Chapter 275: Colony

Chapter 275: Colony

Internal governance was tackled on many fronts, and the military restructuring was carried out with sweeping vigor.

Two initiatives proceeded in tandem; after a brief, almost frantic upheaval, Base 011—now home to over a thousand residents from the Imperial Capital—swiftly forged a new order.

The shock Chen Jian had feared never materialized; on the contrary, everything advanced steadily along the planned course.

On the third day after the Imperial citizens arrived at Base 011, Fuxi estimated that the entire installation had reached peak efficiency.

Propelled by that peak efficiency, the cannon fort of the first defensive line was erected in record time.

Upon completion, every resident who had taken part gathered at the starting point of the fort’s perimeter, rode in cargo trucks, and inspected the fruits of their own labor.

Undoubtedly, in that moment, beyond the relief of finally resting after grueling toil, the strongest feeling among the people was pride.

They could scarcely believe the power they still possessed.

In merely three days they had raised a barrier that might one day be recorded in the annals of history?

Some even shed tears while on patrol, and when the inspections ended and they were escorted back to the living quarters of Base 011, they rushed to share the remarkable details of the work with their families still inside the base.

Chen Jian thoughtfully prepared medals for the workers who had helped build it.

——

Of course, they were not medals in the true sense.

They were merely a tiny special mark on a work‑point card.

Yet even so, the crowd read a fierce sense of honor from that symbol.

For the first time they realized that the bonds between people could not be measured solely by money, strength, or authority.

A gap—imperceptible to the naked eye yet unmistakably present—stretched between those who bore the medal and those who did not.

That disparity further spurred everyone’s enthusiasm.

Chen Jian believed that when the beast tide finally arrived, and when this line of defense earned glorious battle honors, the value of that symbol, that medal, would continue to climb.

Standing beside the airfield on the outskirts of Base 011, Chen Jian said wistfully to Lei Jie:

“I originally thought the first medal would go to a combatant of the Huaxia army, but I didn’t expect the first recipients to be these workers.”

“Isn’t that only natural?”

Lei Jie shrugged, then replied:

“In fact, the Huaxia troops already possess a stronger sense of honor than ordinary folk; they don’t need such differentiation to reinforce their conviction—for now, at least.”

“Withholding it from them is also correct; after all, we cannot let the soldiers and civilians drift too far apart.”

“—But to return to the point, if Jiang Yu manages to fly over and bring back the rocket fuel, shouldn’t she be awarded a medal?”

“This is her first solo mission, and it’s a mission of great importance.”

“There’s no material reward, but a little spiritual recognition isn’t too much, is it?”

“Damn, you’re already forming cliques as soon as you get a chance.”

Chen Jian asked with a hint of teasing in his tone:

“What’s the matter, already paving the way for your star pupil?”

“Just cut to the chase—I’m being serious.”

Lei Jie sighed, then said:

“Honestly, I had planned to go with her, but I can’t leave this side of the base.”

“The situation is tightening; I have six pilots training simultaneously, and they must reach independent flight and bombing capability within a week.”

“I can’t afford to waste even a single second.”

“I understand.”

Chen Jian nodded slowly.

“Rest assured, I’ll give her an explanation.”

“But not now.”

“Understood.”

Lei Jie answered solemnly, and at that moment, far away Jiang Yu had already boarded the familiar Mosquito‑type bomber she knew so well.

After donning the helmet that Chen Jian had given her—a helmet originally belonging to the fifth Nezha exosuit—she saluted toward the two of them.

Then she closed the hatch and fired up the engine.

The propeller began to turn, and the bomber rolled forward slowly.

In a sudden instant, Jiang Yu yanked the control stick, and the unarmed aircraft shot upward from the ground.

Chen Jian watched the plane’s shadow fade into the sky; after a moment of silence, he asked abruptly:

“If nothing goes wrong, she’ll be back tomorrow, right?”

“If nothing goes wrong, then tomorrow.”

Lei Jie’s voice carried a faint heaviness.

“This flight is top‑secret; she’ll receive no support. It looks risky, but the safety measures are solid.”

“The Ring Chamber has already begun constructing a temporary airstrip to our specifications—honestly, a temporary field is probably the most hazardous spot.”

