Armor-piercing bullets don't believe in carbon-based monsters

Chapter 340 Reconnaissance

Chapter 340 Reconnaissance
mountain city.

Lurking in a building on the edge of the city, Chen Jian observed the monsters that were vaguely visible in the mist in the distance through the window.

Information about the monster is constantly being updated on the PDA.

[Height over 20 meters]

[Exhibits numerous known biological characteristics]

No significant attacking organs were found.

No feeding or hunting behavior was observed.

[Can withstand, to some extent, the impact of a low-yield nuclear explosion at close range]

No obvious injuries were found on the body surface.

[Moving speed is slow, less than 10 kilometers per hour]

While constantly updating the intelligence, Chen Jian asked Ji Xing beside him:
"Are you sure this is the monster you encountered before?"

"This thing doesn't look like it could wipe out an elite Holy Blood Warrior squad at all."

"Its defenses are very strong; it can withstand a 20,000-ton tactical nuclear bomb at a distance of less than three kilometers."

"But what about its attack methods?"

"Are you sure it was it that attacked you, and not that you killed each other while under the influence of hallucinations?"

"No, absolutely not."

Ji Xing shook his head and said:
"Most of this monster's body should be hidden underground. I suspect it is some kind of 'sandworm'-like creature."

"The part on the ground is just bait to lure prey, while the real body is integrated with the terrain to form a huge trap area."

"By the time we saw it, it was actually too late."

"We were in the trap for too long, and basically, before we could even react, we suffered heavy casualties."

"The image I saw was blurry at the time, but I could still vaguely make out that the monster was attacking from underground."

"This assessment is consistent with what we are seeing now."

"Its slow movement is most likely due to the sheer size of its underground body, which is hindering its movement."

"Makes sense."

Chen Jian nodded slightly and switched the smart eyepiece to infrared telescope mode.

From this perspective, he could clearly see the connection between the monster's body and the ground.

He hadn't noticed it before, but now that Ji Xing had brought it up, he took a closer look and immediately discovered the clues.

The monster's body was so tightly connected to the ground that the heat generated by its body even extended to the ground, forming a high-temperature zone like a swamp.

Simply lying prone on the ground would not create such a radiating area of high temperature.

Wherever it is, the ground will leave a heat mark that matches the shape of its body; that's normal.

But clearly, this does not match the current situation.

Chen Jian frowned slightly and continued:
"But if its body is connected to the ground, how does it move?"

"Is it through the stretching of body tissues? Or is it that when it moves, the underground parts of the body also move along with it?"

"It can't be the latter."

Ji Xing adjusted his prone position slightly, picked up the bomb gun, held it to his eyes, aimed carefully, and said:

"6.2 kilometers away."

"At this distance, we don't have any equipment to reach that monster."

"The maximum range of a mortar is only 5 kilometers, which is not enough to hit anything."

"But if we continue, the risks are too high."

"I remember very clearly that I ran at full speed for at least 10 minutes before I was out of danger."

"Considering its pursuit speed, the trap area must be at least 5 kilometers away."

"We're already on the brink of danger; there's no way to escape it if we go any further."

"clear."

Chen Jian himself had no intention of pushing things forward any further.

He would not make any dangerous attempts until He Shuo was ready and the miniature reactor was delivered.

but
Perhaps we could try using a drone?

Chen Jian hesitated for a moment, then spoke:

"Fly a drone over there."

"An 8.6mm bullet is unlikely to cause any real damage, but it should be able to achieve a harassing effect."

"Even just getting it moving is good."

"The more information we obtain, the easier it will be to carry out subsequent actions."

"understand!"

Upon hearing this, Ji Xing did not hesitate at all and immediately operated the pufferfish drone to take off.

In the open environment, the drone's signal range was also improved accordingly. After flying for several minutes, the pufferfish drone, carrying half a load of ammunition, successfully flew over the level one monster.

Looking down from a height of 500 meters, the monster's shape became even more ferocious and terrifying.

Torn apart by the shockwave and scorched by the light radiation, the chapped flesh covered the twisted bones, like flesh forcibly pasted onto a withered puppet.

