Chapter 338: Unable to Negotiate

Chapter 338: No Negotiation

Six hours later, the mountain city.

Chen Jian stared intently at the now cleared overpass below, his barrel trained on the entrance leading to the underground city.

Above his head, two transport aircraft that had just arrived emitted a low, humming thrum, accompanied by a third plane laden with a nuclear bomb, ready at a moment's notice to unleash a full‑scale electromagnetic bombardment.

These transports were the only cover—indeed, the sole shield for Chen Jian and his men awaiting reinforcement below.

He exhaled lightly and spoke.

"Observe the entrance to the underground tunnel carefully."

"In five minutes the transports will commence landing operations."

"This is the optimal window for the enemy to strike; as long as they possess basic command capability, they will not forgo this chance."

"Make full use of the terrain and seal them off beyond the defensive zone."

"Otherwise, should they draw near, dealing with them will become exceedingly difficult."

"We will not consider taking them alive for now—we must wait until we have enough manpower to establish overwhelming local superiority before entertaining such options."

"The objective of this operation is merely to ensure a smooth delivery."

"Everyone, stay on high alert."

"Check your gear!"

"Gear check complete."

Ji Xing's voice crackled over the radio.

"Drone surveillance active; all systems nominal."

"Understood."

Chen Jian gave a terse reply, and immediately the others reported the status of their positions.

"I am Liu Hao, heavy‑machine‑gun post ready."

"Zhang Chao is here, I am prepared."

"I am Guo Xu, I am in position."

"Captain, I am ready."

A cascade of responses flowed in; Chen Jian answered each in turn, then turned his gaze to the smart visor, where the map marked the locations of his comrades.

Now his six‑man squad was scattered across six separate strongpoints.

Through judicious allocation of firepower, six men alone could dominate the entire runway.

Yet the risk of such a deployment was equally great.

The six positions could not mutually support one another; if even one fell, the whole line could collapse in an avalanche.

Chen Jian had no alternative.

He had to shoulder a measure of risk if he hoped to reap a greater reward.

At that moment the transport aircraft overhead began to circle lower; Chen Jian glanced at his watch—three minutes remained until the scheduled landing.

If the mountain‑city forces intended to launch an assault, this was their final chance.

He swept the field of fire with wary eyes, scanning every suspicious cover, when suddenly gunfire erupted!

"Bang bang bang bang bang—"

Chen Jian's heart leapt.

He looked through his smart visor; the green dot representing Li Shi had transformed into a red triangle denoting "engaged."

"The enemy is coming!"

Li Shi's voice crackled over the radio, and Chen Jian issued orders at once:

"Deploy drones to Li Shi's position for mutual defense!"

"Copy that!"

With those words, Ji Xing immediately piloted two river‑puffer reconnaissance‑strike drones toward Li Shi's sector.

Moments later the drones' 8.6 mm machine guns opened fire, and through the drones' lenses Chen Jian could clearly see the enemy surging from the underground tunnel.

They were the same mountain‑city troops clad in flexible armor and fully enclosing helmets.

But this time they seemed already prepared for a sacrificial charge!

Bracing against Li Shi's heavy‑machine‑gun fire, two of them lunged forward, erecting a thick bullet‑proof shield; one of them took a 12.7 mm round across his shoulder, his entire arm torn away in an instant.

Yet even so, he persisted, throwing himself against the exit side and hauling the whole shield upright.

In an instant, the electric drive lifted the shield skyward.

The tunnel was nearly sealed, and the 12.7 mm bullet striking the shield merely sparked a cascade of fireworks.

The game of cat and mouse began at that very moment.

"Breach charge!"

Chen Jian shouted his command.

Li Shi instantly released the trigger of his heavy machine gun.

Then he grabbed a nearby recoilless rifle, took a brief aim,

"Within three hundred meters, a direct hit!"

"Boom!"

A massive explosion roared, and the sheer shockwave pierced even the composite‑material shield in an instant.

Shrapnel swept across the area behind the shield; through the drone's view Chen Jian saw several mountain‑city soldiers hurled by the blast, while high‑velocity fragments embedded themselves in their armor.

Although the armor was not fully breached, the super‑pressurised impact was beyond what mortal flesh could endure.

"Second round!"

Chen Jian issued another order, and as his words left his mouth, Li Shi's second breach charge burst from the barrel.

