Chapter 23: Han Nianling's Plan
The so-called ‘corpse tide’ generally referred to a large-scale group composed of walkers.
It could refer to a pure group of walkers, or it could refer to a common group of walkers and monsters that did not engage in large-scale conflict.
But whether it was the former or the latter, there was an important commonality: a massive scale.
The moment the densely packed mass came into view, an uncontrollable numbness instantly gripped the scalp.
The constantly moving walkers vividly illustrated what a true ‘sea of corpses, like a tide’ meant with the most shocking imagery.
Those densely packed, moving heads truly surged like waves stirred by a tide.
At this moment, the mercenary team had already gathered at the first opportunity, looking down from the rooftop of a residential building.
From this angle, the scale of the corpse tide was even more intuitive.
“My goodness… looks like there are tens of thousands of them…” Uncle Lin took a sharp breath, not caring that such an impulsive action would accelerate the consumption of his filter canister, or perhaps he had momentarily forgotten about it.
They had seen corpse tides before.
Since the establishment of Chu Sheng City, they had encountered several large-scale corpse tide sieges.
Those scenes were much larger than the one before them.
But now was different from then.
They didn't have tall defensive walls to rely on, nor did they have fully equipped soldiers and light and heavy firepower support.
They were just a small team of six, and they were in a high-risk area like Sector 02A, where their lives could be forfeit at any moment.
The straight-line distance between the corpse tide and their location was only a few hundred meters.
The danger of so many rotting walkers gathered together wasn't just in terms of risk level.
The strong stench coming from that direction almost penetrated their gas masks, making their already obstructed breathing even more difficult.
The place where the corpse tide had gathered was a residential community.
In the dilapidated community, whether it was the original streets and gardens or the open spaces left after buildings collapsed, nearly half of the area was packed with various walkers.
All sorts of roars and howls chaotically blended into one.
They were just congested there, not moving in any particular direction, with only a few scattered walkers roaming nearby.
“What are these damn things doing here?”
Crow impatiently paced back and forth a few times, occasionally glancing towards the corpse tide.
He said that, but in reality, the reason these corpse tides were gathered here wasn't what he most wanted to know.
It was because this group of corpse tides was blocking their path forward.
Under his increasingly agitated emotional state, he ground the stones under his leather boots with a rustling sound.
The question he raised was also the question in the minds of most of the mercenaries.
A corpse tide of nearly ten thousand congregating here without any intention of moving was indeed too abnormal.
The reasons for the formation of corpse tides in the post-war world could generally be attributed to two types.
The first type was a corpse tide formed by being attracted to a specific object, perhaps a trapped survivor or some other attractive thing that caused them to gather.
Such corpse tides had no discernible pattern of movement and might disperse on their own after a few days or weeks, reverting to wandering walkers on the wasteland.
But as for the second possibility, the situation was entirely different…
“Commander of the corpse tide discovered…”
“!!!”
"A sentence uttered by Han Nianling, who was holding binoculars, completely dispelled any hope of luck in the mercenaries' hearts."
‘Commander’ was both the colloquial term and the official unified name used by the base government.
This name very directly and aptly described the opponent's special nature.
For humans, it would be even more dangerous.
The formed corpse tide was no longer just an aggregation of walkers, but a whole entity capable of at least unified movement.
This point alone was dangerous enough, because this was a true corpse tide.
And behind this was one of the advanced types of walkers that had evolved its brain crystal core – caused by a Commander.
Generally, a Commander's head was enormous, accounting for one-third of its total volume and one-half of its weight.
Its emaciated, monkey-like body couldn't even support its large brain, to the extent that it needed to parasitize a physically strong walker or monster to be able to move.
The reason for this morphology was that the crystal core located at the back of their heads was more developed than others of the same tier.
More viruses and pollution were focused on brain evolution, causing it to continuously expand.
During this period, the crystal core gradually began to control the shriveled brain within the skull and started to activate some brain functions, resulting in a certain degree of intelligence.
Although its physical constitution was more fragile than that of ordinary walkers, its existence was actually more dangerous than any other type of walker.
And what made the Commander so dangerous wasn't just its intelligence.
The important reason why a Commander could gather scattered, wandering walkers like an integrated army was a pheromone it released from its body, effective only on walkers.
These pheromones were like commands that could only be received by walkers, and walkers receiving these commands would make corresponding movements and behaviors under the stimulation of their crystal cores.
According to currently available public information from the Research Institute: the higher the tier of the Commander, the more walkers of higher tiers it could control, and the richer the commands it could issue.
The special nature of the Commander's existence also had a huge impact on people when it was first discovered.
