vncnus Chapter 112 Ammunition
Chapter 112 Ammunition
Chapter 112 Ammunition
The superhuman squad's cleanup operation was extremely efficient, starting yesterday and continuing until noon the following day. The area radios continuously relayed the latest reports from observers at each fortress: "Site B cleared; the minesweeper has turned towards Site C."
"Landmines around F-09 have been cleared, and mutants have been confirmed to have been eliminated."
"L-12 reports, the last landmine has been detonated, and the superhuman team is cleaning up the mess."
Finally, when the last fortress observer confirmed that the surrounding hazards had been eliminated and the superhuman team had boarded the helicopter that came to pick them up and left, the public channel of the walkie-talkie was instantly filled with excited cheers.
"Great, finally some peace and quiet."
"These superhumans are amazing!"
"Now I can finally get a good night's sleep."
"Jiangcheng is still the most reliable place!"
An atmosphere of joy, as if surviving a catastrophe, permeated the radio waves. The continuous explosions and the potential evolutionary crisis, like a heavy stone weighing on their hearts, were finally lifted, and everyone felt an indescribable sense of relief.
Xu Mo's face also showed a relaxed expression. Jiang Cheng's reaction speed and handling this time were indeed commendable, nipping a potential disaster in the bud.
However, unlike most people's pure joy, Xu Mo had a small thorn in his heart that he could never completely remove.
From the moment the hidden danger was discovered, Xu Mo paid close attention to the reports from various fortresses, especially regarding the discovery of new mutants.
What made Xu Mo uneasy was that during the entire cleanup process, not a single observer reported finding any trace of the level 2 mutated zombies.
According to Xu Mo's previous rough estimate, the number of new first-level mutants that have emerged around the entire Hongxing Industrial Park in a short period of time may be close to nine hundred.
With such a large population, even if the evolution probability of a level 2 zombie is very low, there should still be one or two lucky ones who stand out, right?
"Are the evolutionary conditions far more demanding than I imagined? Do they require a longer digestion time? Or have level-two zombies already emerged, but their forms, behavioral patterns, or hiding methods are beyond our current observation capabilities, perhaps even possessing a certain degree of counter-surveillance awareness?"
Xu Mo doesn't consider himself an optimist; in the apocalypse, he's more accustomed to making the worst-case scenario plans.
This apparent "everything is normal" appearance only made the thorn of doubt in his heart grow even deeper. Xu Mo would rather be overthinking things or that the data estimation was wrong than ignore any potential danger.
"Never mind, it's a good thing we haven't discovered anything yet." Xu Mo shook his head, forcibly suppressing his doubts for the time being.
In the absence of solid evidence, spreading excessive anxiety is not beneficial and may even negatively impact morale.
Perhaps I'm just being too pessimistic.
Skipping over these thoughts, Xu Mo's gaze turned to the corner of the bedroom, where a gun case containing a Barrett sniper rifle sat quietly.
This powerful weapon has been sitting idle here for several days due to a lack of suitable ammunition, like a sleeping lion, possessing a terrifying appearance but unable to roar.
"Combat capabilities still need to be improved as soon as possible." Xu Mo gently stroked the cold outer shell of the gun case, feeling a sense of urgency brought by time. Whether it is dealing with the possible existence of level two zombies or other unknown threats that may be encountered in the future, stronger firepower is an indispensable part.
Fortunately, the countdown in my mind, which represented hope and opportunity, is about to reset to zero again.
In the afternoon, when the silent, pulsating number in his mind finally settled at [00:00:00], Xu Mo took a deep breath and stood in front of the bedroom door marked with the word "Ammunition Depot".
The first two failures did not discourage him; instead, they made him more focused.
As Xu Mo pushed open the bedroom door, a familiar glimmer of light flashed through the crack in the door, and the scene before him instantly changed.
Xu Mo stepped into a space that was larger than the ammunition depot he had visited last time. It looked like a standard military storage depot, with an area of about 150 square meters and a high ceiling, making it feel very spacious.
Bright LED light strips provide even illumination, lighting up rows of neatly arranged green metal shelves, while the air is filled with a faint smell of rust-preventive oil and gunpowder.
Upon closer inspection, Xu Mo noticed that each shelf was clearly labeled with the type and specifications of ammunition, with clear categorization and orderly arrangement.
Xu Mo continued walking without stopping, heading directly towards the area where, in his memory, high-powered ammunition was usually stored.
His gaze swept over rows of familiar specifications:
5.56×45mm NAT0: Standard rifle cartridge, with a huge stockpile.
7.62×39mm: Commonly used in AK series, and he has stocked quite a few.
7.62×51mm NAT0: Used in some precision marksman rifles.
9×19mm Parabellum: a universal cartridge for handguns.
12Gauge: Various types of shotgun shells.
