Chapter 41: Unite All Forces That Can Be United

Chapter 41: The Power of Unity

The passage through the defense zone went much more smoothly than Chen Jian had anticipated; after revealing his identity, the Holy Blood Hall, still in cooperation with the Machine God Cult, swiftly arranged a liaison. Taking advantage of the demons' still‑confused state, the eight of them smashed through the demon lines with lightning speed and rushed back to the east bank of the Yangtze, entering the controlled area of Han Shui City.

There was no extra interrogation, no extra inspection, giving Chen Jian a new appreciation of the Holy Blood Hall's strength.

Although Xu Lie claimed the Machine God Cult owned the city, it was clear the Holy Blood Hall's influence had permeated every facet of Han Shui City, even to the point of forming a 'shadow consul'.

This heightened Chen Jian's wariness of the Holy Blood Hall.

After all, overt enemies can always be dealt with, but if someone strikes from the shadows,

it becomes impossible to guard against.

Chen Jian felt a headache coming on.

He truly did not want to waste his energy on intrigue, for he still had archaeology, hunting, and climbing the tech tree ahead of him, and his available manpower was already scarce—he could not afford to squander it.

Thus the best course was to establish another base, another furnace.

He would find a way to build his own stronghold, strictly vetting any indigenous settlers who came to rely on him when resources were abundant, establishing a sound basic education system to ensure the purity of his troops.

Only such a force could possess sufficient combat power and stand against the myriad threats of this wasteland.

And achieve victory.

It seemed the reconnaissance mission to the Ordnance Engineering Institute had become urgent.

As they walked toward Han Shui City, Chen Jian silently made his plans, and when they returned to their lodgings and the Holy Blood squad prepared to depart, Chen Jian detained Xu Lie.

Then he spoke:

'This operation will certainly be exposed; the city's administrators cannot ignore the abnormal movements of the Blood Skulls.'

'They will surely send scouts to the Blood Skull camp and discover the corpse of General Blood Sun.'

'We cannot hide it, nor can we explain it away.'

'So, if exposure is necessary, you know what to say.'

Xu Lie stared, bewildered, and asked:

'You want us to take credit for this deed?'

'Yes.'

Chen Jian nodded and replied:

'Reputation is yours; the benefits we will take all.'

'No more talk of an eighty‑twenty split—all rewards go to us, but you may earn the title of…'

'…hero.'

'The people here will remember that it was your brave action that eliminated the Blood Skull threat near Han Shui City.'

'The prestige of the Holy Blood Hall will rise further, and you will gain more potential benefits.'

'Is that reasonable?'

'Reasonable!'

Xu Lie answered without hesitation, bowing to Chen Jian in a Holy Blood salute.

Chen Jian returned the salute, lowered his hand, and Xu Lie turned with his companions and left—except Li Shi, who remained where he stood.

'Chosen One, my shield.'

Chen Jian then recalled that he had told Li Shi to throw away his steel shield, and now he owed him one.

He pondered a moment and said:

'If I tried to produce it now, I certainly couldn't.'

'But I promise I will get it for you—definitely better than your old shield.'

'If you need it right away, I can advance some payment as compensation; would that work?'

'No need, no need, I'll wait for you.'

Li Shi waved his hands repeatedly, smiling.

What he truly cared about was not just any ordinary shield, but 'the shield received from the Chosen One'!

Though his nature was simple, even a bit dull, he understood the basic principles.

He had merely done a small favor for these Chosen Ones, and in return he would gladly accept a new shield.

In this apocalypse, that is already a tremendous boon, a great kindness.

Since that is the case, what does waiting matter?

'If necessary, I can simply go back later to retrieve that shield.'

Li Shi departed chuckling, closed the door, and Chen Jian let out a long sigh of relief.

Seeing the equipment scattered on the floor, the long‑lost sense of safety finally returned, a little.

'This Li Shi, I think we can win him over,' whispered He Shuo, lowering his voice. 'We have too much gear and no usable combat vehicles; just us few can't carry all that.'

'Li Shi is a Holy Blood follower; I observed him—his strength and endurance are considerable, making him ideal as a logistics soldier.'

'Most importantly, I feel he differs from Xu Lie; his faith in the Holy Blood Hall seems not as fervent.'

'Not only him.'

Ray Jie interjected:

'Xie Liu, Zeng Yi, and Li Shi—these three are not like Xu Lie.'

'Li Shi is the most conspicuous, but if we must speak, Xie Liu and Zeng Yi could also be placed on the observation list.'

'I believe we should not blindly exclude outsiders; we must unite every force that can be united, split potential enemies as much as possible, and first resolve the main contradiction.'

'Agreement.'

'Agreement.'

Chen Jian and Yue Shen spoke in turn, and thus the four members of the Holy Blood squad instantly acquired a priority ranking in their minds.

'Therefore, for the upcoming reconnaissance of Han Shui's urban area and the Ordnance Engineering Institute, we can also invite their four‑person team to join.'

'This is both cooperation and a test.'

'Those who pass the test we will keep.'

'Those who fail the test, or even make a mistake,'

Chen Jian did not finish the sentence, but everyone understood his meaning.

His proposal received unanimous approval, the plan was set, and the group's mood relaxed a little as they squatted on the ground, sorting through the newly acquired equipment.

'Undoubtedly the most troublesome task was selecting ammunition; they strained their eyes until they finally found 160 rounds of 7.62mm bullets and 120 rounds of 5.8mm bullets.'

'The quantity is not large, but at least it breaks even, with a little extra.'

'Of the twelve mortar shells, one was damaged and unusable, leaving eleven—five assigned to Chen Jian, six to Ray Jie.'

'As for grenades, they were evenly distributed—six each, exactly divided.'

The two cylinders surely belonged to Lei Jie, without dispute.

Equipment basically distributed, the four sat cross-legged on the ground, resting satisfied.

Chen Zhen pondered whether to continue eating the rations Li Shi had sent earlier, or to venture out to see what "food services" Han Shui City offered, when suddenly, outside the gate, the sound of cannon fire rang out.

They leapt to their feet, once again taking their combat positions, but in that instant Lei Jie issued the "safe" order.

"Not artillery."

"Fireworks!"

Chen Zhen walked to the window, where in the deep blue sky about to turn black, several bright yellow flames burst forth.

In the distance, the triumphant hymn of the Machine God Cult drew nearer.

Obviously, the blood skulls that had attempted to assault Han Shui City had been eradicated.

The citizens of Han Shui City lavishly lit candles, carbide lamps, and electric lights.

The town blazed with light; people emerged from their dwellings onto the streets that ought to have grown quiet.

From the highest hall of Han Shui City came a holy proclamation, its grand voice reaching every corner of the city.

"In the name of the Holy Trinity, with holy blood as witness, we let the blood of heretics stain the Yangtze red."

"The vile, lowly blood skulls melted in the glory of gunpowder, vanished without trace under the sprinkling of holy blood."

"Rejoice, children of Han Shui."

"Tonight we shall revel in victory!"

Chen Zhen pushed open the door and stepped outside.

The townsfolk, struggling amid hardship, cheered as they flooded the streets, as if they had truly achieved some great triumph.

The celebration began.

(End of chapter)