A small number of people believed that high-tier Commanders could create an entire hierarchical order, even a social order, prevalent within walkers, and even communicate with humans, joining forces with humans to deal with monsters and rebuild civilization.
But most opponents believed that the dominant force in walkers was no longer the original human brain, but the parasitic crystal core within.
Humans were still on their menu, and this was a more serious threat to humanity than monsters.
Regardless of which side's argument was right or wrong, it was enough to illustrate the power of the Commander.
If possible, the mercenaries absolutely did not want this corpse tide to be the second possibility.
However, reality always refused to easily grant the wishes of those who held expectations of it.
“The Commander is in the middle of the corpse tide, parasitic on the back of a tier-two Swift Walker…”
Following Han Nianling's instructions, everyone raised their respective binoculars to look.
Among them, only Zhong Jing was an exception… Apart from weapons and filter canisters for this mission, she hadn't purchased any extra items.
In the past, she could have obtained a clearer view through a long-range scope, but now, with her weapon confiscated, she naturally couldn't do so.
“Take a look.”
Suddenly, Han Nianling handed the binoculars in her hand to her.
Zhong Jing, like a startled bird, instinctively recoiled.
Having already experienced Han Nianling's formidable nature, Zhong Jing was always vigilant towards Han Nianling's every move.
“Don’t worry… I just want you to see the current situation clearly. After all, you’re the one among us who knows the terrain of Sector 02A best.” Han Nianling spread her hands to show her helplessness. Zhong Jing also realized that her reaction just now had been a bit excessive. In such a grim situation, no one dared to make even the slightest mistake.
Upon taking the binoculars from Han Nianling’s hand, Zhong Jing immediately realized that this was another high-end item.
Compared to ordinary binoculars, this one was much lighter and easier to carry.
The clarity of the image seen through the lenses was astonishing.
It also had rangefinding and low-light capabilities.
At least among the many different types of binoculars Zhong Jing had used, this one could be said to win by a landslide.
“The target is eating in the artificial garden in the middle of the corpse tide, surrounded by a circle of tier-one walkers. It’s easy to see.”
Just as Han Nianling said: the Commander’s position wasn’t hard to find.
Following Han Nianling’s instructions, the target soon appeared in her line of sight.
Even though she was mentally prepared, the first glance still made her feel a bit nauseous.
She had also fought against corpse tides on the walls of Chu Sheng City, but she had never encountered a real Commander other than through photographs.
And the one before her was even more visually impactful than the ones in the photos.
Its enormous, deformed head was like two basketballs stacked together.
Its grayish-green skin was wrinkled.
Its eyes, compressed by the brain, bulged severely.
What was even more sickening was that it had no lower body; instead, it was connected to the back of another robust Swift Walker.
At the point where the two connected, exposed dark red blood vessels and internal organs were clearly exposed to the air.
“Uncle, can you hit it?”
Xiao Liu put down his binoculars and said with lingering fear.
“Too far, too dangerous… This isn't a dedicated sniper rifle. I really have no confidence in a one-shot kill.”
Uncle Lin very frankly admitted that his abilities were insufficient.
The risk factor of an operation like sniping a Commander was too high.
Generally, only professionals equipped with large-caliber sniper rifles dared to do so.
Once it failed or the Commander wasn't killed on the spot, the corpse tide would launch a frenzied retaliation.
Faced with such a massive corpse tide, their small team wouldn't even be enough for a snack.
“Then… Stone, can we bypass it through another route?”
Si Ling’s words made the others look at Zhong Jing.
In response, Zhong Jing could only shake her head slightly after a moment of silence: “If we don’t want to go into the beast lairs deep in Sector 02A, then we can only pass through this residential area.”
This news plunged the team’s atmosphere into a dead silence.
A corpse tide of this scale was definitely not something they could actively provoke.
But no one dared to guarantee that their filter canisters could last until this corpse tide dispersed on its own.
However, the depths of Sector 02A were a large area of monster lairs.
Stepping in there was no better than facing the current corpse tide.
It seemed that all escape routes were completely blocked.
“I have a plan.”
“!”
Han Nianling, who suddenly spoke, immediately became the focal point of everyone's attention.
Under everyone's hopeful gaze, she took out a rectangular object wrapped in dark green plastic.
Meeting everyone’s gazes, Han Nianling explained: “This is 500 grams of new-type plastic explosive…”
“I brought it along because it might be useful. Don’t worry, it’s very stable. It won’t explode without a detonator.”
Seemingly noticing the strange gazes from under the mercenaries' windproof goggles, Han Nianling added an explanation.
In fact, within a few sentences, the mercenaries had vaguely guessed Han Nianling's plan.
“You mean…”
“Cause an explosion large enough to attract the corpse tide, forcing the corpse tide to move and clear the way.”