Chapter 56: Target Practice

Chapter Fifty-Six: Practicing the Gun

The squad spent an entire day cleaning and organizing the equipment inside the fortifications; large amounts of weapons and tools not needed temporarily were resealed and stored, while those needed in the short term were carried directly.

Chen Jian's exoskeleton rack behind him was still not fully loaded; although he had added a recoilless cannon, he correspondingly lost a sleeve-arrow missile launcher.

At the same time, the ammunition for his LG6 that he originally carried was not replenished, but fortunately the assembly of the Mao Mao vehicle went smoothly; after mounting two 35mm automatic grenade launchers, he truly didn't see much use for an LG6 with only six rounds.

After deploying a QJZ-301 heavy machine gun and a mounted QJG-22 anti-aircraft machine gun on the high ground near the fortification entrance, Chen Jian left Shen Yue and Lei Jie to keep watch, while he himself, under the cover of night, boarded the fully prepared Mao Mao vehicle with He Shuo and three other Holy Blooded ones.

One ignition, one start.

Shandong Cat, just powerful!

The five-person squad, heavily equipped, set out along the sparsely vegetated, relatively good-conditioned overpass, heading southwest toward Han Shui.

Zeng Yi and Xie Liu, seated in the back, were intensely curious about this small, high-speed vehicle; seeing their expressions, Chen Jian felt as if he were a child in the countryside, riding for the first time in someone else's blue bird.

After a few minutes of driving, Xie Liu couldn't help but ask:

“Is the principle of this Mao Mao vehicle the same as that of the Mechanical God Church's steam locomotive, and also the same as the steamship?”

“Why can it go so fast, and why is its name so cute?”

“Actually, its original name wasn't that cute; we gave it this one.”

Chen Jian shook his head with a smile, driving and replying:

“You can learn its principle slowly; Lei Jie has already confirmed that the 7025 terminal stores vast amounts of knowledge, and once things stabilize a bit, you can study at your leisure.”

“For now, you two just need to watch my operation closely and learn to drive it as soon as possible.”

“Understood.”

“Understood.”

The two answered in turn, each craning their necks to watch Chen Jian turn the steering wheel, press the accelerator and brake; although they knew nothing about driving, they could still pick up a few clues.

The more they watched, the more they marveled at the wisdom of humanity from the old era.

Now not only Xie Liu, but even Zeng Yi began to doubt why he had previously believed so firmly in the so-called “doctrine” of the Holy Blood Hall.

Chen Jian noticed the look of regret and wistfulness on his face, roughly guessed what he was thinking, and thus asked:

“Do you know why I didn't use Li Shi to separate you two? Do you know why I made you ride in the same vehicle?”

Zeng Yi froze for a moment, and before he could speak, Chen Jian continued:

“Actually, considering how close your relationship with Xie Liu is, we originally planned to separate you two in the upcoming operation.”

“After all, that would be safer; if you were plotting something, communication wouldn't be so convenient.”

“But then, I thought about it again.”

“Truth can be proven; when the embodiment of truth is placed before you, you don't even need to think to know it's right.”

“I'm not wrong, am I?”

Zeng Yi took a deep breath and slowly nodded:

“Yes, absolutely correct.”

“Thank you.”

Chen Jian waved his hand and said:

“No need for thanks.”

“In the short term we won't become comrades, but we can be friends for now.”

After saying that, the atmosphere among the three in the vehicle instantly lightened.

Xie Liu and Zeng Yi exchanged a smile; many words needed no utterance, they were already understood.

The Mao Cat continued forward, and Xie Liu asked again:

“Why do we still need to return to Han Shui? If it were only for food, we actually have many other channels to obtain it.”

“Because we need to claim the reward that belongs to us, and at the same time prove our existence.”

Chen Jian answered without hesitation, then continued:

“Of course, this sortie also has a third objective: to incidentally clear out some of the mole rats active around here.”

“Come on, we're almost there.”

“Xie Liu, open the bag I gave you earlier and scatter its contents.”

