Chapter 333: Airdrop

Chapter 333 – The Drop

“In this mission we may face a swarm of armored targets, or heavily‑clad autonomous combat robots, so our weapons must prioritize armor‑piercing capability.”

“We have six grenade launchers in total—one in He Shuo’s hands, and five more right here, just enough for our needs.”

“Guo Xu, Liu Hao, Zhang Chao, the three of you will don mechanical exoskeletons.”

“Li Shi and Ji Xing, you two cannot wear exoskeletons, but you must suit up in bullet‑proof vests.”

“Shock grenades and smoke bombs are essentially useless; the enemy will almost certainly possess infrared reconnaissance, so we can forgo them.”

“Carry extra thermobaric grenades—each of us should take a base of eight.”

“Do we really still need rocket‑launchers?”

Chen Jian furrowed his brow slightly, and at that moment the overhead microphone crackled with Fuxi’s voice.

“There are several level‑one‑plus monsters lurking around the outskirts of Mountain City. Though the chance of contact is slim, I advise we retain some anti‑armor capability.”

“It’s useless.”

Chen Jian shook his head.

“If we truly encounter a level‑one beast, a handful of rockets will not inflict effective damage.”

“Our load capacity is limited; we must make compromises.”

“I need at least one 12.7 mm heavy machine gun, two 201 general‑purpose machine guns, and a substantial cache of ammunition.”

“If we consider area‑damage weapons, we’ll also need a sniper grenade and a semi‑automatic infantry grenade.”

“For indirect fire, I’m thinking we must also bring two 201 mortars.”

“Our load is already maxed out; even accounting for exoskeleton attachment points, the margin is vanishingly small.”

“At most we have three attachment points left, giving us less than thirty kilograms of slack.”

“What shall we bring? Rocket‑launchers, recoilless rifles, or grenade launchers?”

Chen Jian turned to Ji Xing, who paused a moment before tentatively asking:

“How about a flamethrower?”

“Flames might still be effective against autonomous combat robots, right?”

“Are you mad??”

Chen Jian, bitter at his own disappointment, replied:

“Mountain City is riddled with microwave and laser weapons; it’s reasonable to assume our foes will also field miniature versions of such arms.”

“When a laser hits your fuel tank, you’ll just blow yourself up, won’t you?”

“.Lasers are visible, aren’t they? We should be able to dodge them.”

Ji Xing asked, puzzled.

“.You’re just mixing up your studies.”

“Infrared lasers, ultraviolet lasers—there’s no such thing as a visible‑light laser weapon in reality!”

“Understood.”

Ji Xing nodded thoughtfully, while Guo Xu and the two others standing nearby stared blankly, clueless.

They truly did not grasp the meaning of “equipment counterplay.”

In their eyes, becoming stronger meant nothing more than larger calibers and faster rates of fire.

Yet now it seemed

that there was more to it than that.

Even with grenades, the scenarios for thermobaric versus fragmentation grenades differ greatly.

Until now they had never paid attention to such distinctions.

So is the combat power of the Huaxia forces built upon these minute details?

Guo Xu looked at Ji Xing and Chen Jian, who were still debating the armament configuration, and suddenly spoke:

“If we can only add thirty kilograms of gear, why not dismantle the heavy machine guns?”

“Each of us carries a portion, then we reassemble them on the field as fixed fire points.”

“That way we won’t have to worry so much about constraints.”

“Good idea.”

Chen Jian gave a slight nod.

“Then it’s settled.”

“Add another 12.7 mm heavy machine gun to raise our tolerance for error.”

“All right, the basic weapons are now accounted for; let’s move on to auxiliary gear.”

“Huh?”

Guo Xu was taken aback.

“Isn’t our load already at capacity?”

“The weapon load is full; the other equipment isn’t yet.”

Chen Jian waved his hand and said:

“Communicators, drones, night‑vision goggles, PDAs, anti‑sniper radar, smart scopes.”

“Also, suit up and evaluate your own load.”

“If you still have margin, you may bring one or two extra weapons.”

“I’m heading to ready the aircraft now.”

“Ji Xing, you’ll lead them in selection.”

“No problem.”

Ji Xing answered immediately, while Chen Jian turned and walked out of the armory.

