The man's hysterical shouts and the clanging of the metal basin echoed through the empty residential compound, carrying farther and farther away.
The soldiers' hearts leaped into their throats. They tensely watched for movement around them, gripping their weapons even tighter.
Ethan Blake was frantic. He knew they had to find a way to silence the man immediately; otherwise, there was no telling how many zombies he would draw over.
At this critical moment, he did not hesitate in the slightest. He decisively raised his rifle, aiming its muzzle in the man's direction.
He gently squeezed the trigger. With a crack, a bullet struck the edge of Apartment 702's window with precision, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The middle-aged man was stunned in place by Ethan's abrupt action, his eyes full of terror and confusion.
His fingers loosened instinctively, and the metal basin in his hand fell from the seventh floor.
With a clang, the basin struck the ground.
Ethan was furious by then, veins bulging on his forehead as he shouted, "Get inside and close the window, or you'll be shot on the spot!"
Hearing the stern warning, the middle-aged man seemed to snap out of a dream. He ducked back inside in an instant, then shut the window with a slam.
The man had gone back inside, but he had already brought trouble with him.
His shouting and the banging of the basin had not only drawn the zombies wandering the streets to swarm madly toward the residential compound.
They had also alerted the "walking dead" trapped inside their homes in Unit Two of Building One and Building Two.
For the moment, those zombies could not break through the sturdy security doors and get out through the stairwells. But after hearing the enormous commotion, some of them smashed their windowpanes and leaped out without hesitation.
What followed made the soldiers' scalps crawl.
Those on the first and second floors could not get out even after breaking the glass, because of the security bars.
The zombies on the third floor were relatively fortunate. After jumping down, they rolled across the ground a few times before getting back up.
Even those from the fourth and fifth floors, their legs broken by the fall, still crawled stubbornly forward across the ground, sending chills down everyone's spine.
As for the zombies from even higher floors, they plummeted from above and hit the ground hard, instantly becoming indistinct heaps of mangled flesh and blood.
Seeing this, Ethan shouted, "Everyone, get into Unit Two immediately!"
Once the order was given, he swiftly opened the unit entrance with his access card, then opened fire together with Deputy Squad Leader Victor Hayes.
The high-velocity bullets instantly knocked down several zombies charging at the front, buying their comrades time to withdraw.
The rest of First Squad entered the unit entrance quickly and in an orderly manner.
After everyone had made it inside safely, Ethan locked the entrance door and reported to Nathan Cole, "Commander, an emergency has occurred. A survivor in Unit Two made a tremendous amount of noise, triggering a zombie disturbance in the compound and possibly drawing in zombies from outside. My entire squad has entered Unit Two and is holding the position. Requesting orders!"
Upon hearing the report over his earpiece from Unit One, Nathan's heart lurched. He hurriedly asked about Second Squad's situation. "Ryan Foster, this is Nathan Cole. Report your squad's status immediately!"
"Commander, this is Ryan Foster. Second Squad has entered Unit One of Building Two. No casualties. Over!"
Only after hearing that Second Squad had also made it inside safely did Nathan relax slightly.
"All units, use the available conditions to establish defensive lines and clear the zombies!" Nathan promptly ordered.
"Yes, sir! We guarantee mission completion!" ×2.
After issuing the order, Nathan took Daniel Ward to the rain canopy above the unit entrance, preparing to intercept the zombies.
Meanwhile, First and Second Squads, having entered the other two units, also began moving independently.
Ethan's and Ryan's deployments were almost identical.
Two riflemen advanced upward through the stairwell. After closing the second-floor fire door, they held their position there, guarding against zombies coming down from above.
The machine gunner, designated marksman, and grenadier went up onto the rain canopy above the unit entrance to intercept the zombies.
Under their respective squad leaders' command, the remaining men forced open the doors to Apartments 101 and 104 in their units. After clearing the zombies inside, they prepared to fire outward from the windows.
Kneeling on one knee atop the rain canopy, Nathan watched the zombies jumping from the windows and could not help feeling uneasy.
These monsters, like living corpses, truly were something else. They did not know fear, nor did they fear death.
