Chapter 118: Not an Exoskeleton, It's a Humanoid Mecha!

Chapter 118: Exoskeleton—no, it's a humanoid mech!

One minute to return to the rendezvous point.

Two minutes to seize the target.

Three minutes later, the scalpel in Chen Jian's hand had already sliced open the scalp of the interrogation subject.

He had no time to prolong the affair with 'gentle' interrogation tactics, so he immediately cranked the intensity to the max.

A mirror sat before him; when he saw Chen Jian deftly peel the skin from his forehead, he broke down on the spot.

Next came the rapid-fire Q&A session.

Chen Jian confirmed his identity—without a doubt, he was a merchant from Huadu.

Or, in his own words, he ought to be Huadu's 'stud'.

Then Chen Jian ascertained his purpose for coming to Wuxue Town.

Without question, he had come for that monster.

They numbered six in all; originally, a few days prior, they planned to ferry supplies to the hidden camp near Wushan Lake, but the explosion in Yingqingzhou knocked out all communications, leaving them unable to pinpoint the camp's exact location and forcing the resupply mission to halt.

Today marked their sixth day holed up in Wuxue Town; barring mishap, new communications gear should arrive this afternoon, after which they would resume their former task—skirting the eyes of nearby villagers, heading north into the forest to deliver scarce supplies and 'medicine' to that outpost.

The whole tale differed little from He Shuo's speculation: they really were trying to tame the beast with some drug, a drug they themselves were also taking.

The only thing still unexplained was whether that drug was the same one Chen Jian and his companions had imagined.

——

Of course, it actually isn't that important.

I'm not into that stuff!

Besides, using drugs to control monsters or humans is a crooked path altogether, and it holds scant research value.

Chen Jian's goal was simply to locate the monster and then eradicate it.

As for those extra side threads, they can be set aside for now.

Thus, after learning the Huadu caravan's lodging and their internal dispositions from the tail, Chen Jian immediately began prepping for a raid.

A drone flew overhead, swiftly building a 3D map of the vicinity and marking possible sentry posts and observation points.

Once everything was ready, Chen Jian lifted the Type 201 rifle and issued the order:

“Zeng Yi and Xie Liu will handle the perimeter, seize the nearby high ground, and use the Type 201 to lay down suppressive fire on the building.”

“Suppression lasts fifteen seconds; after the ceasefire, He Shuo and I will storm in to clear.”

“They're armed with automatic weapons and plenty of grenades; once inside, we'll sweep dynamically and fast, giving them no chance to retaliate.”

“There are five targets total; if possible, try to keep one alive—we need to extract from them the radio frequency and call sign for contacting the Wushan Lake camp.”

“Understood.”

“Received.”

The others replied in turn; after a brief pause, Chen Jian added:

“Half-dead will do.”

“Now, move out!”

At the command, everyone sprang into action.

Zeng Yi and Xie Liu were the first to burst from the room, using their high mobility to seize the overlook that commanded a direct view of the target building.

Then they deployed the bipods of their Type 201s, one left, one right, laying down crossfire that sealed off the entire structure.

Meanwhile, Chen Jian and He Shuo, guns at the ready, quick-stepped toward the objective four hundred meters away.

Zhao He, who had come running, didn't know what they were up to, but from their bearing he sensed something big was afoot.

He knew he couldn't help, so he fell back, organizing the town's militia to keep any curious locals from approaching that zone.

The atmosphere instantly grew tense, but that tension didn't last long.

Half a minute later, Zeng Yi and Xie Liu opened fire first.

A dense hail of bullets instantly enveloped the whole building; its wooden frame could not stop 7.62mm rounds.

Wood chips flew, tracer rounds arcing bright streaks through the air, giving the illusion that the bullets weren't moving fast.

But in fact, for every tracer that streaked by, four non-luminous slugs had already slammed into their target.

Just five seconds later, the building's exterior walls began to crumble.

Ten seconds on, a Huadu merchant trying to break out leapt from a window, only to be cut down by Zeng Yi's swift reflexes, his body ripped apart by gunfire.

They weren't, after all, Saint-Blooded; their reflexes were paltry beside Zeng Yi's.

Meanwhile, He Shuo and Chen Jian had already reached their designated assault point.

After a silent two-second wait, each tossed a grenade.

Three seconds later, the gunfire ceased, followed immediately by two consecutive blasts.

“Boom!”

“Boom!” “In!”

Chen Jian barked the order, and the two practically rode the explosion's roar into the room.

The thermal-fusion night vision had long been lowered; in the smoke-filled chamber, their quarry lay exposed.

“Pop!”

“Rat-tat-tat—”

A few short bursts dropped all four still-active heat signatures in the room, while the enemy never managed any effective resistance.

Chen Jian's final round struck the last man's shoulder, shattering his desperate counter‑move.

Then, without hesitation, he barked at He Shuo:

“Patch him up and keep him alive—I'll search!”

“Understood!”

Having divided the labor, Chen Jian swept the room, confirming no hidden chambers or cellars, then rejoined He Shuo.

Meanwhile, He Shuo had already dressed the wounded man's wound and jabbed him with adrenaline to rouse him.

“Where is your destination?”

“What's the radio frequency, and what's the passcode?”

Chen Jian asked, voice urgent yet concise; the victim gasped, eyes wide with terror.

“Speak, and I'll let you live!”

Chen Jian spoke again; the man hesitated, then glanced at the nearby tabletop.

Following his gaze, Chen Jian saw a map spread across the table.

On that map, a region near Wushan Lake had been circled in pen.

That was their destination.

But the area was too vast; without precise guidance, they would hardly find the target in the dense jungle.

That is why they needed the radio.

Chen Jian wanted to keep asking him for the password and frequency, but obviously the other could no longer speak.

So he gave He Shuo a slight nod; the latter raised his hand and twisted the neck of the wounded man on the ground, ending his agony.

Immediately, Chen Jian gave a brief order:

"Zeng Yi, keep watch."

"Xie Liu, go find Zhao He, have him bring people to empty all the supplies in the room and clear away the corpses."

"He Shuo, fly the drone to the marked location on the map, lower altitude and conduct reconnaissance."

"Their contact hasn't arrived yet; the Wushan Lake camp should not have received the warning."

"Taking advantage of this window, we'll go straight there and try to finish the hunt before they react."

"Understood."

Everyone answered in turn; moments later, Zhao He arrived with his men.

When he saw the room in disarray and blood spattered everywhere, he was utterly stunned.

What the hell is going on!?

You've only been in Wuxue Town for two hours, and you're already slaughtering here!?

Who are the people you killed? What did they do?

Zhao He looked at Chen Jian with horror, but when he met Chen Jian's stern gaze, he instinctively stepped back.

He knew he shouldn't ask.

Not even himself— at a moment like this, even if a Holy Blooded arrived, all they could do was bow their heads.

All he could do was first fulfill the demands of these killing gods.

Thus, half an hour later, all the supplies had been moved, and the already shattered building was set ablaze.

Chen Jian flung open every crate filled with goods; as expected, in one of them he found the suspected 'medicine'.

"It must be poison."

He Shuo let out a long breath, but then added:

"But it no longer matters."

"Look at what they brought. What the hell is this??"

Chen Jian looked in the direction He Shuo pointed.

When he saw the massive plates inside the wooden crate, his eyes shifted sharply.

Then, over the radio, he spoke to Zeng Yi:

"Zeng Yi, come over and have a look."

"See if this thing is the same as the 'statue' you saw in Jinling before."

(End of chapter)