The Ultimate War Of The Apocalypse
Chapter 211 - 208: Weapon Testing Ground

Chapter 211: Chapter 208: Weapon Testing Ground

Have we won?

We seem to have won, yes. For the first time since the Serpent People invaded, humans have secured a victory in a battle.

Zombies have been completely eradicated, their exact numbers beyond count. All we know is the valley leading to Guisui Institution No.1 is littered with the corpses of zombies, innumerable, certainly in the hundreds of thousands.

The attacking Serpent People’s spaceship left, and the Armored Beasts have been wiped out, including those monsters dubbed Armored Turtles.

However, the Serpent People suffered no losses, so this victory is somewhat marred.

But if we consider it a defensive battle, then even a discounted victory is still a victory—and a monumental one at that—since it’s the first time humans have managed to defend a shelter against a direct assault by the Serpent People.

"The casualty report is in. The defense force of Guisui Institution No.1 suffered one hundred sixty-five fatalities, sixteen are missing, and ten are wounded. What about you?"

Liu Muyang’s face was as calm as still water as he spoke softly, "One hundred thirty-one dead. No missing. No wounded."

The two commanders fell silent for a moment before Liu Muyang asked in a low voice, "How come so many are missing?"

The commander, reluctantly waving his hand with a hint of irritation, said, "We sent a team out to manually detonate the missiles. The missiles exploded, but the people are gone, nowhere to be found."

Liu Muyang pondered for a moment before responding softly, "Let’s count them as casualties instead of missing."

"Alive, we must see the person; dead, we must see the body; otherwise, it’s a disappearance. Maybe, just maybe, they ran into the hills on either side after setting off the missiles, and they’ll come back later, right? Maybe they’ll just show up again."

Liu Muyang replied gently, "Yeah, maybe they will come back."

The two commanders were silent again before Liu Muyang took a deep breath and said, "Let’s summarize. Firstly, your defense preparations were very good. This victory is our first victory, and with the zombie population in Guisui City dwindling, you can start to retake Guisui. It’s a positive situation."

The commander of Guisui didn’t pick up on Liu Muyang’s comment; instead, he looked up and said softly, "But the Serpent People are still out there. Plus, as soon as you arrived, the Serpent People launched an attack. I want to make it clear I’m not blaming you at all. What I’m thinking is, maybe the Serpent People are monitoring you, too. Any large-scale movement could draw their attention, which could severely disadvantage the missions you are conducting."

Liu Muyang nodded and said with a face full of helplessness, "This expedition was actually a trial. If our presence as the Expeditionary Army inevitably draws the Serpent People’s attacks, then this trial has failed, and we must think of a new strategy."

Sighing softly, Liu Muyang spoke in a low voice, "I’ve already made contact with headquarters. Let’s see how they assess the situation."

At that, the commander of Guisui turned to Gao Yuan and said, "Xiao Gao, you did an incredible job! Remarkable!"

Liu Muyang lowered his voice even more and said, "This is exactly what I need to stress with you. You have to ensure your soldiers maintain secrecy, especially in radio communications—never mention him. It’s quite normal for the Serpent People to understand our language after secretly studying Earth for decades."

"But the Serpent People’s spaceship was overhead, observing the entire battle. If they were going to notice, they would have already identified Xiao Gao’s presence."

Liu Muyang appeared extremely helpless as he looked toward Gao Yuan and sighed, "That’s the problem. Honestly, I would have preferred to sacrifice more people than let the Serpent People know of Gao Yuan’s existence."

Gao Yuan sat there, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt like a schoolboy who had done something wrong.

The commander of Guisui said, "But given the situation at the time, what else could Xiao Gao have done? Xiao Gao, lift your head. You accomplished something! Why do you look as if you’ve done something wrong?"

Gao Yuan lifted his head and offered a wry smile, "The main thing is... my intervention could’ve set off a chain of adverse reactions, which would be troublesome."

The commander waved off the concern, "We’ll deal with future issues in the future. For now, what you did was definitely right. Remember, the Serpent People are aliens, watching us from on high. Do you think you can hide from them? Unless you never act again, is that even possible?"

Liu Muyang also addressed Gao Yuan, "That’s right, don’t blame yourself. I’m not mad at you. If we come across a problem, we must face it head-on, not be afraid and do nothing for fear of repercussions."

Gao Yuan nodded and said, "Okay, thank you both for your encouragement."

The commander of Guisui looked at Gao Yuan with intrigued eyes and asked, "How did you... How did you manage that?"

Gao Yuan looked to Liu Muyang, who turned to the Guisui commander and said, "He won’t tell, and you shouldn’t ask. This is top secret."

After saying that, Liu Muyang pointed at Gao Yuan and added, "He is a walking confidential document safe. Understand what I mean?"

The commander of Guisui nodded and said, "Got it, it’s like I’ve never seen him."

Now that the commander of Guisui was aware Gao Yuan was a walking confidential document safe, he stopped looking at Gao Yuan, but then he glanced toward Xinghe, "And this one..."

Liu Muyang chuckled bitterly and said, "This one here is like the highest commander’s black briefcase, the kind that’s personally carried. Get it? Hey, I’ll say it outright—this person is like a nuclear football, best not to even look at it."

