Ever since the Experimentals started hiding from the soldiers, the rate at which the Experimentals were dying started to decrease sharply. Meanwhile, the 2nd Division's mobility troops started to suffer heavy losses.
But to the surprise of the Experimentals, some of the humans whose physical fitness was only second to theirs had also started carrying out such suicidal attacks.
The Pyro Company members carried explosives on their backs as they searched for traces of the Experimentals on the battlefield. As long as they saw any Experimentals, they would immediately rush forward and perish together with them. It was precisely because of the Pyro Company's participation in the battle that the chaotic situation was reversed.
A total of 30 Pyro Company members had joined the reinforcements this time. In other words, there were six squads, three Midnight squads, and three Dusk squads.
Their physical fitness was not as strong as these upright Experimentals, but it was more than enough for them to carry out a suicidal attack on the Experimentals. It was a life for a life!
Before this, the soldiers in Zhou's Army did not really like the Pyro Company members. That was because they always felt they were too shady, and they did not like to communicate with the Zhou Clan's soldiers either.
But at this moment, everyone admired them from the bottom of their hearts.
It was the Pyro Company, who clearly had a bad reputation, that had stepped forward to fight alongside them.
In the past, everyone had always heard of supernatural beings who were especially powerful in the Central Plains. But they did not see any sign of those people now.
Very soon, only two of the dozen upright Experimentals were left standing. Meanwhile, it would be very difficult for the Experimentals that had rushed down from the mountain to break through 2nd Division's machine gun positions without the help of these upright Experimentals.
Just as hope rose in the hearts of all the soldiers and generals of 2nd Division, someone suddenly shouted, "Another dozen or so of those upright Experimentals have climbed up from the foot of the mountain!"
But it was already too late to say anything.
Suddenly, an Experimental was seen carrying a strange bag and quickly burrowing into the midst of the Zhou Consortium troops. Following that, there was a loud rumble as dust and flesh and blood splattered everywhere.
The commander of 2nd Division was dumbfounded when he saw this scene from afar. This time, the Experimentals had launched a suicidal attack on them.
The Experimentals had started using firearms and explosives!
The commander of 2nd Division's troops said with a heavy expression, "Retreat! Retreat in an orderly manner!"
Every time it came to this, it was always difficult to make a decision. If some of the soldiers were to retreat, it meant some of them would have to stay here forever. They might even be assimilated into new Experimentals.
In the end, the number of Experimentals did not seem to have decreased by much after the battle. Moreover, the physical fitness of the soldiers was very strong, so after they were assimilated into the Experimentals, they might even become those Experimentals that could walk upright and were extremely strong.
Of course, these Experimentals seemed to be selective when they assimilated humans.
The Kyung Clan had calculated the ratio, and it seemed that when the Experimentals chose the assimilation ratio, it was 7%.
Now that they had retreated, they should still be able to retain two-thirds of their forces. After all, an army of tens of thousands would not be so easily defeated.
However, the commanding officer of the 2nd Division was more concerned about the fact that if the Experimenters were to use firearms and explosives, it would make things even more difficult for the isolated and helpless Stronghold 74 in future sieges.
He could only hope that the Experimentals didn't know how to drive tanks.
The Experimentals did not give chase. They just watched silently from the forest with fierce expressions on their faces.
The forest beside the mountain path was still burning with raging flames, and it continued to spread further and further away. All that was left of the burnt areas were dark ashes and ruins.
…
When news of the reinforcements' defeat reached Stronghold 74, the stronghold residents felt like they had been struck by lightning.
The most obvious change was that the porridge in the porridge shed had suddenly become very thin. There were almost no grains of rice left.
It was not that Stronghold 74 had run out of food, but that the Zhou's Army was prepared to fight a protracted war.
If the reinforcements did not arrive, they could only rely on themselves to continue defending the stronghold. No one knew how long they would have to defend for.
When some of the residents realized there was no rice left in the porridge, they immediately started making a ruckus at the porridge shed. They shouted at the people who were giving out porridge, "Look at how thin the porridge has become!"
With that, these people actually flipped the porridge shed over!
But after they flipped it over, the men who were in charge of giving out porridge rushed out and started beating the people with sticks. The people who had flipped over the porridge shed were beaten beyond recognition.
The men who beat them up were extremely fierce. They were clearly using these rioters to establish their authority!
Very quickly, a reporter went to the Zhou Clan with the photos they had taken. The Zhou Clan's answer was that this company was not owned by the Zhou Clan's consortium, but the Zhou Clan would definitely investigate this matter.
An hour later, the Zhou Clan announced that the people who beat them up had been fired as an explanation to the residents.
When Ren Xiaosu heard about this, he laughed. He had been wondering why the Zhou Clan did not give out porridge themselves. So it turned out that it was so that they could give an explanation to the media after beating them up.
After beating up those troublemakers, they could just fire one or two of them.
This so-called company was purely meant to be used as a scapegoat.
This move was not considered pretty, and it was even a little dirty. However, no one dared to make trouble at the porridge shed anymore. Even the residents who had caused trouble in the stronghold had settled down. They knew the beating up at the porridge shed was just a signal: The Zhou Clan was getting impatient, and they did not want to come looking for trouble.
Three days later, the stronghold residents could only think about going to the porridge shed to get their porridge.
A week later, there was still no news from the reinforcements. It seemed like the Zhou Clan's army was also in a difficult position as they did not know how to deal with the Experimentals.
The entire stronghold seemed to be getting more and more dilapidated. There were very few pedestrians on the streets, and even those who did were begging for food by the roadside. The trees on the streets had lost their bark as they had all been plucked and eaten.
It was not that the Zhou Clan did not distribute food on purpose, but that they did not have much food on hand. Even the rations for the Zhou Clan's soldiers had been reduced. In order to show that he was willing to go through thick and thin with the troops, Zhou Xingwen had moved his food and lodging into the military camp to show that he was not giving them preferential treatment. Everyone could only get through this together.
Li Ran and the others were a little glad that Ren Xiaosu had taken Fang Zhi to bribe the private army's officers to buy some military rations. Otherwise, they would have to starve as well.
However, Ren Xiaosu specifically instructed them, "Don't go to the hotel kitchen when you're cooking. There's an air vent there, and make sure to close the doors tightly as well. Don't let the smell get out."
All of the food was controlled by Fang Zhi, so Ren Xiaosu did not take any of it for himself. Li Ran asked Ren Xiaosu cautiously, "I heard from Fang Zhi that the food we bought this time can only last us another two days at most. What should we do next?"
As a matter of fact, there were too many staff members in their tour group. Even if they bought some food, it would not be enough for everyone to eat.
Ren Xiaosu looked at Li Ran's expectant gaze and shook his head. "I don't know what to do either."
"Then if there really aren't any reinforcements coming, will you and Zhou Yingxue be able to get me out of here?" Li Ran asked anxiously.
Ren Xiaosu looked at her and replied, "I don't know."
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