Chapter 165: Into the Chaos
Chapter 165: Chapter 165: Into the Chaos
(25 Coins spent. Military Uniform Set x5 successfully purchased.)
Outside the residence, Jaxon and the others quickly changed into the uniforms he had just purchased from the System. Once they were done, Jaxon gave the group a quick look. At a glance, they looked no different from the soldiers moving throughout the safe zone.
With their C-5 status, they could have easily reported to one of the officers and joined the defense officially. But Jaxon had no intention of putting himself and the others under someone else’s command. He would rather move freely, choose where they fought, and pull back whenever things became too dangerous.
"We don’t have much time, so we need to move fast," Jaxon said. "Follow my lead and stay close."
Na-rin adjusted her uniform before glancing at him. "So you’re actually bringing us with you this time."
"If you don’t want to come, you can always stay behind," Natasha shot back from the side.
Na-rin glanced at her and rolled her eyes, but a rare smile soon appeared on her face. "No. I’m happy," she said, turning her gaze back to Jaxon. "I get to fight by his side again."
Natasha’s brows immediately furrowed. "You..."
Before she could say anything else, Cindy grabbed her sister by the arm. "Na-rin’s right," she said with a smile. "I’m happy too. We actually get to go with Jaxon this time instead of staying behind."
Natasha looked at her sister, then at Na-rin, clearly not pleased with where the conversation was going.
"Ladies, sorry to interrupt whatever this is," Jaxon suddenly cut in, "but we’re running out of time. We need to move."
He turned his attention back to their surroundings.
In only a matter of minutes, the entire safe zone had changed.
Emergency alarms echoed through the streets as searchlights from the watchtowers and helicopters swept across the darkness. Military vehicles rushed toward the defensive lines, while soldiers hurried from one position to another.
Even this deep inside the safe zone, the sound of gunfire could already be heard in the distance. Beneath it came the faint but unmistakable roars of countless infected.
The battle had already begun.
Although most of the military forces had been sent to reinforce the walls, dozens of soldiers still remained around the residential area. Some guarded the streets, while others watched from rooftops and elevated positions, their weapons ready in case anything managed to break through the outer defenses.
"Remember, stay close and don’t wander off," Jaxon reminded them as they moved. "I’ll find us a good position where we can fight without getting surrounded. Until then, stay away from the front and follow my lead."
The women nodded and stayed close behind him as they made their way through the streets. With the military uniforms they were wearing, they easily blended in with the soldiers rushing around the safe zone, allowing them to move without drawing any unwanted attention.
Not that anyone had much time to pay attention to them anyway. No matter how organized or prepared the military was, the sudden attack had thrown the entire safe zone into chaos.
Gunfire thundered continuously in the distance, mixed with the heavy explosions of artillery and other weapons. Every few seconds, the ground trembled beneath their feet, while the deafening noise made it almost impossible to hear anything without shouting.
"West gate needs reinforcements! All available units, move west!"
"Second platoon, grab your gear and report to the wall! Move!"
"Omega Team, on me! We’re reinforcing the western sector!"
Orders and shouts came from every direction as groups of soldiers rushed past them. Officers directed units toward different sections of the safe zone, while military vehicles sped through the streets carrying ammunition and additional troops toward the defensive lines.
Jaxon listened carefully as he continued forward. After hearing several calls for reinforcements at the western gate, he quickly made his decision.
"This way," he said, changing direction and falling in behind a group of soldiers heading west. The women immediately followed, staying close as they moved with the flow of troops rushing toward the fighting.
As they drew closer to the western side of the safe zone, the thunder of helicopter blades grew louder overhead.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
At first, none of them paid much attention to it. Helicopters had been flying over the safe zone since the alarm began, their searchlights constantly sweeping across the streets and walls.
But then Jaxon suddenly stopped.
Natasha, who had been following directly behind him, nearly walked straight into his back. "Jaxon?"
She followed his gaze toward the sky just as a helicopter emerged from the darkness. One of the sweeping searchlights passed over it, illuminating the aircraft for only a few seconds.
Then her eyes widened.
"The helicopter is going down!" She shouted at the top of her lungs.
Everyone immediately looked up.
The helicopter twisted violently through the air, its entire frame shaking as the pilot desperately fought to regain control. Several infected clung to the aircraft, hanging from the landing gear and gripping whatever they could as they tried to reach the soldiers inside.
Then the helicopter suddenly spun again.
"Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!" The desperate call crackled through the nearby radios.
"GET DOWN!" someone shouted.
Everyone immediately threw themselves to the ground. A second later, the helicopter slammed into the street.
BOOM!
A powerful shockwave tore through the area, knocking several soldiers off their feet as burning debris scattered in every direction. Jaxon and the others covered their heads as pieces of metal flew past them, while thick smoke and flames quickly swallowed the wreckage.
For several seconds, everything became a blur of smoke, fire, and ringing ears. Then, as the soldiers slowly recovered from the impact, voices began cutting through the confusion.
"Everyone up! Check yourselves!"
"Anyone hurt?" a squad leader shouted as he struggled back to his feet and quickly looked over his men.
Several soldiers were still trying to recover when a loud roar suddenly came from the burning wreckage. Before anyone could react, a figure burst through the smoke.
"INCOMING!"
An infected lunged out of the wreckage and charged straight toward the nearest soldiers. One of them was still struggling to get back on his feet when the creature reached him. He barely managed to raise his rifle before the infected slammed into him and sank its teeth into his neck.
"AHHH!" The soldier’s scream immediately caught everyone’s attention, and before they could react, more infected came crawling and leaping out of the burning wreckage.
"Damn it! Engage! Engage!"
Gunfire immediately erupted across the street. Two more soldiers were caught off guard as the infected rushed toward them, but before the situation could spiral further out of control, a series of suppressed shots suddenly cut through the chaos.
No one could immediately tell where the shots were coming from, but the infected began dropping one after another, each struck cleanly in the head. Within seconds, the last one collapsed onto the street, and the sudden attack came to an end almost as quickly as it had begun.
The squad leader quickly turned toward the direction of the shots, his eyes soon landing on Jaxon and the four women standing several meters away with their weapons still raised. A frown appeared on his face as he studied them. He didn’t recognize any of their faces, and even the weapons they carried looked different from the standard rifles issued to the soldiers in the safe zone.
’Who the hell are they? Special forces?’ The thought crossed his mind, but something didn’t seem right.
Jaxon met his gaze, and for a brief moment, neither of them said anything. The squad leader narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get a word out, a pained groan came from one of the wounded soldiers behind him.
"Sir..."
The squad leader immediately turned toward the sound, and Jaxon was quick to take advantage of the distraction.
"Let’s move."
Na-rin and the others immediately lowered their weapons and followed him. They quickly slipped into the stream of soldiers rushing through the street and continued toward the western wall without looking back.
By the time the squad leader turned around again, the five of them had already disappeared into the chaos. He stared in the direction they had gone, but another groan quickly reminded him that he had more important things to worry about.
"Medic!" he shouted, rushing toward his wounded men. "I need a medic over here!"