The commander of Guisui’s face turned stiff, and then he awkwardly said, "Your team sounds difficult to manage..."

Liu Muyang bitterly smiled and said, "Who could disagree? But, they simply hope that I, Liu Muyang, can lead this Expeditionary Army. That would make my whole life worthwhile."

The commander of Guisui indeed showed an envious expression, then he said in a low voice, "I really wish I could join this expedition with you. I’d even be willing to serve as a guard. It’s just a pity... What will be our next step? Have you thought about it?"

Liu Muyang shook his head, "I don’t know. Let’s wait for a reply from headquarters first,"

The commander of Guisui hesitated for a moment, then looked at Gao Yuan again, taking a good look. Gao Yuan felt so embarrassed by the staring, and after pondering for a long time, the commander finally asked in a low voice, "What’s your honorable surname, sir?"

The commander of Guisui was taken aback. Liu Muyang was surprised too. Neither of them had expected Gao Yuan to ask such a question.

The commander of Guisui asked Liu Muyang, "Can I answer that?"

"You can..."

"Hello, my name is Li Guoping, with the rank of Major General. I’m truly happy to meet you... sir!"

Li Guoping chuckled awkwardly. He really wanted to chat with Gao Yuan, but felt it might be better not to. Just then, a messenger rushed in flusteredly and announced urgently, "Report! We’ve established radio contact with headquarters, and headquarters has sent a coded message in the form of a telegram!"

Liu Muyang’s spirits lifted. "A telegram? Show me."

Although they had established radio contact and could have spoken directly, headquarters didn’t talk to Liu Muyang but instead sent a telegram. This was because they needed to use a cipher book.

Liu Muyang took the coded message paper that recorded the telegram content. It was full of numbers scribbled in pencil, with four digits representing one word. A group of numbers was one character.

No one but Liu Muyang, who had a cipher book, could understand it.

Liu Muyang didn’t cross-reference with the cipher book and skimmed over the coded message. Then he silently clutched the coded message in his hand, but soon he let go, smoothed out the crumpled coded message, and then pulled out a lighter to ignite it.

Li Guoping remained silent. Suddenly, Liu Muyang said, "This coded message is for you and me."

"Oh, what does it say?"

"They commend you, and also..."

Letting out a deep sigh, Liu Muyang spoke gravely, "Today, a total of three shelters were attacked, specifically Yang City, Jinling, and Guisui. The common point of the shelters that were attacked is that a team had entered each one."

Li Guoping exclaimed in shock, "The same? How are they doing now!"

Liu Muyang took a deep breath and said softly, "The Fourth Shelter in Yang City was breached, the First Shelter in Jinling was breached, and then the Serpent People used a new type of biological weapon in these two shelters."

"Is it the Armored Turtle?"

Liu Muyang shook his head, his face filled with sorrow and rage, "No, not the Armored Turtle. It’s insects! Flying insects. Yang City was attacked by insect-like beetles the size of ping-pong balls. Jinling encountered flying insects resembling dragonflies, similar in size and shape. Even their flight posture was like that of dragonflies. We... were unable to defend against them."

Li Guoping looked astounded and said, "Flying insects? They really are indefensible. The Serpent People are testing their new weapons, but why did we encounter Armored Turtles here?"

Liu Muyang continued, "Looking at the latitude of the three attacked shelters; they were respectively in the south, the center, and the north. Headquarters analyzes that it’s because of temperature. Why aren’t there mosquitoes or flies in winter? Because of the low temperature! The current temperature here isn’t suitable for insect activity, and the Aliens can’t avoid this natural law either. So, they have sent Armored Turtles to this place."

Li Guoping nodded, "Yes, I didn’t think of that for a moment. So... What is your mission now?"

Liu Muyang displayed an expression of helplessness and said softly, "Headquarters orders that the attacks of the Serpent People aren’t entirely random but wherever there’s significant human activity, that’s where they release their new weapons. So... the previous mission of the Expeditionary Army is canceled. Stay put here and wait for new orders."

Liu Muyang felt an acute pain. After speaking, he slammed his hand onto the table and angrily said, "Damn Aliens!"

Li Guoping, too, appeared extremely disappointed. The victory they had just achieved now seemed utterly meaningless.

It was just a weapons test by the Serpent People. If the Armored Turtle was a failed product, it would be no loss to them as they had achieved perfect results in the other two test sites.

The Guisui Shelter had proven that fast, powerful creatures with thick armor were not hard to deal with because humans aren’t beasts reliant on sharp teeth and claws, but a commanding species with weapons.

But small, numerous insects carrying viruses—how should they deal with them?

Mosquitoes and flies have troubled the entire evolutionary history of mankind, and to this day, there’s still no real solution. That’s an unfortunate proof that humans don’t have a very effective method of dealing with such flying insects.

What to do? Where should the Expeditionary Army go?

Gao Yuan looked at Xinghe, hoping for answers. Xinghe helplessly spread his hands and said, "Don’t look at me. I’m just an Explorer, not a scientist. So, I’m sorry, I can’t help."