The three toy robots, moving in unison and at a slow pace, instilled immense fear and pressure among the mercenaries.
"Open fire!" Ah Ping shouted immediately.
Whether these toys were being controlled by someone or not, eliminating them was undoubtedly the right course of action.
"Rat-tat-tat!" The sound of concentrated gunfire erupted.
"Cling-cling-clang!" The bullets struck the zombie robots, creating sharp metallic clangs. The intense firepower soon sent them crashing to the ground, smoking and motionless.
"Phew~" The mercenaries collectively sighed in relief. Thankfully, they were not dealing with supernatural entities. Human fears were usually reserved for the unknown and the insurmountable, but certainly not for mere toys!
But at that moment, faint, rhythmic footsteps echoed from the darkness, and to their horror, rows upon rows of zombie robots began to march toward them.
Each row was spaced two or three meters apart, with each group consisting of three robots, identical in design to the previous ones.
What had initially seemed like a comical zombie shuffle now exuded a disturbing sense of dread.
"Fire… fire quickly!" Ah Ping urged in terror.
The mercenaries unleashed another volley of gunfire, with some even tossing grenades that blew apart large groups of zombie robots.
Yet, this proved ineffective. The zombie robots seemed endless; every time one group was destroyed, another appeared, continuously and inexhaustibly.
"Click-click!" Some mercenaries emptied their clips but continued to fire out of sheer fear.
With their ammunition dwindling, the mercenaries' firepower faltered, allowing the zombie robots to close within three meters.
One mercenary, slightly ahead, was the first to be reached by the zombie robots. With a loud "boom!" a grenade exploded, reducing the mercenary to a bloody mess.
The objects strapped to the robots' backs were revealed to be grenades.
"Fall back! Retreat slowly! Keep the fire continuous!" Ah Ping shouted in panic. He recalled Lao Liu's description of the exploding little demons. Was this what he meant? Was there really a ghost ship?
The mercenaries fought while retreating, relieved that the zombie robots moved at a slow, consistent pace, giving them time to reorganize their formation.
"Ah Ping! What's happening?" Captain Yuan's voice came through the walkie-talkie, clearly having heard the gunfire from behind.
"Captain… so many zombie robots. That… that ghost ship, it's playing Plants vs. Zombies with us!!"
Ah Ping was now somewhat incoherent, clearly convinced by the ghost ship theory and attributing the threat to it.
Captain Yuan's forehead throbbed with anger. Plants vs. Zombies? Why were they all spouting nonsense? Speak plainly!
Unfortunately, the noise made it impossible for Ah Ping to provide more details.
Captain Yuan, his face grim, set aside the walkie-talkie. The gunfire was growing closer. Ah Ping and his team were evidently engaged in a fighting retreat and would soon be overwhelmed.
Who were these attackers? Why were they targeting them? What could they have that warranted such an assault?
He did not rush to the front line but took a moment to think. Suddenly, he turned sharply toward the large door at the end of the corridor.
Could it be… that the attackers were coming to rescue them?
If not, there would be no reason for such elaborate theatrics. The elaborate ruse was likely designed to obscure their true intentions and mislead them! Yes! It had to be!
The police or military would have the resources to deploy such heavy firepower! They must be here to rescue someone!
Thus, charging out was not an option. However, capturing the people inside as hostages might offer a sliver of hope!
Captain Yuan's face twisted into a knowing smile.
"You two, secure the people inside!" Captain Yuan ordered his subordinates.
"Yes, Captain!" Though puzzled by the seemingly ill-timed order, the two immediately followed their leader's command.
Arriving at the door, they exchanged glances and nodded. One of them stepped forward, ready to kick open the now-cutter hole.
"Uh…" As soon as he reached the door, he froze in place, standing still in disbelief.
"What are you doing? Move it!" Captain Yuan snapped, frustrated with his subordinate's hesitation.
"No… no, Captain. The door… it…" The subordinate pointed incredulously at the door.
Everyone turned to look. To their astonishment, the door, which had previously been cut open to a height of a person, now appeared completely smooth, as if it had never been tampered with. It looked as pristine as if it had just been installed.
The corridor fell silent again, with everyone staring at the door in shock, their hairs standing on end.
"This… this is… ghost… ghost walls!" Brother Feng, already trembling, saw the eerie scene and collapsed in terror, his spirit thoroughly broken.
Everyone had seen the clear cutting marks before; only a blind person could have mistaken it. Yet now, the door had inexplicably restored itself! This was beyond rational explanation.
Even Captain Yuan struggled to maintain his composure. With his extensive combat experience and sharp judgment, he found himself at a loss. Sherlock Holmes himself might have been stumped.
The group was engulfed in extreme fear, with Lao Liu continually muttering, "Ghost ship! Ghost ship! It must be it!"
…
In reality, this was not a ghost wall but rather a small batch of mechanical insects that Nian Yun had secretly deployed. While everyone was distracted by the gunfire outside, the insects had quietly repaired the door to prevent anyone from taking desperate actions that could harm Chu Xiaoxiao.
The zombie robots weren't merely a game to entertain the mercenaries but a tactic to delay them and divert their attention.
With the hostages' safety assured, Nian Yun no longer needed the "Mercenaries vs. Zombies" game to continue.
Under Nian Yun's control, the advancing zombie robots suddenly halted.
Seeing this, the mercenaries relaxed their fire and watched in confusion.
Could they have run out of power?
"Alright, you've met the conditions for upgrading the game. Next up, is nightmare difficulty!"
The lead zombie robot's body emitted the voice of a young boy, laced with a hint of mockery.
Ah Ping's heart sank at these words, but before they could react, all the zombie robots' faces flashed with silver light and suddenly adopted a new expression.
Their big, innocent eyes now had two droplet-like tears hanging from them!
It was as if the scene had abruptly shifted from a spine-chilling horror set to a cutesy children's show, creating an intensely awkward feeling that was hard to articulate.
Was it the world changing too quickly, or was the director simply lacking integrity?