"Boom!"

Another blast rang out, sending the freshly raised shield crashing to the ground.

Deprived of cover, the mountain‑city troops fell back hastily, while Li Shi switched his heavy machine gun back on.

A 12.7 mm incendiary round slithered like a long serpent, striking two soldiers; the bullets erupted in a spray of blood across their backs.

Casualties were inflicted!

Chen Jian's eyes brightened.

But immediately thereafter, a doubt crept into his mind.

"What a joke!"

"These mountain‑city tactics are absurdly crude, aren't they?"

They clearly possessed a legion of unmanned machines, yet they still sent flesh‑and‑blood bodies to charge under heavy fire.

Those expendables?

And at the very moment that thought flashed through his mind, on the other side Liu Hao had already opened fire.

The roar of the heavy machine gun tore the twilight of the mountain city like a rip in silk, and beneath its roar the distant, intermittent booms of massive explosions rang out.

Unmanned combat units.

Indeed, they had arrived!

From the underground of the mountain city, drones swarmed out like a hive of bees, hurtling straight toward Liu Hao’s position.

The weapon in his hand could not possibly intercept the swarm of drones.

But his own could!

Without a hint of hesitation, Chen Jian sprang from cover and rushed toward Liu Hao’s line.

While he was still on the way, the Nezha armor’s built‑in, scarcely ever‑used active defense module sprang to life!

The laser matrix locked onto the airborne drones in an instant; within seconds the nearest drone was incinerated through its frame.

The out‑of‑control drone tilted and fell, its barrel spewing bullets aimlessly into the sky.

“Watch the exit!”

Chen Jian shouted his orders, while Liu Hao kept his trigger finger glued, using the heavy machine gun’s fire‑control system to hurl bullets with pinpoint precision into the underground entrance.

The unmanned machines’ batteries were shattered, and a sudden blast erupted at the mouth of the tunnel.

A chain reaction ensued; at that moment, even if those combat drones tried to press forward, they had no chance left.

The raging fire had already sealed off their route!

“The entrance is secure now!”

Chen Jian patted Liu Hao on the shoulder.

“Move to the pre‑designated Position Two!”

“The enemy will likely retreat through a farther exit underground!”

“Hold the choke point; they have only one fast‑track passage on the south side!”

“Understood!”

Liu Hao hoisted the heavy machine gun.

Augmented by his exoskeleton, his strength surged; even with a hundred‑kilogram load he moved without a hint of sluggishness.

Gazing at the battlefield map projected in his smart visor, Chen Jian issued another command:

“Raise the drones’ altitude!”

“I need the full‑scale situation!”

“In thirty seconds the transport aircraft will begin its descent!”

“No matter what, we must hold for two minutes!” “Understood!”

“Copy that!”

Voices crackled over the radio as each squad member answered, and when the drones rose, just as Chen Jian had anticipated, scattered targets began to pour out of the underground entrances in the surrounding area.

These mountain‑city folk were tactically crude, but they were far from mindless.

They were trying to lure defensive fire with a near‑point, high‑density shock, then strike from afar in a pincer attack!

Yet such a strategy remained painfully elementary.

Chen Jian’s choice of landing site was far from random.

The sunken terrain was ringed by towering buildings; while this complicated the landing, it also virtually cut off every trajectory for indirect fire.

Even mortars firing high‑angle shots faced severely limited angles and firing positions, all of which were almost entirely covered by the defensive fire points Chen Jian had designed!

They could not complete an assault in a short span.

But the airborne transport aircraft could touch down in that brief window!

“Prepare for landing!”

Jiang Yu’s voice crackled over the radio, and moments later the circling transport dove down at a steep angle!

For an instant Chen Jian thought the plane would stall and smash into the ground.

Yet at less than a hundred meters above the surface, the aircraft pulled up.

Then, with a smoothness bordering on the miraculous, it settled steadily onto the elevated bridge.

Wings brushed past street‑lamp poles; after a few seconds of skidding, the transport came to a firm halt.

“Get out! Get out!”

Chen Jian heard Jiang Yu’s shout over the radio; the next second the cargo doors flung open and the cramped crew tumbled out in a chaotic rush.

Yes, they literally tumbled out.

This transport, converted from a bomber, was so cramped that the soldiers didn’t so much sit as get shoved inside.

