TIC Chapter 28

 Chapter 28

“It’s a ground-penetrating spiral missile... only that kind of missile could produce this effect,” Xiao Yan said coldly.

“Wh... what?” Lily was dumbfounded.

Ground-penetrating spiral missiles do not detonate immediately upon impact with the ground; instead, they burrow dozens of meters underground before exploding, unleashing a truly astonishing destructive force.

To guard against attacks by such missiles—and not just at Char, but at all other research bases as well—every facility had been reinforced with special alloys. Since that time, while the missiles’ capacity to damage underground facilities had been curtailed, the devastation they wreaked upon the surface remained immense.

“We are currently above ground,” Xiao Yan said, his eyes narrowing.

“Then we need to hurry to the evacuation tunnels!”

Lily was already on the verge of panic.

“That is the enemy’s strategy. All evacuation tunnels are designed with a double-door system. We can open the first door ourselves; however, if the enemy follows us through that first door, the second door—the one leading underground—will remain locked to prevent their infiltration. We would be trapped between the two doors, sitting ducks for their snipers.”

“No... surely not... Could it be that the Swarm Organization has arrived?”

“The perimeter wall has been breached; we’ve lost our protective barrier—the shield that kept us isolated from the outside world. Who do you think the *real* enemy is at this very moment?”

Lily stumbled backward as if drained of all strength, collapsing onto the floor. With a vacant, haunted look in her eyes, she whispered: “It’s... the zombies.”

“Is there a terminal in this room?”

Xiao Yan scrambled off the bed. His sense of balance had not yet fully recovered, and he tumbled to the floor, his vision spinning wildly.

Lily forced down her rising terror, rushing forward to help Xiao Yan to his feet.

“Even if there is one... I’m afraid the connection has likely been severed...”

“As long as we can pinpoint the correct wireless frequency, there’s still a chance to access the system. We *must* see what’s happening outside. Since this room remains intact, I’m confident we aren’t located at the epicenter of the ground missile’s destruction.”

They located a terminal. Lily was just about to speak when Xiao Yan slipped on the neural interface helmet, linking his mind directly to the system.

Data streamed past at blinding speed as Xiao Yan doggedly searched for a frequency that remained active. Although Base 14 was an aging facility, thanks to Shen Bing’s meticulous management, its internal terminal network was incredibly sophisticated; the encryption keys—spanning a vast depth and breadth of complex functions—incorporated intricate data drawn from fields as diverse as physics and chemistry. Finally, Xiao Yan’s thoughts broke through the encirclement and surged into a clear, unobstructed channel.

The room had successfully established a connection with the terminal system.

“The surveillance cameras outside the corridor are still operational.”

No sooner had Xiao Yan spoken than the scene outside the door was projected onto the wall.

Lily gasped.

The corridor was teeming with zombies; they shambled, crawled, and scrambled along the walls that had yet to collapse—their faces twisted into hideous, grotesque masks.

Anyone who had not yet managed to take refuge in the corridor became instant prey. They struggled in sheer terror, their flesh and blood flying in all directions.

Lily clamped a hand over her mouth, barely managing to stifle a sob.

Had Xiao Yan not stopped her from flinging the door wide open, she would have met the exact same fate as those people.

“Now… what do we do?”

“Send out a distress signal. If we’re lucky… maybe someone will come to save us.”

“And if… we’re not lucky… we’ll just die right here in this room, won’t we?”

A faint smile touched the corners of Xiao Yan’s lips.

“Lily, there’s something I’ve never told you.”

“What is it?”

“You are the sexiest woman I’ve ever met.”

Xiao Yan spoke with utmost solemnity, as if delivering his final dying words.

Lily gave a wry smile.

“That has to be the most ill-timed compliment I’ve ever heard.”

“I’ve already sent out the distress signal; let’s hope someone spots it.”

“At this point… is there really anyone left who can save us?”

Xiao Yan closed his eyes and let out a long breath. “In this entire base… perhaps he is the only one who can save us now.”

All personnel in the Control Center had evacuated at the very first sign of danger. The ground-to-air missile’s target was clearly the Control Center itself; fortunately, Shen Bing had decisively ordered a strike on the enemy aircraft, causing the incoming missile to veer off course—otherwise, their casualties would have been far more severe.

Shen Bing and his subordinates were escorted by Hein’s Special Operations Unit, fighting their way through the chaos until they reached the entrance to the secure corridor. However, just as Shen Bing stepped inside the safety of the passage, Hein halted right outside the door.

“Hein! Come inside—quickly!”

Shen Bing looked at him, bewildered.

The corners of Hein’s lips remained impassive, while his eyes held an air of utter detachment—as if nothing in the world mattered to him. “I still have something to attend to.”

“What is it?” Liv and Mark were about to rush forward, but Hein lifted his leg and planted his boot firmly against Mark’s chest, barring his path—a stance of extreme ferocity and dominance.

“We forgot about that dim-witted rookie.”

Hein raised his wrist; displayed on his communicator was a message from Xiao Yan.

