Chapter 241: Pack It Up and Take It All Away

Chapter 241: Packing Up and Leaving

Half an hour later, on the outskirts of Base 011.

The girl stood before Chen Jian with a hint of unease, her eyes curious yet tinged with a slight nervousness as she surveyed the man clad in strange armor.

She had never seen armor like this; the guards of the Mechanical Cult she had encountered before also wore armor, but it was entirely different from what this stranger wore.

Of course, strength and weakness could be discerned at a glance.

This is…

…the legendary “Huaxia Army”?

The girl opened her mouth to speak, but the man opposite asked:

“Where are you from? What’s your name?”

“I come from Qiandao Lake Town, just south of you.”

“I’m Jiang Yu, a scout from there!”

The girl answered with neither humility nor arrogance.

Chen Jian nodded and continued:

“Jiang Yu? Which Jiang, which Yu?”

“Jiang of the Yangtze, Yu of the little fish.”

“.Your name really is… .crude.”

Chen Jian chuckled and said:

“In our days, those two characters together usually appeared on a restaurant menu.”

“But never mind, that’s not the point.”

“What brings you here?”

“I’m a scout from Qiandao Lake Town. Three days ago, your people killed two monsters there and saved our folk.”

“The ones you saved told us we could head north.”

“So I came.”

“I bring you a gift—though modest, I hope you’ll accept it.”

Jiang Yu’s expression was solemn; though her voice trembled with nerves and her words stumbled, it was clear she was striving to steady herself.

“Understood.”

Chen Jian nodded again.

Through the information Shen Yue transmitted via PDA and Fuxi’s feedback, he confirmed the girl was not lying.

Yet, honesty did not mean she had revealed the whole truth.

“Who would travel a thousand miles just to say thank you?”

It was obvious she had another purpose.

After a brief silence, he took the small parcel Jiang Yu handed him and asked:

“Besides gratitude, what else?”

The words hung in the air, and the girl stared, momentarily baffled.

She could not immediately grasp what Chen Jian meant.

Life on the wasteland had taught her to view everything through a negative lens, but this time, she read no malice in his expression.

After a short contemplation, she resolved to speak plainly:

“Qiandao Lake Town can no longer hold us; the monsters nearby grow more active each day.”

“I don’t want our town to become a second Juru, nor see my home and the people I know fall to those beasts.”

“So I have gathered, as best I could, information about you and the Huaxia Army from elsewhere.”

“I came to see for myself.”

“If this place is suitable, I’d like to bring others here together.”

“You may.”

Chen Jian answered without hesitation:

“Bring them over.”

“In the short term we’ll solve your food problem.”

“After that, you’ll need to be self‑sufficient.”

“Huh?”

Jiang Yu was taken aback.

“You agree already?”

“The question isn’t whether I agree, but whether you are willing.”

Chen Jian waved his hand and said:

“Feel free to look around; if a place is off‑limits, someone will tell you.”

“Observe carefully, then decide for yourself. If you need assistance during the relocation, we’ll help as best we can.”

“All right, we’re about to eat. You can look after yourself for now.”

“.Alright.”

Jiang Yu stood there, bewildered, watching the man turn back, walk to an open area, and shed his “battle armor.”

Several clearly mechanical humanoid robots followed his movements, carrying the armor into a vast tunnel before disappearing into a blinding light.

The sheer impact of that single scene made Jiang Yu doubt the breadth of the world she had imagined over the past decade‑plus.

A thought flashed through her mind.

So… the “machine soul” truly exists?

Can it really make those machines move on their own?

No.

Impossible.

The notion was instantly dismissed.

Recalling the iron bird in the sky and the thing called a drone, Jiang Yu reached a conclusion she deemed reasonable.

Those robots were most likely controlled by humans.

It’s just that the controller, perhaps, never appeared before her eyes.

With that realization, she felt an immediate lightness.

It’s not that I can’t understand.

She tentatively took a few steps, and after confirming no one would stop her, she headed straight for the low, modest wooden huts in the distance.

There, some civilians who had clearly not been integrated into the “Huaxia Army” were also eating, yet both the setting of their meal and the food before them were far more crude than that of the true Huaxia troops.

And after she asked, Jiang Yu verified her own conclusion.

These people were refugees who had arrived here only recently, many of whom hailed from Jurong!

