Chapter 50: Turning the Tide

The explosion sent a scorching heatwave roaring in all directions.

Inside the armored vehicle, the team felt the shockwave hit them like a hammer. Everyone stared in stunned silence.

“My god,” Hansen finally gasped, eyes wide, “can someone tell me how she did that…?”

His voice cracked in disbelief.

Luo Yan’s shot from the roof had stunned everyone.

To trigger such a devastating explosion with a single shot—this was far beyond anyone’s expectations.

“Could it be some kind of special modified bullet?” someone guessed.

“Use your ass to think properly,” another scoffed. “What kind of bullet could do that?”

“…”

Amid the heated speculation, Lin Yuanyao finally spoke—calm, focused.

“The real power wasn’t in the bullet,” she said. “It was in the landmines buried at the firing point…”

Xiao Wang’s eyes lit with realization.

“You mean… the landmines planted by those mobs when they were trying to ambush us?”

“That’s right.”

As she replied, Lin Yuanyao raised her rifle and shot down several Corpse Hounds charging from the side—each shot clean, precise.

“Not long ago, when those mobs tried to pierce us, they split into two flanks. Thanks to Consultant Luo, we avoided the right-side ambush and managed to break free.

“But the reality is—we had already stepped into their trap. While forcing us back toward the abandoned factory, they planted landmines behind us.”

Xiao Wang sucked in a sharp breath.

“In other words… Consultant Luo not only saw through the mob’s plan—she memorized the exact area where they buried the mines…”

He suddenly recalled her earlier orders.

The first thing she did upon taking command was separate the armored vehicles from the ore-loaded transporters.

At the time, they’d assumed she did that to buy time for retreat and to calm the team—to earn their trust for her next steps.

But now, it was clear—there had been a third reason.

By splitting the convoy, she kept the armored vehicles away from the danger zone—concentrating the risk of triggering the mines on the heavy, unmanned ore transports.

Even if the plan failed and her bullets didn’t detonate the mines, the team in the armored vehicles could escape using the side routes.

That kind of foresight…

To predict the enemy’s trap, formulate a bold yet calculated plan under life-or-death pressure, and account for multiple fail-safes—in real time…

What kind of on-the-spot judgment does that take?

And as realization dawned—so too did the horror.

If it hadn’t been for Luo Yan’s insight…

Even if they had abandoned the transports and fled, they still might have walked right into the minefield—only to be encircled by Corpse Hounds anyway.

Just then, another thunderous explosion tore through the battlefield.

Another landmine detonated.

Dozens of Corpse Hounds were blown to pieces, limbs and bone fragments flying across the scorched ground. The explosion stalled the advance—slowing the horde’s charge.

With that second blast, the tide of Corpse Hounds finally began to lose momentum.

The convoy was pulling away.

The distance—growing.

Lin Yuanyao watched the Corpse Hounds collapsing en masse ahead of them, her voice soft, but filled with awe.

“In fact, it’s even more complicated than it seems,” she said. “To trigger those mines, Consultant Luo first had to confirm they were non-cast landmines—ones vulnerable to external detonation.

That means she needed sharp enough observation to detect flaws in the mob’s equipment…”

“And second—she had to hit the fuses. With precision. While riding on a speeding armored vehicle.”

She glanced around the vehicle.

“That kind of accuracy… in motion, under pressure… it’s almost impossible.”

The team’s best marksman shook his head.

“Don’t look at me,” he muttered. “I definitely couldn’t do what she just did.”

“So,” Xiao Wang said slowly, connecting the dots, “that’s why Consultant Luo asked for a grenade launcher before getting on the roof. A backup plan. If the rifle didn’t hit, she could use the launcher’s wider coverage to detonate the mines.”

Lin Yuanyao nodded slightly.

“It should be like that…”

But just as her voice faded—

A grenade soared across the battlefield.

It flashed past their view—fast, bright, silent.

Everyone expected something similar to the last two blasts.

But once again, reality shattered their expectations.

Boom boom boom boom boom!

With the eruption of a sea of fire, the landmines buried beneath the surface detonated in a chain reaction, crackling like firecrackers.

The resulting shockwave swept wildly in all directions, so intense that the members of the transport team could barely keep their eyes open.

…

Luo Yan subconsciously let out a breath of relief.

The success of her entire plan hinged on the powerful auxiliary functions provided by the system—particularly shooting assistance and danger warnings.

And the key factor in ensuring the plan’s smooth execution? Betting that the landmines used by the enemy weren’t standard military-grade TNT bombs.

This particular type of TNT, often called the “most stable explosive,” wouldn’t easily detonate under high temperatures, impact, or flame.

To trigger one with a bullet, the ammunition would need to be loaded with enough mercury fulminate and a booster charge.

But the situation earlier had been urgent—there had been no time to prepare such specialized rounds. She had no choice but to gamble that the enemy’s landmines were of a less stable kind.

As for the grenade launcher—that was her fallback.

If bullets failed to trigger the mines, the launcher’s wide area of effect, even at a slightly shorter range, would do the job.

Of course, even if her bet had failed, she never intended to drag an entire transport team to their deaths along with her.

From the beginning, she had positioned the armored vehicles on both flanks, far from the transport trucks.

This served two purposes:

One, to avoid detonating the mines…

And two, to prepare for the worst-case scenario—while subtly easing the pressure on her.

Even though Lin Yuanyao had handed over command to her, if a misjudgment on her part led to casualties or cut short the five-minute safety buffer that Zhou Jianzhong had mentioned, command could easily spiral out of her control.

In other words, when the worst happened, the people she truly needed to save were only those still aboard the armored vehicles.

Most of the Corpse Hounds would be strongly drawn to the raw Odegaard ore. At that point, her team would only need to fend off a few Hounds not attracted by the ore, greatly reducing the pressure on them.

All of this had been part of the foundation that gave her the confidence to propose such a bold plan.

Now, watching the transport vehicles finally gain enough distance from the Corpse Hounds, Luo Yan lightly pressed her lips together.

In the system’s peripheral display, she spotted a large mass of “abnormal environmental parameters” rapidly approaching the transport team’s direction.

If she wasn’t mistaken, that had to be the first wave of rescue forces dispatched from Neo Aonan:

Hundreds of armed drones.

“This way, I don’t have to worry about holding out until help arrives…”

She muttered to herself, then picked up her walkie-talkie and gave the order for the armored vehicles to regroup with the transport convoy.

After completing all the redeployments, she switched out the grenade launcher in her hands for an automatic rifle.

Then, she aimed down the scope at the enemy mobs setting up crude fortifications in the distance—forming a second line of interception.

Next… it’s just you guys left.