Ships were smashed into smithereens one after another. Large fishes were torn apart by the bullets. Death and death were playing out in the middle of the river. Even the battle-hardened Zhang Xiaoqiang could not help but feel sorrowful. He did not know why these sailors were so stubborn, to the point that they did not even care about their own lives. Was it just because of his order to stop the mutant beasts even if the entire Yangtze River fleet was destroyed?
One of the ships that managed to avoid being smashed was lucky enough to make it to the edge of the river. There were fewer mutant beasts here, and if they did not retreat, the ship would probably capsize in the next moment. Zhang Xiaoqiang started to panic, praying that the ship would stop fighting. He was already here, and the rest of the ships could retreat. The rest of the battle would be between him and the water snake. Perhaps his sincerity had touched the unknown god. The speedboat that was on the verge of falling apart turned around. Just as Zhang Xiaoqiang was hoping that it would return to the dock before it sank, a bright ball of light shot out from the largest ship and hit the retreating ship. In an instant, the entire ship was turned into a ball of fire. The crew did not even have time to react before they were turned into ashes in the fire.
"No!"
Zhang Xiaoqiang roared. He did not blame the ship. There were countless cracks on the ship, and the blood stains on the machine gun turrets. The twisted anti-aircraft cannons and the intermittent firing indicated that the ship had fought to the last moment. Even if the ship had really escaped, he would not have blamed it. However, he did not expect that the fleet would still carry out his order to kill all deserters even though they were so close to being annihilated. At this moment, he hated the rules that he had set, and hated the cruel commander who had given the order to open fire. Just as Zhang Xiaoqiang's bloodshot eyes were fixed on the ship that had destroyed his own people, Gao Feng's figure appeared in front of him. The moment Zhang Xiaoqiang saw Gao Feng, his heart tightened. Why?
Why would the Supreme Commander of the Yangtze River Fleet appear on the front line?
Why would he bring the remaining armed ships to fight the mutant beasts to the last moment?
A thought flashed through Zhang Xiaoqiang's mind, and his eyes welled up with tears. Most of the Yangtze River Fleet's 73 armed ships and firepower platforms were probably here. Gao Feng had used his determination to complete the sniping mission, using the Yangtze River Fleet's iron and firepower to fight against the countless mutant beasts, all for the sake of protecting the 100,000 survivors. At this moment, Zhang Xiaoqiang suddenly thought of the evacuation mission that the Yangtze River Fleet had been carrying out day and night. Other than that, they were also in charge of the search and rescue mission. These impossible missions had squeezed out all the energy of the sailors in the Yangtze River Fleet. Just yesterday, there had been news of someone dying from exhaustion, but Zhang Xiaoqiang was too worried about the lives of the 100,000 survivors, and did not care about it at all. In fact, he even lost his temper at Gao Feng.
Looking at Gao Feng who was personally operating the heavy machine gun, Zhang Xiaoqiang's heart was filled with guilt. He could not bear to see Gao Feng die here, he still had to build a new fleet for him. His fleet would not only consist of armed ships, the old Yangtze River Fleet had been destroyed, and the new Yangtze River Fleet would one day patrol the Yangtze River ….
"Hurry up! You glutton …."
Zhang Xiaoqiang scolded. The water snake swayed its tired tail and charged forward. In the past few days of fighting against the zombies, the water snake was the real hero. If it was not for the giant water snake swallowing the zombies in the waterway, the zombies would have broken through thousands of times by now. All the S2s and S3s were not something the elite troops could handle. The main reason for the heavy casualties was because of close combat. Any S3 zombie could kill a company of soldiers in a short amount of time, and these days of constant fighting, even the giant water snake could not endure it. When Zhang Xiaoqiang was taking a bath, the giant water snake was sleeping at the side. If it was not for Zhang Xiaoqiang climbing on its head, the giant water snake would not have moved.
Zhang Xiao Qiang's reprimand was received by the huge snake, but it wouldn't argue. It only knew that if Zhang Xiao Qiang wasn't satisfied, it wouldn't be able to sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labor. For the sake of that satisfying core, the huge mutated water snake used all of its strength. The speed of its tail was comparable to the speed of the propeller, and in an instant, its speed increased by two folds. Just these two folds of speed allowed the water snake to reach the speed of an electrically controlled torpedo. Swish swish, it broke through the waves and reached the edge of the battlefield. At this moment, there were only four ships left. Not only did the number of mutated beasts not decrease, there were instead more and more of them. Downstream, they could vaguely see the gap in the temporarily constructed embankment. A monster with a body of the same length of 100 meters was slowly squeezing through the gap into the river.
