Chapter 113: A Complete Hunt

Chapter 113: A Complete Hunt

Half an hour later, Zhou Qin and Li Xian led their people away.

The crowd gathered around the supplies they had brought, inspected them, and then Lei Jie spoke:

“Actually, the stuff is pretty decent.”

“More than half of these over a hundred sleeve-arrows are completely useless, but the equipment inside isn’t totally destroyed.”

“If we take the working components from the good half and graft them onto the bad half, patching things up, I reckon we could cobble together forty or fifty missiles.”

“I also inspected the four Tianyan missiles sent by the Round‑Ring Guild; three of their infrared seekers are fried.”

“Although the sleeve‑arrow guidance system isn’t compatible with the Tianyan’s, in a pinch we can make do.”

“Honestly, the Tianyan’s warhead is so pitifully small it’s hardly useful at all.”

“All things considered, this attack drone is actually the most useful piece.”

“At maximum load it can carry thirty‑six sleeve‑arrow missiles—essentially an airborne arsenal.”

“Not bad.”

Chen Jian nodded in satisfaction, then asked:

“Can this be fixed?”

“Hard to say.”

Lei Jie grimaced, shook his head, and replied:

“It’s been torn apart into bits; we might be missing some parts.”

“But a quick glance shows most of the parts are still there.”

“Anyway, I’ll try to put it back together; I’ll list what we need, and later we can ask the Round‑Ring Guild or scavenge elsewhere.”

“I think it can be repaired; the stockpile of similar rotary‑wing drones back home is absurdly huge—I refuse to believe they’re all dead with none left.”

Hearing Lei Jie’s words, Chen Jian mused:

“Then we must push forward with the Round‑Ring Guild’s mission as quickly as we can.”

“The city’s weapons and ammo are running low: the automatic grenade launcher has only 190 rounds left, the rocket launchers twelve, and the recoilless rifle fifteen.”

“The total bullet count is still decent, but when divided among all fighters it doesn’t even give one per person—only the heavy and high‑machine‑gun ammo is fairly ample.”

“For the next hunt we need a meticulous plan; we can’t rely on sheer firepower anymore.”

“In fact our weapons are overkill in lethality; with proper preparation we can achieve better results using far less ammo.”

“We must make full use of our pre‑engagement reconnaissance—starting with this operation.”

“Understood.”

“Understood.”

The group replied in turn, paused a moment, then Chen Jian said:

“Then let’s tweak the plan a bit.”

“Shen Yue and Lei Jie will stay behind to organize training for the fighters, coordinating with Huang Shi to plan future production and reconstruction.”

“Lei Jie, Xie Liu, and He Shuo will go with me to Wu Shan Lake for combat reconnaissance.”

“Li Shi will also stay, both to nurse his wounds and to lend a hand where needed.”

“Once your injuries have healed enough for you to move freely, you can join us again.”

“All right.”

Li Shi nodded obediently, then asked:

“Captain, my shield.”

Chen Jian gave an embarrassed chuckle and replied:

“I’m looking, I’m looking.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely find it for you—besides, you don’t really need it right now, so just focus on healing.”

“Got it.”

Li Shi, being sensible, didn’t press further, but Chen Jian silently bumped the priority of that “little matter” up in his mind.

After all, I’d promised him ages ago and have dragged it out far too long.

On the upcoming trip to Jinling, I’ll definitely get this sorted for him.

After arranging the tasks in Huang Shi’s city, Chen Jian reorganized his gear, took He Shuo and two others, and set off in a cat‑vehicle toward Wu Shan Lake.

This time his loadout had changed a bit.

Besides the fixed recoilless cannon and two rocket launchers, he also brought a sleeve‑arrow launcher loaded with six missiles that Lei Jie had deemed still usable.

His 191 pistol was swapped for a 201‑class machine gun, still kept at full capacity.

The weapons carried by the other three were comparatively simpler.

He Shuo, likewise in exoskeleton, carried a sniper grenade launcher, a 26‑caliber sniper rifle with ample ammo, and two rocket launchers.

Xie Liu and Zeng Yi each took a 191 pistol and slung a 201‑class machine gun.

