Chapter 337: Bridgehead

Chapter 337: The Bridgehead

“This city is truly off‑kilter to the extreme.”

Crawling at the edge of the launch position, Chen Jian kept his gaze fixed on the tunnel’s mouth below as he spoke:

“The exit is already open, yet they have not pressed the attack.”

“That alone is most puzzling.”

“Even stranger, these people are unmistakably ordinary humans, yet they have chosen not to dwell upon the ground.”

“Here stand complete edifices and facilities, all meticulously maintained.”

“But they make no use of them. The sole conveyances, the light rails, are most likely reserved as ‘engineering works’ for unmanned machines.”

“What does that mean? Are these people vampires?”

“Are they afraid of sunlight?”

A note of unease crept into Chen Jian’s words, while beside him, Ji Xing furrowed his brow and shook his head, saying:

“I have never heard of any creature in this world that fears the sun.”

“Even monsters, for the most part, do not dread sunlight.”

“At most, it is merely a beastly habit that makes them prefer night to day.”

“Fear of sunlight—such a creature belongs only in ghost stories, I suppose.”

“Indeed.”

Chen Jian nodded slowly.

“At first I truly thought the haze here was some protective measure, but now it seems the fog is not the aim, but the consequence.”

“It must be the steam rising from the heat of massive subterranean works—a colossal city must lie beneath this ground.”

“The surrounding mountains have likely been hollowed out. But why?”

“Why, when a vast underground habitat already exists, do they still erect on the surface a city of no practical worth, no real function, merely symbolic?”

“We must find someone in the know to ask.”

“Either we locate Lin Yu, or we capture a mountain‑city dweller.”

“At present Lin Yu is beyond our reach; he is either dead or has been taken alive by the mountain folk.”

“So now we have but one option left.”

“Seize a living one.”

As Chen Jian’s words faded, Guo Xu turned his gaze sharply toward him.

“Capture a living one?”

He asked in astonishment:

“How do we capture?”

In truth, he had come to accept that “the mountain city is not a divine realm, nor its people divine emissaries,” yet even so, the notion of “capturing a living mountain dweller” seemed an insurmountable difficulty to him.

“Chief, haven’t you noticed? Those mountain folk are certainly no ordinary people.”

“Their speed is swift, their strength immense.”

“When they carve a passage, a single individual can heave aside massive boulders.”

“Their might rivals at least that of the Source‑blooded among the Holy‑blooded.”

“Killing them is not hard; with our firepower, in a face‑to‑face clash, as long as we keep our distance, we can fell them with ease.”

“But to take them alive—who would we rely on? What would we use?”

“That is the crux of the matter.”

Chen Jian retreated from the edge of the cover and then said:

“We must devise an impeccable plan.”

“Yet the most troublesome part of that plan lies not in how to defeat them, but in how to draw them out.”

“These mountain folk act as if brainless; they do not respond to speech, nor show any intent to communicate with us.”

“A meeting means a fight; if they cannot win at the periphery, they retreat.”

“Now they show no overt desire to initiate hostilities, likely because the nuclear suppression is overwhelming.”

“Thus, creating an opportunity for a live capture is no easy feat.”

“What say you, any ideas?”

As the words hung in the air, the few at the position fell into silence.

In fact, everyone here was setting foot in the mountain city for the first time.

Moreover, it was their first encounter with these mountain dwellers.

The dearth of information left even basic tactical arrangements in a dire quandary.

Chen Jian glanced at Guo Xu, who stared blankly for a moment before shaking his head.

Then Chen Jian turned his gaze to Ji Xing.

The other lowered his head, brow furrowed, as if pondering.

Only when she sensed Chen Jian’s stare did she finally lift her head.

“I have no particularly good ideas either.”

Ji Xing spoke slowly.

Yet before Chen Jian could feel disappointment, he suddenly added:

“But, if we draw on our experience from the last foray into the mountain city,”

“These mountain folk are highly sensitive to the primary monsters that roam the city’s outskirts.”

“When the city’s shield is threatened, they inevitably react.”

“So, if we wish to lure them out, why not strike directly at the monsters?”