“After all, the only thing handling assisted landings is a swarm‑robot; I’m not entirely comfortable with that.”

“Fortunately, her flight path is almost entirely covered by the honey‑comb network—huh, you really thought ahead when you decided on a northern expedition.”

“What do you think?”

Chen Jian chuckled and answered offhand, and the two turned back toward the base.

But at that instant, a voice crackled through their headsets—Fuxi’s voice.

“Commander, urgent military report.”

“The guard regiment led by Jin Zhong has encountered a Level‑2 monster south of Yanling and is already engaged!”

“The creature is fleeing south, its trajectory aligning with Liangxi!”

“A Level‑2 monster?!”

Chen Jian stared in disbelief.

“Are you sure it’s a Level‑2 monster?”

“Positive!”

Fuxi replied briefly:

“From the intel Jin Zhong relayed, the creature exhibits every trait of a Level‑2 monster.”

“It can alter the environment within a certain radius, wields massive destructive power, and possesses an aggressive drive and a strong territorial instinct.”

“I judge it to be a textbook Level‑2 monster; if it reaches Liangxi City, it could cause massive casualties.”

“Do they have any chance of taking that monster down?”

Chen Jian furrowed his brow, then asked.

"The success rate is below ten percent; I advise we hasten to muster reinforcements,"

As Fuxi's words fell, a combat‑zone map instantly flickered onto Chen Jian's smart ocular lenses.

The dynamic map showed the monsters were now less than thirty kilometers from Liangxi City, while the Imperial Guard trailed ten kilometers behind their path.

They could not catch up.

Chen Jian's heart leapt, and he swiftly issued orders:

"Deploy forces forward as reinforcements,"

"The distance is one hundred and fifty kilometers; arrive within six hours,"

"Notify the Mechanical Cult, and demand they swiftly marshal the defensive units of Jingkou, Suzhou, and Yanling to lend aid,"

"Simultaneously, order the local garrison at Liangxi to commence evacuation without a moment's delay!"

"Understood!"

Fuxi replied at once, while Chen Jian turned his head toward Lei Jie standing nearby.

"Our conjecture has been vindicated,"

"These monsters have begun to assault the surrounding towns,"

"We must stop them; otherwise the ensuing tide of refugees will be beyond our capacity to bear!"

Meanwhile, to the south of Yanling.

Jin Zhong stared intently at the drone console's display, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

Not long ago, the squad he commanded had secured an unprecedented triumph. As the former commander Lei Jie had declared, no creature could withstand a single direct shot from an electromagnetic cannon.

With equipment supplied by the Huaxia forces and the aid of drone reconnaissance, they crafted a meticulous operation plan and executed the deployment with extraordinary precision.

Having expended merely two electromagnetic shells and two recoil‑free rounds, they swiftly slew the two monsters besieging Yanling.

This time, they truly tested the genuine skills they had gleaned from the Huaxia army.

Everyone bathed in the euphoria of victory, and even some Imperial Guard soldiers, intoxicated by triumph, suggested "leveraging this great success to return to Jinling and negotiate with the Sage."

But reality soon dealt them a crushing blow.

Just as they resolved the crisis at Yanling and prepared to retrace their steps to New Jinling for the next assignment—while unlocking more potent weaponry—a creature unseen by the drones collided head‑on with the once‑unscathed unit.

The monster was not massive; it was a roughly ten‑meter‑wide, amorphous mass.

At first they presumed it a minor, unfamiliar beast, its level never exceeding four.

But soon the Guard realized they were mistaken.

Within seconds of the frontal encounter, every member of the party suddenly felt weakness and dizziness.

Jin Zhong's first thought was poisoning; without hesitation he ordered everyone to don the protective suits previously allocated to them and keep as far from the creature as possible.

Yet the decision bore no fruit; one by one the soldiers collapsed, while the bullets they fired at the monster passed through as if piercing a puff of cotton.

The creature sustained no damage, and when Jin Zhong raised his explosive rifle to strike, it was already too late.

His vision blacked out for a heartbeat; when he opened his eyes again, the monster had vanished.

Beside him, at least twenty comrades lay motionless, forever stripped of the ability to rise.