To preserve their mobility, most of the ammo was given to He Shuo to carry; if needed, they would undertake forward reconnaissance and lure the enemy. The party proceeded south along S412, once again passing the colossal corpse of the Qin Yuan.

But after just one night, that massive, once‑invincible beast had become a carcass ripe for the taking.

Many wild beasts gathered around its corpse, gnawing at its flesh; Zeng Yi watched, clicked his tongue, and said:

“In a year or two this region will likely be crawling with a whole bunch of deformed monsters again.”

“If we can, we should try to burn the monsters’ corpses from now on.”

“Otherwise, with this endless cycle, when will we ever wipe the monsters out completely?”

“That makes sense.”

Chen Jian nodded in agreement, but a question rose unbidden in his mind.

“If the monsters’ ‘genes’ can be passed on this way, where did the very first monster come from?”

“And what exactly was that near‑apocalyptic catastrophe?”

“From instinct, Chen Jian felt it was some kind of radiation.”

“Yet its final manifestation resembled a virus more closely.”

“It’s strange.”

“If we want to get closer to the truth, we probably need to keep heading north to the imperial capital, to dig up the more detailed records left behind at Peking Union Medical College.”

He gave a slight shake of his head, set aside that distant plan for now, and said:

“According to the intel left by the Round‑Ring Guild, we’re dealing with a non‑standard grade‑four monster this time.”

“A small force can handle it; it poses little threat to humans, isn’t very strong, and isn’t even that big—reportedly only four or five meters tall.”

“The town of Wuxue beside Wu Shan Lake is its main target, and the Round‑Ring Guild encountered it there as well.”

“The area is basically locked down; the only difficulty is that this monster’s movements are extremely elusive, often launching surprise attacks, striking and fleeing instantly, leaving no chance for a head‑on fight.”

“Information and intelligence about it are scarce; we have no idea where its lair lies.”

“So, the first thing we must do is find it and pin it down.”

“Once we’ve located it, we take it out.”

“.Sounds like a monster hunter, or Witcher 3.”

He Shuo remarked leisurely from the side.

“.Anyway, that’s the gist; our past fights with monsters were mostly encounters, but this time we might have to go through a full process.”

“It would benefit our coordination; if we pull it off smoothly, we can later establish a fixed combat doctrine, solidify methodology, align granularity, identify leverage points, cement underlying logic, pre‑mix, and unleash a reusable combo.”

“.Where did you pick up this jumble of buzzwords?”

He Shuo looked at Chen Jian, both laughing and exasperated, and asked:

“You took on side jobs? Did you go for corporate training?”

“I learned it from watching movies.”

Chen Jian answered offhand, then continued:

“No matter what, we have to go to Wuxue Town first.”

“Zeng Yi, are you familiar with this town?”

“Familiar.”

Zeng Yi nodded and replied:

“It’s a necessary stop on the route from Jinling to Han Shui City; before the monsters in the Han Shui ruins were cleared, it was the final waypoint on the whole trade route.”

“Commercial activity is frequent, but the population is not large.”

“Probably due to the pressure of the Blood Skeletons, in recent years the population of Wuxue Town has been shifting northwest toward Cao River and Xi Shui.”

“However, I estimate this trend will soon be reversed.”

“Why?”

Chen Jian asked curiously.

“Because the water ghosts that harassed them have pretty much been wiped out by us.”

“Captain, don’t you remember? When we were besieged in Huangshi City, the first wave we hit was the water ghosts.”

“If it weren’t for the fact that we had almost exterminated the water ghosts back then, the Round‑Ring Merchant Guild’s first task might have been to clear them out.”

“.Reasonable.”

Chen Jian indeed hadn’t expected these two things to be connected.

But this also indirectly shows that Zeng Yi is indeed familiar with the wasteland’s operational logic.

Moreover, his mind works well.

This could be someone worth cultivating as a key asset.

Chen Jian silently pondered a “personnel training plan” in his mind, while the cat‑car continued forward.

As Wuxue City drew nearer, the town threatened by the evil beasts emerged from the river mist, revealing its true form.

(End of chapter)