Chapter 107: Full Suppression

Chapter 107: Total Suppression

While the Machine God Cult and the Sanctified Blooded stood far off, watching the spectacle and hoping to destroy their enemies with monsters, the people of Huangshi City were engaged in a death‑to‑death struggle with the monster that had suddenly descended upon them.

When Chen Jian led his team to the lakeside, the monster was only 900 meters away.

Lei Jie’s squad had just reached the lakeshore, barely able to keep their footing, when they already unfurled the thermobaric rockets slung over their shoulders.

"Move out of the way!"

Lei Jie bellowed, kicked the leading Huangyu aside, and pulled the trigger.

With a soft hiss, the rocket launcher, its sight set to maximum, belched flame.

The shell arced high and fell toward the distant monster.

Chen Jian had no time to watch the shell’s trajectory; after confirming the monster was in pursuit, he swiftly turned the vehicle’s nose and shouted to Li Shi, who was lugging a 301 heavy machine gun toward them:

"Li Shi, get in!"

"We need suppressive fire!"

"Understood!"

Li Shi roared in reply, dragging his injured leg a few steps onto the cat‑car; his heavy weight even sank the suspension.

"Let’s go!"

Chen Jian slammed the throttle, and the cat‑car lurched straight toward the monster.

Huangyu, just risen from the ground, stared dumbfounded.

"What’s happening?"

"Didn’t we just flee back?"

"Why are we turning around?"

"What are we supposed to do?"

A torrent of thoughts surged in Huangyu’s mind, but he had no spare moment to ponder, for Lei Jie’s second kick had already landed on his buttocks.

"Don’t just stand there—make some noise!"

"Throw grenades, ignite, open fire!"

"We’ll suppress the monster; you draw its attention and give the assault team a chance!"

"Understood!"

Huangyu sprang to his feet, fished a grenade from his waist, paused briefly to get his bearings, then hurled it hard into the empty ground ahead.

He felt a pang of regret.

"It’s a grenade—just tossing it away?"

But then he realized: no piece of gear is more precious than a human life.

"Now my duty is to obey orders, sparing no cost, to create an opportunity for those comrades charging forward to their deaths."

He raised his Type 91 and poured fire into the distant silhouette of the monster.

The enemy was already close.

The rocket that had exploded nearby had barely slowed its advance, silencing it for a moment.

But if we didn’t keep it restrained, anyone who approached would still die.

We can’t waste time!

Gunfire crackled densely, and at that moment Lei Jie pulled the trigger once more.

"Boom!"

A brilliant fireball blossomed less than forty meters from the monster, then engulfed it.

Under the immense negative pressure, the beast staggered and toppled from the treetops.

Its massive bulk crushed a whole swath of trees, and when it rose again its movements had become even more ferocious.

——

But when it tried to unleash a roar, it discovered, to its astonishment, that its “throat” seemed mute.

The thermobaric bomb’s overpressure had sucked the air from its lungs; had the monster not been of extraordinary constitution, it might already have collapsed from heat and pressure.

The monster gulped greedily for air, but the oxygen‑less atmosphere choked it; as it surged forward, trying to escape the suffocating zone, another thermobaric round landed precisely beside it.

At that instant it had just emitted a short, sharp cry.

Yet the near‑vacuum in its lungs greatly weakened the sound’s power.

Lei Jie glanced at the timer on his smart visor and said:

"One thermobaric round buys us about ten seconds of control; I have ten left—captain, hurry!"

"Understood!"

Chen Jian gave a brief reply, while at the same instant Li Shi, gripping the 301 heavy machine gun, opened fire.

"Rat‑tat‑tat‑tat‑tat—"

Bullets rained down like rain on the distant monster; although the cat‑car’s jostling meant only a few struck near the beast, even one or two hits were enough to seriously disrupt it.

"12.7 mm rounds aren’t toys!"

"No matter how thick your keratin layer, you haven’t grown a carapace like the Mongols’."

"Without even chitin armor, my tens of thousands of joules of kinetic energy will tear you apart as easily as ripping paper."