All his gear was already donned, and at the airfield Lei Jie had the modified “ground‑attack aircraft” prepared.

Only now the cockpit had been stripped again, converting it into a dedicated transport plane.

“Is the equipment arrangement complete?”

Lei Jie asked.

“All set.”

“Those three elite troops are still a bit uneasy, but our gear isn’t complicated.”

“They can even shoulder a twin‑barrel gun; the grenade launcher will be no trouble at all.”

“Indeed.”

Lei Jie nodded, then turned and said:

"But I'm worried that it's not this."

"Do you really think pulling those three elite guards into this operation is meaningful?"

"What I mean is, after all, they're not Jin Zhong; they have absolutely no intention of 'rebelling'."

"And for a long time, they could never betray the Church."

"This was already clear when I demanded their withdrawal and they refused."

"They will ultimately return to Jinling City; we cannot truly keep them here."

"Precisely because they cannot stay, what we are doing now becomes meaningful."

Chen Jian exhaled lightly, pointing at Shen Yue, who was busy training a new batch of paratroopers, and said:

"You should ask Shen Yue this; he's our political work chief."

Hearing Chen Jian's voice, Shen Yue instinctively turned his head.

"What's up?"

Chen Jian relayed Lei Jie's question to him, and Shen Yue burst into laughter.

"Professor Lei, you really are suited to bury yourself in research."

"It's a simple principle; can you truly not grasp it?"

.I hadn't thought it through.

Lei Jie grimaced a little, then asked:

"So, what exactly are we supposed to do?"

"It's simple."

Shen Yue replied:

"You've already stated the premise: they will inevitably return to Jinling."

"Returning to Jinling means returning to the Mechanical God Church."

"And as long as they remain within the Mechanical God Church, they will inevitably regard us as latent enemies on the spot."

"If they are to see us as latent enemies, they must devise a way to oppose us."

"And now, the captain is showing them a method 'to confront us'."

"Once they try it even once, they will discover a truth."

"To defeat us, they must first become us."

"When they truly become us, do you think the very soil that nurtures the Mechanical God Church can still exist?"

.Understood.

Lei Jie let out a long sigh.

"So this is also He Shuo's plan?"

"Exactly."

Chen Jian nodded.

"Whether this plan works depends on whether we can return safely this time."

"Quickly ready your EVTOL."

"In half an hour, we set out for Hanshui."

"Got it!"

Thirty minutes later, Chen Jian and his six companions boarded the transport aircraft.

For this airdrop mission, they deployed two planes in total.

One carried personnel, the other delivered surplus supplies.

Both aircraft took off from Airport 011, flew hundreds of kilometers to land at Hanshui, refueled briefly, then took off again, heading straight for the Mountain City.

They maintained an altitude of about six thousand meters until they entered the Mountain City's radar range, then descended below two thousand meters.

Through the side window of the cabin, Chen Jian saw the Mountain City shrouded in mist not far away.

His heart began to race uncontrollably.

Mountain City.

Since he entered this world, that name has threaded through his entire quest. At first, those two characters were almost synonymous with "forbidden land"; Chen Jian even once thought it was a mysterious realm cloaked in anomalous physical laws, not belonging to this world.

Gradually, the image of the Mountain City began to change.

It ceased to be a vague, ethereal concept and slowly acquired logic, a basic framework, a shape.

Based on countless clues, his conjectures about it grew more numerous and clearer.

Until now.

The mist was torn apart, and the city finally lay exposed before his eyes.

"Is this... this really the Mountain City??"

Amid the roar of propellers, Guo Xu asked, his voice trembling.

Perhaps he never imagined he would reach the Mountain City in this manner, nor that his first glimpse would be so ordinary.

It seemed no different from any other ruin.

There was no dazzling glow of legend, no massive shadow hidden in the fog; the city was indeed magnificent, presenting a "new" state distinct from other relics.

But that was all.

Was it because of the few nuclear bombs the Huaxia army dropped?

Has this city, once hailed as a "holy land," already been destroyed??

It shouldn't have been.

"Where are those monsters? Where are the level‑one monsters??"

Guo Xu pressed on, while Ji Xing pointed to the side.

"I see it."

Ji Xing said gravely:

"That monster!"

"The team we sent before was killed by it; it wasn't just a simple beast!"

