Rebirth: 100 Days Before Doomsday - Chapter 197

Chapter 197: Reinforcing Greenstone
The team moved in cautiously, with their weapons ready. The soldiers spread out to secure the area while Grace, Davian, and the rest of her team headed toward the main warehouse.

The massive structure loomed over them. Its metal walls were dented but still stood strong.

The effects of the flood were clearly visible on the materials inside, but it was the best they could get at this point.

“Let’s not waste time.” Grace said as she turned to face her team once they were inside. “Seth, Rio, and Aleena – take inventory of the most valuable supplies. The rest of us will start loading.”

As they moved deeper into the warehouse, they found stacks of cement bags, steel reinforcements, wooden planks, and construction tools. Some were heavily damaged, but most were still usable.

Just as they started loading the first truck, a distant sound made everyone freeze.

A low groan echoed from the far end of the warehouse.

Grace turned sharply, scanning the shadows. “We have got company.”

She immediately called 2025 through the mindlink. “You said they weren’t close by!”

The little creature was shaken – first by the sudden alert the system made, and then the accusing voice of its master that echoed inside the space merely a second later.

The half eaten strawberry dropped on the ground and it quickly opened the digital screen to scan the area again. “M-master, it’s the system’s fault. I didn’t do anything!” It quickly cried out in its defense, only to realize that Grace was no longer listening to it.

“Of course these ugly things are here. They just can’t seem to let us do anything in peace.” Aleena groaned as she prepared her rifle just like everyone else was doing.

Merely moments later, figures emerged from the darkness – dozens of them.

Zombies.

“Shit,” one of the soldiers muttered, and raised his weapon, getting ready to take down the infected.

“Form up! Don’t let them corner us!” Grace ordered, immediately taking charge while 2025 took over the job to update her on the number of zombies and the situation of the surrounding area.

The soldiers moved into position, and formed a defensive line as the first wave of zombies lunged forward. Gunfire erupted in the silent factory, sharp and precise.

Grace fired shot after shot, dropping the infected before they could get too close.

Rio cursed under her breath. “There’s more coming!”

Grace risked a quick glance at 2025’s scan. The undead weren’t the only threat. “We have got live enemies approaching from the west – probably scavengers!”

“Great,” Kevin muttered. “Now we are popular.”

Davian clenched his jaw. “Do we hold or retreat?”

Grace thought fast. “Keep loading the trucks. We will deal with them as we go!”

The scavengers weren’t too big of a deal for them, but she wanted to avoid killing humans unless it was the only option left.

The next few minutes were filled with pure chaos. The infected kept coming, but the team held their ground. When the scavengers finally arrived, they hesitated at the sight of the already ongoing fight.

“Let’s go before they get bold enough to engage,” Seth suggested.

With one last push, they threw the remaining supplies onto the trucks and jumped in. Davian and Mavian floored the gas, and they sped out of the warehouse, leaving the chaos behind.

“That was too close,” Kevin muttered as he reloaded his weapon, ready to get into action if needed.

“But we got what we came for,” Grace said with a hint of satisfaction in her voice.

Fortunately, the way back to Greenstone was silent and eventless as they didn’t encounter any more zombies or even humans. They do notice a few wild animals or stray animals walling around, but they hadn’t transitioned yet to pose any real threat.

The moment they returned to Greenstone, the task of construction began as they now knew just how close the enemies were.

Under Grace’s leadership, the soldiers and volunteers worked tirelessly to reinforce the perimeter.

The first priority was to fix the wall, and once it was done, they began with increasing its height. The existing barriers were only about one and a half meters high – far too easy for the stronger infected to climb over.

With the new materials, thoufh somewhat damaged, the residents and soldiers began increasing the height to four meters. Thick steel reinforcements were embedded into the structure, making it more durable.

Wooden planks were used to create temporary barricades at weak points while cement was mixed to patch up the cracks and damaged areas.

It was grueling work, but the morale was high. Everyone knew that their survival depended on the wall to some degree, and hence, they put in their everything.

As days passed, the walls began to take shape. In the meantime, Grace was creating more plans to strengthen the security since the wall alone wasn’t enough.

Once the primary construction was complete, she moved onto phase two – the Nightshade Thorn.

The vine, with its venomous thorns, was perfect for added defense. If any infected, or hostile humans, tried to climb over the walls, they would be met with excruciating pain and paralysis.

While the vines couldn’t be grown in the outside world, she came up with a new plan with Professor Neil and Dr. Kian’s help. They used a regular vine that could withstand the heavy cold and injected the Nightshade Thorn plants harvest into it.

These normal vines were then grown all across the wall and Grace used the water of spirit spring to irrigate these vines which helped them to grow quickly and spread across the walls.

Within a week, the entire perimeter was lined with the deadly plant.

By the end of the month, Greenstone had transformed, slowly turning into a fortress.

With the walls fortified, Grace turned her attention to the next phase of securing Greenstone – perimeter patrols.

She divided the soldiers into rotating shifts to ensure that the wall was manned at all times. Sniper nests were established at key vantage points, allowing them to take down any approaching threats before they got too close.

Scouting parties were also formed, sent out daily to monitor the surrounding areas for potential dangers.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was a massive step forward.