Ice Age Apocalypse: I Hoard Billions of Supplies

Five more comrades had fallen. Yet, until now, they hadn’t even caught a glimpse of the person inside the villa. This immense sense of failure cast a heavy shadow over the remaining twenty or so members of the rescue team.

The vice-captain of the rescue team, Yu Lang, stepped forward to suggest, ”We don’t know anything about this enemy, and we lack advanced weapons and bomb disposal equipment. Why not report back to the base and request support?”

Yu Lang was pragmatic and had already sensed that they might not be able to complete the mission on their own. But Shen Hong immediately rejected his suggestion without a second thought.

”Absolutely not! We’re supposed to be the rescue team. If we have to request backup from the base, that would be utterly humiliating!”

”But…”

”No buts! Keep attacking. I refuse to believe this villa has no weaknesses at all!”

Yu Lang hurriedly tried to reason with him, ”Shen Hong, don’t act recklessly!”

Shen Hong, with a grim expression, gritted his teeth and said, ”I’m not being reckless! We have no intelligence on this place. If we don’t fight now, others will have to fight next! Let’s act as the vanguard this time and gather information on this villa.”

Hearing Shen Hong’s reasoning, Yu Lang fell silent. He realized Shen Hong had already perceived this as a war, acknowledging the enemy’s strength. Even though they had already lost six soldiers, they had managed to clear all explosive traps around the villa.

Shen Hong immediately ordered everyone to spread out and search the large villa from all angles, aiming to gather comprehensive intelligence on the structure. Finding a weak point would be even better.

”It’s just a fing turtle shell. Once we break through, we’ll slaughter every b**d inside!” Shen Hong growled, determined to avenge his fallen comrades.

The remaining team members dispersed, investigating the shelter from all directions. Seeing this, Yang Siya grew worried and asked, ”Will they really find a weakness if they keep searching like this?”

Zhang Yi, with his cheek resting on his hand and a bag of chips in the other, casually replied, ”I thoroughly checked this shelter when I first got here, and I do routine inspections every three days. There are no external vulnerabilities.”

Yang Siya watched the soldiers outside with a sigh. ”But seeing them search so recklessly still makes me anxious. You never know, right?”

Zhang Yi noticed her concern and smiled, asking, ”You’re thinking that it would be better if we could take the offensive, right?”

Yang Siya smiled shyly, ”That’s kind of what I meant.”

Zhang Yi chuckled lightly. ”Attacking them is simple, but I prefer a defensive counterattack strategy. No rush—let’s see what they’re capable of.”

Zhang Yi wasn’t in a hurry to strike back because he knew this was just an advanced team, and their firepower wasn’t that formidable. He was also unfamiliar with modern military weapons and combat tactics, so this was a good opportunity to gather some intel.

He turned on the large screen in the living room and had the AI system display the surveillance footage from outside. The cameras, hidden behind bulletproof glass, couldn’t be destroyed from the outside and offered a full view of the shelter’s exterior. Zhang Yi observed every move the soldiers made.

The rescue team cautiously examined the shelter but found no points of entry. After some discussion, they concluded that the villa was like a heavily fortified fortress made of materials comparable to those used in modern war bunkers.

”The only advantage is that it doesn’t seem to have any offensive capabilities. That’s a relief!”

”Yeah, it seems to be purely built for defense, designed as an apocalypse survival shelter.”

After conducting their investigation, Yu Lang made this assessment.

”In this kind of affluent area, it’s not unusual to see such buildings. Rich people either have too much money or too many enemies, so they build houses like this.”

Shen Hong listened, frowning in thought. ”That’s why they set up so many traps on the way. Now that the traps are cleared, they can only sit there and take the hits!”

”Alright, let’s blow a hole in the wall and storm in!” Shen Hong suggested with a sneer.

Yu Lang added, ”But how much explosive will we need?”

Shen Hong snorted. ”Even fortresses on the battlefield can be blown apart with enough explosives. How can a privately built shelter be tougher than a military bunker? Focus the firepower on one spot, and we’ll break through!”

