Chapter 149: Chaotic Battle of Shenyang (1)

The Qipanshan Base is located 17 kilometers away from downtown Shenyang. Li Qiang set up his artillery base within the cleared urban area of Shenyang, and then dispatched a force of 30,000, spearheaded by the 115th Motorized Infantry Division of the 39th Group Army, advancing along the S203 Provincial Highway. His plan was to lure the horde of zombies out first to alleviate the pressure on the Qipanshan Base, and then annihilate the zombies within the 17-kilometer depth between the Qipanshan Base and Shenyang.

The Special Committee possessed an overwhelming firepower advantage, with ammunition being continuously transported to the front lines. Following careful calculations by the General Staff Department, Li Qiang left 200,000 personnel in urban Shenyang to eliminate the lured horde of zombies, while dispatching all remaining troops to the surrounding areas of Shenyang to clear out any local threats.

The Qipanshan Base reported that all zombies in the surrounding region had gathered around their perimeter. Consequently, the out-bound clearing forces primarily consisted of light weapons and heavy-duty trucks, designed for the efficient elimination of trapped civilians and sporadic zombies.

In order not to disappoint the Qipanshan Base, the full operational deployment was not completely disclosed to them; they were simply informed that the troops had already set out, that they could rest assured, and that their rescue was imminent.

Ever since the Battle of Qinglong County, Li Qiang had not set foot on the front lines. Sitting in the Shenyang command headquarters, he watched the real-time video feeds transmitted back by the advancing troops. The Shenyang-Fourth Expressway and the Shenyang-Jilin Expressway were littered with wrecked and jumbled automobiles.

The 115th Division continued its advance along the S203 for another 10 kilometers without spotting any trace of zombies. Along the way, combat scars left by firearms and other conventional weapons were visible; craters of varying sizes indicated that battles of considerable scale had taken place. Yet, upon reaching the 15-kilometer mark, still no zombies were to be found.

Unnoticed by the troops, hidden cameras in the corners of the expressway were silently recording their movements.

The Qipanshan Base continuously pressed for details regarding the overall plan, warning that the zombie horde was massive and that only a concentrated assault by the main forces in a single breakthrough would yield results.

The 115th Division could already see the towering walls of the Qipanshan Base, atop which numerous individuals clad in diverse attire and carrying firearms were patrolling back and forth.

The General Staff Department of the 35th Group Army maintained constant communication with the Qipanshan Base, informing them that no zombies had been detected along the route. The Qipanshan Base reported with a sense of frustration that, a few hours prior to the army's arrival, a large horde of zombies had fled toward Tieling City, and they persistently demanded to know the overall military plan and the distribution of forces and weaponry.

This anomalous situation was immediately reported to Li Qiang, instantly arousing his suspicion. The order to heighten vigilance had just reached the commander of the 115th Division when the sound of a volley of shells screaming through the air echoed overhead, relentlessly slamming down upon the 115th Division.

Direct hits were unnecessary; merely exploding in the vicinity was enough to flip over the armored vehicles and steel-tube zombie assault vehicles that had proven so effective against zombies, inflicting devastating casualties upon the soldiers inside.

Only the tanks fared somewhat better. After all, few shells scored direct hits on the top armor of the tanks, yet the shockwaves from the explosions completely stripped away all external electronic and optical sighting equipment, leaving the crews inside thoroughly disoriented and shaken.

Soldiers frantically leaped out of their various armored vehicles to seek cover in all directions, utterly bewildered and clueless as to what was happening.

Li Qiang’s command headquarters witnessed the frontline situation via remote video feeds the very moment it unfolded. Using reconnaissance radar, the artillery division calculated the precise coordinates of the enemy cannons—which were scattered across every corner of the Qipanshan Survivor Base.

The positional coordinates were placed before Li Qiang, leaving him wide-eyed. They were forced to endure a beating without any means to retaliate, for there were one million civilians inside the Qipanshan Base!

