Chapter 221: Cryogenic Monsters

Chapter 221: The Cold-Temperature Monster

When we left Quancheng, the clock had already slipped past four in the afternoon.

Chen Jian led his squad northward, reaching the plain town where we had previously lodged at six o’clock.

He had not intended to spend the night there; his plan was to press on northward, rest after reaching the farther city of Ander, yet before even setting foot in the plain town, he sensed something amiss.

The town bustled like never before, its lights crowded together in an unprecedented blaze.

Scores of merchants gathered on the outskirts, as if awaiting some unseen summons.

And when the convoy's glaring lights pierced the dusk, the crowd surged forward with impatient haste, instantly encircling the wagons.

“Sir! Sir! Save us!”

“Sir! Something’s happened in Ander! Help us!”

“Sir! We are merchants of the Mechanical God Sect; we have just contacted the Sanctuary, which directed us to seek your aid!”

“Sir! Show us a little mercy!”

A chaotic clamor rose, and Chen Jian flung open the carriage door, his face a mask of bewilderment as he stared at the throng surrounding him, instinctively asking:

“What’s happened?”

“Ander City! Two monsters have appeared outside the city!”

“The guard troops have already withdrawn; Ander is now a ghost town!”

“No one can stop those two beasts; if they truly attack Ander, everyone there will be doomed!”

Someone in the crowd shouted hoarsely, deepening the puzzlement etched on Chen Jian’s face.

What on earth is going on?

From Huadu to the plain town, we had traveled less than an hour.

In Huadu, the bishop of the Mechanical God Sect had given no warning, yet an hour later the monsters arrived?

It seemed almost unbelievable.

Chen Jian turned his gaze toward Ji Xing; the latter immediately returned to the carriage to confirm the situation with the Mechanical God Sect, while Chen Jian raised his hand to hush the crowd and then asked the man who claimed to be a merchant of the sect:

“Are you certain that monsters have been sighted near Ander?”

“Impossible! How could there be monsters in Ander?”

Before the man could answer, Xu He, who had also disembarked, shuffled over in a lazy gait.

“If monsters existed, the Blood Sanctum would have sounded the alarm long ago.”

“I’ve never heard of any monsters there; they’re just scaring themselves, that’s all.”

“Yes, they’re frightening themselves!”

“Even if monsters exist, why come looking for us?”

“We are not volunteers, nor are the Blood‑bearers.”

“We need extra payment! No, I don’t want money; I want a neural implant!”

“Do you have any leads on neural implants? Tell me, do you?”

Having recovered from the shock of “Lin Jing’s death,” Xu He now babbled incoherently; Chen Jian frowned, gave him a “shut up” gesture, and continued:

“Ignore him.”

“Tell me, what is the current state of Ander?”

The self‑styled merchant stepped forward and answered:

“Just as the sir— the sir has said, neither the Blood Sanctum nor the Mechanical God Sect issued any warning.”

“Yet many of us have truly seen the monsters!”

“Two of them, I assure you, it was no illusion!”

“They were near Ander; when we saw them they were less than ten kilometres from the city.”

“However, their direction did not seem to point straight toward Ander!”

“Understood.”

Chen Jian gave a slight nod and asked:

“You said you contacted the Sanctuary—what was their attitude?”

“The Sanctuary thinks this may be a mere accident, a simple migration of the beasts.”

“They have dispatched guard troops from other cities to Ander, but the distance is great; we fear they won’t arrive in time.”

“Sir, your unit is the swiftest! I have heard tales of the Huaxia army!”

“I know…”

“I know you are the most formidable hunters, which is why we risked pleading for your help!”

“We cannot lose Ander; it is our home. I know this request is bold, but we are willing to pay the price!”

“We can offer a bounty, should you agree.”

“Let’s set that aside for now.”

Chen Jian cut the man off and asked:

“Do you have more detailed information? Did everyone here actually see the monsters?”

“The majority did!”

The man nodded eagerly.

After a moment of thought, Chen Jian said:

“You organize it—compile every piece of intelligence you have and bring it to me.”

“If the monsters truly exist, we will go.”

