Chapter 1170 Brood
Wearing white positive-pressure heavy protective suits, Dr. Chen Mingyuan and his team of experts arrived on foot at their core destination—the former site of the Guanshan District Maternal and Child Health Hospital—under tight security.
However, what appeared before them was not the terrifying building covered in tumors as they had imagined, but a more surreal and impactful scene.
This place has been completely transformed into a huge crater, as if it had been repeatedly struck by meteorites from outer space.
The pit walls are steep and covered with layers of explosion cracks and erosion gullies.
The bottom of the crater and the surrounding slopes are covered with craters of varying sizes, like the surface of the moon or the desolate craters on Mars, so dense that it is almost impossible to find an inch of intact land.
On the ground, twisted and deformed shell fragments, charred metal debris, and puddles of strangely colored water were scattered everywhere.
Some of the liquid was dark red blood, while others was sewage mixed with rotting organic matter and glowing with a yellowish-green fluorescence, reflecting an unsettling luster under the searchlight.
The air was thick with the pungent smells of sulfur, gunpowder, blood, and an indescribable, sweet, rotten fungus-like odor, all mixed together to create a nauseating "alien" atmosphere unique to this land of death.
"This...this is the result of nearly half a year of bombardment..." Dr. Erich adjusted his glasses, his voice trembling slightly, a mixture of shock and awe at the terrain being forcibly distorted by human violence.
The scene before him was more shocking than any of the extreme environments he had ever encountered during a field expedition.
Dr. Chen Mingyuan's sharp gaze swept over the giant crater, and he slowly said:
"In order to prevent it from recovering and to prevent it from becoming a stumbling block for the attacking forces, we can only use the most clumsy, but also the most effective, method: to continuously 'trimmed' it with steel and fire, keeping it in a weakened state. Now it seems... the effect is remarkable."
As Dr. Chen said, yesterday the main force broke into the area with unstoppable momentum and almost effortlessly took complete control of the surface area of the Mother Nest, which had been bombed to the point of being "half dead".
At this moment, at the edge and key locations at the bottom of this giant pit with a diameter of over one kilometer, two entire armored infantry battalions are stationed!
Amidst the roar of high-powered field generators, dozens of high-powered searchlights illuminated the entire giant crater as if it were daytime.
Dozens of Type 04A infantry fighting vehicles and Type 99A main battle tanks acted like steel sentinels, guarding various high points and key transportation routes.
Fully armed soldiers, relying on makeshift fortifications and armored vehicles, pointed their guns and cannons inward, locking onto the deep, honeycomb-like holes at the bottom of the giant pit, from which viscous liquid seeped out, and ranging in diameter from one meter to several meters—the “exit” from the zombie mother nest to the surface.
Anything that tries to emerge from these holes, whether it be the limbs or sensory organs of a mutated creature, will be met with a barrage of firepower in an instant!
Crossfire from light and heavy machine guns, precise pinpoint kills from automatic grenade launchers, and even the occasional thunderous strike from a tank's main gun—all these can completely tear apart and evaporate any emerging threat within fractions of a second!
The entire area was shrouded in a tense and imminent atmosphere of high alert.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the giant pit, a series of booming sounds were coming from.
Several heavy-duty engineering vehicles—including concrete pump trucks and mixer trucks—are working intensively.
The massive delivery pipes, like giant pythons, extend towards the larger outlets of the mother nest, continuously pouring in quick-drying, high-strength concrete!
"Boom!" The pump truck's engine roared, mingling with sporadic gunfire and soldiers' shouts, creating a peculiar symphony of "construction and destruction."
Just then, a middle-aged officer wearing an old-fashioned combat uniform covered in mud and oil stains, carrying the rank of senior colonel, strode over from the direction of the command vehicle not far away, accompanied by several staff officers and guards.
He looked to be in his late thirties, not quite forty. He wasn't particularly tall, but he was extremely lean and muscular, like a piece of steel that had been forged through countless trials.
He had dark skin, a strong facial structure, a square jaw, and bright, piercing eyes that shone with a sharp and energetic light even in dim light.
His steps were steady and powerful, carrying the aura of someone who had long been directing construction on the front lines and was decisive and efficient.
"Greetings, experts! I am Jia De'ao, commander of the 3rd Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps in the Central Plains Theater!"
With a booming voice, Jia De introduced himself simply and directly, and gave a standard military salute to Dr. Chen Mingyuan and Dr. Erich, who were in the lead, with clean and crisp movements.
"Commander Jia, thank you for your hard work." Dr. Chen Mingyuan nodded in acknowledgment. "We are here on orders to conduct a preliminary assessment and sampling of the target."
Jia De'ao waved his hand, pointing to the ongoing injection operation and the troops standing ready around him, his tone filled with pride and confidence:
"According to orders from higher command, our mission as the 3rd Construction Division is to cooperate with the main force to seal off all known surface entrances and exits of this damned thing within 24 hours!"
He paused, then continued:
"What you are seeing now is the first phase: sealing off the surface exit. As our special operations brigade brothers underground compress deeper and deeper into their lair, our engineering work will follow closely behind, using concrete and steel bars to reinforce the passage inch by inch, compressing its living space until it is completely sealed off 100 meters underground, rendering it unable to move!"
When the Special Operations Brigade was mentioned, Jia De'ao's eyes revealed an undisguised admiration:
"The battle underground is ten times more dangerous than what we're fighting up here! Those special operations brigade brothers are fucking fierce! Without them holding down the fort down there, the concrete pouring process probably wouldn't have been as safe and smooth as it is now."
He then shifted his focus, ultimately returning to the final outcome of the project:
"Once all secondary exits are sealed off and the main passages have undergone initial reinforcement and clearing, we will be here—"
He pointed to an area in the center of the crater that had been specially marked and cleared.
“Leave a vertical hole with a diameter of 5 meters as the only permanent entrance and exit.”
"We will install heavy-duty elevators and multiple safety gates to facilitate the entry and exit of your research center's personnel and equipment, while also ensuring that nothing down there can escape!"
"However, we'll have to trouble everyone for now. Due to time constraints, we've only installed a simple elevator... which only goes down to the basement level..."
"Preliminary exploration indicates that the main body of this zombie nest is located at a depth of at least 100 meters underground. Of course, the exact depth will depend on feedback from the special operations brigade members on the ground..."
ka ka ka-
Just as Jia De'ao finished speaking, a screeching sound rang out from the main passageway entrance...
