Invincible through Touching Corpses-Chapter 88 - 87: A Winery

Qingtang Town was originally a small town with a population of nearly 100,000. During the Great Cataclysm, many people died, but even more turned into Zombies, with their numbers reaching at least 60,000.

A year ago, as the Great Cataclysm began to subside, Star Shield Shelter started launching operations to clear out Zombies in the surrounding areas.

Qingtang Town was a full 50 kilometers away from Star Shield Shelter as the crow flies. At such a distance, clearing out its Zombies was a rather low priority.

The army wasn’t even dispatched. Instead, the clearing was handled by posting missions at the Mercenary Guild.

As a result, after a full year, the number of Zombies in Qingtang Town had only been reduced from 60,000 to a mere 30,000.

The main reason for this was that the mission rewards weren’t particularly high. So, forget the Second or Third Level Mercenary Corps; even regular First Level Mercenary Corps were seldom willing to come.

Powerful hunting squads like the Superpower Alliance, on the other hand, quite liked coming here. There were plenty of Zombies, but they weren’t as densely packed as in the cities. As long as you didn’t venture deep into the town center, the danger was manageable.

As Lin Xinghai and the others neared Qingtang Town, they heard the faint sound of gunfire. Clearly, other hunting squads besides them had come here to hunt Zombies as well.

"Brother Lin, from which direction do you think we should start hunting Zombies?" Ling Xiu asked, having Huang Nuo park the car at the town’s entrance.

"Is there a particular strategy to this?" When it came to things he didn’t understand, Lin Xinghai was never afraid to ask.

Ling Xiu pulled up a map of Qingtang Town on the vehicle’s navigation system and pointed to it as he explained, "Generally speaking, hunting squads like ours prefer to enter from the east or the south."

"The east side, which is the entrance right in front of us, usually has more hunting squads coming through, so the Zombies in that direction are scarcer. It’s also relatively safer."

"As for the south, there are a few more Zombies, but the road conditions in that direction are the best, making it convenient whether we want to push deeper or retreat."

After hearing this, Lin Xinghai made his decision with almost no hesitation. "We’ll go with the south."

His main purpose for coming here was to hunt Zombies.

Ling Xiu and the others smiled when they heard this. With a powerhouse like Lin Xinghai on their side, they naturally favored the south as well.

Once Lin Xinghai made his decision, Huang Nuo turned the wheel, driving directly onto a field path and following the town’s periphery toward the south.

As the vehicle moved on, Lin Xinghai observed the conditions in Qingtang Town. He noticed that not many of the buildings had collapsed, not even half of them.

Moreover, the buildings here were typically only two or three stories high. Even if they collapsed, they wouldn’t completely block the roads.

The road conditions here were indeed much better than in the cities.

For these hunting squads, clear roads were practically a lifeline. Only with clear roads could the multi-purpose off-road vehicle pick up speed when it mattered most.

Even on a field path like this, the multi-purpose off-road vehicle could reach speeds of 100 kilometers per hour. In just a few moments, they arrived at the southern side of the town.

At this point, Ling Xiu opened his mouth several times, looking like he wanted to say something, but he seemed to hold it back each time.

Lin Xinghai found this rather exasperating. ’What kind of bad habit is this?’

’He pulled the same thing back at the Mercenary Guild.’

So this time, Lin Xinghai just pretended he hadn’t noticed.

’If it’s really important, he’ll eventually say it. If he doesn’t, it can’t be a big deal.’ 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

After holding it in for a moment longer, Ling Xiu finally spoke up. "Brother Lin, uh... we found a good spot here in Qingtang Town, but with our squad’s previous strength, we weren’t able to get inside."

"What place?" Lin Xinghai asked directly.

Having decided to speak, Ling Xiu no longer hesitated. "A winery," he said bluntly.

Lin Xinghai couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. Before his trip to the bar, an answer like that might not have seemed like a big deal.

But now that he knew the value of alcohol, he understood that it was an extremely hot commodity.

"Where in town is the winery located? And if you’ve never been inside, how can you be sure there’s still any wine left?" Lin Xinghai asked the two most crucial questions.

Ling Xiu first tapped the map on the vehicle’s navigation system to indicate the winery’s location. "Our squad has never been to the winery itself," he said, "but I can see with my Thousand-Mile Eye that the nearby roads show no signs of being cleared. There are no bullet holes on the walls or ground, either. I’m guessing the other hunting squads haven’t managed to get that far in yet."

"However, half of the winery has collapsed, so I can’t guarantee there’s any wine left. But I think there’s a very good chance."

If it were anything else, no one would take such a risk without even knowing if the goods were there.

But when it came to something as expensive as alcohol or an Energy Crystal Stone, that was a different story.

As long as the potential profit was great enough, there were always people willing to take the risk. For a group of Mercenaries, it was practically second nature.

After a moment of thought, Lin Xinghai said, "Let’s check out the situation first."

Although Lin Xinghai hadn’t explicitly agreed to go, the faces of Ling Xiu and the others still lit up with joy.

’As long as he didn’t refuse outright, it means he’s considering it.’

’Besides, for a Mercenary, scouting things out before acting is an essential step. The truly reckless ones are already dead.’

As the two conversed, the multi-purpose off-road vehicle entered the town proper.

Not far off, hordes of Zombies wandered aimlessly between dilapidated houses and ruins.

Lin Xinghai observed for a moment and found that the Zombies in the town were indeed different from those in the city.

The Zombies in the town were more spread out.

Often, there would only be a dozen or so Zombies in any given spot. In more crowded areas, there might be thirty or forty. At most, you might find seventy or eighty Zombies gathered in one place, and that was the limit.

Compared to the city, where you’d run into hundreds of Zombies at a time, the numbers here were much more manageable for hunting squads like them.

The team members all began checking their equipment, making their final preparations.

"Brother Lin, from now on, you’ll be in charge of our strategy for fighting the Zombies," Ling Xiu said.

Although he was the nominal captain, he was well aware of his role and decisively ceded command.

Lin Xinghai nodded and asked, "How did you usually fight the Zombies?"

"We used to use a defensive tactic," Ling Xiu explained. "Captain Gao Shan’s Superpower lets him create a defensive position with an Earth Wall at any time. We would rely on that position, use gunfire to attract the Zombies, and then pick them off one by one."

This kind of Defense tactic is actually used by many hunting squads. Of course, not every team has a captain with an Earth Wall Superpower. Those squads usually need to find a suitable building to use as a defensive point.

Although it’s a bit more trouble, this method is quite safe. As long as you pick a spot with relatively few Zombies to set up your position, major problems are unlikely to occur under normal circumstances.

Of course, if a major problem *did* occur, there was usually no getting away.

Lin Xinghai listened, nodded, and then said, "I think we can change our tactics now."

"Of course," Ling Xiu said respectfully. "What kind of change did you have in mind, Brother Lin?"

The others all pricked up their ears as well.

Lin Xinghai said, "It’s simple. I’ll be in charge of killing the Zombies. You all just need to collect the Elemental Crystals."

Everyone: "..."