Its flattened body collapsed on the ground, like a limp worm.

But it is clearly not a worm-like creature.

Those rigid skeletal frameworks simply cannot give it the ability to "wriggle".

So, how exactly does it move?

At this point, the drone's altitude had been lowered further.

Ji Xing looked at Chen Jian, who gave an affirmative gesture.

In an instant, the 8.6mm machine gun on the pufferfish drone opened fire fiercely.

Smoke filled the air, and wherever the firelight flashed, a hail of bullets rained down.

The bullet pierced the monster's body, colliding with its bones and sparking bursts of fire, but the monster seemed completely oblivious, remaining motionless in its place.

"what's the situation?"

Chen Jian clearly noticed that the monster's flesh had been torn apart. Even if its nerve conduction speed was slow, it should have reacted by now, right?

What, is this part on the ground really just bait?!
The kind that doesn't even feel pain?

Chen Jian frowned, and after a moment's thought, he issued the order once again.

"Lower altitude."

"The monster's body seems to have a hollow structure."

"Let's find an angle to see if we can see its internal structure!"

"clear."

Ji Xing carefully maneuvered the drone to descend, but just then, the monster below suddenly moved.

Accompanied by a tremendous noise, the flattened flesh on the ground began to move slowly.

The drone quickly evaded, avoiding the monster's path.

The video feed switched to Chen Jian's smart glasses. He stared intently at the screen, but he couldn't see how the monster was moving at all.

There is no obvious foot, and no muscle contraction.

It seemed to be being pulled forward by some force.

This made Chen Jian even more certain of Ji Xing's statement.

This so-called monster is definitely more than just what's on the ground!
The thought flashed through his mind for a moment.

next second.

"Om-"

With a piercing buzzing sound, the drone suddenly lost contact.

Chen Jian's muscles tensed instantly.

Did you see that??

He turned to Ji Xing.

"I saw it."

Ji Xing took a deep breath and pointed in the direction of the monster in the distance.

There, the place was already a scene of dust and grime.

The smoke and dust stretched for several kilometers, completely covering the entire area.

Such a scene.
Only then can it truly meet Chen Jian's judgment of a "Level 1 Monster"!

It couldn't just be a monster.

It did not affect the surrounding environment.

Perhaps it is simply the environment itself!

“It’s exactly the same as when I encountered it before,” Ji Xing continued.

"Spikes!"

"Now we can confirm that those spikes grew from the ground!"

An hour later, Chen Jian led Ji Xing back to the starting position in the mountain city.

When they arrived, Yu Qian had already led his team to complete a second cleanup of the surrounding environment and established an early warning system through scattered sentry posts, as required by Chen Jian.

The local area network has been set up, and the temporary command post at the departure position has achieved real-time monitoring of the surrounding area through wired cameras deployed in various locations.

However, such monitoring is difficult to sustain for long because their reserve power is running low.

"It can last up to 12 hours."

After checking the equipment, Chen Jian frowned slightly, then spoke into the radio and asked:
"He Shuo, how's the situation on your end?"

Radio waves traveled hundreds of kilometers to transmit Chen Jian's question to He Shuo, and moments later, intermittent gunshots rang out in Chen Jian's earpiece.

"Bang bang bang bang -"

"I still need more."

"Bang bang bang bang-"

"Be careful!"

"Throw grenades to suppress them!"

"I need another hour!"

He Shuo visibly took a deep breath.

"The monsters here are almost all gone!"

"The battle will end in one hour!"

"But I can't guarantee how long the reactor dismantling will take! I'm not a professional!"

"Let Reggie fly over here himself! I'll clear a landing spot for him!"

"clear."

The piercing gunshots made Chen Jian's eardrums throb. He quickly switched channels and then began calling Lei Jie.

"Lei Jie!"

"He Shuo's situation is almost settled. When can you arrive?"

"One hour."

Lei Jie's voice was also mixed with the piercing roar of propellers.

"I'm taking off right away. I'll be circling over Hidden Water Cave and waiting."

"Tell him to hurry up!"

"understand!"

