Chapter 64: A Change of Perspective

Chapter 64: A Change of Thought

In the room, Chen Jian listened to Zeng Yi's narration while recording the current intelligence on his PDA.

Most of the intelligence concerned the monster at the Huangzhou ruins, though it was mixed with a bit of information about Huangshi City.

[A Class-4 monster, but the classification is based on 'low aggression'; in reality it could approach or match the strength of a Class-3 monster]

[Its entire body is covered in thick armor; the Mechanic God Cult once bombarded it with a 10-kilogram large-caliber smoothbore cannon, to no avail]

[It moves swiftly, but its active periods are rare]

[Its intelligence appears low, and it is not sensitive to humans]

[Its territory covers the Huangzhou ruins, and it has a fixed nest]

[There are records of it attacking human settlements, but the most recent record dates back ten years]

[Within Huangshi City there are a few civilians who worship the 'Mongol' monster, but their numbers are small]

All this information was compiled together, and Chen Jian furrowed his brow, his doubts growing heavier.

After a moment's thought, he spoke:

"Based on the current information, this monster is indeed suitable for use as a barrier."

"But the problem is, I constantly feel that something is off."

"If it serves as an excellent barrier for us, it would naturally be one for the residents of Huangshi City as well."

"But why, under the protection of this barrier, does the population here continue to dwindle?"

"Don't you realize? Huangshi City simply hasn't reached the 2,000-population scale you mentioned."

"I even suspect it's under 1,000—where did your information come from?"

Having said that, Zeng Yi likewise shook his head in confusion, then explained:

"Just as I said before, the Sacred Blood Hall has no council chamber here, so the information we obtained comes mainly from the Mechanic God Cult."

"Just as we did when we entered, we will approach them under the pretense of cooperative reconnaissance to ask for intelligence; they usually comply, but the accuracy of their information is not guaranteed."

"Two years ago, I did see fairly detailed information about Huangshi City, back when the Sacred Blood Hall was attempting to dispatch a Source Blood individual here."

"I can confirm that at that time, Huangshi City definitely still had a population of two thousand."

"But I don't know why, after two years, it has declined to this extent."

"In fact, it's not just you who noticed; I and Xie Liu also asked the local priest the same question just now, but he refused to answer, saying it was merely natural death."

"Can natural death halve the population in two years?"

Chen Jian shook his head mockingly and said:

"Huangshi City still has secrets; the Mechanic God Cult people don't want to tell you."

"All right, let's set this aside for now."

"I need to confirm one thing: have the Mechanic God Cult personnel here received notice of the sudden incident in Han Shui City?"

"No."

Zeng Yi stated firmly:

"They only have one radio here, and it broke down two weeks ago."

"Moreover, the road to Han Shui City is blocked by two monsters, so communication is naturally sparse; I believe what they say is true."

"Then there's no problem."

Chen Jian nodded slowly, then gave the order:

"He Shuo, launch the drone and monitor the entire city."

"Focus on observing the movements of the Mechanic God Protectorate; if there is any abnormality, give an early warning."

"The rest of you, follow me."

"Let's walk around the city and try to figure out why it has dwindled to so few people!"

"Understood!"

"All right, no problem."

At the command, everyone sprang into action.

He Shuo found a concealed corner, quickly launched the drone, entered intelligent cruise mode, and then followed closely behind Chen Jian out of the inn.

The four of them walked casually through the streets of Huangshi City, but their eyes scanned everywhere, searching for any discoverable information.

Having barely walked through half of the residential area, Chen Jian's expression grew solemn.

He lowered his voice and said to the three beside him:

"Widespread hunger."

"The majority of the residents show signs of malnutrition, which is highly unusual."

"From the few human settlements we've visited before, although life wasn't easy for them, their food supply was not a problem."

"Huangshi City lies in the center of Lake Da Zhi, with abundant fishery resources and clearly cultivated land around it; logically, feeding two thousand people should pose no difficulty."

"But now, fewer than a thousand remain here, yet they are still starving."

"Where has their food gone?"

"I don't know either."

Xie Liu frowned, thought for a moment, then suddenly spoke:

"But the Mechanic God Cult personnel seem not to have this problem; when we entered the temple, their protectorate troops were eating breakfast, and the food was plentiful."

"That's normal."

Chen Jian shook his head and said:

"After all, they are the rulers here; if they were starving, the city would have collapsed long ago."

As his words faded, Chen Jian continued to look toward the alley between the buildings.

In the alley, a few ragged civilians huddled in a corner, clinging to each other for warmth.

It was already deep autumn, with temperatures dropping below twenty degrees; though not yet cold enough to freeze someone to death, without sufficient warm clothing they would certainly develop problems.

Not only was food scarce, but supplies were also barren.

Do the residents of Huangshi City really live so miserably?

"The level of technological application here is far below that of Han Shui; I haven't even seen a stove, let alone electric lights."

"There are no firearms on the streets; the guards carry not the single-shot rifles of Han Shui's guards, but some unknown flintlock smoothbore guns."

"Is something constraining the development of this town?"

"Perhaps the Mechanic God Cult is deliberately suppressing technology here."

Zeng Yi slowly exhaled, about to continue speaking, when suddenly a gunshot rang out from the end of the street.

"Bang!"

The anti-sniper radar reacted instantly, and the gazes of the several people locked simultaneously onto the direction of the gunshot.

There, a handful of civilians brandished clubs, harpoons, and crude knives, charging at the roadside guards.

A single guard’s strength was clearly insufficient against so many cold weapons; in an instant he was hacked to the ground.

But the other guards reacted swiftly, forming a human wall and opening fire on the rioting civilians.

“Bang!”

“Bang-bang!”

“Bang!”

Gunfire crackled continuously, white smoke rising from the street.

Sunlight bathed the scene, what should have been a gorgeous Tyndall effect now awash in a pool of blood.

“The Protectorate forces have moved.”

He Shuo spoke softly, Chen Jian glanced at the image on his smart visor and saw the fully equipped Protectorate troops pouring out from the city center, marching swiftly toward the street where the clash unfolded.

A few minutes later, under the Protectorate’s “overwhelming” firepower, the riot was swiftly quelled.

The guards hauled away the corpses while other residents numbly cleaned the blood‑stained streets.

Chen Jian blinked, then quietly ordered the others to retreat and return.

Back inside the inn, he spoke:

“Huangshi City is on the brink of collapse.”

“If it were merely a sharp population decline, that would be tolerable; but now riots have erupted, proving that the Machine God Church’s rule here is shaking.”

“This is our opportunity.”

“Originally we hesitated to strike at large settlements, chiefly because the Machine God Church and the Holy Blood Hall held power too firmly; even if we barely defeated their forces, eradicating their deep‑rooted ideological imprint would remain difficult.”

“Now Huangshi City is different.”

“The imprint has loosened; we can lend them a hand!”

When Chen Jian finished speaking, Zeng Yi shook his head instinctively and then said:

“But we still don’t know exactly what happened here; if we act rashly”

“What happened isn’t important; we can slowly seek the truth.”

Chen Jian cut off Zeng Yi, then declared decisively:

“We need a barrier, but moving the monsters to the Han Shui ruins is too difficult.”

“Change our thinking—wiping out Huangshi’s garrison and clearing the Machine God Church members here would be easy!”

“We need not cling to the 7025 fortifications; lose the land, lose the people, lose both.”

“He Shuo, inform Lei Jie to bring sufficient equipment to reinforce Huangshi City.”

“Take this place, and it will become our first base!”

(End of chapter)