stonecrandall Chapter 108 Barrett and Collaboration
Chapter 108 Barrett and Collaboration
Chapter 108 Barrett and Collaboration (Bonus Chapter for Failed Blind Date)
In the following days, Xu Mo and the other fortress garrison members paid close attention to the movements below the fortress.
The zombies no longer wandered aimlessly as before. Although their movements remained stiff and slow, and their steps were unsteady, a closer look revealed an unsettling centripetal force. They seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, slowly and steadily converging from all directions toward the isolated fortresses.
Many zombies unconsciously and continuously rubbed and scratched at the cold, solid concrete base of the fortress with their rotting bodies.
"Something's not right here. It's like they've got their eyes on this place." Old Liu from B-04 sounded agitated over the walkie-talkie.
"Does command know about this? Should we report it?" someone suggested.
Soon, an agreement was reached, and the Jiangcheng representative stationed in Area A reported on the situation where multiple fortresses simultaneously experienced abnormal gatherings of zombies and changes in their behavior patterns.
The wait for a reply was short. Command responded via an encrypted channel, maintaining its official and composed tone: "Command has received reports from all fortresses regarding the zombie gathering phenomenon, which has been recorded. Please do not panic excessively. All forward fortresses were constructed using high-strength, corrosion-resistant composite materials and reinforced concrete structures, with special reinforcement and sealing treatment at the connection between the base and the ground. Theoretically, their defense standards are designed to withstand indirect fire from heavy artillery. Even if a powerful mutant continuously attacks the same location, it would take an extremely long time to cause structural damage. The current scratching behavior of the zombies poses no substantial threat to the main structure of the fortresses. Repeat, the main structure of the fortresses is safe and sound. Please continue to observe and carry out the mission."
This answer was perfectly reasonable, and Xu Mo had long been certain of it. When Jiangcheng planned and built these long-term observation posts, they must have considered various extreme scenarios, including zombie sieges and mutant attacks. The fortress's inverted trapezoidal structure, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, was designed to enhance stability and defend against frontal impacts; the sturdiness of its base was beyond doubt. The zombies' claws, while frightening to hear, were more like mosquitoes trying to bite an elephant—utterly futile.
Upon hearing the reply on the walkie-talkie, everyone responded with phrases like "received," "understood," and "relieved," seemingly easing the tense atmosphere somewhat.
However, in the following days, Xu Mo keenly noticed a subtle change in the atmosphere of the chat in the channel. People were still talking, but the topics intentionally or unintentionally avoided the situation of zombies gathering below the fortress, and instead talked more about the weather, reminisced about past delicacies, or discussed a certain game level in depth, as if the unsettling scene from before had never happened.
This is a subconscious avoidance, a "keep quiet" about potential threats, because everyone knows that discussion cannot change the status quo, but will only exacerbate inner anxiety.
Xu Mo understood this mentality; it was a normal human reaction to a threat that couldn't be resolved immediately—to temporarily set it aside and distract oneself with other things. He knew that given enough time, once everyone was certain that these zombies couldn't cause any real damage to the fortress, this underlying tension would naturally dissipate.
However, Xu Mo himself could not completely shift his attention. The command's reply reassured him about the fortress's security, but it could not dispel another layer of anxiety that had arisen in his heart after reading the official zombie data.
Level 2 Zombie, Zombie Leader, Mind Control —
Level 3 Zombie, Initial Intelligence —
The descriptions of higher-level zombies in official documents weighed heavily on his mind. His current weapons—the AK47—were reliable at close to medium range, and the AWM sniper rifle performed admirably when accurately sniping level one zombies. But what if he faced level two or even three zombies with stronger defenses and potentially bizarre abilities?
Can the AWM's ammunition still achieve a one-shot kill? It needs more powerful firepower, a heavy sniper weapon capable of exerting absolute dominance at long range and effectively destroying high-value targets.
This is something you can do without, but you can't wait until you need it and then not have it.
Xu Mo's thoughts quickly focused on one target—a large-caliber anti-materiel sniper rifle. And within this category, a resounding name instantly came to mind: the Barrett M82A1.
In the world before his time travel, this heavy special-purpose sniper rifle, developed by America Barrett, was practically synonymous with "big sniper." Its use of 12.7×99mm NATO ammunition gave it unparalleled power. It wasn't just for precise sniping of personnel; its primary design purpose was anti-material warfare—destroying enemy aircraft, radar equipment, ammunition depots, light armored vehicles, and more.
Its effective range far exceeds 1,500 meters, and the high-magnification scope it is equipped with makes long-range precision strikes possible. Its powerful kinetic energy can even penetrate ordinary brick walls and concrete bunkers, making it a true "battlefield ripper."
