After lunch, Ethan leaned against the railing for a break while Danny took over watch duty with the binoculars.
After resting a while, Danny casually picked them up again and looked out.
"A truck! That's our truck! It's smoking!!"
Danny shouted so loudly his voice cracked and shoved the binoculars into Ethan's hands.
Ethan took one look and immediately slammed the alarm bell on the tower.
"BEEP—BEEP—BEEP—!!!"
The broken loudspeaker on the watchtower suddenly shrieked like a chicken getting its neck stepped on, sharp and urgent, instantly jolting the entire Rock Fortress into action.
Calista had been crouching with Mr. Howard moments earlier, debating whether tomatoes tasted better scrambled with eggs or stewed with beef brisket. The moment she heard the alarm, she sprang to her feet.
Leah's expression darkened instantly. Her whole body tensed, her hand already on her holster as she rushed to the heavy iron gate at the main entrance.
A crowd poured toward the gate, stretching their necks to see what was happening outside.
In the distance, on the mountain road, the heavy truck Rickson had sent to eastern Knoxville was barreling toward them like a drunken man swerving across the road.
Black smoke poured from the hood. The driver's door was riddled with bullet holes, and the passenger-side window was completely blown out, leaving only the frame.
"SCREEECH—BANG!"
The truck didn't slow down at all. It crashed straight through the unfinished gap in the barbed-wire fence.
With a violent skid and swing of the rear, the vehicle finally coughed twice and died right outside the main gate.
The door flew open.
Maya, the driver, stumbled out, half crawling. Her face was smeared with blood and mud, gasping for breath as she leaned on the hood to keep from collapsing.
In the truck bed, Jonathan and Thompson, their eyes red, carefully lowered a stretcher.
Hank lay on it.
His chest was wrapped in bandages soaked with blood. His face was as pale as paper, his breathing shallow and uneven.
Leon climbed down from the passenger side on his own, gripping his wounded arm as blood dripped through his fingers.
"Jesus Christ!"
Rickson cursed the moment he saw them, his heart sinking.
"Infirmary! Get him inside! Move!"
Evans had already rushed over carrying a medical kit.
The moment he peeled back the bloody bandages, his face went pale.
"Gunshot wound. Lung penetration. Massive blood loss. Surgery immediately!"
He turned and shouted to Dr. Jenner.
"You're with me! Assist! And Felipe—treat Leon first!"
Evans pointed directly at Felipe in the crowd.
Both men rushed forward in a panic.
Dr. Jenner's hands trembled slightly as he checked Hank's carotid pulse.
"His pulse is barely there! Blood pressure is crashing! We have to stop the bleeding immediately and clean the wound!"
"Move! Move!"
Jonathan and Thompson roared as they lifted the stretcher and ran toward the infirmary.
Without waiting for orders, Leah had already moved in with her team, clearing the path instantly.
The entire base fell silent.
Every heart tightened.
Rickson walked over to Maya, unscrewed a bottle of water, and shoved it into her hand. His voice was cold, tightly restrained.
"What happened?"
Maya gulped down more than half the bottle. Water mixed with the blood and mud on her face as it ran down her neck.
She wiped her face roughly and tore off her loose headscarf, anger burning in her voice.
"Rickson, we got almost everything. Barbed wire, steel posts, clamps, bolts. Even grabbed some good tools. Everything went smooth. We were already on our way back."
Fear flashed in her eyes as her voice rose.
"But when we passed that abandoned industrial park east of Knoxville…"
"We'd never gone that way before. Thought we could take a shortcut."
"The moment we entered, we got ambushed."
Her voice hardened.
"That wasn't random bandits. Those guys were well equipped."
"They were shooting from high ground. The first burst of fire blew out our tires."
"Hank—Hank was the first one hit. Blood just exploded out of his chest."
"We took cover and returned fire, but their firepower pinned us down. Couldn't even lift our heads."
"They didn't care about the barbed wire we were hauling. They were focused on our truck. Our guns. They wanted everything."
"They were trying to wipe us out."
"Jonathan fought like hell. Threw a grenade and blasted open a gap. Took down four or five of them before we broke through."
"Leon got shot in the arm covering us."
"Hank got it worst. If that bullet had been even slightly off…"
Maya couldn't continue.
Her fists were clenched tight and her body trembled.
They had once been in the same squad, surviving countless life-and-death missions together.
The base fell into dead silence.
Five veteran mercenaries had gone out.
Well armed. Highly experienced.
And they came back like this.
Almost wiped out.
If this had been a normal survivor group, would anyone have made it back alive?
What kind of enemy was this?
Calista's face darkened.
The mercenaries around her were furious. Mrs. Howard and the others looked frightened.
Merle had wandered over, an unlit cigarette hanging from his mouth. He wore a crooked grin, his expression filled with excitement and bloodthirsty anticipation.
"Not amateurs," Leah said.
"Professional tactics. Clear objectives. They wanted the good gear."
"Either people like us… or worse."
"Damn. That sounds familiar," Carver spat on the ground. "Could be some army deserters from who-knows-where. Lost control and started preying on people."
Merle chuckled and made a gun gesture with his good hand.
"I'll bet a pack of smokes it's National Guard deserters. Or maybe some Knoxville gang."
His comment exploded through the crowd like oil thrown into fire.
"That can't be right. Soldiers would do this?" Mira pulled her son close, disbelief written on her face.
"Probably not soldiers. Could be gangs. The drug dealers around Knoxville used to be brutal," Tom said. He and Mira were locals.
"Yeah… that actually makes sense," Mira agreed.
Calista listened to the chaotic speculation around her, but her eyes were fixed on the direction of Knoxville.
No matter which possibility it was, it meant the same thing.
A well-organized, ruthless enemy had appeared right next door.
The peaceful days were over.
"Raise alert level to maximum. All external missions are suspended."
She turned sharply and gave the order.
"Leah, redraw the patrol perimeter. Everything east of Knoxville is now a restricted zone."
"Rickson, check the armory. Load every magazine. I want the rocket launchers cleaned and ready."
She paused, lowering her voice slightly.
"Wait for news from Evans and Jenner."
"Maya, take your people and rest. You did well."
Then Calista turned and strode toward the infirmary.
...
Calista waited outside the infirmary for a long time before finally receiving the news that Hank was out of danger.
Only Rock Fortress's medical resources—and the presence of both a professional doctor and a medical scientist—had made it possible to save someone with injuries like Hank's in the apocalypse.
In any other survivor camp, a wound like that would have killed him long ago.
Just as Calista finally relaxed and prepared to go rest, the infirmary door suddenly burst open.
Evans leaned out.
There was no exhaustion on his face from surgery.
Only shock.
His voice trembled as he called out.
"Calista… you need to see this."
"The bullet we removed from Hank's wound…"
"…it's brand new."
...
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