The bullets punched straight through the monster’s body; it raged, seeking the source of fire, but before it could react another thermobaric round exploded nearby.

Now the distance between us and the beast had closed to eight hundred meters, and this round landed precisely beside its head.

"Boom!"

The monster rolled, trying to flee, its sharp claws raking the forest in a futile display.

It was close now.

Chen Jian’s hands held the wheel steady as the cat‑car’s speed surged past sixty kilometers per hour.

Only a hundred meters remained before he would enter the four‑hundred‑meter firing range.

"At four hundred meters, hitting a target over ten meters tall—if we miss, we’re really in trouble. Prepare for battle!"

Chen Jian gave the order decisively; after another thermobaric round sounded from the vehicle, he slammed the brakes.

With a grating screech, the three of them leapt from the car.

Li Shi assumed the stance he’d learned from Shen Yue, half‑squatting to aim the 301, while Chen Jian swiftly deployed the weapon rack on his back.

"Fire!"

At the command, two armor‑piercing rounds and one high‑explosive shell shot forth.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

“Boom!”

Explosions rang out in succession.

One rocket missed the target by a hair’s breadth, another was blocked by a large tree in front of the monster.

But the final armor-piercing round struck the monster’s right shoulder and then exploded!

The tandem warhead detonated instantly; the first-stage hollow-charge armor-piercing submunition burrowed into the monster’s flesh, and with a deafening blast the shoulder was torn open in a huge hole.

Then the second-stage fragmentation kill charge detonated.

A devastating explosion erupted from within the flesh, countless fragments spraying out and cleanly severing the monster’s entire right arm.

The monster gaped its maw as if to roar, but another fuel‑air explosive slammed down, stifling its voice completely.

“voice completely.

Chen Jian gave a second round!

Chen Jian gave a brief order.

Immediately, two rockets fired simultaneously.

He had no time to reload the recoilless gun, but the rockets were enough!

This time, both shells hit their mark.

One struck squarely in the chest, the other tore open the monster’s tail.

Searing metal jets pierced the flesh, and the smell of smoke and burnt powder quickly spread.

The monster lost support and collapsed, but its lone left arm continued to flail wildly.

Close enough!

“Li Shi, the field of fire is clear—aim for the head and throat first!”

Yes!

Li Shi drew a deep breath, slightly adjusted his muzzle, and fired while tracking the constantly twisting monster.

The trees flattened by that monster no longer blocked the assault team’s sight, and Chen Jian even wondered whether, if the beast had a brain, it would regret leaving the dense woods.

Had it not pursued, it would not have died.

Yet for it, regret would have been meaningless.

Because Chen Jian had already produced the third—and final—rocket tube, advancing to within 200 meters despite the thermobaric blast.

He could not afford to miss.

Chen Jian drew a deep breath.

The air, having been scoured by the fuel‑air explosive, was still thin, yet his heartbeat slowed gradually.

The monster still writhed on the ground, making its final struggle.

It remained a tremendous threat; if it suddenly sprang up now, Chen Jian would have no means of resistance.

But at this moment Chen Jian had entered a state of utter confidence.

Just as he often told the new recruits, his barrel and his target were linked by an invisible thread.

A moment later, he pulled the trigger and the rocket shot forth.

“Boom!”

The explosion rang out.

The rocket struck the side of the monster’s neck; a jet of molten metal surged out, utterly destroying the nerves, blood vessels, and muscles there.

Death came in an instant.

Chen Jian raised his hand to signal Li Shi to follow up, needing no further command; seeing the motionless target on the ground, Li Shi emptied the last few dozen rounds from his weapon, utterly crushing the monster’s skull.

Rearward, Rey Jie obviously had seen the situation here, and the fuel‑air bombardment had ceased.

“It’s over.”

Chen Jian let out a long sigh.

Then he spoke:

“Rey Jie, bring the mortar forward to this point.”

“From my position, due east about three kilometers away, there’s a ship with people aboard.”

“No matter who they are, give them a salvo—consider it our warning to them!”

(End of chapter)