.45 ACP: Another common pistol cartridge.
.338 Lapua Magnum: Xu Mo's main ammunition for the AWM, and there is even a dedicated armor-piercing ammunition model next to it.
After a quick scan, Xu Mo even spotted neatly stacked boxes of high-explosive grenades and some ammunition for individual rocket launchers in a designated area. The abundance of supplies here far surpassed any place he had explored before.
However, none of this could make Xu Mo linger for even a moment; he had only one goal.
Xu Mo walked briskly to a row of shelves near the end of the warehouse, then suddenly stopped. On the label of this row of shelves, a line of letters and numbers he had been eagerly anticipating was clearly printed:
12.7×99mm NAT0.50BMG
"Found it, and there's more than one kind." Xu Mo was overjoyed.
The shelves in front of me are neatly arranged with different types of .50 BMG ammunition:
M33 standard ammunition: copper jacketed lead core, used for long-range precision shooting and anti-personnel engagements.
M8 Armor-Piercing Incendiary Round (API): Steel core, containing incendiary agent, with both armor-piercing and incendiary effects.
M20 Armor-Piercing Incendiary Electro-Optical Projectile (APIT): Based on the M8, an electro-optical agent is added to facilitate ballistic observation.
M2 Armor-Piercing Projectile (AP): (hardened steel core), designed specifically to penetrate lightly armored targets.
M1 Incendiary: Contains a large amount of incendiary agent and is mainly used to ignite flammable targets.
"Finally found you!" Xu Mo murmured, suppressing his excitement, his voice filled with relief and uncontrollable joy.
Without the slightest hesitation, Xu Mo immediately took off the empty backpack he had prepared and opened it. His objective was extremely clear: primarily use the M2 armor-piercing rounds with the strongest penetration, supplemented by the M1 incendiary rounds and M8 armor-piercing incendiary rounds with additional destructive effects.
As for the most basic M33 standard rounds, Xu Mo didn't even glance at them. In the apocalypse, the targets might no longer be ordinary; extreme penetration and special effects would be the key.
These .50 BMG rounds are usually stored in sealed packs of fifty rounds each. Xu Mo reached out and scooped the packs of ammunition into his backpack.
One pack, two packs, three packs —
Xu Mo specifically picked out M2 armor-piercing rounds and M1 and M8 special rounds, and the heavy ammunition pouches quickly filled the bottom space of his backpack.
In just over ten seconds, Xu Mo stuffed more than twenty packs of ammunition into his backpack until it was bulging and could hold no more.
At this point, only forty-odd seconds of the sixty-second exploration time had passed.
Having exceeded his goal, Xu Mo zipped up his backpack with satisfaction, slung it over his shoulder, and turned to walk back towards the "door" he had come from.
Just as he was about to reach the door, Xu Mo caught a glimpse of the neatly stacked high-explosive grenades on the shelf next to him out of the corner of his eye, and he paused slightly.
"Since I'm here, I might as well take a couple of these." With that thought, Xu Mo quickly reached out and grabbed two heavy, egg-shaped high-explosive grenades from the open box, then casually stuffed them into the large pockets on either side of his combat uniform.
Having done all this, Xu Mo didn't linger and stepped out of the fully loaded ammunition depot.
[Countdown ended~]
The scene before me receded like the tide, and the familiar bedroom furnishings became clear again.
Xu Mo stood still, a backpack full of ammunition on his back, and two powerful "Iron Pineapple" missiles in his pocket.
With a sigh of relief, Xu Mo unzipped his backpack, revealing it filled with ammunition pouches.
Xu Mo began to carefully tally his spoils. He had brought back a total of thirty-two packs of .50 BMG ammunition. At fifty rounds per pack, that's a full 1,600 rounds! This amount was more than enough to sustain him for a long, high-intensity battle.
After roughly counting, Xu Mo further subdivided the items:
M2 armor-piercing rounds: 23 packs, totaling 1150 rounds. This was the main force, accounting for more than 70% of the harvest.
M1 incendiary rounds and M8 armor-piercing incendiary rounds: a total of nine packs, 450 rounds in total, these are supplementary ammunition for use in special circumstances.
This ratio perfectly matched Xu Mo's expectations. His main hypothetical enemies were level two or even level three mutated zombies with potentially extremely abnormal defensive capabilities, or certain key targets that were under special protection.
Given this requirement, maximum penetration power is the primary consideration, making the M2 armor-piercing round the best choice. Incendiary rounds, on the other hand, can be used to deal with hordes of zombies, burn corpses to stop their evolutionary path, or deal with certain special mutants.
"That's enough." Xu Mo nodded in satisfaction, carefully categorizing and storing the ammunition, paying particular attention to the M2.
Armor-piercing rounds are placed in the most easily accessible location.
The next step is to awaken this sleeping "beast".
