Chapter 186: I Have to Go See Him

Chapter 186: I Must Go See Him

All of them were identical.

The first thought that sprang to Chen Jian's mind was cloning.

But it was obvious that a century after the Great Cataclysm, no organization or faction could still possess the capability to clone humans.

It was not a matter of technical difficulty.

In fact, from a purely medical and biological standpoint, cloning was not impossible.

Yet the staggering coordination and management it demanded had long outstripped the limits of the post‑apocalyptic age.

In the 011 facility, countless machine tools could churn out machines simply by feeding in raw material.

What about cloning people?

What, you think you can drop a fertilized egg into a womb and mass‑produce clones like an assembly line?

What a delusional fantasy!

Chen Jian knew full well how impractical the notion was, yet when pressed to define the so‑called Mimetic Heresy, he could offer no satisfactory answer.

He had never imagined that even the mystery of “Fuxi” had been solved, while the enigma of the Mimetic Heresy remained stubbornly unresolved.

The only thing that could be called “key information” was the segment concerning the so‑called “Beast Tide.”

Within that, the Beast Tide itself mattered far more than the Mimetic Heresy.

Chen Jian exhaled a long breath, scattering the scattered thoughts in his mind.

Then he spoke:

“You’re right on one point: we truly need to deepen our cooperation.”

“Especially when it comes to sharing information.”

“So, you have already been to Luzhou, haven’t you? What did you find there?”

His words hung in the air; Wang Lizhi paused, then countered:

“Can we trade the information you uncovered in the Jinling ruins?”

“No.”

Chen Jian shook his head decisively and said:

“When I speak of sharing, I mean you share with us, not the other way around.”

“.Understood.”

Wang Lizhi forced a wry smile and said:

“Honestly, I saw this answer coming all along.”

“But that matters not; our ultimate aim is simply to reach the Mountain City and reactivate the Ring.”

“If you can aid us in that, we are willing to concede on all other matters.”

“The Luzhou ruins held nothing extraordinary; there were two tier‑three beasts, and after bypassing them we entered the subterranean vault within.”

“In the vault we uncovered several pristine pieces of equipment clearly under Level‑One control, and we have already brought them back to Jinling.”

“Our next step is to transport these devices back to headquarters for safekeeping.”

“Give them to me.”

Chen Jian replied:

“You said you would grant us Level‑One equipment access; we’ll take this batch.”

“.We can give them to you, but only through a trade.”

“You entered the Jinling ruins, clearly opened the vault, and may even have clues about the Mountain City.”

“You could exchange those clues for this batch of Level‑One gear, we”

“Refuse.”

Chen Jian shook his head and said:

“These intel pieces are too vital; we cannot disclose them to anyone before the time is right.”

“However, I can offer you an option contract.”

“If you purchase now, I guarantee that when we reach the Mountain City, you will share equal exploration rights with us.”

“.How can I be sure?”

Wang Lizhi stared directly

"The so‑called Beast Tide—when will it truly arrive, and in what guise?"

He raised the question, yet no one could offer a precise judgment.

After all, no one had ever lived through that alleged “Beast Tide”.

Thus, before the Huaxia forces, only a single path remained.

Chen Jian inhaled deeply and began:

“Neither the Mechanical Cult nor the Sanctified Blood Hall can be trusted.”

“Should the Beast Tide truly arise and target us, it is possible that, in our hour of need, the Mechanical Cult would even kick us while we’re down.”

“After all, they behaved thus when the ‘Plague’ of the Mimetic Heresy broke out.”

“Therefore, we must prepare in advance.”

“The revival and reconstruction of Facility 011 and Base 011 must be hastened.”

“We must, at any cost, swiftly expand our sphere of influence, especially by rapidly extending the honeycomb network’s coverage.”

“Only then can we, without satellite aid, enlarge our danger‑sensing domain as far as possible.”

“Thus, the plan is crystal clear.”

“The secondary monsters have been eradicated, yet the smaller creatures that still disturb the surrounding habitat have not been fully cleared.”

“Relying solely on unmanned gear is inefficient, and the attrition is too great.”

“It is time for our ‘second‑line troops’ to step up.”

“Huang Yu, you have trained these warriors well; now the organization and the people put you to the test.”

“After returning to Base 011, lead them out for real combat drills!”

As the words fell, Huang Yu sprang to his feet.

Then, he answered loudly:

“Yes!”

“We will see the mission through!”

Meanwhile, just as Chen Jian had seen Wang Lizi off, the first contingent of Mechanical Cult troops dispatched from other cities to aid Jinling had already arrived.

Brigade Commander Zhang Tao of the 15th Guard Regiment expected to behold a city scarred and shattered, for when he received his orders, Jinling’s condition teetered on the brink of ruin.

Yet, upon entering, he beheld a thriving scene indistinguishable from the Jinling he had imagined countless times before.

The citizens’ lives had resumed, merchants traded fervently, and even some streets shone cleaner and more orderly than ever.

Zhang Tao was utterly baffled, hearing only scattered rumors of that battle.

Gigantic beasts thundered across the wasteland, artillery rained from the heavens, warriors clad in heavy armor marched, and autonomous robots guided by machine souls fought of their own accord.

Zhang Tao had heard many tales of the Mechanical Cult’s triumphant legions, yet none had ever been so exaggerated.

