Chapter 119: Rapid Response

Chapter 119: Rapid Response

"This is the sculpture we saw in Jinling City."

"Now I know, it's a mech."

On the clearing, Zeng Yi looked at the armor plates laid on the ground and continued to ask:

"Is this the same exoskeleton you're using now?"

"Or is it the armored vehicle you mentioned earlier?"

"No."

Chen Jian shook his head and replied:

"A mech is a mech, but unfortunately, this is not a complete mech."

"These are just armor plates from some humanoid mech; all the critical internal systems have been hollowed out."

"Still, the plates and connectors themselves are highly valuable—entirely titanium alloy plates wrapped around composite material, the breastplate nearly twenty centimeters thick; with this protection they can at least withstand 12.7mm caliber bullets, possibly even more."

"This would be perfect for Li Shi—I estimate the people from Huadu brought it here intending to use it on that monster."

"This suggests the monster's size may be smaller than we imagined."

"Li Shi is about 2.4 meters tall; by that estimate, the monster's height is at most three meters."

"That makes sense—this thing is likely a variant of the blood skull, just like the Blood Sun General."

"Makes sense."

Zeng Yi nodded thoughtfully and then said:

"In that case, the water ghosts around here probably also have a connection to Huadu—could it be that the Machine God Sect already knew about Huadu's research in this area? Otherwise, how could they so easily command the water ghosts to attack us?"

"Hard to say."

Chen Jian clicked his tongue, shaking his head, and continued:

"But one thing is certain: when we discovered the Huadu female demon at the Blood Skull camp, we got no further intel from Xu Lie."

"The Holy Blood Hall gave no answer, pursued no follow-up."

"Now it seems that no answer might itself be an answer."

".Damn."

Zeng Yi let out a long breath; Chen Jian waved his hand, moving on from the topic.

"There's no point dwelling on this now—but I'm curious, what's the significance of this humanoid mech?"

"He Shuo, were we developing anything like this back then?"

"A humanoid mech? No."

He Shuo shook his head and replied:

"But from exoskeleton to humanoid mech is really just a step away."

"And this kind of small mech actually serves a special tactical need; further development is quite normal."

Chen Jian couldn't recall what He Shuo meant, frowning and asked:

"What tactical need?"

"Distributed ground operations, right? We've been pushing that idea all along."

"After Mao Wu, the theory of distributed operations has been quite hot."

"Under this trend, the appearance of a humanoid mech with high mobility, high protection, high firepower, and sufficient flexibility to adapt to urban alley warfare, beach landings, and wilderness raids seems quite normal."

"Indeed."

Chen Jian nodded thoughtfully, then turned his gaze to the inscription on the plates.

"Made in 2040. Well, that's screwed—there probably aren't many of these, so our chances of finding a usable one later aren't high."

"Scrounging up a few might be the limit; we can't build a mech legion."

"Why not?"

Zeng Yi was baffled; Chen Jian and He Shuo exchanged a smile.

Chen Jian coughed and replied:

"If this were to be mass-produced, it would inevitably be to meet some special battlefield demand."

"And we don't believe that battlefield problem would remain unsolved until 2040."

"So it should just be a small-batch fielded special equipment." "Like this."

Zeng Yi nodded, half-understanding, as if he'd grasped something from Chen Jian's words, yet also as if he'd grasped nothing.

But Chen Jian gave him no time to keep thinking.

After ordering Zhao He to seal and store everything, the four‑person squad immediately packed their gear and prepared to head to the marked area on the map for combat reconnaissance.

At that moment, via the drone's feed, He Shuo had already identified clear signs of human activity, and around those traces a few trees had been cut down or pushed over.

They had certainly been there before, but whether they were still there or had moved to a safer underground shelter could only be determined by close‑in reconnaissance.

This was destined to be a dangerous mission.

Chen Jian, while sketching entry and withdrawal routes on a rough paper map, deployed the combat task:

"The target reconnaissance zone is five kilometers from our current position, and we must pass through a forest‑covered woodland where vegetation is dense and terrain complex—the most dangerous area."

"While moving through this area, Xie Liu and Zeng Yi will act as point men, advancing slowly in a zig‑zag jungle search formation."

"That is, you two will alternate moving diagonally forward, reaching the designated point then turning to move in a direction perpendicular to my and He Shuo's advance to link up with us."

"The purpose is to widen the search scope as much as possible and eliminate hidden risks."

Chen Jian used a few small stones to simulate the four positions, simply explained each person's location to Xie Liu and Zeng Yi; the visual demonstration made the tactic clear to both.

Thus, Chen Jian continued:

"After passing through the dense jungle, we will come to a cleared plain."

"The vegetation here is relatively sparse, but most of it is low shrub woodland, making progress difficult."

"However, it is now the dry season of Wu Shan Lake; the water level has dropped, exposing an open corridor along the lakeshore."

"Our strategy is to advance along the lakeshore slope, avoiding obstacles as much as possible."

"During the march we will use a single‑file formation; He Shuo will maintain drone reconnaissance, while Xie Liu and Zeng Yi will take the front and rear positions to stand guard."

"If you spot anything abnormal, do not rush forward—give a warning and immediately pull back toward the center."

"This time the enemy we face is not some giant monster, but a clever, agile, even experienced hunter."

"Therefore, the most important point is: you must treat him as a person."

"He could be hiding anywhere you can imagine—or couldn't imagine."

"Even if you can't spot him beforehand, once he launches his first attack you must quickly point out his position for us—understood?"

"Understood!"

The two replied at once, Chen Jian nodding in satisfaction, then he folded the map and spoke:

“Then let’s set out.”

“There’s no visible paved road to the target area; drive the cat‑vehicle as far forward as you can, and if it stalls, hide it.”

“Zeng Yi, go tell Zhao He to tighten the watch in the city.”

“If anyone asks about the merchant convoy we just wiped out, remember their description, but don’t lay a hand on them.”

“The people of Huadu won’t be easy to handle; just look for a chance to warn us—no need to cause unnecessary casualties. If things get urgent, push the matter onto us first.”

“Understood!”

Zeng Yi turned and left; moments later, amid Zhao He’s astonished gaze, the group vanished in a cloud of dust.

Left behind, Zhao He watched their retreating silhouettes, then turned to the house engulfed in flames, and finally to the militia officer standing beside him.

He asked:

“Are they saying they’re going to take down that monster?”

The militia officer nodded and replied:

“That’s exactly what they said.”

Zhao He sucked in a sharp breath.

In less than half a day, you’ve already found that monster?

What about the Mechanist Divine Teach’s guardian troops I hired? What about the Holy Blooded?

Something they couldn’t resolve in months, you intend to settle in a single day?

Zhao He suddenly understood why the allied forces had been routed so disastrously at Huangshi City.

Their defeat was no fluke.

So.

The monster’s life, then, has already begun its countdown, hasn’t it?

(End of chapter)