Everyone on the ship also saw the giant water snake and Zhang Xiaoqiang. They did not even have the time to cheer. Even if Zhang Xiaoqiang had arrived, they were still not out of danger. Now, even if they wanted to leave, they could not. The mutated fish around the ship were a constant threat. An extremely fast waterline suddenly accelerated from a hundred meters away. The sailors looked at the waterline and shouted in panic. Countless bullets slanted towards the waterline in the next moment. The countless splashing water columns did not slow down the waterline at all. When the waterline approached within twenty meters of the ship, the water surface suddenly split open. An incomparably huge silver-colored iron-head fish rushed out of the water like a cannonball and collided with the ship where Gao Feng was.
The speed of the iron-head fish was too fast. The shuttling bullets could not shoot down the big fish in a short period of time. Seeing that the head that was like a cannon head was about to hit the ship, all the crew members screamed in panic. Five rockets were fired in an instant, but they brushed past the big fish and missed. With a loud roar from Zhang Xiaoqiang, a blood line that was even faster than the big fish rapidly rotated around the big fish's head. In the blink of an eye, it had turned a full circle on that sharp and smooth fish head …
The iron-head fish still hit the ship unstoppably, but the indestructible fish head fell off the fish's body at the moment of impact, rolling into the water and dying it red. The ship shook violently under the impact of the big fish, and Zhang Xiaoqiang's figure landed lightly on the deck. Around the ship, terrifying water snakes that were as huge as giant beasts were rolling and biting in the water. Countless iron-head fish were cut in half by the two-meter-long horns on the water snakes' heads, leaving only the splashing and falling water columns. The river water mixed with blood fell on the people on the ship like a waterfall. All the sailors looked at the dead fish floating around the ship in a daze, unable to believe that they had survived.
"Reporting, Zhang Xiaoqiang, the Yangtze River Fleet has completed the blocking mission and held on until your reinforcements arrive …"
Gao Feng, who was drenched in blood, did not have his usual clean and tidy image. His eyes were sunken in, his face was thin, and his chin was covered with stubble. He seemed to be down and out, and his voice was low and hoarse. However, his entire body was tense like an arrow that could be fired at any moment. His eyes were filled with vigor as he stared fixedly at Zhang Xiao Qiang, waiting for him to speak.
Zhang Xiaoqiang's eyes swept across everyone. Every one of them was as deformed as Gao Feng. Even though they were standing straight like Gao Feng, they still looked shaky. Some of their eyes were so dim that they were almost undetectable, as if they could be extinguished at any time. Zhang Xiaoqiang could hear some resentment in Gao Feng's voice. He immediately understood why Gao Feng was resentful. In the past, when the Yangtze River Fleet invaded Poyang Lake, even if the fleet was split into two, the remaining armed fleet could be said to be majestic. None of the forces in Jiangxi could resist, but today, the entire fleet had been destroyed. The ships were still a small matter, but the loss of the sailors was the most heart-wrenching. Once the ships capsized, the sailors would be swallowed by the big fish before they could even fall into the water. The sailors that were painstakingly trained were lost just like that, so it was no wonder that Gao Feng was so resentful.
"I acknowledge your achievements. Six thousand soldiers, one hundred and eighty thousand survivors, and countless logistical personnel were saved because of your efforts. I salute you here …"
Zhang Xiaoqiang saluted the sailors present with the most standard military salute. To Zhang Xiaoqiang, the Yangtze River Fleet was worthy of his salute.
"Zhang Xiaoqiang, our brothers are all gone … Ah!"
The moment Gao Feng saluted to Zhang Xiaoqiang, he could no longer hold back his tears. Following Gao Feng's cries, everyone present started to cry as well. Being able to hold on until now was not because the soldiers of the Yangtze River Fleet were truly fearless. Unlike the army, the fleet did not have to fight face to face. Most of the battles they were in charge of were to provide cover fire. However, on the Yangtze River, against the countless mutated beasts, no one could be ruthless enough to risk their lives.
As the captain of the fleet, how could Gao Feng not know the actual situation of the fleet? He knew that if they wanted to stop the mutated beasts and protect the port, they would have to exchange their lives with the lives of the entire fleet. He was already prepared to die in battle. For this reason, he had personally boarded the battleship and aimed the anti-ship missiles at his own ship. As soon as he noticed someone trying to escape, he would blow that person to pieces. It did not matter if the ship was heavily damaged or had run out of ammunition. He only needed to let everyone know that no one would leave alive today, including himself. He wanted to use the lives of the entire fleet to buy time. Up to the ship that Zhang Xiaoqiang saw, he had personally ordered to blow up no less than five ships. The captains of these five ships had all cried and cursed at him. Even so, he did not hesitate to blow them up.