Outside the outer perimeter of New Bilibid Prison, the five-vehicle convoy came to a halt three hundred meters away from the main iron gates.
"Screech...!"
Ahead, deafening gunfire rattled from Bilibid's twenty-foot guard towers as thousands of turned residents swarmed the main entrance!
Static crackled over Elias's tactical radio headset.
"Bzzzt—!"
"Supreme Commander! This is Sergeant Santos!" Santos reported frantically. "2nd and 3rd Squads are holding the guard towers, but our ammo is running out!"
Seeing the massive scale of the zombie horde and hearing the ammo shortage, Elias immediately activated the System UI before launching the assault.
"Ding!"
[ System Notice: 150 Red Cores Spent! 3 Infantry Squads Summoned! ]
[ Deployment Coordinates: 300 Meters Rear of Convoy ]
[ System Notice: 50 Red Cores Spent! Full Ammunition Replenishment Bundles Purchased! ]
[ Remaining Red Cores Vault Balance: 700 Red Cores ]
Heavy wooden cases of 5.56mm rifle rounds and 9mm magazines materialized directly inside the storage bed of the KM-450 truck!
"Cruz! Fresh ammo crates in the truck bed! Supply all dismounted firing lines!" Elias commanded.
"Yes, Supreme Commander!" Cruz shouted, directing riflemen to grab fresh magazines.
Three hundred meters down the avenue behind the convoy, heavy combat boots stomped violently against the pavement!
"Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!"
Thirty-six fresh, fully equipped soldiers from 7th Squad, 8th Squad, and 9th Squad materialized in tight military formation out of thin air!
"7th, 8th, and 9th Squads reporting for duty, Supreme Commander!" the squad leaders roared over the radio comms.
"Form up! Execute a synchronized pincer assault on the gate horde!" Elias commanded.
Thirty dismounted soldiers from 1st, 5th, and 6th Squads advanced from the convoy, while the thirty-six newly summoned soldiers of 7th, 8th, and 9th Squads marched up from the rear!
"Rat-tat-tat-tat!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
A massive wall of dual-sided gunfire erupted, hammering the thousands of zombies from behind!
Infected turned residents fell by the dozens as the combined military assault tore through their ranks.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
Suddenly, three shadowy fast movers burst out from the center of the horde, leaping across vehicle hoods along the right flank!
"Swish!"
They were three Evolved Hunter zombies, moving with terrifying animalistic speed!
"Hostiles! Fast movers!" a 1st Squad rifleman shouted, trying to turn his weapon.
"Slash!"
Before he could aim, one Hunter pounced onto his chest, its razor claws tearing open his throat!
"Thud!"
The 1st Squad rifleman collapsed dead onto the asphalt!
Beside him, another 1st Squad soldier fired frantically until his rifle bolt locked back.
"Click! Click!"
"Ammo empty!" the soldier yelled in panic.
"Slash!"
Before he could reload, a swarm of standard zombies tackled him to the ground, dragging him under their biting weight!
Hearing the casualties, Elias exploded forward with 3x Peak Human speed!
"Boom!"
Elias blurred past the firing line, intercepting two Hunters in mid-air and crushing their throats with his hands!
"Choke!"
"Squiggle... Squelch!"
He spun on his heel, driving his tactical combat knife straight through the third Hunter's eye socket into its brainstem!
"Squelch!"
The three Hunter zombies collapsed dead, but before Elias could draw his breath, a heavy tremor shook the pavement!
"Thump... Thump...!"
The zombie horde parted as a massive, horrifying mutant stepped out from the smoke.
It was an Evolved Brute zombie—a massive behemoth standing two and a half meters tall with bulging, rock-hard muscle fibers and dark, leathery hide!
"Grrr... Raaagh!"
The 2.5-meter giant roared with deafening power, grabbing a shattered concrete wall section with its massive bare hands!
"Crush...!"
With terrifying physical strength, the Brute hurled the three-hundred-pound concrete slab straight at the top of the Bilibid guard tower!
"Boom! Crash!"
The heavy concrete slab smashed into the guard tower overhang, collapsing a section of the stone ledge!
"Ahhh!"
Two soldiers from 2nd Squad on the tower were crushed by the falling concrete debris, dying instantly!
"Fire on the giant! Focus all fire!" Company Commander Cruz shouted.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
A dozen riflemen concentrated their fire on the Brute's head, but the 5.56mm bullets flattened uselessly against its rock-hard skull hide!
Elias sprinted forward, leaping off the hood of a car and driving his tactical combat knife toward the Brute's neck with all his 3x strength!
"Crack!"
The heavy steel blade struck the giant's hardened neck hide, but instead of penetrating, the dagger snapped cleanly at the hilt!
The 2.5-meter giant backhanded Elias with its tree-trunk arm!
"Whoosh!"
Elias reacted instantly, ducking beneath the massive arm swing and rolling backward across the asphalt.
Standard blades and light rifle rounds couldn't pierce this monster's skull!
Elias grabbed his tactical radio headset, shouting up toward the main Bilibid tower.
"Tower Sniper! Target the giant's forehead! Heavy armor-piercing round now!" Elias commanded.
Up on the highest guard tower, a 3rd Squad sniper adjusted his heavy Barrett .50 Cal sniper rifle, locking the crosshairs on the Brute's thick forehead.
"Click!"
"Target locked, Supreme Commander!" the sniper reported over the comms.
"BOOM!"
A deafening roar shattered the air as the massive twelve-point-seven millimeter armor-piercing round exploded from the heavy rifle barrel!
"Metal-crack! Squelch!"
The heavy .50 BMG round punched straight through the Brute's hardened forehead, blowing out the back of its massive skull in a spray of black blood!
"Thud... Boom!"
The 2.5-meter giant collapsed like a falling building, crashing dead onto the pavement!
"Ding!"
[ System Notice: Multiple Mutant Red Cores Harvested! ]
[ 3 Low-Mid Tier Hunter Cores (+30 Red Cores) ]
[ 1 Mid-Tier Brute Core (+50 Red Cores) ]
[ 120 Standard Zombie Cores (+120 Red Cores) ]
[ Total Red Cores Vault Balance: 900 Red Cores ]
With the mutant giant dead and the combined fire of sixty-six soldiers sweeping the area, the remaining zombies were completely wiped out.
"Slice!"
"Bang! Bang!"
Within fifteen minutes, the area outside the main iron gate was completely cleared of infected.
Silence returned to the entrance of New Bilibid Prison as Sergeant Santos activated the heavy mechanical gate winches.
"Creak... Clang!"
The massive twenty-foot iron gates slowly swung open, allowing the five-vehicle convoy and all troops to enter the fortified perimeter.
Company Commander Cruz and the surviving soldiers recovered the bodies of their fallen brothers—two from 1st Squad and two from 2nd Squad—to join the six from 6th Squad for a solemn burial inside.
Elias stood in the center of the courtyard, wiping his blood-stained hands as he looked up at the towering concrete walls.
His mind was heavy with grim realization.
The zombies were evolving rapidly into fast Hunters and indestructible 2.5-meter Brutes.
Light rifles and combat daggers were no longer enough to protect his men or guarantee survival against future mutated waves.
Elias looked down at his System UI interface, his eyes burning with fierce determination.
He had nine hundred Red Cores in his vault—more than enough to unlock his promotion to First Lieutenant!
To survive what was coming, he needed higher officer ranks, heavy armored fighting vehicles, main battle tanks, and advanced gene modifications.
"Cruz," Elias spoke into his radio, his voice firm with absolute resolve.
"Lock down the main gates and assemble all platoon leaders in the central command office."
"We are upgrading our forces tonight."