Chen Jian’s eyes flickered subtly.

“You mean, eliminate those primary monsters?”

“Exactly.”

Ji Xing exhaled a breath.

“That was already a task we were obliged to undertake.”

“Now we can only rely on aerial delivery, whose capacity is woefully insufficient.”

“We have entered the mountain city, but only barely.”

“In essence, this place remains an isolated island—perhaps that is why the mountain folk are not in a hurry to annihilate us completely?”

“Makes sense.”

Chen Jian looked toward Ji Xing with approving eyes.

One must admit, in these few short months, her growth has been swift.

Even now, placed in an entirely unfamiliar setting, she has begun to make decisions based on scant information.

"So, our objective can now be clarified,"

"We must eliminate the Level‑One monsters on the outskirts of Mountain City."

"How many are there in total?"

"According to the latest aerial reconnaissance, five."

Ji Xing answered at once:

"But that is merely the intelligence we have observed."

"Level‑One monsters are unpredictable both in form and in habit."

"We must allow a margin of one or two extra specimens."

"Understood."

Chen Jian projected a map onto his smart visor, marking the locations of the Level‑One monsters.

After a moment of silent contemplation, he spoke:

"We cannot rely on ourselves alone."

"Even nuclear bombs cannot eradicate every creature."

"In fact, our nuclear strike capability is single‑use; its cooldown is too long, reserved for final deterrence."

"Thus, we are likely forced to employ conventional means to slay those monsters."

"We need more equipment, weapons, and logistical support."

"We also require additional combat troops and engineers."

"This matter shall be left to Lei Jie to resolve."

"The forward base at Mountain City has been established."

"Next"

"is the time for a massive reinforcement."

"Notify Lei Jie to synchronize his plans with ours."

"Within three days, I will erect a bridgehead on Mountain City's ground!"

As the words fell, Ji Xing gave a solemn salute.

"Understood!"

A few minutes later, inside Base 011.

Lei Jie had just received Chen Jian's message, and he was not at all surprised by the decision. The reconnaissance, the cursory look—both were false.

It was all a lie.

He had long known that once Chen Jian arrived, the push to seize Mountain City would be relentless.

Now, his unspoken speculation proved true.

He began to ready himself for the "Mountain City offensive."

Eliminate all Level‑One monsters?

It sounded almost an impossible task.

Yet.

Perhaps it could be attempted?

The sole problem lay in how to deliver Chen Jian's required gear and personnel to Mountain City within three days.

The existing transport aircraft could barely ferry troops; even without parachuting skills, the wide roads of Mountain City would permit takeoffs and landings.

But equipment was another matter entirely.

The bombers currently in service at Base 011 could carry at most 1.2 tons, while a 152 mm howitzer barrel alone weighed 1.1 tons; even ignoring the logistical nightmare of its length, delivering such hardware to Mountain City posed a colossal challenge.

One could say the delivery mission faced a profound paradox.

To airdrop heavy gear into Mountain City, one must first open a ground corridor to it.

Yet to open that corridor, heavy equipment must first be delivered.

How could this be resolved?

Lei Jie furrowed his brow in the operations room, pulling up progress charts for every project in the base, hoping to spot usable equipment.

But he soon realized that, at the current pace, meeting Chen Jian's three‑day deadline was impossible.

The next‑generation heavy‑lift transport was queued behind machining shop work; it could not be built until the piston engines were finished.

The airship had been launched, yet its construction would still require twelve days.

The upgraded Mosquito bomber could not shoulder such a transport load; even increasing sortie numbers, the time needed for battery swaps and resupply made rapid delivery infeasible.

Moreover, as sortie count rose, the mission's risk escalated in tandem.

If the operation demanded sacrificing bombers and precious pilots, the cost would outweigh any benefit.

Having surveyed every project, Lei Jie could not help but sigh.

He closed his eyes briefly, massaging his swollen forehead, replaying in his mind the resources at hand.

But he soon saw that inward delivery was a dead end.

No passage.

After a moment of silence, Lei Jie spoke:

"Fuxi."