Even with their guts spilling out, they still dragged the remains of their lower bodies forward with all their strength.
Compared with Building Two, not many zombies had jumped out through the windows of Unit Two in Building One. After all, Unit One had already been cleared by the soldiers.
The zombies still able to move surrounded the rain canopy like starving beasts, spreading their arms wide and roaring incessantly.
To them, the height of the unit entrance was like an insurmountable mountain. They could only roar uselessly below it.
On the rain canopy, machine gunner Mason Turner was calling roll on the zombies one by one.
Designated marksman Simon Young and grenadier Julian Shaw also drew their pistols and began killing the zombies that came close.
Nathan raised his AK-12 assault rifle and placed a zombie more than ten meters away in his optic—a zombie whose legs had been shattered, bones exposed—within his sights.
He took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger.
With a crack, the fired round struck beside the zombie's head.
Hearing the sound, the zombie turned its head and roared toward Unit One before changing direction and crawling toward them.
Seeing the zombie switch targets, Daniel raised the muzzle of his MP7 submachine gun and sent it to its final rest.
If not for the mask covering his face, Daniel would have seen that Nathan's face was as red as a boiled crab.
"It's fine. Don't dwell on it. I hardly ever get to handle guns in the first place, and I've never used this new rifle before. It's perfectly normal to miss," Nathan muttered inwardly, trying hard to excuse his mistake.
As he consoled himself, several suppressed gun barrels quietly extended from the first-floor windows of Unit Two.
Immediately afterward came a concentrated barrage of fire.
The zombies raging helplessly around the unit entrance were struck by bullets from both sides. Blood sprayed everywhere as they fell one after another.
The gunfire on Building One's side stopped first. Before long, the gunfire from Building Two gradually died down as well.
Centered around the two unit entrances, dozens of zombie corpses lay scattered across the ground in fan-shaped patterns.
Just as Nathan was about to ask for a status report after the battle ended, Daniel beside him urgently warned, "Commander, look at the compound entrance!"
Nathan quickly turned to look. Beyond the rising vehicle barrier at the compound gate, zombies were packed together in a dense mass, producing wave after wave of heart-chilling roars.
"Commander, what do we do? Should we call First and Second Squads over?" Daniel asked anxiously.
"No need. Let them come in, then eliminate them just like before," Nathan said decisively.
He understood that zombies felt no pain and did not fear death. Fighting an annihilation battle from behind the cover of the buildings was the safest strategy.
More and more zombies surged in from outside. Before long, with a sharp crack, the barrier could no longer withstand the pressure and was snapped apart by the crush of zombies.
The front row of zombies tumbled to the ground, while those behind them charged in without hesitation, trampling over their own kind.
"First Squad, a large number of zombies have breached the compound entrance. Use your current positions to annihilate them!" Nathan shouted to First Squad as he and Daniel rapidly opened fire.
The compound gate was narrow, and the zombies were packed exceptionally tightly. This time, Nathan finally stopped firing into empty air.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!" Machine gunner Mason Turner, on the rain canopy above Unit Two, once again joined the slaughter.
Under his rhythmic short bursts, dense 5.45mm rounds rained down upon the zombie horde like a storm, and great sprays of blood burst open in an instant.
Yet these zombies seemed like immortal demons. Bullets striking their bodies had no effect at all.
Even if an arm or leg joint was shattered, they would still drag their mutilated bodies forward tenaciously.
Only when their skulls were blown apart would they finally stop moving.
Watching the unending stream of zombies pouring in, Julian Shaw lay prone on the canopy and set up his grenade-launching rifle.
Seeing this, Nathan hurriedly stopped him.
Once that thing was fired, it could blast apart a large group of zombies, but the tremendous explosion would inevitably draw even more zombies from the surrounding area.
By then, the situation would become even harder to control.
As the zombies continued to draw closer, First Squad's other soldiers also began firing through the windows.
For a time, gunfire and roars intertwined.
Several minutes later, the zombies that had flooded into the compound were finally slaughtered to the last.
Severed limbs and foul-smelling blood were scattered everywhere across the ground.
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