Chapter 283: Mandrill

Chapter 283 – The Mountain Monkey

The roar of cannons, the crack of rifles, the thunderous whine of bomber propellers.

Shouts of the reserve troops, the replies of the townsfolk, the clang of steel plates striking.

Yu Qian clutched his rifle, muscles taut, standing beside the freshly retrofitted excavator, his gaze fixed on the massive screen at the plaza’s heart.

The screen displayed, in real time, an enormous map.

The map portrayed the current battle lines encircling New Jinling, where the Huaxia army clashed with monsters.

Yu Qian could not read the characters on the map, yet the icons told him enough to grasp the flow of the fight.

Just minutes earlier—three hours after the first engagement—the beast tide launched its second assault on New Jinling.

According to the captains, “this time they’re serious.”

A horde of more than fifteen hundred small monsters surged like a tide against the first line of Huaxia defenses, while troops, the Holy‑blooded, and swarms of aerial and ground drones strained to hold the line and the buffer zone behind it.

Red dots marked the monsters; green dots marked the Huaxia forces.

Each collision of red and green sent a shiver of dread through Yu Qian.

He could not see the battlefield’s true visage, but he could imagine the horror faced by those on the front.

In stark contrast, the core of New Jinling remained as calm as ever.

No monsters.

Almost every red dot was halted beyond five kilometers; even the occasional one that breached the outer wall was swiftly devoured by pursuing green points.

Yu Qian suddenly thought perhaps he was overthinking.

These Huaxia veterans had never truly met an enemy, had they?

They had never known defeat, had they?

If that were so, how could a mere few thousand small beasts possibly best them here?

He exhaled softly, his grip on the rifle loosening a fraction.

Watching the red dots dwindle on the screen, an impractical fantasy flickered in his mind.

Perhaps it was not his hand that needed to act.

Perhaps if he simply stood here for a few hours, the so‑called beast tide would dissolve on its own.

The notion spun through his thoughts, leaving his attention hazy.

Then, in a matter of seconds, the situation on the screen shifted abruptly.

At the farthest edge of the front line, a swarm of massive red dots erupted.

Yu Qian recognized them as giant monsters finally choosing a direction, charging toward the Huaxia defenses.

Huaxia tanks surged forward, and dozens of artillery pieces roared to life in unison.

“Boom—”

A distant explosion echoed, and the black night sky was briefly lit by fire.

Yu Qian’s pulse quickened again; he stared at the screen, and in the next heartbeat, a mutation unfolded.

Across the first line, red dots merged like a flood.

In an instant, that crimson tide swallowed every green point.

The red formed an arrow, pointing straight at New Jinling.

Its breakthrough was so swift that surrounding green dots could not even scramble to respond.

In merely half a minute, the red arrow had pierced the first line and driven deep into the heart of the buffer zone.

Yu Qian sprang upright in terror, as the speakers above blared warnings.

“The enemy reserve has entered the battlefield!”

“The first line has fallen; the buffer zone is about to be lost!”

“We expect no fewer than two hundred small monsters to breach the buffer!”

“All militia reserves, prepare for combat!”

The words fell, and the base erupted into frantic chaos.

Following Fuxi’s directives, every armed combatant surged toward the enemy’s direction, while unarmed civilians were shepherded into the interior of a base they had never before entered.

When the last elder stepped into the main corridor, the massive doors slammed shut with a thunderous clang.

The doors divided combatants from non‑combatants, as if separating life from death itself.

Yu Qian trembled all over, but there was no time to retreat now.

Captain “Yellow Fish,” darting among the militia reserves—who were hardly warriors—spoke rallying words; under the dim light Yu Qian caught a vague glimpse of his face and a question rose in his mind.

Was he not afraid?

Rumor had it he hailed from Huangshi City, once an ordinary dweller of the wasteland.

Now, he seemed to grow ever more like a true commander. What had he endured?

Yu Qian was curious, but there was no time to ask.

As Fuxi had warned, hundreds of small monsters finally slipped through the buffer under the cover of the giants’ assault; the horde was now less than five hundred meters from their position.

“Prepare for battle!!”

“Unlock the safety!”

“Raise your rifles!”

Yellow Fish’s voice rang from nearby.

“Fuxi! Light up the arena!”

The next instant.

Lights flared brilliantly!

The monsters that had crept across the wasteland under night’s veil were now exposed, and at the instant they emerged, gunfire erupted.

“Fire!”

Yellow Fish shouted orders.

Almost all militia reserves pulled the triggers in unison, hundreds of rifles weaving a dense wall of fire.

Bullets tore through the bodies of the monsters at the forefront, and immediately a denser barrage swept across the heads of the reservists.

“Dududududu———”

A crackling, like a woodpecker beating wood, sounded from behind; Yu Qian knew the base’s strongest defense—the final artillery turret—had opened fire.

Tracer rounds marked the bullet impacts; Yu Qian pulled the trigger repeatedly, the shots coming in a steady rhythm.

“Bang‑bang‑bang‑bang———”

“Bang‑bang‑bang‑bang———”

Yu Qian felt himself gradually becoming familiar with this gun.

When he emptied the magazine, pulling a fresh clip from his waist and loading bullets again, his movements had already grown fluid.

As the monster before him evaded the barrage from the turret and surged to within thirty meters, he snapped the trigger.

This time, he did not release his finger.

“Bang bang bang bang bang—”

Dozens of rounds flew out in an instant, and the creature, as if it had slammed into a solid wall, exploded abruptly in mid‑air.

Did I hit it?

“I hit it!”

Yu Qian shouted with delight, and his cry, echoed by others, spread across the last line of defense.

It didn’t seem so hard after all?

Yu Qian drew a deep breath, once more retrieving a clip from his waist to reload.

Yet at that very moment, a flicker of his peripheral vision caught a swift, urgent black shadow darting ahead.

It’s coming!

He raised the gun again, pulling the trigger toward the direction of the beast.

But this time, horror seized him as he discovered the monster had dodged every bullet!

Yes, it had dodged!

His attempt to swing the barrel could not keep pace with its lateral shift; not only the creature, but even the turret’s fire stream was evaded with a clever angle!

How could it be so fast?!

In the blink of an eye, the monster flashed from his left side to his right.

Forget the barrel— even his own eye movements could not match its speed!

It’s over!

In an instant, the monster surged to less than thirty meters away.

The turret behind him readjusted its aim to track, but in that sub‑second lag the beast was already pressed up against Yu Qian.

Less than ten meters away.

Yu Qian’s mind went blank.

At that moment, he heard a terrified shout from behind him:

“Mountain ape!!”

(End of chapter)