“.What’s the situation in Jurong now?”

Jiang Yu asked.

The refugees fell silent at once, and after a long pause, someone finally spoke:

“We don’t know.”

“But when we left, there was no longer any way to survive there.”

“The monsters had almost killed everyone; it was only by great luck that we made it here.”

“We will never go back.”

“That’s it.”

Jiang Yu nodded thoughtfully, then continued to ask:

“And here? How is this place?”

“There are no monsters here; we can live.”

A woman across the way fed the jerky in her porridge to the child in her arms, then answered:

“As long as we work, we have food—cutting trees, making bricks, tilling the fields.”

“We should have come here sooner; had we known… that the adults would accept us, my child.”

The woman fell silent, and Jiang Yu did not press further.

She turned her head contemplatively, looking back at the clusters of “Huaxia Army” who seemed to be celebrating something.

They truly were receiving the refugees.

Moreover, they were providing the newcomers with decent treatment.

There was even meat in the porridge.

Though for the residents of Qiandao Lake Town this was not an especially lofty condition,

when one surveyed the world at large, the deeds of the Huaxia Army could be considered as benevolent as possible.

One must remember that refugees who pledged allegiance to the Mechanical Cult would never receive such hospitality.

They would most likely be shoved into some workshop, barely surviving amid dust and smoke.

The harshness of that environment inflicted damage that was visible to the naked eye.

It was evident that the refugees before her had not been subjected to such treatment.

The woman’s complexion was rosy, and the child’s cheeks were even plump with flesh.

Seeing this, she felt it was already enough.

Most of her questions had been answered, enough to report back to her own people.

Perhaps she ought to hurry back.

Yet Jiang Yu could not resist the urge to linger a while longer.

After all, what she beheld was strikingly different from anything she had known.

Massive machines, scorching steel, bright lights, towering edifices

and countless weapons whose very sight proclaimed overwhelming power.

Even in Jinling, a city she had once visited, she had never seen such things.

Jiang Yu paced the open ground, and whenever she attempted to enter a “restricted area,” the drone hovering above her issued a gentle reminder.

“Ahead lies a prohibited zone; come back later to explore.” Jiang Yu obediently followed the command, never stepping across the boundary.

When she had surveyed every sight available, a decision had already formed in her mind.

She approached the man she had spoken with earlier, her demeanor humble, and said:

“Sir, I have finished my inspection.”

Chen Jian set down his chopsticks and, with a tone of expectedness, asked:

“When will you arrive? Do you need assistance?”

Jiang Yu shook her head and replied:

“I will return to Qiandao Lake Town as soon as possible; it will take a few days to bring them here.”

“We have 245 people; though the number is a bit large, we have some food of our own, so you need not worry about our provisions.”

“It’s fine.”

Chen Jian waved his hand, cutting her off, then said:

“Bring them over.”

“We can sustain this many.”

“However, we have plenty of work to do here; once you arrive, you will have no time to rest and must immediately join production.”

“Of course.”

Jiang Yu bowed her head respectfully and answered:

“We are willing to exchange labor for everything, including the shelter the Huaxia Army provides us.”

“We will worship the Sacred Eight‑One, dedicating ourselves to serving the Sacred Eight‑One.”

“You wait a moment.”

Listening to the girl’s slightly awkward words, Chen Jian chuckled and asked:

“Has the name of the Sacred Eight‑One already reached your side?”

“.Yes.”

Jiang Yu nodded slowly.

“How interesting.”

Chen Jian shook his head and said:

“Regardless of what doctrine or deity you and your people once followed, I must tell you this.”

“After coming here, do not speak of your god again.”

“The Huaxia Army does not believe in gods; we guarantee religious freedom here, but proselytizing is forbidden outside places of worship.”

“Huh?”

Jiang Yu was stunned.

In an instant, a torrent of chaotic thoughts flashed through her mind.

But when all those thoughts gathered together, she could only squeeze out a single sentence:

"Where in the new Jinling city is a place of worship?"

"Not at the moment."

Chen Jian answered offhand, then added:

"Perhaps there will be one in the future, but I can't promise it."

"Regardless, go ahead and bring the people over first."

"But before you go back, have you eaten?"

"If you haven't, would you sit down and have a bite?"

