain before fainting.
At the same time, a deafening explosion sounded from outside the building. The structure shook under the barrage of shells, and in some places, the walls began to crack and collapse.
The tumor shuddered, sending out a wave of signals.
Outside, sixteen giant ghouls howled to the sky, and amid the explosions, the parasitized creatures charged in one direction.
“Report, Company Commander! The first round of artillery hit its target! The ordinary zombie creatures are charging toward us! They’re two kilometers from the first infantry line!” In the operations command post, a soldier monitored the situation through a drone hovering high above, serving as their eyes.
Wang Ji studied the real-time battle map and corresponding intelligence, and ordered loudly, “Artillery, concentrate fire on the zombie attack route—three successive volleys!”
“Yes, sir!”
The order quickly reached the artillery positions behind the tank-infantry assault formation. Three self-propelled guns calibrated their coordinates and spat out flames.
The barrage of explosive shells blasted the advancing parasites to pieces, leaving nearly a third of them scattered, torn apart on the battlefield.
With less than a kilometer to go, the parasites entered firing range.
“Advance!” Wang Ji commanded again.
The first echelon of soldiers led the attack. Heavy machine guns roared, rocket launchers screamed, and the front line of parasites fell like wheat before a scythe.
Infantry on both flanks advanced steadily under the cover of armored vehicles, forming a trident to press the attack against the surging tide of parasites.
The tanks held back slightly, advancing slowly behind, using drones overhead to find the best shelling positions and provide maximum fire support.
Machine guns on the vehicles poured out unceasing streams of bullets.
“Keep the artillery bombarding the building! Do not stop until our people arrive!” Wang Ji ordered, keeping his eyes glued to the interior through the drone feed.
“Let me see who’s hiding in there, stirring up trouble,” Wang Ji muttered to himself.
The artillery thundered once more, shells whistling down around the building. The defending parasites were blown away, the structure lost more of its walls, and looked ready to collapse.
A piercing screech sounded from within.

A few of the giant parasites that had been stationed outside now rushed forward, braving the storm of artillery to join the charging ranks.
“Company Commander! The giant zombies are on the move—half the ordinary zombies are still standing guard!” a soldier shouted the latest report.
“Snipers, engage! Target the giants—take them down!” Wang Ji ordered confidently, having specially equipped the recon platoon with five high-caliber sniper rifles, all hidden far back for this very moment.
“Calling Bayonet Squad! Move now!”
The Bayonet Squad’s leader was a recon platoon leader, an expert marksman often assigned to sniper duty.
He lay concealed atop an abandoned building, an observer crouched nearby to watch for threats. Below, waves of parasites surged past.
“Bayonet copies!”
The leader replied, then pressed his earpiece to switch to team comms. “Bayonet, take your positions. Pick your giant targets. Begin the operation!”
With that, he settled into his sniper’s nest, hefted his high-caliber rifle, adjusted his aim, and loaded a solid armor-piercing round, holding his breath.
The giants were easy targets, their massive size impossible to miss. The squad leader quickly set his sights on the head of his chosen prey.
Almost simultaneously, he heard his team members confirm their own targets.
Wasting no time, the leader squeezed the trigger.
The gun’s massive recoil sent a shockwave through the air, kicking up dust. The armor-piercing round struck true, punching a bowl-sized hole through the giant zombie’s head.
The impact sent the creature reeling, stumbling back several steps, nearly toppling.
Meanwhile, the other giants under fire were hit accordingly.
The squad leader exhaled lightly, watching the wounded giant through his scope.
Beside him, the observer gasped, “Sir! It’s not dead!”
Through the scope, the giant zombie struggled to its feet, its head a bloody ruin. It threw back its head and howled, then charged again.
The squad leader’s expression hardened. He aimed at its knee and ordered on the channel, “Aim for the joints! Cripple their mobility!”
His team responded without delay, reloading armor-piercing rounds and firing again.
The charging giant lurched, its right knee collapsing, the huge form crashing into nearby ordinary parasites in a heap.
The giants felt no pain, but their strength was undeniable. The wounded one climbed to its feet, swaying as it turned its gaping maw toward the squad leader’s position and roared.
Then it ran to the side, seized a low wall with both hands, pried off a chunk, and hurled it at the rooftop where the squad leader was hidden!
The leader’s pupils contracted. He hugged his sniper rifle and threw himself flat on the floor. The observer, having noticed the danger, also dove to the side.