Soon, the barrage of artillery shells began to rain down upon urban Shenyang, located 17 kilometers away from Qipanshan. When the Special Committee’s forces had arrived, they had already communicated their stationing locations to the Qipanshan Base.

It was evident that the shell impacts lacked absolute precision. Covered in dust and grime, Li Qiang led his troops in a frantic and humiliating scramble through the city to dodge the incoming shells, while high-rise buildings were repeatedly struck and engulfed in roaring fires.

Several zombies trapped inside cars on the expressway turned their heads toward the deafening roars of the explosions, silently watching humans slaughtering one another at close range. Less than 50 kilometers away from them, a massive horde of up to 15 million zombies was lingering in the foothills of the Changbai Mountains between Tieling City and Diaobingshan City. Less than two hours after the human gunfire erupted, they halted their movement toward the northeast, turned around, and began a slow crawl back toward the Qipanshan Base.

Accompanied by guards and staff officers, Li Qiang took cover in the basement on the southern side of the East Station Building near the Shenyang East Railway Station in the eastern district of Shenyang, away from the direction of the artillery fire. A long whip antenna of the radio protruded from the window into the open air, and a rudimentary command system was finally restored.

The artillery command headquarters reported that the bombardment utilized cannons and howitzers of various calibers, ranging from 100mm, 120mm, 152mm, to 155mm, alongside 122mm, 130mm, and 273mm rocket launchers, as well as several other artillery pieces that defied identification. In short, the weaponry was overwhelmingly complex and diverse.

The various units dispersed to take cover on their own initiative, while the reported casualty figures steadily climbed. In less than two hours of bombardment—including those trapped within the encirclement—over 8,000 personnel had already given their lives, and no fewer than 10,000 others suffered severe injuries.

Mid-report, a series of deafening explosions erupted from downtown Shenyang. The entire city trembled, and the glass of towering skyscrapers shattered into powder, raining down from the high altitudes. Li Qiang’s logistics supply base had been struck, triggering a massive ammunition explosion.

Taunting and abusive jeering echoed through the radio frequencies of the Qipanshan Base. They demanded that the Special Committee get as far away as possible, declaring that the people of the Qipanshan Base stood entirely with them and had no need of hypocritical salvation from the Special Committee. They proclaimed that they had survived just fine without the Special Committee, and warned them not to harbor any delusions of annexing their territory.

Their radio broadcast was transmitted globally, quickly drawing echoes of support from several other bases, instantly turning the airwaves into a forum for denouncing the Special Committee.

Li Qiang felt utterly humiliated. He finally understood what it tasted like to be beaten without striking back and cursed without returning fire.

"Damn it all! Tens of millions of zombies couldn't do a damn thing to us, yet today we've been schemed against by petty scoundrels!" His face turned livid with rage. "We've weathered towering rivers and roaring oceans, only to capsize in a gutter!"

Anger and anxiety were futile. At the headquarters base, Li Fengyi received the news at the earliest possible moment and witnessed the gruesome devastation on the front lines via the remote video system.

The General Staff Headquarters advised an immediate withdrawal of the troops beyond the artillery firing range of the Qipanshan Base to mitigate further casualties. The General Staff drew an 85-kilometer-radius circle around the Qipanshan Base, corresponding to the maximum range of its longest-reaching 300mm rocket artillery.

Upon receiving the headquarters' recommendation, Li Qiang did not hesitate. A cascade of orders was issued, and the various units began their retreat under heavy fire. Shells continuously burst amidst the retreating motorcade, yet the soldiers did not panic. They climbed out of their armored vehicles, hoisted the bodies of fallen comrades, supported the wounded, and continued their retreat in the face of the relentless barrage.

Li Qiang, along with his guards and staff officers, did not retreat. In this regard, he chose to disregard the headquarters' advice, resolving to hold his ground until the troops who had plunged into the encirclement between the two expressways successfully pulled back.