Chapter 332: Prepare to Parachute

Chapter 332: Preparing to Parachute

Inside Base 011.

Chen Jian stared intently at the image of the mountain city captured by the long‑range drone, then turned to Lei Jie and asked:

"Any word from Lin Yu?"

"Nothing."

Lei Jie shook his head and said:

"We've already airdropped communication gear into the city and marked the drop zone with conspicuous smoke."

"But two hours have already elapsed, and we still have no contact with Lin Yu."

"Meanwhile, the long‑range drone has been conducting nonstop surveillance over the mountain city for two hours, yet it has found no trace of human activity."

"I suspect they may already be dead."

"Or at least, they've lost the ability to act."

"Understood."

Chen Jian nodded slowly, his expression heavy with concern.

He knew full well how nearly impossible survival would be in such a city, yet until the drone finally hovered over the mountain city, he still clung to hope for a favorable outcome.

What if…?

What if they managed to survive?

The city is vast; what if they could find a suitable shelter and hide?

If they lived, the significance for Base 011 would be far greater than merely preserving two heroes.

Further reconnaissance and strike missions could also reap a wealth of intelligence support.

Alas, given the present circumstances, that hope has essentially been shattered.

From here on, everything must be started anew.

Fortunately, this aerial reconnaissance went smoothly.

"Has the defensive‑force distribution map of the mountain city been output?"

Chen Jian asked.

"It has."

Lei Jie swiped the screen lightly, and a flat map sprang up instantly.

"No conventional air‑defense weapons were detected within the city, but we found an enormous—indeed, a staggering—number of microwave emitters and laser devices."

"These emitters constitute a three‑dimensional defensive lattice around the entire mountain city; we cannot yet confirm whether it has been completely destroyed."

"From the current data, most of the defensive installations appear to have been rendered ineffective."

"Frankly, this is odd."

"This is a city of exceptionally high industrial and intelligent development—why would they abandon traditional weaponry?"

"Isn't the deterrence of a single anti‑air missile stronger than a swarm of lasers?"

"They aren't without missiles—at least they possess cruise missiles."

"Technologically it's not the issue, the raw materials—"

"—perhaps the raw‑material shortage is the crux."

Chen Jian continued:

"The mountain city's self‑isolation is terrifyingly extreme; it barely communicates with the outside world."

"They likely cannot procure enough raw material to produce chemical products, or they refuse to allocate priority resources to weapon manufacturing, opting instead for a more 'economical' solution for them?"

"Possibly."

Lei Jie nodded and went on:

"But that brings a consequence—this entire defensive system has a very poor resilience to strikes."

"We've already seen that a single nuclear bomb essentially crippled the city's whole defense network."

"What could such a defense possibly stop?"

"It could stop no one."

Chen Jian said in a low voice:

"Did you notice? If we hadn't manifested in this world due to some anomaly, the mountain city would be invincible."

"Because under the dominant trend of the mountain city, every anomalous factor is smothered."

"Across the globe, no power has ever progressed to the stage of wielding nuclear bombs, let alone nuclear missiles."

"Deploying massive arrays of non‑kinetic weapons like lasers and microwaves is indeed the optimal choice for a closed environment seeking limited self‑sustainability."

"Makes sense."

Lei Jie nodded thoughtfully.

"They never anticipated our emergence. No one in this world could have foreseen us appearing."

"To us, a place like the mountain city is an anomalous variable, yet in truth it is a product of natural evolution."

"And we, paradoxically, are the greatest anomaly."

"Right?"

Chen Jian spread his hands.

"So everything falls into place."

"We've taken a huge advantage—a massive information‑gap advantage."

"Even the mountain city severely underestimated our capabilities; in the AI's simulations, we are merely a chance occurrence, a force akin to those previous 'original entities', with intelligence and development slightly above the world average."

"But it…"

"But it could never have imagined that we are, in fact, a variable that emerged from the void."

"That already shatters the AI's computational limits."

"Right, Fuxi?"

"No."

Fuxi's voice resonated from the speaker.

"At my level of intellect, I can, to some extent, disregard logical consistency and treat inexplicable facts as constant variables, achieving conditional self‑coherence."

"If the AI that controls the mountain city is merely Lingxi, then it could indeed overlook such anomalous variables."

When Fuxi finished speaking, Chen Jian nodded slowly.

