Chapter 3: Is It Human?

Chapter 3: Are They Human?

The smoke and dust settled.

The street fell silent, the blood flowing from the monster's corpse giving off a heavy, foul stench.

Chen Jian's hand still trembled slightly, for those last few shots had been incredibly tense.

He Shou had emptied the CS/LR4's magazine, raising the Type 10 rifle without even time to aim, and fired a shot in his own direction.

The bullet grazed less than a meter from him, slamming the monster that had lunged at him violently aside.

Only then did he have time to burst-fire and kill the monster slashing its claws at Lei Jie, while Lei Jie could smoothly swap magazines and take down the monster that had lunged at Shen Yue, who had expended all ammo from his machine gun and rifle.

If He Shou's shot had been a moment later or slightly off,

this squad would have faced a completely different outcome.

Chen Jian reloaded, slipping the magazine that had fallen at his foot back into his chest rig.

"What the hell is this thing,"

Shen Yue, still heart‑pounding, swapped in his last ammo box while resetting his counter‑sniper radar sensitivity to zero, and He Shou beside him quickly launched a drone to begin high‑altitude reconnaissance.

"No abnormalities around, just these—12 to 13 heads."

"The aerial view has panned; we can check."

"But the drone's battery is running low—damn, if I'd known it wasn't fully charged I wouldn't have bothered with it in the woods!"

"Who knows, maybe we weren't even clothed back then?"

Shen Yue spat and said:

"Thinking about it, MGZ is actually more friendly."

"Come on, even if he did it to you, you wouldn't be happy."

Chen Jian quickly glanced at the aerial image streaming into his visor; only now did he grasp how shocking the battle had been.

It had erupted suddenly, with no preparation on our side, and the first contact was immediate close combat.

The enemy was completely unfamiliar, and all we could rely on were just four of us.

Fortunately we had come out for live‑fire target practice.

Fortunately our gear was complete.

Fortunately it was our squad!

Had any other team been in the same situation, they likely wouldn't have survived.

Chen Jian exhaled deeply, walked to the monster corpse just a few steps away, and crouched down.

The monster's muscles still twitched, just like any beast in his knowledge, showing the almost universal "post‑mortem reaction."

He stepped around the sharp keratinous claws and knelt beside the wound where a 12.7 mm bullet had torn through the creature, examining it closely.

After a moment he spoke, doubtful:

"The internal muscle and vascular structure doesn't defy common sense—major arteries, veins, capillaries are present, and the muscle fiber and skin structure are quite ordinary; it feels like some special beast."

"The only anomaly is the reversed‑motion knee joint—what beast has such a structure?"

Hearing him, Lei Jie, who had been silently sitting aside organizing his gear, replied:

"None—though birds have a whole bunch of them."

"But you're not going to tell me this thing is a bird, are you?"

"Definitely not."

Chen Jian shook his head, stood up again, and circled to the creature's head, hoping to identify the species from the skull not shattered by bullets—but his hope was in vain.

A chaotic layer of keratin completely covered the monster's entire skull, and in some places you could see that the keratin had displaced the original bone structure, turning the cranium into a mad, chaotic sculpture reminiscent of a Lovecraftian beast.

The only thing certain was that its brain capacity was astonishing.

From its broad face, its brain volume was at least on par with that of a great ape.

——

So what if this thing is actually human?

Chen Jian felt a chill, but upon reflection the possibility wasn't impossible. After all, the intelligence displayed by the enemy in that fight was astonishing—stealth, ambush, coordination, adaptation.

Great apes cannot perform such coordination, or if they could, it would not be this fluid.

Chen Jian's face darkened; after a moment's thought he said:

"Gear up, pull back into the building."

"After that firefight no monsters came out of the building, so inside should be safe."

"After we set up a perimeter, Shen Yue and I will search the interior for any text or image records."

"No matter what, we at least need to figure out where we are and what we're fighting."

"Understood!"

"Received!"

Everyone answered at once, and He Shou began to retrieve the drone.

His mood was a tangled mess, yet even so, before recalling the drone he flew it in a circle for one final image update.

——

And that circle made everyone's movements freeze instantly.

"Heat source detected, heat source detected, heat source detected."

A cold female voice from the smart terminal came through the earpiece, and the visor instantly pinpointed the heat source's location.

The four‑man team looked up together, their eyes locking onto the high‑rise window where the heat source lay; as the fleeting human‑shaped heat signature passed, the same thought flashed through all their minds.

"Someone!"

"Still friendly!"

"Although the smart terminal can't judge friend or foe from a heat signature, combined with the earlier clues…"

"It's clear: a creature whose entire anatomy evolved for ambush and predation couldn't have made such a commotion before battle; the only explanation is that someone, before our squad spotted those lurking monsters, warned us by throwing a heavy object."

Chen Jian's heart hammered violently, and then he gave the order:

"Drone, close in on the window for reconnaissance!"

"Gear up, move to the building with the heat source."

"Move out now!"

"Understood!"

The squad turned immediately, detouring half a block before the four of them reached the building's base.

It was a residential apartment block.

Chen Jian pressed himself against the doorway; the four formed a double‑column CQB breach formation, while Lei Jie opposite prepared the directional breaching charge—once Chen Jian gave the word, he would blast that imposing iron door open.

But at that very moment, a sudden flash of inspiration struck Chen Jian's mind.

If there are enemies inside, why would we go in and waste ammunition?

If they aren't enemies, what's the point of blowing the door?

He suddenly understood, then raised his voice and shouted:

"Fellow villagers! Open the door! We're the PLA!"

"It's safe outside now!"

"Hurry up and open the door—we're here to protect you!"

Chen Jian's voice echoed across the empty street as He Shuo lifted the drone, guarding against any monster that might sneak up on the sound.

Nobody thought Chen Jian's shouting was out of place; it seemed exactly what he should be saying at this moment.

——

Of course, they also didn't know whether such shouting would have any effect.

What if the people inside don't buy this?

What if they have no idea what this phrase means?

Doubt rose in everyone's minds, but just then Chen Jian keenly heard hurried footsteps coming from inside the door.

Next, the heavy door bolt was pulled open from within.

The iron door slowly swung open.

Appearing before Chen Jian was a .

Person??

(End of chapter)