"If only I could get my hands on a Barrett—" A glint of longing flashed in Xu Mo's eyes. With it, even if he were to encounter a tough, powerful zombie in the future, or need to remotely destroy a key target, he would have much greater confidence.
Without hesitation, Xu Mo took out paper and pen, thought for a moment, and wrote a line clearly on the paper: "Large-caliber sniper rifle warehouse".
Holding the paper, Xu Mo walked to the most sturdy high-security door in the bedroom and pasted it on.
Based on previous experience, the type of door and its "marking" will affect the otherworldly scene it leads to. This door itself is of high quality, usually connecting to important locations, and coupled with the clearly directional markings he specifically wrote, there is a high probability that I can directly locate a warehouse storing this type of weapon.
Next, it's just a matter of waiting. Since Xu Mo has been opening the door to explore as soon as the countdown ends these past few days, we'll need to wait a while longer.
Time passed slowly as I cultivated and observed. By the afternoon, the silent countdown in my mind finally returned to zero.
【00:00:00】
Xu Mo took a deep breath and, with a slight thought, pushed open the bedroom door.
A flash of light, and the scene behind the door had completely changed. It was no longer his bedroom, but a space filled with the smell of metal and machine oil. It was a spacious warehouse, the light a cold, white glare illuminating the gray metal shelves and crates. A unique, mixed scent of new guns and maintenance oil permeated the air.
Xu Mo's gaze was immediately drawn to a row of various powerful-looking firearms mounted on a gun rack on the left wall inside the door. And in the most prominent position among them hung the weapon he wanted: a Barrett M82A1.
Its design is highly distinctive, featuring a signature thick barrel with a highly efficient muzzle brake to reduce the terrifying recoil. The robust aluminum receiver has a cold, hard black finish, and a folding bipod is attached to the bottom of the receiver for stable support when firing from a prone position. The stock is designed with a rubber buffer to further reduce the impact of recoil on the shooter.
More importantly, it was almost fully equipped on the wall. An extra-long Picatinny rail was mounted above the barrel, on which a large, robust high-magnification telescopic sight was securely mounted. There was even a tactical flashlight attached to the side, and a standard magazine was inserted into the magazine well, with no bullets visible from the outside.
This perfect form made Xu Mo's heart skip a beat, but then Xu Mo remembered the first AWM model he had ever received, a painful memory for him.
Xu Mo strode into the warehouse and quickly walked to the Barrett rifle. It felt cold to the touch, its weight far exceeding that of the AWM; this realistic weight filled him with joy. Xu Mo skillfully pulled the bolt, a smooth metallic scraping sound ringing out. The trigger pull was realistic, the scope lens was clean, and the adjustment knobs had clear resistance. Every detail pointed to one conclusion—this was a genuine weapon.
"It's true!"
Excitement flashed in Xu Mo's eyes. Without further hesitation, he carefully took the "weapon of mass destruction" off the gun rack. The thick, long gun barrel was almost half his height, and a powerful sense of strength emanated from his hand.
Holding the Barrett, Xu Mo quickly looked around and immediately spotted a rectangular, hard plastic gun case with a handle under the shelf next to him. The Barrett logo and model number were printed on the case. Xu Mo lifted it with one hand; it was quite heavy, but just right for storing and protecting the weapon.
At this moment, less than twenty seconds had passed.
However, just as Xu Mo was about to breathe a sigh of relief, another thought popped into his mind: Where are the bullets?
When I checked the firearm just now, the magazine was inserted, but normally it shouldn't be full of bullets. Besides, how could such a large-caliber weapon only have one magazine?
Xu Mo immediately put down the gun case and began a rapid search of the area. His gaze swept across the shelves, which were filled with various firearm parts, maintenance tools, and tactical equipment. He even spotted several empty Barrett magazines hanging nearby.
But not a single bullet was seen.
There were no boxes of ammunition, no loose ammunition belts, and not even a single empty shell casing.
Xu Mo felt a sense of foreboding. He quickly opened several small boxes that seemed to be for storing ammunition, but they were either empty or filled with other miscellaneous items. He checked the corners but found nothing.
Left with no other choice, Xu Mo grabbed a few empty magazines, stuffed them into the box, and then walked back to the fortress.
The countdown ended, and the bedroom was revealed.
Xu Mo held the cold, heavy Barrett rifle in his arms and carried an equally heavy gun case in his hand.
Xu Mo thought of using the markings to pinpoint the location, confirming the authenticity of the firearm and even obtaining the spare magazine, but he never expected that the most crucial bullets would be missing.
