Ice Age Apocalypse: I Hoard Billions of Supplies

Chapter 257: Attack on the Shelter

After searching the scene, Shen Hong and Yu Lang both felt a deep sense of unease. The absence of any bloodstains was unnervingly clean. There were only two possibilities: either Xie Huanhuan and Liu Ziyang had been captured alive, or both had been killed, and the enemy had leisurely cleaned up the battlefield before leaving. Neither outcome was good news.

At that moment, a soldier discovered snowmobile tracks and reported to the two men, "Boss, I found snowmobile tracks!"

Shen Hong and Yu Lang exchanged a glance. "Let's go check it out!"

They followed the tracks and indeed found snowmobile treads that hadn't been fully covered by the snow. They were instantly relieved.

"As long as we follow these, we can find where the person responsible is hiding!"

"We have no time to waste. Let's go before the snow completely covers the tracks!"

They immediately gathered all the soldiers and followed the tracks on sleds. In the vast snowfield, human traces were rare, so the trail was as clear as a signpost.

Before long, they arrived outside Cloud Manor.

"The person must be inside the manor. Everyone, form teams of three and move forward, following the footprints on the ground."

The team, familiar with each other from years of working together, quickly formed a combat formation, advancing cautiously with their weapons drawn.

The path they had taken led to the west gate of the manor, not the southern one, so the traps on this side were mostly intact.

As Zhang Yi returned, his footsteps had left varying depths of prints on the ground, leading directly to Villa 101.

The soldiers from West Hill Base cautiously followed the footprints. Suddenly, a soldier's foot stepped on something. He quickly lifted his foot and saw what was underneath. He couldn't help but chuckle.

"Heh!"

The others looked over and saw him pull out a spiked board from the sole of his thick military boot.

"In this day and age, there are still such traps?"

Holding the spiked board, the soldier smiled playfully. His comrades couldn't help but smirk, too.

"Looks like the enemy we're facing doesn't have much combat skill," the soldier laughed.

Shen Hong's expression softened slightly when he saw the crude trap, but still warned, "Stay alert; they did manage to defeat two of our warriors."

However, Shen Hong knew well that Xie Huanhuan wasn't a combat-type Superhuman. If the manor was hiding a large number of people, they could have overpowered them with sheer numbers and weaponry.

But this time, they had brought thirty fully armed soldiers and two modified Superhuman leaders. Failure was not an option!

The soldiers continued to advance, and another soldier stepped on a spike, but the spikes had been buried for so long that the snow had hardened, greatly reducing their lethality. Moreover, they were wearing special military boots with excellent puncture resistance, so the spikes did no harm.

The soldiers joked about it, treating the traps like a joke, which made them let their guard down. Just then, a soldier felt a slight resistance on his leg as he advanced. He looked down and saw a tripwire buried in the snow, triggering the pull ring of a grenade.

"Boom!!"

A grenade exploded right under the soldier's feet, sending him flying. The rescue team was shocked! Shen Hong and Yu Lang rushed over to find the soldier's face red like a pig's liver, blood already trickling from his mouth.

"Xu Wei!!" Shen Hong shouted in pain.

Although Xu Wei was fully armored, the grenade exploded right in front of him, inflicting severe internal injuries. Some rushed to help, but internal wounds were the hardest to treat. Without a medic, even bringing him back wouldn't help.

Someone took out adrenaline to try to keep him alive, but it was futile. Within moments, Xu Wei coughed up blood and died on the spot. Everyone's eyes turned red.

In the apocalypse, the bonds between old comrades were stronger than ever; they were brothers who had faced death together. Seeing a brother die before their eyes filled them with hatred.

"D*** bastards!" someone cursed, gritting his teeth, glaring at Villa 101 ahead. The footprints stopped there, and the killer was undoubtedly inside. A soldier immediately raised his gun and began firing at the shelter.

But the bullets, hitting walls and windows, were like toy bullets, leaving no marks whatsoever. Not even a scratch on the glass.

