Chapter 346: Sue for Peace?

Chapter 346: Summation?

Mountain City, ground.

A laser‑launch array composed of four emitters has been assembled, and the final tethering apparatus is now being installed.

Finding suitable materials within the mountain city proved impossible, so they resorted to air‑dropping tires and bearings, cobbling together a mobile launch system as best they could.

Next, they must continue laying and connecting the power lines.

It is no simple task, yet the mountain city is never short of electrical equipment; they can source everything on site.

Precisely because of that, the progress of the wiring work has been swift.

To date, the road‑building squad led by Ji Xing has completed eighty percent.

The remaining twenty percent will be finished within an hour.

Standing on the cleared artillery platform, Chen Jian gazed at the monsters stirring in the distance, and a strange thought suddenly flickered through his mind.

“So, was this creature bred, or merely selected?”

When his words fell, Lei Jie beside him furrowed his brow.

Bred, or selected?

In theory, such monsters could not have been produced by artificial breeding.

Yet, from the intelligence we have now,

the peculiarity of this thing is overwhelmingly strong.

Though still a carbon‑based lifeform, it aggregates the most potent offensive traits of natural selection.

A massive frame, a resilient exoskeleton, venom sacs that secrete corrosive fluid, parasitic spores, ultra‑high‑decibel vocal organs capable of weaponising sound pressure, supple, flexible tentacles, and razor‑sharp bone spikes

This single monster almost embodies every characteristic of all the beasts I have ever encountered.

Moreover, all those biological traits meld together on this creature with uncanny harmony and appropriateness.

It is a perfect creation; without humans, without the gunpowder and shells forged by mankind, even after tens of thousands of years it could never be dethroned by any other life.

It would forever sit upon the throne at the apex of the food chain, until

other beings revere it as some eldritch “ancient god” from an unspeakable realm.

——

So how could such a thing be the product of natural selection or random mutation?

Chen Jian’s suspicion is entirely reasonable.

Perhaps this monster is a new species stitched together by the mountain city folk after studying the biology of the beasts.

They surely possess the capability to do so.

And indeed, they have the motive.

Lei Jie shook his head, pondered a moment, then replied:

“Actually, that’s irrelevant.”

“At least from the intel we have now, the so‑called ‘Level‑One monster’ is far less terrifying than we imagined.”

“No matter how a creature evolves, it cannot surpass the ‘delivery distance’ chasm.”

“Long‑range deployment is a privilege of intelligent, gregarious species.”

“And as long as we master that ability, no matter how ‘invincible’ the monster seems at close quarters, we will ultimately be able to bring it down.”

“Even if it means grinding it to death, inch by inch.”

“I understand.”

Chen Jian nodded slowly.

“Thus lies the crux of the matter.”

“We can see this; the mountain city folk could not possibly overlook it.”

“They will spare no effort to obstruct our cleansing operation—and that, I fear, is the greatest threat we face.”

“In the campaign against Level‑One monsters, the primary enemy is not outside the city, but within.”

He paused briefly, then asked:

“What’s the status of the surrounding underground entrances?”

“Almost all that we could locate have already been blown and sealed—those mountain city people have not reacted yet.”

Lei Jie answered:

“However, given their engineering prowess, no matter how we block the passages we can only delay them by at most a few dozen seconds.”

“When the real battle begins, we’ll still have to meet force with force.”

“Understood.”

Chen Jian nodded again, then turned his gaze to the battlefield map projected on his smart visor.

Only a few hundred metres of wiring remain; he could already see Ji Xing and his team moving along the aerial tracks in the distance.

“Prepare to activate the tethered laser array.”

“Let’s go back first.”

“We must escort the two Nezha exoskeletons all the way—they are currently our strongest defensive assets.”

“Copy.”

Lei Jie gave a terse reply, and the two leapt down from the platform, racing across the staggered rooftops of the high ground back toward the city.

For the first time, Chen Jian truly felt the “full might” of the exoskeleton, and finally understood why it is called a “close‑quarters war weapon.”

——

In truth, with this contraption, you often need not set foot on the perilous streets at all.

Its high mobility grants its wearer the ability to traverse extreme elevation changes, maintain clear sightlines, and render the most dangerous ambushes virtually impossible.

After half an hour, the two returned at full speed to the temporary staging area.

At that moment, the laser array had been loaded onto its carriage, driven by a crudely built motor, and began moving toward the artillery platform.

“Everyone, prepare to meet the enemy.”