Chen Jian cut off Lei Jie's communication, and then Fu Xi's voice came through the crack of communication.

"The images have been received, and the spare parts are being manufactured."

"It is expected to be completed in 1 hour and 24 minutes, and the repair of two sets of laser emission equipment can be completed."

"Commander Lei Jie has arranged the subsequent transportation work. This batch of spare parts will be delivered by transport plane No. 2 within 20 minutes after the reactor is delivered."

"clear."

This is another piece of good news.

The plan is progressing quite smoothly. At the current pace, all the equipment I need will be delivered in 12 hours at most.

And by then
When facing level one monsters on the perimeter, our team won't be completely without any effective means of killing them.

Chen Jian took a deep breath, took the water bottle handed to him by Ji Xing, and gulped down a mouthful.

In the instant he lowered his head, he noticed that Guo Xu and the other two in the group were praying, facing the direction of Jinling.

Chen Jian couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.

He watched them quietly, and only after they stood up again did he ask, with a hint of teasing:

"Before you came to the mountain town, did you regard it as a place to pray for?"

Guo Xu was taken aback when he heard Chen Jian's words.

Then, he looked at Chen Jian and shook his head solemnly, saying:
"no."

“We have always prayed towards the direction of the sanctuary.”

"Isn't that a contradiction?"

Chen Jian shrugged.

“You believe that the mountain city is the dwelling place of the Holy Trinity, but instead of praying in the direction of it, you pray to the so-called ‘sanctuary’ built by believers.”

Do you know the term "reversing the heavenly order"?

"This word is so fitting to describe you all."

Chen Jian never missed an opportunity to shake the faith of the group. He knew it was probably useless, but occasionally, he also wanted to indulge in some verbal sparring.

But Guo Xu's reaction after he finished speaking was beyond Chen Jian's expectations.

Instead of being annoyed, he smiled slightly.

"You don't need to question our faith in this way."

“You know, I am a member of the Imperial Guard.”

"Compared to other apologists, I have a better understanding of the doctrines of the Holy Trinity."

“I even know that there are many irrationalities in the doctrines we follow.”

“For example, what you mentioned, ‘praying towards the church,’ is one of them.”

“But that’s not important.”

“Formal errors do not prove errors in faith, and we do not question the holiness of the Holy Trinity because of them.”

"It is not in Nanjing, not in the church, and perhaps not even in the mountain city, nor under our feet."

"But it is everywhere."

"."

Chen Jian was speechless.

He's really not good at this kind of purely ideological debate. Once he gets back to Base 011, he should let He Shuo or Shen Yue have a proper debate with him.

Noticing his expression, Guo Xu changed the subject and continued:

"Of course, we will not deny your correctness."

"The Chinese army is really strong. Your application of machinery, electricity, and gunpowder technology has far surpassed ours."

"In fact, you surpass us by far more than that."

"Judging from this operation alone, even without the aid of that equipment, we are not even a fraction of your level."

"In just one minute, you mobilized three forces and completed all the necessary preparations."

"You even personally participated in reconnaissance, consolidating the frontline defenses."

"Honestly, I admire you."

“I am also very grateful that you brought me along on this mission – we learned a lot.”

Guo Xu's eyes were full of sincerity, and after he finished speaking, Chen Jian felt a sense of relief.

Got hooked.

At this time, Guo Xu probably still considered himself a "reformist" with firm beliefs who could learn from others' strengths and make up for his own weaknesses.

But he could never have imagined that when he began to acknowledge the superiority of the Chinese army, the collapse of his faith had already begun without him even realizing it.

Chen Jian nodded calmly, then spoke:
"In any case, I hope this cooperation will deepen our mutual understanding."

"Our common enemy is this apocalypse, and those monsters."

"And now, there's another mountain town."

"You should have accepted this by now, right?"

I accept.

Guo Xu breathed a sigh of relief.

"The mountain city has lost its status as a holy city."

“This clay sculpture has been broken, I admit that.”

"That's good."

Chen Jian nodded in satisfaction.

Then, he spoke:
"Then get ready."

"We will soon be launching an attack on the first level one monster."