Chapter 248: The Second Wave of the Beast Tide at Base 011

Chapter 248 – The Second Wave of the Beast Tide at Base 011

Meanwhile, near Tangshan, about twenty‑five kilometres from Base 011.

Shen Yue and the three squads under his command had just dispatched a Level‑3 monster and were regrouping beside its corpse.

The battle had been nothing spectacular—spotting, locking, tracking, splitting into fire teams, each taking a favorable position, then opening fire in the pre‑arranged order. With almost no hiccups, the terrifyingly swift beast fell effortlessly beneath their blades.

Shen Yue’s script never even had a chance to unfold; a lucky, recoil‑free cannon round pierced the creature’s spine in a single shot.

Then, a close‑range squad thrust a hand‑held anti‑tank mine into the monster’s maw, ending the fight definitively.

Blood sprayed everywhere, like paint splattered across the ground.

It should have been a gruesome tableau, yet now it shone as a bright stripe on the squad’s record of merit.

Standing before the monster’s shattered skull, Shen Yue examined it closely before speaking:

“We didn’t find the neural‑controller we uncovered earlier; it seems not every beast wears one.”

“Perhaps only those with pivotal organizational abilities possess a neural‑device—this notion mirrors the strategy Huadu once used to control the terror demons.”

At that moment, Shen Yue realized a flaw in his own words.

Isn’t this just a son echoing his father?

It isn’t merely similar to Huadu’s approach; Huadu’s method was itself a continuation of that hidden mastermind’s logic.

Nevertheless, once this point is confirmed, our tactical choices against future beast tides can become far more precise.

Hearing him, the temporary drone operator and communications officer, Squad Leader Huang Meng, stepped forward two paces, snapped a photo with his smart visor in Shen Yue’s line of sight, and reported:

“Commander, the record is filed and uploaded to the archive via Fuxi.”

“The beast tide is approaching; it’s thirty‑five kilometres away.”

“According to Fuxi’s data, at their current speed this batch will enter our decision radius in half an hour.”

“If we intend to eliminate those beasts, we should begin deploying our strategy immediately.”

“First, conduct an aerial reconnaissance.”

Shen Yue gave a brief order; Huang Meng answered without delay:

“I’ve issued a tracking and surveillance command through the War‑Cranium system; all data are being aggregated, with a preliminary report expected in ten minutes.”

“Commander, should we feint an attack on the beast formation to further ascertain their attributes?”

“Approve the feint reconnaissance.”

Shen Yue nodded in satisfaction.

I must admit, this round of drills has borne fruit.

Through relentless repetition of standardized maneuvers, the three squads under his command have gradually forged a default combat doctrine, now iterating upon it with fresh refinements.

Luring beasts into a counter‑strike by means of a drone feint is the new tactic they have devised.

The recent clash with the Level‑3 monster proved this added tactic to be remarkably effective.

The squad pre‑identified the monster’s speed, defensive tier, and attack pattern, charting a clear course for future assaults.

This allowed them to achieve maximal results with minimal firepower expenditure.

The soldiers of the Huaxia army are slowly acclimating to the “new era” style of warfare.

Their capacity to learn even astonishes Shen Yue.

——

Of course, this is not the moment for awards and commendations.

Two puffer‑type S drones hovered over the beasts’ heads; through the mesh network they instantly received the fire command, and in the silent frame, bursts of flame erupted.

Bullets ripped from their barrels like a torrential rain descending from the sky.

The two smaller monsters were instantly pierced from above by 8.6 mm rounds, collapsing before they could even emit a howl.

The drones swiftly altered course, targeting the third and fourth beasts that had not yet reacted.

This time, the strike fell short of expectations.

The large‑caliber rounds struck the beasts’ backs, but one creature’s thick, wood‑like composite skin absorbed most of the kinetic energy; only a few projectiles penetrated, inflicting negligible damage.

The other beast’s reaction was even more exaggerated.

Clearly, the bullets had ripped through it from head to toe.

Yet it continued to roll, thrash, and leap on the ground, showing no sign of immediate incapacitation.