However, the series of noises had already alerted those inside the house. Zhang Yi had just come up from the basement when he heard the grenade explosion and gunfire. He immediately realized the people from the West Hill Base had arrived!

In the living room, Zhou Ke'er and Yang Siya nervously looked out the window, seeing a group of white-uniformed soldiers firing at them from a distance.

Zhang Yi called to the shelter's AI, "Activate the optical protection system!"

"Confirmed. Activating now."

As soon as the command finished, the shelter's windows turned into one-way glass, allowing them to see outside while appearing pitch black from the outside. Zhang Yi had never used this function before because it slightly affected room lighting. But now, faced with a real armed team, there was no room for carelessness.

Zhang Yi walked to the window, looked at the group of dozens outside, and muttered to himself, "Finally, a worthy opponent has shown up."

"This is perfect. If it weren't for professional soldiers like these, wouldn't having such a high-level shelter be a waste?"

He glanced back at the nervous Zhou Ke'er and Yang Siya, smiling as he said, "If you're scared, you can stay in the basement."

Hearing this, Zhou Ke'er's frown immediately softened. She walked up to Zhang Yi with a smile and said, "We've faced storms together; what's there to be scared of now?" With Zhang Yi around, she feared nothing, knowing he never fought unprepared.

Yang Siya also mustered her courage, stepping up beside Zhang Yi and gazing at the intense gunfire outside. "We're in this together, no matter the danger!"

Zhang Yi smiled faintly. "Danger? Aren't you exaggerating a bit?"

He squinted, looking out the window confidently, crossing his arms. "These people alone? They're not qualified."

He had already noticed they were not carrying any heavy firepower, only rifles and grenades. He didn't even need to intervene personally. The shelter's defenses alone could withstand their attacks for years without breaking!

"Bring me a chair," Zhang Yi calmly instructed Yang Siya while bullets whizzed outside. She quickly fetched a chair, and he sat in front of the window, legs crossed, watching the assault leisurely. His calmness left Yang Siya and Zhou Ke'er in awe.

Even though they knew the windows were specially made and could withstand large explosions, the intense fire outside still made them nervous.

Meanwhile, the rescue team outside realized something was wrong.

"What kind of building is this? It feels like a fortress!"

"We've been shooting for so long, and we haven't even scratched the windows!"

The soldiers were on high alert, knowing they were dealing with a tough opponent. Shen Hong and Yu Lang exchanged glances.

Shen Hong said, "This opponent is no ordinary person! I'm convinced now that whoever's inside has the skills to capture or even kill Xie Huanhuan and Liu Ziyang."

Yu Lang smirked coldly, glaring at the one-way glass. "Perfect. Isn't it our mission to rescue them? And besides, whoever killed our comrades must pay with their lives!"

If Zhang Yi had heard this, he would surely have protested his innocence.

Your people died triggering landmines; what does that have to do with me?!

Shen Hong ordered everyone to stop the futile shooting. "Be cautious of more traps around us! Clear the traps first!" He didn't want to see more of his men hurt the same way.

The soldiers immediately put on tactical goggles and began demining. Had they not been careless initially, no one would've been killed by the grenade.

Modern armies have advanced bomb disposal methods, and soon, they found every hidden grenade in the snow. Not just grenades, they even discovered the deeply buried anti-tank mine Zhang Yi had set.

However, finding them didn't guarantee defusing them.

As soon as they found the mine, Zhang Yi pressed the remote detonator in his hand. The mine's power was far greater than that of a grenade. The nearest two soldiers were blown to pieces, their advanced combat suits unable to protect them from the blast.

Three others nearby were also thrown by the shockwave, suffering severe internal injuries likely shattering their organs.

Shen Hong's eyes filled with fury. "Who the hell is he? How does he have access to equipment that only our military has?!"

His anger boiled over. These soldiers were the elite of the elite. With proper intel, none of them would have died so senselessly. But in this ice age, many high-tech weapons couldn't be used, forcing them to revert to combat tactics from a century ago.

The frustration of it all made Shen Hong want to spit blood!

Author's Note