Xu Mo opened the gun case and took out the Barrett. The cold metallic touch was overwhelming, but this time it felt completely different.
Previously, it was just a decorative item to Xu Mo, but now, when Xu Mo inserted the first ten-round magazine, fully loaded with M2 armor-piercing rounds, into the magazine well with a "click," he clearly felt that the weapon had been infused with a soul.
A heavy, chilling destructive force began to flow within the gun, poised to be unleashed.
Xu Mo arrived at a firing port with a wide field of vision and steadily placed the Barrett on the platform reserved in the firing port. The heavy gun body brought Xu Mo an unprecedented sense of stability.
He pressed his cheek against the cold butt of the gun, the crosshairs clearly illuminating a distant, isolated...
The remains of a reinforced concrete load-bearing wall with a thickness of more than 30 centimeters.
Taking a deep breath to steady his heart rate, Xu Mo pressed the trigger with his finger.
Bang-!!!
A deafening explosion erupted inside the fortress, a sound far more violent and shocking than the AWM's gunshot.
Even with Xu Mo's superhuman physical abilities, he clearly felt a tremendous recoil in his shoulders. However, this force was still within his body's tolerance range, and his powerful core strength kept Xu Mo firmly rooted to the spot without taking a single step back.
Almost simultaneously with the gunshot, a huge hole suddenly exploded in the bullseye of the thick concrete wall in the scope. Concrete fragments, as if struck by an invisible giant fist, sprayed violently backward in a radial pattern, billowing smoke and dust. The bullet easily tore through the solid wall, leaving a horribly jagged bullet hole.
"Hiss—" Despite being mentally prepared, Xu Mo still inwardly gasped at the terrifying destructive power.
Pulling back the bolt, a hot cartridge case ejected from the chamber with a crisp metallic clang. Then, Xu Mo quickly turned the scope to another target—a rusted, overturned car about 600 meters away.
Bang-!!!
A second roar followed.
The bullet struck the car's engine compartment with pinpoint accuracy, instantly creating a large hole. The bullet seemed to have also caused secondary damage to some remaining parts inside the car, as a small fireball mixed with black smoke rose from the hole, clearly indicating that it had punctured the fuel tank or its residue. The entire heavy, wrecked car shook violently.
For his third shot, Xu Mo aimed at a section of exposed, thick industrial metal pipe, about half a meter in diameter, located a kilometer away.
The bullet struck the metal pipe with a piercing, sharp sound, sending sparks flying. Through the scope, Xu Mo could clearly see that the thick metal pipe had been pierced through, its edges curling inwards, revealing a horrifying tear.
Then Xu Mo found another shelter haphazardly piled up from discarded bricks and steel plates.
The bullets cut through the outer brick wall and the inner steel plate like a hot knife through butter, blasting a light-filled hole behind the bunker, their destructive force penetrating the entire area.
With his previous sniping experience using the AWM and his superhuman body control, Xu Mo mastered the Barrett very quickly.
The first few shots were mainly to get used to the astonishing recoil. After firing more than ten shots, he had basically mastered the techniques of controlling his rhythm and breathing, and was able to better predict and counteract the effect of recoil on the aiming line. His shooting accuracy began to improve rapidly. In subsequent shots, the bullet impact points were densely distributed around his pre-set bullseye, demonstrating an extremely high level of control.
After firing more than two thousand bullets and experiencing the destructive effects at different distances and on targets of different materials, Xu Mo stopped.
He had found his rhythm with the gun and gained a direct and profound understanding of the ballistic characteristics and destructive effects of this "King of Heavy Snipers," and that was enough. Xu Mo was confident that in actual combat, as long as the target appeared in his scope, he could deliver a fatal blow.
Slowly exhaling a breath of stale air reeking of gunpowder, Xu Mo once again examined the targets he had ravaged through the scope:
The thick concrete walls suffered fatal structural damage. Abandoned vehicles were easily pierced like paper, and thick metal pipes were violently torn apart. Even complex bunkers were rendered useless in its presence.
"This is the power of the Barrett—" Xu Mo muttered to himself, his eyes gleaming sharply. This was not just a sniper rifle; it was practically a portable "infantry gun." Its powerful kinetic energy and penetrating force were enough to pose a serious threat to light armored vehicles, helicopters, and fortified positions.
For zombies, this means that unless their defenses reach the level of a main battle tank's armor, they have absolutely no chance of withstanding a direct hit from an M2 armor-piercing round.
With this weapon and a sufficient supply of armor-piercing ammunition, Xu Mo felt more confident than ever before.
The vague worry and sense of urgency I had felt about the level 2 zombies were now replaced by overwhelming confidence.
"No matter what you are—" Xu Mo gently stroked the Barrett's cold, thick barrel. "If you dare show your face, I'll let you taste this big treasure."
Barrett is finally no longer just for show.