Even the wounds inflicted by the bullets seemed to contract and staunch bleeding in an instant.

“Damn, this isn’t another mother‑beast, is it?”

Shen Yue muttered appreciatively at the view through his smart visor, just as the monster spotted the drone spitting bullets from the sky.

The agile little beast sprang upward, attempting to snatch the drone hovering two hundred metres above.

It was obvious that such an effort was doomed to fail.

Huang Meng issued a new command to the War‑Cranium system, sending the drone higher once more.

In that instant, a dense “rain of projectiles” rose from the ground and then fell again in rapid succession.

Accompanied by a faint yellow haze, the egg‑shell‑like objects struck the earth, shattering into a thick plume of smoke.

Toxic gas?

Shen Yue furrowed his brow.

Ironically, the very thing he feared least were gas‑type monsters; after all, his squad need not close‑range engage them.

“I can shell you from five kilometres away with a 107 mm; even if your toxin spreads far, it can’t blow back against the wind to reach me, can it?”

Yet, for some inexplicable reason, the swirling fumes made Shen Yue feel something was amiss.

——

Before he could decipher the source of this uneasy premonition, the next second—

“Boom!”

A violent explosion roared from afar.

A shockwave surged upward, and flames devoured everything around the beasts.

Under the searing heat, the surrounding vegetation ignited, and the few monsters clustered near the primary beast screamed and scattered.

Shen Yue stared, mouth agape.

Holy crap.

What the hell is a Katak toad?

You’re pulling a self‑destruct stunt on me, aren’t you?

Yet the effect of that self‑destruct is almost laughably feeble.

The drone, having risen in altitude, wavered briefly under the blast’s pressure, but the ultra‑responsive flight‑control system soon steadied it back into stable flight.

Shen Yue ordered the drones to withdraw beyond a safe distance, and immediately issued to the squad the command to prepare for the enemy.

This wave of the beast tide was modest in scale; after roughly discerning the monsters' attack patterns, they no longer posed a great threat.

"Deploy according to the prearranged battle formation, flank toward the target's location."

"Prioritize high‑value targets, employ heavy fire to suppress and clear scattered foes!"

"Understood!"

"Copy that!"

With the orders given, everyone sprang into action at once.

The three squads boarded their vehicles swiftly, and marched along the route plotted by the war council toward the objective.

In a mere ten minutes, Squad Three, tasked with long‑range fire support, had seized the high ground, while the small‑scale beast tide still lingered fifteen kilometers away, inexorably advancing toward the pocket formation the men had erected.

Five minutes later, the spearhead Squad One, led by Huang Meng, arrived at a lofty position ahead of Squad Three.

Heavy machine guns and automatic grenades were hoisted; Huang Meng, clutching a single‑person sniper grenade launcher, aimed at the open expanse before him.

According to the plan, Squad Two’s Huang Qiao would push forward to the point nearest the monsters, establish a fire node on the opposite flank, and through relentless guerrilla raids and interleaved maneuvers continually steer the beast tide’s advance until the creatures were lured into the pocket formation. They were the ones undertaking the most perilous task.

Of course, should the battle proceed smoothly, they would also claim the greatest share of the credit.

Second by second, Huang Meng felt a faint sourness in the right hand that gripped the sniper launcher.

He exhaled lightly, then turned to the assistant gunner, whose hand rested on the automatic grenade’s grip, and said:

"Stick to the commander’s words; if the fight erupts, don’t rush to fire."

"The automatic grenade’s range is sufficient, but its dispersion is vast."

"Moreover, its blast power is modest; without a precise hit, the damage remains low."

"We lack the capacity to produce shells; every round must be used to its fullest edge, understand?"

"Understood!"

The assistant gunner nodded immediately, then asked:

"Sergeant, when will we finally get to serve as the interleaving team?"

"We’ve fought several battles already, each time staying far back to snipe; all the glory goes to Squad Two."

"Glory? First master your weapon."

Huang Meng rolled his eyes and replied:

"When we followed the commander to the Imperial Capital, why didn’t anyone say ‘we stole all the credit’?"