“Wait! Colonel!”

Before Mark could take another step, Hein delivered a powerful kick that sent him flying back inside. Like a row of dominoes, Liv and the other subordinates standing behind Mark tumbled down in succession as the blast door slammed shut.

“Hein! You bastard!” Shen Bing lunged forward to pry the door open, but the blaring alarm signaled that it had already locked down tight; the Secretary and the Communications Officer grabbed him by the arms—one on each side—and dragged him away.

“Colonel! You are our commanding officer! You cannot go out there!”

Mark and Liv pounded furiously against the door, yet it remained utterly immovable.

“Damn it! Open up!”

Hein turned around, gazing with cold indifference at the horde of zombies charging toward him. With a swift, sweeping arc of the sharp blades in his hands, the world seemed to split in two.

Trapped inside the room, every single second felt like an eternity of agonizing tension for Xiao Yan and Lily.

Lily paced restlessly around the room, having already circled it a dozen times over. “Even if someone does come to rescue us, the number of zombies infiltrating the base is only going to keep rising. How are we supposed to break through the encirclement and reach the shelter’s escape tunnel?”

“That’s why we have to do our best to seal off any unnecessary corridors—to create a closed, secure path as we make our way through.”

“Is that even possible...?”

“I’ll give it a try... though I’m afraid some of the corridors may already be impossible to seal.”

Another half-hour crawled by. Lily sat on the floor, leaning her head against Xiao Yan’s knees.

“Hey... is anyone actually coming to save us?”

Xiao Yan offered no verbal reply.

He continued to cycle through every operational surveillance feed he could access, monitoring the situation in each of the corridors.

Finally, on one of the monitors, a figure—fierce, ruthless, and utterly uninhibited—seared itself into his mind.

Twin blades flashed left and right; zombie bodies tore apart and crumbled, sending sprays of viscous, ochre-colored pus flying through the air. For the very first time, Xiao Yan truly understood the meaning of the phrase: *invincible and unstoppable*. Yet in such cramped quarters, he could not unleash his full combat prowess, while the horde of zombies pouring in seemed endless.

Xiao Yan called up the floor plan of the base's upper levels; after a quick analysis, he hacked into the frequency controls for every corridor, shutting them down one by one.

Gradually, the tide of zombies facing Hein began to recede. He lifted his head, fixing his cold, steely gaze upon the surveillance camera.

"Lily, get ready. He’s coming."

"Who?"

Xiao Yan removed his helmet, rushed to the door, and slammed his hand down on the open button.

"Xiao Yan!" Lily sprang to her feet in terror.

A zombie’s head thrust through the doorway, its jaws gaping wide, its teeth caked with repulsive, viscous saliva.

The very next instant, its head was severed, rolling across the floor with a wet thud.

Those icy-blue eyes instantly captivated Xiao Yan’s entire being; for a fleeting moment—or perhaps it was merely an illusion—he thought he glimpsed within that gaze an impulse powerful enough to shatter the very world itself.

"Come on, you clumsy rookie." A cool, crisp voice cut through the chaotic din, piercing directly into Xiao Yan’s mind.

The man before him remained as strikingly handsome as ever; his golden-brown hair fell softly about his face, while his every word seemed to emerge from a world of precise, calculated logic. He reached out, pressing Xiao Yan’s head firmly against his chest; with a swift, fluid motion, Hein raised his leg and kicked away a zombie that had attempted to close in on Xiao Yan. Though it lasted only for a brief instant, the embrace of this man held a sense of familiarity that defied description.

Hein’s hand slid down the back of Xiao Yan’s head to seize his wrist; the cold resolve and unwavering determination in the man’s eyes brought Xiao Yan a sudden, profound sense of relief. "Stop wasting time!"

Xiao Yan turned back, grabbing Lily by the arm, and declared with absolute earnestness: "She has to come with us!"

Lily watched in wide-eyed terror as Hein cut down the ever-encroaching horde of zombies, her legs going completely weak beneath her until she could no longer stand. Hein’s gaze fell coldly upon Lily. "You need to learn to let go."

"Colonel, would *you* let go of your own comrades?"

Watching the horde of zombies swell, Hein turned away. "When I tell you to run, you run. When I tell you to duck, you duck. In short, whatever I tell you to do, you do—no questions asked. If anyone holds me back, I will kill them with my own hands."

It was a command typical of Hein Burton—ruthless and absolute—yet in that moment, Xiao Yan felt a sense of relief.

Ahead in the corridor, another dozen or so zombies came charging toward them.

Lily let out a whimper, her legs going limp as she stumbled backward toward the room they had just left.

"Don't be afraid, Lily! Death or escape—which do you choose?" Xiao Yan looked at her.

Without a word of hesitation, Hein drew his blade and charged forward. "Run!"

"If you're scared, close your eyes!" Xiao Yan hauled Lily to her feet and sprinted close behind Hein.

The sounds of rending flesh and spurting blood rang in their ears; severed zombie torsos tumbled and rolled past them continuously.

