Chapter 112: Attack Drones!

Chapter 112: Attack the Drone!

Chen Jian had made ample preparations for the arrival of the delegation.

These preparations included, but were not limited to, distributing ammunition to combatants, erecting new cover, devising battle plans, setting up light and dark sentry posts, laying necessary traps and explosives, organizing targeted training, and so on.

But when the sun rose, Zhou Qin once again brought Li Xian to Huangshi City.

And they brought with them a piece of news that left Chen Jian stunned.

"The visit has been cancelled."

Zhou Qin spoke with a bitter expression:

"The delegation believes this visit is unnecessary; they have already obtained all the information they wanted."

"Therefore, they will return today."

"All further negotiation matters will be handled by me and Li Xian."

"You can communicate directly with me."

Chen Jian looked at Zhou Qin with incredulous eyes and then asked:

"Are you sure you can take responsibility for what you say? Are you sure your authority allows you to make the necessary decisions in the ensuing negotiations?"

"Within a considerable scope, I can."

Zhou Qin let out a long breath and then explained:

"If there are demands beyond my authority, I will contact them directly via radio."

"The good news is, they have brought us a new radio."

"Is that it? They don’t intend to meddle in our affairs anymore?"

Chen Jian could never have imagined that this "grand" visit would end in such a ludicrous, even absurd, fashion, while Zhou Qin, as if he had foreseen it, answered calmly:

"Yes, they do not intend to interfere any further."

"To be precise, they do not intend to come and interfere directly."

"In fact, I had already guessed this outcome; ever since you killed that monster last night, I had anticipated it."

His tone was filled with sorrow, even making Chen Jian feel a pang of pity.

Goodness, he had become a sacrificial pawn.

Under what circumstances does a senior officer on the front line become a sacrificial pawn?

Perhaps those of higher rank truly believe the situation has become extremely dangerous, and even the very act of meeting is already a "Hongmen banquet."

Chen Jian could not fathom their thoughts; he merely glanced at Li Xian beside him and continued asking:

"And you? Are you the same as him?"

Li Xian nodded as well, then replied:

"Yes, the decision of the Mechanical God Sect is the same as his."

"This might also be a wise decision, after all, the elders have never had contact with you, so they are unaware of the specifics."

"Some of them still think you are those brutal, bloodthirsty Huaxia soldiers, so taking a cautious approach is understandable."

"Understood."

Chen Jian could tell, unlike Zhou Qin, Li Xian’s faith in the Mechanical God Sect was even more steadfast.

He was still there, making excuses for the Mechanical God Sect.

Goodness, one might say religious indoctrination is powerful.

This is a living example.

Chen Jian had nothing to say on the matter, so he simply skipped this slightly awkward topic and bluntly asked:

"Can my three demands be met?"

"For now, they can."

Zhou Qin replied immediately:

"But the information regarding the Holy Blood Hall and the Mechanical God Sect will be handed over gradually."

"Sir, I think you should understand what that means."

"I have indeed done my utmost; this is the best result I can achieve."

"Believe me, all I want now is to preserve Han Shui City."

"Understood."

Chen Jian looked at Zhou Qin with pitying eyes, but when it came to interests, he would not yield an inch.

"So what about compensation?"

"You all know this condition cannot be fully met; then what about compensation?"

"We have brought it."

Zhou Qin said, relieved.

Before coming, he had truly worried that Chen Jian would flip out over this condition not being met, and he even dared to defy the imperial envoy from the capital, arguing with them and securing the compensation in advance.

But at that time, he was still unsure whether his negotiation counterpart would let him walk away alive.

After all, they genuinely had reason to reignite the war.

Fortunately, the other side did not seem as evil as some people thought.

He could even understand his own predicament.

Just that alone, that envoy would probably never be able to do.

Thinking this, Zhou Qin called over his subordinates behind him to open the wooden crates they had brought, and Chen Jian’s gaze followed past him.

The smallest wooden crate held no surprise—just a box of gold of questionable purity.

But when Zhou Qin’s subordinates opened the second-largest crate, Chen Jian froze. It was nearly a full box of sleeve-arrow missiles.

Although likely few would be usable, the sheer quantity was substantial.

It looked like there were about a hundred of them.

"Where did you get this stuff?"

"Li Xian had the surrounding towns collect them."

Zhou Qin replied:

"No one would use these weapons, but according to Xu Lie’s earlier intelligence, you would employ them."

"So I just brought them along."

"They are of little use to the Mechanical God Sect either, and they didn’t cost me much talk."

"Very well, to serve Qin with firewood, to rescue from flames—you’re quite adept at this."

Chen Jian added embellishments, speaking with flourish.

Zhou Qin didn't understand the allusion in his words, but from the sarcasm in his tone he could roughly guess what it meant.

So he could only answer with a wry smile:

"Anyway, even without this equipment you could easily crush the surrounding towns."

"At least for now we have gained a brief peace."

"Take a look at the last crate."

"Perhaps this is what you're most interested in."

"Anything else?"

Chen Jian eyed the final wooden crate half‑believing, half‑doubting, and when the men Zhou Qin brought pried it open he was truly dumbfounded.

Although it had been torn apart into pieces, his men immediately recognized what lay inside.

It was an eight‑rotor heavy‑attack drone!

"Where did it come from?"

Chen Jian asked.

"Nobody knows."

Li Xian shook his head and replied:

"This thing has been kept in Jiujiang City for many years; we've studied it extensively, but obviously its machine spirit has departed."

"It's called the Iron Eagle; perhaps it was originally meant to be a weapon, like those two Iron Birds you use."

"But now it is merely a wreck."

"If you can restore it, it will be very useful."

"In short, this is the greatest sincerity the Machine God Sect can offer at present."

"As for the cannon sanctuary you requested, they will consider it carefully and reply as soon as possible."

"Understood."

A cold smile curled at the corner of Chen Jian's mouth.

It was clear that these people of the Machine God Sect fully understood the significance of this drone and knew the value it could produce once repaired.

But they did not believe anyone could repair the drone.

After all, they had made many attempts, and it's possible that over the past hundred years they have been trying without success.

They were just going through the motions.

What they produced was merely a piece of equipment that looks strong but is useless!

Objectively speaking, the chance of repairing this drone is indeed very low.

If the drone had not been properly stored, even aside from corrosion and damage, a simple electronic migration issue would render its internal chips useless.

Without a flight controller, getting it airborne would be difficult, let alone controlling it.

But coincidentally, but coincidentally, we actually have the capability to repair drones on our side.

Lei Jie's technology, plus the resources of the Round Ring Merchant Guild.

They can even produce missiles, so Chen Jian has reason to believe their stockpile certainly contains various usable chips.

As long as we complete their task, obtain sufficient equipment, repairing a drone would be a piece of cake.

Upon reaching this point, Chen Jian spoke in a low voice:

"We have taken the items."

"But you had better send the cannon over as soon as possible."

"Otherwise, don't blame us for treating the Sanctum of Holy Blood and the Machine God Sect differently."

(End of chapter)