"We’re all of the Huaxia army; just obey orders, don’t be picky!"

Huang Meng’s tone was stern; the assistant gunner gave an awkward smile and said:

"I didn’t mean it that way. I was just trying to share some of the pressure with my comrades."

"I know exactly what you’re thinking!"

Huang Meng turned, glared at the assistant gunner, and continued:

"Enough chatter, they’re coming right now!"

With those words, a sudden cascade of gunfire erupted in the distance.

Through the drone’s eye, Huang Meng saw clearly that Squad Two, now within a kilometer of the monsters, had unleashed its first volley of fire.

Gunfire and explosions merged into a roar; the monsters’ trajectories were thrown into chaos, two of them charging straight toward Squad Two’s position, while the others—including the explosive‑capable “third‑tier‑plus” beast—bolted like frightened prey toward the pre‑designated encirclement.

"They’re here!"

Huang Meng’s spirit surged, and he tightened his grip on the sniper grenade.

At that moment, Squad Two, having created enough commotion, began withdrawing along the planned route.

Their mission was never to annihilate the creatures outright.

They were to draw the monsters’ attention with a feint, and coax them “back”!

Guided by the drone, they slipped through the terrain along the pre‑mapped path.

Two cat‑cars darted over the faintly visible paved tracks in the jungle, exploiting their unrivaled mobility.

No monster could keep pace; indeed, they sometimes paused at certain points, waiting for the beasts that had lost their trail.

Everything progressed smoothly.

The beast tide crept ever nearer the encirclement, and when the last monster was driven out of the woods into the barren, grass‑less plain, Huang Meng drew a deep breath.

Then Shen Yue’s voice rang in his ear.

"Fire!"

"Bang!"

The sniper grenade emitted a crisp crack as a 40 mm shell burst from its barrel, tracing a flawless parabola before slamming into the colossal monster a kilometer away.

"Boom!"

The explosion thundered instantly.

Immediately followed by an even denser, fiercer hail of gunfire!

"Bang bang bang bang bang—"

The 301 heavy machine gun raked the field, its 12.7 mm rounds mercilessly piercing the beasts’ armor, shredding flesh and bone alike.

The creature clad in “wooden armor” finally tasted the true power of a large‑caliber round; over twenty thousand joules of kinetic energy ripped apart its dense cellulose shell, and even though much energy was spent, the remnants still pulverized the flesh beneath the carapace.

The “Mother‑Unit Two” suffered the same fate.

An 8.6 mm bullet’s puncture can be staunched by muscle contraction; try to contract a wound made by a 12.7 mm incendiary round.

Just one or two shots can annihilate an entire muscular system outright.

You still think you can contract it?

"Contract what?"

Under the overwhelming fire, four monsters fell in an instant.

The third‑tier beast, meanwhile, let out a howl, rose upright, and exposed its chest‑sac to all.

In that instant, Huang Meng instinctively aimed at its abdomen.

That was the weak point.

The sniper grenade fired, then detonated.

"Bang!"

"Boom!"

It erupted like a massive cesspit blown apart, blood, waste, and thick fluid spraying everywhere; moments later, a second blast ignited amid the incendiary sparks.

"Boom!"

Huang Meng even felt his eardrums bear the sudden high pressure.

This is a “biological cloud bomb”!

Its effect is so astonishing, even bordering on terrifying, that Huang Meng dares not imagine what dreadful calamity such a monster would wreak if it appeared near a human settlement.

Yet, fortunately, it is already dead.

Huang Meng let out a long sigh of relief, but at that very moment a voice rang in his ear—the commander’s.

“A multitude of moving targets have emerged behind us.”

Shen Yue’s voice was calm, though his tone carried a hint of urgency.

“It’s an ambush.”

“We are lying in wait for them, and they are lying in wait for us!”

“Team Three, fire 107 rockets at the designated coordinates with rapid salvo!”

“Team One, swing your barrels to block their advance!”

“They’re coming from behind you!”

“They’re moving fast! Stay alert!”

(End of Chapter)