"Assist me in analyzing: without heavy gear, relying solely on light arms, what chance does a 40‑person squad have of killing a single Level‑One monster?"

"Understood."

Fuxi's voice resonated overhead.

"Given the current lack of data on Level‑One monsters surrounding Mountain City, the assessment's confidence is low."

"However, drawing on past engagements and the traits of the 'whale‑eel' creature, I estimate our win rate against a Level‑One monster with only light weapons to be under 1%."

"One percent?"

Lei Jie stared, startled.

That low, indeed?

He had thought that even without heavy support, the odds would stay above fifty percent.

In that case, a gamble might still be conceivable.

But one percent?

Fine, let's just scrap it.

If it truly won't work, there's only one path left.

Braving the risk of loss, we’ll first ship a portion of the equipment over.

Then, using a nuclear bomb to flatten the surroundings, we’ll open a corridor and launch a coordinated assault from the outskirts.

But if we do that, the work at Base 011 will be interrupted.

The march of industrial development will be set back by at least two more months.

Yet that is a price we cannot avoid.

Leijie silently steeled his resolve.

Yet, just as he was about to issue orders to Fuxi, Fuxi's voice rang out again.

‘Commander, we might have another plan at our disposal.’

The words hung in the air, and Leijie instinctively lifted his head.

‘Another plan?’

‘Tell me.’

‘Transporting massive amounts of gear from outside in is simply infeasible; whether we weigh cost‑effectiveness or risk, it is not a suitable option.’

‘However, we need not deliver weapons directly to Mountain City.’

‘The ground of Mountain City already harbors a wealth of usable armaments.’

When those words left his mouth, Leijie's heart leapt.

A sudden epiphany struck him.

Indeed, the surface of Mountain City lacks civilian facilities, but weapons are far from scarce!

The myriad microwave and laser systems deployed there were only crippled by the electromagnetic pulse of the nuclear blast—not utterly destroyed.

If we could send enough spare parts and tools to Mountain City, under Fuxi's guidance we could very well restore those weapons to operational condition.

Leijie's spirit surged in an instant.

‘Do you have the capability to repair the laser weapons within Mountain City?’

‘Provided we establish a stable visual link, it poses no great difficulty.’

With Fuxi's answer, Leijie sprang to his feet.

‘That’s the way we’ll do it!’

‘What weapons shall we transport? We’ll forge them right above their heads!’

‘I’ll notify the squad leader at once to locate the weapons for disassembly; once the imagery returns, you’ll conduct the damage analysis.’

‘After we finish fabricating the spares in the shortest time possible, we’ll set out immediately, delivering both personnel and parts in tandem!’

‘Understood.’

Fuxi replied tersely, but then Leijie suddenly spoke again:

‘Hold on.’

‘There’s another issue.’

‘We cannot make use of the existing power infrastructure within Mountain City.’

‘The electricity has certainly been cut, and it remains severed now.’

‘We also need to establish a stable energy supply, given the laser weapons’ consumption.’

‘What power‑generation packages do we have at our disposal?’

‘The most suitable is a miniature nuclear reactor.’

Fuxi answered:

‘All other generation options, whether fuel or equipment, would consume a massive payload.’

‘Only a miniature nuclear reactor can meet the energy demands of the microwaves and lasers while keeping overall weight limited.’

‘The problem is, we have no reactor either.’

Leijie frowned:

‘Producing a reactor isn’t a simple task; the lead time is too long, the squad leader and his men cannot wait.’

‘They don’t have to wait that long.’

Fuxi cut Leijie off.

Then, it continued:

‘In fact, this plan has long since been set in motion.’

‘The Yinshui Cave nuclear plant.’

‘According to the records, it houses the nation’s most advanced miniature thorium‑based molten‑salt reactor array.’

‘And it is very likely that the reactors there remain intact.’

‘The expeditionary force is racing toward Yinshui Cave.’

‘If we can dismantle those miniature reactors, we could even launch a reactor straight from Yinshui Cave to Mountain City.’

‘We can!’

The knot in Leijie's chest finally uncoiled.

He swept his hand dramatically and issued the order:

‘That’s the plan!’

(End of chapter)