“No problem.”

Xie Liu immediately set to work, while Chen Jian slammed the brakes with one foot.

After the bag was opened, Chen Jian ordered Xie Liu to get out and splash its contents beneath the overpass; the pungent odor instantly spread, and the Holy Blooded ones at the center of the stench couldn't help but cover their noses.

Chen Jian and He Shuo didn't cover theirs, because they had empty breath.

At this moment their location was precisely the intersection of Bai Sha Zhou Bridge and Yang Si Gang Expressway, where the terrain was broad and vegetation relatively sparse.

After the smell dispersed, a rustling soon came from the surrounding thickets; within half a minute, Chen Jian, through his night vision, saw the mole rat gang gathering from all sides.

“They're here, over thirty.”

“It looks like the mole rat colony nearby is sizable; let's draw them in close, then fire when they approach.”

“You've been taught how to use this gun; give it a try later.” “Understood.”

“All right!”

Xie Liu and Zeng Yi each held a Type 191 rifle, their expressions somewhat tense.

They weren't unfamiliar with firearms, but they weren't very practiced either.

After disengaging the safety, the two carefully aimed downward, saying nothing more.

Moments later, the mole rats gathered not far beneath the overpass, unfurling the scent sacs on their backs, trying to catch from the stench that faint trace of “human” odor.

Seeing the moment ripe, Chen Jian immediately gave the order:

“Fire!”

“Bang!”

“Bang bang!”

Three gunshots rang out in response; Li Shi, Xie Liu, and Zeng Yi fired simultaneously.

The recoil of the 7.62mm bullets was nothing to them, and thus their hit rate was even higher than Chen Jian had expected.

In an instant, more than five mole rats collapsed.

After personally wielding the “powerful weapon of the old era” to slay the foe, the tension on the Holy Blooded ones' faces gradually faded.

In its place arose a nameless excitement.

Though mighty power bestowed upon oneself is certainly enviable, this so-called “might” does have limits.

And when they personally witnessed each bullet, spewing fire, fly forth and shatter the monsters' skulls, they instantly grasped a truth:

The strengthening of external objects is virtually limitless.

The three of them fired faster and faster, their motions shifting from stiff to practiced.

After emptying the first magazine, they swapped in another as Chen Jian had taught them, and kept firing.

The continuous gunfire finally panicked the mole rats; they stopped clustering together and turned to flee.

Chen Jian would not give them that chance.

He gestured to He Shuo far away; He Shuo immediately swung the 35mm automatic grenade launcher's barrel downward, aiming at the ground below.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Dense explosions sprayed countless fragments, blanketing an entire open area; the mole rats that hadn't yet burrowed into the undergrowth were flung aloft by the blast, then torn apart by shrapnel and shockwave.

Smoke and dust rose, blood mist drifted.

The three Holy Blooded stared, mouths agape, at this scene like divine retribution descending, even forgetting to pull the trigger.

Just a few seconds later, silence returned beneath the overpass.

All that remained were the corpses of more than twenty mole rats, and the shallow craters gouged by the grenades.

After a brief stunned pause, Xie Liu was the first to recover from the shock.

She looked at Chen Jian, venturing:

"I thought you just wanted us to practice."

"It is practice."

Chen Jian nodded, explaining:

"But we also need to kill as many as possible."

"These mole rats share a symbiotic relationship with the giant monsters; if we don't wipe them out cleanly, I fear they'll summon new monsters."

"Understood."

Xie Liu nodded again, asking no further questions.

The group returned to the cat-cart and continued toward the Han River.

The three Holy Blooded were still visibly exhilarated, talking more than before.

In contrast, Chen Jian remained calm, his face expressionless.

Actually, there was a special reason he wanted to do this.

But that reason did not need to be told to the three new teammates.

They didn't need to know why he had to stay far back when firing.

Nor did they need to know why, when the mole rats emerged from below, He Shuo's grenade launcher was pointed at the overpass deck.

(End of chapter)