Chapter 330: Shatter the Clay Sculpture

Chapter 330: Shattering the Mud Idol

Ten minutes later, outside Base 011.

Chen Jian stood before Guo Xu, who had just returned from the underground residential zone as the Imperial Guard’s representative, and asked:

“How are you? Did you rest well?”

“Very well.”

Guo Xu nodded honestly, then continued:

“This place is completely unlike the 011 base I had imagined. To be frank, I now fully understand why you hold no reverence for the Mountain City.”

“The land you occupy bears almost no difference from the divine kingdom described in our doctrine.”

“You are already in the divine kingdom; it is only natural to be indifferent to the gods.”

At that point Guo Xu paused, then went on:

“Of course, that does not mean I will abandon our own faith.”

“Treating the Mountain City as a divine kingdom may have been our mistake, yet a saint of a past age once told us a truth.”

“People’s worship of faith always leans on a mud‑crafted idol.”

“One day that mud idol will crumble, but the faith will not dissolve with it.”

“To me, the Mountain City is such a mud idol.”

“You have shattered it, but… our faith is not so easily broken.”

“I understand.”

Chen Jian nodded.

He had long anticipated Guo Xu’s reaction.

After all, a man chosen by Zhang Tao to lead the Imperial Guard need not have his loyalty to the Mechanical Church questioned.

A Jinzhong, who had spent so much time and endured countless trials to finally stand with the Huaxia army—still not fully, not completely embracing Huaxia’s atheistic creed—how could this man, after only a night’s stay in the base, bow so readily?

It must still be a gradual process.

With that thought, Chen Jian pressed on:

“In truth, I do not intend to alter or question your belief.”

“Such matters cannot be settled by a single utterance; right and wrong must be discerned by you over time.”

“The reason I have kept you, the reason I have sought you out, is that there is another matter I wish to discuss with you.”

“Another matter?”

Guo Xu blinked, then asked:

“What matter?”

“Answer me one question first.”

Chen Jian looked into Guo Xu’s eyes and asked:

“Do you wish to go see the Mountain City?”

With those words spoken, Guo Xu froze in place.

Do you wish to go see the Mountain City?

Isn’t that a rhetorical question?

Any devotee of the Mechanical Church carries “pilgrimage to the Holy City” among their lifelong goals.

Were it not for the city’s perilous nature, one could scarcely imagine how many would embark upon the pilgrimage.

Thus the answer to that question had long been settled.

It scarcely required an answer at all.

Guo Xu slowly nodded and said:

“Of course I do.”

Hearing his reply, Chen Jian gave a short hum, then said plainly:

“We plan to mount a reconnaissance of the Mountain City in the near future.”

“You?”

Guo Xu stared at Chen Jian in astonishment.

“Near future?”

“When exactly?”

“Within two days.”

Chen Jian replied:

“First we will conduct aerial reconnaissance, using drones and bombers to photograph and map the city from high above.”

“Once safety is confirmed, we will insert by high‑altitude parachute.”

“I am not sure whether you know what parachuting is, but that is irrelevant.”

“What we need is a small, elite, efficient squad whose will is unshakable.”

“And the three of you here fit that description perfectly.”

“Us??” Guo Xu was dumbfounded.

“Why do you need us? Are you that short of manpower?”

“Your army may not be vast, but pulling together an elite squad should still be feasible, no?”

A hint of doubt colored his tone, exactly as Chen Jian had expected.

After all, from any angle this “invitation” seemed rather abrupt.

Distrust is natural; to accept without hesitation the moment the invitation arrives would be truly uncanny.

Yet Chen Jian had long prepared a justification for his invitation.

—

Even that was not merely a justification, but a concrete reason.

“I have three considerations.”

“First, you possess extensive solo combat experience and have already proven your resolve and capability in the battles against the Beast Tide.”

“Once inside the Mountain City, everything becomes unpredictable; we need people like you as the core pillars of the team.”

“Such qualities are in short supply within our current ranks.”

“Even if I could find individuals of comparable caliber, I could not send them on such a perilous mission—it would be a severe blow to our force’s development.”

“.Reasonable.”

Guo Xu sighed and nodded helplessly.

He could tell that Chen Jian was simply unwilling to let his high‑ranking combat personnel take the risk, so he turned the idea onto himself.

How should I put it?

It sounded unsettling, yet it was still fairly candid.

So he spoke up:

"You may continue."

Chen Jian did not hold back, and immediately added:

"Second, in this team I intend to combine three factions: the Mechanical Church, the Holy Blooded, and ordinary people."

"The purpose is simple: to test a certain hypothesis we have about the mountain city."

"What that hypothesis is, you'll understand once we get there."

"Understood."

Guo Xu did not press further, but he could vaguely guess what Chen Jian sought to verify.

On the post‑apocalyptic wasteland, the two greatest powers are the Holy Blood Hall and the Mechanical Church, and now the Huaxia army has confirmed that the mountain city is the source of many anomalies.

Recruiting followers of the Mechanical Church into their ranks was most likely meant to test the “correlation.”

Seeing his reaction, Chen Jian realized the other party was not resistant, and so he continued:

"The final consideration, and the most important one."

"We need a truly loyal believer like you to bear witness to the truth."

"Even if we do not question your faith, at the very least you have a duty to convey the correct doctrine to the faithful, rather than turning a city that caused a great disaster into an object of immediate worship."

".Do you want me to lift the shattered clay idol and present it personally to the believers?"

"Exactly."

Chen Jian nodded gravely.

"You should know that even from the Mechanical Church’s perspective, someone has to perform this act, right?"

".Yes."

Guo Xu nodded slowly.

The worship of the clay idol has already become a heavy burden for the Mechanical Church, an undeniable fact.

And as a steadfast believer, he indeed must do something to change the church’s current state.

With that in mind, Guo Xu spoke slowly but firmly:

"I accept your mission."

"When shall we depart?"

A hint of delight flashed in Chen Jian’s eyes.

Then he said:

"Very soon."

"We have two comrades trapped in that city."

"If we do not establish contact with them promptly."

"They will likely not be able to hold on much longer."

(End of Chapter)