"Regardless, the facts are now settled."

"After two rounds of nuclear bombardment, the mountain city's self‑repair capability has been severely compromised."

"From the high‑altitude reconnaissance images, the ground is littered with countless damaged unmanned machines."

“These machines are the core that keeps the mountain city running.”

“And by sheer numbers, Fuxi concluded that the loss rate of unmanned machines in the mountain city is at least forty percent.”

“Considering it must possess vast underground facilities, and those too require unmanned machines for daily upkeep, the usable unmanned machines on the surface have already dwindled to a critical threshold.”

“It is very likely that this city no longer has the capacity to self‑repair within a short span.”

“Now is the best moment for us to enter the mountain city.”

“Of course, I mean the above‑ground district.”

“As for the subterranean zones, breaking in is not so easy.”

“Shall I rig you a few earth‑piercing missiles?”

Lei Jie said abruptly.

“If you can make them, I’ll definitely use them.”

Chen Jian rolled his eyes.

“Better to fit a nuclear warhead and solve it once and for all.”

“Forget it.”

Lei Jie chuckled, waved his hand and said:

“I was hoping to use the mountain city’s data to uncover the truth of the great cataclysm; if we can avoid destruction, then we should try not to cause any.”

“That’s exactly what I thought.”

With that, Chen Jian finally rose to his feet.

“Then that’s settled.”

“We’ve discussed enough; the plan is clear.”

“Next step, I’ll prepare to lead people over.”

“The aircraft I need—have you finished the retrofit?”

“All set.”

Lei Jie nodded and, seizing the moment, asked:

“Who are you taking with you?”

“Li Shi, Ji Xing, and three elite guards.”

“Fine. What’s the evacuation route?”

“As per the original plan: one road to the airport, another via high‑altitude balloons.”

“Prepare it quickly; when I arrive, you must have the evacuation ready.”

“Understood.”

Lei Jie paused briefly, then continued:

“Add one more.”

“An EVTOL.”

“That contraption is cheap and fast to produce; I’ll start building it now, have it ready within twenty‑four hours.”

“When the time comes we’ll drop it from a bomber; if anything goes wrong, you’ll fly it out yourself.”

“No problem.”

Meanwhile, at Base 011’s airfield. “Hit the ground!”

“Pull up! Hit the ground!”

“Follow my movements! Don’t think you can improvise!”

“You are not the Holy Blood! None of you are!”

“Parachuting isn’t that simple! Want to break your legs??”

“Watch the on‑screen cues!”

“These chutes have adaptive navigation, but no one can guarantee they’ll be flawless!”

“You must learn to control yourselves, or you’ll end up in a monster’s maw and have a nice time of it!”

“Now!”

“Move! Climb up!”

Heeding the instructor’s commands, Guo Xu climbed back onto the platform with a numb sort of resolve.

Then, arms crossed over his chest, he leapt down.

He hit the ground, bent his knees, and rolled sideways.

After absorbing most of the impact, he sprang up, swiftly tugged the rope tied to his harness, and executed the parachute‑recovery motion.

This time he completed the entire sequence smoothly, and the instructor beside him finally voiced a satisfied commendation.

“Well done! Very good!”

“Exactly like that!”

“Remember how you did it this time!”

“Again!”

Guo Xu exhaled, rolled over and got to his feet.

For some reason, a flicker of pride stirred within him at that moment.

How long had it been since he was treated as a raw recruit?

So long that he had even forgotten how he had climbed from rookie to his current rank, forgotten whether his strength was truly beyond ordinary men’s or merely luck.

Yet today he reaffirmed, he was no novice.

Even when starting from zero to learn something new, his rate of learning was astonishingly swift.

That feeling—

Was utterly strange.

He didn’t know what “max‑level veteran returning to the newbie village” meant, but he had to admit that confirming his abilities and that he hadn’t lost his “wildness” left him deeply satisfied.

Guo Xu threw himself into the jumps with renewed vigor, and Zhang Chao and Liu Hao beside him matched his intensity.

The three of them practiced the motions tirelessly until the instructor ordered a break; only then did they sit down together, chatting about the newly‑learned “parachuting.”

“So we really are supposed to jump from the sky? How high is the drop?”

Liu Hao asked.

“I don’t know—maybe a few thousand meters.”

