Chapter 156: Resistance

The Iron Guard 52nd Brigade, as a heavy combined arms brigade of the Starry Sky Army, possessed formidable combat strength. Yet, under the oppressive presence of the colossal entity in the sky, their torrential firepower felt as futile as striking a towering mountain, breeding a sense of powerlessness.

Voom~!

A tremendous, deep hum resounded from the heavens, scattering the clouds and shaking the air.

The mountain-like Atmospheric Cloud Jellyfish gradually revealed the majestic edge of its bell from within the clouds and slowly began to move toward the front of the spaceport.

The pilot of the Warhawk gunship stared at the massive silhouette in the darkness, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He gritted his teeth and said, “Target’s attention successfully captured. All flight units, withdraw immediately!”

Boom!

A dazzling blue light from the electromagnetic railgun flashed past the cockpit. At the same time, the radar began to blare warnings frantically.

“Unidentified biological entity approaching! Unidentified biological entity approaching!”

Whoosh!!!

The pilot frantically pulled up, the Warhawk gunship’s engines roaring. Before he could even turn, a gigantic tentacle descended from the sky!

Bang!

At some unknown point, a fast-moving Sky Cloud Jellyfish had appeared in the mist of the airspace behind them. Its tentacle swept across. The gunship’s close-in weapon system fired wildly for a few seconds before being utterly obliterated in the next instant.

The gunship erupted in a massive explosion, the flames illuminating the sky.

“Warhawk 03 is down! Warhawk 03 is down!”

“Engaging aerial situational awareness! Evasive maneuvers!”

“It’s behind us!”

Rat-tat-tat-tat!!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Four dazzling electromagnetic cannon shots blasted towards the sky, shattering several black-winged Aberrations. However, more flying Aberrations began to pour down from the clouds.

Along with the earlier earthquake, all the zombies seemed to have become even more frenzied.

“General, the air formation has suffered heavy losses, and Area D is about to fall!”

On top of the high wall, Deputy Commander Ma Xiaotang’s face was covered in blood, his eyes red from the slaughter.

“How are things on Bai Shuang’s end?”

“They haven’t finished loading the vehicles. There are too many people.”

Zhang Dingzhong turned his head. Most of the survivors’ vehicles in the plaza had already entered the ascent-track hall. The ground was littered with the bodies of dead soldiers and survivors. The blizzard howled, mixing red blood with white snow in a scene of utter tragedy.

He looked again at the tide of corpses swarming from the city, his face grim. “These monsters are acting like they’re insane.”

“Yes, I don’t know why…” Ma Xiaotang said urgently. “It’s as if the monsters know we’re trying to evacuate. Every time we speed up our actions, they become even more frantic. The ones in the sky, the ones on the ground, they’ve all come!”

“Strange, could the zombies and those insects have guessed our plan?” another officer added.

“It was the same in Fengcheng, Chong’an, and Xinglong. Every time our troops made a large-scale advance, we were met with even larger-scale attacks. It’s like we’re cursed.”

Zhang Dingzhong’s expression sharpened. “The more desperate the enemy is to slaughter us, the more meaningful our resistance is.”

…

In the ascent-track hall, the traction cables for the four trains had been connected. Only a small number of vehicles were still being loaded.

Inside the Silver Star’s executive management car, a dozen impeccably dressed individuals were in the middle of a tense meeting.

“The engineering team has already pre-checked the operational status of the Horizon Braking System. I have a proposal. If the system detects any abnormalities with the braking system or the mechanical traction device during the ascent, we must immediately sever the rear traction cables to ensure the safety of everyone on this train!” a middle-aged man with a noble air proposed.

“I second the motion.”

“Agreed.”

Jian Zeyang also raised his hand, his gaze fixed on Jian Xuwei at the head of the table, who held the final say. “Sister, we’ve done what we were supposed to do. If a problem occurs, it means the plan itself was flawed. I think it’s completely reasonable for us to take emergency evasive action.”

Jian Xuwei remained silent, her expression slightly tense. “I just discussed this issue with Captain Lin of the Infinity. He gave me a suggestion. As long as the braking system’s high-pressure threshold doesn’t exceed 30%, we shouldn’t sever the traction cables.”

“30%?!”

“That’s too risky! I think even 15% is already very dangerous.”

“Exactly.”

Hearing this, the room erupted in dissenting murmurs.

Jian Zeyang frowned, saying angrily, “He suggested? What right does he have to make suggestions? Of the four trains, their Infinity has the smallest load, and their train’s configuration is a disaster. The most powerful Gemini engine is at the back, and that piece of junk gas turbine at the front is useless now. That kind of thing should have been phased out ages ago!”

