Chapter 46: Missing Intelligence

Chapter 46: Missing Intelligence

Twenty hours later, eight people and four oxen departed from Hanshui City, heading toward the “Ruins,” that is, the old Hanshui urban area.

Chen Jian’s communication with Xu Lie’s squad went smoothly, yet he was dissatisfied—although Hanshui City had been intermittently battling that monster since its founding, the intelligence they possessed was pitifully scarce.

They only knew it stood about fifteen meters tall, its body cloaked in thick hide armor, and that its movements were swift, its attacks varied.

But when asked to detail its specific damage resistance or exact attack patterns, they fell silent.

As for anything else, they were utterly clueless.

Infrared vision? Unknown.

Keen sense of smell? Unknown.

Special auditory organs? Unknown.

Any weaknesses? Not yet determined.

Under these circumstances, Chen Jian’s ability to make advance decisions was severely limited.

He could only order his men to stay vigilant in the forthcoming operation, to enter the city as unobtrusively as possible, avoid active searching, rely chiefly on fixed‑point drone reconnaissance, and attempt to lock onto the monster’s whereabouts.

As for subsequent reconnaissance, they would have to improvise.

Traveling north along the Wushen Expressway, they turned west onto S102 after reaching Qingling Lake; after three hours of trekking, the party arrived safely at the city’s outskirts.

The squad halted to rest; while the others tended to their gear and concealed their equipment, Chen Jian walked up to Xu Lie, sipping the purified water he had brought, and spoke:

“I want to confirm once more—are you certain the monster lurking in Hanshui’s ruins, the old Hanshui urban area, is truly just a third‑class beast?”

“You know so little about it; could it have evolved in secret, becoming something stronger?”

“Impossible.”

Xu Lie shook his head firmly, then replied:

“In this world there are many monsters, but all monsters merely grow; they do not evolve.”

“Their strength ceiling is set the moment they are born.”

“A first‑class monster remains first‑class from birth to death; a fourth‑class monster stays fourth‑class till the end.”

“Of course, if you mean evolution in combat skill, that is possible.”

“But that can only happen near small settlements, where humans have long‑standing conflict with a monster that neither side can overcome, allowing it to grow ever stronger.”

“Clearly, the monster haunting Hanshui City is not of that sort.”

“It has entrenched itself near Hanshui City, thwarting numerous hunts by the Machine God Sect, yet its combat frequency is not actually high.”

“So I do not believe it has grown stronger than three years ago—otherwise Hanshui City could not have coexisted with it peacefully; they would have spared no effort to slay it long ago.”

Chen Jian nodded thoughtfully, then asked:

“Does Hanshui City actually possess the capability to kill it?”

“Certainly.”

Xu Lie answered without hesitation:

“Needless to say, the Holy Blooded and the Machine God Sect together, or even the Machine God Sect alone, have ample experience successfully hunting third‑class monsters.”

“The prevailing view is that humanity’s limit in monster slaying is second‑class; first‑class is utterly beyond our handling.”

“As for why no move has been made, it really comes down to a matter of cost.”

“Not every ruin holds value, especially the Hanshui Ruins; after several peripheral scouts we judged its worth no greater than other ruins, so we have not poured many resources into it.”

Having said that, Xu Lie paused, and before Chen Jian could speak, he continued:

“I know why you’re asking me this—you suspect I’m hiding information.”

“But truly, the reason our intel on this monster is so scant has already been told to you.” “In four words: total annihilation.”

“Every hunt launched by the Machine God Sect ends with no survivors.”

“Reconnaissance missions organized by the Holy Blood Hall often see scouts cut down before they can relay any word.”

“All in all, the one fact we are most certain of is that this monster’s territorial instinct is extraordinarily strong.”

“It not only bars any threatening life from entering its domain, but even after intrusion, it forbids departure.”

“So consider: who would willingly undertake such a high‑risk, low‑reward endeavor?”

“Probably only you Chosen Ones—and even now I don’t know why you insist on killing it, what drives you.”

“I never said we must kill it.”

Chen Jian rejected Xu Lie’s claim, then said:

“I hope you’ve kept nothing from me; from now on our fates are bound together.”

“Of course, this is also a gamble for us.”

Xu Lie replied without hesitation; from his expression Chen Jian detected no sign of deceit.

This is a good thing—at least it shows that, when life and death hang in the balance, these Holy Blooded will not indulge in petty scheming.

By now the squad had concealed all gear lacking ammunition, unusable for the moment; Lei Jie approached Chen Jian to report, and Chen Jian nodded, saying:

“Don the exoskeletons.”

“Understood.”

At the command, everyone sprang into action.

The freshly repaired exoskeletons were unloaded from the oxen’s backs, then paired up, the men helping each other into the suits.

The Holy Blooded stared agape at the sight; at first they thought Chen Jian was merely wearing some exotic armor rack.

But when the three weapon mounts on his back—PBP201 mortar, individual rocket launcher, QN‑202 sleeve‑arrow micro‑missile—unfolded with the whir of motors, even Xu Lie was left dumbfounded.

“What the hell is this?”

“Is this the eight‑armed Nezha of old folk tales?”

Xu Lie’s eyes now held a hint of dread.

“If before he regarded the Chosen Ones’ gear as merely ‘advanced but understandable,’ now he feels quite at a loss.”

“Isn’t the man before us, Chen Jian, exactly what the Machine God Sect imagined themselves to be?”

“Ironically, the junk they discarded as trash now appears in the hands of the Chosen Ones, displaying unmatched power.”

Xu Lie instinctively stepped back, while Li Shi moved forward uncontrollably.

Li Shi stared, entranced, at Chen Jian, wanting to speak but unable to find his voice.

Chen Jian ignored the Holy Blooded’s emotions; he lifted his gaze to the distant skyscrapers of Hanshui City and issued his order:

“He Shuo, Lei Jie, launch the drones, conduct forward reconnaissance.”

“Shen Yue, calibrate the INS, set the departure point, plot the route.”

“Li Shi, pick up the lead box.”

“Everyone else, keep a twenty‑meter distance and follow.”

The sky is about to go dark; let's strive to find it before dawn!

(End of chapter)