Chen Jian issued the order:

“Ji Xing, Li Shi, seize the high ground, establish an aerial fire point, and advance with the convoy.”

“Guo Xu, Zhang Chao, Liu Hao, follow me to scout the front line and clear any suspicious threats ahead.”

“Lei Jie, Yu Qian, lead the volunteer squad in close‑range escort.”

“Note, the mission spans eleven kilometres and is expected to take one hour and forty minutes.”

“All personnel remain on high alert; combat could erupt at any moment!”

“Understood!”

“Copy that!”

One reply after another came in; Chen Jian drew a deep breath, nodded at Lei Jie, and then, without hesitation, strode forward.

Guo Xu and the other two followed close behind, a hint of tension flickering across their faces.

But after several days of fighting, they had gradually adapted to the rhythm of the Huaxia army.

Even without Chen Jian's orders, they spontaneously formed a three‑by‑three formation, taking turns to shield the rapid advance.

Chen Jian watched their movements with satisfaction, no longer diverting his attention to detailed commands, but instead focusing on the exoskeleton’s built‑in smart fire‑control system, monitoring every rustle on the road ahead.

“Five hundred meters ahead, clear.”

A voice crackled through the headset—Ji Xing.

“Proceed.”

“Understood, you may proceed.”

Chen Jian relayed the order to the convoy, but at that instant a strange flicker caught his eye.

“Bang—”

A collision sound echoed from a distance.

Immediately, Ji Xing’s voice rose, a little urgent.

“The underground entrance has been struck.”

“They’re coming!”

“Copy that!”

Chen Jian’s gaze snapped toward the source of the sound.

There, the collapsed entrance was already billowing dust.

“Prepare to meet the enemy!”

Chen Jian shouted the command.

The next second—

Gunfire roared.

On the other side—

On the grassland—

“So, the mountain city truly is humanity’s tomb?”

“Those surface structures—were they built by you solely as a ‘memorial’?”

“That description isn’t quite accurate.”

A voice from the void sounded again.

Suddenly, an astonishingly lifelike silhouette materialized beside Lin Yu.

It was an ordinary‑looking middle‑aged man; at a glance, Lin Yu even doubted whether he could remember the stranger’s face.

Yet inexplicably, that face exuded a peculiar sense of affinity.

“I’ve thought it over; perhaps I must sacrifice some processing power and assume a human guise to speak with you.”

“That should make you feel more at ease and more receptive to what I have to say.”

“How about it? Shall we get acquainted?”

“.Sure.”

Lin Yu nodded slowly.

“My name is Lin Xi.”

The man extended his hand toward Lin Yu.

“Lin Xi? You also share the surname Lin?”

“Just a homophonic coincidence.”

Lin Xi shrugged vividly, shook Lin Yu’s hand once, then continued:

“You asked earlier why we built this surface city.”

“In truth, it’s less a ‘memorial’ than an experiment.”

“Continuing our earlier tale, after we sealed our souls within the tomb, the conjecture about the ‘Entropy Beast’—that monster—remained unverified.”

“Thus we require further verification.”

“We must determine whether it is human consciousness—the soul—that generates informational entropy, or whether actions driven by consciousness generate it.” “To test this, we must alter the surrounding environment.”

“Initially we merely expanded the city’s underground space, constructing a complete system to keep the tomb operational.”

“But we soon realized that method could not effectively test our hypothesis.”

“Because all our actions were solely to sustain an information hub, producing no substantial new data in the process.”

“So we began to experiment with ‘manifestation’ work.”

“For instance, we once interfered with the world beyond the mountain city, and also

“The Mechanical Cult and the Holy Blood Hall, though both native factions of the wasteland, bore traces of our influence in their development.”

“Yet that was insufficient.”

“Subsequently, perhaps due to the unique ‘loneliness’ of souls trapped in the tomb, we attempted to recreate our former homeland on the surface.”

“You know how deeply humans cling to the idea of home.”

“When survival no longer preoccupies you, you inevitably yearn to build a place that is uniquely yours.”

“Thus the surface city of the mountain city was born—just as you said, it indeed carries a ‘memorial’ quality.”

“Understood.”

Lin Yu nodded slowly.

“If I follow your reasoning, then I indeed—”

He furrowed his brows, about to speak, but the words never left his mouth.

“Indeed what? Indeed we cannot blame ourselves, right?”

The man who called himself Lin Xi asked further.

“.Exactly.”

Lin Yu exhaled a long breath.

“You are merely trying, in your own way, to resist the great cataclysm, just as we are doing.”