“Chairman, I don’t think we can take such a risk at a time like this. If they want to risk their lives, that’s their business…”

“Yes, the risk is just too great.”

Many of the older board members voiced their opposition.

Jian Xuwei’s gaze swept coolly over the crowd. “Your concerns are very reasonable. In that case, our Silver Star will arrange a special anti-air team to engage the monster in the sky, to buy some time for the Silver Star to enter the Sky-Corridor. Who among you is willing to take on the glorious mission of leading this anti-air team?”

As soon as she said this, the meeting room fell silent. The group looked at each other. Some swallowed hard, others’ eyes widened. When Jian Xuwei’s gaze swept over them, they all looked away.

“Zeyang.”

Jian Xuwei now looked at Jian Zeyang, who immediately froze.

“Do you know what the Fenger Group has relied on to grow to where it is today?”

Jian Zeyang opened his mouth but avoided Jian Xuwei’s gaze.

Jian Xuwei gave a cold smile and stood up, slowly walking past the board members, her gaze sharp.

“It relied on constant progress, and on the five hundred thousand Fenger employees spread across the globe. A company that only seeks to maintain its foundation will not last. The development of human civilization stems from the discovery of courage. With success comes failure, with progress comes sacrifice. The traction cable behind our train is tied to 4,000 lives, an adventure that the countless sacrificed soldiers of the Iron Guard Brigade have exchanged their lives for us to undertake. And since it is an adventure, it requires breaking conventions and challenging our courage.”

“Someone else has provided that courage for you. There is no need to feel ashamed. Doing what we can is enough.”

The atmosphere in the car quieted down.

“Notify the engineering team.” Jian Xuwei, in her high heels, walked elegantly toward the front of the train. “The procedure to sever the rear traction cables must have my personal authorization!”

On the other side, the emergency response team was loading the last few groups of vehicles onto the traction platforms.

A large number of separated individuals and wounded were also being transferred to the Iron Guard Brigade’s intercontinental train.

“Team Leader Bai, we should be about ready,” Wei Kexue said as he rapidly typed on his computer. “The engines of the four trains are now being tested, the passage has been cleared, and the spaceport radar shows that the Atmospheric Jellyfish is moving away from the area above the Sky-Corridor.”

Bai Shuang nodded. “Notify all convoy and team members to check personnel and board their vehicles. As soon as the Iron Guard Brigade and the guard regiment have withdrawn, we depart immediately!”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Outside the ascent-track hall, the fierce resistance continued, the sound of cannon fire vibrating the air. Inside the hall, all the survivor convoys had driven onto the traction platforms.

Fear and tension spread through the crowd.

Sitting in her off-road vehicle, Shu Qin looked at the long line of vehicles and trains, and at the straight upward ascent passage ahead, her expression incredibly grave. Old Mo, Xu Jin, and the others were also extremely tense.

All the trains were ready to go. Many survivors on the trains and in the cars pressed their faces against the windows, staring at the seemingly endless line of vehicles, like a massive army of ants. Their eyes widened, and their hearts pounded.

On the Infinity.

Lin Xian and Chen Sixuan stood in the cockpit, gazing at the sky-high passage ascending into the heavens, their expressions extremely tense.

“Are we about to leave?”

“We’re waiting for the dispatch from the emergency response team.”

“It seems the Iron Guard Brigade hasn’t withdrawn yet…”

Lin Xian’s gaze narrowed. “The Iron Guard Brigade’s intercontinental train is at the very back, specifically to make it convenient for them to evacuate and board.”

“With so many people, we should be much safer once we reach Jiazhou City.”

Lin Xian replied, “I don’t think so. Jiazhou City is a big city just like Yubei. Even if it’s not under a polar night zombie siege like here, it can’t be much better. We might even have to avoid big cities later on.”

The scale of this Aberration attack was no less shocking to Lin Xian than Apocalypse Day itself. It made him realize that the nocturnal Aberrations seemed to possess some kind of consciousness, launching organized assaults on human populations.

The words of Old Mo and Wei Kexue also served as a reminder. Even if they managed to reach the trans-oceanic railway without incident following their original route, they would still have to consider the subsequent issue of train propulsion. To travel by land, they would need to upgrade the train’s all-terrain mobility. To risk the trans-oceanic railway, they would have to consider even more factors. Otherwise, facing the endless, dark ocean, the situation would be even more severe.

Chen Sixuan looked at him. “Yeah, no one expected the situation here in Yubei to be this serious.”

Lin Xian’s expression was grave. “But if we want to upgrade the train’s drive system, we either have to go past Jiazhou and take the northeast line to chase after the Phoenix Society’s Dawn Center, or follow the original plan and take the Circinus Line to Star City. But the old Federation government probably won’t welcome us.”