"Phew~"
Xu Mo took a bite and placed the Barrett on the bedside table in the bedroom without much disappointment, as this wasn't the first time he'd encountered such an unexpected situation, and he was used to it. It was normal for things to develop differently than one expected; otherwise, there would be a problem. "Just wait for the next 48 hours."
That's fine, though. Next time, my goal will be crystal clear—that is, to find 12.7×99mm NAT0 ammunition.
Carefully peeling the sign that read "Large-caliber sniper rifle depot" off the bedroom door, Xu Mo spread out a new one and clearly wrote "Ammunition Depot" on it.
This time, he strived to describe the details precisely, down to the ammunition specifications, to avoid any potential ambiguity. Only after firmly affixing the note, which carried new hope, to the door did Xu Mo feel a slight relief from the knot in his heart.
"Next time should be okay."
By the time he finished, it was nearly night. Outside the fortress, the tireless growls of the zombies were like an endless background noise. Xu Mo didn't rest immediately, but instead moved to an observation hole at the edge of the fortress with a relatively open view.
Tonight, Xu Mo wants to try to understand the secret behind the periodic "refresh" of zombies that has been going on for more than half a month.
In fact, a few days ago, Xu Mo had also tried to observe in the dark, but perhaps because the observation hole was not in an ideal position, or perhaps because he did not grasp the timing accurately, he could not capture the details of how the zombies "disappeared" except to confirm that the number of zombies would indeed decrease sharply at a certain time in the middle of the night. The process seemed to be shrouded in an invisible black veil, and he only knew the result but did not know the reason.
During this time, Xu Mo also communicated this shared question with the other fortress garrison members via walkie-talkie.
"How did they disappear? Hey, it was pitch black, and a whole bunch of them were gone in no time. Who knows how they slipped away?" This is the reaction of most people, with a touch of detached numbness and habitual indifference.
"I think I vaguely saw them moving outwards, but I'm not sure; it might just be part of my side." Someone provided a vague clue, but it couldn't be confirmed.
It is this collective "unknown" that prompted tonight's informal, collective observation.
Several fortress defenders who frequently communicated in the channel agreed to each choose a favorable position before and after the estimated "respawn" time to observe the movement of the zombie horde as closely as possible, and to communicate any unusual discoveries at any time via the area walkie-talkie.
It started as an agreement among a few stationed personnel, but as more and more people joined, it eventually became a coordinated effort by all the observers stationed in the Red Star Industrial Zone.
Through these days of frequent "radio wave social interaction," Xu Mo has gained a clearer understanding of the layout of the entire observation post network. The fortress cluster is divided into large areas according to the first twelve letters of the English alphabet, from A to L. Within each large area, it is further numbered from 01 to 12.
This means that, theoretically, there are a total of 144 forward observation fortresses, from A-01 to L-12.
Like cold, silent coordinates, they are scattered in a huge, almost circular array around the core ruins of the Red Star Industrial Zone, forming a vast and tightly-knit surveillance network.
Simply understanding the manpower, resources, and determination behind this number was enough for Xu Mo to reassess the importance he placed on Jiangcheng.
The reason everyone was so attentive to the observation was because everyone was saying that there were one or two level-one mutated zombies near their fortress.
Based on the minimum standard of one mutated zombie near each fortress, the number of Level 1 mutated zombies active in the Red Star Industrial Zone within the entire fortress complex currently exceeds 144.
If the command's data states that the ratio of ordinary zombies to level 1 zombies is roughly 200:1, then the number of ordinary zombies that could support at least 144 level 1 zombies would be a terrifying figure of nearly 30,000. And this is only the number within the observation range of these fortresses during one "refresh" cycle.
At least 30,000 zombies periodically appear in the Red Star Industrial Zone, which is definitely a major problem. Perhaps Jiang Cheng knew this, which is why he built an observation fortress here.
At this moment, the joint observation had not yet officially begun, and the walkie-talkie was still silent, with only a faint background noise. Xu Mo looked through the cold goggles at the shadowy figures writhing and howling in the dim night light below the fortress.
"How exactly will they leave?" His mind was filled with all sorts of speculations.
Is it like the receding tide, turning around without warning and moving in a rigid manner back into the depths of the ruins?
Or perhaps they were summoned by some silent command, disappearing in batches and in an orderly fashion into the shadows of the ruins?
Or, to be even more bizarre, it is as if it melts into the darkness, gradually fading and dissipating out of thin air?
Xu Mo knew that his companions in the other fortresses were probably just like him, hiding in their respective concrete bunkers with the same curiosity, vigilance, and a hint of unease, waiting for the moment when the mystery would be revealed, or at least for a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg.
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