Lily instinctively started to look down, but the dismembered zombies—reduced to nothing but their upper bodies—were still dragging themselves along the ground, clawing desperately to grab at them.

"Don't look down!"

A cold, low voice barked the command, and Xiao Yan forced his eyes upward.

Hein’s gaze remained fixed firmly ahead; as Xiao Yan’s eyes locked onto the broad expanse of his back, the terrifying horde of zombies around them seemed to fade into mere background blur.

The blade in Hein’s hand never ceased its deadly work for even a moment. He seemed utterly impervious to fatigue—a relentless, ceaseless killing machine.

Ahead lay a sharp ninety-degree turn. Hein suddenly halted his stride, slamming a hand onto Xiao Yan’s shoulder and pinning him against the wall. Lily stumbled and fell to the ground, but Hein immediately hauled her back up; the three of them stood pressed tight against the wall. With a stern look, Hein silently warned Lily not to make a sound. He thrust an arm out in front of Xiao Yan, pinning him against the cold wall. Hein leaned his profile toward Xiao Yan—his earlobe brushing almost against the other man’s cheek—his heart pounding furiously. Xiao Yan swallowed hard; Hein’s skin drew him in, compelling him to instinctively lean closer, yet he knew exactly what the consequences of such proximity would be. Something was approaching from the other side of the junction; in a split-second flash of lightning speed, Hein drew his blade—a strike so swift it was a mere blur—and in that very instant, three or four zombies collapsed.

"Run," Hein commanded. Xiao Yan grabbed Lily and scrambled to keep up, stumbling awkwardly as another massive horde of zombies closed in behind them.

But Xiao Yan and Lily’s stamina was finite. Lily, in particular, had reached her limit; she could run no longer, gasping desperately for breath.

Xiao Yan’s heart hammered against his ribs, threatening to burst right out of his chest—but he could not stop! He knew Hein wouldn't slow down for their sake; even the slightest hesitation would mean facing an even greater number of zombies.

Just as they rounded a corner, Hein suddenly spun around and, with a single motion, hoisted Xiao Yan up onto his shoulder.

"Hein!"

"I can't carry both of you at once."

Hein’s words were sharp and cold. Xiao Yan looked back to see Lily gazing at them with a pleading, desperate look in her eyes.

"Don't leave me behind... don't leave me..."

Even with only one free hand, Hein continued to swiftly carve a path forward.

"Hein! Put me down!"

Hein’s expression remained utterly impassive.

"Put me down! I’ll stay with Lily! You can still make it to the shelter passage in time if you hurry!"

Abruptly, Hein hurled Xiao Yan to the ground. The impact nearly shattered Xiao Yan’s bones, and he could feel the intense, seething rage radiating from Hein.

Hein lifted his chin, his blade slashing out with casual indifference; unable to get close to him, the zombies swarmed toward Xiao Yan instead. One lunged, snapping its jaws at his shoulder; another seized his leg, threatening to tear him limb from limb.

Xiao Yan clenched his fists and shut his eyes. The next instant, viscous pus splattered across his face, emitting waves of foul stench.

Xiao Yan opened his eyes; the zombies that had been circling him were now utterly shapeless wrecks. Hein lowered his gaze, his expression one of sheer disdain.

"Are you sure you want to stay here?"

Xiao Yan swallowed hard, his heart pounding like a drum. It felt as though his entire life had distilled down to this single choice in this very moment; his voice, unexpectedly, rang out with perfect clarity: "I am sure. Besides—considering that incident back then... haven't you always wanted to kill me?"

"I could take you with me."

This was an answer completely outside of Xiao Yan’s expectations. In Hein Burton’s eyes, he glimpsed an emotion akin to pain—this man was hurting.

"I know. But I’m just a Class B cadet; I understand that my worth isn't high enough to justify you taking such a risk. Moreover, I am a man—I may face death with fear, but I will not face it with shame."

Xiao Yan rose to his feet, but Hein clamped a hand around his wrist.

"You cannot save everyone, nor is there any need to sacrifice yourself in vain for strangers."

Xiao Yan could distinctly feel the pressure of Hein’s fingers and the pulse of his own blood flowing beneath them. In that moment, he suddenly realized just how utterly captivated he was by every single touch Hein Burton bestowed upon him—perhaps it was born of his own yearning for him, or perhaps simply the innate human reverence for strength. Yet, none of that mattered anymore. Hein could not take them all with him, and he would not be the one to drag him down.

"Colonel... you were the one who said it first: you have to learn to let go." Xiao Yan offered Hein a faint, tight-lipped smile; as he did, he thought he caught a glimpse of something—something indefinable—spreading across the man’s otherwise impassive eyes.

In that fleeting moment of distraction, Xiao Yan broke free from Hein’s grasp, leaving the other man’s hand hanging empty in the air.

He knew—deep down, the truest reason of all was simply that he refused to let his own weakness become a burden upon Hein Burton’s strength.