They gathered all the explosives from the thirty soldiers. It was a considerable amount, as West Hill Base was well-equipped with weapons despite other shortages. When Zhang Yi had raided the military camp earlier, he found most of the equipment had been taken by these soldiers, and now they were using it against his shelter.

The bombs and grenades were piled at the corner of the wall by a soldier. Seeing this, Zhang Yi immediately activated the sound isolation system; the blast could damage their eardrums. He then got up from his chair.

”You two stay here and enjoy the show. I’m going to teach them a little lesson.”

Zhang Yi, tired of their constant assaults, felt the urge to strike back. He went up to the second floor, grabbing a large sniper rifle.

The soldiers quickly retreated after setting up the timed explosives. With the combined power of explosives from thirty soldiers, they expected at least a sizable breach in the wall, even if it didn’t punch all the way through. Knowing the wall’s strength would allow them to plan for a stronger blast next time.

”Three, two, one, boom!” Shen Hong counted down from behind a wall, and everyone covered their ears, bracing for the blast.

A deafening explosion erupted, not just once but in a series of blasts. The shockwaves even sent the snow, piled several meters thick, flying into the air, creating a snowstorm that scattered far and wide. Shen Hong and Yu Lang couldn’t wait to see the results; at minimum, they hoped to blow off a layer of the wall.

But when the soldiers looked, they were all dumbfounded. The explosion had carved a massive crater at the wall’s base, scattering snow and soil everywhere, yet the dark wall remained smooth and intact. The mysterious black material, resembling both marble and metal, was still flawlessly smooth and unscathed.

”How is this possible?! Not even a scratch?” One soldier exclaimed, unable to believe his eyes.

”This shelter is unbelievably strong!” Yu Lang gasped, noticing that the same tough, black material continued several meters below the surface.

”In other words, frontal assault won’t work. We can’t even tunnel our way in?”

Shen Hong and Yu Lang exchanged glances. What could they use to attack such a fortress-like shelter?

Zhang Yi didn’t even bother watching the explosions. He knew the exact strength of the shelter’s defenses. A shelter advertised as H-proof wasn’t just talk.

Gritting his teeth, Shen Hong said, ”Our weapons alone won’t cut it. We need to request backup and have the main squad bring in the demolition team!”

With enough firepower, even the toughest bunkers could be destroyed. The rescue team was ill-prepared to breach this shelter, but Shen Hong believed that West Hill Base had the resources to do so.

”If the explosives don’t work, let me try!” Yu Lang suggested gravely. They were nearly abandoning the idea of a direct assault but still needed to gather enough intelligence to pave the way for future teams.

He signaled to a soldier, who brought over a black metal case. Yu Lang opened it, revealing a heavy black sniper rifle.

”You’re going to use that?” Shen Hong asked in disbelief.

Yu Lang nodded. ”Yes! This heavy sniper can take out an armored vehicle with a single shot!”

He skillfully assembled the sniper rifle, wielding the hefty weapon with ease. He mounted the sniper, loaded a specially made armor-piercing bullet, and aimed at the shelter’s window.

”Even if it’s bulletproof glass, let’s see if it can withstand this shot!”

The others watched with anticipation. Their improvised explosives weren’t specifically designed to destroy fortifications, but the heavy sniper with armor-piercing rounds could pose a real threat, even to tanks.

Yu Lang pulled the trigger, and a thunderous shot rang out.

Zhang Yi, preparing to counterattack from the second floor, heard a piercing noise. Looking closely at the bulletproof glass, he saw a white scratch on its otherwise perfect surface.

”A heavy sniper?” Zhang Yi immediately guessed the type of weapon used. Only an anti-armor sniper could leave such a mark on his shelter’s glass.

”Terrifying!” Zhang Yi took a deep breath.

”The bulletproof glass is only 80 centimeters thick, and it managed to leave a scratch. What if they fired hundreds of thousands of rounds and shattered the glass?”

Author’s Note