“Very well! Very well, sir! I’ll get on it at once!”

The man rushed back into the crowd, scattering the people quickly.

Chen Jian immediately ordered the drones to be launched for forward reconnaissance.

The drone feed streamed to his smart visor; after a quick glance at the surroundings confirmed no monster traces, he handed command of the drone to Zhan Ku.

At that moment, Lei Jie, who had just descended from the 30A platform, walked up to him and asked:

“Planning to intervene?”

“What can we do if we don’t? They’ve already begged us for help.”

Chen Jian exhaled and continued:

“That’s a blessing—I had feared our image among the common folk was too brutal.”

“After all, we’ve battered Jinling and Huadu; virtually every faction that’s ever crossed us has been crushed.”

“If that reputation hardens, it will be hard to reshape later.”

“But for now it seems we’re seen as a powerful ‘monster‑hunting’ squad.”

Translate into English:

“This image works to our advantage, and we ought to preserve it diligently.”

“Indeed.”

Leijie nodded in agreement and continued:

“After all, we’re heading to Ander anyway; this at least gives us a new source of intelligence.”

“But I truly find it odd. You mentioned Shen Yue’s side, but here we are in the north, and yet there’s a case of two monsters joining forces?”

“How exactly does the beast tide form? Do the monsters communicate without regard to distance?”

“I don’t know.”

Chen Jian shook his head and said:

“It might not be a coalition at all; perhaps they just happened to appear simultaneously.”

“Either way, let’s first try to locate where they are.”

“Two monsters aren’t too hard for us to handle.”

“We just dragged a 152 howitzer over, didn’t we? It’s only a few rounds.”

“If we fire straight from Plain Town, we could take them down outright.”

“Let’s hope so.”

Leijie’s tone was flat, but worry gnawed at him.

If this is also a harbinger of the beast tide, the frequency of such signs is indeed alarmingly dense.

From north to south, within a few days, it’s happened twice.

How many more might be hidden where they cannot see?

Meanwhile, inside the inn’s great hall in Plain Town.

A man who called himself a merchant of the Mechanical Cult, named Jinzan, was surrounded by a crowd, and before him lay a battered table covered with a coarse sheet of white paper.

The inn was filled with chaotic, noisy clamor; Jinzan lifted his brush and shouted:

“Quiet! Quiet!”

“We must finish compiling all the information and hand it over, or if those two monsters breach Ander City, our cargo will be lost!”

“No more babbling—step forward one at a time!”

“Listen to me; answer exactly what I ask!”

When his words fell, the crowd fell silent. He inhaled deeply and asked:

“Li Mo, you first!”

“Your party was the closest to those two monsters; what did you see?”

“Me?”

The man named Li Mo hesitated, then replied:

“I don’t know!”

“I was the nearest to the monsters, but precisely because I was so close, I saw nothing!”

“Those two monsters almost passed right over my head!”

“All I know is they were huge, four‑legged, and their bellies were… indistinguishable.”

“Yes, they moved in a hurry; I don’t know if they noticed me, but they certainly didn’t attack.”

“They were heading toward Ander, the exact opposite of my direction.”

“I barely dared glance back; I sprinted all the way to Plain Town and then found you.”

“I know nothing else.”

“What a useless wretch!”

Jinzan cursed, then turned to another and asked:

“Wang Jian, what about you? You were the farthest; what did you see?”

“Two monsters.”

The man he addressed furrowed his brow, seeming to recall what he had witnessed.

After a moment, he answered calmly:

“The two monsters were actually far apart, one ahead of the other.”

“But they weren’t chasing each other; they simply happened to take the same path.”

“The distance was too great for me to see clearly.”

“However, I recall one of them being very thin.”

“Very thin??”

Jinzan, astonished, said:

“What kind of description is that? Do you mean flat or thin?”

“Just thin.”

Wang Jian replied firmly:

“From afar it looked like a sheet of membrane, like a huge butterfly that cannot fly.”

“The other had no notable traits, but the breath it exhaled was stark white.”

“I feel it seems very cold.”

Cold?

Now that is useful information.

In fact, he had only seen the ‘jet‑spouting’ monster.

