Chapter 193: Refugees

Chapter 193: The Displaced

Six monsters, sixty minutes.

The “cleanup” was so swift that Huang Yu could barely keep up, as if they merely leapt from one spot to another, guided by drones, and eliminated the beasts with their own weapons before the monsters even sensed them.

It was that simple—so simple that the monsters could not possibly resist, and the combatants had no time to savor the victory.

They only vaguely sensed that those six engagements were alike as if they were one single battle.

Same tactics, same weapons, same personnel.

The few variations consisted merely of rotating the assault squads, and everyone’s movements grew a little more familiar.

Is this what they call “real combat”?

While everyone’s morale surged and they celebrated the string of victories, Huang Yu’s mind was clouded with doubt.

When every mission was completed and the unit regrouped for the return, he swapped seats with another and took the spot beside Commander Chen Jian.

“Commander, is that all?”

Huang Yu asked tentatively.

“Is it too easy? I thought real combat was meant to train us.”

“But it seems we haven’t been trained at all now!”

“Then what would count as training?”

Chen Jian looked at Huang Yu with keen interest and pressed on:

“High intensity, high pressure, draining your stamina, crushing your spirit to the limit?”

“Not like that.”

“Those are the things we do in daily drills.”

“But if it’s real combat, especially the first real combat, the easier the better.”

“The easier the better.”

“I would have been content just to let you fire a few shots, get a taste of facing monsters, and then whisk you back.”

“What amazes me, however, is how superbly you performed.”

“So you may have noticed that in the later skirmishes I mostly stepped back.”

“Yet you still did well, even improving each time, right?”

“…Seems so.”

Huang Yu nodded thoughtfully, then said:

“It’s because you all grow more confident with each fight.”

“Right?”

Chen Jian exhaled softly and then explained:

“In truth, a unit’s fighting spirit should be forged from weak to strong, from easy to hard.”

“But our squad has already endured the toughest times since the days at Huangshi.”

“So you have courage and will; I merely need to help you reclaim some confidence.”

“Now the gap is patched, and the results are decent.”

“Given that, what is there to worry about?”

“Exactly!”

Huang Yu finally relaxed, a smile spreading across his face. After a brief pause he said:

“Since the commander says so, I’ll have to train them properly when I get back.”

“These brothers have gotten a bit cocky; I need to press them down hard!”

“Otherwise how can I call you a talent?”

Chen Jian gave a thumbs‑up and said:

“You’ve already learned to anticipate!”

“Heh, not at all. It’s thanks to the previous commanders’ teachings and the useful materials they left; I picked up a bit.”

“It’s good to learn.”

Chen Jian nodded, about to offer more words of encouragement, when suddenly the alarm of Fuxi blared.

“Human heat signature detected five kilometers ahead, at the edge of our warning zone.”

“Total eleven individuals, preliminarily identified as civilians.”

Chen Jian sat upright, and at that moment the forward squad reported their finding.

“This is Squad One! Commander, the drone shows people about five kilometers out; by their clothing they appear to be displaced persons!” Displaced persons?

Chen Jian streamed the drone feed to his smart visor, lowered the craft after confirming safety, and as the camera zoomed in he indeed saw, at the fringe of the warning perimeter and the Jinling ruins, a rag‑clad group of wanderers.

The strangers clearly noticed the drone hovering under a hundred meters; some threw stones at the sky in panic, others raised their battered muskets toward it, shouting warnings.

Yet after a tense half‑minute standoff, none of the gun‑bearers pulled the trigger.

Perhaps their guns were empty.

Or perhaps, unsure whether their lives were truly at risk, they could not bear to waste their last ammunition.

Chen Jian observed for a moment longer, then turned to Huang Yu and asked:

“What do you think? Do you consider them displaced persons?”

“…It’s hard to say.”

Huang Yu furrowed his brow, shook his head, and replied:

“We saw many displaced people back in Huangshi City; they look much the same.”

“But these folk usually wouldn’t venture into such a perilous zone; they should be roaming along routes with human settlements.”

“Most wasteland dwellers know how dangerous the Jinling ruins are.”

“And there’s been a great battle here recently.”

“If it were me, I’d stay far away.”

“Understood.”

Chen Jian gave a slight nod, then ordered over the radio:

“Xie Liu, Ji Xing, Li Shi, advance to the marked coordinates for close reconnaissance and assess that wanderer squad.”

“If anything abnormal appears, eliminate on site.”

“If they’re confirmed ordinary civilians, bring them back to Base 011!”

“Copy that!”

“Received.”

The radio crackled with the two men’s replies, and Huang Yu, a little surprised, asked:

“The three of them have also arrived? Weren’t they supposed to stay at the base?”

Chen Jian smiled faintly and replied:

“Did you truly think I trusted you so completely? You’re nothing but a bunch of raw recruits.”

“If the battle earlier had gone awry, the three of them would have been your final safety net.”

As the words fell, Huang Yu’s gaze shifted once more.

He looked at Chen Jian, yearning to speak, yet he swallowed the words that rose to his lips.

No need for further words.

Do more.

An hour later, the main force, having finished their “hunt,” returned to the 011 bunker.

After they tended and serviced their gear, Xie Liu and his two companions escorted the small band of eleven refugees to the site.

The bewildered refugees huddled together, eyes wide with terror at sights they had never beheld, while the two frail women among them had collapsed entirely onto the ground.

Ji Xing strode straight toward Chen Jian, and before he could ask, he blurted out plainly:

“We have confirmed they are refugees, and the situation is dire.”

“They came from the town of Jurong.”

“According to them, that town no longer exists.”

“Monsters?”

Chen Jian furrowed his brow and asked.

Ji Xing’s expression grew grave as he nodded and replied:

“They are monsters.”

“But not just monsters!”

(End of Chapter)