That brief skirmish felt like a nightmare.

Jin Zhong could not tell when the dream had begun, nor when it ended.

Only a searing pain in his mind reminded him that he had just brushed the razor‑edge of death.

He drew a deep breath and set aside the drone console.

At that moment, the Guard's medic arrived at his side.

The medic's face was grave; he met Jin Zhong's eyes and spoke:

"The fallen brothers did not die of poisoning,"

"They seemed to have suffocated,"

"All of us are alike; we each exhibited signs of hypoxia, and some of the hallucinations among our brothers stemmed from that oxygen deprivation,"

"Suffocation? Hypoxia?"

Jin Zhong furrowed his brow at the medic and asked:

"How can that be? I felt no sign of suffocation at all!"

"Perhaps carbon dioxide,"

After a brief pause, the medic replied:

"Colonel, do you recall?"

"During our training, the Huaxia regiment commander once spoke of a certain monster."

"The very creature they encountered at Xiama Town and later slew on the Yangtze west of Hanshui City."

"That beast can consume breathable oxygen from the air and generate unbreathable carbon dioxide, silently killing those around it."

"I suspect we have encountered precisely such a monster."

"The hypoxic symptoms match perfectly, as does the manner of death."

"No, impossible."

Jin Zhong raised his hand to cut the medic off and said:

"We were all gathered in the same area; if such a monster existed, it would have killed every one of us indiscriminately."

"Then why did some of our brothers perish while others remain unharmed?"

"I do not know."

The medic shook his head slowly.

"But I have a conjecture."

"Speak!"

Jin Zhong's tone was stern; at a moment like this he could not tolerate any cryptic ramblings.

Seeing his expression, the medic dared not delay further.

He gathered his thoughts and answered:

"The creature we face differs from all we have previously encountered; bullets pass through it, and rockets do likewise."

"When a rocket pierced it, the warhead failed to detonate."

"I suspect it is not a corporeal monster at all."

"It resembles a conglomerate of micro‑monsters."

"Like a cloud of fungal spores gathered together—much like the second‑tier beast that once dwelled in the Jinling ruins."

"And then?"

Jin Zhong asked again.

‘If that’s the case, then the fact that some of us perished while others survived can finally be explained.’

‘But for now, I must first dissect the corpse.’

‘I require your permission.’

‘Granted!’

Jin Zhong answered without hesitation.

The army medic said nothing more; he led Jin Zhong to the body of a Guard Brigade soldier, offered a brief incense prayer, then drew a scalpel from his belt and swiftly slashed across the chest.

Near‑solid blood began to ooze slowly; clad in isolation gear, he thrust his hand into the wound and forced it open.

In the next instant, the corpse’s lungs were exposed to the air.

The medic’s motions did not cease—he lifted the scalpel again and, with ruthless precision, excised the lungs from the thorax, then, with a second cut, cleaved the seemingly robust organ in two.

In a heartbeat, countless alveoli were laid bare to the atmosphere.

He slipped his hand into the alveolar maze, gave a gentle twist, and lifted it before Jin Zhong.

‘Just as I suspected.’

‘All the fallen brothers have been infected by those microscopic organisms.’

‘The oxygen they inhaled was transmuted into carbon dioxide— that is their true cause of death!’

‘We must act faster; we donned protective suits in time, so we are safe.’

‘That monster—no, it is not a monster.’

‘It is a collective of oxygen‑consuming lifeforms, a colony, if you will.’

‘Even the beast in Hanhui City was an infected carrier, just like those dead comrades!’

When his words fell, Jin Zhong stared in stunned silence.

In the next heartbeat, another thought flashed through his mind.

If this is not a monster, if its density is so low that even a rocket could pierce it.

Then, in the wind, how swift could it truly be??

It has already headed toward Liangxi City.

Can my squad still catch up to it?

Even if we can, what weapon could we wield to destroy it?

The situation does not look optimistic.

After a brief contemplation, he spoke:

‘Update the Huaxia forces with this intelligence and request their support.’

‘Everyone else, follow me at full speed!’

‘We may well be unable to defeat this monster.’

‘But we must reach Liangxi as quickly as possible to aid the civilians in evacuation!’

(End of chapter)