"But it's strange."

"Why, when I look at it now, do I feel no abnormality??"

"It looks like an ordinary creature, not even large in size!"

"But the last time I faced it"

"I can't describe it.

Jixing's lips trembled slightly, as if merely recalling the scene at that moment filled her with dread.

"I cannot see, cannot hear, cannot move."

"If I hadn't turned quickly enough, I probably would have been killed by that inexplicable force, just like the others."

"That monster embodied death itself—that was my visceral impression at the time."

"But now it's entirely different!"

"This has nothing to do with my experience; it's not because I saw something in the Huaxia army that I lost my fear."

"That monster has changed, it—"

"That monster hasn't changed."

Chen Jian cut Jixing off.

"Distance."

"Distance is the key."

"We are too far from it."

"Pheromone."

"What it controls may be some kind of pheromone."

"I don't understand, but—"

Jixing's expression shifted slightly, and Chen Jian interrupted again:

"No need to say more."

"This time we will not clash with those monsters."

"Jiang Yu, take a longer route!"

"Be aware: monster activity four kilometers southwest!"

"Understood."

Jiang Yu's voice crackled through the headset, and moments later the transport aircraft tilted gently, tracing a smooth arc before beginning to circle along the rim of the mountain city.

"Climb rapidly to 5,000 meters, prepare to parachute."

"Copy that, preparing to jump."

The plane kept climbing, and beneath its wing another transport had already opened its hatch.

Hundreds of supply crates, each tethered to a parachute, were dropped, aimed at a broad meadow in the park at the heart of the mountain city.

Chen Jian stared intently at the descending chutes until he confirmed the cargo landed precisely within the park, then finally exhaled a sigh of relief.

Well done.

Though he had not undergone many drills, the principle of airdropping supplies is the same as bomb delivery.

For a fledgling pilot, his performance was remarkably competent.

"Check the parachute packs! Check the packs!"

Chen Jian shouted the orders; in the cramped cabin, six men one after another began inspecting each other's packs.

"Main canopy checked!"

"Reserve canopy checked!"

"All clear!"

"All clear!"

Responses echoed back, and at that moment Jiang Yu's voice sounded again through the headset.

"Altitude 4,500!"

"Approaching jump altitude!"

"Countdown: thirty seconds!"

"Copy, thirty‑second countdown!"

Chen Jian gestured to signal everyone; after the replies came, the transport had already reached the designated height.

"Open the hatch!"

"Open the hatch!"

Chen Jian repeated the command.

The next second the hatch swung open, a rush of wind flooding in.

"Move!"

"Move, move, move!"

Chen Jian gave a shove to the man ahead of him, Guo Xu.

The latter hesitated a moment, then glanced back at Chen Jian.

Through his visor, Chen Jian could not read his expression.

But it was clear Guo Xu's pause was not born of fear.

He simply had not yet crossed the barrier in his heart.

Beneath their feet lay the sanctuary.

To leap would shatter the sanctuary's 'clay sculpture' utterly.

To jump, or not to jump?

The next instant.

Guo Xu vaulted into the void.

One by one, the other four followed suit.

"Jiang Yu, return swiftly!"

"Safe journey!"

"Received!"

"Commander, safe journey!"

With those words spoken, Chen Jian hurled himself out.

The wind roared in his ears as he calmly adjusted his posture, descending toward the park's center.

High‑altitude jumps and low‑altitude openings were as routine to him as a daily chore; he only deployed his chute when the altitude fell to six hundred meters.

Meanwhile, those who had opened their chutes at three thousand meters were still drifting down slowly.

But Chen Jian had already set foot on solid ground.

He cut the lines, folded the canopy, drew his weapon, and stood guard.

Silence enveloped the surroundings, yet faintly from the woods at the meadow's edge came the soft call of a deer.

Chen Jian activated the infrared scope, scanning the surroundings, intent on clearing any nearby threats before establishing a watchpost.

Yet the instant his gaze swept across the trees, a subtle irregularity seized his attention.

Blood.

A deer's head.

A deer's head, severed by a sharp blade and already beginning to rot.

Someone!

No!

It could not be a mountain‑city dweller.

It must be Lin Yu.

They may still be alive!

(End of Chapter)