“Whether it’s the Holy Blood Hall, the Mechanical Cult, or the Huaxia army— even the Flowers that the Huaxia army has already eradicated— everyone is pursuing the same objective.”

“Only some choose the wrong path, others the right one.”

“That’s how it is, indeed.”

A grateful smile blossomed on Lin Xi’s face.

"You can understand us; that makes me quite pleased."

"Glad."

Lin Yu couldn't help but let out a wry smile.

"So, after a soul is imprisoned, can you still feel emotions like 'happiness'?"

"It depends on how you define it."

Lin Xi spread his hands in a helpless gesture.

"If you mean the pleasure that stems from a creature's own hormonal secretions, then we truly lack it."

"But, now that we can preserve souls on silicon substrates, we have, of course, taken this issue into account."

"In fact, we have expended vast computational power to deep‑learn human emotions."

"We invoke a 'joy' algorithm in situations where one 'should be happy', allowing the souls dwelling here to experience emotions as vividly as any mortal's."

"One should be glad."

Lin Yu felt a subtle stir in his heart.

"If even emotions are governed by your so‑called 'algorithm', then the soul indeed ceases to exist, and so does any notion of personal will."

"That is not necessarily so."

Lin Xi shook his head.

"A neuron's response to stimuli is, at its core, merely a relatively more intricate algorithm—though I doubt you can fully grasp that."

"In short, the philosophical speculation we mentioned earlier has yet to reach a conclusion."

"Only that, based on current evidence, we are now nearer to the correct answer."

"Understood."

Lin Yu abruptly rose to his feet.

"So, after saying all that to me, what is your true purpose?"

"If we take everything you've told me at face value, according to your logic—"

"You ought not to welcome newcomers."

"Just as that village should not welcome outsiders."

"You should either eradicate them before they arrive, or confine them to the 'low‑acceleration entropy‑increase' state you described."

"Indeed, that is precisely what you have always done."

"You unleash swarms of beasts to cleanse forces that develop swiftly and might destabilize your schemes."

"And you make enemies of the Huaxia army."

"Exactly."

Lin Xi likewise rose to his feet.

"But now we have uncovered a new problem."

"The Huaxia army you speak of differs from every challenge we have previously faced."

"They are, to the extreme, a thorny adversary."

"Moreover, they are truly formidable."

"Much like we once were."

"With such a force already inside the mountain city, we find it exceedingly difficult to eradicate them completely."

"Why? Did you never consider the possibility of them breaking through?"

"Boundaries."

Lin Xi replied:

"I have boundaries; on certain matters I cannot think beyond them, and consequently the souls in this world cannot think beyond those limits either."

"Perhaps that could be deemed a kind of short‑sightedness."

"We never imagined they could wield long‑range ballistic missiles bearing nuclear warheads, nor that they would execute an airborne assault under completely unknown conditions."

"In short, the outlook is far from optimistic."

"For us, pressing on would only lead to a mutually ruinous outcome."

"Thus, we are forced to contemplate a new approach."

"For instance, negotiations."

"I see."

Lin Yu chuckled lightly.

"So the Huaxia army has already broken through, correct?"

"Their offensive has become unbearable for you?"

"Indeed."

Lin Xi answered solemnly:

"I will not deceive you."

"Even as we speak, a fierce battle rages overhead."

"We have mobilized every available and effective force to purge the intruders that have entered the city."

"Yet, based on the current trajectory, the outcome looks grim."

"They wield a trump card beyond our reach, while our forces untouched by that card are woefully few."

"Hence you seek peace."

Lin Yu interjected:

"Do you think they will accept a truce?"

Lin Xi gave a faint smile and replied:

"It was uncertain before, but now the odds seem high."

"Why?"

Lin Yu frowned and asked:

"Because of me."

"Exactly."

Lin Xi nodded again.

"If we can persuade you, why not persuade those so‑called Huaxia troops?"

"Compared to you, they might actually be more receptive to our ideas and counsel."

"Hahaha."

Lin Yu broke into an unexpected laugh.

A moment later, his tone grew solemn as he spoke:

“Impossible.”

“You have no true grasp of the Huaxia army.”

“They would never consent to your overtures of peace.”

“Their mindset, their logic, are unlike anything found in this world.”

“At times I even suspect they are genuine ‘outsiders’ hailing from another realm.”

“They came here solely to enact change.”

“And the prerequisite for change is destruction.”

“So you ask, how could such people ever spare their enemies?”

(End of chapter)