They carried only the most rudimentary gear, not even a single bullet‑proof vest.

Upon touching ground, the men promptly pushed the transport to reverse on the spot, while Jiang Yu pulled the stick back, guiding it to glide along its landing path for a take‑off.

“Smooth landing! Smooth landing!”

Chen Jian heard the voice of the newly arrived squad leader.

It was Yu Qian.

“Deploy according to the pre‑set plan, quickly!”

“Maintain concealment!”

“Prepare to receive airdropped supplies!”

“Understood!”

Yu Qian’s voice was hoarse, clearly strained by the harsh transport conditions.

Yet even so, he led his men to unfold their formation in record time, and at that moment the second transport in the sky began its airdrop operation.

“Careful!”

A sudden warning crackled from Ji Xing over the radio.

Immediately after, Chen Jian saw a missile dragging a plume of smoke launch straight from the underground tunnel.

It was over.

That was the first thought that flashed through his mind.

At that altitude, no aircraft could rely on maneuverability to evade an anti‑air missile’s lock.

But in the next heartbeat, something that left him gaping in disbelief occurred.

The missile brushed past the airborne transport, missing it by a hair.

Then it surged upward into an unknown sky.

??? Infrared‑guided??

This bomber of mine isn’t a piston engine; I don’t overheat!

Chen Jian exhaled a sigh of relief, yet he also recognized the perilous omen.

The enemy could even produce a portable anti‑air missile!

That proves there could never be only one shot!

“Rapid deployment, rapid withdrawal!”

“Speed must be swift!”

“Understood!”

A pilot’s reply crackled over the radio, his tone far calmer than Chen Jian had anticipated.

Chen Jian had been admiring the pilot’s composure, but he quickly realized the youngster probably had no clue what an anti‑air missile was!

They hadn’t even mentioned such things during training!

Yet now there was no time for explanations.

The hatch yawned open, and a cargo crate, tethered to a makeshift parachute, plummeted straight down.

The transport aircraft pulled up again, veering north to escape the danger zone.

It’s done!

Chen Jian spat out a breath, and at that moment, the assault from the mountain‑city dwellers near the landing site grew ever fiercer.

Swarms of unmanned machines surged forth; although beyond three hundred meters their combat effectiveness was modest, the sheer density of their fire still pressed heavily upon Chen Jian.

“Prepare to drop the nuclear bomb!”

Chen Jian issued the order:

“Center on me, twelve kilometers north, above the Level‑One monster, release a low‑yield tactical nuke!”

“Copy that!”

The bomber’s pilot answered promptly, then the aircraft looped north, climbing to altitude, ready to jettison and flee.

He had only one chance.

Though the bomber actually carried four nuclear warheads of varying yields, after each release the escape distance had to be kept within a razor‑thin margin to ensure continued suppression.

Otherwise the squad left inside the city might be seized by the mountain‑city forces in a counter‑strike and wiped out in an instant!

Chen Jian watched the battlefield map projected on his smart visor, already planning to contract his formation after the blast and break out in a chosen direction.

Yet at that instant he sensed something amiss.

Those mountain‑city people.

They were retreating!

All the unmanned combat units had withdrawn into underground tunnels, and even the living targets that had broken through the fire‑screen to the surface were pulling back rapidly.

What does that mean?

Their radar detected the bomber?

No.

If that were true, they would never have emerged in the first place.

Communications.

The radio link had been intercepted.

Chen Jian’s heart skipped a beat.

Not merely because our own communications were exposed in a one‑way transparent danger.

More importantly,

He could finally confirm that these mountain‑city folk understood human speech!

If they understood, why deny us even a sliver of dialogue??

Chen Jian skimmed the battlefield map, and once he saw the enemy begin to contract, he issued without hesitation:

“Everyone, take cover!”

“Mountain city, can you hear me?”

“We need to negotiate!”

The words fell, and the radio slipped into a brief silence.

A few seconds later,

a slightly distorted voice crackled out.

“Leave the mountain city at once.”

“You have taken the wrong path. We cannot negotiate.”

“Do not come back, stop disturbing us!”

This was the first conversation.

Yet Chen Jian felt it might also be the last.

No negotiations??

If that’s the case, why bother trying to capture the living?!

He drew a deep breath and commanded:

“Release the nuclear bomb!”

(End of chapter)