Jiang Yu stared at Chen Jian in bewilderment, silent for several seconds before finally speaking:

"Thank you, I must return as soon as possible."

"Could you help me load a little?"

"I'll eat on the road."

Two hours later.

The celebration banquet had ended, and Chen Jian sat near the stove outside the main passage of the 011 works, tending the fire while gazing at the dazzling Milky Way overhead.

Not far ahead of him, Huang Yu was training the sole outstanding, ideologically sound refugee who had just been approved to join the Huaxia army; the shouts and reprimands rang a little harshly in the quiet night.

Shen Yue and Lei Jie sat beside Chen Jian, watching with keen interest as Huang Yu drilled the new recruit.

"Do you recall your own days as a raw recruit?"

Lei Jie asked.

"When I was a recruit, it was nothing like this."

Chen Jian clicked his tongue twice and replied:

"I handled a gun during high‑school military training, and once I entered the troops I adapted instantly—no growing pains at all."

"Your place's training is indeed fierce."

Lei Jie was speechless, then turned the question back:

"What do you think, can that little girl who arrived today bring the people over?"

"It's over two hundred kilometers in a straight line, and she has to lead more than two hundred people. She hasn't even asked us for assistance; the difficulty must be considerable, right?"

"I don't understand."

Chen Jian shook his head:

"Originally I planned to spend a fortune on horse bones and send men to meet them as they came."

"But now, since she hasn't mentioned it, I have no reason to bring it up proactively."

"After all, more and more refugees will seek to join us, and if we go out wave after wave to receive them, we'll be overwhelmed."

"Still, I think her abilities are impressive."

"Her mind is clear, her temperament quite open, and as for stamina—according to Shen Yue, given the time we lingered in Jinling, a little over four days, she could cover more than two hundred kilometers; there's no doubt about her endurance."

"I even suspect she might carry the blood of a Saint‑blooded one. Shen Yue, do you think that's possible?"

"I don't know. When we were in Qiandao Lake town I didn't watch closely, but I remember she seemed quite brave, even scooping up two people while fleeing."

Shen Yue sighed and answered:

"Back then I was only thinking about those two rockets. Still, she might not have come purely on foot; Qiandao Lake town is rich in fishery resources and trades with several large human cities nearby. Perhaps she hitched a ride with the Mechanical Cult?"

"That would be fine."

Chen Jian mused:

"If she can open this passage, the subsequent migration will become far less arduous."

"It seems we must still trust the power of the masses; isn't this a fine talent, a precious jade?"

"In any case, we are ready to receive them."

"The equipment He Shuo ordered has already entered production; we expect it to be ready for assembly in two days."

"The construction of the factories will be left to the newcomers to handle."

"Give them some work, and they can settle down more quickly."

"Understood."

"No problem."

Lei Jie and Shen Yue answered in turn, and Chen Jian asked again:

"Lei Jie, have you seen those two rockets?"

"How are they? Good condition? Usable?"

"I just gave them a quick glance."

Lei Jie replied:

"They should be usable, but the fuel is certainly expired."

"If we can find a way to get fresh fuel, they should fire."

"But it's not urgent, is it? Do we have anything we need to strike?"

"Not at the moment."

Chen Jian shook his head, then added:

"However, if we can restore them soon, I'd like to fire one as a test."

"Where would we aim? The mountain city?"

Lei Jie furrowed his brows.

"I wouldn't recommend hitting the mountain city; the situation there is still unclear."

"If that place truly is a city built by AI, already possessing a complete industrial capacity, destroying it outright would be a waste."

"Rest assured, I'm not that foolish."

Chen Jian stood up, brushed the clinging soil from his clothes, and said:

"What I intend to target is that whale‑eel."

"It's a Level‑One monster, the perfect demonstration specimen."

"I want to use this missile to stage a performance battle for everyone in the world."

"I want them to see that we can eliminate a Level‑One monster with ease."

"And we can do it without causing any harm!"

"Aren't you just flashing a coquettish glance at a blind man? The Mechanical Cult probably won't even understand this thing."

"Who said I'm doing it for the Mechanical Cult?"

Chen Jian turned his gaze toward Lei Jie and answered:

“I speak for the unseen mastermind who might be lurking behind the scenes.”

“Regardless of who they are, once this missile is fired, they will have to step into the light.”

(End of Chapter)