He even doubted whether the battle had truly been fought at all.

He knew all too well the petty whims of those high‑and‑mighty bishops.

Perhaps it was merely a staged drama, a collusion between them and Huadu, designed solely to broaden the Mechanical Cult’s sway.

Yet, shortly after receiving new orders, his doubts were dispelled.

On the road to the outskirts to receive prisoners, he saw with his own eyes those “mechanical warriors,” hundreds of battered Huadu captives, and piles of Huadu corpses awaiting incineration.

In that moment, he even felt as if he were hallucinating.

Damn.

Has the God of Ten Thousand Machines truly descended?

Has the Supreme Trinity truly bestowed its divine power?

Zhang Tao was both exhilarated and skeptical.

And when he finally saw Jin Zhong, commander of the Fourth Guard Regiment, who, like him, was sweeping the battlefield and taking prisoners, he could barely contain himself, leapt to the other's side, and asked:

“Did we truly win??”

Looking at his long‑absent brother, Jin Zhong could not bring himself to shatter the hopeful illusion he might have just begun to nurture.

Yet he could not lie.

For before such a mighty truth, no falsehood could stand.

So he sighed deeply and replied:

“…No.”

“We did not win.”

“It was the Huaxia army that defeated Huadu.”

“Huaxia army?”

Zhang Tao stared, as if the name were utterly foreign to him.

Jin Zhong could only point out:

“The very Mimetic Heretics, the ones from Huangshi City.”

“Them?!”

Zhang Tao was dumbfounded.

“They beat Huadu?”

“Yes, a resounding victory—precisely, an overwhelming triumph.”

“…How many of them were there?”

Zhang Tao pressed further.

“Eight individuals.”

“Eight? And they used that Huangshi‑city weapon again??”

“No, not this time. They employed tanks, the ‘Holy Elephant’ as we call it.”

“…That’s impossible.”

In Zhang Tao’s eyes lay sheer disbelief, yet Jin Zhong chuckled wryly and said:

“But that is the fact.”

“Everything you have witnessed is of their doing; they brought forth a multitude of machines infused with mechanical souls beyond our comprehension, and these machines aided them, without any casualties, with effortless”

“…to effortlessly annihilate Huadu’s foes.”

“I know this is hard for you to accept, and I also know you may be disappointed by our failure, but—”

“No, I am not disappointed at all.”

Zhang Tao abruptly cut Jin Zhong off, and a teasing smile flickered in his eyes.

“I am merely surprised.”

“Yet I am not disheartened.”

“In truth, before I arrived, I had already prepared to take over an empty city.”

“you—do you not believe we can hold it?”

Jin Zhong asked in astonishment.

“What a joke! Relying on a few hundred remnants to block three thousand of Huadu?”

“Not to mention relying on your few hundred; even if the Saint had not ordered an expedition before this, with ample troops and weapons the city of Jinling could not be held.”

“Brother, don’t you understand yet?”

“The Guard of the Faith is no longer what it once was, nor are the archbishops what they once were.”

“Defeat is inevitable; I even doubt the Saint—”

“lower your voice!”

Jin Zhong immediately cut off Zhang Tao’s words, then frowned and said:

“You ought not to discuss such matters!”

“How have you become so reckless? When you left Jinling, you were not like this!”

“If you, like me, were stationed for years in a city far from the core, I believe you would become even more reckless than I am.”

Zhang Tao spread his hands and then said:

“Enough, let us not dwell on this topic.”

“Regardless, defeating Huadu and holding Jinling is, after all, a good thing.”

“And what of the next step? What does the Saint intend?”

“The Saint will commence formal negotiations with the Huaxia army today.”

Jin Zhong exhaled a sigh and replied:

“I have heard that the Huaxia army has presented us with many demands, and will raise even more at the bargaining table.”

“And tragically, we can scarcely oppose any of those demands.”

“Yet the Saint will not accept them wholesale.”

“He is dispatching the bulk of the southern guard brigades, ordering them to arrive in Jinling within two days.”

“Perhaps the Saint seeks to leverage this to pressure the Huaxia army into conceding.”

“under pressure?”

Zhang Tao laughed heartily and then said:

“This is the funniest joke I have heard on this journey.”

“From where does the Saint draw such confidence?”

“Honestly, rather than summoning each of our brigade commanders back, wouldn’t it be more…”

“to have him kneel before the Huaxia leaders and beg, that would be far more tangible.”

.You must not show such disrespect to the Saint.

Jin Zhong shook his head, saying nothing more.

The scene he had witnessed yesterday in the manor flashed before his eyes.

The Saint, in a disheveled tumble, fell at the feet of a man named Chen Jian; such a sight

was no different from a kneeling tribute.

Jin Zhong would not tell Zhang Tao this; it was his line in the sand.

Yet he also knew, with stark certainty, that the lofty image of the Saint in his heart had been utterly shattered.

At this moment, the processing of prisoners was drawing to a close, and the guard troops began to regroup, marching back to Jinling.

As the sun rose high, Zhang Tao suddenly asked:

“When will the negotiations take place?”

“They say at four in the afternoon—what of it?”

Zhang Tao gave a faint smile and then answered:

“There is still time.”

“Before they formally commence the talks, I must find a pretext to meet those so‑called Huaxia forces!”

(End of Chapter)