Guo Xu shook his head and continued:

“We’ve already covered high‑jump open, low‑jump closed, high‑jump closed—we’ve learned them all, right?”

“The instructor said the situation was uncertain; any method might work.”

“But the hardest part, for sure, was the high jump with a low opening—one could easily end up dead.”

“It probably won’t happen.”

Zhang Chao paused in thought, then said:

“That instructor mentioned our ‘parachutes’ are equipped with intelligent control—much like a machine soul.”

“They adjust automatically to altitude and direction, theoretically offering great safety.”

“Otherwise, they wouldn’t dare have us attempt such a daunting task right away.”

“In truth, I find the hardest part is boarding the plane and leaping down.”

“Fortunately, the three of us aren’t afraid of heights—how about you? Were you nervous on your first flight?”

“Claiming we weren’t nervous would be a lie.”

Guo Xu chuckled softly.

“But once, I always thought the ‘angels’ soaring in the sky were wondrous; after experiencing it myself, I realized they’re just that—nothing more.”

“No wonder the Huaxia troops don’t believe in deities.”

“They have indeed fashioned countless things that brush against the divine.”

“Yet they never grasp that the supreme triune power transcends the mere machines and weapons projected into reality.”

“It is the ever‑present ‘law’ of that power that truly earns our devotion.”

“Indeed.”

Zhang Chao exhaled gently, about to add more.

Yet at that moment, a flicker of his peripheral vision caught someone walking toward them.

He nudged Guo Xu beside him, and the three rose together.

Simultaneously, two fellow Saint‑Blood trainees also stood.

“Commander!”

“Commander!”

Ji Xing and Li Shi spoke in unison.

Chen Jian gave a slight nod, then turned to the instructor Shen Yue and asked:

“How’s the training? Ready to jump?”

“We’re basically ready.”

Shen Yue replied:

“Ji Xing and Li Shi have no issues; they can jump at will.”

“The three of the elite guard bear slightly higher risk, yet they’ve trained well; problems are unlikely.”

“Our biggest hurdle now is navigation.”

“The smart canopy’s intellect is limited; it can steer the general direction and guarantee a baseline safety, but fine‑grained control eludes it.”

“If the air conditions shift, I fear you won’t be able to land at the same point.”

“That’s fine.”

Chen Jian waved his hand and said:

“Reconnaissance reports have returned; the whole mountain city is now clear.”

“Even if we don’t touch down together, as long as we can regroup swiftly, it’s no big deal.”

“Has everyone flown at least once?”

“We have.”

Shen Yue nodded, then continued:

“All conditions are good; no one is afraid of heights.”

“Then that’s settled.”

Chen Jian exhaled a long breath, turning his gaze toward the five waiting nearby.

“We are ready to depart.”

“Follow me now to the base to select gear.”

“We’ll set out in two hours, first flying to Hanshui, then from there to the mountain city.”

“Time is short; move quickly!”

“Understood!”

Ji Xing and Li Shi answered in kind, and Guo Xu and his two companions fell in step.

“We’re leaving so soon?”

Until this moment, Guo Xu still felt a fierce sense of unreality.

This disquieting unreality had lingered since he met Jin Zhong and the Huaxia troops, intensified after he entered Base 011 and the underground, and when he accepted Chen Jian’s invitation to

promise to go to the mountain city, boarded a plane, learned to parachute, the feeling swelled to its zenith.

“There were several moments when he even doubted whether he was still himself.”

“I am the commander of the elite guard, after all.”

“Why am I here?”

“Why am I doing these things?”

Guo Xu’s mind was hazy; he sensed something altering him, yet grasping that very ‘change’ proved elusive.

At that moment, Chen Jian had already led the team toward the main corridor, arriving at the lift.

Guo Xu followed close behind; before long, a massive armory

appeared before their eyes.

“This armory is virtually empty.”

“Even the scant remaining gear and ammunition surpass his comprehension.”

“A dazzling array?”

“That word no longer suffices to describe what he sees.”

“It could almost be called

all‑encompassing?”

Guo Xu stared blankly at the unfamiliar weapons before him, while Chen Jian swept his hand aside and said:

“Choose.”

“Following the template I gave you, first sort out the basic gear.”

“Then pick the personalized equipment you’re familiar with and desire.”

“I have no other demands of you.”

“There is but one demand.”

“Unleash your greatest fighting prowess!”

(End of Chapter)