Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 134 That was just ordinary fog

Early in the morning, a thin mist enveloped the battlefield.

The town was literally surrounded by rivers of blood, and the air was thick with the smoke of gunpowder.

The zombie horde has receded once again. Of course, it can only be said that the tide has receded, as there are still many gunshots and explosions that can be heard at any time. There are still many zombies scattered around the town, and they are being dealt with one by one.

The modified armored bulldozers pushed away the wrecked remains of the zombies along several designated roads, but there were always places they couldn't reach, and many roadside drains were now clogged with debris.

At least tens of thousands of zombies have already been wiped out in this town, making it a scene of carnage.

Even so, soldiers continued to flock to this place.

Today, the town is filled with fresh troops from all over the country, and the troops from Haiqu are undoubtedly one of the most elite among them.

Sun Qi was among them. In the current environment, mobilizing troops is not something that can be done at will. The security zones in various regions already require a large number of troops to be stationed. To support a major war, many regions need to try to find ways to gather manpower, recruit militia, or directly incorporate them into active duty.

At this moment, Sun Qi, carrying a gun on his back and standing on the blood-soaked ground, took a box of ammunition from the supply truck that had pulled up nearby, and then returned to the civilian house that had been converted into a stronghold, where several soldiers were stationed.

Such outposts are usually guarded by a veteran and a few new recruits. The number of people is small, and their main weapon is a machine gun. Their mission is to provide firepower to any zombies that enter their firing range.

Nearby, within sight of the naked eye, there were several other similar strongholds. The obstacles between them had been cleared away. Countless strongholds were scattered throughout the entire town of White Tower in this way, supporting each other and turning the entire battlefield into a giant meat grinder.

Having just dealt with a dozen or so zombies within the firing range, the atmosphere in the stronghold was somewhat somber. New recruits bowed their heads in silent tribute in accordance with the latest orders, while the veteran soldier beside them didn't seem to care much. He just kept smoking, puffing on his cigarette, and occasionally glancing out the window, his face showing visible tension.

Sun Qi put down the ammunition box, checked the machine gun barrel again, hesitated for a moment, and then turned back to reassure him, "...It's nothing, it's just ordinary fog."

The veteran nodded: "I'm used to it, it's nothing, it'll be fine in a bit."

He offered Sun Qi a cigarette, but Sun Qi waved it off politely.

"Not smoking?" The veteran shook his head. "There's nothing wrong with learning. In this world, people will go crazy if they don't have some way to relax."

Sun Qi didn't answer, he just smiled.

Most of the regular troops of Haiqu had ventured into the secret realm. Even after overcoming the cognitive barrier, that wilderness was always shrouded in a hazy mist, which was somewhat similar to the scene now.

Sacrifices often occur during the exploration of secret realms, and perhaps some of the events there have left a deep impression on the veterans.

Although Sun Qi also experienced many hardships, he felt okay. Everyone's ability to adapt to such things is different.

Looking back now, he couldn't help but feel a little dazed. Even though he only participated in regular training and carried out some logistical tasks, he could now be called a veteran.

In the past, when humans fought against each other, the pace of war was actually relatively slow. After a battle, an army would often take a long time to rest and recuperate, which could even last for several months, depending on the circumstances.

But things are different now. Danger can appear at any time. The land is shattered and filled with smoke and fire. Stepping out of the safe zone means stepping into the battlefield. Even if you are just guarding the walls of the safe zone, you still often have to deal with small groups of zombies.

It can be said that they were training through combat. Under such circumstances, many people quickly transformed from new recruits into veterans. Even the so-called new recruits in the stronghold in front of them could remain unfazed in the face of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

At first, Sun Qi was reluctant to come to such a dangerous place. After all, the safe zone needed to be guarded, and as militiamen, they had the right to choose whether or not to go to the front line.

Upon hearing about the situation in Haizhou, many of his comrades were eager to volunteer. But when he thought of Xu Changwen, who had bled to death in the secret realm while protecting them, he impulsively signed up.

Fortunately, although Yang Kun and He Xiaoyu were worried, they both expressed their support for his decision. After arriving in Baita Town, militiamen like him, who had just come from the rear and were newly married and childless, were not assigned to the most dangerous outskirts of the town.

"The gunfire seems to have stopped," someone said, which meant that the town had entered a brief period of safety. However, even so, it was not allowed to leave the stronghold and wander into the streets.

Every prohibition on the battlefield carries a life behind it; there have been instances where people walking on the street were mistaken for zombies and mistakenly killed by soldiers on high alert inside the stronghold.

Of course, this meat grinder has already wiped out hundreds of thousands of zombies, so unless there's something urgent, nobody wants to walk onto streets covered in blood anymore. After giving their weapons a quick fix, the slightly bored group chatted.

"I wonder how long this will last."

"Two hours? That's the most. I heard that the artillerymen in Hailing won a zombie lord in a lottery. I guess a new lord will be coming out of the city soon."

"How many lords have we killed in the last few days?"

"Thirty-odd? That's about right."

Suddenly, someone exclaimed, "Hey, look! What's that?"

In the distance, smoke mingled with fog, and through the hazy mist, a dark shadow several meters tall emerged, clearly some kind of enormous animal.

Now it was Sun Qi's turn to get nervous, and he instinctively gripped the gun in his hand.

"Don't be afraid, don't worry." The veteran patted his shoulder: "Didn't the higher-ups say they were going to send us a high-level mutated beast? With it here, we don't have to worry about the other side's parasitic abilities."

The fog wasn't thick, and the dark figure quickly came into view. It was a huge black bear with a somewhat憨厚 (honest and simple) face. There was a rope around its neck with a white helmet tied to it. The helmet looked like a small pendant on its neck.

"Hold the grass!"

The moment he saw the white helmet, the veteran stood up straight and stubbed out his cigarette.

"What are you afraid of? Isn't smoking allowed?" A new recruit looked at the veterans and Sun Qi, who were now sitting up straight, and asked with some surprise.

"Shh, you don't know anything. Just be honest."

The small outposts quieted down, and the giant bear looked around at the situation at each outpost before drifting away like a dark cloud.

Sun Qi finally breathed a sigh of relief: "So they're the military police..."

"Actually, it's called a supervisory body, but it shouldn't be involved in disciplinary matters, right?"

"Forget it, what if we happen to manage it while we're at it? We should just behave ourselves in front of it."

Watching the black bear walk away into the distance, everyone was astonished. Even though they were Haiqu Masters who had fought against giant alien species, they were still intimidated by the size and aura of this mutated beast.

"Isn't it afraid that someone might accidentally fire a burst of bullets while it's walking around so brazenly?"

“We’ve fought third-tier mutants before, what use is a small water pipe?” The veteran shook his head: “Besides, do you think mutant beasts are those mindless things like mutants? We ordinary people might not even be able to hit them.”

"I heard that the Haizhou Division came with it. I don't know where they are deployed, but the commander-in-chief has arrived. Perhaps they are preparing to attack."

At this point, everyone fell silent again.

Looking eastward, the rising sun had already pierced through the mist.

They have been stuck here for a very long time. I wonder how their compatriots who are still trapped in the danger zone are doing.
Sun Qi pulled a survival manual out of his pocket. It wasn't the one he kept at home; it was just a booklet issued by the Production and Construction Corps.

Even so, every time Sun Qi saw it, he could still feel a sense of support.

Let's wait a little longer... Hold on a little longer, give us a little more time. The commander-in-chief has arrived, and we will be there to rescue you very soon!

(End of this chapter)