He had thought it was merely ordinary exhalation.

But Wang Jian’s description made him realize it might be a distinctive trait.

Jinzan wrote the description onto the paper, added a few more lines, juxtaposing his own observations with Wang Jian’s, and forged a solid piece of intelligence.

Setting aside the brush, Jinzan continued to query those around him.

As each witness’s account was compiled, the paper grew ever fuller.

When the blank sheet was finally filled, he exhaled a long breath and said:

“Had we prepared this in advance—we’d have saved twenty minutes!”

“Alright, I must rush this to the Huaxia troops.”

“The Sanctuary can’t arrive in time; we can only rely on them.”

“Are they truly reliable?”

Someone in the crowd asked abruptly; Jinzan rose, sneered, and said:

“Reliable?”

“Your question sounds rather laughable.”

“You’re unaware? The Sanctum once had a misunderstanding with the Huaxia Forces, but now that misunderstanding has been resolved.”

“Do you know why? Because they helped the Sanctum defeat the enemies of Huadu.”

“Their strength is by no means inferior to the Sanctum’s, and in some aspects they are even stronger.”

“Even if you’ve never heard their tale, didn’t you, coming from the south, see the corpses of those monsters strewn along the road?”

“When the words fell, the asker fell silent.”

“A moment later, he cleared his throat, speaking with a hint of embarrassment:”

“I indeed saw it, but that seems to explain little, I suppose.”

“The Sanctified Blood Hall and the Mechanical Cult also hunt monsters, yet now they are powerless, those Huaxia Forces.”

“You don’t understand.”

“Jin Zan waved his hand impatiently, then said:”

“Those mighty monsters were simply dispatched by them.”

“They came north solely to avenge Huadu, and along the path of vengeance they happened to slay a dozen monsters of tier four or higher.”

“Now do you understand why I seek them?”

“Enough, do not waste my time.”

“Step aside! I’m heading to meet those elders right now!”

“A few minutes later, Chen Jian received the intelligence Jin Zan had sent.”

“On the blank sheet were cramped scribbles; Chen Jian skimmed the contents, furrowing his brow as he said:”

“A massive form, exhaling dense white vapor, four‑legged yet its belly unseen, resembling a reptile.”

“A thin biological membrane, bearing tentacles at least ten meters long.”

“What is this? A giant lizard, or a huge butterfly?”

“Looks like it.”

“Lei Jie, eyes fixed on the drone’s aerial reconnaissance feed, spoke:”

“It seems ages since we’ve encountered such bizarre beasts; traveling from Jinling, the monsters we’ve met have been rather ordinary.”

“Just larger in size, but lacking any specialized traits.”

“Yet these two, at a glance, are anything but ordinary.”

“Perhaps they’re two monsters of tier three or higher?”

“If they truly are two tier‑three‑plus monsters, the matter is far from simple.”

“Chen Jian set the paper down and asked:”

“Fu Xi, any findings from the aerial sweep?”

“So far, no monster traces have been detected.”

“Fu Xi’s reply left Chen Jian somewhat disappointed, yet before he could speak, Fu Xi continued:”

“However, observing the airborne thermal imagery, I noted extensive anomalous cold zones surrounding us.”

“Anomalous cold?!”

“Chen Jian looked up in astonishment, while through his smart visor, Fu Xi had already marked every cold zone.”

“These areas are slightly cooler than the ambient temperature, yet not due to terrain effects.”

“For instance, near the mountain I highlighted, the valley floor is cooler than the summit.”

“It seems a vast amount of cold gas has settled at the mountain’s base, its source unknown.”

“Cold gas of unknown origin.”

“Chen Jian turned once more to the compiled intel from Jin Zan.”

“White vapor.”

“Is this condensation of water vapor caused by the cold?”

“Surely not—does that monster possess refrigeration?”

“What a climate‑control creature!”

“Does such a thing exist in nature?”

“Chen Jian realized Lei Jie’s assessment was likely correct.”

“It is very possible this is a monster of tier three or higher.”

“Capable of altering the environment.”

“Is it tier two, or tier one?!”

(End of Chapter)